Thai Minister Says Yingluck Trapped in Political Snare
A Thai deputy prime minister claims iLaw director Yingluck Achjanant is caught in a political trap rather than deliberately making unsupported allegations linking Bhumjaithai Party members to Senate fraud, suggesting she may have been manip
At 9:45 a.m. on July 23 at Government House, Deputy Prime Minister Parutsathorn Chatkaewmanee, a Ang Thong member of parliament for the Bhumjaithai Party, commented on iLaw director Yingluck Achjanant's recent allegations. He stated he does not want the party to pursue legal action against Yingluck for naming party members linked to the Senate election fraud case, saying whether to sue is a party matter. Personally, he said there is no conflict between them—they were schoolmates—and he lives by the principle of "not killing your junior, not suing your senior, not betraying friends." However, he added that Yingluck presented claims as fact despite having no evidence, merely relaying hearsay to the public and causing damage to nine people mentioned.
When asked if Yingluck's statements had political motives, Parutsathorn said he believed Yingluck was caught in a trap rather than acting deliberately. He suggested Yingluck may have been manipulated by either political rivals or disappointed senatorial candidates with a vested interest in seeing vacancies filled. Parutsathorn noted that reserve senatorial candidates stand to gain if one of the 200 sitting senators steps down, creating a clear conflict of interest.
Parutsathorn further claimed the timing was suspicious, occurring shortly after a ruling party member faced charges in a Forex case by the Department of Special Investigation. He characterized the Senate fraud allegations as old claims his party had previously addressed and cooperated on. He suggested the People's Party strategically revived the issue after allegations emerged against Prawit Wongsuwan, using the same information they had fed to Yingluck. When pressed on whether Yingluck, the People's Party, and reserve senators were coordinating, Parutsathorn said he could not confirm whether Yingluck was part of a political network but doubted he would intentionally lower iLaw's standards. He remarked that iLaw once maintained integrity but has recently played politics, and suggested that if Yingluck wanted political involvement, he should simply join a party openly.
