Amnesty not applicable to Thaksin
Play
House committee for reconciliation on Tuesday convened a hearing on amnesty and denied speculation about helping fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to come home.
“The committee is not serving a particular individual or group but striving to advance the reconciliation process,” MP and committee chair Sonthi Boonyaratglin said.
Sonthi voiced optimism that the reconciliation will restore peace and happiness after Thai people have been suffering from the political conflict for so long.
The Council of State representative gave a statement to the committee outlining past cases and legislative proceedings for granting political amnesty.
MP and committee spokesman Nakorn Machim said past political amnesty covered four categories – national security offence committed within the country, national security offence committed abroad, offence under the Anti Communism Act and Thammasat University student rallies in 1976.
Nakorn said he believed that the committee was gearing for recommending amnesty for those involved in the political disturbances following the 2006 coup.
The amnesty would apply to people indicted for terrorism, those charged for violating the emergency rule, those taken part in street protests to voice demands or air opinions as sanctioned by the Constitution, and party executives banned from office and the electoral process, he said.
Based on Nakorn’s remarks, Thaksin might benefit from amnesty, if granted, in regard to terrorism involving the red shirts in connection with the last year’s mayhem and bloodshed. He is a fugitive suspect in what is known as the torching of Bangkok case.
But his 2007 conviction and two-year jail term for abuse of power in connection with the Ratchadapisek land case would not be part of the amnesty package because the case had no linkage to the political disturbances.
