Thai analysis: Country awaits impeachment vote with bated breath

[webfact]

ANALYSIS
Country awaits vote with bated breath
The Nation

With the NLA set to decide tomorrow in the impeachment cases against Yingluck, Somsak and Nikom, many fear deepening of national divide

BANGKOK: -- The country is holding its breath for the vote tomorrow in the impeachment cases against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and former Parliament president Somsak Kiatsuranont and his deputy Nikom Wairatpanij, as the National Legislative Assembly concludes the debate on the cases today.

The legislative body needs 132 out of 220 votes to oust Yingluck and the two politicians from positions they no longer hold. But members of the junta-installed assembly want them to be banned from politics if the government calls an election later.

Many are worried about the deepening of national divisions and jeopardising the ongoing reform process.

The Federation of Thai Industries' chairman, Supant Mongkholsuthree, said the business sector was worried about the impeachment vote, fearing that resistance from Yingluck's supporters might deepen the political conflict in the country and even trigger violence that could damage the economy.

"There could be repercussions for the sluggish economy," he said, and added that the tourism sector, which is very vulnerable to the political situation, is the only remaining engine for economic growth.

Political analysts believe that Yingluck has a very slim chance of escaping impeachment, as the anti-graft body is determined to indict ministers in her Cabinet to prove huge corruption occurred under her watch.

The decisive factor in the voting would be the role of security officers who comprise more than half the seats in the NLA. It is said that they take their instructions only from the junta and the government.

The anti-graft body likely drove the last nail into the coffin when it said on Tuesday that a joint working group of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the Office of the Attorney-General had agreed to file a criminal case against Yingluck.

However, Deputy Attorney-General Vudhibhongse Vibulyawongse, who headed the state prosecutors in the working group, said yesterday that he was not aware of such a decision.

The NACC secretary-general, Sansern Poljieak, reiterated that the working group meeting on Tuesday, attended by three officials from the Office, had made the decision. "I don't know why the attorney-general's representatives didn't coordinate with their head, Vudhibhongse, about the decision," he said.

Members of Pheu Thai Party said an invisible hand was pulling the strings from behind to lobby some moderate members of NLA to impeach former premier Yingluck.

"The accusations by the National Anti-Corruption Committee (NACC) against former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and former deputy commerce minister Poom Sarapol were for political purposes in order to link Yingluck to the corruption," former Pheu Thai MP Somkid Chuakong said.

The fact that the NACC proceeded with these two cases before Yingluck's, as well as the use of the media to pressure the NLA could, somehow, be regarded as an attempt to discredit former Pheu Thai ministers, he said.

He said this kind of prejudice in some NLA members created negative political norms, ignoring rules and laws. "The only thing that interests them is the Shinawatra clan should leave politics," Somkid said.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said it was true that the NLA was created by the junta but the government cannot dictate the NLA decision.

Asked if an impeachment would affect reconciliation, Wissanu said, "We are jumping from the frying pan into the fire. We are inflicted with criticism from both sides; it's a case of damned if we do, damned if we don't," he said.

"But it does not mean we can sit still to have reconciliation," he said. "What we are doing is building the process and bringing the things through."

Yingluck was accused of negligence for allowing corruption in the rice pledging scheme while Somsak and Nikom were alleged of misconduct by proceeding with the amendment of the 2007 Constitution.

Norawich Lalang, Yingluck's lawyer, said the charges against ministers of false government-to-government rich purchases should not be mixed up with Yingluck's impeachment.

If the NLA members remain firm in their principles, they would see that the two cases are distinct, he said.

Yingluck will deliver her closing statement to the NLA today to convince the members of her innocence, Norawich added.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Country-awaits-vote-with-bated-breath-30252419.html


-- The Nation 2015-01-22

[tbthailand]

Predictions....

step 1 : impeach

step 2 : convict

step 3 : 'force' into exile

The current group in control are not imaginative, nor are they strategic geniuses. The military has forced opposition out of the country since Pridi.

It's a brute force method, but when you have a hammer, every problem is a nail.

