Thaksin Asset Case: Bt46 Billion Will Be Seized Along With Interests

[orchidlady]

What I find interesting is the possibly perjury charges he and his ex-wife have set himself and herself up for. Based on the Nation article about 10 possible future criminal charges:

"Meanwhile, there could be four potential perjury cases related to official asset declarations of public office holders and their spouses.

Records of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) show the asset declarations of Thaksin and his then-wife Pojaman na Pombejra back in 2001 were Bt569 million and Bt9.96 billion, respectively.

However, Pojaman, in her recent closing statement in the Bt76-billion assets-seizure case, told the Supreme Court that Bt34 billion of the Bt76 billion belonged to her even though she reported her assets amounted to only Bt9.96 billion in February 2001, when Thaksin first assumed the premiership.

Besides the 2001 declaration, Pojaman reported to the NACC in 2005 that her assets had dropped to Bt8.91 billion and those of Thaksin to Bt506 million.

In the 2005 NACC filing, Panthongtae and Pinthongta, Thaksin's son and daughter, who had not yet come of age, reported combined assets of Bt3.26 billion.

In 2006, Thaksin declared his assets to be Bt557 million, while Pojaman's wealth was reported as Bt8.84 billion. Panthongtae and Pinthongta, who had come of age, were no longer required by law to declare their assets.

In this context, Pojaman had argued the Bt34 billion was owned by her before Thaksin assumed the premiership in 2001 and later transferred to Panthongtae and her step-brother, Bhanapot Damapong."

I am confused ...when was the 34 billion baht earned...They claim it was before he became PM in 2001 but none of their financial statements show any combined amount close to that! I am sure the new finance minister will be able to sort this out as he is very smart and they will probably be looking at additional charges related to these misstatements.

She will have a hard time trying to defend herself against that statement. 'Were you lying when you made the statement to the court in that case? , were you lying when you filed the asset statements or are you lying now?' any answer yes will be tantamount to admitting perjury[LOL] trying to claim they were only errors, as in the filing of the asset statements, is laughable at best, because they were done repeatedly without any correction. How could you possibly attempt to defend yourself against these charges without implicating yourself further? In its ruling, the court determined 30 billion baht was jointly earned/owned before he became PM in 2001. So somewhere about 20+ billion baht was not accounted for on their financial disclosure statements--that is more than they disclosed owning!!!

Wonder if this was why she left for Hong Kong...

[ThaksinKharma]

This was not a criminal case, only a civil case. Thaksin now can face several criminal charges.

Yes he does. Even if he does eventually end up with some of the money, it's not a huge victory for him if he eventually ends up with 30 year prison sentences, which is what he deserves and is what he faces with the multiple other still pending cases.

[ThaksinKharma]

Why is it a problem that the verdict is not written in English? It has nothing to do with non Thais and therefore there is absolutely no reason to release the verdict in english other than to give some dim witted know it all farangs something to gossip and speculate about. Get over yourselves, your opinion has no weight whatsoever in Thailand's affairs.

There's a lot about Thaksin that affects foreigners. Plus, foreign views on Thaksin have more that a little impact on Thailand. Bangkok's two airports were shut down - which indirectly involved Thaksin, and certainly impacted on foreigners and Thais alike. Last April, the Asean meet was spoiled and Bangkok was troubled - both directly and indirectly influenced by Thaksin and also affecting foreigners. Much of what Thaksin has done and will do affects foreigners - both those who reside here, those who come here as tourists, those who do business here, and those who are contemplating coming to Thailand.

A major court case involving the Shinawats has a lot to do with foreigners. To dismiss foreign influence so comprehensively shows Joker's shallowness and how out-of-touch he is with the real world.

Well put Sir! I have seldom seen such an insular ill-thought out comment as written by the original commentator. One can hardly live in a Country without taking an interest in what's going on, including it's politics, which at the moment are having such a major influence on both the People of Thailand and Foreign Business interests, large or small. Shocked is an understatement .

I echo both of your sentiments.

[kuffki]

This was not a criminal case, only a civil case. Thaksin now can face several criminal charges.

Yes he does. Even if he does eventually end up with some of the money, it's not a huge victory for him if he eventually ends up with 30 year prison sentences, which is what he deserves and is what he faces with the multiple other still pending cases.

Let me run something by you guys. The court ruling for 46 b plus interest. Interest for minimum 10 years at say 5% per annual(minimum, as interest rates before were much higher then current). 5% on 46b over 10 years is way over 30b(and that's assuming it is not compounded)so in fact i do not think he will get any money if anything still owe money.

