Thaksin To Seek Political Asylum In Britain

[Artisi]

Hope the prince of cowards and princess pokeman like the poor English weather, so-so food including what passes for Thai food in the UK - it's unlikely they will be able to move between countries risking deportation as they might not be welcomed elsewhere. So let's hope they are as miserable as hel_l - they certainly deserve it.

[Moonrakers]

of course its approved he was the prime minister and thrown out in a military coup

Which makes him unaccountable for the crimes that he comitted??

[Plus]

What's the travel status of asylum seekers? Are they allowed to leave the country?

Also he won't be able to publicly express his political opinions about Thailand, I believe.

Can someone clarify these two point? If true, he must be getting really desperate to agree to those terms.

[Scott]

I don't know exactly how political asylum works in the UK, but I have worked in this field with the UN some years back. The standards are similar, but countries have a lot of say so in granting asylum to people they have a particular interest in.

I doubt that his original plan was to seek political asylum, because this makes it a pretty high profile situation for both gov'ts, but he really doesn't have too much choice at this point. His wife has been convicted of a crime and thus she is a wanted fugitive and it would be somewhat hard for the UK not to extradite her. Whether you believe she is guilty or not, there is nothing in her case that would support persecution per se and her jail sentence is not unduly harsh. In order for her to remain in the UK with the least amount of hassle, her husband needs to basically get refugee status, asylum or protection from the UK gov't and this same protection is then conferred to his immediate family. Therefore, she can be reasonably assured of not be extradited.

I certainly hope that the UK gov't looks carefully at the case. If he remains it should be because he has a well-founded fear.

[younghusband]

PAD's demonstration outside British embassy was very timely.

The UK will not be able to hush it under the carpet.

I'm not sure the UK would have any interest in doing so.The British are used to unruly and unrepresentative mobs outside their embassies, including one in Beijing during the cultural revolution when the rabble hung the ambassador's cat.

As I have mentioned before the British Government will be very well aware of the PAD - its undemocratic agenda, its unsavoury leadership, and lack of national support.

[sriracha john]

Watchara said Thaksin had assigned a legal team to file libel and document forgery charges against five PAD leaders, for posting arrest warrants for him and his wife at various locations. Thaksin might also sue the Royal Thai Police Office for overstepping its authority, he said.

Sue-happy, but courtroom-shy, Police Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin is now even considering the Royal Thai Police?

[unnamed foes were meddling in the judicial system] "to finish off myself and my family".

"These are my political enemies. They don't care about the rule of law, facts, or internationally-recognized due process,"

- Thaksin Shinawatra's fax to the Supreme Court / Aug. 10, 2008

Edited August 21, 2008 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Thaksin seeks UK asylum as Thais step up protests

Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's ousted prime minister, is seeking political asylum in the UK, a move that could trigger diplomatic tensions as protests mount in Bangkok for his extradition.

On Tuesday about 10,000 people marched to the British embassy in the Thai capital to press for the return of Thaksin to face fraud charges. Last week a Thai judge issued arrest warrants for Thaksin and his wife after they failed to appear in court and instead flew to the UK after attending the Beijing Olympic Games.

Thaksin's wife, Pojamarn, and her brother were sentenced to three years' imprisonment last month in a separate case involving tax evasion on a share transaction.

A lawyer for Thaksin said yesterday that his client was seeking political asylum without specifying on what grounds. He said Thaksin could claim a breach of his rights or liberty or even a threat to personal safety.

Thaksin's legal troubles have been an acute embarrassment for a government elected last December on a pro-Thaksin ticket but which has faced mass protests because of its links to the business tycoon.

Somchai Phagaphasvivat, professor of politics at Thammasat University, said: "With such pressure on the part of the people, the government needs to do something to calm things down and not be seen as just part of a pro-Thaksin conspiracy, even if deep down I really don't think they want Thaksin to come back. I think this could create a certain tension between Thailand and the UK, at least in the short term."

Officials said last week they were starting the extradition process after the Supreme Court issued warrants for the couple's arrest when they skipped bail.

Mr Thaksin was ousted in 2006 by the military, which then launched corruption investigations. Following the country's return to democracy and the election victory of Samak Sundaravej, he came back from the UK in February to face charges.

