Thailand begins impeachment hearing against ousted premier

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's military-appointed legislature began impeachment hearings 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.

The lawmakers are expected to vote on their verdict by the end of the month. If impeached, Yingluck could be banned from politics for five years.

Yingluck 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 one 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 also ousted in a 2006 coup.

Analysts say Friday's hearing is more about the 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.

"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," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, the director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

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."

The National Legislative Assembly, hand-picked by the junta and dominated by active and retired military officers, will deliberate on whether Yingluck neglected her duty and failed to halt the rice subsidy program, which accumulated losses of at least $4 billion and temporarily cost Thailand its position as the world's leading rice exporter.

The scheme, under which the government paid farmers double the market price, was a flagship policy that helped Yingluck's government win votes in the 2011 general election.

Arriving at Parliament early Friday, Yingluck told reporters she was "confident" she would be exonerated and said she was "ready to clarify in 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.

She said the rice subsidy scheme was "a social contract" that helped Thais to get on their feet.

"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."

Thailand gripped by political turmoil

AFP