Gadfly Posted July 26, 2006 Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 Hmmm...I am usually accused of being the pessimist here about Thailand. You're right; measured by the standards of Western Europe or the US (I aware of what happened in Florida), you're are not going to see "fair elections" here anytime soon, but I think you will see fairer elections. Although it has been two steps forward and one step back, over the 12 years I have been here that has been the trend. If I listed all of the problems I see with governance in Thailand and its policies this thread would be at least 10 pages long with that one post (and this doesn't mean I couldn't also provide a long list (well, probably not as long) of problems with US policies). Nevertheless, Thailand has become more democratic and the rule of law is stronger, relative to what it was when I first arrived here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 26, 2006 Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 I agree. Of course, when I first came here there was a military dictatorship that ruled without even a constitution ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted July 26, 2006 Report Share Posted July 26, 2006 ... and the edicts of said military dictatorship still have the force of law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 It's all relative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 If you are a real suspicious person, you might think this is a part of very subtle plan to continue the confusion and the TRT dominance. Note that the EC had several key unfinished actions to take. Some 20 recently elected senators have not been confirmed, conveniently these are almost all vehemently anti-Thaiksin. The recent BMA elections, won overwhelmingly by non-TRT candidates cannot be confirmed until new EC appointed. Just a different way to look at it. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidel Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 Ah for fuck's sake! I suppose it was all too good to be true. The bastards are out on bail... why? One of them has allergies, another has bad sinus and the third has kidney failure, so I trust he'll be dead in a few days? Bastards! Ex-EC Trio released on bail Criminal Court has released on bail on Friday three Election Commissioners jailed for malfeasance after they promised to stay away from any election activities and guarantee that their supporters would not stage any more protest in front of the court houses. Lawyers of the trio also attached medical reports which showed that they are in need of medical attention. The reports said Vasana Puemlarp suffered from allergies, Prinya Nakchudtree from high blood pressure and sinus while Virachai Naewboonnien from kidney failure. The trio were brought from Bangkok Remand Prison on Friday where they had been jailed since Tuesday to the Criminal Court to be questioned by a judge. The trio promised the court that they would stay away from any election-related activities. The court told them that once they are freed on bail, they have four hours to pack their belongings at the Election Commission Office. The Court also asked a guarantee from them that their supporters would not conduct any protests in front of the court houses. They agreed to help prevent any form of public demonstration. On Tuesday when the Criminal Court read the verdict on their trial, their supporters staged noisy gathering outside the court's building. They even booed when they learnt that the Court found them guilty. Emotion runs high, followed by pushing and shoving between the two opposing sides. One man who was demonstrating against the former EC members was kicked and fell to the ground. When the trio were taken to Bangkok Remand Prison, their supporters also gathered in front of the prison to express their dissatisfaction that the trio were jailed. The bail request on Friday was the third after the Criminal Court found the trio guilty of malfeasance and mishandling the April election and sentenced them to four years in prison and their voting rights stripped of for ten years. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 Look for a spike in Benz sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 I think the plan was to get them out of office and apparantly a single night in jail was all that is required to accomplish that goal (at least according The Nation and Bangkok Post). My guess is that they spent some extra time in jail because they stubbornly refused to resign in the first place when it was obvious that they would have to go. This is really not about punishing the EC three, but getting them out of office so that a new EC can be appointed. To some extent they are scapegoats for more more powerful figures, which doesn't mean that they aren't also culpable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 If you are a real suspicious person, you might think this is a part of very subtle plan to continue the confusion and the TRT dominance.Note that the EC had several key unfinished actions to take. Some 20 recently elected senators have not been confirmed, conveniently these are almost all vehemently anti-Thaiksin. The recent BMA elections, won overwhelmingly by non-TRT candidates cannot be confirmed until new EC appointed. Just a different way to look at it. I guess nothing should surprise us now. Go back a year in time to 29 July 2005. Would anyone have expected any of this? The political environment is changing, and not all changes may be for the better. I will provide an example of that in a new thread (continuing an earlier issue) that I will post as soon as this is submitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 First time I knew that allergies could keep you out of prison. And I suppose just about everybody must be allergic to something ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.