[SomTumTiger]

You know I think there are only 10 Thaksin threads running at the moment. How can that possibly be enough?

[ThaksinKharma]

I hope a couple of photos can help visualize

'Final showdown' feared after Thaksin verdict

Supporters of Thailand's exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra were seen crying on television as the court's decision was read out. (AFP: Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

A supporter of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra cries as she waits for news at the park near the Supreme Court in Bangkok late February 26, 2010. A Thai court on Friday seized $1.4 billion worth of assets belonging to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra's family.

Reuters

But:

1. They weren't only crying; they were smashing and burning a spirit-house because it had failed to help them get the required result.

Supporters of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra burn what they say is the spirit house representing the Supreme Court near its main building in Bangkok late February 26, 2010.

Reuters

[ThaksinKharma]

This was not a criminal case, only a civil case. Thaksin now can face several criminal charges.

Yes he does. Even if he does eventually end up with some of the money, it's not a huge victory for him if he eventually ends up with 30 year prison sentences, which is what he deserves and is what he faces with the multiple other still pending cases.

Let me run something by you guys. The court ruling for 46 b plus interest. Interest for minimum 10 years at say 5% per annual(minimum, as interest rates before were much higher then current). 5% on 46b over 10 years is way over 30b(and that's assuming it is not compounded)so in fact i do not think he will get any money if anything still owe money.

Broke AND thirty years in jail sounds fair.

[Insight]

Hope this doesn't get deleted. It's visible to all to see right now...

[scorecard]

I really hope that the government finds a way to distribute these funds back to the people they were taken from. It would go a long way to help the cause of staying in power

I Find these questions about 'where' the money will go to be quite naive.

It doesn't take much brain power to understand that the funds simply add to the current common wealth of Thailand.

The government or anybody is never going to engage in any form discussion about who/where/how the seized funds should be distributed. Even if it did (not likely anyway) there would never be an agreement, everybody would have some reason why they should get a slice and how big a slice, and there would be millions of counter claims, claims of misuse, graft, etc. etc. There could never be an agreement. It not going to happen.

And is it currently all liquid funds? Maybe not.

[scorecard]

From the OP:

Thai court seizes more than half of Thaksin's fortune

Thai court seizes 1.4 billion dollars from Thaksin

by Thanaporn Promyamyai

BANGKOK, February 26, 2010 (AFP) - Thailand's top court Friday stripped Thaksin Shinawatra of more than half his 2.3-billion-dollar fortune after ruling that the fugitive former premier had abused his power for personal gain.

The verdict was an apparent compromise aimed at avoiding violence by the tycoon's supporters, but it left many of them in tears and a pro-Thaksin protest movement said it would push ahead with mass rallies in March.

So K. Thanaporn, what's you reasoning for saying it's an apparent compromise by the supreme court judges? Are you in fact suggesting that It's not a proper analysis and a finding based on the law and the facts of the case?

After reading out a seven-hour verdict, judges said the Supreme Court would seize 46 billion baht (1.4 billion dollars) of the assets from the sale of Thaksin's telecoms firm, which were frozen after the 2006 coup that ousted him.

But they said the twice-elected former leader could hold on to the wealth he had already accumulated before taking office in 2001.

"Twice elected leader". To have a balanced article surely you should have mentioned that there was massive vote buying and proven massive electoral fraud, and election commissioners went to jail. But you conenveniently did not mention mention any of this in the slighest way. Lacking in balance.

"The majority of the judges rule that the wealth of Thaksin to be confiscated, from share dividends and part of the share sales... is altogether 46.37 billion baht," the judges said in their verdict.

Thaksin, who lives abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption at home, said in a video speech from exile in Dubai that he was the "political martyr" of a conspiracy to remove him from politics.

Perhaps here you could have mentioned, for balance the early actions of the PAD to try to remove a very corrupt person from power, which they every right to do in a democracy - to protest about corruption, graft, abuse of power etc. Thaksin in fact claims to be the champion of democracy but of course the law (one of the internationally recognized pillars of democracy) not applicable to him, and you could have mentioned that the early PAD actions is what started the whole process, culminating in a coup.

It's also interesteing to note that later in this article you mention the 'elites' several times from which your reader would assume that the 'elites' are bad / the mr. nasty of the situation at hand.

