Is Thaksin doomed to be a follower of his movement?

[webfact]

BURNING ISSUE
Is Thaksin doomed to be a follower of his movement?
ATTAYUTH BOOTSRIPOOM

BANGKOK: -- FORMER prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra recently criticised the country's latest coup when giving an interview to South Korean media in Seoul. He suggested that different groups of people had worked together against him.

His remarks were considered unacceptable by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and moves against him ensued. The Foreign Ministry revoked Thaksin's passports and the Royal Thai Police are revoking his police rank of lieutenant-colonel.

People close to Thaksin are feeling the heat, particularly his sister, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is facing a number of court cases.

It seems Thaksin is now attempting to ease the situation. He posted on social media photos of him doing meditation. In his message, he said he had returned to Dubai after holding his new-born twin grandchildren in Singapore.

"I meditated as usual. But this time I also extended loving kindness to all the powers-that-be, in the hope that they are free from greed, anger and delusion. I wish they had the intelligence to solve the country's problems and bring about genuine reconciliation. They should not just use power, which will only lead to more conflict," Thaksin said in his message.

"I believe in Lord Buddha's teaching that everything is impermanent. Things are born and then they are gone. So are the passports. I don't want this issue to get bigger. I am the same person until I leave this world. I want Thai people to have mutual loving kindness. Law and gun can't solve problems - but loving kindness can," he said.

Yingluck said in her Facebook message that her current hobby was to grow vegetables and mushrooms at home. "Living a simple life brings inner happiness. It's better than outer happiness, which is not sustainable," she said.

Both Thaksin and Yingluck seemed to send a message that they merely wanted a simple life free from political conflict - while the powers-that-be and their supporters were moving against them.

Surprisingly, there have been no reactions from young people who disagree with the powers-that-be. No movements from the red shirts either.

And only a handful of red-shirt politicians close to Thaksin showed their discontent with the moves against their "big boss".

However, the authorities have been on the lookout for possible unrest by Thaksin's supporters, following the moves to revoke his passports and police rank. The national police chief ordered police units all over the country to remain vigilant.

Certainly, a reason that the red shirts have remained calm despite the moves against Thaksin is that the NCPO has managed to control the situation. The powers-that-be have effectively restricted dissent, or even the slightest move by dissidents.

However, another reason is that Thaksin's recent moves are pushing his supporters away from him. In the past, the ex-PM was considered a symbol of democracy for his supporters.

But he has failed to show his potential as a "democracy leader", amid rumours that a "super deal" was reached between both sides.

The bill for blanket amnesty, which was fully backed by Yingluck's government, made it clear for many of Thaksin's disillusioned supporters that he in fact thought mainly for himself.

As the bill was later rejected by the Senate after strong opposition, ordinary protesters who deserved amnesty more than he did, ended up missing the opportunity.

Even after the coup in May last year, Thaksin showed no attempt to fight against the illegal power seizure. He told his supporters to wait for "the right time". And his political cohorts showed no regret in losing the mandate given to them by the people either.

The way he thinks and acts is increasingly drawing Thaksin away from his supporters.

It is believed that in the next fight for democracy, he will no longer be the mainstay or champion as was the case in the past. He will just be a follower of this people's movement.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Is-Thaksin-doomed-to-be-a-follower-of-his-movement-30261564.html


-- The Nation 2015-06-04

[Bluespunk]

" Thaksin....... seemed to send a message that they merely wanted a simple life free from political conflict"

Easily done.

Come home.

Go to gaol for conviction you are currently evading.

Stand trial for other crimes and if guilty go to gaol.

Once free stop funding parties in your quest for personal wealth and the opportunities to gain it offered by political power.

[waza]

What could be more simple and enlightening than a few years in a prison cell?

[NongKhaiKid]

So will the slogan be changed to ' PTP thinks, Thaksin acts ' ?

[rijb]

Problem solved.. Thaksin is losing his followers. Now, the government can focus on 'real' problems. This is so exciting! I can't wait for the new, improved Thailand.

[Sharp]

They should not just use power, which will only lead to more conflict," Thaksin said in his message....

This bloke seriously needs to look in the mirror!!!!

[ramrod711]

The bill for blanket amnesty, which was fully backed by Yingluck's government, made it clear for many of Thaksin's disillusioned supporters that he in fact thought mainly for himself.

I knew his followers weren't very bright, but if they didn't realize that he was only concerned about his own wealth and welfare, that he couldn't care less about his "supporters", they may not know enough to come in out of the rain.

[mikemac]

................."But this time I also extended loving kindness to all the powers-that-be, in the hope that they are free from greed, anger and delusion."..................

