Chawee Klinkulai, sits on the floor of the house that her son, Theerawat, built before his imprisonment. Overwhelmed by her situation, she is losing touch with reality because of the stress of losing both Theerawat and his elder brother, who is wanted and has gone into hiding.
The prisoners filter into the visiting room. One stands out in particular: a healthy-looking young man. His name is Theerawat Sarjasuwen; he says he is 21 years old. When the ten-minute visitation period ends, he makes a peace sign with his fingers as he walks away.
The home he built in Ubon Ratchathani prior to his arrest stands empty. His mother, Chawee Klinkulai, 47, is the only one who stops by anymore. As Chawee looks around the abandoned house, her gaze lingers on several photos of Theerawat proposing to his girlfriend that are tacked on a cabinet. While his life has stalled, his girlfriend has decided to move on with hers.
“If he is in prison for 34 years, his life will be hopeless. You cannot grow old in a prison. You should have just asked him to commit suicide,” she says quietly.
Theerawat was convicted of arson in connection to the Ubon Ratchathani Provincial Hall fire, and is sentenced to 33 years and four months in jail. At any other time he probably would have been sentenced to less than 10 years. However, Theerawat is a member of the red shirt movement and was arrested in May 2010. His steep sentence is a reflection of the tense political climate of the time.
Kwanravee Wangudom, a coordinator of the People’s Information Center: April – May 2010 (PIC), says, “Jailing is one way of suppressing dissidents. It is a method used by authoritarian regimes to control and weaken the opposition. The red shirts have emerged so powerfully that the previous government and the old establishment saw them as a threat to their political stability.”
The People’s Information Centre (PIC) estimates that about 1,219 people had been detained nationwide since the crackdown, with 742 of them charged with violations of the Emergency Decree. As of 10 December 2011, 56 people are still in detention, with 41 of them (31 from the Northeast) waiting for bail to be granted. Such figures have not been settled as the authorities continue to arrest more people believed to be in connection with the demonstrations last year.
Recently, former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stated that the government’s actions in response to the violence were justified. ”All the operations were in accordance with international standards and based on the court’s deliberation that the protests were not lawful, that the authorities were duty-bound to maintain law and order,” says Mr. Abhisit.
The Abhisit administration said that it adhered to international precedents with the actions it took against the red shirts. However, there is much opposition to this claim, as red shirts believe that excessive force and inordinately long sentences were used to deter their movement. Widespread calls for an evaluation of the response prompted a dialogue of reconciliation that began under Abhisit and has been continued by the Yingluck administration.
This public call for national reconciliation came in the wake of the violence of 2010. On 19 May 2010, protests erupted inBangkok and across several provinces in Isaan, including Ubon Ratchatani, where the provincial hall was set on fire. Of the photographs taken that day, a few depict Theerawat and three other red shirts standing outside of the hall. No one in the photos appears to be holding anything incendiary. Still, warrants were issued for their arrests. Each defendant was sentenced to 33 years and four months in prison.
Chawee claims, “We all know that there is no evidence that he was the one who burned the building. We cannot understand why the sentence was so serious. In the photo he is just standing there. For us, this is unacceptable.”
Wattana Janthasilp, the UDD lawyer based in Ubon Ratchatani who represented these cases, voices a similar concern. He says, “The nature of the evidence against the defendants was not beyond doubt. The evidence found in the investigation does not show who exactly burnt down the building but prosecutors argued that the defendants exhibited ‘behavior of involvement.’ The defendants were part of the ‘final action’ of the event because they were in proximity closest to the situation.”
Upon their arrest, at least three of the four onlookers were coerced into signing a confession, which each of them later retracted by pleading ‘not guilty’ in court.
According to Chawee, the police used excessive physical force on her son during the interrogation process to compel him to sign a confession.
She says, “He refused to sign the paper, so the police just agitated him to exhaustion. Finally he signed; it took three days and three nights.”
Wassana Mabut, 47, a mother of one of the four convicted, says her daughter, Patthama Moonmil, 24, had a similar experience upon her arrest.
“[The police] told her to sign a piece of paper with lots of words on it. She didn’t read it and she signed it because she was exhausted and because she’s so young, she was very afraid she’d get beaten.”
