Thailand's former PM Thaksin breaks silence on Twitter

[webfact]

Thailand's former PM Thaksin breaks silence on Twitter

 

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra looks on as he speaks to Reuters during an interview in Singapore February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra broke a long silence on Wednesday to comment on Twitter following his sister's flight from the country last week.

 

Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government was ousted by the military in 2014, left Thailand last week before a Supreme Court verdict in a negligence case against her.

 

Former premier Yingluck had faced up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

 

Thaksin, in his comment on Twitter, quoted the 18th century French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu, denouncing judicial tyranny.

 

"Montesquieu once said 'There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice'," Thaksin said on his official Twitter page.

 

Former telecommunications tycoon Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives in self-exile to avoid a 2008 graft conviction he says was politically motivated.

 

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-30

[greenchair]

Well said. 

And absolute power breeds absolute corruption as we will see in the years to come. 

[webfact]

Thaksin returns to twitter after his sister flees

 

 

Fugitive ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra made a surprise return to twitter on Wednesday after being absent for about two years, citing a quotation from Montesquieu.

The tweet came after a few days after his sister; Yingluck Shinawatra, also an ex-PM, failed to show up to hear the ruling on a charge of negligence concerning her government's rice-pledging scheme, that cost the country billions of Baht.

 

Apparently referring to his sister's case, Thaksin tweeted; "Montesquieu once said 'There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of the justice'."

 

As of today, there are no indications as to whereabouts of Yingluck, with some speculating that she escaped to Dubai, where Thaksin lives while some others claim she is seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30325290

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-08-30

[Thian]

And when will he pay the tax he is dued to pay?

[scorecard]

 

And Reuters again post unbalanced reports, no comment on the fact that his conviction is for serious abuse of authority and no connection whatever to politics. 

Edited August 30, 2017 by scorecard

[maxpower]

6 minutes ago, Thian said:

And when will he pay the tax he is dued to pay?

When he is sure it won't go towards buying useless military hardware.

[Thian]

1 minute ago, maxpower said:

When he is sure it won't go towards buying useless military hardware.

They will pay the new trains from his taxmoney so the ricefarmers upcountry can travel by train to BKK.

[worgeordie]

Another one spouting rubbish on twitter,sure you know the other one.

whenever a politician is caught doing something wrong,and is 

taken to court,they always say its political persecution,happens 

quite often in 3rd world countries,when most people know what the truth is.

regards worgeordie

[Reigntax]

23 minutes ago, Thian said:

And when will he pay the tax he is dued to pay?

 

The week after the Constitutional Court charges Prayuth and his cohorts with treason, human rights abuse, dereliction of duty and just being plain stupid. Only one place for people such as Prayuth; where his feet fail to touch the ground

Edited August 30, 2017 by Reigntax

[Misterwhisper]

47 minutes ago, webfact said:

"Montesquieu once said 'There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice'," Thaksin said on his official Twitter page.

Too bad he didn't remember that quote when he started gagging the press during his tenure as a PM; dispatched his goons to smash several editorial offices; slapped journalists who exposed his shady business dealings (Alpine Golf Course anyone? Ratchada land purchase anyone?) with 1-billion-baht lawsuits;  embarked on his controversial and unlawful "War on Drugs"; concealed his taxable wealth by transferring his assets to his maid and gardener; and massively evaded tax when he sold Shin Corp. to Singapore's Temasek Holdings, among a long list of other "honest mistakes". Quoting Montesquieu only seems to serve him fine when he or his family find themselves at the receiving end.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Misterwhisper

[sjaak327]

42 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

And Reuters again post unbalanced reports, no comment on the fact that his conviction is for serious abuse of authority and no connection whatever to politics. 

He was convicted for a land sale of a plot of land on Ratchadapisek, done by his wife, on the premises that he abused his power because the company involved was a state enterprise, and he was PM at the time, It certainly had a connection with politics.

[webfact]

Thaksin tweets, blaming injustice

By Thai PBS

 

 

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Wednesday (Aug 30) posted his message on Twitter, his first reaction after the escape of his sister and former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

 

At about 1pm, Thaksin posted a quote of Montesquier, a famous French lawyer and political philosopher whose real name is Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, who lived between Jan 18, 1689-Feb 10, 1755.

