Thai prosecutors press criminal charges against ex-PM Yingluck

[Squeegee]

As another poster pointed out: this is not a football match.

Bizarre foreigners here have fallen for one team or the other. It's supposed to be the Thais who are being fooled, not you lot who should know better. The foreign sycophants on either side show no critical thinking skills when it comes to their own side, they just go after the opposition penalty area in the hope of scoring for their chosen colour.

As Mr Rotten once said: Don't you feel you've been cheated?

[icare999]

karma party time i hope whole shin clan crawl under rocks they came form and their red shirt thugs

[ddavidovsky]

The rabid right-wing virulence on this thread has reached a new low. I always wondered how it worked in the 1930s. Now I know.

[Trouble]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

And the WITCH HUNT continues

And if I were her I would of ran a long time ago she has no chance of any fair trial or anything with a government that imposed itself at the point of a gun

Which they did for a very good reason, and it is all coming out now ...

The Army staged the coup not for a problem in the rice pledging scheme but because opposition political activists took to the streets and disrupted the city, to voice their discontent with the amnesty bill. If my memory serves me correctly, that was the real catalyst that took things to the streets. When Yingluck bent to their demands and dissolved the parliament and new elections were scheduled that was not good enough and they disrupted those elections as well. The police and Army failed to uphold the law and the Army and its political supporters saw this as a chance to take over and and are now in the process of cleansing the opposition political base. Whether Yingluck is guilty of negligence, malfeasance, or anything else should be determined only after a legitimate elected government is established and prosecutors and judicial system are free of the junta's influence. This is definitely nothing more than an attempt to silence and stop the red shirt influence in government. There has been no effort to reconcile differences and it is amazing how Abhisit seems free to contribute his opinions and the other side is silenced. This is all about who is to control the country not about rice schemes, corruption, or anything else. This is just the excuse that is being used. Whether you like it or not the yellow shirt side is about status quo and the red shirt side threatens that.

Everyone knows the rice scheme was a failure but on the other hand the current government is still creating subsidy programs for rice, rubber, and palm oil. Some one pays for the subsidies and that is usually the tax payer. The current government is using these subsidies the same way the Yingluck government did and that is to support their base. The current government is doing the same things trying to neutralize rural opposition to the junta.

[Skywalker69]

And the WITCH HUNT continues

And if I were her I would of ran a long time ago she has no chance of any fair trial or anything with a government that imposed itself at the point of a gun

Which they did for a very good reason, and it is all coming out now ...

Nope they did it to take over the country the only way they could at the point of a gun because they could not win a fair election pure and simple.

The did it to prevent a civil war!!

That's right, now you understand, repeat after me

They did it to prevent a civil war!!
They did it to prevent a civil war!!
They did it to prevent a civil war!!
They did it to prevent a civil war!!



That's my boy!

Sigh!!! Edited February 19, 2015 by draftvader
Messed up quotes

[chooka]

Reported this morning on ABC news (Aust) that this is politically motivated and aimed solely at removing her and her party from politics for good.

[Fatty123]

Reported this morning on ABC news (Aust) that this is politically motivated and aimed solely at removing her and her party from politics for good.

But she weighs the same as a duck, which means....

[Taworn]

lets face it,

It wasn't just politicians, there were warehouse's contractors, millers, large rice growing company's, middle men, go after them and get the money back.

Good to see you admit that corruption in Yingluck's scheme was riddled with corruption from top to bottom.

[Taworn]

Yingluck no show

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Yingluck-no-show-for-formal-charge-in-Supreme-Cour-30254428.html

-- The Nation 2015-02-19

The headline is good summation of her time as Prime Minister, as well.

[ScarpoFongness4U]

When the CIA has had enough of the show,

They will bring about the final chapter of this story.

Yingluck has my open offer of marriage to make her a US citizen

This indictment is the ringing of the liberty bell

Just like walking to the ledge of a cliff, it may give out; from behind.