[ExPratt]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

[Tatsujin]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Impeach, banned from politics, then convict, 5 year jail term + 2,000 baht fine, then "allowed" to leave the country to "visit relatives" (or the olympics cos that's due in a while too) whilst out on bail, never to return.

[jayboy]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Exatly.There is no excitement because the verdict was written into the script a long time ago.As "any fule kno" this has almost nothing to do with the rice price support policy.The epauletted Daleks do the bidding of those who hate democracy and hold their fellow Thai citizens in contempt.Will it all work? Yes, in the short run.In the long run it will fail of course.

[Mr Yim]

A 5 year ban from politics. She should be ok to stand in the next election then.

[ggt]

Country awaits vote with bated breath!

Have they eaten Som Tom?

[Baerboxer]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Exatly.There is no excitement because the verdict was written into the script a long time ago.As "any fule kno" this has almost nothing to do with the rice price support policy.The epauletted Daleks do the bidding of those who hate democracy and hold their fellow Thai citizens in contempt.Will it all work? Yes, in the short run.In the long run it will fail of course.

Any fool can pretend all things are "part of a bigger picture, a conspiracy, or should be judged on what's best for the country as a whole" to suit their agenda.

Thaksin and his puppet parties have shown time and again that they hold their fellow citizens in contempt and care not one bit for democracy and the rule of law.

Until politicians are held accountable, under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system, nothing will change apart from the names of those in office.

Someone wise once said the only real difference between communists and fascists was the way they salute. How appropriate as a metaphor.

[smedly]

what bothers me about stories like this "deepening the divide" "red protests" etc etc is that it might actually give people the idea and justification to do just that, one of the problems here with this type of reporting is that it is speculation on something that may or may not happen and therefore isn't news at all, in my humble opinion all this type of reporting does is put fuel on a fire that is for now well controlled if not almost completely extinguished, these types of articles are not helpful at all.

The editors time would be better spent concentrating on how peaceful Thailand is right now rather than unfounded predictions and speculation

[smedly]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Exatly.There is no excitement because the verdict was written into the script a long time ago.As "any fule kno" this has almost nothing to do with the rice price support policy.The epauletted Daleks do the bidding of those who hate democracy and hold their fellow Thai citizens in contempt.Will it all work? Yes, in the short run.In the long run it will fail of course.

and just how would you deal with an ex government that has cost the Thai people probably in excess of 1 trillion baht - a trophy is off the table

Most of the people affected could not even understand just how much money that actually is - what do all those zeros mean ? why so many ?....duh

[jayboy]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Exatly.There is no excitement because the verdict was written into the script a long time ago.As "any fule kno" this has almost nothing to do with the rice price support policy.The epauletted Daleks do the bidding of those who hate democracy and hold their fellow Thai citizens in contempt.Will it all work? Yes, in the short run.In the long run it will fail of course.

Any fool can pretend all things are "part of a bigger picture, a conspiracy, or should be judged on what's best for the country as a whole" to suit their agenda.

Thaksin and his puppet parties have shown time and again that they hold their fellow citizens in contempt and care not one bit for democracy and the rule of law.

Until politicians are held accountable, under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system, nothing will change apart from the names of those in office.

Someone wise once said the only real difference between communists and fascists was the way they salute. How appropriate as a metaphor.

Someone wise ? Only a fool would say such a thing.Yet it is somehow appropriate you seem to regard this as perceptive and informed.

[IMA_FARANG]

As unfair as it may be, I admit I'm hoping for some disruption, including street protests, to be started by a decision to impeach and remove them from politics.

That will cause a further slide in the Thai Baht against foreign currencies, especially the U.S. Dollar.

And that Baht slide will help my monthly dollar pension, and get me more Baht every month for my Dollars.

That may be unfair, but what has Thailand done for me lately?

And yes, I don't mind getting a little "payback" now for the years of (29.x) Baht to the dollar now that the Baht to Dollar rate is above 32 Baht to a dollar.

[brucec64]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Exatly.There is no excitement because the verdict was written into the script a long time ago.As "any fule kno" this has almost nothing to do with the rice price support policy.The epauletted Daleks do the bidding of those who hate democracy and hold their fellow Thai citizens in contempt.Will it all work? Yes, in the short run.In the long run it will fail of course.