In spite of the change in government, an emboldened judiciary has since been showing its determination to press on with the cases against Thaksin and his family. The judiciary is also involved in more direct confrontations with the government, which have led to the resignation of some ministers and threaten the dissolution of the pro-Thaksin People Power's party.

- The Financial Times / Aug. 21, 2008

[Loaded]

It's a difficult argument claiming asylum from a government that you paid for and control (apart from Samak).

Hopefully, his well-documented human right's abuses will be presented during his hearing, if for nothing else, to wind him up.

I don't plan to head back to London anytime soon but I would like to stand outside his London house with a big banner reading "Try and sue me here for defamation you murdering cheating scum a*hole"

Everyone likes to say they heard from a highly-positioned person that.... but I did hear from a highly-positioned person that the money behind Man City is actually from a consortium of Mid-East investors. He's just the front man. He agreed because he hoped it would create more popularity for him in LOS.

[Plus]

PAD's demonstration outside British embassy was very timely.

The UK will not be able to hush it under the carpet.

I'm not sure the UK would have any interest in doing so.The British are used to unruly and unrepresentative mobs outside their embassies, including one in Beijing during the cultural revolution when the rabble hung the ambassador's cat.

As I have mentioned before the British Government will be very well aware of the PAD - its undemocratic agenda, its unsavoury leadership, and lack of national support.

They will wheigh the options - do they care about their perception in the host country or not? In the example of curltural revolution it was probably not the issue, it was too late to worry about that.

In case of Thailand - there might be some backlash, are they ready to take it? Who knows, it depends on whether they need Thai cooperation or not.

I tend to think they don't give a fuc_k, and pretty soon no one would give a fuc_k what they say on this or that. They certainly can't preach about democracy with any sort of credibility if they give political asylum to someone like Thaksin.

By undermining their own position they might give even more support to PAD.

[Heng]

yeah everyone on the street seems real torn up about it

They're going to be really torn up if the 2-3 digit lottery + new ILot lottery don't go through.

[sriracha john]

Thai FM considers revoking Thaksin's diplomatic passport

Thailand's foreign ministry is considering revoking the diplomatic passport of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra after a Thai court issued arrest warrants for him and his wife Pojaman for failing to appear at a court hearing in regard to a land purchase case in Bangkok on Monday, said Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag on Tuesday.

Mr. Tej told journalists that the Supreme Court which issued the arrest warrants for the couple on Monday must first officially inform the ministry. The ministry of foreign affairs has not received information regarding the matter from the court or the prosecutor, he said, adding that ministry officials would need also to review regulations regarding the revocation of diplomatic passports.

The study will be conducted as soon as possible in order to ensure that it does not violate Thai law and the ministry's regulations, Mr. Tej said.

Mr. Thaksin had his diplomatic passport returned to him by former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama who had previously been the ousted premier's legal advisor.

-- TNA 2008-08-12

time for a little follow-through...

PAD wants Thaksin passport revoked

Hundreds of PAD protesters marched to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday morning to call on Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag to consider revoking diplomatic passport of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. PAD core leader Sondhi Limthongkul spoke to the supporters before the march that the protest is done peacefully and without violence. On Wednesday, thousands of PAD supporters marched to the British embassy, demanding that London deny political asylum to Thaksin and allow his extradition so he can face criminal charges in Thailand. The move came after media reported that Thaksin and his wife Potjaman plan to seek asylum in

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=129818

[younghusband]

PAD's demonstration outside British embassy was very timely.

The UK will not be able to hush it under the carpet.

I'm not sure the UK would have any interest in doing so.The British are used to unruly and unrepresentative mobs outside their embassies, including one in Beijing during the cultural revolution when the rabble hung the ambassador's cat.

As I have mentioned before the British Government will be very well aware of the PAD - its undemocratic agenda, its unsavoury leadership, and lack of national support.

They will wheigh the options - do they care about their perception in the host country or not? In the example of curltural revolution it was probably not the issue, it was too late to worry about that.

In case of Thailand - there might be some backlash, are they ready to take it? Who knows, it depends on whether they need Thai cooperation or not.

I tend to think they don't give a fuc_k, and pretty soon no one would give a fuc_k what they say on this or that. They certainly can't preach about democracy with any sort of credibility if they give political asylum to someone like Thaksin.

By undermining their own position they might give even more support to PAD.

