PeterUK
August 1st, 2008, 13:39
The Ratchadaphisek land case, in which Thaksin and wife stand accused, starts in the Supreme Court today and is potentially more serious for them in that the verdict in this one will not allow for any appeal. Impossible as it is for outsiders to plumb the depths of political manoeuvring in Thailand, I find myself wondering whether the verdict yesterday was a 'shot over the bows' as it were and the decision to let the Thaksins go abroad for the Beijing opening ceremony a tacit invitation to them to go back into voluntary exile, which would be a typically Thai solution to the problem. Whether they avail themselves of the opportunity depends on how confident they feel about winning the land case. With the judiciary finally showing a bit of backbone (no doubt helped by the knowledge that they have moral support from very high sources), the Thaksins might well be extremely worried. It'll be interesting to see how events play out over the next few weeks.