Try taking your own advice, Thaksin. If you did there would have been a lot less people killed in the last few years.

[smedly]

Both Thaksin and Yingluck seemed to send a message that they merely wanted a simple life free from political conflict - while the powers-that-be and their supporters were moving against them.

Maybe they should both learn to keep their mouths firmly shut and stay out of it........................SIMPLE

and if there is the remotest chance that YL looks like she is going to jail (like now) Thaksin should come clean - come back to Thailand and face the music like a man instead of letting his sister take the fall for his deeds, everybody knows full well she was never the PM in any true sense of the words

[Tatsujin]

"Thaksin and Yingluck seemed to send a message that they merely wanted a simple life free from political conflict"

Simple answer to that, stop funding the terrorist movement you started and come back and do your time like a man. You do the crime, do the time. Oh, and "speaking" about those self-same things you want to be free from might help.

As an aside, a fair few of my Thai friends have said how absolutely disgusted they were by his pics/comments with regards to the meditating and not wanting to be involved in politics etc. There's a lot of hate out there right now for Thaksin (the Shinawatra's) from what I'm seeing/hearing, both in Bangkok and further afield.

[Tatsujin]

The bill for blanket amnesty, which was fully backed by Yingluck's government, made it clear for many of Thaksin's disillusioned supporters that he in fact thought mainly for himself.

I knew his followers weren't very bright, but if they didn't realize that he was only concerned about his own wealth and welfare, that he couldn't care less about his "supporters", they may not know enough to come in out of the rain.

You can lead a horse to water but ... you know the rest ... fortunately a fair few of his "supporters" HAVE woken up and smelt the coffee ... finally. Their support is not what it once was, despite the claims to the contrary from some red cheerleaders here.

[Halion]

The ravings of a narcissistic sycophantic, hardly news worthy.

This meditation crap is pure manipulation as he tries desperately to align himself in the good grace of the quasi Buddhist following in this country.

[trogers]

So will the slogan be changed to ' PTP thinks, Thaksin acts ' ?

PTP thinks??? ? ? ?

[trogers]

................."But this time I also extended loving kindness to all the powers-that-be, in the hope that they are free from greed, anger and delusion."..................

Try taking your own advice, Thaksin. If you did there would have been a lot less people killed in the last few years.

Yes, those 500 baht a day employment resulted in quite a few deaths while his black shirts took aim lying proned beneath the skirts of women.

And he is trying to lie to Buddha in his meditation?

[ratcatcher]

Thaksin: From militant to penitent.

[WitawatWatawit]

Thaksin as a gentle, simple Buddhist. YL as a gentle, simple farmer.

Do they still think they can manipulate emotions through such transparent PR jiggery-pokery? Thaksin truly is a sick man if he thinks anyone is fooled by this, other than die-hard sycophants who retain forlorn hopes of returning to the trough and cling to him because no one else will have them.

[NickJ]

Sadly both ploys will work on the Isaan voting block and the Shins know this.

[lildragon]

God I'm tired of hearing about this man. He's a spent force. Give up, go live a life of luxury and stop meddling.

[lucky11]

What could be more simple and enlightening than a few years in a prison cell?

He can meditate and ponder as much as he likes - I'm sure they will give him a comfy mat to sit on!!

[heybruce]

Good news--Thaksin is no longer in charge.

Bad news--The majority of the Thai people still want democracy.

How will the junta deal with this?

[Orac]

Thaksin as a gentle, simple Buddhist. YL as a gentle, simple farmer.

Do they still think they can manipulate emotions through such transparent PR jiggery-pokery? Thaksin truly is a sick man if he thinks anyone is fooled by this, other than die-hard sycophants who retain forlorn hopes of returning to the trough and cling to him because no one else will have them.

You seem to have forgotten where you are. This is Thailand where 'superficial' is the name of the game - appearance is everything, substance irrelevant.

[tbthailand]

Thaksin is not that important.

But he (obvious from articles like this) makes for a great distraction from reality...

[ddavidovsky]

The Dalai Lama also went into exile to escape a kangaroo court. Having said that, real revolutionaries, like Nelson Mandela, face the music. Thaksin needs to strap on a pair.

It's an academic question now. He is the product of inevitable change in Thailand, not its creator. He would have made the inevitable transition smoother. That transition, smothered now for the foreseeable future, is likely to be sudden and traumatic when it comes. By that time, presumably, someone else will have emerged and Thaksin will be history, so the answer to the question is probably yes.

[retell]

Come home , hug your family and stand trail , bet you get more than that 2 years you ran away from mr. Thaksin

[EnglishJohn]

Good news--Thaksin is no longer in charge.

Bad news--The majority of the Thai people still want democracy.

How will the junta deal with this?