This is a sad day for freedom

[Taworn]

"The move is widely seen as an attempt to cripple the political machine of Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the 2006 coup, and to prevent his allies from returning to power."

The move is widely seen as seeking justice with the former PM Yingluck's self-financing scheme having lost 700 billion Baht and she frequently stating the scheme reached it's goal, she to be in charge.

I have seen no proof that Yingluck stole

Sit back and relax...the court will itemized the proofs before reading out the verdict, like they did for Thaksin many years ago.

Yep.

The proof NeverSure hasn't personally seen is in the many boxes of binders that have been sent over to the prosecutors.

They were negligent for not sending copies to his house.

.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Taworn

[NCFC]

"The move is widely seen as an attempt to cripple the political machine of Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the 2006 coup, and to prevent his allies from returning to power."

The move is widely seen as seeking justice with the former PM Yingluck's self-financing scheme having lost 700 billion Baht and she frequently stating the scheme reached it's goal, she to be in charge.

In the civilized Western world it's seen as a political agenda. In the civilized world the junta is seen as illegitimate and illegal and lacking standing to prosecute anyone.

I have seen no proof that Yingluck stole the rice money herself. I have seen allegations of negligence.

This is a political cleansing to rid Thailand of the Shinawatra influence.

If criminal charges are to be brought they should have proof as to who the thieves were. Buying rice for above market price isn't illegal. Stealing that rice, cooking the books and so on is illegal. Who did that? Are they saying that YS did?

In the civilised Western World the governments still have contacts with the Thai government and are even looking forward to get part of the Infrastructure business. Did you write your representative that your country is dealing with illegitimates which opens your countries government to possible prosecution?

Mind you, the USA Envoy said the Thai government should work on perception.

Anyway, the OAG charged Ms. Yingluck who send her legal advisor as she's really too busy at the moment. Chinese New Year you know.

As for the charge, it is not stealing, it's "negligence", causing losses. Didn't you read the first to posts in this topic?

"They accused Yingluck of dereliction in overseeing a rice subsidy scheme that lost billions of dollars and temporarily cost Thailand its crown as the world's top rice exporter."

The EU spends billions a year on farm subsidies but it's not called negligence. Crops are often ploughed straight back into the ground.

[greenchair]

Subsidy = government gives money

Though there was a plan to make money. It did fail. The government gave the money to help the poor with the belief and intention to help them.

If certain people took advantage of that, then that should be brought to the courts. The government can give the resources to the people.

It is up to the people to take care of those resources.

[Manbing]

Experts say the impeachment and criminal charges are the latest attempt by the country's royalist elite, and its army backers, to extinguish the political influence of the Shinawatras, whose parties have won every election since 2001.

Says it all, its the only way the yellows can get back in power by hunting down all those that WILL BEAT them again in a fair election they cant win so they get the military to take over and start their witch hunt

Its a joke that Prayut is saying they are trying to reconcile the country and the opposition is silenced and is not allowed to have a voice against what is going on

COMPLETE JOKE

The Shinawatras have never won a fair election. Yes, they have won every election since 2001, but all of those have been heavily flawed, non-democratic elections. In a FAIR election - in which there is no coercion and in which voters are educated on the issues, the result is unknown.

I was reading an article in the International Herald Tribune last week. In the very first sentence the correspondent talked about Y being elected in a "democratic election". Lost all credibility right there!

I think there are some errors in this post. However the sentiment is correct in my opinion. The 'democracy' so highly prized by the red shirts is a flawed concept. The red shirts paid for so called supporters to vote. Loyal supporters are not necessarily threatened but induced.

I have seen them lining up, using a clipboard with lists of names and ID card numbers, and a brick of 1000bht notes, checking names, card numbers and handing out the cash. That's my first hand knowledge.

This was a classic election rigging trick popularized the the deep south of the USA in the 30's. Paying the poor to vote for the patron.

It is not democracy when you pay for votes, its election fraud.

