Yingluck warned to attend first day of court trial today

[webfact]

RICE-PLEDGING SCHEME
Yingluck warned to attend first day of court trial today
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- A SENIOR public prosecutor yesterday warned former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra against failing to show up on the first day of her trial today in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders.

Surasak Treeratanatrakul, director general of the Office of the Attorney General's Bureau of Investigation, said that the OAG's working group investigating the case against Yingluck would all be present at the court today.

The case stems from the Yingluck government's controversial rice-pledging scheme. The former PM is accused of failing to prevent corruption in the government project, which resulted in losses of more than Bt500 billion to the state. If found guilty, she could face up to 10 years in jail.

Yingluck is charged with dereliction of duty and abuse of authority, as well as violating the Criminal Code and the Anti-Corruption Act.

Surasak is deputy leader of the working group. He said yesterday it was reported in the media that Yingluck would attend the first court hearing for the case, in which she is accused of negligence in her oversight of the rice scheme.

However, the senior prosecutor warned that if the defendant fails to show up at the court, without proper explanation by her lawyers or authorised representatives, the court might issue an arrest warrant for her. He noted that Yingluck has already been notified in writing, with a court notice being posted at her house, about the trial's schedule.

"To miss a court appointment for trial, you need to have a necessity, such as getting seriously ill," the prosecutor said.

He said that the prosecution would have more than 10 witnesses in the case.

Surasak would not answer the question as to whether the prosecutors would oppose a request for bail by Yingluck. He said it would depend on the court whether to grant bail.

Thanarerk Nitisenee, president of the court's Criminal Division for Political Officer-holders, said that at the start of the trial today, the court would ask the defendant if she wants to confess - or dismiss the allegations against her.

He said the defendant had not applied for temporary release, adding it was likely that she would do so today.

The judge said Yingluck could seek postponement of her trial but it would eventually depend on the court - and if her reason was convincing enough.

Yingluck's legal team met yesterday to prepare necessary documents to be used during the first hearing.

A source familiar with the team said that Yingluck would definitely appear before the court this morning. However, she would not give any media interviews due to concern that could be considered an infringement of the court's authority.

Democrat Party politician Warong Dechgitvigrom said he believed Yingluck would show up at the court trial today in order to avoid legal consequences if she fails to do so. He urged Yingluck to respect a court ruling in this case even though she may not benefit from it.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Yingluck-warned-to-attend-first-day-of-court-trial-30260411.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-19

[webfact]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck
AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

[FreddieJ2]

How much crying will she do today?

[ratcatcher]

I am sure she has made a note on her smart phone and had her hair done in order to face her accusers.

Let the games begin.

[NeverSure]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

[rametindallas]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Where to start with this crap-fest of a 'news' article. I think the author of this piece is clearly distorting the truth as exampled below.

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Edited May 18, 2015 by rametindallas

[15Peter20]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

Her supporters can't start squealing unless they want their attitudes adjusted.

[LannaGuy]

be careful what you wish for

[NongKhaiKid]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

I'm with you on this valid point. I've read elsewhere that an official has said bail is a question for the court but refusal could upset her supporters so what would jail time do ?

Does anyone see a finding of guilt resulting in a suspended sentence ?

[Plutojames88]

The problem with such trials is that everyone from both polar hemispheres of political sentiment are focused now on this judicial process.

From those who would call Red shirts ""human trash "" to those who would love to see Bangkok cast into the historical pages .

And In between the degrees of people who saw her as incompetent perhaps but hardly evil.

Or guilty to a degree but maybe not deserved of Imprisonment .

Some with glee await the most likely result which will be the above given the stacked deck.

A golden oppurtunity to punish political opponents that have dogged them for over a decade.

Way up in Chiang Mai army Barracks of a Military fort that houses thousands of troops whose parents love Yingluck , generals are aware of the political climate intensifying.

Verdicts that are strongly punishing against this enormously popular woman and former Pm , might unsettle the people who support not just her but their cause.?

