In Your Opinion, Is Thaksin Guilty Of Terrorism?

[Ulysses G.]

A lot of people in the USA used to donate a lot of funds to the IRA also. Many collections were made in bars and other places from Irish Americans and others.

A small percetage of Americans contributed to the IRA (which was wrong IMHO), so it is a real stretch to blame it on the whole country. Your point that it should not have happened is valid, but smearing the USA for the actions of a few dense Irish-American is absurd.

[mca]

Therefore if Bin Laden or others supply funds to people who commit terrorist acts, that makes them what exactly?

Obviously, terrorists. If they can legally establish a direct connection with the intention as well, they've got a strong case.

If that were the case the CIA would be locked up within a week.

[tigerfish]

A lot of people in the USA used to donate a lot of funds to the IRA also. Many collections were made in bars and other places from Irish Americans and others.

A small percetage of Americans contributed to the IRA (which was wrong IMHO), so it is a real stretch to blame it on the whole country. Your point that it should not have happened is valid, but smearing the USA for the actions of a few dense Irish-American is absurd.

a few dense irish-americans being, a certain well known family who happened to dabble in american politics

[TAWP]

I voted that I don't know since as far as I have seen he has incited riots and so on, but not outright terrorist-actions. However, evidence might be revealed regarding covert plans during the trial.

[Huey]

hel_l yes, and I hope they catch him and put him under for that.

[Who, me ?]

And if you give to support people on a peaceful demonstration......and later a faction turns violent.....

How then are you a terrorist?

When has it been a peaceful demonstration?

[rixalex]

And if you give to support people on a peaceful demonstration......and later a faction turns violent.....

How then are you a terrorist?

Perhaps you might not be considered a terrorist if the moment the movement became violent you completely severed all ties and condemned the group. Don't recall Thaksin doing that.

[tom21]

he may be guilty of many thing but terrorism is not one of them

[Jingthing]

2 to 1 anti-Thaksin/anti-red. This has been the pattern here for many months here on numerous polls.

[NaiGreg]

Funny ... the exact same poll numbers in the "Do you think OJ Simpson is guilty?" poll.

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Lunatic fringe.

[NaiGreg]

he may be guilty of many thing but terrorism is not one of them

I suspect the government has plenty of witness testimony from the "big rats" and the financial institutions that we are not privy to. I can't imagine them authorizing a warrant like this on a whim.

[SamritT]

I don't know of Thaksin Guilty Of Terrorism?

Maybe yes maybe no.

But I am sure that the 2 Farang is 100% Guilty Of Terrorism.

The English guy and the Australian guy.

[scorecard]

And if you give to support people on a peaceful demonstration......and later a faction turns violent.....

How then are you a terrorist?

In theory you can leave. However there have been stories on the various news media that people were prevented from leaving / their ID cards were taken etc.

In a nutshell, IMHO:

- Many red shirt leaders are terrorists

- Many red shirt followers are not terrorists

- Thaksin is a terrorist

[scorecard]

The whole purpose of issuing a warrant is PR, no more than that. Have no doubt whatsoever that if Thailand genuinely wanted him back to face trial in Thailand then they would do so a charge that could be dealt with far more easily by any court that had a valid extradition treaty with Thailand. As it is the Thai's have shot themselves in the foot...again. They wanted to proclaim to the world that he is a terrorist, they better hope that the warrant is never executed, at least in Europe. The attendant revelations of an ex-PM aired to the world would hardly be what the Thai government would seek to give oxygen to.

The reason why I say they have shot themselves in the foot is this. An extradition request takes if the suspect is residing in a country where the warrant can be applied then you can seek to lay evidence with that nations prosecuting authority that the warrant be executed. But there is another provision, I quote loosely from the UK provisions but any European nation has similar provisions :

" Provisional arrest is used when there is a perceived risk of flight, when the suspect may only be in the country for a short time etc, this may be applied by any constable etc""

We are talking about a man who has his own jet aircraft....gives a whole new meaning to the "perceived risk of flight"

This is really put up or shut up time for the Thai's. Thaksin could possibly be arrested now. Do you seriously believe there is any evidence that he has supported terrorism ?In legal terms ?

