People’s Party calls for action


The opposition People’s Party (PP) is urging the coalition to revise its decision made on Monday to defer indefinitely the House’s review of a new amnesty bill because the bill aims to mend the consequences of past political conflicts among various political groups.

PP leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, in his capacity as the opposition leader, said he did not see any reason why the review of the study’s findings, previously scheduled to take place tomorrow, should be put off as suggested by the coalition.

These study findings were simply opinions on how the new amnesty bill should be, and they would not be legally binding, he said.

More importantly, he said, those who have been facing legal prosecution in connection with their past political activities deserved, and were waiting for, legal remedies.

On Monday, PM’s Office Minister Chousak Sirinil, in his capacity as chairman of the House’s special committee overseeing the study, revealed that coalition parties had reached an agreement to put on hold the review of the study in the House to allow time for these parties to discuss the findings further and find common ground on them.

Mr Chousak cited the need to first achieve a consensus among coalition parties on how the government’s amnesty bill should be — the first step to guarantee the bill an easy passage through the House.

Chaithawat Tulathon, former leader of the now-defunct Move Forward Party (MFP), precursor of the PP, meanwhile, said that even though the push for a political amnesty bill still faces a raft of different opinions across various groups, he strongly believes society has already reached a consensus that an amnesty is an ideal solution to improve reconciliation among these groups.

The impact of political conflicts which began before the Sept 19, 2006 coup and lasted up until 2020 remains and continues to hold back efforts to build national reconciliation, according to Mr Chaithawat.

The only burning issue remaining related to the drafting of the amnesty bill is whether or not those who have been prosecuted on lese majeste charges should also receive an amnesty under the new bill, he said.

He said this is the real reason behind Mr Chousak’s move to defer the House review of the findings on the study, adding that Pheu Thai may fret that the issue could jeopardise the coalition’s stability, so has steered clear of it.

The House’s review of the study findings should never be postponed, especially now that four drafts of the new amnesty law are awaiting submission to the House for deliberation, Mr Chaithawat said.

These drafts belong mostly to the now-defunct MFP, Democrat Party, Thai Teachers for People Party, and United Thai Nation Party, he said.