In the case of former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was recently acquitted, Thailand's Supreme Court quashed the arrest warrant for her. Previously, Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was pardoned in September this year, and his sentence was reduced to one year.
Yingluck's case involves the famous "rice purchase case". In 2011, in order to win the first prize, Yingluck promised to buy rice at 50% above the market price after taking office. Although this policy clearly defied the laws of the market, Thai rice was the backbone of the country's grain exports at the time. Yingluck's team believes that by hoarding rice, they can manipulate international food prices to make up for Thailand's financial losses.
However, Thai rice has lost its competitiveness due to successive bumper rice harvests in countries such as Vietnam, India and Indonesia, which have led to a decline in international food prices. Between 2013 and 2014, Thai farmers protested on a large scale and defaulted on food payments. In the same year, the Constitutional Court ruled that Yingluck had committed malfeasance during her administration, and the military commander-in-chief staged a coup d'état to overthrow Yingluck** and end the siblings' agricultural policies. Yingluck fled overseas before the court handed down the verdict and began a six-year exile.
It is worth noting that in 2017, when Thailand had been in power for 3 years, Yingluck successfully fled to Dubai, and this process of exile is intriguing.
Yingluck Shinawatra and Thaksin, the Thai siblings, have recently been in the spotlight. Yingluck was recently acquitted, and Thailand's Supreme Court quashed the warrant for her arrest. Previously, Thaksin received a pardon from the King of Thailand in September this year, and his sentence was reduced to one year.
There is an opinion that Yingluck's exile may have been the result of the acquiescence of various Thai forces, as Thaksin and Yingluck siblings come from the Sivana family, Thailand's richest man. The family has a huge influence in Thailand** and is also popular among the middle and lower classes of society. The well-known political group "Red Shirts" are supporters of the Sivana family and have organized several demonstrations of the **army after Yingluck**.
For the military, harsh punishment of Yingluck Shinawatra could trigger riots among the Red Shirts, which could affect military leader Prayut Chan-o-cha's ability to secure his position as prime minister. Therefore, letting go of this "hot potato" became the best choice for the military.
Similarly, Yingluck's recent abrupt pardon may also have been tacitly approved by the military. Thaksin has repeatedly said he faces eight years in prison if he returns to China, but shortly after his sudden arrest in Thailand, he was rushed to the hospital for "health problems" and was quickly granted amnesty.
In fact, Thaksin's amnesty is closely linked to the exchange of interests for the military. In May this year, Pita, the leader of the Far Forward Party, won the election by a margin far more than the military, but was blocked by the military forces in the parliamentary election. In order to prevent the anti-military and anti-royal Pita from coming to power, the military used parliamentary privileges to divide the votes of the Pheu Thai Party, and on the other hand, tried to win over the Pheu Thai Party, to which Thaksin and Yingluck belonged.
Subsequent developments proved that the military's co-optation strategy worked. Born in the military, he squeezed out Pita with prestige and was elected prime minister in the parliamentary elections. The Pheu Thai Party also has the support of the military, and the amnesty incident has become the best evidence of this political game.
It can be seen that Thaksin's pardon and Yingluck's acquittal after six years of exile are in line with Thailand's political situation.
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