Standing in front of the Ubon Ratchatani Central Prison, Wasana Mabut reflects on the hardships of her life without her 24-year-old daughter, Patthama, and what it means to have Patthama spend her entire adult life behind bars.
Patcharee Lasua, 53, came home from the market to find that her husband, Somsak Prasaunsau, 56, had been dragged out and forced to sign a confession under duress.
He was originally told that if he signed the confession, he could be released on bail and return to his family. Neither of these promises were fulfilled.
Patcharee Lasua stands in front of her home on the banks of the Mun River in Ubon. Although her house is high up on stilts, flooding this year was unusually high and she had to move. Typically, her husband, Somsak, would have helped to repair damage caused by flooding, but he likely will never help her again: he was imprisoned for 34 years on the charges of arson and terrorism.
“This photo changed my life,” says Patcharee, whose husband was convicted of arson, leaving her family without a provider. Her grandson looks on.
Some consider these individuals to be political prisoners, citing their treatment as a response to their political inclinations rather than their actions. Kwanravee says, “PIC sees red shirt demonstrators as political prisoners because they were arrested and jailed due to their political beliefs or involvement in political activism. In other words, they were fundamentally exercising their human rights: the right to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.”
Leaders of the Democrat Party declared emergency law and began labeling red shirts as “terrorists,” further charging the already-heated political atmosphere inThailand. The head of the government-appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission warned of the inadvisability of using terrorism charges and called for detained red shirt to be treated as suspects, not as convicts.
Despite this recommendation, Prime Minister Abhisit appealed to Bangkok voters in June 2011 not to elect red shirts as they had sought the “intentional destruction of the country,” an act which, he maintained, “constitutes terrorism.”
As a result of the politically charged climate, protesters were convicted in cases that were short of conclusive, yet resulted in excessive sentences. National and international court precedents reveal how unusual these sentences are, comparatively, pressuring Thailand to address these injustices.
In a 1997 Thai arson case, a man was found guilty for staging an attack on a government-run school in the South. He was suspected to be a member of PULO, an illegal terrorist organization, but a confirmation of his membership was never made. His 20-year sentence, passed by the lower court, seemed unaffected by his suspected terrorist ties. Despite these factors, the Supreme Court overturned his case, stating that the evidence against him was not beyond reasonable doubt.
In the United Kingdom, a young man of about Theerawat’s age was convicted of arson for lighting a building on fire during the riots in London in August of this year. The burning resulted in 3.5 million pounds of damage. He was sentenced to four years in prison based on video evidence that clearly shows him running into the building and setting fire to it.
In Bahrain, seven young men near Patthama’s age were sentenced to 25 years in prison in a riot-related arson that resulted in the death of one man. A number of political commentators have voiced that these sentences are unjustly long and attribute them to political motivations.
In the Czech Republic, four neo-Nazis were convicted of arson for an attack on the home of a Roma family that nearly killed a two-year old girl. Three of the men were sentenced to 22 years in prison due to previous criminal offences and for their role in preparing the attack, and the fourth man was charged with 20 years because of his role in the late stages of planning.
Despite that no one was injured in the Ubon Ratchatani arson case, the four red shirts, all first-time offenders, were sentenced to 33 years and four months in prison.
The grief that these individuals’ families feel because of the loss of their loved ones is intensified by the injustice of their situation.
There is a gaping absence in Wassana’s life where Patthhama once was. “It has been a huge change in my life. She was always by my side, helping with everything. You just get used to seeing her running around the house,” she says.
Every week, Wassana waits in line for nearly two hours to deliver food to her daughter at the prison. When she is finally admitted into the visitation room, Wassana is given only 10 minutes to speak with Patthama.
Coming to terms with the fact that her daughter will spend her entire adult life behind bars has been difficult for Wassana. She says, “It’s so sad and terrible because she is a young girl. This was a very big mistake made to a young person. I am scared for my daughter to stay that long.”
Chawee, too, struggles with her son’s reality, so much so that her memory has deteriorated since his imprisonment. She has difficulty recalling the ages of her three sons, where her eldest son–who was also present the day of the fire and has a warrant out for his arrest–has fled to, what the charges brought against Theerawat were, and many basic details of her own life.
