After almost two years of living a low-key life, Yingluck Shinawatra, the ousted former prime minister of Thailand and sister of fugitive prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on Friday opened her home to the foreign press corps in Bangkok for the primary time since her ouster within the country’s 2014 coup.
Showing off her salad garden, the country’s first prime minister spoke about her life after the coup and her hopes for the country’s return to democracy.
We try to prove our price in court and in public opinion. We hope that someday people will understand this
Yingluck, speaking from a hydroponic vegetable garden crammed with blooming lettuces and colourful chili peppers, Yingluck faced international media following the coup after previously telling reporters she intended to talk out more despite bans imposed by the military.
An analogous meeting was held in early January for Thai media, causing a stir with Thai Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who publicly issued several warnings to Yingluck to refrain from expressing her political opinions, threatening potential consequences similar to travel restrictions and a ban financial transactions.
“We need to find some space. Sometimes we have to speak out if our message has been misused or misled,” Yingluck told reporters.
In addition to the numerous charges filed in court, Yingluck faces a five-year ban from politics after the junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly voted to impeach her for allegedly causing huge losses through the rice pledge program.
“We want to prove our worth in court and in public opinion. We hope that one day people will understand this. I will do my best,” she said, expressing hope that her witnesses, rejected by the National Anti-Corruption Commission and prosecutors, would be accepted by the court.
In addition to tending to her vegetable garden and preparing for court cases, the former prime minister said she was enjoying the lifestyle she had missed while in office.
“To de-stress, I go to temples and meet up with close friends I have lost contact with over the past three years.”
Yingluck stressed the importance of Thailand’s general elections and return to democracy as a strategy to revitalize the country’s economy.
We must live by this structure, so be certain it suits Thailand
“We have to live by this constitution, so please make sure it fits Thailand,” she said, referring to efforts to implement a brand new structure within the country, adding “it is important that the constitution is people-centric” and that the structure have to be respected a political plan of motion imposed by the National Council for Peace and Order, the ruling junta.
The deposed leader said she was in close contact together with her fugitive brother Thaksin Shinawatra, who expressed hope for elections and the country’s return to normal.
“His heart is here in Thailand,” Yingluck said. “I want power to return to the people.”
When asked what she misses most about her political life, she replied: “I miss the people and my good friends. I continue to see how well they are doing. I dedicated myself to serving the Thai people. So I have to keep track of how well they are doing.”
Yingluck Shinawatra was ousted as prime minister in a coup in 2014. Meanwhile, Thaksin Shinawatra is in self-imposed exile abroad after being ousted as prime minister in a separate coup in 2006. He fled the country in 2008 and was convicted in absentia and sentenced to prison for abuse of power while serving as prime minister.
