Security tightened at Thai Parliament as Yingluck arrives

[webfact]

Security tightened at Parliament as Yingluck arrives



BANGKOK: -- Security was tightened at Parliament when the National Legislative Assembly began the last day of its impeachment process against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra today.

The stepped up security with police and soldiers deployed around the Parliament and outside came as there was concern that supporters of the former premier might show up at the Parliament to give morale support to her.

Ms Yingluck and her team of lawyers and five relevant former ministers arrived at parliament building at 09.09 am, smiling with confidence.

No supporters showed up as she and her team arrived an hour before the NLA began the final impeachment process

She said she was ready to defend her innocence in the closing statement and hoped that she would be given justice by the NLA.

She said she did not appear in the NLA to answer questions last week with no hidden agenda but merely to exercise her right given by the constitution.

She was confident that she would clear all questions asked by the NLA members in her closing statement.

The closing statement today won’t allow further questions to be asked.

After today’s closing statement, the NLA will conclude if she was guilty as accused by the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The NLA will vote whether it will remove her and former Senate and former house speakers on January 23.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/security-tightened-parliament-yingluck-arrives


-- Thai PBS 2015-01-22

[webfact]

Ousted Thai PM to make final impeachment defence

Bangkok, Thailand | AFP |

BANGKOK: -- Ousted premier Yingluck Shinawatra arrived at Thailand's junta-picked legislature Thursday to make a last ditch defence ahead of an impeachment vote that could see her banned from politics for five years.

Yingluck, the kingdom's first female premier and the sister of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, was toppled from office by a controversial court ruling shortly before the army staged a coup in May.

She faces impeachment Friday by the military-stacked National Legislative Assembly over her administration's rice subsidy scheme, which funnelled cash to her rural base but cost billions of dollars and was a driving force behind protests that felled her government.

Yingluck arrived at heavily-policed Parliament House in central Bangkok accompanied by a handful of her party members.

"I will do my best to clarify the details so I hope that listeners will consider and decide with justice," she told reporters before the final hearing.

A successful impeachment needs three-fifths of the 220-strong assembly to vote in favour when they meet on Friday.

A guilty verdict would bring an automatic five-year ban from politics and risks enraging her family's 'Red Shirt' supporters, who have laid low since the coup.

Experts say the impeachment move is the latest attempt by Thailand's royalist elite, and its army backers, to nullify the political influence of the Shinawatras, whose parties have won every election since 2001.

Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission has led the probe into the rice programme, which paid farmers up to twice the market rate for their grain but left Thailand with a mountain of unsold rice.

At an earlier hearing Yingluck defended the scheme as a well-intentioned attempt to support Thailand's rural poor, who historically receive a disproportionately small slice of government cash.

Since Thaksin swept to power in 2001, Shinawatra governments have been floored by two coups and the removal of three other premiers by the kingdom's interventionist courts.

Observers say the febrile politics of recent years, characterised by bouts of street protest and violence, is fired by the concerns of competing elites over the future of the kingdom once the king's reign ends.

Thaksin, who was deposed as premier in a 2006 coup, is reviled by the Bangkok-based establishment, its supporters in the south and among the judiciary and army, but still pulls on the loyalty of the north and among sections of the urban middle and working classes.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-01-22

[kotsak]

"Ned Kelly's Last Stand"

[gemini81]

Hope lots of angry farmers arrive and get revenge. A dose of one's own medicine.

[chotthee]

"Ned Kelly's Last Stand"

Roll in the tanks.

[Bocking]

Quote: 'The closing statement today won’t allow further questions to be asked'.

So, I suspect reading from a prepared statement and no cross-questioning of anything that she says

[Anthony5]

Hope they have a large stock of tissues ready. Sorry 3 times.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Anthony5

[Tatsujin]

Gotta love the biased AFP reporting every time ... yet they were spot on with the second to last paragraph, cos that's what this has ALL been about for the past decade or so ...