When asked how long her son has been imprisoned, pain registers on her face as she struggles to remember.
“This coming May will be two years in prison. I think. I remember that every May will be one more year.”
Despite her emotional instability, Chawee must provide for Theerawat, her youngest son, her mother, and her paralyzed father, while paying off her heavy debt. Chawee worked on someone else’s land during the rice harvest and now turns to local stores, offering to wash dishes or do laundry.
“I am always just trying to run around to find jobs so that I can have money to put in my [youngest son’s] pocket. Anywhere I can find jobs or people to give me money, I must go to them to manage.”
Chawee’s struggle is shared among red shirts. Since her husband’s arrest, the economic problems of Patcharee have compounded.
Patcharee’s family can no longer rely on her husband’s income and must now struggle daily to make ends meet without consistent employment and with grandchildren to care for. After this year’s flood, her ramshackle house became uninhabitable. She has been forced to squat in a house at the whim of the landowner.
“It’s hard to understand how other people like me are living. People come and say they will help but they don’t. I now have to pay interest of 3500 baht every month. Since the annual flood, I can’t pay the monthly interest. For four months [the loan sharks] keep asking when I’ll pay.”
Patcharee believes that her own lack of power stems from her economic status, which played a role in her husband’s unjust sentence. She feels that disadvantaged red shirts are being forced to pay for the actions of an entire movement.
“We are the scapegoats because we are the weakest ones,” she says.
While red shirt families struggle daily with the repercussions of the April-May 2010 protests, other groups have not yet been held liable for their actions. Additionally, actions taken by the government have done little to directly confront this dichotomy.
Kwanravee states, “So far there have been no state officials brought to justice. ‘Independent’ bodies created to investigate human rights violations such as the TRC and the National Human Rights Commission have failed to maintain their independence and impartiality. As a result, what happened in April and May 2010 only contributed to the culture of impunity inThailand.”
Under the Yingluck administration, reconciliation was placed at the top of the national agenda and included the reassessment of the April-May 2010 events. This process will entail bringing to justice those who destroyed property as well as those who destroyed lives.
Since being elected to power, Pheu Thai Party Members of Parliament have provided bail for red shirts awaiting trial. To date, 376 red shirts in Issan have either received bail or have been released from prison. Additionally, many Pheu Thai MPs have given emotional and financial support to red shirts.
Even so, not enough support is reaching red shirts, and not all groups have been held accountable for the April-May 2010 events. Kwanravee says, “What happened to the red shirts has shown how the justice system has failed to uphold the rule of law and guarantee basic human rights of the people as enshrined in international law.”
The Yingluck government has brought a new tone to the national reconciliation discourse. However, these prisoners and their families still face the repercussions of the former administration’s national action. Questions remain about who should be held accountable for the violence and injustices that swept across the country.
Can Thailand move forward when these types of injustices are undermining the reconciliation process?
Every day, Wasana Mabut waits for two hours outside of the prison to drop off food for her daughter. Wasana is allowed to see her daughter for 10 minutes each visit.
The Mun River floods Patcharee’s house annually and her husband, Somsak, spends weeks fixing their home. However, with Somsak in prison, Patcharee has been forced to leave her house and squat in another.
[Authors: Lauren Boas Hayes, Georgetown University; Lisa Goese, MacalesterCollege; Jenny Vainberg, University of Michigan; Sara Weber, Goucher College.]
Fantastic article, thank you.
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Currently, the reconciliation process is doomed for several reasons.
The first reason being that the Thai Royal Police, who are closer in intent and practice to a gendarmerie than “police” as the word is understood in the Anglosphere, act as a force unto themselves. The executive branch of the Thai government currently doesn’t possess the proper control over the police, and as such, there is no civilian oversight to their actions.
Secondly, two Thai cultural values work together to inhibit progress in reconciliation. The Thai management of the ego (р╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓ ), views criticism as inherently negative terms. Combined with the high value Thai culture places on social harmony (р╕кр╕▓р╕бр╕▒р╕Др╕Др╕╡), and it produces an atmosphere that is not conducive to confronting the hard truths that are necessary for true reconciliation.