 

Thaksin’s posting, both in the Thai and English languages, read : Montesquieu once said “There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of the justice.”

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thaksin-tweets-blaming-injustice/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-08-30

[LannaGuy]

How right he is.  No precedents, No juries and vindictive against those of different colour. He was no angel, she was no angel but they were democratically elected by the people, for the people. 

[YetAnother]

31 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

they always say its political persecution,happens 

quite often in 3rd world countries

Politicians are only capable of thinking in political terms; with an ingrained hint of paranoia

[hansnl]

52 minutes ago, greenchair said:

Well said. 

And absolute power breeds absolute corruption as we will see in the years to come. 

Exactly!

That was what Mr T was aiming for.

And let's not forget his 2500 murder spree.

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"Montesquieu once said 'There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice'," Thaksin said on his official Twitter page.

Ah, the irony

 

https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/03/12/thailands-war-drugs

 

 

In 2005, the UN Human Rights Committee raised serious concerns about the "extraordinarily large number of killings" that took place during the ‘war' and recommended that thorough and independent investigations be undertaken.4 Then UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Asma Jahangir, sent an urgent communication to the Thai government in 2003.5 In its response, Thailand said that every unnatural death would be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the law.6 To date, none of the perpetrators of arbitrary killings have been brought to justice.  
 
 

 

In August 2007, the military-installed government of General Surayud Chalanont appointed a special committee to investigate the extrajudicial killings during the 2003 war on drugs. The committee's report - which has never been made public - said that of 2,819 people killed between February and April 2003, more than 1400 were unrelated to drug dealing or had no apparent reason for their killings. Human Rights Watch, ‘Thailand: Prosecute Anti-Drugs Police Identified in Abuses,' February 7, 2008

Edited August 30, 2017 by Bluespunk

[sawadee1947]

well spoken and absolutely true

[Muggi1968]

44 minutes ago, maxpower said:

When he is sure it won't go towards buying useless military hardware.

And he have a garantee they will use the money to buy mobile phones, subscriptions and tele communication equipment from his company...
(Like in gooooddddd old days)

[hansnl]

Just now, LannaGuy said:

How right he is.  No precedents, No juries and vindictive against those of different colour. He was no angel, she was no angel but they were democratically elected by the people, for the people. 

They were democratically elected to form a government for ALL the people, not only those that voted for them.

But that is quite missing in all elected politicians.

[LannaGuy]

51 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

And Reuters again post unbalanced reports, no comment on the fact that his conviction is for serious abuse of authority and no connection whatever to politics. 

Ah now Reuters too earn your political bile?

 

The Reuters News Agency employs some 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters journalists use the Reuters Handbook of Journalism as a guide for fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests, to maintain the values of integrity and freedom upon which their reputation for reliability, accuracy, speed and exclusivity relies.

 

respected, neutral, balanced and relied upon by ALL journalists internationally

 

 

[Tchooptip]

Forbes estimated the Thaksin Shinawatra fortune at one billion seven hundred million Bahts

every cents  sorry Bahts  of  it he earned honestly of course ... starting his career as a police officer 

[zaphod reborn]

18 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

How right he is.  No precedents, No juries and vindictive against those of different colour. He was no angel, she was no angel but they were democratically elected by the people, for the people. 

And both were victims of their own incompetence.  Yingluck had more than sufficient opportunity to immunize the PM and cabinet officials from actions for negligence and dereliction of duty.  Instead, PTP was more interested in unlawfully attempting to grant an amnesty to Thaksin.

[LannaGuy]

4 minutes ago, Tchooptip said:

Forbes estimated the Thaksin Shinawatra fortune at one billion seven hundred million Bahts

every cents  sorry Bahts  of  it he earned honestly of course ... starting his career as a police officer 

Whoa there...!   let's not let a few facts spoil the insinuation huh?

 

Thaksin founded AIS etc. long before he joined politics (in 1994). He was greedy and unethical, no doubt, but probably the same as every other politician. He also did much good in Thailand, particularly for the poor who love him still. Who else has ever even attempted to help them?  Yingluck and that's about it. Anyway past is past and Thailand needs a new direction neither red nor yellow.

 

 

[LannaGuy]

2 minutes ago, zaphod reborn said:

And both were victims of their own incompetence.  Yingluck had more than sufficient opportunity to immunize the PM and cabinet officials from actions for negligence and dereliction of duty.  Instead, PTP was more interested in unlawfully attempting to grant an amnesty to Thaksin.