The Bangkok military leader is skating on thin ice here.

Regions of the country still love this woman unquestionably , no matter what is said here .

I have witnessed thousands of people coming out to see her at recent events.

She is not a bad woman and very kind faced and pleasant .

Whatever is said about her tycoon successful brother , she herself was a lovely person.

I speak in the former as I mention her in the political context.

And politics are behind her family now.

The elites have seen to that.

This charter in any case is like playing with marked cards .

It's a way of cheating and dealing up the preferred results.

While they have that in place and a general ensuring their survival in Bangkok .

Why risk it all?

Internal fractions can occur , opportunities within military ranks present themselves.

Yes civil war.

Sounds far fetched but to have one you need (like life )key ingredients to make it.

The elements are all currently present.

To mix them up will be dangerous.

Today is the real beginning in this whole saga.

It's the experiment that can bubble and froth and settle down or create a reaction so powerful it has a life of its own.

For a year and longer ill feeling has festered and simmered.

But the co existence has under rule of gun been manageable .

What this test is today , and beyond , is how far will the Thai people tolerate the path the elites and their judicial courts are leading them down?

Will they suffer the former Pm (and mother) jailing in quiet?

Will this be the political spark the elites play in order to keep power.

Maybe get some reaction they can crush and put down.

And paint to the world as being terror related?

Or will it be a gross miscalculation on their part and the international community see her as victimised? And the response as being against oppression?

The ice might give way and the military fall through not just the "political creditable justification cracks " but it's own northern Military ones.

A coup within a coup is now in the realm of possibility.

Especially when Thaksin and his billions are in the offering and wind.

The trial beginning today is not as calm as it appears.

It has all the hallmarks of a tsunami approaching if they go after her.

The guns are basically held by young men and whose families in many northern cases support this woman at heart.

It's sometimes etched on their faces that this isn't what they want.

But today the real show begins

Edited May 19, 2015 by Plutojames88

[LannaGuy]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

I'm with you on this valid point. I've read elsewhere that an official has said bail is a question for the court but refusal could upset her supporters so what would jail time do ?

Does anyone see a finding of guilt resulting in a suspended sentence ?

the crazy thing is that she doesn't get 'parliamentary privilege' which is a foundation stone of democracies giving protection against law suits when not in office

maybe she could have done more and maybe she didn't have the skills to do so but jail...??? millions of Thais will shudder in shock if it happens

[NongKhaiKid]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

I'm with you on this valid point. I've read elsewhere that an official has said bail is a question for the court but refusal could upset her supporters so what would jail time do ?

Does anyone see a finding of guilt resulting in a suspended sentence ?

the crazy thing is that she doesn't get 'parliamentary privilege' which is a foundation stone of democracies giving protection against law suits when not in office

maybe she could have done more and maybe she didn't have the skills to do so but jail...??? millions of Thais will shudder in shock if it happens

I'm not quite sure about the parliamentary privilege aspect and am happy to be corrected.

As I understand it in Britain MPs can say things in the House, within the rules, that would see them being sued if they said it elsewhere.. I've seen interviews where MPs are challenged to repeat what they said in the Commons and they won't.

[Yunla]

Hopefully there will be court staff present on her arrival, to show her how to climb out of the van without causing serious injury to herself.

This remains my enduring memory of her time in office, a PM who became temporarily wheelchair-bound following a tragic stepping-out-of-a-van incident.

How can any able-bodied adult be PM, if they can't even climb out of a van without breaking themselves? Could they even become a street-sweeper without some sort of intensive training? "Here is your broom. This end is UP. You hold this end. This end is DOWN. You put that end on the ground and make this swoosh-swoosh motion. The street is over there, its that big twisty hot thing on the floor. Good luck!"

[Fat Haggis]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Where to start with this crap-fest of a 'news' article. I think the author of this piece is clearly distorting the truth as exampled below.