The fact is that these young men and women have been sacrificed upon the altar of р╕кр╕▓р╕бр╕▒р╕Др╕Др╕╡. Like all human sacrifice, the demons who demand the blood of the innocent will not be appeased for long.
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a wonderful article depicting the plight of certain activist groups in Thailand. I think this article tells the true story of other third world country’s gross neglect on people’s basic human rights. People who are less fortunate and speak the truth and live in poverty get suppressed by certain juducial laws that are not fair and equitable to the international world. Somebody or something needs to be done about these injustices.
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QUOTE(from article):(Wattana Janthasilp):“The nature of the evidence against the defendants was not beyond doubt. The evidence found in the investigation does not show who exactly burnt down the building but prosecutors argued that the defendants exhibited ‘behavior of involvement.’ The defendants were part of the ‘final action’ of the event because they were in proximity closest to the situation.”
Exactly.
This equates to thirty-three or thirty-four years of imprisonment. Rough justice in the extreme as far as I can see. Wishy-washy circumstantial evidence like this would be thrown out of any other proper court of law in the west.
BUT don’t worry because the rumour on the ground is that there is going be a very public groundswell of popular support for the Red-Shirt movement – a massive resurgence in their fortunes – in the near future that will in the main be independent of the Pheu Thai party.
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What exactly has PM Yingluck done (or doing) to address the plight of these Red Shirt followers still languishing in prison?
If ‘reconciliation’ is to begin, all (not criminal) prisoners of conscience, or those imprisoned for their political beliefs, should be released at once.
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Vichai N
Your sudden and Damascene conversion to the plight of political prisoners is welcome but does, unfortunately, lack a single shred of credibility given that when those prisoners were actually in the process of being imprisoned you supported them being so.
I’m also sure you’ll soon be saying how terrible it is that the Red Shirts aren’t getting “justice” from this government while previously you supported that same injustice being enacted against them.
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Does Vichai’s concern for the Yingluck neglect of her imprisoned followers (many presumably innocent) offend Spoooner? We’ll I must be doing something right again.
For the benefit of Spooner, let me state that I’ve never subscribed to Spooner’s spin that those malevolent, very vicious M79 grenade launching and arson-torching elements of the Red Shirt movement should be allowed to go unpunished. And specifically those Red Shirt leader(s) who encouraged the bombings, the killings and the arsons should arrested and tried and locked up for maximum years permitted by Thai laws.
But because Yingluck Shinawatra (sister of Red Shirt Supremo Thaksin) is the current Prime Minister, her priorities should be to get the release of the many Red Shirt innocents currently in prison. Or maybe Spooner disagrees?
(I’ve never been to Damascus either.)
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Vichai N
Political prisoners are political prisoners.
And the solution to Thailand’s problems will be political.
The Red Shirts HAVE been punished, ARE in prison. The PAD, the Army and the Dems are not
There lies the rub.
This then means that the Red Shirts’ prosecution and punishment is politicised and not based on rule of law.
If, however, the PAD members who shot at the police in 2008 and then occupied the airport, the Thai Army who used snipers to kill unarmed civilians in 2010 (amongst their other 5 decades of crimes) and the Dems direct ordering of the 2010 massacre were all equally prosecuted/punished in the same manner the Red Shirts have been, then yes, if the UDD committed criminal acts, why not keep them in prison.
And why were no “very vicious M79 grenade launching … elements of the Red Shirts” ever prosecuted or shot, given they were so massively prevalent to the degree that the Thai Army had to shoot another 90+ unarmed civilians – including children and nurses – just to be on the safe side?
Your arguments have always been fraudulent, your evidence non-existent and your principles lacking.
That’s why you are now complaining about the “political prisoners” that you never gave too hoots about before.