Any fool can pretend all things are "part of a bigger picture, a conspiracy, or should be judged on what's best for the country as a whole" to suit their agenda.

Thaksin and his puppet parties have shown time and again that they hold their fellow citizens in contempt and care not one bit for democracy and the rule of law.

Until politicians are held accountable, under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system, nothing will change apart from the names of those in office.

Someone wise once said the only real difference between communists and fascists was the way they salute. How appropriate as a metaphor.

You hit the nail on the head:

under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system

The current process is far from a real justice system, and the rule of law is being made up as they go along in order to arrive at the desired result.

A good example is the NACC using dubious, and very unethical, tactics to declare that Yingluck would be indicted, when this is not the case according to OAG. And the NACC is supposed to represent the moral compass of the country!

This process is nothing more than a witch hunt, and the current group in power has shown to be just as corrupt and self-serving as the last.

[JAG]

what bothers me about stories like this "deepening the divide" "red protests" etc etc is that it might actually give people the idea and justification to do just that, one of the problems here with this type of reporting is that it is speculation on something that may or may not happen and therefore isn't news at all, in my humble opinion all this type of reporting does is put fuel on a fire that is for now well controlled if not almost completely extinguished, these types of articles are not helpful at all.

The editors time would be better spent concentrating on how peaceful Thailand is right now rather than unfounded predictions and speculation

A "warmer into the bank" for stricter controls on the press eh Smedley?

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Exatly.There is no excitement because the verdict was written into the script a long time ago.As "any fule kno" this has almost nothing to do with the rice price support policy.The epauletted Daleks do the bidding of those who hate democracy and hold their fellow Thai citizens in contempt.Will it all work? Yes, in the short run.In the long run it will fail of course.

Any fool can pretend all things are "part of a bigger picture, a conspiracy, or should be judged on what's best for the country as a whole" to suit their agenda.

Thaksin and his puppet parties have shown time and again that they hold their fellow citizens in contempt and care not one bit for democracy and the rule of law.

Until politicians are held accountable, under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system, nothing will change apart from the names of those in office.

Someone wise once said the only real difference between communists and fascists was the way they salute. How appropriate as a metaphor.

You hit the nail on the head:

under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system

The current process is far from a real justice system, and the rule of law is being made up as they go along in order to arrive at the desired result.

A good example is the NACC using dubious, and very unethical, tactics to declare that Yingluck would be indicted, when this is not the case according to OAG. And the NACC is supposed to represent the moral compass of the country!

This process is nothing more than a witch hunt, and the current group in power has shown to be just as corrupt and self-serving as the last.

Or another way of looking at it is that the OAG is bought and paid for, and might be the next group in the hot seat if they don't get their heads out of their <deleted> and do their damn job!!!

[marko kok prong]

Country awaits vote with bated breath!

Have they eaten Som Tom?

If they have added Plaa,lets hope so.

[sweatalot]

criminals have to be indicted and punished. Full stop.

If reconciliation means not to applie the law to criminals reconciliation should not be an option

[jayboy]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Exatly.There is no excitement because the verdict was written into the script a long time ago.As "any fule kno" this has almost nothing to do with the rice price support policy.The epauletted Daleks do the bidding of those who hate democracy and hold their fellow Thai citizens in contempt.Will it all work? Yes, in the short run.In the long run it will fail of course.

Any fool can pretend all things are "part of a bigger picture, a conspiracy, or should be judged on what's best for the country as a whole" to suit their agenda.

Thaksin and his puppet parties have shown time and again that they hold their fellow citizens in contempt and care not one bit for democracy and the rule of law.

Until politicians are held accountable, under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system, nothing will change apart from the names of those in office.

Someone wise once said the only real difference between communists and fascists was the way they salute. How appropriate as a metaphor.

You hit the nail on the head:

under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system

The current process is far from a real justice system, and the rule of law is being made up as they go along in order to arrive at the desired result.

A good example is the NACC using dubious, and very unethical, tactics to declare that Yingluck would be indicted, when this is not the case according to OAG. And the NACC is supposed to represent the moral compass of the country!

