BANGKOK, Jan 24: Thai authorities dealt a double blow to ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her powerful family, banning her from politics for five years and proceeding with criminal charges for negligence that could put her in jail. The moves could stoke tension in the politically divided country still living under martial law after the military seized power in May, toppling the remnants of Yingluck’s government to end months of street protests.
The ban and the legal case are the latest twist in 10 years of turbulent politics that have pitted Yingluck and her brother Thaksin, himself a former prime minister, against the royalist-military establishment that sees the Shinawatras as a threat and reviles their populist policies. Yingluck will face criminal charges in the Supreme Court and if found guilty could spend up to 10 years in jail, the Attorney General’s Office said yesterday.
The charges against the country’s first female premier, who was removed from office for abuse of power in May, days before the coup, concern her role in a scheme that paid farmers above market prices for rice and cost Thailand billions of dollars. Yingluck vowed to fight the charges. ‘Thai democracy has died along with the rule of law,’ she said in a statement posted on her Facebook page. ‘I will fight until the end to prove my innocence, no matter what the outcome will be. And most importantly, I want to stand alongside the Thai people. Together we must bring Thailand prosperity, bring back democracy and truly build justice in Thai society.’
There was no sign of protests on the capital’s busy streets on Friday, as residents adhered to the junta’s ban on public gatherings.
Security was tightened around the parliament building where the legislature, dominated by the military, voted Yingluck guilty in a separate impeachment case for failing to exercise sufficient oversight of the rice subsidy scheme. The retroactive impeachment at the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) carries a five-year ban from politics. A spokesman for the State Department said the United States had taken note of the retroactive impeachment by an appointed legislative body, and Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel would discuss US concerns when he visits Bangkok on Monday. ‘We believe that the impartial administration of justice and rule of law is essential for equitable governance and a just society,’ Jen Psaki told a regular news briefing. ‘It is a matter for the Thai people to determine the legitimacy of their political and judicial processes.’
Washington, a long-time ally of Thailand, expressed dismay at the coup and responded by freezing 4.7 million dollars of security-related aid, as well as cancelling high-level engagements and some military exercises and military and police training programs.
Russel will be the most senior US official to visit Thailand since the coup.
Yingluck defended the rice scheme and disputed the charges in a NLA hearing on Thursday, but did not appear yesterday.
(AGENCIES)
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