英拉因大米補貼計劃遭瀆職指控

Thailand’s ousted premier faces the threat of a long ban from politics after another legal ruling against her that will stoke fresh political tensions and deepen criticism over alleged bias in the country’s judicial institutions.

泰國被免職總理英拉•西那瓦(Yingluck Shinawatra)得到了又一項對她不利的司法裁決，並可能因此被長期禁止從政。這一司法裁決將加劇泰國政壇的緊張態勢，並加重外界對泰國司法機構存在不公的批評。

The National Anti-Corruption Commission has indicted Yingluck Shinawatra – who was toppled by the constitutional court in a separate case on Wednesday – on dereliction of duty charges linked to a contentious rice subsidy scheme that has cost the government billions of dollars.

泰國國家反腐敗委員會(National Anti-Corruption Commission)週五判決英拉在處理有爭議的大米補貼計劃時存在瀆職，導致政府損失了數十億美元。在這項判決作出之前，英拉已在週三被憲法法庭因另一宗案件免職。

The latest move comes as both government loyalists and the opposition gear up for big rallies that will push the long-running political crisis broadly pitting the old urban elite against Ms Yingluck’s many rural supporters into a still more dangerous phase.

反腐敗委員會這一最新動作，正值英拉政府的支持者和反對派都打算髮動大規模集會之際，這些集會可能導致泰國已持續多日的政治動盪升級至更危險的階段。這場政治紛爭可以大致描述爲泰國城市精英與英拉的衆多農村支持者間的矛盾。

“This is not about the law any more,” said Songkran Grachangnetara, a Thai analyst and commentator. “It’s about power politics.”

泰國分析人士及評論員Songkran Grachangnetara表示：“（最新裁決）已不再關乎法律，而關乎權力政治。”

The anticorruption commission sent the negligence case against Ms Yingluck to the Senate, which has powers to impose a ban of up to five years in cases of alleged wrongdoing. Ms Yingluck is accused of dereliction of duty in her role as head of the policy making National Rice Committee, which has seen huge financial losses and rice stockpiles mount during the two-and-a-half year old subsidy scheme to pay farmers in her northern and central electoral heartlands well above market rates for their products

反腐敗委員會已把瀆職案提交泰國參議院。對於涉嫌瀆職的官員，泰國參議院有權發出一項長達五年的從政禁令。英拉被控在泰國國家大米委員會(National Rice Committee)主管一職上存在瀆職。泰國國家大米委員會作爲一家決策機構，在過去兩年半里，在泰國北部和中部推行了大米補貼計劃，以大大高於市場價的價格收購這些地區農民的產品。泰國北部和中部是英拉的核心選區。在這一計劃推行期內，該委員會蒙受巨大損失，而庫存大米大量增加。

Opposition “yellow shirts” will hold a rally in Bangkok on Friday and pro-government “red shirts” north of the capital on Saturday, in the first big test of whether Ms Yingluck’s dismissal will trigger the violence many fear. Police reported several grenade attacks since her sacking, including one on the house of a constitutional court judge.

支持英拉政府的“紅衫軍”週六將在曼谷北部舉行集會，而就在週五，數千名反對派“黃衫軍”抗議者在電視臺和泰國議會前遊行，試圖加大壓力，促使泰國議會暫時中止行使權力，並任命一個委員會來管理國家。很多人擔心，英拉被罷免可能導致這類集會升級爲暴力活動。自從她被解職以來，警方已報告多起手榴彈襲擊事件，其中一起就以一位憲法法官的房子爲目標。

The contours and conduct of the rice case have parallels with the constitutional court’s toppling of Ms Yingluck and nine members of her cabinet over allegations that she removed her national security adviser to make way for a relative of the ex-wife of Thaksin Shinawatra, her brother and ex-premier, to become national police chief.

大米案與英拉被解職案几乎同時發生。在後一個案子中，泰國憲法法庭解除了英拉及其9名內閣成員的職位。憲法法院認定，英拉此前解除了國家安全顧問的職務，是爲了給她的兄長、泰國前總理他信•西那瓦(Thaksin Shinawatra)前妻的一位親戚出任國家警察總監掃清障礙。

While the rice scheme has been widely criticised, there are serious doubts about the fairness of the investigation and legal process, the harshness of the potential punishment and the zeal with which the authorities have pursued this case compared with other allegations involving opposition politicians.

雖然泰國大米補貼計劃一直受到廣泛批評，但對圍繞它展開的調查和司法程序是否公平、懲罰是否過於嚴厲、與其他涉及政府反對派的案件相比泰國當局對此案爲何尤其熱心，都讓人們備感疑慮。

Another concern is that the commission is one of the bodies involved in appointing almost half of the country’s 150 senators, giving it influence as judge, jury and executioner in the case. Thailand’s Senate was once fully elected under rules swept away by constitutional changes after a 2006 military coup against Mr Thaksin, in what his supporters and many analysts see as the first push in a long effort by the traditional elite to grab back power eroded by a string of election defeats suffered by the establishment Democrat party.

另一個令人擔心的問題是，泰國國家反腐敗委員會曾參與任命泰國150名參議員中的近一半，這令該委員在該案中同時擔當了法官、陪審團和執法者的角色。泰國參議院曾一度全部由選舉產生，但這個規定在2006年泰國軍事政變後的憲法改革中被廢除。

Supporters of the commission and the courts say they are an independent and needed bulwark against abuses of power in a country where democracy is fragile and the rule of law often weak.

但該委員會和憲法法庭的支持者表示，在泰國這個民主仍然脆弱、法治不夠強大的國家，這兩個獨立機構可以幫助防止濫權。

Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan, the new prime minister, is pushing to hold elections scheduled for July 20, but many people fear the situation will explode long before then. The government has been crippled by both protests and its five-month-old caretaker status, which curbs many of its revenue-raising and spending powers.

泰國新任總理尼瓦探隆·汶頌派訕(Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan)正在大力推動於7月20日舉行大選，不過許多人擔心局面在選舉之前就會失控。目前，頻繁的抗議以及長達5個月之久的看守狀態，都令泰國政府處於半癱瘓狀態。