Not that I have seen, which proscribed terrorist movements is he alleged to have funded ? What terrorist acts has he supported ? Maybe I missed something but I have only seen him support peaceful regime change in legal terms.

He may well be an evil sod but on this showing he's a lot smarter than those who would seek to pursue him.

'Peaceful', you must have had been asleep for the last 18 months or more.

[GM1955]

A lot of people in the USA used to donate a lot of funds to the IRA also. Many collections were made in bars and other places from Irish Americans and others.

A small percetage of Americans contributed to the IRA (which was wrong IMHO), so it is a real stretch to blame it on the whole country. Your point that it should not have happened is valid, but smearing the USA for the actions of a few dense Irish-American is absurd.

By 1954 the Americans also paid for 80% of Frances war with Vietnam, and lots of money was coming from USA for the IRA. These are just facts.

Don't take it personal, you have no control over what the government does once they are in power, same as here, same as UK, same as everywhere.

They all lie.

The Afghanis were Freedom fighters when they were supported by the US when they were fighting with Russia, now they are Terrorists when they are fighting with USA and UK.

It's all politics and money, if Vietnam had been in the centre of Africa and of no strategic importance, not one American Soldier would have been there and you can bet your azz that if Burma had 70% of the worlds oil reserves, Uncle Sam and The Brits would have 'liberated' the people already.

Edited May 26, 2010 by GM1955

[lannarebirth]

I voted not sure, though I have strong suspicions. I'm pretty sure he has incited and probably funded insurrection against a legitimate sitting government though. I wonder why they don't bring those charges?

[blackman]

I'd need to see the evidence the govt. has before determining whether or not someone is guilty of such a serious crime.

That issue is covered in the OP. If you don't have an opinion yet, vote no opinion. This is only about people's OPINIONS. Not the same thing as legal proof and never will be. Cheers.

If nothing else, I reckon Thaksin's lawyer Robert Amsterdam may be curious about the general direction of public opinion about his client.

i have a couple of questions for discussion about Robert Amsterdam

Lawyering in Thailand is a protected profession, so he has no jurisdiction or valid qualifications here.

if he claims he is a lawyer working for Thaksin, a Thai citizen, when he is in Thailand:

is that breaking employment law?

also he admits he did visit the rally site and talk with the protest leaders whilst in Thaksins employ

presumably he was not doing it for free

isn't that working and in breach of any visa he may hold?

also if he was representing Thaksin at the rally site, then is he supporting terrorism and criminal activity on behalf of his client

does that make him guilty of conspiracy ?

[phuketrichard]

I'd need to see the evidence the govt. has before determining whether or not someone is guilty of such a serious crime.

That issue is covered in the OP. If you don't have an opinion yet, vote no opinion. This is only about people's OPINIONS. Not the same thing as legal proof and never will be. Cheers.

If nothing else, I reckon Thaksin's lawyer Robert Amsterdam may be curious about the general direction of public opinion about his client.

If he wants to look at public opinion, it will not be on here, nor on Thai Army Media.

If you are happy with it, enjoy it, but most will get their news and information from reliable sources.

There is much to come from Mr Amsterdam. Slowly slowly catchy Abhisit and Suthep

Actually, the opinions of people here who have been following the Thai political crisis for years is much more informed than international people who just starting hearing about Thailand's trouble's recently. I suppose Amsterdam does care about the less sophisticated world opinion because he now has to fight for Thaksin to be able to travel to at least SOME countries.

I have no doubt there is more to come from Mr. Amsterdam! He's a good lawyer after all and the meter is running.

New York Ambulance chaser.. doe sthat mean he is a good lawyer? He is in it for the $$$$

[Jingthing]

I don't think Amsterdam can represent Thaksin in a Thai court, if it comes to that. He is more about the international angle, PR, press, etc.

[Sao Jiang Mai]

I voted yes as it is mere opinion. In my my opinion Thaksin is guilty of a multitude of sins, all pretty much along the lines of being ungrateful and dangerously detrimental to his homeland. What is funny is that every Thai person, red or otherwise, knows that Thaksin is behind this. No, we are not privvy to the government's evidence, but we all know that Thaksin - whether you support him or not - was the only man main man behind the redshirts movement. If you saw the Minister of Finance, Korn's interview with BBC last week, you will recall the last question when the interviewer asked him what proof he had that Thaksin had made encouraging phone-ins to the red rally...Korn just laughed and said everyone in Thaialnd had seen the clips. Poor poor job on the Beebs part to even ask such an asinine question. Whether or not Thaksin is behind all of this is not even a question for most Thais. The questions are more along the lines of 'did his means justify the ends' and for reds, I presume the answer is yes. For me, never.

