Thailand's Thaksin Says Amnesty Key To Reconciliation

[smedly]

There's that word again "reconcilliation" does anyone see were it fits into the current political or social climate in Thailand - it's beyond me

"Amnesty" - give back all the billions of baht you extorted from the Thai people throughout your corrupt political abuse of office and maybe just maybe some might begin to think about it, as I understand it you need to be in the country doing your time before it will be considered anyway = not as a criminal on the run, not to mention other charges pending if you ever set your corrupt foot in Thailand again but of course this man is above the law

[rubl]

"The ouster prime minister Thaksin said that reconciliation was about forgiveness. He hoped people in Thailand, including its constitutional court, could move forward to create democratic manners."

http://en.republika....-reconciliation

[animatic]

"Everyone says the same thing, that reconciliation must include amnesty," he told a panel discussion at the Strategic Review Forum in Jakarta.

I'm sure that Thaksin would never do two years, probably not more than one hour. The reason he so desperately wants amnesty is likely because as a convicted criminal he can't be prime minister and the red shirt leaders want amnesty as well. Jatuporn, Nuttawhut and the rest have their televised statements about burning city halls etc. hanging over their heads for any future government to use against them.

Well, and all the other charges waiting for him,

that he can't stall or remove from their processes if he is still convicted.

He MUST go to court on them if he is in custody for the land deal charges.

All together at his age they amount to life in prison. so yeah he wants them stopped dead.

[p_brownstone]

I am seriously beginning to wonder if Thaksins' and his parties' policies are not being deliberately designed to destroy Thailand both socially and economically, perhaps as a maniacal revenge because he now realises he has little chance of returning to Thailand.

The constant refrain about "reconciliation", Charter amendments etc. merely stirs the Red and Yellow mobs to more confrontation and social division.

Populist and totally unsustainable policies are now so embedded in the Thai Economic order that it will be impossible to roll them back without causing even more resentment from the Red shirt mob, even though the evidence of the destruction these policies cause is there for them to see. As an example the Rice pledging scheme with its' so-called guaranteed prices for farmers, far above world Market prices, has not benefited farmers but has reduced Thai Rice exports by about 40%, left the Government with warehouses full of unsold rice and lost Thailand the place of top Rice exporter in the world - a position it had held for many years. Despite all of which the Government - i.e. Thaksin - has already stated that the Policy will be continued next year.

Another example is the ridiculous increase in the Minimum Wage and the basic Salary for a Graduate - at a stroke these schemes destroyed Thailands' competitiveness vis a vis neighbouring Countries who either had a cheaper workforce or a better educated one, has already rendered thousands of Thai workers unemployed, sent many Companies to set up in other Asian Countries and again reduced Thailands' Export earnings..

That is only two examples of course but there are many others and I am becoming more and more convinced that there is a pattern in all of this.

Patrick

Edited July 18, 2012 by p_brownstone

[animatic]

Is it not a crime in this corrupt country for politicians to have contact with convicted criminals who have evaded the law?

don't think so.

Apparently it is an Election Platform Plank.

Which show how far 'through the looking glass' this place is.

Edited July 18, 2012 by animatic

[animatic]

Just to remind all that this is not about Thaksin

"2012-04-01

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party deputy spokesperson Sunisa Lertpakawat said she believed the Democrats have lost touch with reality by proposing strategies to develop the country that have no specific target and lack details. "The Democrat plan focuses only on winning elections but they have not touched on political morality and ethics. Their plan is only to bring Abhisit, their leader back to power,'' she said."

http://www.asianewsn...?id=29190&sec=2

Just parroting their opposition so they can pretend to take the high road

[Yunla]

Just to remind all that this is not about Thaksin

"2012-04-01

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party deputy spokesperson Sunisa Lertpakawat said she believed the Democrats have lost touch with reality by proposing strategies to develop the country that have no specific target and lack details. "The Democrat plan focuses only on winning elections but they have not touched on political morality and ethics. Their plan is only to bring Abhisit, their leader back to power,'' she said."

http://www.asianewsn...?id=29190&sec=2

Just parroting their opposition so they can pretend to take the high road

Yes, and infact that quote by Sunisa, is a whole complete untruth.

DP and Abhisit have been in parliament doing their elected jobs as MP's, demanding repeatedly that Yingluck attends parliament and engages in unscripted debates relating to her incendiary bills, DP have tried to make PTP focus on the critical infrastructural problems facing Thailand today and for PTP to enact reform bills instead of nepotistic freedom-for-my-brother bills.

