Yingluck vows fight for justice

Yingluck vows fight for justice

Ex-PM indicted, then hit with NLA impeachment

Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has vowed to continue to fight for justice after being impeached by the National Legislative Assembly and indicted by the Attorney-General on a criminal charge yesterday.

Votes are counted in the impeachment motion against former premier Yingluck Shinawatra in parliament. Pattarachai Prechapanich

After the NLA vote against her, Ms Yingluck planned a press conference to discuss her impeachment at the SC Park Hotel, but later cancelled it after the National Council for Peace and Order asked for her "cooperation".

She then took to her Facebook page and posted a statement in reaction to her impeachment.

On Facebook, she said the impeachment vote and the five-year suspension of her political rights were expected. She said the impeachment proceedings have stripped her of the fundamental rights that a Thai citizen deserves.

"I am confident that I am innocent, and I would like to thank the minority [in the NLA] who still adhered to the principles of justice," she said.

"I will fight on until the end to prove my innocence, no matter what the outcome will be. I will stand side by side with my fellow Thais. We have to work together to return democracy and justice to the country."

She maintained that the deaths of farmers, who killed themselves after they did not receive their overdue payments under the rice-pledging scheme, had been exploited as a political tool against her.

Democracy in Thailand "has died", along with the rule of law, but the movement seeking to destroy her has remained active, Ms Yingluck said.

Reconciliation will be only achieved if politicians are not singled out and persecuted. But this involves being neutral in dispensing justice to all sides, she said. When justice prevails, acceptance, peace and unity will ensue, Ms Yingluck said.

A few hours before the impeachment vote, Attorney-General Trakul Winitnaiyaphak announced his decision to indict her in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions over the rice-pledging programme.

Ms Yingluck said the two moves were "not a coincidence". 

The NLA yesterday voted to impeach Ms Yingluck, but spared former Senate speaker Nikhom Wairatpanich and former House speaker Somsak Kiatsuranon.

Of all 220 members, 219 attended the meeting. They voted by 190 to 18 to impeach Ms Yingluck, with eight abstentions and three spoiled ballots.

Consequently, Ms Yingluck will be banned from politics for five years.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) had petitioned the NLA to impeach Ms Yingluck, accusing her of dereliction of duty for failing to stop corruption and losses in the rice-pledging scheme.

Mr Somsak and Mr Nikhom faced proceedings for their role in chairing a House-Senate debate in 2013 on a charter amendment bill to make the Senate a fully-elected chamber.

NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said after the vote that Mr Nikhom and Mr Somsak were not impeached because the NACC had accused them of violating the 2007 constitution, but the charter itself has now been abrogated.

Mr Pornpetch said the NACC had accused Ms Yingluck of intentionally violating the State Administration Regulations Act by failing to stop corruption in the rice scheme, and NLA members were convinced by the NACC's evidence, he said.

He insisted that all NLA members had freedom in their vote without any being influenced by any hidden agenda.

Before the NLA voting, Surasak Trirattrakul, director-general of the Office of the Attorney-General's (OAG) Inquiry Office, held a press conference saying the Attorney-General had signed an order to indict Ms Yingluck in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions.

In the criminal case, Ms Yingluck is accused of dereliction of duty for failing to stop losses and corruption in the rice-pledging programme, in violation of Section 157 of the Criminal Code and the National Anti-Corruption Act. 

Mr Surasak said the joint NACC-OAG committee working on the case on Tuesday wrapped up their work and forwarded it, along with the evidence, to the Attorney-General.

After examining the evidence, the Attorney-General concluded that the criminal case against Ms Yingluck is backed by enough evidence.

The next step will be for the OAG to set up a committee to prepare the indictment.

The indictment is expected to be submitted to the court in March, Mr Surasak said.

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