Parliament gets a hot potato

The government will put in place an amnesty law that can “restore justice to all parties” who were involved in the political conflict, including former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said yesterday. 

Chalerm added that he would wait for “right timing” to push the act through Parliament.

“I will not say when the time is right, but I will push for it and will do so openly,” he told reporters. 

The veteran politician added that this draft decree was not meant for Thaksin because the government was aiming to rescue him openly via a legislative act. 

“Only those who were defeated in the last general election are displeased about Thaksin being rescued,” he said, adding that he was the only person in the ruling Pheu Thai Party who was “shouldering the burden of returning justice” to the former prime minister. However, he said he did not think Thaksin would be able to return to Thailand by the end of this year. 

He explained that most of the population wanted to see national reconciliation, but that the government would wait for the Truth for Reconciliation Commission to complete its work before deciding its next step. Chalerm went on to say he believed that the legislation granting amnesty to all parties involved in the political conflict would not be opposed. 

The deputy prime minister also said he agreed with the proposal from Matubhum Party leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin that all parties involved in the conflict – the red shirts, yellow shirts and state officials – should benefit from the amnesty to ensure national reconciliation. Sonthi led the 2006 coup that overthrew Thaksin.

“All cases filed after the coup should be terminated. That’s the right solution,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is Thaksin’s younger sister, said no special efforts would be made to bring Thaksin home during her government’s tenure. 

“I have told the voters that I will serve as prime minister and will keep everything in line with the law. I have to think about the country’s interest before I do anything,” Yingluck told reporters yesterday.

As for Chalerm’s remark that he would try to keep Pheu Thai’s election promise of bringing Thaksin home, Yingluck said: “That was a campaign promise, but now we have to take care of public interest. Everything should be done in line with the principles and rule of law. Everybody should be treated fairly, without any discrimination.”

She also insisted that the proposed amnesty decree would not specifically benefit Thaksin and that his name would not appear in the law. “There will be no preferential treatment, I promise,” she added.

Yingluck also dismissed allegations that she had intentionally skipped last week’s Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Chalerm and held to discuss the amnesty bill. 

The prime minister had decided to spend the night upcountry, which forced her to miss the Cabinet meeting held the following morning. She said she preferred not to travel at night because it was dangerous. 

In a related development, political activists Tul Sitthisomwong and Samdin Lertbutr yesterday submitted a petition to the government asking it not to provide amnesty to any one particular person. Justice Minister Pracha Promnok accepted the petition, which included 32,948 signatures, at Government House on behalf of the prime minister.

While accepting the petition, Pracha told the activists that the amnesty decree would not benefit any particular individual and that Thaksin would not be specified in the law. 

Atchaporn Jarujinda, secretary-general of the Council of State, which provides legal advice to the government, made a similar assurance yesterday. He said the decree’s content was not different from those set up earlier and that people convicted over corruption charges would not be granted amnesty as feared earlier. 

He said more than 20,000 people would benefit from the amnesty this year, but he refused to disclose further details.