DP and Abhisit have been criticising the moral black-hole that is Somsak, in impeaching him they are acting as moral guardians of the democratic spirit of impartial debate. In this and in their attempts to redirect the parliamentary current towards reform bills, DP have acted within moral codes of conduct, despite being denied a proportional voice as they would have been granted by a normal impartial House Speaker.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Yunla

[Soupdragon]

Thaksin has never admitted any wrong doing. How can he ask for forgiveness ?

[Siripon]

The Reconcilation War continues with the Battle for an Amnesty entering its 3rd month.

As in many wars, innocent civilians have fared the worst, forced to listen to torturous interpretations of the current charter for hours on end.

So far only light weapons have been deployed, namely sheets of paper hurled in rapid motion, a chair was removed but seems to have been replaced.

Spies are evident, as the House Speaker found out to his embarrassment, but in spite of exhortations for the men to pack their bags and be ready to bid their loved ones farewell, the 'phoney war', as in 1939, seems set to continue.

[GentlemanJim]

I am seriously beginning to wonder if Thaksins' and his parties' policies are not being deliberately designed to destroy Thailand both socially and economically, perhaps as a maniacal revenge because he now realises he has little chance of returning to Thailand.

The constant refrain about "reconciliation", Charter amendments etc. merely stirs the Red and Yellow mobs to more confrontation and social division.

Populist and totally unsustainable policies are now so embedded in the Thai Economic order that it will be impossible to roll them back without causing even more resentment from the Red shirt mob, even though the evidence of the destruction these policies cause is there for them to see. As an example the Rice pledging scheme with its' so-called guaranteed prices for farmers, far above world Market prices, has not benefited farmers but has reduced Thai Rice exports by about 40%, left the Government with warehouses full of unsold rice and lost Thailand the place of top Rice exporter in the world - a position it had held for many years. Despite all of which the Government - i.e. Thaksin - has already stated that the Policy will be continued next year.

Another example is the ridiculous increase in the Minimum Wage and the basic Salary for a Graduate - at a stroke these schemes destroyed Thailands' competitiveness vis a vis neighbouring Countries who either had a cheaper workforce or a better educated one, has already rendered thousands of Thai workers unemployed, sent many Companies to set up in other Asian Countries and again reduced Thailands' Export earnings..

That is only two examples of course but there are many others and I am becoming more and more convinced that there is a pattern in all of this.

Patrick

Patrick

I agree completely. I said this a few months ago. I am convinced that Thaksin knows that a favourable return is unlikely and he has embarked on a destructive vendetta to make the Thai people pay. It is soooo like him.

[craigt3365]

A post suggesting violence has been removed from view, along with a number of replies.

[virtualtraveller]

This goes against increasing opinion that the amnesty law will just make reconciliation worse, it will dismay a lot of people, mostly the honest tax payers who don't need to be forgiven. Basically, Thaksin's message here is, I will create trouble and hold this country ransom to peace until I get my freedom.

The AFP article is simplistic, the monarchy threat has nothing to do with Thaksin getting forgiven.

[asiawatcher]

Amnesty? And whose agenda is that and who would benefit. What a crock of ....

[soundman]

Off topic posts removed from view.

[epicstuff]

if he'd served his time he'd be a free man now..

if the courts and the constitution want to keep any credability they can't give amnesty, surly..

won't that set a pesident that we can all commit grand larson run away for a while and be forgiven after a little knees up in variious countries around the world.

[SuneeTH]

Amnesty? And whose agenda is that and who would benefit. What a crock of ....

The coup master for treason.

Mark & Suthep for the order to use life bullets which possible led to 92 death.

Edited July 18, 2012 by SuneeTH

[Valentine]

Amnesty? And whose agenda is that and who would benefit. What a crock of ....

The coup master for treason.

Mark & Suthep for the order to use life bullets which possible led to 92 death.

They have already stated they do not want amnesty.

[Canada]

Thailand would be better off if he ceased to exist.

[SuneeTH]

Thailand would be better off if he ceased to exist.

Becareful. How do you mean by he?

[Canada]

Taksin of course.

[whybother]

if he'd served his time he'd be a free man now..

if the courts and the constitution want to keep any credability they can't give amnesty, surly..

won't that set a pesident that we can all commit grand larson run away for a while and be forgiven after a little knees up in variious countries around the world.

If he'd served any of his two years, he'd probably be in jail for some of his other crimes by now.