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“If, however, the PAD members who shot at the police in 2008 and then occupied the airport, the Thai Army who used snipers to kill unarmed civilians in 2010 (amongst their other 5 decades of crimes) and the Dems direct ordering of the 2010 massacre were all equally prosecuted/punished in the same manner the Red Shirts have been, then yes, if the UDD committed criminal acts, why not keep them in prison.” – Spooner
Too many IFS, Spooner. The issue I simply raised is whether Yingluck Shinawatra is deliberately, I repeat DELIBERATELY, neglecting the many Reds still in prison, and, deliberately neglecting to address the Red grievance for justice (I believe many who are not Reds btw also are demanding justice for the same) deaths and damages they suffered during the Reds vicious rampage of M79 grenade launcher, assault rifles and arson attacks in May2010. The deliberate neglect, of course, is so the amnesty law would be passed to benefit a specific Thaksin Shinawatra, Red Shirt Supremo and Yingluck’s brother. What says you Spooner?
The solution to Thailand’s woes remains embracing the rule of law. That means a full scale inquiry about the May2010 Red/Black Shirt rampage and whether or not the army/military had deliberately shot at “90+ unarmed civilians”.
(For the record, I do agree with Spooner that PAD leaders should be tried for their 2008 rampage. Whether Abhisit had behaved criminally during the May2010 tragedy should be investigated thoroughly thru an independent public inquiry. Personally I believe that former PM Abhisit had acted with utmost restraint . . . whereas the Red Shirts followers had been provoked by their leaders and by the vicious black shirted elements within their midst to rampage.)
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Vichai N
I am just amazed you are suddenly so concerned with the plight of the Red Shirts.
You’ve not fully explained your sudden conversion.
Let me suggest one other thing – go to Laksi prison and ask the political prisoners there if they feel “deliberately neglected.”
When I went there and spoke to about a dozen of them their answers contained more nuances and a deeper understanding of the issue than you’ve exhibited, in toto, on the New Mandela comments’ pages.
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Today Red Shirts leaders go on trial for terrorism:
http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/se-asia/story/thai-red-shirt-protest-leaders-go-trial-20121214
Only two days ago, I believed ex-PM Abhisit was formally charged with murder and will too be on trial pertaining to the May2010 Red deaths during the military crackdown.
Wonderful! This is the true path to Thai reconciliation. Bring all the people involved in that March-May2010 tragedy of violence and detahs into an open trial and let them tell their stories.
Somebody should invite Black Shirt Supremo Thaksin Shinawatra, who has a lot of explaining to do . . .
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Is Thailand’s reconciliation process moving forward, backward or nowhere? Many important world leaders (and experts on national reconciliation I am led to believe) were invited by Thai reconciliation-focused Yingluck and making their insights now known, including Former Finland president and Nobel winner Martti Ahtisaari, Priscilla Hayner, senior adviser to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and former British prime minister Tony Blair addressed the forum.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/367610/reconciliation-cannot-be-hurried-and-must-not-be-guided-by-a-predetermined-end-point-to-serve-the-interests-of-one-side-in-a-dispute-world-leaders-in-the-peace-broking-process-said-in-bangkok
Me thinks that after the speeches, Yingluck will fly out of Bangkok again to somewhere unimportant to negotiate for unimportant deals for unimportant Thailand … and reconciliation ennui sets it and old animosities stirred.
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“Me thinks that after the speeches, Yingluck will fly out of Bangkok again to somewhere unimportant to negotiate for unimportant deals for unimportant Thailand…”
Actually China & talks with the Chinese PM. How [cough] “unimportant” is that on the Vichai scale?
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Ms Yingluck had completed 52 foreign trips to 41 countries over the past two years to-date. SteveCM understandably thinks all those trips were [cough cough] not unimportant … and maybe they were … if only to allow those foreign countries visited to appreciate the Thai PM’s impeccable fashion taste and [cough cough cough] oratical proficiency on ‘Thai democracy’ speeches.
PM Yingluck could not stop her ‘urgent’ foreign trips – she will be travelling again (about this very moment) to Switzerland to attend the 24th United Nations Human Rights Council (she must be the world’s supreme expert on human rights issues by now, I guess) meeting; then proceed to visit Italy, Vatican City (to promote Thailand exports of Thai rice to the Pope I am guessing) and Montenegro.
Montenegro Steve CM! Montenegro is a damn very importanta country to Thailand but I forgot at this moment why.
