Verdict in Yingluck case enables junta to tighten its hold on power

[webfact]

Verdict enables junta to tighten its hold on power

By ATTAYUTH BOOTSRIPOOM 
THE NATION

 

File photo

 

THE COURT verdict yesterday in former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s case highlighted the future of the country’s politics, with the junta now able to tighten its grip on the country after years of setbacks.

However, Yingluck and her brother Thaksin Shinawatra may not be at a complete loss and could still turn a crisis into opportunity. Given her new status as a convict, Yingluck could be allowed to make a plea for support from the international community, like her brother has done.

 

Yingluck was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday for malfeasance of duty for failing to prevent corruption in her government’s rice-pledging scheme, and particularly regarding rice distribution under government-to-government contracts, which were later found to be fake.

 

The verdict has put her in the same position as her brother, who fled the country to avoid a charge in a case involving a Ratchadaphisek land deal. He has been living in exile for years.

 

However, as a convict, Yingluck could play a new political game, like her brother has from overseas. A discourse about a “double standard” could be powerful in helping garner sympathy for Yingluck. The only question is how intense that sympathy could become, especially given that Pheu Thai Party is still a factor.

 

Somsak Prisna-anantakul, a key figure in Chart Thai Pattana Party, said the verdict shook politicians’ credibility and confidence. 

 

Polls in the Northeast found that Pheu Thai Party could still win a majority vote, suggesting that the verdict might not tarnish politicians’ images and credibility in the long run, or in the months to come when elections are due to take place. The verdict, more significantly, is a lesson to any top leader on how to oversee government officials to fend off future corruption charges.

 

Jade Donavanik, adviser to the Constitution Drafting Commission, said without Yingluck, some Pheu Thai figures might decide to leave the party. Along with new rules written under the charter and organic laws, it was unlikely that Pheu Thai would have another major victory, Jade said.

 

As a result, the junta’s standing would rise and become a critical factor in the coming election, Jade said.

 

The junta is seen by some political observers as now having the advantage. With Yingluck’s guilt declared, military leaders can claim legitimacy and prolong their stay in office. And without her presence in the country, it is easy for the junta to attack her without fearing resistance from her supporters.

 

If nothing changes, the junta can take a strong stand in the election under its “roadmap to democracy” and control the situation better than before, while being able to determine the fate at the polls.

 

Pheu Thai Party, on the other hand, is in a relatively difficult situation, with prospective leaders fearing the same fate as their former leader.

 

Yingluck is, therefore, at a critical juncture. She has to decide whether to relinquish her power or fight to the end in the hope of a change that will allow her to take the lead again.

 

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a politics science professor at Chulalongkorn University, was quoted by AFP as saying that the guilty verdict might not eliminate the Shinawatras’ influence altogether, although it spelled “the end of Yingluck’s political career”. 

 

It also sent a warning to would-be successors who might try and challenge the dominance of the military and its allies in Bangkok’s traditional aristocracy, he said. 

 

“This is the first time that a Thai prime minister has been sentenced to jail for a policy from an election campaign,” said Thitinan. He called it “a tough and tricky standard for future Thai prime ministers”. 

 

Paul Chambers, an expert on Thai politics, told AFP the military had rid itself of a potential thorn in its side after Yingluck fled because she could have become a martyr if jailed, or a powerful politician again if not.

 

A high-ranking source in Pheu Thai said he believed members of the Shinawatra family would not dare to assume leadership of the party. “They learned a lesson in the past decade. I think they may not be in a position to resist or retain power. They will prefer to keep low profile,” the source, who asked not to be named, told The Nation.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30327866

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-09-28

[Samui Bodoh]

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

It also sent a warning to would-be successors who might try and challenge the dominance of the military and its allies in Bangkok’s traditional aristocracy, he said. 

 

“This is the first time that a Thai prime minister has been sentenced to jail for a policy from an election campaign,” said Thitinan. He called it “a tough and tricky standard for future Thai prime ministers”. 

 

And the traditional elite will continue to exercise power without responsibility; 

 

"The prerogative of the harlot(s) through the ages."

 

A very sad day for Thailand...

 

[mania]

Quote

sentenced to five years in prison yesterday for malfeasance of duty for failing to prevent corruption in her government’s rice-pledging scheme

 

OMG show me one elected Thai Politician not guilty of preventing Govt Corruption?

 

Should we even start in on the current self appointed Govt ?

I just hope current un-elected PM utters "Let Them Eat Cake" right before his sentencing someday

 

[LannaGuy]

The title of this piece say's it ALL

[dinsdale]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The junta is seen by some political observers as now having the advantage. With Yingluck’s guilt declared, military leaders can claim legitimacy and prolong their stay in office. And without her presence in the country, it is easy for the junta to attack her without fearing resistance from her supporters.