[warfie]

Thailand's Thaksin says amnesty key to reconciliation

JAKARTA, July 17, 2012 (AFP) - Thailand's fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra Tuesday called for a highly-controversial amnesty, saying it is a "key to reconciliation" and long overdue.

"Everyone says the same thing, that reconciliation must include amnesty," he told a panel discussion at the Strategic Review Forum in Jakarta.

"It's long overdue for Thailand to bring about reconciliation. "If you learn how to forgive, that's the only key, it's the key to reconciliation. I'd like to urge all parties in Thailand to forgive."

Thailand's government in June said it was postponing voting in parliament on controversial "reconciliation" proposals that have stoked political tensions in the divided kingdom.

The bills are strongly opposed by opposition MPs who fear they will be used to grant an amnesty to Thaksin, ousted by royalist generals in a 2006 coup.

Thaksin, a former telecoms tycoon who lives in Dubai to avoid a jail term for corruption, is loved by many rural and poor Thais for his populist policies while in power, but hated by the elite who see him as a threat to the monarchy.

Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra is now prime minister following a landslide election win by her brother's party last year. One of the draft laws, which aims to amend the kingdom's constitution, has angered royalists who see it as an attempt to weaken the monarchy.

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Friday found complaints against plans by Yingluck's party to amend the constitution -- drawn up under the military junta that deposed Thaksin -- were unfounded.

Thaksin denied his desire to return to Thailand was linked to the court ruling. "I don't think the Constitutional Court has anything to do with (whether) I'm going back or not," he said. "We'd like to see the constitution amended in a democratic way.

" Thousands of royalist "Yellow Shirt" protesters blockaded parliament in May to prevent the house from discussing the reconciliation plans.

In 2010 mass protests by Thaksin's "Red Shirt" supporters against the previous government descended into the kingdom's worst civil violence in decades, with more than 90 people killed in a military crackdown.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual

persons, living or dead, or events past or present, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to

this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited."

[ratcatcher]

Thailand would be better off if he ceased to exist.

Becareful. How do you mean by he?

As if there was any doubt as to whom he was referring, The topic is Thaksin not somebody else. .

[Canada]

Thailand would be better off if he ceased to exist.

Becareful. How do you mean by he?

As if there was any doubt as to whom he was referring, The topic is Thaksin not somebody else. .

Thank you.

[Tatsujin]

He is working on the principal that if you tell a lie enough times, people actually start to believe it.

Yeah, it's worked well for him so far . . . why change? lol

[waza]

Ousted Thai premier premier Thaksin Shinawatra ©, flanked by Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (L) and Nobel laureate and former East Timor president Jose Ramos Horta ® attend the first Strategic Review Forum in Jakarta on July 17, 2012. The three Southeast Asian prominent political figures were panelist in the forum on peace and reconciliation in Southeast Asia.

How embarrasing is this for Thailand, having a convicted criminal and a fugitive from justice as a panelist in the forum on peace and reconciliation. A person who has being the catalyst of all Thailands recent troubles. An alledged perpetrator of crimes against humanity and a finacier and agitator for the fractionisation of Thai society creating violent disunity in the Thai community and viloent public disorder in the streets of Bangkok. Its abhorrent to see him sitting with Jose Ramos Horta a Nobel laureate, a man honoured, like a parasite trying to leech credibility and honour through association. Its like a pedophile on a child safety forum.

Yingluck should immediately come out and repudiate any association between Thaksins attendance and Thailand and its government. After all if his conviction was political his pet government should be able to prove it now in a climate where all political interference would be pro Thaksin.

[hansnl]

This guy is the sole reason for the current political climate in Thailand. And reconciiliation is for his benefit only. The man is a coward. If he cares about Thais and Thailand then he needs to do one of 2 things. Shut up or come home and go directly to jail. Then I am sure we can all move forward.

If he cares about Thais and Thailand?

Of course he does not give a d*mn about Thailand but the possibilities he gets to rob the country.

And the Thais are only there to be used by him for the robbing mentioned above.

Poor Thailand, poor people

[hawker9000]

Of course, to a criminal amnesty is always a good idea. To a hungry person, so are free steak dinners.

You just have to laugh.

[Reasonableman]

Of course, to a criminal amnesty is always a good idea. To a hungry person, so are free steak dinners.

You just have to laugh.

[Jingthing]

Mr. Thaksin is fooling fewer of the people, less of the time. Must be extremely frustrating for him! Poor, poor dear, bless his heart.