Some valid questions.I have no detailed knowledge of procedures but am fairly certain that the perception of the UK by some Thais (albeit a sizeable minority) will not enter into UK thinking very much.I'm not quite sure what measures (backlash) you have in mind -British goods boycott,visa restrictions,lack of co-operation at a regional level (which you have mentioned before)? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Thais frogmarched all the scummy visa running Brits from Pattaya and Lower Sukhumvit onto the plane - Gary Glitter style.I would join PAD immediately and tithe my income over to Chamlong, Sondhiand co if this was on their platform

The reality is to take but two examples -the City of London financial centre and 800,000 British tourists- is that Thailand is far more dependent on the UK than the other way round.My instinct is that if the UK is seen to demonstrate that the treatment of Thaksin is in accordance with existing procedures (ie no special favours), the sense of outrage will die down even among PAD diehards

However there are two aspects you may have overlooked:

1.The distaste which you have always shown for the British establishment/political culture etc is not shared by those who matter in Thailand.I do fully agree the British political class can be irritating given their blithe self confidence,hypocrisy and tendency to preach.I am not going into details here but I can assure you a generalised public campaign against the UK would be frowned upon.You may not fully appreciate the extent of Anglophilia among the Thai upper classes whether in business, the armed forces, the educational establishment - even the Privy Council or the court itself.

2.Pure supposition on my part but given Thai history and culture isn't there at least a possibility that a deal has been cut? This would allow for a certain amount of shadow play and street theatre but the manafactured outrage would be strictly controlled.There would also be some very clear quid pro quo requirements on the Thaksin side.

[marquess]

PAD's demonstration outside British embassy was very timely.

The UK will not be able to hush it under the carpet.

I'm not sure the UK would have any interest in doing so.The British are used to unruly and unrepresentative mobs outside their embassies, including one in Beijing during the cultural revolution when the rabble hung the ambassador's cat.

As I have mentioned before the British Government will be very well aware of the PAD - its undemocratic agenda, its unsavoury leadership, and lack of national support.

Lack of support? If it weren't for the likes of PAD square head would be running around riding rough shot over everyone, as he once did. I would probably have thought that the likes of the British Gov knew more about democracy than you possibly given them credit for! Thaksin should be DEPORTED, then he can come back to Thailand and face the music in jail! Where he most surely deserves to be.

[Bangyai]

PAD's demonstration outside British embassy was very timely.

The UK will not be able to hush it under the carpet.

I'm not sure the UK would have any interest in doing so.The British are used to unruly and unrepresentative mobs outside their embassies, including one in Beijing during the cultural revolution when the rabble hung the ambassador's cat.

As I have mentioned before the British Government will be very well aware of the PAD - its undemocratic agenda, its unsavoury leadership, and lack of national support.

Good post, succinct and to the point.

.

[Samuian]

Toxin is like a little boy with a ball. He's okay if he's winning the game, but when he loses possesion he cries foul and wants to take it home. ....

I always wondered how it came that, with this obvious attitude, he could have made it so far up... he must have cried foul a lot and there got to be a lot of people which held "the ball" long before him, but he (Pokamon) always must have found a way to get hold of the ball again... and now it's over... at least for now.

It seems that he is not the only one using this particular "technique", it's a very common defense of the "bad boys" around here!

Here never anybody does anything wrong, it's always "the others"!

[Plus]

1.The distaste which you have always shown for the British establishment/political culture etc is not shared by those who matter in Thailand.I do fully agree the British political class can be irritating given their blithe self confidence,hypocrisy and tendency to preach.I am not going into details here but I can assure you a generalised public campaign against the UK would be frowned upon....

The cat is out of the bag now, local upper classes can frown all they want, PAD are not their puppets, and this time they'd speak the undeniable truth. And it's not some disagreement over somewehre in Kosovo or Iraq or even Georgia, it's their local business, Thais won't swallow it without thinking as they usually do with British propaganda.

2.Pure supposition on my part but given Thai history and culture isn't there at least a possibility that a deal has been cut? This would allow for a certain amount of shadow play and street theatre but the manafactured outrage would be strictly controlled.There would also be some very clear quid pro quo requirements on the Thaksin side.

There is one development that has been largely overlooked - with PAD on the streets and on the air 24 hours a day any kind of secret deal is very difficult to pull - the cover can be blown off any moment and anyone can become a target of very pulbic critisism.