 

If nothing changes, the junta can take a strong stand in the election under its “roadmap to democracy” and control the situation better than before, while being able to determine the fate at the polls.

They're not going anywhere. Only a popular uprising, (which against a junta who does not want to lose their power would not be pretty) will get rid of these guys. They (and the non-elected elites) have a strangle hold on power here and will continue to have said power for decades to come. 

[ramrod711]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Yingluck is, therefore, at a critical juncture. She has to decide whether to relinquish her power or fight to the end in the hope of a change that will allow her to take the lead again.

Juncture? She is a convicted criminal on the run. The only decision that she has to make is which country that accepts fugitives she would like to live in.

[meuok]

2 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

And the traditional elite will continue to exercise power without responsibility; 

 

"The prerogative of the harlot(s) through the ages."

 

A very sad day for Thailand...

 

Couldn't agree more......and thanks for reminding me of that rather apothegmatic quote of the great Rudyard Kipling (and Stanley Baldwin).

[mark01]

The junta could not allow an innocent verdict.!

This is another bad day for Thailand.

[Dexlowe]

I wonder just how much sympathy she will be able to garner from other countries. The losses from the self-serving rice scheme were horrendous and very damaging to the country. At the end of the day, someone has to answer for the tens of billions of dollars negligently and irresponsibly ripped from the people by this woman and her odious clan. Thaksin might be able to play the woe-is-me, I'm a victim card, but Yingluck has little chance as she's clearly culpable of a crime. That's the bottom line -- another is that apart from a few select areas, the rural poor have not gained anything from her time in office.

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

And the traditional elite will continue to exercise power without responsibility; 

 

"The prerogative of the harlot(s) through the ages."

 

A very sad day for Thailand...

 

 

Lesson is don't turn a blind eye to underlings committing a fraud to enrich themselves at the states expense as a reward for their "loyalty".

It might come back to bite you in the bum especially if they're too greedy and arrogantly open.

[Baerboxer]

32 minutes ago, Dexlowe said:

I wonder just how much sympathy she will be able to garner from other countries. The losses from the self-serving rice scheme were horrendous and very damaging to the country. At the end of the day, someone has to answer for the tens of billions of dollars negligently and irresponsibly ripped from the people by this woman and her odious clan. Thaksin might be able to play the woe-is-me, I'm a victim card, but Yingluck has little chance as she's clearly culpable of a crime. That's the bottom line -- another is that apart from a few select areas, the rural poor have not gained anything from her time in office.

 

I think she'll get some out pourings of sympathy from certain journalists. The ones who never mention she was previously removed by a court for an illegal act before the 2014 coup, and that she appointed herself to chair the rice scheme but never bothered attending any meetings, ignored all warnings and rarely attended parliament. They will continue to paint the picture of a poor champion of the poor being forced from power bias.

 

But I think the international community is very aware of the real character of the Shiniwattras. They travel freely, as billionaires do, and do business, but not one country so far offers to support them politically. 

[peperobi]

What else???

[inThailand]

Does tighter grip on power = no elections anytime soon?

[Eric Loh]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

It also sent a warning to would-be successors who might try and challenge the dominance of the military and its allies in Bangkok’s traditional aristocracy, he said. 

The most profound statement of the woes of Thailand. It was never about corruption. Thailand will not live up to its potential and inequality will persist in this deep state. 

[LannaGuy]

16 minutes ago, inThailand said:

Does tighter grip on power = no elections anytime soon?

No

 

tighter grip on power = fixed elections soon

[inThailand]

Yup! If they actually held elections, would anyone be surprised it was a landslide victory? 99% of the votes for him with 98% voting. 

[Media1]

The.Thai people know about the terrible human rights violations and never want this man in power. 

They can talk all the shit they like. Your on your way out. Then the nation will celebrate. Hopefully the new leader will abolish defamation and Lese. 

Audit the police bosses with possible theft charges and repair the damage you have enflicked 

[Media1]

24 minutes ago, inThailand said:

Yup! If they actually held elections, would anyone be surprised it was a landslide victory? 99% of the votes for him with 98% voting. 

Crooks learnt from.Hun Sen

[CantSpell]

She is said to be in USA according to some rumors..

 

Would love to see her photo-bombing Prayut during his visit there next week, would sure help tighten his grip  

[baboon]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

And the traditional elite will continue to exercise power without responsibility; 

 

"The prerogative of the harlot(s) through the ages."

 

A very sad day for Thailand...

 

Yep, Game Over. The reactionaries have won and can enjoy passing round the tray of post match sh!t sandwiches to a grateful public.