[webfact]

Anti-graft panel told National Legislative Assembly that former PM Yingluck Shinawatra's rice scheme was political tactic for election victory and corruption. /Bangkok Post

[djjamie]

"She was confident that she would clear all questions asked by the NLA members in her closing statement"

When ever there is a Q&A session she will never present herself. There can only be two reasons for this. She is hiding something or is cognitively incapable of answering the questions. I thin k it is a mixture of both.

I remember when a new Muppet movie came out when I was a kid I say Kermit the Frog do an interview with a movie reviewer. Kermit the Frog can do a Q&A, but yingluck can't.

Of course when the prepared statements are to be read yingluck miraculously is out to defend herself. Well it is not really defending herself. It is reading from some paperwork prepared by other people. If you look very very closely today you may well witness the same arm that was up Kermit at this NLA closing statement.

Though at least Kermit can do interviews and speak for himself.

[z42]

the articles are completely inaccurate, neither of the Thaksin affiliated parties have been toppled by coups. Both times parliament had been dissolved before military intervention, and in both cases the respective governments were clinging to power up until the last second. It's fair to say millions of Thais have demonstrated against the Shin governments and really they are not representative of the so called elites.
In many cases the people taking to the streets (especially in the PDRC protests) were for the large part peaceful and only really wanted an accountable and transparent government. But those who can think a bit more ctitically no that such a thing isn't possible in Thailand as is. There is no accountability or rule of law in place for those in the upper echelons, and therein lies the problem. The mere fact people could kick up violence because Yingluck is impeached for negligence given her attendance and input as PM is totally wrong. Blind loyalty and fact dodging will get the counntry nowhere

[Cuchulainn]

A guilty verdict would bring an automatic five-year ban from politics and risks enraging her family's 'Red Shirt' supporters, who have laid low not been paid since the coup.

Get ready to eat lead, you red vermin. Yeee haaaa

[Bluespunk]

"Thaksin, who was deposed as premier in a 2006 coup"

No he wasn't.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Bluespunk

[fishingforsquid]

A guilty verdict would bring an automatic five-year ban from politics and risks enraging her family's 'Red Shirt' supporters, who have laid low not been paid since the coup.

Get ready to eat lead, you red vermin. Yeee haaaa

An inflammatory post that has should have been removed, sheesh..

[halloween]

Security tightened at Parliament as Yingluck arrives

Locking up the silverware and petty cash?

[chooka]

A guilty verdict would bring an automatic five-year ban from politics and risks enraging her family's 'Red Shirt' supporters, who have laid low not been paid since the coup.

Get ready to eat lead, you red vermin. Yeee haaaa

You seem very excited at the prospect that the yellow shirts are going to go out and slaughter suspected red shirts. Good to see you are on the non violent peaceful yellow shirt side.

[Cuchulainn]

Because someone abhors the reds and their corrupt cronyism, does that make them a yellow supporter? I have no time nor support for the Yellow shirts (PAD)

Loathe and despise the red republican communist vermin that crawl through the streets, though.

Happy now, Chookie?

[webfact]

Yingluck says she’s done nothing wrong



BANGKOK: -- Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today defended accusation of negligence of duties in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) that resulted in huge loss and rampant corruption, claiming that they were unfounded and imagination.

She remained adamantly that her rice pledging scheme is beneficial to the farmers, and will enable them to have a quality of life.

In the 50-minute defence of her innocence, she said she has done nothing wrong and still hoped the scheme could be of great benefit to the country to the poor farmers if it is continued.

She said accusations that the disappearance of million tons of rice and the G-to-G rice deal with China were also misleading the public that they were true.

She produced documents shown with PowerPoint on the screen saying she had many committees to supervise and monitor rice sales to ensure no corruption, and transparency.

She also said the accusations were based on those who were hostile to her government but were kept as witnesses by the NACC.

She identified opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, and Dr Warong Dejkijwikrom as her political foes but questioned why the graft buster called them to give information.

She also questioned the short 21-day time taken by the NACC to conclude its probe and accused her, saying it had hidden agenda.

