Showing 1 - 10 of 57
Built on graft
Oped, Postbag, Published on 22/01/2026
» Re: "Living in Thailand's age of impunity", (BP, Jan 17).
Thaksin chapter closes, another opens
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/09/2025
» In yet another dramatic twist in Thai politics, erstwhile anti-establishment political juggernaut and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra accepted a one-year jail sentence and began serving his time behind bars on Sept 9. After his return from a 15-year self-imposed exile in August 2023 and a concomitant royal pardon that reduced his eight-year imprisonment on corruption convictions to just one year, Thaksin cited his gravely ill health and spent the time comfortably at the Police General Hospital before being released on parole. The Supreme Court's ruling that his get-out-of-jail health card was invalid means Thaksin's renewed imprisonment and its aftermath are likely to reshape and realign Thailand's political landscape ahead of the next election, due by mid-2027.
Court backs fairness
Oped, Editorial, Published on 10/09/2025
» The focus of the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions ruling on the "14th-floor saga" should not be seen as merely marking Thaksin Shinawatra's final fall from grace.
'14th floor saga' paints a bad picture
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 05/05/2025
» One big question still lingering in the mind of many people in this country for more than a year now is: "Was former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra really suffering from a life-threatening sickness that justified his being treated on the 14th floor of the Police General Hospital for six months without spending one day behind bars to serve his one-year prison term?"
Hospital stay haunts Thaksin again
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 03/05/2025
» A decision of the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to launch an inquiry into claims of improper enforcement of the prison sentence against ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra over what is known as the "14th floor saga" has triggered wild speculation about another round of political bargaining games.
Smart geopolitics starts on home front
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/02/2025
» According to a longstanding axiom, all politics is local. If so, then smart and crafty geopolitics must start at home with sufficient domestic political stability and consensus about how the country should navigate what is increasingly a turbulent geostrategic chessboard. Put this way, few countries can appreciate the intersection of geopolitics and domestic politics more than Thailand. Its rocky and volatile home front over the past two decades continues to impede and constrain its geostrategic projection.
Parole process hints at Yingluck's return
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 14/12/2024
» The release on parole of convicts in the rice scandal case one after another has sparked speculation about the prospective return of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who fled the country to avoid imprisonment in the same case.
Stars align for Yingluck's return
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 09/12/2024
» The prospect of fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra returning home to celebrate the Songkran festival in mid-April is not just wishful thinking by her brother Thaksin, given developments concerning a few key players in the infamous rice-pledging scheme and the Corrections Department's move to draft regulations pertaining to detentions outside prison.
Give equal jail care to all
Oped, Editorial, Published on 09/11/2024
» As the probe into Thaksin Shinawatra's questionable illnesses and treatment on the 14th floor of the Police General Hospital deepens, with several state officials already in hot water, so too do reports of a sick prisoner in jail on charges relating to a Section 112 violation being rejected hospital admission. What irony!
Thaksin's VIP 'jail time'
Oped, Editorial, Published on 06/08/2024
» The release of a report from the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC) probe into the claim that the Department of Corrections (DoC) gave privileged treatment to inmate-on-parole Thaksin Shinawatra was released on Aug 2. With the former PM officially becoming a freeman on Aug 31, the report is overdue, but late is always better than never.