[Manbing]

Subsidy = government gives money

Though there was a plan to make money. It did fail. The government gave the money to help the poor with the belief and intention to help them.

If certain people took advantage of that, then that should be brought to the courts. The government can give the resources to the people.

It is up to the people to take care of those resources.

The people didn't get any money- that was really the point wasn't it.

That's why its called a scam.

The farmers sold the rice to the government on the promise of around an extra 1/3 of their usual expected sale price.

The government defaulted of the payback timelines- not once but twice across 2 seasons. Crippling the farmers who couldn't afford to buy more seed to replant.

The rice, supposedly in storage, was often not there, rice storage facilities mysteriously burned down, the quality of rice that was there was below the recorded standard. In some cases the rice perished in storage. Other storage facilities had rice sacks, stacked around scaffolding hiding the empty space where the bulk had 'disappeared'.

This was fraud on a massive scale.

The government had neither the rice or the money to pay the farmers.

The government helped themselves.

Are these the 'poor' you are discussing, they seem quite well off to my untrained eye?

[Robby nz]

"The move is widely seen as an attempt to cripple the political machine of Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the 2006 coup, and to prevent his allies from returning to power."

The move is widely seen as seeking justice with the former PM Yingluck's self-financing scheme having lost 700 billion Baht and she frequently stating the scheme reached it's goal, she to be in charge.

The 700 billion and counting, for there are still ongoing storage and marketing costs to be added, is in fact only the tip of the lossberg to the country and the people.

There are the lost markets that may never be got back, such as Iran which was once one of the top buyers.

The confidence in Thai rice as a premium product was destroyed when the PT Govt sold inferior rice to several countries including the US and Ivory Coast.

The rice traders who before the scheme were the ones who bought Thai rice on behalf of their customers were forced to go to other countries to buy rice for those customers who were loyal to them and trusted the traders to get what they wanted and give them a fair deal.

Those traders are still buying rice for their customers from other countries and may never come back into the Thai market, if the do come back it will only be to buy for a low price

Then there is the loss to the farmers themselves who are now deeper in debt than ever before and have to service that debt with interest.

The scheme which was touted as helping the poor has been found by research to have only reached 18% of poor farmers and that 18% only got 5% of the money paid out to farmers, yet rents and costs of fertilizer and chemicals were pushed up by the landlords and companies to get their share, so the poor farmers were even worse off than before.

The 82% of poor farmers who could not participate in the scheme were also burdened with the higher costs making them even poorer than before.

There is the interest that must be paid on the bonds and loans to be taken out to pay for the losses, that will in part have to be borne by a future generation of tax payers..

And now we see a proposal to write off 45 billion of farmers debt : http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/801632-moac-proposes-that-govt-write-off-45-billion-baht-of-farmers-debts/

Then there are the costs of all the investigations and legal action associated with the scheme which will no doubt run into billions.

All to be added to the 700 billion.

And some call going after those responsible a witch hunt and suggest it should just be forgotten.

Robby, thanks for the above info. While I understand most of the scheme it's still a mystery to me what caused the stockpiling and why wasn't the rice sold as it was produced. Why Thailand held to the rice and shortchanged the market? Many people should be hung for allowing the rice to rotten in the warehouses. Would you, Robby, or someone who knows the facts explain to me my questions, thanks.

They did sold a huge amount in a hush hush G2G deal. This would be the main topic in those 20 boxes of documents.

No, the G 2 G deals are the main topic of the 240,000 pages of documents presented to the OAG just a few days ago.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/800984-boonsongs-case-files-on-fake-g-to-g-deals-received-by-the-oag/

[Robby nz]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

And the WITCH HUNT continues

And if I were her I would of ran a long time ago she has no chance of any fair trial or anything with a government that imposed itself at the point of a gun

Which they did for a very good reason, and it is all coming out now ...

