Amnesty bill for political protesters submitted

The Move Forward plan addresses 4,400 alleged charges brought in protests that began in 2006.

Amnesty bill for political protesters submitted
In 2008, yellow-shirt protesters held a protest in front of the Metropolitan Police Bureau in Bangkok. ( Bangkok Post image )

In an effort to regain national unity, the Move Forward Party submitted a bill on Thursday granting parole to democratic protesters since February 2006.

The costs, according to party leader Chaithawat Tulathon, was drafted to forgive all democratic protesters who had been charged since February 11, 2006, when the People’s Alliance for Democracy began its demonstrations against Thaksin Shinawatra, the then-premier.

According to Mr. Chaithawat, the proposed pardon may apply to thousands of democratic protesters who had been penalized for breaking a number of laws because of their political motivations.

The Move Forward Party asserted that if those who participated in social appearance are released from prosecutors, Thai culture is regain peace, happiness, and unification.

Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, the leader of the opposition group, was suggested by the legislature to establish a committee to determine which offenses may be eligible for amnesty.

Because there are so many situations and the timeline is large, we did not specify offenses, according to Mr. Chaithawat.

Nevertheless, he claimed that the costs would not give those involved in insurrection, harming lives, or abusing power during security crackdowns.

He claimed that if social functions work together, the costs may be passed.

According to a Reuters analysis, which includes circumstances that have since been resolved, more than 4, 400 individuals have been charged with offenses relating to social gatherings since 2006.

Over the past 17 years, there have been numerous violent political protests, beginning with the People’s Alliance for Democracy( PAD ), or the so-called yellow shirts that opposed Thaksin. In September 2006, his majority government was overthrown as a result of their demonstrations.

PAD protesters went back to the streets after an election in December 2007 put another Thaksin-affiliated party in power. The week-long capture of the Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang flights, which is thought to have cost the economy at least 3 billion ringgit, was the result of protests that started in May 2008.

A Democrat-led government took control after the Constitutional Court ruled in December 2008 to resolve the People’s Power Party. 90 people died as a result of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship ( UDD ), the so-called” red shirts,” massive protests in 2010.

More than 2,000 of the purple shirt movement’s followers have been charged over the years, according to Thida Thavornseth, a prominent figure in the action.

The golden shirts returned to the roads in 2013 and 2014. Their rage was directed at Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s attempt to pass a act authorizing pardon for her brother who was in exile. The Bangkok Shutdown movement’s problems prepared the way for the military takeover in May 2014.

According to Puangtip Boonsanong, a attorney involved in many of those cases, 500 individuals associated with traditional political organizations, including the yellow jerseys, have been charged with various offenses between 2006 and 2013.

A fresh protest movement, primarily made up of young people who were dissatisfied with the military-aligned state and the creation as a whole, started to take shape in 2020. Some of its individuals even went so far as to demand that the king be changed.

As a result, more than 250 citizens have been charged under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lesser-majeste laws, since the middle of 2020. 116 more people have been accused of rebellion.

In total, 1, 928 citizens have been charged in connection with social gatherings over the past three years, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.