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Future Forward dissolved

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50 minutes ago, ukrules said:

They banned the party, those MP's are still MP's aren't they?

The 10 seats that are immediately vacant are for the FFP directors who have been disqualified for 10 years.

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  • darksidedog
    darksidedog

    I bet even the old fella driving a buffalo cart saw that one coming. Dissolution of a political party is something you should never see in a democracy. If the party is as evil as their enemi

  • What a shameless nation.

  • JustAnotherHun
    JustAnotherHun

    As expected. Thai style democrazy.

Posted Images

Oddly, I'm looking at the homepage of the BKK Post right now, and reloaded it just to make sure, and there appears to be absolutely no mention of the FFP dissolution ruling posted there as yet.

 

The Nation, at least, has a brief item leading off their home page right now.

 

 

Edited by TallGuyJohninBKK

Bangkok Post has only just reported it......4 min ago

Edited by anchadian

48 minutes ago, anchadian said:

There will no doubt be peaceful demonstrations after this but only just for show.

Thais will not demonstrate about it, for them life goes on and they have to worry about lack on income from lack of tourism

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When will the Thais wake up and take to the streets? If that does not trigger a real outrage, what the eff does??

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"The ruling puts an abrupt end to the meteoric rise of the young political party which stunned the country with its spectacular performance in the general elections in March last year."

 

Being popular and advocating for a democratic process was their great sins!

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1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

Dissolution of a political party is something you should never see in a democracy.

Democracy Banana Republic style. 

48 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Oddly, I'm looking at the homepage of the BKK Post right now, and reloaded it just to make sure, and there appears to be absolutely no mention of the FFP dissolution ruling posted there as yet.

 

The Nation, at least, has a brief item leading off their home page right now.

 

 

Try the New York Times. 

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29 minutes ago, Schibu said:

When will the Thais wake up and take to the streets? If that does not trigger a real outrage, what the eff does??

90 year old ferang overstayers. Or whatever else the government tells them to be outraged about.

 

 

Edited by DannyCarlton

Even for sleepy german media the newest outcome of Thai democrazy is worth reporting

14 minutes ago, connda said:

Try the New York Times. 

 

I wasn't lacking in the ability to find the news. But I was wondering why the first mention of the ruling didn't show up on the BKK Post's website until an hour or more after it surfaced here and in other outlets.

 

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Is this why the internet is having problems, some sort of censorship, or just coincidence ?

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2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I wasn't lacking in the ability to find the news. But I was wondering why the first mention of the ruling didn't show up on the BKK Post's website until an hour or more after it surfaced here and in other outlets.

 

Maybe they had to ask the General first if it would be OK reporting. Free press you know

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38 minutes ago, Schibu said:

When will the Thais wake up and take to the streets?  

And get shot by the army? I don't think so!

1 minute ago, PatOngo said:

And get shot by the army? I don't think so!

 

Ain't democracy grand???  :crying:

And so it begins.

 

Get your exit strategies together boys, its going to be a rough ride.

7 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Ain't democracy grand???  :crying:

Democracy doesn't rate too highly, you can't eat it, spend it or <deleted> it!

Edited by PatOngo

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The thought occurs to me.... does Thanathorn by any chance have a sister or some other close relative who could, you know, pick up the movement that he started before getting into legal trouble... you know.. kinda like a former PM who ended up in exile but still managed to run the country for quite a few years?

 

It worked at least once before.. Who knows, could well work again!

 

Edited by TallGuyJohninBKK

2 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Democracy doesn't rate too highly, you can't eat it or spend it!

or post a picture of it on facebook

15 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Is this why the internet is having problems, some sort of censorship, or just coincidence ?

Took some time until big brother Xi in Beijing was able to give his approval.

And talking about the big, socialist brother in the East North: Isn't todays dissolving of an opposition party not just another step leading towards a system which just has one party at all??
But this one of course democratically elected..........

Edited by Peterbilt

Court verdict draws howls of protest from SE Asian rights group

By The Nation

 

800_a06c103682a9be2.jpeg

Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit talks to supporters at the party’s headquarters on Friday while awaiting the Constitutional Court verdict.

 

The Constitutional Court’s decision on Friday (February 21) to dissolve the Future Forward Party drew immediate condemnation from a bloc of regional lawmakers called Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

 

They called on the Thai authorities to end their “harassment” of pro-democracy and opposition groups.

 

The court found the party guilty of violating clauses in the 2017 Organic Law on Political Parties, for accepting a loan from founder Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit that exceeds the lending limit of Bt10 million over a 12-month period.

 

The court barred party executives from politics and from establishing another party for 10 years.

 

“The penalty seems wholly disproportionate to the infraction, and when you look at the huge number of cases brought against the Future Forward Party and its members since it was founded, it is hard not to question whether they are being singled out because they pose a threat to the political establishment’s grip on power,” said Abel Da Silva, a Timor-Leste MP and member of APHR.

 

The party emerged as the third most popular choice in the 2019 national election, winning more than six million votes and 80 seats in Parliament. 

 

But its members have since faced more than 30 legal complaints under a range of laws, many that do not comply with international rights law and standards, APHR said.

 

Thanathorn was stripped of his MP status in December after the Constitutional Court found him guilty of holding shares in a media company when he registered to contest the election, and last month the party narrowly avoided dissolution when the court found party leaders not guilty of attempting to undermine the monarchy. 