The Army staged the coup not for a problem in the rice pledging scheme but because opposition political activists took to the streets and disrupted the city, to voice their discontent with the amnesty bill. If my memory serves me correctly, that was the real catalyst that took things to the streets. When Yingluck bent to their demands and dissolved the parliament and new elections were scheduled that was not good enough and they disrupted those elections as well. The police and Army failed to uphold the law and the Army and its political supporters saw this as a chance to take over and and are now in the process of cleansing the opposition political base. Whether Yingluck is guilty of negligence, malfeasance, or anything else should be determined only after a legitimate elected government is established and prosecutors and judicial system are free of the junta's influence. This is definitely nothing more than an attempt to silence and stop the red shirt influence in government. There has been no effort to reconcile differences and it is amazing how Abhisit seems free to contribute his opinions and the other side is silenced. This is all about who is to control the country not about rice schemes, corruption, or anything else. This is just the excuse that is being used. Whether you like it or not the yellow shirt side is about status quo and the red shirt side threatens that.

Everyone knows the rice scheme was a failure but on the other hand the current government is still creating subsidy programs for rice, rubber, and palm oil. Some one pays for the subsidies and that is usually the tax payer. The current government is using these subsidies the same way the Yingluck government did and that is to support their base. The current government is doing the same things trying to neutralize rural opposition to the junta.

And there we see how history is rewritten for the red schools and other believers.

[Robby nz]

"The move is widely seen as an attempt to cripple the political machine of Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the 2006 coup, and to prevent his allies from returning to power."

The move is widely seen as seeking justice with the former PM Yingluck's self-financing scheme having lost 700 billion Baht and she frequently stating the scheme reached it's goal, she to be in charge.

In the civilized Western world it's seen as a political agenda. In the civilized world the junta is seen as illegitimate and illegal and lacking standing to prosecute anyone.

I have seen no proof that Yingluck stole the rice money herself. I have seen allegations of negligence.

This is a political cleansing to rid Thailand of the Shinawatra influence.

If criminal charges are to be brought they should have proof as to who the thieves were. Buying rice for above market price isn't illegal. Stealing that rice, cooking the books and so on is illegal. Who did that? Are they saying that YS did?

In the civilised Western World the governments still have contacts with the Thai government and are even looking forward to get part of the Infrastructure business. Did you write your representative that your country is dealing with illegitimates which opens your countries government to possible prosecution?

Mind you, the USA Envoy said the Thai government should work on perception.

Anyway, the OAG charged Ms. Yingluck who send her legal advisor as she's really too busy at the moment. Chinese New Year you know.

As for the charge, it is not stealing, it's "negligence", causing losses. Didn't you read the first to posts in this topic?

"They accused Yingluck of dereliction in overseeing a rice subsidy scheme that lost billions of dollars and temporarily cost Thailand its crown as the world's top rice exporter."

The EU spends billions a year on farm subsidies but it's not called negligence. Crops are often ploughed straight back into the ground.

Indeed they do as do other countries, however these are planned subsidies called such and allowed for in budgets.

While the pledging scheme was touted a revolving out of budget scheme which would eventually run at a profit and therefor different from a subsidy.

It was said to specifically be to benefit poor farmers yet only 18% of poor farmers qualified for the scheme (World bank research) and they only got 5% of the money given to farmers.

More and more evidence is emerging of corruption within the scheme, lies have been uncovered and a huge amount of money shown to be missing.

Tell us. Should no investigations take place and no one be held responsible ?

[boomerangutang]

Here's how the story looks on US's NPR (national public radio) HERE

[gemguy]

"The move is widely seen as an attempt to cripple the political machine of Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the 2006 coup, and to prevent his allies from returning to power."

The move is widely seen as seeking justice with the former PM Yingluck's self-financing scheme having lost 700 billion Baht and she frequently stating the scheme reached it's goal, she to be in charge.

The 700 billion and counting, for there are still ongoing storage and marketing costs to be added, is in fact only the tip of the lossberg to the country and the people.