As at Sept. 2, 2013 Prime Minister Yingluck ranks third among globe-trotting world figures for foreign trips, after US President Barak Obama and former US president George W Bush. Ms. Yingluck may have NOT accomplished much during her rule so far but at least she could go down in Guinness record as the No. 1 among globe-trotting world figures for foreign trips by the end of her term unless some kill-joy Thai general disrupts with a coup tempted by her constant absentee Thai premiership.
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I always wonder if “Vichi N” is a bot/auto-troll financed by a royalist/military clique or an actual person. He seems so snide, bitter, almost pathetic in his endless attempt to trash Yingluck. Now it’s her foreign diplomacy trips, but it could be anything really. Hard to realize that Thailand is for the moment fairly stable, fairly prosperous, on good terms with all its immediate neighbors, all its mid/near neighbors and all its distance neighbors. There are no serious disputes or acrimonious spats between Thailand and any country at all in fact. Yingluck is actually a very successful representative of the “Thai brand” overseas. Wherever she visits, the local media covers her in a favorable, sometimes glowing way. She generates goodwill, investment, increased trade and all around good relations which cumulatively are quite beneficial to Thailand not only in the immediate but also the distant future. Charming, stylish, nice personality, hard for most foreign leaders to resist really. Only “Vichi N” is sitting in the corner and pouting. Wait until she gets elected for a 2nd term, then what will be do…start throwing his toys at the wall?
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Thailand’s road toward democracy remains fraught with challenges, but threats to such progress are unacceptable and must be fought, PM Yingluck said in a speech to the UNHRC forum on Monday. And to the ooohs and aaahs of the Arthurs of the world, PM Yingluck promised “to defend (Thai) democracy from undemocratic minds”.
“Undemocratic minds” That’s impressive oratory! That’s nearly as eloquent as Obama’s “Yes we can”.
Are there two Yinglucks? There was Yingluck S. only two years at Davos, Switzerland who was mumbling incoherently about “helping Thai prostitutes … with finance … because personally …. had Yingluck not been born into money …. etc etc” vs. Yingluck of today sounding the alarm against “undemocratic minds”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ2ktL77vnA#t=201
But Arthur (#12.1.1.1 ) insightfully says: “. . . it’s her foreign diplomacy trips, but it could be anything really …”
That ‘anything really’ ignited Vichai’s suspicious mind whirring. Why the rush to fly to Switzerland while urgent pressing issues (constitutional amendment, the amnesty, the Southern rubber farmers getting more violent protests, etc etc)? Aha! Perhaps Yingluck’s Switzerland visit was not really about ‘human rights’ but primarily and urgently about ‘property rights’ and ‘privacy rights’. The Shinawatra clan property and privacy rights, that is.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/swiss-banks-say-theyre-sorry-assisting-tax-cheats-8C11062055
CNBC Sept. 3rd News: “Swiss banks say they’re sorry for assisting tax cheats” “It was not because we lacked skills and knowledge that we found ourselves in these unfortunate situations. It was because we acted wrongly and we displayed wrong conduct,” Swiss bankers association chairman Patrick Odier said. And to tax cheats of the world (and there are many in Thailand among politicians, high military/police/government officials and businessmen), this must be really earth-shaking news. In particular, the Thaksin & Shinawatra clan ‘offshore bank accounts’ saga may just be starting unravelling and I suspect Yingluck’s trip to Switzerland was to meet with the clan’s Swiss bankers specifically about ‘damage control’.
Subsequenly Yingluck visits The Pope for heavenly intervention that the Swiss zip their mouths, and, to Montenegro to submit her damage control report to the Shinawatra Clan chief, who also happens to be the richest citizen of Montenegro.
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Vichai – your answer somehow managed to demonstrate Arthur’s point perfectly. The narrative you created sounds all too plausible, that is, because it fits perfectly into the narrative that those who oppose the Shinawatra’s have created. A Shinawatra + doing anything at all = corruption? Why not, right?
Its fair to criticize the actions of a politician, even a politician that one generally supports. However, to make vicious attacks on that politician’s character, one must consider what the actual alternative is. In this case the alternative is Abhisit.