This process is nothing more than a witch hunt, and the current group in power has shown to be just as corrupt and self-serving as the last.

A perfectly reasonable point that politicians should be held to account - but this cannot be selective and the courts should not be mobilised in support of one political faction.In practical terms this means that those accused of presiding over murder of civilians,those involved in terrorism such as seizure of airports and those involved in high treason through grabbing power from an elected government - should also be held accountable.

[rubl]

Sometimes I wonder why I read posts here. A lot of the usual blundering totally ignoring that in a functioning democracy none of this RPPS and loss could have happened.

[rubl]

A perfectly reasonable point that politicians should be held to account - but this cannot be selective and the courts should not be mobilised in support of one political faction.In practical terms this means that those accused of presiding over murder of civilians,those involved in terrorism such as seizure of airports and those involved in high treason through grabbing power from an elected government - should also be held accountable.

One has to start somewhere.

The rest is the usual biased rubbish deflection. Only thing missing is 'fascists' and 'elite' I think.

[Robby nz]

Well she has had her say now, or more correctly read.

The lady boss, who is not particularly political, has just come down stairs from watching, listening, to her and tells me she is disgusted with the performance.

Says it was very obvious it was not her words she was reading and her body language gave a lie to everything she read.

If the NLA were similarly impressed then she has done herself no good at all.

[thaiguzzi]

A perfectly reasonable point that politicians should be held to account - but this cannot be selective and the courts should not be mobilised in support of one political faction.In practical terms this means that those accused of presiding over murder of civilians,those involved in terrorism such as seizure of airports and those involved in high treason through grabbing power from an elected government - should also be held accountable.

One has to start somewhere.

The rest is the usual biased rubbish deflection. Only thing missing is 'fascists' and 'elite' I think.

We all know you are biased too. But you are on the other side of the fence to me. I am biased, so i'll bite; "fascists and elite".

[jayboy]

A perfectly reasonable point that politicians should be held to account - but this cannot be selective and the courts should not be mobilised in support of one political faction.In practical terms this means that those accused of presiding over murder of civilians,those involved in terrorism such as seizure of airports and those involved in high treason through grabbing power from an elected government - should also be held accountable.

One has to start somewhere.

The rest is the usual biased rubbish deflection. Only thing missing is 'fascists' and 'elite' I think.

Biased rubbish deflection! Clearly a finely honed intellect at work.

[rubl]

A perfectly reasonable point that politicians should be held to account - but this cannot be selective and the courts should not be mobilised in support of one political faction.In practical terms this means that those accused of presiding over murder of civilians,those involved in terrorism such as seizure of airports and those involved in high treason through grabbing power from an elected government - should also be held accountable.

One has to start somewhere.

The rest is the usual biased rubbish deflection. Only thing missing is 'fascists' and 'elite' I think.

Biased rubbish deflection! Clearly a finely honed intellect at work.

You're learning and adapting. Good!

[Thai at Heart]

Yes its just so exciting . I wonder what will happen ?

Exatly.There is no excitement because the verdict was written into the script a long time ago.As "any fule kno" this has almost nothing to do with the rice price support policy.The epauletted Daleks do the bidding of those who hate democracy and hold their fellow Thai citizens in contempt.Will it all work? Yes, in the short run.In the long run it will fail of course.

Any fool can pretend all things are "part of a bigger picture, a conspiracy, or should be judged on what's best for the country as a whole" to suit their agenda.

Thaksin and his puppet parties have shown time and again that they hold their fellow citizens in contempt and care not one bit for democracy and the rule of law.

Until politicians are held accountable, under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system, nothing will change apart from the names of those in office.

Someone wise once said the only real difference between communists and fascists was the way they salute. How appropriate as a metaphor.

You hit the nail on the head:

under a rule of law, enforced by a real justice system

The current process is far from a real justice system, and the rule of law is being made up as they go along in order to arrive at the desired result.

A good example is the NACC using dubious, and very unethical, tactics to declare that Yingluck would be indicted, when this is not the case according to OAG. And the NACC is supposed to represent the moral compass of the country!