It's interesting to note that the PAD - the first drivers of the moves to ouster thaksin cannot be labelled as 'elites', the vast majority of their numbers were/are concerned middle class people.

"This case is very political... The ruling will be a joke for the world," said Thaksin, who is widely known outside Thailand for being the former owner of Manchester City football club.

Thousands of troops and police had been deployed across the country for what the local media had dubbed "Judgement Day" but there were no outbreaks of violence by his backers, known as the "Red Shirts", after the ruling.

Dozens of supporters gathered at the headquarters of Thailand's main opposition party where some wept and others shouted slogans. Hundreds of others gathered at a central Bangkok park burned an effigy of the courtroom.

Jatuporn Prompan, a core Red Shirt leader, vowed to go ahead with their planned rallies beginning March 12 in Bangkok and rejected the ruling as "totally unfair" to Thaksin.

"Our fight for democracy will continue. We choose to rally in order that people may digest the ruling and see whether it is fair to Thaksin," he said.

Red Shirt riots at an Asian summit and in Bangkok in April 2009 left two people dead and scores injured.

The Supreme Court judges would spend the night at safe houses but there were "no reports of possible violence", said senior police officer Wichai Sungprapai.

The government had applied for the seizure of the proceeds from the sale of shares owned by Thaksin and his family to Singapore-based Temasek holdings in January 2006.

The judges said in the ruling read out on national television and radio that Thaksin had "used his power in favour of Shin Corp" and that the profit from the sale "is wealth acquired through inappropriate means," they said.

The court ruled that Thaksin illegally hid his ownership of shares in Shin Corp during his two terms as prime minister, despite saying that he had transferred them to his family.

Thaksin had also issued a cabinet resolution in favour of the mobile telephone arm of his empire, set satellite policies that benefited Shin Corp, and gave a loan to Myanmar in exchange for it doing deals with his firm.

The case goes to the heart of the rifts that have opened up in Thai society since the coup.

This is a nonsense comment.

QUOTE (run out of allowed number of quote tags)

The Red Shirts, largely from his stronghold in Thailand's impoverished north and northeast, loved his populist policies and accuse the current government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of being an unelected elite.

UNQUOTE

Again lacking in balance. To be fair who should have mentioned that PM Abhsisit does legally hold the PM seat and his party plus smaller parties are legally the current government.

'Elite' is a new term in the Thai political arena and it would be interesting to know where the word came from. Some people seems to be suddenly trying to use this word to say that the rich and wealthy are in some wrong way controlling Thailand -not entitled to hold office simply because they are welthy. Not exactly a valid or balanced comment.

In fact a sizeable percentage of the members of the democrat party and same in the coalition parties are neither wealthy or holding high social status. Thaksin himself has used this word numerous times in attempts to critizism the current government, but fails to remember that he was once had very high social status plus his (ex) wife holds the elite status of Khunying.

QUOTE

The tycoon's opponents in the Bangkok-based circles around the palace, military and bureaucracy accuse Thaksin of being corrupt, dictatorial and of threatening Thailand's widely revered monarchy.

UNQUOTE

"The tycoon's opponents in the Bangkok-based circles around the palace, military and bureaucracy accuse Thaksin of being corrupt, dictatorial ... " This is plaguerism copied from another very recent piece by a journalist from the same reporting agency. And further, I suggest 'circles around the place' is a totally inappropriate comment.

QUOTE

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said the ruling could help to find a solution to Thailand's intractable political divide but was not enough by itself.

"Certainly it's a political verdict, it has been all along. And not taking everything (from Thaksin) is a step in the direction towards a way out of this mess," Thitinan said.

"Taking everything would have been seen as unfair by many involved," he added.

UNQUOTE

So you quote from a statement made by one academic who by his own words shows a specific personal political agenda. Balanced reporting?

Throughout this piece there is close to zero comment of the other side of the events, discussions etc., to put balance into the article.

[rainman]

This was not a criminal case, only a civil case. Thaksin now can face several criminal charges.

Yes he does. Even if he does eventually end up with some of the money, it's not a huge victory for him if he eventually ends up with 30 year prison sentences, which is what he deserves and is what he faces with the multiple other still pending cases.

Let me run something by you guys. The court ruling for 46 b plus interest. Interest for minimum 10 years at say 5% per annual(minimum, as interest rates before were much higher then current). 5% on 46b over 10 years is way over 30b(and that's assuming it is not compounded)so in fact i do not think he will get any money if anything still owe money.