Her defence of the rice-pledging scheme in the closing statement today came after the National Anti-Corruption Commission member Vicha Mahakun verbally presented summary of the accusations in the closing statement.

She denied all accusations and pleaded for justices from the NLA, saying she never has any thought to corrupt, to neglect, but would merely want a chance for the poor farmers to have better living, to stand on their own feet, and live happily.

In one stage, she said should she were to be removed by the NLA under unfounded, doubtful, and vague accusations, it would be tantamount to deprive her of the basic right of freedom as she would lose her political rights for five years.

Mr Vicha said in the closing statement calling NLA members to decide without bias the guilts of the former premier who he described should have more conscience and responsibility than ordinary people to sit in the top position in the country but neglected such responsibility.

He said person with no intellectuality but commits serious wrongdoings deserves pardon if he has morality as he could be remedied and can be beneficial to the country.

But a person with intelligence, knowledge but lacks of conscience, morality will merely cause enormous damage to the country that could never be seen again of such enormous amount in this century, he said.

Mr Vicha described how the pledging scheme of the accused was a total failure, saying “the farmers pawn their lives while the country pawns the debts.”

Every step of the scheme was corrupted, and caused serious damages to the country, he said.

He said the damage of almost 700 billion baht incurred by Ms Yingluck’s negligence of duties now poses heavy burden for this government to slowly release 17 million tons of the pledged rice in the stocks, so as not to affect the rice price.

Now the farmers are suffering from such remaining huge stocks, he said.

He called on all NLA members to make history to punish and remove irresponsible politicians.

The NLA will vote tomorrow whether to remove her or not.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/yingluck-says-shes-done-nothing-wrong


-- Thai PBS 2015-01-22

[binjalin]

Yingluck says she’s done nothing wrong

BANGKOK: -- Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today defended accusation of negligence of duties in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) that resulted in huge loss and rampant corruption, claiming that they were unfounded and imagination.

She remained adamantly that her rice pledging scheme is beneficial to the farmers, and will enable them to have a quality of life.

In the 50-minute defence of her innocence, she said she has done nothing wrong and still hoped the scheme could be of great benefit to the country to the poor farmers if it is continued.

She said accusations that the disappearance of million tons of rice and the G-to-G rice deal with China were also misleading the public that they were true.

She produced documents shown with PowerPoint on the screen saying she had many committees to supervise and monitor rice sales to ensure no corruption, and transparency.

She also said the accusations were based on those who were hostile to her government but were kept as witnesses by the NACC.

She identified opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, and Dr Warong Dejkijwikrom as her political foes but questioned why the graft buster called them to give information.

She also questioned the short 21-day time taken by the NACC to conclude its probe and accused her, saying it had hidden agenda.

Her defence of the rice-pledging scheme in the closing statement today came after the National Anti-Corruption Commission member Vicha Mahakun verbally presented summary of the accusations in the closing statement.

She denied all accusations and pleaded for justices from the NLA, saying she never has any thought to corrupt, to neglect, but would merely want a chance for the poor farmers to have better living, to stand on their own feet, and live happily.

In one stage, she said should she were to be removed by the NLA under unfounded, doubtful, and vague accusations, it would be tantamount to deprive her of the basic right of freedom as she would lose her political rights for five years.

Mr Vicha said in the closing statement calling NLA members to decide without bias the guilts of the former premier who he described should have more conscience and responsibility than ordinary people to sit in the top position in the country but neglected such responsibility.

He said person with no intellectuality but commits serious wrongdoings deserves pardon if he has morality as he could be remedied and can be beneficial to the country.

But a person with intelligence, knowledge but lacks of conscience, morality will merely cause enormous damage to the country that could never be seen again of such enormous amount in this century, he said.

Mr Vicha described how the pledging scheme of the accused was a total failure, saying “the farmers pawn their lives while the country pawns the debts.”

Every step of the scheme was corrupted, and caused serious damages to the country, he said.