There are the lost markets that may never be got back, such as Iran which was once one of the top buyers.

The confidence in Thai rice as a premium product was destroyed when the PT Govt sold inferior rice to several countries including the US and Ivory Coast.

The rice traders who before the scheme were the ones who bought Thai rice on behalf of their customers were forced to go to other countries to buy rice for those customers who were loyal to them and trusted the traders to get what they wanted and give them a fair deal.

Those traders are still buying rice for their customers from other countries and may never come back into the Thai market, if the do come back it will only be to buy for a low price

Then there is the loss to the farmers themselves who are now deeper in debt than ever before and have to service that debt with interest.

The scheme which was touted as helping the poor has been found by research to have only reached 18% of poor farmers and that 18% only got 5% of the money paid out to farmers, yet rents and costs of fertilizer and chemicals were pushed up by the landlords and companies to get their share, so the poor farmers were even worse off than before.

The 82% of poor farmers who could not participate in the scheme were also burdened with the higher costs making them even poorer than before.

There is the interest that must be paid on the bonds and loans to be taken out to pay for the losses, that will in part have to be borne by a future generation of tax payers..

And now we see a proposal to write off 45 billion of farmers debt : http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/801632-moac-proposes-that-govt-write-off-45-billion-baht-of-farmers-debts/

Then there are the costs of all the investigations and legal action associated with the scheme which will no doubt run into billions.

All to be added to the 700 billion.

And some call going after those responsible a witch hunt and suggest it should just be forgotten.

You have some very valid points there....but you forgot to point out that none of this happened without the complicity of the yellow shirt party members and or the military.....as they are involved in nearly everything that goes on in this country and especially when there are such large sums of money involved.

There is no way they would not be involved in any number of direct or indirect ways.

As they always say: If you follow the money trail you will learn far more about the truth concerning just where exactly all the money went and who exactly enriched themselves.

If anyone on this forum actually believes the usual culprits were not at all involved in the whole rice pledging scheme and how it ran amuck the way it did run amuck, while it was only the Red Shirt members that enriched themselves on a government enacted program...then you are not understanding the way things commonly run amuck here in Thailand while all kinds of profiteering shenanigans are going on behind the scenes.

Just because Ying Luck was in power at the time, in no way stops or prevents the opposition party members and or those hugely wealthy and influential people, known as the Status Quo in this country, from enriching themselves on any given government enacted program....whether it be their own programs or whether it be opposition enacted programs

They were also hugely complicite in the down fall of the program while "they" enriched themselves to no end also.......but who gets the blame......Yink Luck.

Ahhhhh..........The Masters of Duplicity

Cheers

I learn something every day.

So the pledging scheme has nothing to do with Thaksin, Yingluck ot the PTP, it was all devised by those you call yellows and the military and they were the ones who benefited.

But then perhaps I should go back and read some of the links again to see who the winners are, lets start in 2010 :

http://www.thaivisa....cheme-thailand/

2012-10-10

Winners And Losers Emerge In Rice Scheme: Thailand

Then go on to :

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/737022-rice-fraud-verdict-on-thaksins-aide-due-today/page-3

Thaksin aide jailed for rice fraud

Didn't realize he was a yellow or the military.

Then in 2012 the Democrats produced evidence in a no confidence debate that showed who had benefited from fake G2G deals :

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/600926-rice-deals-with-china-fake-thai-democrats/

Surely they werent implication themselves ?

If you bother to read these link you will see the name Siam indica comes up over and over again, a company which has been the main beneficiary right through and was linked to 'Thaksins aid' and seems to also have links to a PT MP, the wife of someone who was at one time referred to as "Monkey on a rope" who ended up with enough millions as a leader of the red riots (and other things, rice?) to be able to start an airline.

Then there is another from the red stage who owns a trucking company that was carting rice around to unspecified destinations while he was a deputy minister of commerce :

Meanwhile, there has been a report that about 500 tonnes of rice have been released from a warehouse in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Muang district.