Your math doesn't make sense. The money wasn't frozen for 10 years without interest. And the 46 billion surely includes interest earned by Thaksin while it was in his bank accounts. Unless the courts can prove that he only left the profit in the account and always withdrew the interest. That's highly unlikely.

[rainman]

Hope this doesn't get deleted. It's visible to all to see right now...

To be honest, if someone took $1.4 billion from me, I wouldn't accept it either

[kimamey]

Maybe some farangs want to take an interest in Thailand it's culture and politics instead of just coming for sex and beer.

Then let them learn to read Thai or pay for translations!

I am learning Thai and a little Isaan as well which makes it harder. It should be easier when I move to Thailand. BTW in the UK as a taxpayer I pay for English documents to be translated into into dozens of languages some of which I've never heard of. If this was all kept in Thai how many people outside Thailand would have any idea what was going on. You certainly wouldn't be using the internet without people translating between languages. I wonder which language Thaksin uses most?

[h90]

Hope this doesn't get deleted. It's visible to all to see right now...

To be honest, if someone took $1.4 billion from me, I wouldn't accept it either

If someone can take 1.4 billion from me, I would accept it

[h90]

Hope this doesn't get deleted. It's visible to all to see right now...

did anyone expect anything else?

[rixalex]

Hope this doesn't get deleted. It's visible to all to see right now...

To be honest, if someone took $1.4 billion from me, I wouldn't accept it either

Guess graciousness isn't a virtue of thieves.

[kuffki]

This was not a criminal case, only a civil case. Thaksin now can face several criminal charges.

Yes he does. Even if he does eventually end up with some of the money, it's not a huge victory for him if he eventually ends up with 30 year prison sentences, which is what he deserves and is what he faces with the multiple other still pending cases.

Let me run something by you guys. The court ruling for 46 b plus interest. Interest for minimum 10 years at say 5% per annual(minimum, as interest rates before were much higher then current). 5% on 46b over 10 years is way over 30b(and that's assuming it is not compounded)so in fact i do not think he will get any money if anything still owe money.

Your math doesn't make sense. The money wasn't frozen for 10 years without interest. And the 46 billion surely includes interest earned by Thaksin while it was in his bank accounts. Unless the courts can prove that he only left the profit in the account and always withdrew the interest. That's highly unlikely.

yEAH But assuming that the interest is calculated from the time of wrong doing. so if he made(stole) all this money prior to becoming PM so the interest would be for at least 10 years.I am not 100% on all of these, but i have a strong feeling that the interest will add up to if not all 30b then very close to it, but i could be wrong as the court never clarified the interest part of the verdict

[marshbags]

Abuse of civil rights, extrajudicial killings

Unlikely because the entire govt would have to turn itself in.

Pardon me !!!

Which government re the EJK,s

You should be meaning the ruling TRT government of the day re this unsavoury part of his past.

You should also know it was overseen by an evil CEO who didn,t give a dam_n about the victims or the inhuman actions he publicly boasted about and continued to do so long after the rest of Thailand and the international community witnessed it all.

We wouldn,t want any members not up to speed on the facts being misled now would we !!!

At least the real red supporters aka Thaksins paid for backup are out front with their support / cause.

My guess is that you are making these sort of harmful and misleading comments / statements to cause offence and get reaction, well on this occasion you got it.

marshbags

Edited February 27, 2010 by marshbags

[marshbags]

I,m not sure if it has been commented on already but it won,t harm things to state the obvoius facts re this case.

The seizing of assets is, in the correct after the judgement terminology.

Profits from crime against Thailand and are confiscated as such.

This is not the punishment for his proven crimes, this will only happen if and when he returns to Thailand to face justice.

Not only should he get the appropriate jail time for his crimes relating to yesterdays judgement, but also the seizing of more of his illgotten gains and proceeds that came from them. were ever the can be located and there return to their rightful owners.

Thailand and it,s loyal law abiding, hard working, tax paying members of society / citizens

It,s amazing really, yesterday T.Visa provided an excellent live comentary on what was happening over a preriod of 7 and a half hours, yet many on this new thread offering after the event comments and snide remarks chose not to take part in what was an equally excellent and very good live debate as things progressed throughout the time period it was open.

The court also during this time went to great lengths to read both side of the proceedings and also spent real time explaining in detail the reasons for their judgments and the reasons why. YesI know but it was 7 and a half hours.