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Hey, Vichai, even the Nation has climbed aboard the Yingluck foreign travel bandwagon with this very favorable piece on her meetings with the Italian Prime Minister….maybe it’s time for you to throw in the towel and recognize and accept what an huge asset she is to Thailand’s international trade, investment, tourism and general all around standing…
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thailand-seeks-Italys-partnership-in-strengthening-30214706.html
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” … one must consider what the actual alternative is. In this case the alternative is Abhisit.” – Daniel (12.1.1.1.2)
The unelectable Abhisit? Daniel you are getting overly and needlessly alarmed. Vichai’s “some kill-joy Thai general disrupts with a coup tempted by her constant absentee Thai premiership” was a stab at jest, nothing else. Ms. Yingluck is made of harder-than-steel stuff and probably more iron and more lady than UK’s Margaret Thatcher (that’s praise btw). Those Thai generals would by now be shaking in their boots after Ms Yingluck’s warning (from Geneva) that she’ll annihilate every Thai “undemocratic minds”.
At any rate as I mentioned somewhere, there must be at least two Yinglucks. So even if the ‘undemocractic minds’ somehow manage to remove Yingluck1, avenging Yingluck2 will be there to deal with the ‘undemoratic minds’. And Daniel you must be aware of the deep Shinawatra family tree.
(http://www.newmandala.org/2011/08/08/the-shinawatra-family-tree/
If the ‘undemocratic minds’ also somehow succeed to remove Yingluck2, the “alternatives” include former wife Potjaman, or sisters Yaowares or Yaowapa, and the ‘Damapongs’ and in-laws too. That’s comforting thought that Chalerm Yubamrung is not an “alternative” or any of the no-name Peau Thai Party executives.
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Vichai – what are you even talking about? I may be dense, but I honestly can’t understand your reply. Forget the two Yinglucks nonsense – without resorting to any sarcasm, what is your point about Yingluck? Unfortunately with most of your posts, it is quite difficult to tell when you are being sarcastic and when you are making an actual argument. Too bad, I wish you would engage in serious debate because this forum can often feel like an echo chamber with so many readers having quite similar views.
Not only that, you distorted my point. I am not “alarmed” that either Abhisit will be PM or the army will stage a coup. If Yingluck is such a terrible PM, who, if not Abhisit, could you possibly be supporting? Imagine I said “Barak Obama is a terrible president, his character is highly suspect, and the Democrats equally bad.” Whether I intend it or not, how could I not be implicitly supporting the Republicans since there are only two realistic choices?
My point is this: You consistently make inflammatory remarks about Yingluck, but do you believe that right now there is viable alternative to her? If so, who or what is that alternative ? What would that alternative do that Yingluck isn’t doing? And why would they be able to do whatever that is, if Yingluck cannot or will not do it now?
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“SteveCM understandably thinks all those trips were [cough cough] not unimportant…”
I referred to one specific trip, started the same day “after the speeches”. Feel free to expound ponderously and ad nauseam on your own views – but you do nothing for your argument by inventing the views of others.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
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Should we conclude that ‘pretty’ PM Yingluck had failed with her Thailand reconciliation strategy? Pretty-face former Thai PM Abhisit had also failed miserably on that very same issue and for that failure Abhisit had been voted out of the Thai PM’s chair …
There’s another very reconciliation issue that the Yingluck regime is now have to grapple with. Rubber farmers are demanding the same degree of subsidy as that the rice farmers got. Somehow the YIngluck administration could not explain adequately or reconcile why her rice pledge (folly) subsidy (staggering financial losses notwitstanding) could not be repeated in the same degree (of folly and losses) with the rubber industry. After all, rubber farmers argue that the export value of their crop is $9.3 billion a year, compared with rice at $5.3 billion, and so they more than deserve an equivalent bailout.
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/09/04/thailands-protesting-rubber-farmers-reflect-deeper-social-divisions/#ixzz2e1Vt26jE
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Nobody is mentioning perhaps Yinglucks greatest achievement – i.e. that she has held Thailand together. If you had asked me 5 years ago if I thought Thailand would still be a united country by today, 2013, I would have said “NO”. They’l be in civil war – Pattani insurrection, on a wider scale, with Isarn breaking away. I no longer believe this, though it looked real 5 years ago. Yingluck – and most likely some of the highest in Thai society – have worked out a compromise, to keep alive the good, great spirit of King Chulalongkorn – that Siamese remain united.
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