You are having trouble keeping up with all of this aren't you ?.

When elections are held (the most free and fair Thailand has ever seen), will you stand up at Democracy Monument and shout "I am a gullible idiot" ?.

Because I have not seen or read a single thing to make me believe otherwise up to this moment.

[EnglishJohn]

"I believe in Lord Buddha's teaching that everything is impermanent. Things are born and then they are gone. So are the passports."

No, really, I am not bothered about the passports.

For a man with such an ego and who wants to come home so badly, travelling the world as a Montenegrin is a lesson in humility none of his ill-gotten wealth can help with.

[MiKT]

Good news--Thaksin is no longer in charge.

Bad news--The majority of the Thai people still want democracy.

How will the junta deal with this?

You are having trouble keeping up with all of this aren't you ?.

When elections are held (the most free and fair Thailand has ever seen), will you stand up at Democracy Monument and shout "I am a gullible idiot" ?.

Because I have not seen or read a single thing to make me believe otherwise up to this moment.[/quote "free and fair elections" dream on John, you're a gullible idiot in the wrong country. What a lot of really pathetic whitch hunt posts. Like little children who only know how to parrot. Some of you must be running out of room under your bridges to stash your ill-gotten gains.

[heybruce]

Good news--Thaksin is no longer in charge.

Bad news--The majority of the Thai people still want democracy.

How will the junta deal with this?

You are having trouble keeping up with all of this aren't you ?.

When elections are held (the most free and fair Thailand has ever seen), will you stand up at Democracy Monument and shout "I am a gullible idiot" ?.

Because I have not seen or read a single thing to make me believe otherwise up to this moment.

You think I am a gullible idiot because I don't trust a military junta that came to power by toppling an elected government to produce a democratic constitution. I disagree. To find a gullible idiot a person who thinks the junta will produce a democratic constitution need only look in the mirror.

If and when the junta allows elections, the only reason they might be "free and fair" will be cause the prize won't be worth cheating for; all power will reside outside of elected offices:

"To break this deadlock, the new constitution would weaken the clout of elected politicians. A proportional voting system would encourage smaller parties and coalition governments in the lower house of parliament, while the upper house would be filled with a mix of candidates nominated by committee or selected by professional groups, including one dominated by former military figures. Under certain circumstances, the prime minister could be appointed from outside parliament. Watchdog agencies perceived to be tied to the establishment would get new powers. Thus, unelected elites could mind the store, rather than ordinary voters -- thought to be too susceptible to populist blandishments."

"Such a system would hark back to Thailand's failed past. Earlier constitutions also featured an appointed prime minister and senate, along with a weak lower house. But the old system produced 25 coalition governments from 1979 until Thaksin's election in 2001. And because many ordinary Thais, voting that year under a liberalized constitution, saw their circumstances improve under Thaksin, even the poor have grown used to the idea that their votes matter. They can hardly be expected to again trust their fates to a clique of "wise men" in Bangkok."

"Nor is there any reason to believe that constitutional tweaks can eliminate the main vices attributed to Thaksinite administrations. The junta has amply demonstrated that unelected governments can resort to populist measures as easily as any other, having disbursed billions in subsidies to mollify rice farmers loyal to the previous government. Weak coalition governments would face even more pressure to buy support. "http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-20/thailand-needs-elected-leaders-not-a-new-constitution

I underlined the most significant sections for the benefit of those who don't like to read any more than necessary.

There were two other parts of the Bloomberg article I found pertinent to Thailand's current situation:

"Rampant corruption, meanwhile, did not begin with Thaksin's arrival and won't end with his family’s exit from the political scene. Cutting back on graft requires greater transparency, as well as watchdogs that are truly independent. There’s little evidence the new constitution will promote either."

and:

"The solution isn’t to disempower politicians, as if they were some malign species. Only voters can give government legitimacy. And the only true, sustainable check on any future Thai government is the threat of being voted out of power. The way for opposition parties to defeat Thaksin’s popular electoral machine is to do the hard work of developing a national agenda and appeal. Any constitution that tries to get around basic democracy will only ensure that another one needs to be written in a few years."

I trust democracy, you trust a military junta. Who is the gullible idiot?

Edited June 4, 2015 by heybruce

[Banzai99]

Hey Bruce seems not to be a gullible idiot in my eyes.

[Banzai99]

"I believe in Lord Buddha's teaching that everything is impermanent. Things are born and then they are gone. So are the passports."

No, really, I am not bothered about the passports.

For a man with such an ego and who wants to come home so badly, travelling the world as a Montenegrin is a lesson in humility none of his ill-gotten wealth can help with.

Yeah, I bet you'd hate to be a Billionaire.