Thai cabinet approve Thaksin amnesty plan
This will nicely pave the way for the return of the the ousted Thai Prime minister Thaksin and just in time for his daughters wedding on the 12th of December. Thaksin was ousted in a military coup during 2006 and have been on self imposed sabbatical in Dubai. If he were to return he would face a 2 year prison sentence on corruption charges involving land deals amongst other things. It appears that his sister Yingluck and the rest of Thaksins cronies have arranged things, so that he will be freed during the amnesty in December. These people have no shame, while Thaialnd is flooding they spend time on their main goal which is to bring back Thaksin, rather than helping the suffering Thais.
BANGKOK, November 16, 2011 (AFP) – Thailand’s cabinet has endorsed a controversial amnesty decree that could pave the way for the return of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, local media said Wednesday.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is Thaksin’s younger sister, has yet to confirm or comment on a move that already attracted harsh criticism from the opposition.
The draft, which needs to be approved by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, would grant an amnesty to "convicts who are at least 60 years old and are sentenced to under three years in jail", according to the Bangkok Post English daily.
Amnesties are granted each year on the king’s birthday on December 5.
Thaksin, who was ousted by the army in a 2006 coup, is 62 years old and lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai to avoid a two-year prison term for corruption.
Political novice Yingluck, 44, led the Puea Thai party to victory in a July election on the back of her brother’s popularity among Thailand’s rural poor and is widely seen as his political proxy.
She was absent from Tuesday’s cabinet meeting because she was visiting a flood-stricken province, reports said.
The return of Thaksin, a deeply divisive figure in Thailand, would likely anger his foes in the Bangkok-based elites in the military, palace and bureaucracy and could spark further turmoil after years of violent protests.
It would also come at a politically sensitive time for Yingluck who has faced strong criticism in recent weeks for her handling of Thailand’s worst flood crisis in half a century.
The reported amnesty plan was immediately criticised by the opposition Democrats, whose own amnesty decree last year excluded corruption convictions.
WordPress Tags: Thai,cabinet,Thaksin
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