Thaksin guilty as charged

Finally, justice has been served. The decision yesterday by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office to jail former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra for two years should put an end to the current political crisis. It was an historic verdict that will have far-reaching implications on the Thai political scene in both the short and long term. Thaksin has become the first former prime minister to be sentenced for corruption.

After two years of deliberation, the court's 90-minute verdict was fair and correct. The Supreme Court found Thaksin guilty of corruption and abusing his power while he was prime minister. He facilitated his wife's purchase of a 33-rai plot of land from a state agency in 2003. However, his wife, Potjaman, was found not guilty because, as a private individual, she was entitled to enter the land deal. The court decided not to seize the controversial plot and money. The court said Thaksin violated Article 100 of the 1999 National Counter Corruption Act, which prohibits state officials and their spouses from doing business with state agencies. Violators face three-year jail terms and a Bt60,000 fine. The two-year jail term was appropriate considering Thaksin's position and wealth.

Since the 2006 coup, one troubling question has been about Thaksin's personal conduct during his premiership. The coup leaders, including members of the Assets Examination Committee, as well as media commentators, accused Thaksin of widespread corruption. During his 2001-2006 tenure, he maintained that he was honest but those who worked under him have talked of policy corruption and other malpractice, which have been hard to detect and investigate. The verdict yesterday was clear: he was guilty of conflict of interest. The decision should put to rest the current confrontation between the pro-Thakin, Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) and the anti-Thaksin, People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). Their on-going conflict has sent Thailand's political system into a tailspin. Now it is the time to rectify this aberration.

As a first step toward a solution, the PAD should withdraw from the Government House, which its supporters have occupied for the past seven weeks. The verdict is certainly a boost for the PAD, which has persistently called for the rule of law. The time is right because of the royal cremation ceremony for HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana in a few weeks. The authorities need to clean up Government House and its surroundings.

Pro-Thaksin supporters should accept the decision. They should focus on consolidating their voter base in the rural Northeast. They have nothing to fear. Thaksin's cronies and populist politicians will return if the people choose them. Before the verdict, the political climate was ambiguous because both sides believed their leaders were right. Now, the corruption verdict on Thaksin should at least usher in a new political climate.

The judgement should serve as a catalyst for further political reform and improvement of governance and accountability. In the past, this issue has not been given serious attention, even though we have clear guidelines for good governance, which every bureaucrat and elected official has to follow. But these have been ignored because those who hold the highest positions have not complied.

The verdict yesterday also affects Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's political future. Last week he was found guilty by the National Counter Corruption Commission of dereliction of duty when he was a permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice ten years ago. His case is now under the care of the Justice Ministry's Civil Services Committee. So far, he has shown no sign of remorse or responsibility for the violence on October 7. His leadership is in question. The leaders of the armed forces and police have already made clear their joint position that the prime minister has to be responsible for the bloody incident. Somchai is scheduled to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting in Beijing later this week. He does not have the moral authority to represent Thailand.