Insight

Nobody seemed to take much notice when the Bencharongkul family sold DTAC to Norway (retaining 9% in a nominee holding company) in a similar way that Thaksin sold AIS. It could have been investigated under the foreign nominee holdings act but wasn't, didn't comply with foreign dominance regs and as far as I'm aware, still doesn't.

Boonchai Bencharongkul is above Shiniwatra in the Forbes 2011 list.

Boonchai Bencharongkul... hmmm... When was he PM?

So the law only applies to Prime Ministers? Try reading this in context with the post I quoted , Thai at Hearts post and you will see that this gentleman was one of those who benefit from the status quo that existed/exists after Thaksin was ousted. An example of the Amart if you wish but his family wasn't touched.

Well if people at the top can't follow the law - never mind promote it - there's very little chance of much of a trickle-down effect.

That said, I wonder why Team Thaksin didn't highlight this case specifically during their "duben stan tat" campaign? If he is as guilty as Thaksin I would have no problems whatsoever with any attempt to put him behind bars. However, instead Team Thaksin chose to focus on some petty land encroachment issues involving some privy councilors, while hypocritically ignoring larger, more renowned cases such as The Alpine Golf Course encroachment. Probably because they'll implicate themselves. Yet again.

Nobody seemed to take much notice when the Bencharongkul family sold DTAC to Norway (retaining 9% in a nominee holding company) in a similar way that Thaksin sold AIS. It could have been investigated under the foreign nominee holdings act but wasn't, didn't comply with foreign dominance regs and as far as I'm aware, still doesn't.

Boonchai Bencharongkul is above Shiniwatra in the Forbes 2011 list.

Boonchai Bencharongkul... hmmm... When was he PM?

How nice to know that all the issues started really because the PAD, Sonthi, the army generals were all so outraged at the corruption. Makes you wonder how corruption in this country is still so rife given the above powerful parties are going to hold coups, political protests etc in trying to eradicate it. Its as if that before TS there was no corruption and everyone was so outraged and shocked by his, that the army and whichever other figures just had to act out of moral outrage and the audacity of the man to do a corruption

Whilst that would be nice to believe, i would wager that jelousy of his personal success (legal and illegal) and genuine worry for protecting their future/money was the real reason behind the issues.

So people should sit back and accept a prime minister who triples his own personal wealth during his term by modifying laws and storing the gains in off-shore bank accounts, simply because the people opposing him may or may not of been involved in some level of corruption before...

I suppose because of this every attempt of Thaksin to subvert the law and avoid the charges against him since is also justified...?

You don't have to be the person mentioned in the OP to realise that the attitude of "they done it (maybe), so I can to" is completely unsustainable, and the further this circus continues, the more apparent it becomes that Thaksin is probably the last man in Thailand who will be willing to challenge it in any way - for very obvious reasons.

I have never seen any country amend criminal law through emergency decree

What a classic line, summing up the absurdity of the current Thai political scene. Justice beholden to majority vote. I have pointed this out many times to people not only on this forum, but to my Thai friends also and to my wife's family in the village: if I rape your daughter, but give 51% of the people free stuff so they like me, does that mean the rape of your daughter was democracy?

Rule of law is the very basis of democracy, and Thailand doesn't have it. Voting is irrelevant until it can be established. Otherwise, you get the abomination we have today, which is leading nowhere but civil war.

What a ridiculous analogy.

How so?

So do you believe that obtaining a majority vote places you above the law?

"He clearly was trying to emphasise that the government's push for reconciliation was ultimately aimed at whitewashing Thaksin's wrongdoings".

And that is what this 2-for-1 thing is all about. Just another brick for the criminalization wall the Opposition has been trying to build around their political nemesis..............Winning elections is not an amnesty-able matter. But what happened at R'song is very much subject to amnesty discussions. ...Not sure how amenable those directly affected through the loss of loved ones, or those who have been struggling with the effects of injuries since, would feel about those responsible being given a free ride............... Also with respect to Jatuporn and Nathawut, since when is anti-coupism an amnesty-able matter. Mr. Abhisit and Suthep on the other hand, have both political and homicidal liabilities, the latter for which they have a culpability which they are now trying to 'defer and delay"...................... This kind of 2-for-1 gamesmanship is advancement of Opposition agenda's and a 'kick in the head' for those referenced above, who are most directly affected to this day.