He said the damage of almost 700 billion baht incurred by Ms Yingluck’s negligence of duties now poses heavy burden for this government to slowly release 17 million tons of the pledged rice in the stocks, so as not to affect the rice price.

Now the farmers are suffering from such remaining huge stocks, he said.

He called on all NLA members to make history to punish and remove irresponsible politicians.

The NLA will vote tomorrow whether to remove her or not.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/yingluck-says-shes-done-nothing-wrong

-- Thai PBS 2015-01-22

good for her! but the die is cast and the long knives are out and they do not care about the truth

[ramrod711]

She said she was ready to defend her innocence in the closing statement and hoped that she would be given justice by the NLA.

Totally inaccurate.

Should read; She said she was ready to proclaim her innocence, despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary. She realizes that justice in her case, would involve prison, so mercy is what she really wants.

[Cuchulainn]

Night of the Long Knives, indeed.

[chooka]

"A person with no intellectuality deserves a pardon."

So they are basically saying that Yingluk is an intelligent person.

[zaphod reborn]

Yingluck says she’s done nothing wrong

BANGKOK: -- Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today defended accusation of negligence of duties in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) that resulted in huge loss and rampant corruption, claiming that they were unfounded and imagination.

She remained adamantly that her rice pledging scheme is beneficial to the farmers, and will enable them to have a quality of life.

In the 50-minute defence of her innocence, she said she has done nothing wrong and still hoped the scheme could be of great benefit to the country to the poor farmers if it is continued.

She said accusations that the disappearance of million tons of rice and the G-to-G rice deal with China were also misleading the public that they were true.

She produced documents shown with PowerPoint on the screen saying she had many committees to supervise and monitor rice sales to ensure no corruption, and transparency.

She also said the accusations were based on those who were hostile to her government but were kept as witnesses by the NACC.

She identified opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, and Dr Warong Dejkijwikrom as her political foes but questioned why the graft buster called them to give information.

She also questioned the short 21-day time taken by the NACC to conclude its probe and accused her, saying it had hidden agenda.

Her defence of the rice-pledging scheme in the closing statement today came after the National Anti-Corruption Commission member Vicha Mahakun verbally presented summary of the accusations in the closing statement.

She denied all accusations and pleaded for justices from the NLA, saying she never has any thought to corrupt, to neglect, but would merely want a chance for the poor farmers to have better living, to stand on their own feet, and live happily.

In one stage, she said should she were to be removed by the NLA under unfounded, doubtful, and vague accusations, it would be tantamount to deprive her of the basic right of freedom as she would lose her political rights for five years.

Mr Vicha said in the closing statement calling NLA members to decide without bias the guilts of the former premier who he described should have more conscience and responsibility than ordinary people to sit in the top position in the country but neglected such responsibility.

He said person with no intellectuality but commits serious wrongdoings deserves pardon if he has morality as he could be remedied and can be beneficial to the country.

But a person with intelligence, knowledge but lacks of conscience, morality will merely cause enormous damage to the country that could never be seen again of such enormous amount in this century, he said.

Mr Vicha described how the pledging scheme of the accused was a total failure, saying “the farmers pawn their lives while the country pawns the debts.”

Every step of the scheme was corrupted, and caused serious damages to the country, he said.

He said the damage of almost 700 billion baht incurred by Ms Yingluck’s negligence of duties now poses heavy burden for this government to slowly release 17 million tons of the pledged rice in the stocks, so as not to affect the rice price.

Now the farmers are suffering from such remaining huge stocks, he said.

He called on all NLA members to make history to punish and remove irresponsible politicians.

The NLA will vote tomorrow whether to remove her or not.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/yingluck-says-shes-done-nothing-wrong

-- Thai PBS 2015-01-22

good for her! but the die is cast and the long knives are out and they do not care about the truth

The truth is she raped the country's rice farmers for the personal gain of herself, PTP and profiteers (rice millers, rice storage operators and rice smugglers).