[yardrunner]

10 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

Yingluck has little chance as she's clearly culpable of a crime

found guilty by a kangaroo court, and her only real crime was upsetting the Army and some of the elite

[wakeupplease]

8 hours ago, CantSpell said:

She is said to be in USA according to some rumors..

 

Would love to see her photo-bombing Prayut during his visit there next week, would sure help tighten his grip  

Yep that would say it in style, but the little man has to go anyhow to explain the trade in balances between here and the USA and he needs to remember this. Yesterday a UK/Canadian company located in Northern Ireland had a 219% import levy imposed on its products imported to the states after Boeing complained about competition, even though its not in that market place. So we should see a few hundred % put on Thai goods imported to the US very soon.

 

That will shut a few up for sure, can't wait.

[MyFriend You]

16 hours ago, mania said:

 

OMG show me one elected Thai Politician not guilty of preventing Govt Corruption?

 

Should we even start in on the current self appointed Govt ?

I just hope current un-elected PM utters "Let Them Eat Cake" right before his sentencing someday

 

Stay Tuned, they still have Submarines, New Guns, Aircraft Carrier, and maybe a few thousand          " Bomb Detectors Wands" to buy  someone later will be brought to trial over that.

[MyFriend You]

3 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

Yep that would say it in style, but the little man has to go anyhow to explain the trade in balances between here and the USA and he needs to remember this. Yesterday a UK/Canadian company located in Northern Ireland had a 219% import levy imposed on its products imported to the states after Boeing complained about competition, even though its not in that market place. So we should see a few hundred % put on Thai goods imported to the US very soon.

 

That will shut a few up for sure, can't wait.

...........and hopefully the Baht will fall back to about 40 baht to the $$, nice even number.

[MyFriend You]

14 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

I wonder just how much sympathy she will be able to garner from other countries. The losses from the self-serving rice scheme were horrendous and very damaging to the country. At the end of the day, someone has to answer for the tens of billions of dollars negligently and irresponsibly ripped from the people by this woman and her odious clan. Thaksin might be able to play the woe-is-me, I'm a victim card, but Yingluck has little chance as she's clearly culpable of a crime. That's the bottom line -- another is that apart from a few select areas, the rural poor have not gained anything from her time in office.

.............there it is again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,no one can show where she has received one Satang because of this, I read two newspapers a day and for the past seven months, no one has been able to show where she has benefited monetarily.........If every President of the USA, and his cabinate members were taken to court in the past fifty years because of squandered Billions of $$ in Aid overseas, money just disappearing into thin air, the jails will overflow..........I say she is a victim of being stupid, nothing more, nothing less  -  hindsight??  she should have stepped down when the allegations first popped up, prior coup.

[Dexlowe]

4 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

no one can show where she has received one Satang because of this

It is up to the police, not us, to follow the money trail, but of course they are notorious for their incompetence. So at best we have to rely on anecdotal evidence and opinions formed by years of experience. The Shinawatras do nothing that doesn't ultimately benefit themselves (Shin Corp anyone, and the last-minute law change about paying taxes?). She may  not have been so crass as to have demanded brown envelopes, but only a fool would believe that there is no indirect benefit for her. But the bottom line is that she failed in her duty which opened the door to massive corruption that she did nothing about. Ergo, guilty of a crime.

[candide]

1 hour ago, Dexlowe said:

It is up to the police, not us, to follow the money trail, but of course they are notorious for their incompetence. So at best we have to rely on anecdotal evidence and opinions formed by years of experience. The Shinawatras do nothing that doesn't ultimately benefit themselves (Shin Corp anyone, and the last-minute law change about paying taxes?). She may  not have been so crass as to have demanded brown envelopes, but only a fool would believe that there is no indirect benefit for her. But the bottom line is that she failed in her duty which opened the door to massive corruption that she did nothing about. Ergo, guilty of a crime.

This law about taxes had been introduced before Thaksin was elected PM. The "last minute change" was about the % of foreign ownership allowed, which was raised to 49%.

[Dexlowe]

32 minutes ago, candide said:

This law about taxes had been introduced before Thaksin was elected PM. The "last minute change" was about the % of foreign ownership allowed, which was raised to 49%.

You're quite right. Thanks for the clarification. 

[Oziex1]

It's time for them to out power the Taxi mafia the Jetski mafia the Lotto price fixing, the mafia controlling the Southern Islands and lastly the RTP!

 

and a few others I have forgotten.

[Thian]

On 9/28/2017 at 8:12 AM, Dexlowe said:

another is that apart from a few select areas, the rural poor have not gained anything from her time in office.

 

They all got 500 baht for their votes and that was all they wanted...so eat it..