Most of the trucks used to move the rice are registered in the lower part of the southern region. Several of them bear the name ‘’Nattawut Transport’’.

A source said a letter which approved the release of the stocks was issued by the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Foreign Trade.

The source added that the destination of the rice is not known and it is being speculated that the rice is being transported to the lower South or the Thai-Malaysian border.

‘‘This is not the first time. Hundreds of thousands of rice sacks have been moved. Local authorities have no idea where the rice is heading,’’ the source said.

He must have been covering his tracks very well to be a military, or is it yellow, all along.

Wont post any more for I an really wasting my time for you know the truth, you have read all about the conspiracy in red publications.

Read my post again while I remind you how I pointed out the Yellow Shirts and many others interconnected to the Yellow Shirts who are not Red Shirt affiliated people per say were also very complicit in the down fall of the rice pledging scheme and all the profiteering that occurred perpetrated by many people in many ways.

As usual the Thais have their ways of corrupting a system or program to their financial benefit.

You said:

So the pledging scheme has nothing to do with Thaksin, Yingluck ot the PTP, it was all devised by those you call yellows and the military and they were the ones who benefited.

That is a small minded retort on your part.......... as it would be obvious to anyone that read my post, I said nothing of the sort...while your retort is also a thoughtless assumption on your part.

For you to ( Imply ) and or seemingly believe that no other people or entities or other sectors of Thai sociality were not involved in the mass profiteering related to the rice pledging scheme shows you are not taking into consideration many other factors going on behind the scenes, as is commonly the case here in Thailand.

Obviously red shirt party members and their associates corrupted the program and enriched themselves...but they did not accomplish that without the complicity of non red shirt party members and various existing entities that willingly participated in the diversion of huge amounts of money.

You need to be reminded of all the past government programs and huge amounts of money that are unaccounted for during the times the Yellow shirts were in power and for all the many decades that the Yellow shirts lorded over Thailand before there was any serious opposition to their rule.

There are dozens of cases in the past while none of them were ever resolved while the Yellows were in power.

As pointed out by you and many others, the scheme involved 700 billion Baht ...and more????...correct

Who owns the Banks and the Financial institutes in Thailand???

Let me give you a hint....It is not the Red Shirts.

Cheers

Edited February 20, 2015 by gemguy

[cumgranosalum]

Where did the money go? Distributed to the poor? Stolen? I think the only way to stop the red shirt movement is by having a set amount of representives that are elected from the military in the new parliment. I cant see any way of the same thing not happening again.

and you think that is an appropriate way to run a country? I come for a set of civilisations that has spent 1000 years setting up institutions to prevent precisely that.......

[Baerboxer]

Im sure that you are jolly clever Baerboxer, probably much cleverer than me. But the" link" only exists in your fertile (and incomparably clever) imagination.

There are none as blind as them who don't want to see; and none as deaf as them who don't want to hear.

[cumgranosalum]

Experts say the impeachment and criminal charges are the latest attempt by the country's royalist elite, and its army backers, to extinguish the political influence of the Shinawatras, whose parties have won every election since 2001.

Says it all, its the only way the yellows can get back in power by hunting down all those that WILL BEAT them again in a fair election they cant win so they get the military to take over and start their witch hunt

Its a joke that Prayut is saying they are trying to reconcile the country and the opposition is silenced and is not allowed to have a voice against what is going on

COMPLETE JOKE

The Shinawatras have never won a fair election. Yes, they have won every election since 2001, but all of those have been heavily flawed, non-democratic elections. In a FAIR election - in which there is no coercion and in which voters are educated on the issues, the result is unknown.

I was reading an article in the International Herald Tribune last week. In the very first sentence the correspondent talked about Y being elected in a "democratic election". Lost all credibility right there!

I think there are some errors in this post. However the sentiment is correct in my opinion. The 'democracy' so highly prized by the red shirts is a flawed concept. The red shirts paid for so called supporters to vote. Loyal supporters are not necessarily threatened but induced.

