If I Were Thaksin I Would Have Served My Jail Sentence

[Publicus]

The 2 years was not what encouraged him do a runner, it was the realisation that his influence no longer had any effect on the outcome of not only this conviction / sentence, but the list of charges that had built up against him and are now awaiting his presence here in Thailand.

Remember the look on his face when his wife was convicted and he was confronted with the realisation he no longer could dictate and manipulate.

No, for me the 2 years is small change when compared to what would / will surely follow, come the day of reckoning.

He could and would have gone via easy street and only briefly suffered the recognised Puyai ( non ) hardships that society seemingly allows their undeserved status and MONEY to be priviledged too when paying duly recognised lip service to Thai justice and it,s institutions.

God help Thailand should he ever be allowed to regain his position of influence, pillaging and abuse of all but the chosen few of his ilk.

marshbags

Indeed, to Thaksin the law, police, trials, courts and prison are fine for the common population but not for him. Thaksin rather is above and exempted from such things. I too remember the expression on T-squared's face when his wife was found gulity. The Thaksin view is that the law is for others but not for him. The view is naturally held by all Thai elites, but Thaksin more than any other elitist presumes in the absolute he is exempt from legal constitutional processes that legitimately have brought down criminal leaders of democracies, as among others Nixon found out and now as Berlusconi finally is discovering as the institutions of Italy continue their struggle to realize the same principle.

[Publicus]

You konw, its funny, but i actually think that if Thaksin has stayed, and began to serve his sentance, he would have found a pardon easier, and might have found a way to even get back into office.

As it is, he is an international pariah (aside from the most vile dictators), and has to suffer the shame of being labeled a "fugitive" everywhere he goes. Poor guy, almost makes you feel sorry for him...almost.

Thaksin is so pathetic he does evoke a certain kind of sympathy from those who are capable of discerning a tragic figure when we see one. However, T-squared is not by any means a tragic figure, the definition of a tragic figure being someone who could have been good or great but had some fatal flaw which within himself prevented his achieving or attaining the status of the good or even the great. Sometimes the tragic aspect derives from an external source.

Thaksin does draw a certain sympathy from me but only as a prominent public figure who has a certain vison but a demented vision, as with Nixon or Hitler, or a Pinochet, a Tojo, a Kaiser Wilhem, Jefferson Davis, Musharaff, bin Laden and a host of same or similar others. Conversely, I haven't any sympathy for G.W. Bush or Hun Sen, Mao Zse Dung, Louis XVI, Attilla the Hun, Julius Caesar, Henry VIII and a host of others of their ilk.

On the other hand, perhaps Thaksin and Caesar aren't so different after all.

[phetaroi]

go back, hold your head up high, say you've done nothing wrong but respect the law, you don't want special treatment, remain calmly dignified, take the punishment, refuse to criticize.... and then wait.... 24 hour protests demanding your release at the prison gates will begin immediately, they'll be a media frenzy, the government will be harrassed night and day with people asking when they will end the barbaric treatment of a former PM...

Your scenario could be correct. However, I have not seen Thailand be very kind to former Prime Ministers. How many have left in disgrace or even jailed? A rather high percentage. For example, for being "unusually rich".

[rixalex]

go back, hold your head up high, say you've done nothing wrong but respect the law, you don't want special treatment, remain calmly dignified, take the punishment, refuse to criticize.... and then wait.... 24 hour protests demanding your release at the prison gates will begin immediately, they'll be a media frenzy, the government will be harrassed night and day with people asking when they will end the barbaric treatment of a former PM...

Your scenario could be correct. However, I have not seen Thailand be very kind to former Prime Ministers. How many have left in disgrace or even jailed? A rather high percentage. For example, for being "unusually rich".

It's a sad fact though that many politicians regularly avoid punishment for their crimes and once the dust has settled and a little time has passed, they return to office without much batting of eyelids. Such dishonour should be the end of their careers serving themselves the public, but sadly here it rarely is. They are the floaters in society that refuse to be flushed. Thaksin being no exception. It's with deepest sadness that i feel Thai politics hasn't seen the last of him, in one form or another. A more selfish, spineless individual you couldn't wish to meet.

[KireB]

Thaksin was driven from power in order to prevent a bloody clash between rival factions, which many estimate was very close in 2006. If he returned, that outcome would be a certainty.

A lot of people seem to forget this! The at that moment completely peaceful yellow protesters were under attack by (red?) hooligans! Women and old people were beaten up by sincerely scary looking Thaksin 'sympathisers'. The same kind of guys showing their private parts and throwing plastic bags filed with urine. The days before the coups, the story was out that armed forest rangers would attack the PAD rally in order for Thaksin to call for a state of emergency. And that's when the generals stepped in!

[Publicus]

Thaksin was driven from power in order to prevent a bloody clash between rival factions, which many estimate was very close in 2006. If he returned, that outcome would be a certainty.

A lot of people seem to forget this! The at that moment completely peaceful yellow protesters were under attack by (red?) hooligans! Women and old people were beaten up by sincerely scary looking Thaksin 'sympathisers'. The same kind of guys showing their private parts and throwing plastic bags filed with urine. The days before the coups, the story was out that armed forest rangers would attack the PAD rally in order for Thaksin to call for a state of emergency. And that's when the generals stepped in!

We do need to revisit the time, place and circumstance that attended the runup to the coup, the factual realities of the moment, the reasons and rationale for the coup. It was indeed to prevent Thaksin taking dictatorial and absolute control of the government, it was the lesser of two evils with the Thaksin evil having been of profoundly catastrophic consequence.

The generals put in a year of special duty then left. Good riddance. However, had the generals not acted, we'd likely still have Thaksin the absolute dictator, Thaksin the tyrant. So now who wants the very real return of such?

Thaksin now has his own personal army, the reds. The guy hasn't changed one bit. In fact, Thaksin since 2006 has become worse or, more accurately, exactly what he would have been had the coup not occurred. Chairman Mao had his Red Guards, Thaksin has his personal red army. To the devil for both.