This process is nothing more than a witch hunt, and the current group in power has shown to be just as corrupt and self-serving as the last.

As guilty or not as guilty as Yingluck may be, the way this empeachment has happened is completely lacking in integrity. Note they state that the fact that the OAG has decided to go ahead with a criminal investigation in some way legitimizes this empeachment. Edited because having read the papers is now appears that the apparent show of solidarity with the Junta in pushing for a criminal case was a misnomer too. \Putting words in peoples mouths as they do with foreign embassies now extends to their own OAG.

Ummmm. What if she is found not guilty in court?

There is no way anyone can look at this mess and say it has been fair or unbiased, just look at the makeup of the NLA. Half of them are career soldiers. It is a very bad joke of a system.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Thai at Heart

[PepperMe]

As unfair as it may be, I admit I'm hoping for some disruption, including street protests, to be started by a decision to impeach and remove them from politics.

That will cause a further slide in the Thai Baht against foreign currencies, especially the U.S. Dollar.

And that Baht slide will help my monthly dollar pension, and get me more Baht every month for my Dollars.

That may be unfair, but what has Thailand done for me lately?

And yes, I don't mind getting a little "payback" now for the years of (29.x) Baht to the dollar now that the Baht to Dollar rate is above 32 Baht to a dollar.

Any protest coming from this is nothing more than a badly veiled threat that simply will never happen.

Everyone knows that ANY disorder will be dealt with almost immediately.

We are still under martial law you know.

In the meantime.

Members of Pheu Thai Party said an invisible hand was pulling the strings from behind to lobby some moderate members of NLA to impeach former premier Yingluck.

Meaning those who are quite relaxed with massive corruption in the politisphere.

[Thai at Heart]

As unfair as it may be, I admit I'm hoping for some disruption, including street protests, to be started by a decision to impeach and remove them from politics.

That will cause a further slide in the Thai Baht against foreign currencies, especially the U.S. Dollar.

And that Baht slide will help my monthly dollar pension, and get me more Baht every month for my Dollars.

That may be unfair, but what has Thailand done for me lately?

And yes, I don't mind getting a little "payback" now for the years of (29.x) Baht to the dollar now that the Baht to Dollar rate is above 32 Baht to a dollar.

Any protest coming from this is nothing more than a badly veiled threat that simply will never happen.

Everyone knows that ANY disorder will be dealt with almost immediately.

We are still under martial law you know.

In the meantime.

Members of Pheu Thai Party said an invisible hand was pulling the strings from behind to lobby some moderate members of NLA to impeach former premier Yingluck.

Meaning those who are quite relaxed with massive corruption in the politisphere.

And what a complete bloodbath that would be. Do you really think the army would send out the troops in isaan? They would get lynched.

[GAS]

As unfair as it may be, I admit I'm hoping for some disruption, including street protests, to be started by a decision to impeach and remove them from politics.

That will cause a further slide in the Thai Baht against foreign currencies, especially the U.S. Dollar.

And that Baht slide will help my monthly dollar pension, and get me more Baht every month for my Dollars.

That may be unfair, but what has Thailand done for me lately?

And yes, I don't mind getting a little "payback" now for the years of (29.x) Baht to the dollar now that the Baht to Dollar rate is above 32 Baht to a dollar.

Thailand does not owe you anything.

Nice to see you put money ahead of peoples lives and well being. When there are street protests, people get hurt, sometimes they die, including innocents caught in the crossfire.

No one cares about your stupid pension, if you are that broke go home.

[elgordo38]

As unfair as it may be, I admit I'm hoping for some disruption, including street protests, to be started by a decision to impeach and remove them from politics.

That will cause a further slide in the Thai Baht against foreign currencies, especially the U.S. Dollar.

And that Baht slide will help my monthly dollar pension, and get me more Baht every month for my Dollars.

That may be unfair, but what has Thailand done for me lately?

And yes, I don't mind getting a little "payback" now for the years of (29.x) Baht to the dollar now that the Baht to Dollar rate is above 32 Baht to a dollar.

Yeah the C$ is 26 and dropping like a stone

[brewsterbudgen]

Overthrowing an elected government is presumably a crime?