Layers of laws to stop Thaksin Part 2

After Thaksin and his supporters got a good taste of the new laws designed to stop them from being corrupt and self serving, they made the decision people who are not willing to change make. That decision was to do their best to remove or get around the laws that are in their way. The thought of complying with the law obviously never entered their mind.

So in 2011 Thaksin’s younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra came to be elected Prime Minister with the Pheu Thai Party (PTP). But despite all her denials, she was acting too much like her older brother to be anything but a puppet to his wishes. Also with the arrogant PTP election slogan “Thaksin Thinks Pheu Thai does”, it is hard to see otherwise.

While Yingluck was in office the PTP did everything possible to keep her from speaking freely. Everything from pre-written scripts to having others answer direct questions for her. This was an attempt to insulate her from all of Thaksin’s behind the scene doings as well as not accidently saying things that could muck up Thaksin’s plans. All of this adds to the conclusion she was nothing more than a puppet.

The PTP started a rice pledging program that was corrupt from the word go. The latest high end estimates of losses due to corruption from it was 500 Billion Baht. Despite warnings from others, they ignored all advise and continued. It was common knowledge that it was vote buying at the expense of Government coffers.

If that was not enough, being true to their goal of removing or getting around new laws that stood in their way, they started to look to change the Constitution in the first step to consolidate power and do what was done before the September 2006 Coup. Other attempts to undo court rulings of the past, they looked to pass a blanket amnesty bill.

Needless to say that was self serving enough to rally the masses against Thaksin once again, and they poured into the streets once again looking to get rid of Thaksin and his influence, and add another layer of reform laws to augment the laws already on the books.

Needless to say, Thaksin wanted no part of reform and insisted on reform after elections. That translated to exactly no reform, and the masses wanted no part of that. The pressure continued to mount and eventually all but the pro-Thaksin camp wanted reforms first as the country was suffering greatly from Thaksin’s arrogance and refusal to budge.

It was that refusal to budge that cause Coup number 2 to be called. The Junta has express the same goal for reforms before elections. Reforms simply mean another layer of laws to stop Thaksin. Needless to say Thaksin has already announced setting up a Government in exile, and that too translates to more of the same of what has happened over the last decade. This just adds more incentive to give very strong laws to stop him again.


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