 

Critics have accused the government and state institutions of political bias in targeting Future Forward while ignoring or overlooking similar cases and accusations against parties aligned with the military.

 

“The dissolution of the party sends a message to six million people that their vote doesn’t matter,” said Francisca Castro, a Philippines MP and APHR member. “Last year’s election was supposed to bring an end to military rule in Thailand, but after today, no one is fooled into believing this is the case.”

 

Party members still face further charges, some that could result in jail time. Thanathorn and Pirattachot Chantarakachon are accused of violating the Public Assembly Act for organising a rally in Bangkok in December to oppose the government’s attempts to dissolve the party. 

 

Authorities say they had permit to stage a public assembly.

 

Several parties have been banned in controversial decisions by the Constitutional Court since Thai Rak Thai was dissolved in 2007 following a coup. 

 

Parties more closely aligned with the military and political establishment have avoided the same fate, drawing accusations of political bias.

 

“The Future Forward Party is the latest in a long line of opposition political parties in Thailand to be banned,” said Castro. “It is increasingly apparent that any party seeking to threaten the military and the establishment’s political hegemony will not be tolerated.”

 

If the Thai government wants to restore faith in its so-called “return to democracy”, it should immediately drop all politically motivated charges against Future Forward, as well as rights defenders and pro-democracy activists, said APHR. 

 

It should also take immediate steps to amend repressive laws to ensure they are in line with international norms. 

 

APHR issued a set of recommendations to the government last August for democracy, justice and rule of law to be restored in Thailand and for the 2017 Constitution to be amended.

 

The case against Future Forward follows a broader trend in Southeast Asia of governments shutting down opposition parties by creating trumped-up criminal charges against their members and using these “crimes” to strip them of their MP status, a practice known as “lawfare”, the group said.

 

The pattern can be witnessed in Cambodia, where the only viable opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was dissolved and its members and activists are facing spurious charges, and in the Philippines, where opposition MPs, particularly those critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, are either in jail or are facing a raft of questionable criminal charges.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30382579

 

nation.jpg

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-02-21
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1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

Thais will not demonstrate about it, for them life goes on and they have to worry about lack on income from lack of tourism

Where I am, where there is zero tourism, they aint happy! you city folks forget how big this country is!

23 minutes ago, Peterbilt said:

Took some time until big brother Xi in Beijing was able to give his approval.

And talking about the big, socialist brother in the East North: Isn't todays dissolving of an opposition party not just another step leading towards a system which just has one party at all??
But this one of course democratically elected..........

 

Leaders in Russia and North Korea also get elected periodically, either by the people in Russia's case or by delegates in North Korea's case. Of course, the incumbent or his designated heir always wins in a landslide, and any opposition is hard-to-find to non-existent.  Kinda see the roadmap ahead?

 

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1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

Thais will not demonstrate about it, for them life goes on and they have to worry about lack on income from lack of tourism

They will still stand rigid for the anthem and get up for that song and continue to think Thai rak Thai and to wai those richer and more powerful, but history shows eventually the oppressed and brainwashed fight back in the end when there is no alternative, just a matter of time.

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31 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The case against Future Forward follows a broader trend in Southeast Asia of governments shutting down opposition parties by creating trumped-up criminal charges against their members and using these “crimes” to strip them of their MP status, a practice known as “lawfare”, the group said.

 

The pattern can be witnessed in Cambodia, where the only viable opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was dissolved and its members and activists are facing spurious charges, and in the Philippines, where opposition MPs, particularly those critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, are either in jail or are facing a raft of questionable criminal charges.

 

Real democracy is under assault in many places around the world, including in SE Asia and the U.S., along with all the other current countries that don't actually have it (China) or have it in name only (Russia). It's a most worrisome trend for people who want to live free.

 

Edited by TallGuyJohninBKK

32 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

They will still stand rigid for the anthem and get up for that song and continue to think Thai rak Thai and to wai those richer and more powerful, but history shows eventually the oppressed and brainwashed fight back in the end when there is no alternative, just a matter of time.

Thanatorn just said he would continue to fight outside of parliament;
civil disobedience can easily be something achievable in this very divided country.
Cutting the food and fuel supply to the capital is very easily achievable.
There are very few train lines, moreover single track; some strategic derails from time to time;
a few cuts in busy roads too and in a very short time Bangkok will cry starvation;
never forget that stocks are in the trucks; if they do not run , the stores are not supplied and in a few days all the shelves are empty.

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Nothing of this will happen. The huge majority of the Tahi people are not interested at all in Thanatorn or politics per se.

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2 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Nothing of this will happen. The huge majority of the Tahi people are not interested at all in Thanatorn or politics per se.

Either you don't live in Thailand,
either you are a rookie,
or else you don't understand what people say in the market or in businesses
or you cover your eyes and ears ...

I can tell you that in the cottages that speak a lot  and tomorrow I think there will be some reactions and discussions to know what to do in response.
know that the great majority of Isaan voted Thanakorn because they know that they can no longer count on the Thaksin family .. who is in exile and has almost no chance of being able to come back here except to taste the joys of Thai prisons ...

Democracy...as most of us understand it...is dead in this country...

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