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

[impulse]

the crazy thing is that she doesn't get 'parliamentary privilege' which is a foundation stone of democracies giving protection against law suits when not in office

maybe she could have done more and maybe she didn't have the skills to do so but jail...??? millions of Thais will shudder in shock if it happens

I understand the protection from lawsuits.

But the OP says she's at risk of a 10 year jail term, leading me to believe this isn't a civil proceeding, but a criminal proceeding.

[LannaGuy]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

I'm with you on this valid point. I've read elsewhere that an official has said bail is a question for the court but refusal could upset her supporters so what would jail time do ?

Does anyone see a finding of guilt resulting in a suspended sentence ?

the crazy thing is that she doesn't get 'parliamentary privilege' which is a foundation stone of democracies giving protection against law suits when not in office

maybe she could have done more and maybe she didn't have the skills to do so but jail...??? millions of Thais will shudder in shock if it happens

I'm not quite sure about the parliamentary privilege aspect and am happy to be corrected.

As I understand it in Britain MPs can say things in the House, within the rules, that would see them being sued if they said it elsewhere.. I've seen interviews where MPs are challenged to repeat what they said in the Commons and they won't.

yes that's right... it's a fundamental right that anything said within the House cannot be said outside and THAT guarantees freedom to say what they really think and let's the PM and government not be fearful to have the same scenario as here

they cannot be sued, taken to court etc

[impulse]

yes that's right... it's a fundamental right that anything said within the House cannot be said outside and THAT guarantees freedom to say what they really think and let's the PM and government not be fearful to have the same scenario as here

they cannot be sued, taken to court etc

That all may be true. But it's not relevant. She's not being sued for something she said.

[bander]

Now is the right time to pack your bags and join your brother in Dubai Yingluck.

[Tatsujin]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Where to start with this crap-fest of a 'news' article. I think the author of this piece is clearly distorting the truth as exampled below.

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Nicely summed up ...

[Muirton]

Lil sis was the captain of a team of rats like Chalerm and Tarit. Therefore she is a rat too. The billions of the rice scheme are permanently lost. But millions can be retrieved by stripping the rats of their assets.

The interesting part now is if she will have to do serious time. If the top rats come clear with only a slap on the wrist nothing will change.

Corruption can only be fought if the corrupt ones end up in jail, so all can see it is not a profitable business anymore.

Andrey Yanuarevich Vyshinsky would be proud to know his sense of judicial procedures can still be found on earth, particularly in Bangkok.

[Thaddeus]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Where to start with this crap-fest of a 'news' article. I think the author of this piece is clearly distorting the truth as exampled below.

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

Compare the number of things he got wrong, to the number of things you didn't like, one will be a very small number, and one will be very large.

[uty6543]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Where to start with this crap-fest of a 'news' article. I think the author of this piece is clearly distorting the truth as exampled below.

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

Hatred is a reserved occupation for red shirt supporters only, i.e. cheering at a UDD meeting at the news of the deaths in Trat of children just because it was a yellow shirt area.

On this side, that is non red shirt supporters, we want to see facts not distortions. We also want to see justice served against anyone who has broken the law regardless of which political party they belong to. Was glad to see Suthep charged with corruption. Hope he is convicted as well as Yingluck.

If you can't correct anything rametindallas wrote I guess that is because everything he wrote is fact not fiction.

Attack the post not the poster.

[Chao Lao Beach]

All the Juanta wan't is a life long ban from politics, before they "win" the next election.

[LannaGuy]

yes that's right... it's a fundamental right that anything said within the House cannot be said outside and THAT guarantees freedom to say what they really think and let's the PM and government not be fearful to have the same scenario as here

they cannot be sued, taken to court etc

That all may be true. But it's not relevant. She's not being sued for something she said.

totally and utterly relevant as it protects laws enacted, policies pursued and even wars fought whilst in power. Try taking to Court Bush over Iraq or Blair over Afghanistan it is absurd and no one would ever go into politics

[Robby nz]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Where to start with this crap-fest of a 'news' article. I think the author of this piece is clearly distorting the truth as exampled below.

