The root cause of a mess called Thailand

The Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand has insisted in its report that the “root cause” of the violence in Thailand lies in the 2001 case in which the Supreme Court decided to acquit then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of something or other – doesn’t much matter what. The commission’s conclusion is in fact much more fundamental – that this decision was procedurally flawed, a blatant miscarriage of the legal process, and that as a result the whole of Thailand lies in jeopardy. Indeed, to ignore the TRCT’s conclusion is to thumb our noses not just at the commission but at our whole legal structure, and condemn us all to yet more of the same.

And what does the TRCT ask us to do? Just to look at the case, that’s all, just to talk about it together. It says we should revisit the process of it, and then debate for as long as it takes how such a mess could have been allowed to take place. 

Because the rule of law is the issue – the primacy of the courts in deciding contentious issues, the respect for those courts and their highly trained personnel whose whole life is dedicated to interpreting the law and making it work – for us and for peace in our land.

The 2001 case turned Thailand’s face away from the rule of law to the rule of power, and we have been left wrestling in the ashes ever since.

Yet Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her deputy in charge of justice and law enforcement, Chalerm Yoobamrung, are just not interested. They say it’s not about 2001 but the mess in 2006 – that’s where it all began. Well, I remember that mess too, very well. I remember Shin Corp and Singapore, Ample Rich, Win Mark, 26 CTXs and loans to Burma that went back home all clean, excise wangles, warped policies, twisted juggernauts, Fendi towels – and all that. And a million baht in a cake box, oh that was a good one. 

Lung Kip

Chiang Mai