Although the title of this post sounds a bit like a tabloid, essentially it is an accurate assessment. A group of Thais have been duped into thinking that allowing the fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra to commit crimes unchecked will benefit them and Thailand.
Trying not to make Thailand look bad when writing this is a bit of a challenge. However when you look at this it does want to make you do a double take, and perhaps go and bang your head against the wall to jar loose some obviously misfiring neurons. It does provoke the obvious question of why would people want to allow crime, particularly so when the people signing the petition are not criminals. After all the question sounds so ludicrous it is hard to believe it is actually happening.
Once again the answer to this all comes back down to education and sheep mentality. Thaksin and his cronies have managed to render the suggestion that cutting Thaksin loose is the answer to all their problems. This is not the work of some stage hypnotist who works with volunteers that are willing to do goofy things, but more so the result of pro Thaksin propaganda.
Thaksin’s Red Shirt army is doing its best to keep the government out of the area where the bulk of the petition signatures are coming from. Combining this with propaganda, it makes it seem the government does not care about them. Following the past patterns of Thaksin and the Red shirts, the people that do manage to attend and connect with the government are probably singled out and spoken to after the government event. Because of their lesser education, it does not take a lot of effort the persuade them back into the Thaksin camp.
In the attempt to stop this petition, there have been several scholars and legal experts that have said the petition does not meet the criteria for royal intervention. Thaksin must already be incarcerated and serving part of his sentence. They have also said the petition must be administered by a family member. But this seems to be falling on deaf ears. If they are petitioning for Thaksin to be allowed to violate the law and procedures, why should this particular law and procedure be any different.
Even a King must follow the laws and procedures of the land. As with every constitutional monarchy, the Constitution clearly outlines the roll of a King and in what capacity. But Thaksin looks to go above that with this petition. In short, it would not be too much of a stretch to say that Thaksin is seeking more authority than the King. If you come to the conclusion that matches Thaksin’s ego, you would be correct, Thaksin can never be number 2 in his mind and never bothered much with laws.
It is very clear Thaksin is behind this push, as the Red shirt leaders already know there is no legal avenue to submit such a petition. But the underlying reason again is to promote division in the country. There is no doubt there will be plenty of spin by the Red shirts when the petition is eventually denied. This most certainly will provide a lot of disinformation ammunition for them to spread about.
If this is sounding like a psychotic dream, you are not alone. Thaksin is not the man he was when he was Prime Minister. He has very clearly stepped off the deep end spending Billions of Baht to realize his obsession to be on top. As Thaksin is essentially a business man he does expect some profit in return for the money he spent. You can certainly use your imagination as to what it would be, and much of that will come in the form of blood of the people who dared to cross him.