[saintofsilence]

How about a poll on

Did you support the reds

Do you still report the reds

[rixalex]

I voted yes as it is mere opinion. In my my opinion Thaksin is guilty of a multitude of sins, all pretty much along the lines of being ungrateful and dangerously detrimental to his homeland. What is funny is that every Thai person, red or otherwise, knows that Thaksin is behind this. No, we are not privvy to the government's evidence, but we all know that Thaksin - whether you support him or not - was the only man main man behind the redshirts movement. If you saw the Minister of Finance, Korn's interview with BBC last week, you will recall the last question when the interviewer asked him what proof he had that Thaksin had made encouraging phone-ins to the red rally...Korn just laughed and said everyone in Thaialnd had seen the clips. Poor poor job on the Beebs part to even ask such an asinine question. Whether or not Thaksin is behind all of this is not even a question for most Thais. The questions are more along the lines of 'did his means justify the ends' and for reds, I presume the answer is yes. For me, never.

Well said.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Anyone voting yes needs to go look up what terrorism means in a dictionary, or google it.

[Sao Jiang Mai]

Would someone who pays to incite voilence on both random innocents (bombs) and to fight against the army as well as burning down a capital city in order to further his own agenda count?

[rixalex]

Anyone voting yes needs to go look up what terrorism means in a dictionary, or google it.

Without having looked it up, my understanding of the word "terrorism" is an act that deliberately creates terror for the benefit of one's cause. Am i wrong Winnie?

[saintofsilence]

Anyone voting yes needs to go look up what terrorism means in a dictionary, or google it.

Could you give us further details why he is not guilty of Terrorism ? Or your actual google links stating it is not Terrorism .

Edited May 27, 2010 by saintofsilence

[lannarebirth]

I voted yes as it is mere opinion. In my my opinion Thaksin is guilty of a multitude of sins, all pretty much along the lines of being ungrateful and dangerously detrimental to his homeland. What is funny is that every Thai person, red or otherwise, knows that Thaksin is behind this. No, we are not privvy to the government's evidence, but we all know that Thaksin - whether you support him or not - was the only man main man behind the redshirts movement. If you saw the Minister of Finance, Korn's interview with BBC last week, you will recall the last question when the interviewer asked him what proof he had that Thaksin had made encouraging phone-ins to the red rally...Korn just laughed and said everyone in Thaialnd had seen the clips. Poor poor job on the Beebs part to even ask such an asinine question. Whether or not Thaksin is behind all of this is not even a question for most Thais. The questions are more along the lines of 'did his means justify the ends' and for reds, I presume the answer is yes. For me, never.

I like to think of Thaksin as a toxin on the sovereign body of Thailand. He will either kill the body or make it stronger. The weakness he has rendered to the body has created the possibility of other opportunistic diseases to also attack the body. Thailand has an extremely weak immune system in the form of ineffectual and corrupt institutions. The government is late with a striong course of meds to knock down the toxin, but it may be too little too late. If he doesn't kill off Thailand it will be the stronger for it coming out the other side. Right now, I don't like her chances.

[sarahsbloke]

Whoever is the winning leader in any war is a brave honest freedom fighter.

Whoever is the losing leader in a war is a cowardly criminal and terrorist.

I think it is a little bit too early to decide who is which in Thailand just yet .............

(and jumping to the wrong decision prematurely may get you permanently excluded from the country in question)

Edited May 27, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[Roadman]

Terrorism seems to cover a wide range of offences as opposed to sedition, treason, murder and the like which seem to be very specific as to the type of offence.

As his brought and paid for stooge Sah Daeng pointed out "It ain't over till Thaksin says so". Guilty and would love to see the "I'm in for me only" scumbag doing hard time breaking rocks in a Thai prison for the rest of his life.

[mrtoad]

Yes - funding of the rallies , along with incitement and the links with Seh Daeng.