Even with Thaksin's flight - it's quite possible that there was a deal with the courts that they would give him a chance to flee, but if someone hoped that the matter would just quietly go away, he was very mistaken. The courts are in the spotlight, they can't do "deals", they have to follow up on existing cases, issue warrants and so on.

Public spotlight that PAD brings to politics makes it very difficult for anyone to deviate from the prescribed course of actions even if they wanted to. The decisions are made on the streets and by the civil society, not by backroom deal makers.

[younghusband]

1.The distaste which you have always shown for the British establishment/political culture etc is not shared by those who matter in Thailand.I do fully agree the British political class can be irritating given their blithe self confidence,hypocrisy and tendency to preach.I am not going into details here but I can assure you a generalised public campaign against the UK would be frowned upon....

The cat is out of the bag now, local upper classes can frown all they want, PAD are not their puppets, and this time they'd speak the undeniable truth. And it's not some disagreement over somewehre in Kosovo or Iraq or even Georgia, it's their local business, Thais won't swallow it without thinking as they usually do with British propaganda.

2.Pure supposition on my part but given Thai history and culture isn't there at least a possibility that a deal has been cut? This would allow for a certain amount of shadow play and street theatre but the manafactured outrage would be strictly controlled.There would also be some very clear quid pro quo requirements on the Thaksin side.

There is one development that has been largely overlooked - with PAD on the streets and on the air 24 hours a day any kind of secret deal is very difficult to pull - the cover can be blown off any moment and anyone can become a target of very pulbic critisism.

Even with Thaksin's flight - it's quite possible that there was a deal with the courts that they would give him a chance to flee, but if someone hoped that the matter would just quietly go away, he was very mistaken. The courts are in the spotlight, they can't do "deals", they have to follow up on existing cases, issue warrants and so on.

Public spotlight that PAD brings to politics makes it very difficult for anyone to deviate from the prescribed course of actions even if they wanted to. The decisions are made on the streets and by the civil society, not by backroom deal makers.

If you are right in all this -and while I'm not saying you're not, your thesis sounds a bit odd given the PAD's professed position on the military and key institutions of state - we are in completely unchartered waters.In other words you evoke a Thailand where the Court,Privy Council,traditional patrician leadership in the armed forces, bureaucracy and corporate world have no or limited influence over a partisan, undemocratic splinter group.Once these checks and balances are removed, you may indeed be right matters will be decided on the streets but the outcome may well not be the one PAD wants.

[Sparkles]

Thaksin seeks UK asylum as Thais step up protests

Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's ousted prime minister, is seeking political asylum in the UK, a move that could trigger diplomatic tensions as protests mount in Bangkok for his extradition.

On Tuesday about 10,000 people marched to the British embassy in the Thai capital to press for the return of Thaksin to face fraud charges. Last week a Thai judge issued arrest warrants for Thaksin and his wife after they failed to appear in court and instead flew to the UK after attending the Beijing Olympic Games.

Thaksin's wife, Pojamarn, and her brother were sentenced to three years' imprisonment last month in a separate case involving tax evasion on a share transaction.

A lawyer for Thaksin said yesterday that his client was seeking political asylum without specifying on what grounds. He said Thaksin could claim a breach of his rights or liberty or even a threat to personal safety.

Thaksin's legal troubles have been an acute embarrassment for a government elected last December on a pro-Thaksin ticket but which has faced mass protests because of its links to the business tycoon.

Somchai Phagaphasvivat, professor of politics at Thammasat University, said: "With such pressure on the part of the people, the government needs to do something to calm things down and not be seen as just part of a pro-Thaksin conspiracy, even if deep down I really don't think they want Thaksin to come back. I think this could create a certain tension between Thailand and the UK, at least in the short term."

Officials said last week they were starting the extradition process after the Supreme Court issued warrants for the couple's arrest when they skipped bail.

Mr Thaksin was ousted in 2006 by the military, which then launched corruption investigations. Following the country's return to democracy and the election victory of Samak Sundaravej, he came back from the UK in February to face charges.

In spite of the change in government, an emboldened judiciary has since been showing its determination to press on with the cases against Thaksin and his family. The judiciary is also involved in more direct confrontations with the government, which have led to the resignation of some ministers and threaten the dissolution of the pro-Thaksin People Power's party.