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

You really have got your knickers in a twist over the lies of AFP being exposed.

But you are right in one thing, nobody is forced to read it, I didn't read past the first sentence before realizing AFP and scrolling down to the bottom to check where it came from, then went no farther.

However there are still some who are so gullible or brainwashed that they will believe any lie that emulates from the red publicity machine so it doesn't really hurt for someone to expose the lies.

[Guest]

I am confused what the game plan is here.

I find that the best way to get things done is to be certain of your goal, and reverse engineer your way to it.

If the goal is "Make a martyr of a popular and charismatic political rival" ... then they should continue down a path toward imprisonment. When you reach in a hive barehanded to grab the queen, expect to get stung .. with high numbers and enthusiasm.

If the goal is "Provoke opponents to allow my side to use the military to crack down and go back on "Curfew Mode" ... drag this process out for as long as possible, and cause the former PM and Family to lose face. Eventually, there will be protests to "crack down on." This is like a fireman, setting a house on fire .. just to put it out.

If the goal is "Put this item to rest, let the former PM have her day in court, create a mutually beneficial "Big Face day" .. then move on with governing the country without static. The problem with that is, the brother does not go quietly into the night ... and nature abhors a vacuum.

In this case, I do wonder what the goal is .. time will tell, for this is pure Kabuki Theater ... the outcome is already in hand, all that is required is the audience and "lights, camera, action".

I do hope it is to put this to rest, and move forward to best serve the interest of the hard working Thai People who deserve a bigger piece of the pie .. in a country where just a handful of families seem to own dozens of pie factories.

[jackanapes]

I personally think the lady is innocent of any wrongdoing and she is being made a scapegoat if she is found guilty there will be repercussions .

[Artisi]

I personally think the lady is innocent of any wrongdoing and she is being made a scapegoat if she is found guilty there will be repercussions .

Of course she is innocent - why, simple answer - "don't you know who I am", "don't you know who my big brother is" therefore I am innocent.

[Baerboxer]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

I'm with you on this valid point. I've read elsewhere that an official has said bail is a question for the court but refusal could upset her supporters so what would jail time do ?

Does anyone see a finding of guilt resulting in a suspended sentence ?

the crazy thing is that she doesn't get 'parliamentary privilege' which is a foundation stone of democracies giving protection against law suits when not in office

maybe she could have done more and maybe she didn't have the skills to do so but jail...??? millions of Thais will shudder in shock if it happens

I'm not quite sure about the parliamentary privilege aspect and am happy to be corrected.

As I understand it in Britain MPs can say things in the House, within the rules, that would see them being sued if they said it elsewhere.. I've seen interviews where MPs are challenged to repeat what they said in the Commons and they won't.

Your understanding is correct.

If MP's in the UK commit fraud, perjury etc they can be, and are prosecuted and punished in accordance with the law if found guilty. Some have indeed been jailed.

But LannaGuy would like to pretend it means she can't be held legally responsible for anything, thereby above the law. Which it doesn't.

Jail - who knows given the vagaries of the Thai judicial system. 15 years for picking wild mushrooms, slap on the wrist for causing the deaths of 9 people whilst illegally driving, allowed to do a runner when killing a cop with your Ferrari whilst speeding, pissed and on drugs.

More about loss of face, public humiliation than actual jail time I'd guess.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Baerboxer

[Baerboxer]

I personally think the lady is innocent of any wrongdoing and she is being made a scapegoat if she is found guilty there will be repercussions .

Fine if you think lying, cheating, breaking the law and letting your criminal fugitive brother illegally run the country are acceptable and innocent.

You sound like PTP, their Ministers and UDD leaders. They used to threaten courts about what would happen "should they make the wrong decisions".

She was undoubtedly controlled by her crooked brother and did as she was told. Does that make her innocent? Not in my book - she knowingly lied, performed like a good actress and shows not one ounce of remorse.