Why can you not just say it straight Fall: “Thaksin was wrong, criminally wrong, when he carried out that senseless slaughter of Y2003 defenseless and poor villagers during his anti-yaa baa madness.”

Once you find your ‘puke threshold’ Fall, you will be Free.

Fall – Now repeat after me – “Thaksin was . . . . .”

Scream something out really loud, get a well known opposition party to sit in, combine with some half-known academia. Wa-lah! Perfect recipe for manipulating middle-class. Work like a charm, every coup.

Let us take Pinochet as a benchmark. He lost his power in 1990 but he was finally indicted in Y2006, 16 years later. For Saddam too, justice took much longer to be served.

But because murder is such a heinous crime there is no statute of limitations thereof.

So do be optimistic and never give up Naphat. Justice too will be served to Thaksin Shinawatra even if belatedly.

But for your sake I will simplify. If you Fall will accept a murderer for your Prime Minister, you will accept anybody no matter how rotten, how crooked or how criminal. Is there a crime more heinous than murder Fall?

Now to reply to your question. Decent Thai people will NOT accept a murderer to be their leader, even id such leader was elected or re-elected by majority vote of the rural people. And that IS the problem.

Popular will can be wrong . . but if they err grossly as to continue to vote in a criminal, a murderer who violated the rule of law and the basic human rights of my fellow Thais, popular will mean shit.

nganadeeleg –
“…‘puke threshold’ is much lower for non elected leaders/governments”
Actually, this sound normal, in my opinion.

“If the ‘puke threshold’ was lower for elected governments, then perhaps we would get better quality leaders.” – Agreed.

I am left guessing about what you wish to impart about rule of law with yoiur above posting. I can only guess you want to justify Thaksin’s expedient disregard of rule law to accomplish results with his extrajudicial killings in Y03 during his senseless anti-yaa baa war.

What is the point of a hypothetical question Pundit because then you will get an entirely useless hyothetical answer in return?

But Thaksin breaking the rule of law with his extrajudicial slaughter of thousands of ’suspcts’ was real Pundit and nothing hypothetical about that. Further it was totally senseless. We have to remember that at that time Thaksin’s TRt party had absolute control of the parliament and therefore Thaksin, as PM, would have passed any legislation that he wished at that time to mete the most punitive punishment in the world to drug dealing as total deterrent to yaa baa dealing or other drugs. That was what Thaksin should have done to make a lasting impression against drug abuse. But Thaksin instead chose expediency, to be popular, to show he can be God perhaps and Thaksin resorted to mass murder of innocents and the defenseless which broke Thailand’s rule of law. I will also have to agree with Kraisak Choonhavan that Thaksin’s extrajudicial rampage resulting in slaughter of thousands was indeed a crime against humanity.

If Pundit, Patiwat and Fall will condone Thaksin’s extrajudicial crime, these three will condone any Thaksin misdeeds.

You have highlighted the major problem (Seeking to have your interests served).

How about seeking what is just/right/fair rather than self interest?

As I have said earlier that as long as their major interests are served most people tend to ignore small little things that they don’t like. People puke limits or thresholds may vary for different things depending on the person, their present and past experience. For example for people who have seen their love ones were destroyed by drugs may not see the war on drugs campaign of Thaksin’s government as disgusting or something to be puked as others who do not have such experience. Some may even see it as an appetizer. I do not think the puke thresholds can be universally applied. People who are benefit from TRT party policies may have very low puke thresholds for global abusive behaviour, inefficient, incompetent of the people with guns and tanks that people did not choose to do the job for them in the first place. People puked already when they saw tanks running around Bangkok streets. It was just disgusting and a lot more disgusting for most people when they knew more about coup.