Thaksin corruption claims stoke Thai protest outrage

January 22, 2014 Leave a comment

Thaksin corruption claims stoke Thai protest outrage

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 – 23:21

AFP

Corruption allegations against former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra are at the centre of an anti-government campaign by protesters who say that while graft is endemic his billionaire family overstepped the mark.Thailand endures a complex relationship with corruption characterised by weak governance, opaque webs of political patronage and an expectation of under-the-table payments to get things done.

Demonstrators trying to rid the country of Thaksin’s influence by ousting the government led by his sister Yingluck Shinawatra believe he has broken the kingdom’s tacit contract with graft, says political commentator Voranai Vanijaka of the Bangkok Post.

“Thai people are quite pragmatic… we understand that everybody takes a little bite of the apple,” he told AFP.

“The problem with Thaksin is that he put a sign on the whole apple tree saying ‘property of the Shinawatra family’… that’s dangerous to do here.”

The demonstrators allege Yingluck is being controlled by her brother, a tycoon-turned-politician who was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives overseas to avoid a jail term for abuse of power that he says was politically motivated.

Protesters point to accusations of wrongdoing over the former leader’s business empire, as well as complaints about populist policies and alleged “vote buying” that they say explain the victories of Thaksin and his allies at every election since the start of this century.

“Thaksin has taken too much and his big mistake is that he has made it open for everyone to see,” said rally supporter Rocky, 24, on the fringes of a march through an upmarket Bangkok neighbourhood last week.

Rally leaders have harnessed that indignation to package their fight as an anti-graft crusade, while urging the military and independent institutions to aid them in their attempt to block February 2 elections that Yingluck is again expected to win.

Thaksin is adored in the northern heartlands and among the urban working class, but is loathed by many among the Bangkok middle class, southerners and the royalist establishment.

Following his removal from power, the former telecoms baron was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail over a land deal involving his wife.

Then, in 2010, a Thai court confiscated around $1.4 billion — or about half of his fortune — over tax evasion linked to the sale of his telecoms company during his tenure as prime minister.

Thaksin says he is innocent of wrongdoing and the victim of manoeuvering by his political foes.

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