 

Ah 'unlawfully' whereas the Junta did it 'lawfully'?  

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

 

And Reuters again post unbalanced reports, no comment on the fact that his conviction is for serious abuse of authority and no connection whatever to politics. 

 

Sorry but that is incorrect. The Nation chose to cut the full Reuters story to a third of its length, the missing part including all the background. Some newspapers frequently do this. Below is the link to Reuters.com and the full story sent to news clients.

 

Full Reuters story

[WinnieTheKhwai]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

 

And Reuters again post unbalanced reports, no comment on the fact that his conviction is for serious abuse of authority and no connection whatever to politics. 

You're hilarious. :D   Well done.

[candide]

22 minutes ago, Tchooptip said:

Forbes estimated the Thaksin Shinawatra fortune at one billion seven hundred million Bahts

every cents  sorry Bahts  of  it he earned honestly of course ... starting his career as a police officer 

Probably not more than the other Thai guys in the list.

[NRGF]

1 hour ago, greenchair said:

Well said. 

And absolute power breeds absolute corruption as we will see in the years to come. 

And have seen in the years gone by.

 

[webfact]

Thailand's Thaksin breaks silence to cite tyranny in 'name of justice'

By Panu Wongcha-um and Amy Sawitta Lefevre

 

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra looks on as he speaks to Reuters during an interview in Singapore February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Wednesday made his first public comment since his sister fled the country last week, breaking a long silence with a Twitter post that appeared to denounce the Thai justice system as tyrannical.

 

Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, 50, whose government was ousted by the military in 2014, disappeared from Thailand last week, shortly before a Supreme Court verdict in a negligence case against her.

 

Former premier Yingluck had faced up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

 

In his comment on Twitter, Thaksin quoted the 18th century French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu.

 

"Montesquieu once said 'There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice'," Thaksin said on his official Twitter page.

 

The post, which appeared in both English and Thai, was his first on that page since 2015. The message was retweeted more than 1,000 times within 40 minutes.

 

Former telecommunications tycoon Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives in self-exile to avoid a 2008 graft conviction he says was politically motivated.

 

Yingluck disappeared ahead of the court verdict last Friday in her trial for negligence over a costly rice subsidy scheme that helped to bring her to power in a 2011 general election.

 

She was forced to step down days before a May 2014 coup against her government, after a court found her guilty of abuse of power in connection with a civil service posting.

 

Supporters of Yingluck and Thaksin have accused the courts of bias in frequent ruling against the Shinawatras and their allies.

 

Last week, junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said the government had no influence over the courts.

 

'PERSECUTION'

 

Thaksin re-shaped Thai politics after a building business empire, winning staunch support with populist policies that raised living standards, especially among the rural poor, and propelled him or his loyalists to victory in every election since 2001.

 

But Thaksin also posed a challenge to the royalist-military establishment, which denounced him as corrupt, setting up a struggle that has defined Thai politics for most of the past 15 years.

 

His seemingly defiant post on Twitter will be viewed with interest on both sides of the divide.

 

Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the junta, declined to comment on Thaksin's post.

 

In March, Thaksin accused the ruling junta in a Facebook post of bullying him over a $500 million tax bill and said he could be ruled out of any reconciliation efforts.

 

Yingluck has accused the military government of political persecution. She pleaded innocent to the negligence charge against her.

 

Aides say Yingluck left Thailand after getting information that she would be given a heavy sentence. They and sources at her Puea Thai Party said she is now in Dubai with Thaksin, who has a home there.

 

In a statement on Tuesday the Puea Thai Party did not refer explicitly to Yingluck's departure but said it would overcome the obstacles it faced and was committed to democracy.

 

The military government has promised to hold an election next year. The support the Shinawatras command will be closely watched.

 

(Additional reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-30

[baboon]

13 minutes ago, Matt199 said:

Can someone recommend some book on the topic of Thai politics in last 10 years? preferably unbiased view

 

I've only read "The King Never Smile" (which is banned in Thailand), but I would like to have a good insight into what's been happening with more detail. Kind thanks

There are books available, but none are going to be unbiased when covering such a polarising time in Thai history. Too much bad blood on both sides prevents it.