Special Tv Programme On Royal Pardon

[churchill]

The government will on Friday night host a special television programme on NBT to improve public understanding of the issue of a royal pardon for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, PM’s Office Minister Satit Wongnongtaey said on Thursday afternoon.

“The special programe will start at 9pm tomorrow, and other TV and radio stations will be asked to also broadcast it,” Mr Satit said.

He admitted that the government was worried that the red-shirts' drive for a royal pardon for Thaksin would lead to a repeat of the unrest in April.

continued

-- Bangkok Post 30/07/09http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/150616/special-tv-programme-on-royal-pardon

[churchill]

Thai PM warns against royal pardon petition for Thaksin

Posted: 30 July 2009 1922 hrs

BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Thursday warned supporters of ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra against signing a petition for a royal pardon that might allow him to return from exile abroad.

Backers of the former leader, who fled Thailand last August to escape a two-year jail term for corruption, are trying to gather one million signatures to present to the country's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

But Abhisit said a royal pardon could be sought only by Thaksin himself, or his relatives, and only once he had served at least part of his sentence. Thaksin was toppled in a military coup in 2006.

"The royal pardon should be his (Thaksin's) own individual initiative or that of his family members and it's not reached that stage because Thaksin has not yet served the sentence," Abhisit told reporters.

"It's not possible for people to sign up to seek a royal pardon," he said, adding that those behind the document were "manipulating innocent people."

"We have to be cautious because these masterminds have complicated matters and people could fall victim to their provocations," he said.

State-owned television is to run a segment with a legal expert late Friday to remind the public that it was improper to involve the monarchy in politics, a government minister said later.

Thaksin said in a March interview that he had written three letters to the king seeking to be allowed home.

The billionaire's so-called "Red Shirt" supporters have said they will rally on Friday night in Bangkok and announce the number of signatures before submitting the petition to the royal household.

They launched the campaign last month following months of sometimes violent street protests and political conflict in Thailand between supporters and foes of Thaksin.

Twice-elected Thaksin still enjoys huge support among Thailand's poor, particularly in rural northern parts of the country, but is hated by the Bangkok-based elites.

Thaksin is currently being tried in absentia on a separate corruption charge relating to US$2.2 billion of funds that were frozen by an anti-graft body soon after the coup.

Thailand's royal family is treated with almost religious adulation and protected by strict defamation laws.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../445738/1/.html

[Livinginexile]

My o my...the yellow bellies are shaking in their boots!

C'mon Abysit, don't be scared!

[Ferwert]

According to this article, the petition is "manipulating innocent people"

According to this article, "people could fall victims to someones provocations"

How can I react to these comments in a civil and respectful way?.........Is this some more of that anti-electoral democratic notion arrogantly questioning the intellect of large swaths of Thai society? I have been in the middle of this activity, and I have not seen innocent dupes being manipulated, I have not seen potential victims to someone else's provocative machinations. No-one is pressing them or in any way exerting anything. This is all self generating. Instead of coercion and manipulation, I will tell you what I have seen. I have seen sincerely intended Thai people completing petitions in homes proudly displaying every imaginable image of their beloved Monarch and all his offspring. No nature scenes, very few personal family photos, just those. I have seen groups of people hunched over tables insuring the accuracy of thousands of signatures and huge piles of forms with proper ID card numbers, and discarding those forms not perfectly completed. I have seen educated, the non-educated and some fancy uniform government officials pick up the petitions in large volume, and returning them in several days, in large volume. I have seen an elderly lady, but regal with calm intelligence, on her bicycle peddling door-to-door in her village, picking up completed forms, and being asked for more (I think she was a retired schoolteacher). I have seen several people work until 2:30 in the morning checking, and re-checking the accuracy of the forms. There is a huge effort made to ensure beyond any doubt that every signature is valid and supported by ID Card numbers. I marvel at how this has taken on such an energetic life of its' own. Many of these people only have access to domestic media who discredit the process at every turn, and yet they persist. I have the utmost respect for the Thai electorate and admire them so much for prevailing over all the forces that should be pushing them in opposite directions, yet they persist. What is it about those Thaksin years which created such fervor. Someone in the know has a simple answer for that...These people remember the pre-Thaksin years...simple as that.

[Scott]

I wonder which constitution says what about who can petition for a pardon and under what circumstances.

It seems that some people are a little scared....I mean a television show? How much is that going to cost? Whose paying for it?

[Livinginexile]

According to this article, the petition is "manipulating innocent people"

According to this article, "people could fall victims to someones provocations"