Another busy day for you. Is there anything meaningful at all in the spam above?

This is very well played by Abhisit. It's just a massive shame the likes of him and Korn are in very short supply out here.

A visitor made a few jokes last night about the competence of our current lovely PM. Greed is well set to destroy Thailand.

Thai politics. An embarrassment to the human race.

Reconciliation will only be achieved when Thaksin is granted a full amnesty posthumously.

Funny you should say this, I was with an ardent yellow the other day, and he basically said that an event such as that would be the only way for things to have any chance of calming down.

Probably why you haven't seen Thaksin here in Thailand yet????

And why Panlop is calling the shots on his return.

Anybody got that photo handly of Panlop, Seh Daeng and Thaksin? Think it was taken in Dubai, not long before the red riots and militant attacks of 2010.

Will Mict block nana and walking street?

Wow... Nana, Sukhumvit soi 4 has not been included. This is the closest you can get.

Am sure they simply forgot to include it.

Is Nana a dead end? don't think Google do dead end's.

Not true. They done Thailand.

Again you give totally dishonest and very misleading comment. The paymasters conviction was for abuse of power, an old and very serious law, which is there for good reason to protect the common wealth of all Thais from unscrupulous immoral politicians, nothing whatever to do with politics.

And further the case was heard, he was found guilt and a two year jial sentence imposed during the tenure of a paymaster puppet government.

Before accusing members of dishonesty it's best to be clear about the context.Although your post is rather hard to follow and very poorly expressed, I'm assuming you are making the point that Thaksin had serious charges against him that needed dealing with.I agree.However the point is, and one you seem slow to grasp, is that the pursuit against Thaksin was politically motivated but this is not inconsistent with Thaksin having legitimate charges to explain (though arguably less serious than those which hang over Abhiszit's head).I have already posted a link in this thread demonstrating that Interpol rebuffed the previous government on this matter.As to those who want me to reference Wikileaks please check this out for yourselves.I'm certainly not prepared to cut and paste and probably breach forum rules (for there is much sensitive material) but start with the American Ambassador of the time and take things from there...

That's a complete cop out. No need to cut and paste, what is the link to the wikileaks page to add some credibility to your claim?

Exactly what charges should hang over Abhisits head? Ordering the Army to protect the Monarchy, the Nation and it's citizens from a mob that had already spent a month terrorizing the city and baying for it to be burnt to the ground? a mob that had been told to kill members of the Army? As many people on here would agree, when Hamas fire rockets from schoolyards, it is no surprise that kids get killed in the counter attack, and Hamas are to blame. When the Red leaders had hired mercenaries mingle and hide amongst old women and men it is no surprise that when they started shooting and firing RPG's that other red shirts were caught in the cross-fire, the Red leadership is to blame. Thaksins head should be on a pole. He and his family profited greatly from his tenure as PM, which is of course illegal (lets not forget his ordering of 2500 extra judicial killings). In your logic, when criminal charges are to be answered, simply because a politician agree's and calls for Thaksin's arrest it all becomes politically motivated?

If Abhisit has a single charge thrown against him for taking any action against the red shirts, there will be utter chaos. To every non-red shirt that witnessed the events in Bangkok as they unfolded, the agenda of the red shirts was blatantly obvious.

What sort of movement of "peaceful protesters" fires battlefield war weapons in to a crowd of opposing protesters? Sick stuff.

Will Mict block nana and walking street?

Wow... Nana, Sukhumvit soi 4 has not been included. This is the closest you can get.

Am sure they simply forgot to include it.

Another pearl of Thai political wisdom, "Experts are not more important than people". That was the thinking applied in Mao's Great Leap Forward too, one history's greatest social disasters.

Quite! Not also forgetting that Pol Pot was very fond of getting rid of experts.

Come on, which one of you is going to throw in the hitler card and make a set?

I reckon the red shirt movement should ban such comparisons.

This place is going to shit.

