Ousted Thai premier rejects charges

Ex-PM denies any wrongdoing; analysts say hearing aims to keep Yingluck out of politics

Thailand's military-appointed legislature began impeachment hearings on Friday against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a move analysts say is aimed at ensuring the ousted leader stays out of politics for the foreseeable future.

The charges, dismissed by Yingluck's supporters as politically motivated, relate to her alleged role in a disastrous government rice subsidy scheme.

Wicha Mahakhun, a member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission that filed the impeachment motion, said in his statement that Yingluck had ignored information about corruption related to the scheme and pleas for the initiative to be stopped.

Wicha blamed the scheme, which was suspended after the country's May 22 coup, for downgrading the quality of Thai rice, and the loss of the world's top rice exporter crown.

Yingluck's biggest error was ignoring the problems facing the scheme, leading to substantial losses, he said.

Yingluck could not avoid responsibility as she was then the prime minister and chairwoman of the National Rice Policy Committee, Wicha added.

Arriving at Parliament on Friday, Yingluck said she was confident she would be exonerated and said she was "ready to clarify on every charge".

"I have already been out of office due to the (court's) verdict, so it's weird how a person without a title can still be impeached. I do not want this process to be seen as political," she said.

Yingluck said she did not ignore corruption, but asked officials to take action.

The scheme was, in fact, a success as it had helped a large number of farmers and alleviated poverty, she insisted, adding that the program was a cabinet resolution and the prime minister alone could not stop it.

"It was a necessary investment that should not be calculated for costs and benefits, but it was an investment that was worthwhile," Yingluck said. "I insist that it is not wrong to support the farmers."

She called for the National Legislative Assembly to give her justice without bias. The lawmakers are expected to vote on their verdict by the end of the month.

If impeached, Yingluck will face a five-year ban from politics and thus be unable to run in the next general election expected in 2016.

She was forced from office in early May by a court verdict that declared she had illegally transferred the nation's security chief. That verdict came a day before Thailand's anti-graft commission indicted her on charges of dereliction of duty in overseeing the rice subsidy program.

Yingluck, who came to power in a landslide election in 2011, had insisted for months that the Southeast Asian nation's fragile democracy was under attack from protesters, the courts, and finally the army, which staged a May 22 coup that wiped out the remnants of her administration. Her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a 2006 coup.

Analysts say Friday's hearing is more about curbing the power of the Shinawatra family and keeping them out of politics. The junta has spoken of holding elections in 2015, but no date has been set.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, the director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said: "The impeachment is geared to keep Yingluck at bay. If she's allowed to run in the next election, there's a good chance that she might win."

If Yingluck is prosecuted, however, the government "could risk incurring the wrath of the pro-Thaksin camp. At the same time, it would also deepen the polarization and divisions that we have seen in Thailand."

AP - Xinhua

(China Daily 01/10/2015 page11)