How can I react to these comments in a civil and respectful way?.........Is this some more of that anti-electoral democratic notion arrogantly questioning the intellect of large swaths of Thai society? I have been in the middle of this activity, and I have not seen innocent dupes being manipulated, I have not seen potential victims to someone else's provocative machinations. No-one is pressing them or in any way exerting anything. This is all self generating. Instead of coercion and manipulation, I will tell you what I have seen. I have seen sincerely intended Thai people completing petitions in homes proudly displaying every imaginable image of their beloved Monarch and all his offspring. No nature scenes, very few personal family photos, just those. I have seen groups of people hunched over tables insuring the accuracy of thousands of signatures and huge piles of forms with proper ID card numbers, and discarding those forms not perfectly completed. I have seen educated, the non-educated and some fancy uniform government officials pick up the petitions in large volume, and returning them in several days, in large volume. I have seen an elderly lady, but regal with calm intelligence, on her bicycle peddling door-to-door in her village, picking up completed forms, and being asked for more (I think she was a retired schoolteacher). I have seen several people work until 2:30 in the morning checking, and re-checking the accuracy of the forms. There is a huge effort made to ensure beyond any doubt that every signature is valid and supported by ID Card numbers. I marvel at how this has taken on such an energetic life of its' own. Many of these people only have access to domestic media who discredit the process at every turn, and yet they persist. I have the utmost respect for the Thai electorate and admire them so much for prevailing over all the forces that should be pushing them in opposite directions, yet they persist. What is it about those Thaksin years which created such fervor. Someone in the know has a simple answer for that...These people remember the pre-Thaksin years...simple as that.

Ferwert thank you very much for your excellent and well crafted post.

I spoke to a school teacher from Issan once; I asked her why she missed Thaksin so much.

Her reply was:

"When Thaksin was PM our school soon started to receive increased funding, there was books, more recourses, the corruption started to end. She emphasised that before this time it was unheard of to receive such support for public schools in Issan. The people just could not believe the positive changes that were happening. They were wonderful times but now everything has turned back to the old ways, people in power don’t care for the poor people in Issan".

The people don’t forget these things.

[cmsally]

I wonder which constitution says what about who can petition for a pardon and under what circumstances.

It seems that some people are a little scared....I mean a television show? How much is that going to cost? Whose paying for it?

I am sure that someone is going over the small print now, and maybe it was left out of the last one. Be kind of ironic if it was not allowed by preceding constitution. In which case "watch this space" for next amendment!

[Harcourt]

Whatever side of the political fence you sit....."....a segment with a legal expert late Friday to remind the public that it was improper to involve the monarchy in politics,..."

[Siripon]

According to this article, the petition is "manipulating innocent people"

According to this article, "people could fall victims to someones provocations"

How can I react to these comments in a civil and respectful way?.........Is this some more of that anti-electoral democratic notion arrogantly questioning the intellect of large swaths of Thai society? I have been in the middle of this activity, and I have not seen innocent dupes being manipulated, I have not seen potential victims to someone else's provocative machinations. No-one is pressing them or in any way exerting anything. This is all self generating. Instead of coercion and manipulation, I will tell you what I have seen. I have seen sincerely intended Thai people completing petitions in homes proudly displaying every imaginable image of their beloved Monarch and all his offspring. No nature scenes, very few personal family photos, just those. I have seen groups of people hunched over tables insuring the accuracy of thousands of signatures and huge piles of forms with proper ID card numbers, and discarding those forms not perfectly completed. I have seen educated, the non-educated and some fancy uniform government officials pick up the petitions in large volume, and returning them in several days, in large volume. I have seen an elderly lady, but regal with calm intelligence, on her bicycle peddling door-to-door in her village, picking up completed forms, and being asked for more (I think she was a retired schoolteacher). I have seen several people work until 2:30 in the morning checking, and re-checking the accuracy of the forms. There is a huge effort made to ensure beyond any doubt that every signature is valid and supported by ID Card numbers. I marvel at how this has taken on such an energetic life of its' own. Many of these people only have access to domestic media who discredit the process at every turn, and yet they persist. I have the utmost respect for the Thai electorate and admire them so much for prevailing over all the forces that should be pushing them in opposite directions, yet they persist. What is it about those Thaksin years which created such fervor. Someone in the know has a simple answer for that...These people remember the pre-Thaksin years...simple as that.

Ferwert thank you very much for your excellent and well crafted post.

I spoke to a school teacher from Issan once; I asked her why she missed Thaksin so much.

Her reply was:

"When Thaksin was PM our school soon started to receive increased funding, there was books, more recourses, the corruption started to end. She emphasised that before this time it was unheard of to receive such support for public schools in Issan. The people just could not believe the positive changes that were happening. They were wonderful times but now everything has turned back to the old ways, people in power don’t care for the poor people in Issan".

The people don’t forget these things.

This government introduced the 15 year free education programme, improved internet network for e learning at schools and educational reform, about to enter its second stage with tutoring for M3 and M6 on free TV.

When Thaksin was PM the education minister changed frequently, Khun Kasem only lasted 3 months, the ministry was low priority, one scholarship, one district- that's only one child one district!

The Democrats are drafting the land tax law to force the rich to use idle land, Thaksin never touched the rich, being one of them.

Back to the topic, why did Yinglak say yesterday that none of Thaksin's family had signed the petition? Could it be, yet again that the family wants to avoid any repercussions as in April when Thaksin ordered his family to leave Thailand before trying to provoke an uprising?

[PastEgo]

off topic i know but sort of relevent

my thai friends brother goes to uni each class has one pc none of the students are allowed to touch the pc there are no IT classrooms as we know of back home if a student uses a pc then it will be at a internet cafe

this is an isan university though so maybe in bkk things will be different

[dondraper]

Whatever side of the political fence you sit....."....a segment with a legal expert late Friday to remind the public that it was improper to involve the monarchy in politics,..."

interesting thread. so much to say but