Thai ex-PM Thaksin charged with terrorism

Thai ex-PM Thaksin charged with terrorism

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BANGKOK — A Thai court issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on terrorism charges, accusing the fugitive former leader of fomenting two months of unrest in Bangkok that left 88 people dead.

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So they've charged the last legitimately elected Prime Minister with what amounts to a capital offense for supporting peaceful protests against an illegitimate regime, all in the hope of restoring democracy to a desperate nation.

While I was no fan of Thaksin I cannot deny that he should still be the legitimate leader of Thailand (his term would be up this year). This new government has essentially suspended democracy so that they can gain a foothold in the nation and appear to look like the real deal in the face of growing poverty.

Amid all this, the rural populations of Thailand who largely supported Thaksin during his tenure as PM began a campaign of protest for the new government to call an election. Protestors occupied several areas of Thailand's business and government centers in peaceful protest. The governmnet initially used smaller polics actions and arrests to deter further protest and when that didn't work they called in their military. This began a wave of violent repression which has left 88 protestors dead and well over 1,000 others wounded.

This Thai government deposes the country's democratically elected leader, suspends elections, tramples on free speech and the right to protest, kills peaceful protestors and then has the gall to further delay elections due to the actions of the protestors. The icing on the cake? Blame the deposed PM for instigating the whole thing and keep right on rolling.

Sickening.

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reply to post by dontblink


It is difficult to summarise the basic facts for people who do not have knowledge of the 30 year struggle for dmeocracy in Thailand.

The most difficult aspect is the fact that Taksin was democratically elected, and the events surrounding his removal from thai politics and subsequent guilty verdict for mass corruption.

I believe we saw signs here of an attempt to address issues that have constantly led to coups and uprisings in the name of democracy. It is just that it is too slow and not representatve of the poore classes (the redshirts)

Therefore their frustrations are understandable.

The biggest problem is Taksin's record is no better, perhaps even worse than the current Democrats governemnt.

Taksin committed approx. 4000 extrajudicial killings, and if he was still in power there is no doubt he would be committing human rights abuses and robbing the country blind.

So thais are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and the recent anarchy has just destroyed the tourist market, which is essential for the thai economy.