Oh SH*T, TIT!!!!

[Brink15]

In another example of TIT, Taksin has just bought himself out of trouble.

From the New York Times:

quote:

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Thailand's highest court acquitted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today of financial irregularities, preserving his political career in a ruling that was seen as a test of Thailand's evolution toward the rule of law. "Thaksin is still the prime minister," Judge Kramol Thongthammachat said in announcing the 8-7 decision.

If the court had upheld an indictment by the anticorruption commission, Mr. Thaksin would have been banned from politics for five years and Thailand would have lost one of its most popular political figures.

"Today the clouds of uncertainty have left Thailand, which makes the country hopeful and determined to leap forward," Mr. Thaksin said after the verdict, his voice shaking. "I can start my work today without any worries. Forget the past, start the future."

Public opinion overwhelmingly supported the prime minister, and the 15-member Constitutional Court came under intense pressure to acquit him, despite what Mr. Thaksin himself had admitted was a clear violation of financial-disclosure laws.

"In the contest between personality and the law, personality still wins," said Sunai Phasuk, a political scientist with Chulalongkorn University. "To me, it is a setback for the rule of law and shows that the Thai people have more belief in the personal solution than in the institutional solution."

 

 

The Associated Press

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra after his acquittal on Friday.

 

 

New Rule of Law in Thailand May Be a Leader's Downfall (July 30, 2001)

 

 

 

 

 

He noted that in announcing the verdict, Judge Kramol said it was based on considerations of justice, peace, democracy and the rule of law. "This is the order of priorities," Mr. Phasuk said. "Rule of law was the last factor."

But the business community, like the public, welcomed the verdict. Stock prices rose, and the acquittal brightened Thailand's prospects.

The central bank governor, Pridiyathorn Devakula, said the acquittal and the prospects of political stability would strengthen the economy. "The government's policies, fiscal and monetary, will continue, which will help stabilize the economy," he said.

Mr. Thaksin, 52, a telecommunications tycoon who is one of the richest men in Thailand, has taken on the mantle of savior for many Thais. He was elected overwhelmingly in January despite the corruption indictment and has maintained his popularity through his can-do image and his populist policies.

"Some legal experts are certainly surprised by the ruling, but in political terms it means that the uncertainty is gone and that the government can now fully get on with its job," said Abhisit Vejjajiva, the deputy leader of the opposition Democrat Party.

Like other analysts, he said the onus was now on Mr. Thaksin to produce results. Freed from the threat of removal and with an overwhelming parliamentary majority, he will be under pressure to bring Thailand out of its economic slump.

He has begun a number of popular but expensive programs that are only just being put in effect: pennies- a-visit medical care, large cash handouts to villages, a debt moratorium for farmers and an asset-management agency to soak up corporate debt.

And like other leaders around the world, he is at the mercy of the slumping United States economy and its reduced ability to buy Thai exports and invest in its enterprises.

The case against Mr. Thaksin had appeared strong. He was indicted in December by the new anticorruption commission for failing to declare millions of dollars in assets when he served briefly as a deputy prime minister in 1997.

In court, he admitted transferring large amounts of stock to his domestic staff, including maids, a security guard and a driver. But he argued that the disclosure laws had been complicated, that his wife had been responsible for managing his money and that in any case, the violation was "an honest mistake."

The head of the anticorruption commission, who argued the case against Mr. Thaksin, said that it was impossible for him not to have known about the share transfers and that they might have been an attempt to evade taxes.

In a tearful televised plea to the court, Mr. Thaksin did not rebut the charges but begged for a chance to continue serving his country. His plea was warmly embraced by the public in rallies, signature drives, mass prayer gatherings and petitions to the court. Backroom lobbying was reported to be intense.

Rumors of payoffs to the court grew so strong that Judge Kramol spoke out this week to deny them. He called on the anticorruption commission to check for any irregular transfers into the judges' bank accounts.

Nevertheless, several analysts said they believed that the court had sought to tailor its ruling to fit popular opinion. It was the first time it had overturned an indictment by the anticorruption commission.

"The majority of the people will be very glad," said Siripan Nogsuan, a professor at Chulalongkorn University. "But this poses serious questions about the newly formed institutions, particularly independent organizations, created under the Constitution."

These institutions, including the anticorruption commission and an election commission that has cracked down on vote fraud, are the products of a new Constitution, passed in 1997, that is a blueprint for democratic reform and accountability.

But it is also a battleground on which reformist forces are fighting an almost daily war against conservatives rooted in the old order of hierarchy and unquestioned authority.

"This is unfortunately a step backwards," one senior academic said. "And perhaps the closeness of the vote is symbolic of the struggle that is under way ? the irresistible force and the immovable object."

In that struggle, he said, "I think most people will view this as a defeat for the political maturation process; I don't see how it can be viewed any other way."

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"I can start my work without any worries."

Sounds pretty ominous to me.

Rough translation: "I just proved I'm untouchable, my people love me, I can do whatever I want."

OOps!!!

Thoughts or opinions anyone?

I don't think we can hope for another Barnharn ending here.

[ August 05, 2001: Message edited by: Brink15 ]

[ August 05, 2001: Message edited by: Brink15 ]