I have seen them lining up, using a clipboard with lists of names and ID card numbers, and a brick of 1000bht notes, checking names, card numbers and handing out the cash. That's my first hand knowledge.

This was a classic election rigging trick popularized the the deep south of the USA in the 30's. Paying the poor to vote for the patron.

It is not democracy when you pay for votes, its election fraud.

a Man City supporter speaks.......

[Baerboxer]

Reported this morning on ABC news (Aust) that this is politically motivated and aimed solely at removing her and her party from politics for good.

Well that's it then, After all, Australian news journalists wouldn't lie or put their spin on anything would they?

And did they comment on the corruption, missing billions or Yinglucks failure to produce facts, figures and give meaningful answers?

[Baerboxer]

I'd like to ask people of supporters of both factions a question,

Why is it not the priority of the law to go after the people that stole the rice and money to fund the project? why are they not in the spotlight? and lets face it,

It wasn't just politicians, there were warehouse's contractors, millers, large rice growing company's, middle men, go after them and get the money back.

They are going after them. In order for yl to be found innocent would be to have her prove in court that she only relied on the report and information given to her by her ministers and staff. Then all the finger pointing will start. Because we all know deep inside all of us, she had no idea what was going on.

But Thaksin know Thai psychology, they will all feel sorry for her being duped. So she would be the best fall person for the heist.

You raise a good point. If Yingluck has to take the stand and be questioned, she will struggle with answers, She has no experience of debate or in-depth knowledge to fall back on and quite frankly has never seemed one of the sharpest tools in the shed. Under pressure she may point the finger at others, what she was told, what reports she was given. That would be a disaster for her brother - all his henchman would start squabbling and blaming one another, and many know far too much,

There's no honor among thieves - something Thaksin knows very well. Better to play this game out. Let dopes like the Aussie media fall for the politically motivated she's done nothing wrong and loves the poor line. He's still hopeful a trial and the somewhat challenged amply rich little sister being on the stand can be avoided by international pressure. Otherwise his nightmares might just come true as some start spilling all the beans.

[Valentine]

I'd like to ask people of supporters of both factions a question,

Why is it not the priority of the law to go after the people that stole the rice and money to fund the project? why are they not in the spotlight? and lets face it,

It wasn't just politicians, there were warehouse's contractors, millers, large rice growing company's, middle men, go after them and get the money back.

They are going after them. In order for yl to be found innocent would be to have her prove in court that she only relied on the report and information given to her by her ministers and staff. Then all the finger pointing will start. Because we all know deep inside all of us, she had no idea what was going on.

But Thaksin know Thai psychology, they will all feel sorry for her being duped. So she would be the best fall person for the heist.

You raise a good point. If Yingluck has to take the stand and be questioned, she will struggle with answers, She has no experience of debate or in-depth knowledge to fall back on and quite frankly has never seemed one of the sharpest tools in the shed. Under pressure she may point the finger at others, what she was told, what reports she was given. That would be a disaster for her brother - all his henchman would start squabbling and blaming one another, and many know far too much,

There's no honor among thieves - something Thaksin knows very well. Better to play this game out. Let dopes like the Aussie media fall for the politically motivated she's done nothing wrong and loves the poor line. He's still hopeful a trial and the somewhat challenged amply rich little sister being on the stand can be avoided by international pressure. Otherwise his nightmares might just come true as some start spilling all the beans.

I am surprised no one has cracked already but it cannot be far off as the heat builds up.

[Baerboxer]

And the political hijacking of the legal system continues......

And I suppose your an expert on the Thai legal system// or are you just bleating the same old 'Red' propaganda

Presumably Mr. Peter is frustrated that the previous regimes attempts to hi-jack all parts of the Thai legal system failed. Threats, burning coffins, slinging shit (literally), lobbing grenades, warning of dire consequences if decisions went against them and trying to subvert justice with pastry boxes stuffed with money failed.

