Home
THE NATION April 18, 2012 1:00 am
The government has been trying to do everything to favour fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra - and the result has been a range of disasters, Democrat spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said yesterday.
The first is a moral disaster, Chavanond said, pointing to the damaged morality and conscience of many government officials.
As an example, while Thaksin - a court-convicted fugitive - was in Laos he was welcomed warmly by the Thai ambassador.
Chavanond also quoted Thaksin's claim in an address that national police chief General Priewpan Damapong had sent him a bulletproof vest. "It turned out that the court's ruling is meaningless to anyone winning the election," he said.
The second disaster was one of logic, Chavanond said. Thaksin sang the song "Let It Be" and told the media the mother of Kamolgade Akkahad - who was among the 91 who died in the political turmoil of 2010 - should accept amnesty and sacrifice. He also sang the adapted version of the song for her. It meant Thaksin, like red-shirt leader Natthawut Saikua, could ignore the deaths of 91 people and the country's damage so that Thaksin could celebrate Songkran in Thailand next year, Chavanond said.
Chavanond said another disaster was to the rule of law. Thaksin and his supporters accused the Supreme Court's ruling of being illegal and tried to scrap the cases against Thaksin. Thaksin's fight against the organisations established under the 1997 Constitution was so determined it led to the dropping of Bt2 million in a pastry box.
"Pheu Thai party-list MP Pichit Chuenban was jailed for six months and Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail and his Bt4.6 billion assets seized. That is what they call a double standard," Chavanond said. "According to Thaksin's standard, was the court supposed to accept the pastry box so it would rule correctly?"
Pichit served a six-month jail term for contempt of court over the controversial Bt2 million pastry box bribery attempt before the scheduled ruling on Thaksin's Ratchadapisek land case.
The fourth disaster has been to democracy. The Pheu Thai Party claimed the 15 million votes were justification for the party to bring Thaksin home. This appears to be so because the government has not been serious in implementing the other policies it announced during its election campaign.
Chavanond said the Democrat Party was not a rival to Thaksin nor the Pheu Thai Party - but is a political party that sticks to the rule of law and wants to save the system.
He said the Democrats would not be able to stop Pheu Thai's attempts to help Thaksin as they did not have enough votes in Parliament. However, if Pheu Thai is confident it is doing the right thing, it can continue and see whether the 15 million voters still support it.
Chavanond said his party did not oppose Thaksin's return if he came and served his penalty. "The younger sister of Thaksin is the prime minister. His brother-in-law is the national police chief. Thaksin is the most powerful person in the country. What blocks Thaksin from returning to the country is the justice system. Thaksin cannot be above the law."
=====================================================
All proven facts
The government has been trying to do everything to favour fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra - and the result has been a range of disasters, Democrat spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said yesterday.
The first is a moral disaster, Chavanond said, pointing to the damaged morality and conscience of many government officials.
As an example, while Thaksin - a court-convicted fugitive - was in Laos he was welcomed warmly by the Thai ambassador.
Chavanond also quoted Thaksin's claim in an address that national police chief General Priewpan Damapong had sent him a bulletproof vest. "It turned out that the court's ruling is meaningless to anyone winning the election," he said.
The second disaster was one of logic, Chavanond said. Thaksin sang the song "Let It Be" and told the media the mother of Kamolgade Akkahad - who was among the 91 who died in the political turmoil of 2010 - should accept amnesty and sacrifice. He also sang the adapted version of the song for her. It meant Thaksin, like red-shirt leader Natthawut Saikua, could ignore the deaths of 91 people and the country's damage so that Thaksin could celebrate Songkran in Thailand next year, Chavanond said.
Chavanond said another disaster was to the rule of law. Thaksin and his supporters accused the Supreme Court's ruling of being illegal and tried to scrap the cases against Thaksin. Thaksin's fight against the organisations established under the 1997 Constitution was so determined it led to the dropping of Bt2 million in a pastry box.
"Pheu Thai party-list MP Pichit Chuenban was jailed for six months and Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail and his Bt4.6 billion assets seized. That is what they call a double standard," Chavanond said. "According to Thaksin's standard, was the court supposed to accept the pastry box so it would rule correctly?"
Pichit served a six-month jail term for contempt of court over the controversial Bt2 million pastry box bribery attempt before the scheduled ruling on Thaksin's Ratchadapisek land case.
The fourth disaster has been to democracy. The Pheu Thai Party claimed the 15 million votes were justification for the party to bring Thaksin home. This appears to be so because the government has not been serious in implementing the other policies it announced during its election campaign.
Chavanond said the Democrat Party was not a rival to Thaksin nor the Pheu Thai Party - but is a political party that sticks to the rule of law and wants to save the system.
He said the Democrats would not be able to stop Pheu Thai's attempts to help Thaksin as they did not have enough votes in Parliament. However, if Pheu Thai is confident it is doing the right thing, it can continue and see whether the 15 million voters still support it.
Chavanond said his party did not oppose Thaksin's return if he came and served his penalty. "The younger sister of Thaksin is the prime minister. His brother-in-law is the national police chief. Thaksin is the most powerful person in the country. What blocks Thaksin from returning to the country is the justice system. Thaksin cannot be above the law."
=====================================================
All proven facts