[webfact]

Ousted Thai PM slams impeachment vote

Bangkok | AFP |

BANGKOK: -- Ousted Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra Thursday attacked impeachment proceedings against her ahead of a crunch vote that could see her banned from politics for five years and deepen the country's bitter divide.

Yingluck, the kingdom's first female premier and the sister of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, was toppled from office by a controversial court ruling shortly before the army staged a coup in May.

She faces impeachment Friday by the junta-picked National Legislative Assembly over her administration's populist rice subsidy programme, which funnelled cash to her rural base but cost billions of dollars and inspired protests that felled her government.

Yingluck arrived at heavily-policed Parliament House in central Bangkok accompanied by a handful of her party members.

"There is no position to remove me from as the Constitutional Court has already removed me as prime minister," she told assembly members, also saying she should not be impeached for violating a constitution that no longer exists under junta rule.

Yingluck also defended the rice scheme as an attempt to support Thailand's rural poor, who historically receive a disproportionately small slice of government cash.

"I am not corrupt, I was never careless," she said, urging members to consider her case with fairness and "without being guided by anyone".

A successful impeachment needs three-fifths of the 220-strong assembly to vote in favour when they meet on Friday.

A guilty verdict would bring an automatic five-year ban from politics and risks enraging her family's 'Red Shirt' supporters, who have laid low since the coup.

- 'Red Shirt' leader urges caution -

Speaking before the hearing Thursday, Jatuporn Prompan, chairman of the Red Shirts, cautioned against street protests on his television show, after noting signs he believed would "lead to impeachment".

"From tomorrow, we will see more clearly... If we are not patient, Red Shirts will be accused of being responsible for bad things," he said on Peace TV.

"It is not over on the 23rd, tomorrow is not the end. Time will tell... We have to be patient," Jatuporn urged his viewers.

Experts say the impeachment move is the latest attempt by Thailand's royalist elite, and its army backers, to nullify the political influence of the Shinawatras, whose parties have won every election since 2001.

Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has led the probe into the rice programme, which paid farmers up to twice the market rate for their grain but left Thailand with a mountain of unsold rice.

On Thursday NACC commissioner Vicha Mahakhun described it as a populist policy "used to win the election".

"NACC members can see she (Yingluck) is guilty of failing to use her power as Prime Minister to stop the project," which he deemed as causing "huge damage" to the economy and rice farmers.

Prosecutors are also in the process of deciding whether Yingluck should face a separate criminal case over the rice subsidy scheme.

Since Thaksin swept to power in 2001, Shinawatra governments have been floored by two coups and the removal of three other premiers by the kingdom's interventionist courts.

Observers say the febrile politics of recent years, characterised by bouts of street protest and violence, is fired by the concerns of competing elites over the future of the kingdom once the king's reign ends.

Thaksin, who was deposed as premier in a 2006 coup, is reviled by the Bangkok-based establishment, its supporters in the south and among the judiciary and army, but still pulls on the loyalty of the north and among sections of the urban middle and working classes.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-01-22

[lildragon]

She won't go to jail, house arrest at best, the new piggies at the trough will get fat, Thaksin will jump up in down in frustration.

[halloween]

good for her! but the die is cast and the long knives are out and they do not care about the truth

The truth is that she doesn't want to face the reality that her brother's pet scheme was a financial disaster and her ministers were helping themselves in fake deals.

[Gunna]

Hope they have a large stock of tissues ready. Sorry 3 times.

YS is also crying because she realises that instead of cutting the NACC 2014/15 budget almost in half, from Bt2.2 Billion to Bt1.3 Billion, She and PTP should have cut it even further to try and stop the truth coming out.

[Thai at Heart]

Quote: 'The closing statement today wont allow further questions to be asked'.

So, I suspect reading from a prepared statement and no cross-questioning of anything that she says

Well, one can only presume that is correct under the law. Who writes this nonsense law?

Ah yes, the current govt.

[FireMedic]

Well I guess sticking to your talking points and repeating them over and over again is a solid defense.

[Thaddeus]

"I did nothing, wrong?"