Last of all re interest on the 46 plus billions, and this is important,..it does not start from when his illgotten gains were seized, It starts ( or should ) from the date he started filling his coffers from the proven mis uses of power and convictions on 26-03-10

All dedicated debators were onboard yeterday and those that were not IMHO missed their chance to be a part of the real debate and undermined themselves by waiting until now, only after the event and it has given them time to pick what they consider is injustice to this convicted felon and abuser of his authority as ex PM while he was in the priviledged position of leading this great country and it,s loyal citizens.

Plus of course, once again, snide comments and the casting of phoney aspersions................. to what I ask myself and for what positive purpose ???

marshbags

Edited February 27, 2010 by marshbags

[fullcave]

Well hopefully he's learned his lesson and will take a step back now..

[kimamey]

I,m not sure if it has been commented on already but it won,t harm things to state the obvoius facts re this case.

The seizing of assets is, in the correct after the judgement terminology.

Profits from crime against Thailand and are confiscated as such.

This is not the punishment for his proven crimes, this will only happen if and when he returns to Thailand to face justice.

Not only should he get the appropriate jail time for his crimes relating to yesterdays judgement, but also the seizing of more of his illgotten gains and proceeds that came from them.

It,s amazing really, yesterday T.Visa provided an excellent live comentary on what was happening over a preriod of 7 and a half hours, yet many on this new thread offering after the event comments and snide remarks chose not to take part in what was an equally excellent and very good live debate as things progressed throughout the time period it was open.

The court also during this time went to great lengths to read both side of the proceedings and also spent real time explaining in detail the reasons for their judgments and the reasons why. YesI know but it was 7 and a half hours.

Last of all re interest on the 46 plus billions..it does not start from when his illgotten gains were seized, It starts ( or should ) form the date he started filling his coffers from the proven mis uses of power and convictions on 26-03-10

All dedicated debators were onboard yeterday and those that were not IMHO missed their chance to be a part of the real debate and undermined themselves by waiting until now, only after the event and it has given them time to pick what they consider is injustice to this convicted felon and abuser of his authority as ex PM while he was in the priviledged position of leading this great country and it,s loyal citizens.

Plus of course, once again, snide comments and cast phoney aspersions to what ???

marshbags

Some good points.

I am in the UK so I was working and I doubt that I would understand what was going on so I have to rely on whot others tell me so I haven't really commented much on the verdict only on some of the comments made.

I'm not really sure how you can debate something when you are not allowed to disagree. In my opinion a lot of the restrictions regarding comments on court hearings and the monarchy just give the impression there is something to hide when there probably isn't. Saying something positive has little of the impact and sincerity you may wish if nobody can disagree so you are unable to really support anything or anyone.

This is just my opinion and does not mean that I have anything negative to say.

[marshbags]

Lets not forget the interest, which will also be seized and will also be a large portion. Wonder how much that will be amount to, could also be a large sum.

As a singular observation in case it was missed.

Let us also not forget Thaksins liabilites re the true interest of what was confiscated... 46 billion plus that should be back dated to the time of his offences and the illicit gaining of the mentioned sum.

marshbags

Edited February 27, 2010 by marshbags

[brahmburgers]

It should be understood that the 76 billion baht (not counting %) is not Thaksin's full ball of wax. The Shinawats had 9 months, between the time he was ousted by the coup, ...until the assets/money was frozen.

Nine months is a lot of time to shuttle valuables out of Thailand - particularly when there are no baggage checks when leaving - as happened. Thaksin himself was shown to have taken over 30 large suitcases out of the country just before the coup. Ms Pojamin (in particular) and the other family members were observed taking multiple large overstuffed suitcases out in the weeks after the coup. Not once were there any checks by authorities, even though the Shinawats were technically 'civilians' as soon as the coup was successful. However, authorities were too awed and cowed to check any baggage leaving Thailand. Then there were probably multiple money transfers to overseas accounts during those times.

As for the verdict, it made sense in lieu of the pressure/threats from Red factions. However, a truly fair verdict would have confiscated not only the ill-gotten gains, but also levied a fine for illegal behavior. If a bank robber gets convicted, he's probably liable to pay more than just the amount he stole from the bank.

