Lies, truth and politics all trumped by hard facts in Yingluck case
Re: “Paetongtarn breaks silence after Yingluck's sentence”, The Nation, yesterday.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former prime minister Thaksin, has posted an Instagram message saying: “If you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth – politics.”
Allow me to offer my own opinion:
First, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was sentenced to five years in jail not for the populist rice-pledging policy, but for the corruption that happened in the fake government-to-government deals under her charge that caused Thailand to lose more than Bt500 billion.
Second, Yingluck’s conviction followed that of two former Commerce ministers in her government, one of whom – the mastermind in this case – was recommended by another influential younger sister of Thaksin’s. This other family member has however not been put on trial, since there is insufficient evidence.
Finally, under Thai law, you can be sentenced to 15 years in jail just for stealing Bt100.
Yingluck’s five-year sentence for causing the country to lose half a trillion baht through corruption is, in my opinion, not unreasonable.
Vint Chavala