Have said it before, but given the actions of the Thaksin clan over the past two years I believe more than ever that the coup was an attempt to save lives, rather than destroy democracy. AFAIR Chris Baker states similar theory in his book, Thaksin, but writes the theory off as being rumor-based and outlandish. However, note that this edition of the book was published before the 2010 chaos which featured actions by militant "rangers" Baker alluded to in his book.

Sonthi's words are already being used by the Thaksin clan to justify their own theories. Messy times ahead for Thailand, without a doubt.

Simple really. You are saying that the end justifies the means.

In a country with such an incredibly weak and fearful judicial system, quite possibly so...

Have said it before, but given the actions of the Thaksin clan over the past two years I believe more than ever that the coup was an attempt to save lives, rather than destroy democracy. AFAIR Chris Baker states similar theory in his book, Thaksin, but writes the theory off as being rumor-based and outlandish. However, note that this edition of the book was published before the 2010 chaos which featured actions by militant "rangers" Baker alluded to in his book.

Sonthi's words are already being used by the Thaksin clan to justify their own theories. Messy times ahead for Thailand, without a doubt.

This will be the last time the "PM" travels anywhere down south without her red mafia.

Wow. Two years since the red shirts laid down the new rules of engagement for their protests.

It's amazing the overall death toll has remained as relatively low as it currently stands, considering the extreme lengths they went to.

Kudos to the Thai military for managing to maintain their cool throughout.

Amazing these red apologists claim to be so informed....

On just one day alone, 79 PAD members were convicted and sent off to prison

.

It's just Spooner playing to his agenda...

Govt. raps WSJ criticism of PM's Thai-language speech, #1^

A little Opposition mischief making again? I suspect so. In a backhanded way trying to diminish Ms. Y., knowing full well British born Abhi's language proficiency. To highlight this little tidbit - a seven-minute speech for heaven's sake - says it all.

".............during her visit to Japan, after an article in The Wall Street Journal criticised Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's decision not to address the audience in English.

Complaining about not speaking English in a Japanese forumn....a bit of a reach. For this 'diminishment' to have traction, it needed English language as the put-down.

"Thani also questioned the reporter's motive in writing the article. "I sincerely hope this is not the direction to be taken by a respected newspaper such as yours," he concluded"

This gets at a question of who's "motive"? It is well known by many, that the foreign media socializes and lives in the world of the Amart, when in Thailand. They have little understanding of the mostly unilingual world of the PTP/UDD/Red Shirts. As a result, for example, when speaking to Europeans politically astute contacts, who nevertheless follow their domestic media reports on Thailand, it is often like talking to PADites. So this instance of a foreign reporter dumping on Ms. Y, indicated to me he/she is following the impulses of her buddies.

"The report also noted that US-educated Yingluck could have chosen to speak in English. "It could be, though, that Ms Yingluck wasn't entirely confident in English. A video of her greeting visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Thailand last year by saying 'overcome' instead of 'welcome' got heavy play on YouTube," wrote the reporter.

And by inference, the unspoken agenda is to drive home the point that our buddy Abhi, wouldn't make this mistake. Forgetting the little fact he couldn't win a Thai election, if his life depended on it.

Seems quite a ridiculous conclusion. Can you explain why/how this is mischief making by the opposition? What are they doing, paying off journalists from the WSJ to write derogatory remarks

Maybe the PAD has also hired Amsterdam...

Thaksin and Chalerm probably understand each other very well: neither of them seems to be overly concerned with the rule of law (they seem to think that laws are for other people) and both put family, money and power before ethics or serving the public.

Chalerm's statements are probably being thrown out for two reasons: to prepare people for Thaksin's return and to gauge the public's reaction to the idea.

Shrewd analysis.

Or his ear is playing up.

Playing the man of peace on the left hand with public interviews such as this with the left hand, while antagonising with charter change moves and red shirt rallies with the right.

This tactic should be transparent to all observers over the years by now. But, alas, no...

I guess we can expect every thread on ThaiVisa discussing the government to get the Viking treatment from now on...

The anti-Thaksin protests were not pro-Sondhi protests. They were anti-Thaksin protests, and they will be anti-Thaksin protests again when the time comes.

Will the real Max Mosley please stand up.