In the red mind if someone can't be corrupted by them or intimidated then that person must be even more corrupt. They have no concept of honesty.

[rametindallas]

Reported this morning on ABC news (Aust) that this is politically motivated and aimed solely at removing her and her party from politics for good.

Well that's it then, After all, Australian news journalists wouldn't lie or put their spin on anything would they?

And did they comment on the corruption, missing billions or Yinglucks failure to produce facts, figures and give meaningful answers?

From a graphic circulated on social media:

Left: “We don’t take sides, but we would like to see Thailand return to democracy.” W. Patrick Murphy, the US charge d’ affaires of the US Embassy in Thailand

Right: Democracy?

Caption: Only when the US stops calling corruption “democracy”, then the problem will end.

[At right is an image showing a warehouse with a fake interior intended to overstate quantities of rice. Critics contend that the rice pledging scheme was an attempt to use taxpayer money to reward Pheu Thai supporters and enrich its MPs to ensure government stability until a Thaksin amnesty could be granted.]

[rametindallas]

Good news. Get the cell ready!!!

Lets just string her up & build a big concentration camp for all her supporters eh?

When will Thailand deal with the real law breakers who shut down the airport or brought about the coup or killed the innocent nurses or just about any law breaking you care to mention involving the Thai elite?

Probably when hell freezes over!

Lets just string her up & build a big concentration camp for all her supporters eh?

Excellent idea but don't tease me like that. You know she will sneak out the back way if it gets too hot and a lot of other rats will jump ship, also.

[cup-O-coffee]

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"The move is widely seen as an attempt to cripple the political machine of Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the 2006 coup, and to prevent his allies from returning to power."

The move is widely seen as seeking justice with the former PM Yingluck's self-financing scheme having lost 700 billion Baht and she frequently stating the scheme reached it's goal, she to be in charge.

In the civilized Western world it's seen as a political agenda. In the civilized world the junta is seen as illegitimate and illegal and lacking standing to prosecute anyone.

I have seen no proof that Yingluck stole the rice money herself. I have seen allegations of negligence.

This is a political cleansing to rid Thailand of the Shinawatra influence.

If criminal charges are to be brought they should have proof as to who the thieves were. Buying rice for above market price isn't illegal. Stealing that rice, cooking the books and so on is illegal. Who did that? Are they saying that YS did?

They are charging her with negligence.

That means for those not paying attention...well put simply, not paying attention.

Yingsy was in charge, being the PM is not all designer handbags and jolly beanos,

There comes with it a degree of responsibility.

She was responsible for overseeing the policies enacted by her government. Do you see?

Considering there is ample evidence her cronies systematically stripped the coffers She is doubly responsible.

She took the top job, and is responsible for the actions of her government.

The assertion that this is politically motivated is really correct. This is all related to politics and power. I agree the Junta are trying to ensure the Shins are removed from Thai politics.

But not because they are well supported, but because whenever they are in power large amounts of money seem to land in their bank accounts whilst similar amounts disappear from Thailands coffers, and seemingly they are not liable to pay tax, or follow the law. They also proffer corruption and cronyism.

I think they are being prosecuted ensure this type of corruption is not allowed to flourish again.

In a perfect world, you are correct, but in my view, you have described just about every important person who has made headlines in the last two years here in LOS.

Similarly, I have noticed, since she has been stripped of her powers, that the corruption machine is still rollig along full steam ahead, unless you haven't been reading the headlines.

Additionally, and anyone can correct me, Thai law is not written in the literal sense. It is written in such a manner that anyone standing in judgment can interpret it in just about any fashioon he, she or they wish to; hence the opportunism to indulge in "motivating" said judges to make the call in this person's favor, or that person's favor.

The law is not clear cut, and there are always too many subordinates scoffing it, so that any leader could be hung from the rafters on any given day based on your perfect world view.

My opinion only.

Respect.