- The Financial Times / Aug. 21, 2008

Maybe the English and Thai Governements could do a deal. Send back Thaksin and Potofjam and we will let you have Gary Glitter back. Problems solved.

[esprit]

PAD's demonstration outside British embassy was very timely.

The UK will not be able to hush it under the carpet.

I'm not sure the UK would have any interest in doing so.The British are used to unruly and unrepresentative mobs outside their embassies, including one in Beijing during the cultural revolution when the rabble hung the ambassador's cat.

As I have mentioned before the British Government will be very well aware of the PAD - its undemocratic agenda, its unsavoury leadership, and lack of national support.

They are most probably very symphathetic insofar as the UK government has an unelected leader who himself refused to seek a mandate.

As for political asylum being granted it appears unlikely given the circumstances and also the requirement that it must be sought in the first instance on entering, not almost 2 years later owing to him, some say, of the intent to protect his assets in the UK. His defence that the Thai legal system is "stacked" against him his somewhat strange when the following day he launched a defamation lawsuit against PAD leaders the following day in Thailand's courts.

Edited August 21, 2008 by esprit

[whatsoever]

The Uk will not return Thaksin & Co. due to Thailands poor record on human rights abuse. Mr Thaksin will be able to prove without question that - indeed during his time in office their were infact several thousand people summarily executed in the name of the 'war on drugs'.

[whatsoever]

PAD's demonstration outside British embassy was very timely.

The UK will not be able to hush it under the carpet.

I'm not sure the UK would have any interest in doing so.The British are used to unruly and unrepresentative mobs outside their embassies, including one in Beijing during the cultural revolution when the rabble hung the ambassador's cat.

As I have mentioned before the British Government will be very well aware of the PAD - its undemocratic agenda, its unsavoury leadership, and lack of national support.

They are most probably very symphathetic insofar as the UK government has an unelected leader who himself refused to seek a mandate.

As for political asylum being granted it appears unlikely given the circumstances and also the requirement that it must be sought in the first instance on entering, not almost 2 years later owing to him, some say, of the intent to protect his assets in the UK. His defence that the Thai legal system is "stacked" against him his somewhat strange when the following day he launched a defamation lawsuit against PAD leaders the following day in Thailand's courts.

You make a very important point re. claiming asylum on first entry. If Thaksin is given asylum then the UK sets a new precident opening the flood gates for future cases and possibly retrospective appeals.

[jitagon]

PAD's demonstration outside British embassy was very timely.

The UK will not be able to hush it under the carpet.

I'm not sure the UK would have any interest in doing so.The British are used to unruly and unrepresentative mobs outside their embassies, including one in Beijing during the cultural revolution when the rabble hung the ambassador's cat.

As I have mentioned before the British Government will be very well aware of the PAD - its undemocratic agenda, its unsavoury leadership, and lack of national support.

They are most probably very symphathetic insofar as the UK government has an unelected leader who himself refused to seek a mandate.

As for political asylum being granted it appears unlikely given the circumstances and also the requirement that it must be sought in the first instance on entering, not almost 2 years later owing to him, some say, of the intent to protect his assets in the UK. His defence that the Thai legal system is "stacked" against him his somewhat strange when the following day he launched a defamation lawsuit against PAD leaders the following day in Thailand's courts.

You make a very important point re. claiming asylum on first entry. If Thaksin is given asylum then the UK sets a new precident opening the flood gates for future cases and possibly retrospective appeals.

Absolutely. In spite of all the talk here about the rights and wrongs of giving Taksin asylum, the law in the Uk is precedent based, completely unlike Thailand. He won't get it.

[Bill97]

Watchara said Thaksin had assigned a legal team to file libel and document forgery charges against five PAD leaders, for posting arrest warrants for him and his wife at various locations. Thaksin might also sue the Royal Thai Police Office for overstepping its authority, he said.

Sue-happy, but courtroom-shy, Police Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin is now even considering the Royal Thai Police?

[unnamed foes were meddling in the judicial system] "to finish off myself and my family".

"These are my political enemies. They don't care about the rule of law, facts, or internationally-recognized due process,"

- Thaksin Shinawatra's fax to the Supreme Court / Aug. 10, 2008

So the legal system is rigged against him but he continues to use the legal system to sue others? No hypocrisy there, just normal double dealing? Seems like the legal system was just fine and he was quite content to use it until his wife lost the first case.