.....Making it too hard for you to gossip about something that has nothing to do with you. This is what people seem to be forgetting, it is Thailand's issue not the world's. Rest assured anyway that the international government's are keeping a close eye and will be sure to pass any safety warnings on but as for the verdict? That has nothing to do with anyone but the Thai people so you will need to find something else to gossip about and dribble

It has a lot to do with some foreigners, particularly those that are integrally involved with Thailand. Some of us have been here for decades. If Thailand didn't have such a restrictive limit on farang becoming Thais (if they were 1/10th as liberal as Americans, for example) many of us would probably have Thai passports, or at least dual citizenship.

I want to see Thailand get on with making improvements. Unfortunately, 90% of legislators and jurists are fixated on the antics of the Shinawats, and nothing worthwhile is getting done - particularly on government level. Thaksin is like a drunk monkey who keeps running on to the political stage, and everyone is compelled to turn their attention to his self-pitying gyrations. Everyone except those in the pay of the Shanawats want Thailand to get back on track to making improvements - and there are plenty of issues to address - without being continually distracted by Thaksin's childish fibs and his Napoleonic visions of grandeur.

Edited February 27, 2010 by brahmburgers

[ozzieal]

Respect and compliments to the members of the court who had to work through mountains of documents to arrive at a correct decision.

'correct' what u on about?

'respect and compliments' - get a life, that is their highly paid job

and for the record all the educated ex-pats here bet on a 60 - 40 result against thaksin, because thats how this country operates = kao jai mai

sawasdee krap

[George4]

76 Billion 46 Billion I have no idea how much Thaksin is worth but if he has 76 Billion left and he spent 1baht for every second he was on the planet (84,000 baht per day)it would take him around 1,428 years to spend it.

I doubt if he will lose much sleep over this.

[rainman]

If a bank robber gets convicted, he's probably liable to pay more than just the amount he stole from the bank.

Are you serious? Show me a bank robber that was convicted for stealing 1 million dollars and then ordered to pay back 2 million dollars, for example.

[shawndoc]

If a bank robber gets convicted, he's probably liable to pay more than just the amount he stole from the bank.

Are you serious? Show me a bank robber that was convicted for stealing 1 million dollars and then ordered to pay back 2 million dollars, for example.

You are correct they won't, but they will spend a bit of time in the monkey house.

And in the US, its not unusual to have to pay large fines for criminal charges, or for their to be punitive damages in civil cases.

Heck, right now if you just make a music file available for download on a P2P service in America, you face a MINIMUM statutory fine of $750. No one even needs to be able to have downloaded it. So a sharing a song that sells for $.89 on iTunes, will cost you a minimum of $750 if you are caught sharing it.

[kimamey]

ANALYSIS

By Vaudine England, BBC News, Bangkok

By choosing to confiscate some, but not all of Mr Thaksin's known assets, the court has managed to dampen arguments from his "red shirt" supporters that the entire judiciary is suborned to a military-bureaucratic elite which intends to finish off Mr Thaksin once and for all.

But it will also weaken the government's demonisation of Mr Thaksin. It appears to be saying that the former prime minister did cheat on the hiding and increase of his fortune, but he was significantly and legitimately wealthy when he entered office. He remains a rich man by any standards.

What this verdict will not do is heal the divisions in this country, polarised by Mr Thaksin's hugely popular appeal and the threat this poses to the military-bureaucratic elite. The 2006 coup that deposed him continues to damage the legitimacy of the current military-backed government of Abhisit Vejajjiva - this basic issue also goes well beyond one man and his money.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8538013.stm

LaoPo

Another fatuous and completely predictable contribution from a foreign journalist, in this case one based in Hong Kong whose experience seems largely restricted to Hong Kong and Jakarta. Looking through a glass darkly while applying the filters of western cultural canons is not the most reliable way to inform one's readership. I'd give more credence to the views of Thaivisa.com posters who actually live here, talk to the people and see what's going on around them, but that makes it all too complicated, doesn't it - not suited to an editor's demand for a quick and compact response.

I think you'll find Vaudine England has lived in Bangkok and will understand the issues involved. She is after all only giving her view of the situation which is probably much broader than many of the posters on this forum although they are just as valid.

[kimamey]

If they can't get it right, how on earth is anyone in the "outside" world going to understand how complex this is - and that it is not just about Thaksin ?

I think she said it was not just about one man and his money.

[SomTumTiger]

If they can't get it right, how on earth is anyone in the "outside" world going to understand how complex this is - and that it is not just about Thaksin ?

I think she said it was not just about one man and his money.

But of course, we all know that it is only about 1 man and his money. So it seems that she doesn't understand fully lol.