[sriracha john]

Protesters urge Thailand to strip Thaksin

BANGKOK (AFP today) — About 1,000 anti-government protesters rallied Thursday in front of the foreign ministry to demand that authorities strip ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife.

The protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) marched under a banner showing pictures of Thaksin and his wife Pojaman, emblazoned with the words "Most Wanted."

"We demand the Foreign Minister and the foreign ministry immediately revoke every type of passport belonging to Thaksin and Pojaman, who are criminal fugitives," said protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul.

The foreign ministry has already said that it will revoke Thaksin's diplomatic passport, but he and Pojaman would still have their regular passports.

The protesters said they want the foreign ministry to strip the couple of all of their travel documents after they skipped bail last week and fled to Britain to escape corruption charges in Bangkok.

Thaksin's lawyer says the couple will seek political asylum in Britain, where Thaksin owns the Premier League club Manchester City.

"Thaksin is a criminal who is avoiding an arrest warrant issued by the court. Why can he still have all kinds of passports," said Somsak Kosaisuk, another protest leader.

The protesters held a similar rally Tuesday in front of the British embassy to demand that London send the couple home to stand trial.

*Edit: With apologies... the phrase "of their passports" was overlooked when copying and is missing from the end of the headline and from the end of the first sentence. Please insert them in when you read those passages because it changes the context a bit.

Edited August 21, 2008 by sriracha john

[sjaak327]

Public spotlight that PAD brings to politics makes it very difficult for anyone to deviate from the prescribed course of actions even if they wanted to. The decisions are made on the streets and by the civil society, not by backroom deal makers.

I wonder where they were when the militairy took control, oh yeah that's right, they had their mission accomplished with help of the militairy.

I would like them to seek justice for the Thai People that democratically choose a government but were made irrelvant by those criminals that carried out the coup, but of course they only want justice for one person and one person only. Why are these criminals not on trail, surely they have commited greater crimes then the crimes that Thaksin and his wife have been charged with.

Democracy has nothing do with with decisions being made on the street, and I hope for the sake of Thailand, they are not made by the PAD. A good example is the Cambodian Temple crisis. Where a perfectly sane deal has been stopped, because the said minister was giving away territory to Cambodia. Everyone but the PAD knows that this was certainly not the case, you cannot give away what you don't own.

[Bangyai]

Public spotlight that PAD brings to politics makes it very difficult for anyone to deviate from the prescribed course of actions even if they wanted to. The decisions are made on the streets and by the civil society, not by backroom deal makers.

I wonder where they were when the militairy took control, oh yeah that's right, they had their mission accomplished with help of the militairy.

I would like them to seek justice for the Thai People that democratically choose a government but were made irrelvant by those criminals that carried out the coup, but of course they only want justice for one person and one person only. Why are these criminals not on trail, surely they have commited greater crimes then the crimes that Thaksin and his wife have been charged with.

Democracy has nothing do with with decisions being made on the street, and I hope for the sake of Thailand, they are not made by the PAD. A good example is the Cambodian Temple crisis. Where a perfectly sane deal has been stopped, because the said minister was giving away territory to Cambodia. Everyone but the PAD knows that this was certainly not the case, you cannot give away what you don't own.

Sjaak327. Although I totally agree with you and Younghusband it seems that you are pissing in the wind on this topic. There are some people that have been so completely duped by the activities of the PAD that they have gone too far to change tack now without a complete loss of face. They will stick to their erroneus position regardless of any obvious truths you may bring up. Their position can be summed up briefly as :

1) Distaste for democracy. The rural poor are too ignorant to have a vote

2) Support for military intervention if it threatens the established old guard.

3) Supportive of individuals using politics as a vehicle for personal revenge

4) Selective justice. Prosecuting some but ignoring the crimes of others.

Taksins application for asylum may cause the British govournment a little embarresment but not enough for them to evict him to face what is so obviously a showcase trial. Considering all the other asylum seekers with even more dubious credentials only the naive will be expecting to see Taksin back any time soon.

[Heng]

Public spotlight that PAD brings to politics makes it very difficult for anyone to deviate from the prescribed course of actions even if they wanted to. The decisions are made on the streets and by the civil society, not by backroom deal makers.

I wonder where they were when the militairy took control, oh yeah that's right, they had their mission accomplished with help of the militairy.

I would like them to seek justice for the Thai People that democratically choose a government but were made irrelvant by those criminals that carried out the coup, but of course they only want justice for one person and one person only. Why are these criminals not on trail, surely they have commited greater crimes then the crimes that Thaksin and his wife have been charged with.

Democracy has nothing do with with decisions being made on the street, and I hope for the sake of Thailand, they are not made by the PAD. A good example is the Cambodian Temple crisis. Where a perfectly sane deal has been stopped, because the said minister was giving away territory to Cambodia. Everyone but the PAD knows that this was certainly not the case, you cannot give away what you don't own.

Sjaak327. Although I totally agree with you and Younghusband it seems that you are pissing in the wind on this topic. There are some people that have been so completely duped by the activities of the PAD that they have gone too far to change tack now without a complete loss of face. They will stick to their erroneus position regardless of any obvious truths you may bring up. Their position can be summed up briefly as :

1) Distaste for democracy. The rural poor are too ignorant to have a vote

2) Support for military intervention if it threatens the established old guard.

3) Supportive of individuals using politics as a vehicle for personal revenge

4) Selective justice. Prosecuting some but ignoring the crimes of others.

Taksins application for asylum may cause the British govournment a little embarresment but not enough for them to evict him to face what is so obviously a showcase trial. Considering all the other asylum seekers with even more dubious credentials only the naive will be expecting to see Taksin back any time soon.

Well said.

Doesn't matter which side "wins" either way though.

[mrtoad]

Toxin is like a little boy with a ball. He's okay if he's winning the game, but when he loses possesion he cries foul and wants to take it home. Shame that the UK immigration weren't as stringet with Pokamon as the Thai authorities where with Glitter. Whilst there's difference in offences, there's no difference in culpability. It's about time Thailand opened up the box and investigated some of the other stuff that Toxin has been accused of, but it's probably unlikely, just as much as Thailand genuinely pushing for extradition.

Sorry but not a realistic comparison.

One did work in public office, was elected there by a majority more than once, and was removed by the gun.

The other has made a life of abusing underage girls................. I hope your moral is better than this!

The only way Taxsin is going to get a fair trial is if the majority of Thai people believe in the system he is to be tried under. That is not the case as the gun is still present.

I think that you misunderstand the premeise of my post. In no way did I compare the offences as they incomparable. However, there is clearly an issue about immigration policy.

In no way did I condone the abuse of underage kids, which I believe you're trying to alude to that I did in your attempt to twisy my post.

If you look carefully, my main issue is that the UK have allowed entry to a bail jumping fugitive (his wife), she has been tried and convicted of a particular crime. I do not believe that she was elected by the people or removed from office by a coup. Maybe you can enlighten me?

Edited August 21, 2008 by mrtoad

[steveromagnino]

The Uk will not return Thaksin & Co. due to Thailands poor record on human rights abuse. Mr Thaksin will be able to prove without question that - indeed during his time in office their were infact several thousand people summarily executed in the name of the 'war on drugs'.

that would indeed be ironic, if the UK decided that since Thailand's justice system failed alleged drug dealers in the war of drugs, what with 2000+ executed with due process, that therefore it would not be a safe place to send Thaksin back to given that he too could be a victim of a justice system which clearly shoots first and thinks after.

If he can pull that one off, I will be in awe of his bulls&*t skills, I am already pretty much in awe, but this would be taking it to an entirely new 'irony died when they gave Arafat and Kissinger peace prizes' kind of way.

For goodness sake the tax evasion was a open and shut case no matter how you package it; send his wife to jail. kick her to the cuuuuuuuuuuuuurb girlfriend. JERRY JERRY JERRY

[alenhan]

Pojaman convicted and fled away from the justice of Thailand is the fact. UK should have no reason to deny sending her back. this is very obvious.

Thaksin felt that he will lose the case that coming in September, and many more others.

He actually did a lot of crimes that PAD and most Thais won't let it go away.

Hope UK would do the right thing by sending them back to the justice.

Hope UK won't be a place for wrong-doing people from other countries(anymore).

Edited August 24, 2008 by alenhan