Sonthi's ironic reconciliation role gets PM's boost

The statement may yield some clues as to what happens next. Yingluck possibly meant to say that the ad-hoc House committee’s conclusion on reconciliatory measures would form the core of the national blueprint to restore peace. Those measures are likely to include an amnesty bill that may incorporate ideas proposed by King Prajadhipok’s Institute researchers who were commissioned by the House panel.

That Sonthi led the 2006 coup that toppled Yingluck’s big brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, was, on one hand, ironic. On the other hand, Sonthi’s key presence in the “reconciliation” efforts gives it some sort of political legitimacy. It shouldn’t be a big surprise, therefore, that Sonthi and the ruling Pheu Thai Party have been quite cordial toward one another lately.

General Sonthi found himself in an unfamiliar situation yesterday, having to respond to reporters’ questions on whether he was part of a plan to help Thaksin return to Thailand a free man. He gave his usual answer, one he has been resorting to since deciding to join parliamentary politics. “Don’t talk about the past,” he said. “Let’s think about the present and build the future together.”

Yesterday, Pheu Thai members, also finding themselves doing the previously unthinkable, continued to heap praise on the general. Party spokesman Prompong Nopparat hailed him as a “real soldier” who was ready to admit and correct his own mistakes. 

Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat is another key government figure to join the Sonthi fan club.

Yingluck’s statement yesterday could become a mini time-bomb for Chalerm Yoobamrung in the future. The deputy prime minister announced several weeks ago that his “reconciliation” bill was complete. Although Chalerm has since tried to portray it as a bill sponsored by MPs, a move that had nothing to do with the government, it would be almost impossible to distance a bill initiated by a deputy prime minister from the administration.

Chalerm could come under fire for jumping the gun. That would be the minimum damage. The worst-case scenario has the whole government getting entangled with a bill from Chalerm that mocked what Yingluck said yesterday.

Since the Pheu Thai Party took power, the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand has not seemed to play any big role in the peace process. If the Yingluck government cannot give the commission its absolute trust, that’s understandable. First of all, the commission was set up by the Abhisit government. Secondly, but perhaps more importantly, the commission doesn’t appear to favour a total absolution for Thaksin.

King Prajadhipok’s Institute researchers have proposed total absolution, or blanket amnesty, as one of the reconciliation options. This has drawn attacks from Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and the anti-Thaksin yellow shirts. The timing chosen by former democracy leader Thirayuth Boonmee to come out to identify Thaksin’s alleged wrongdoings as a main cause of the political crisis also prompted speculation that he was trying to rebut the King Prajadhipok’s Institute study.

Despite his strong criticism of the other side in the political divide, Thirayuth has alienated himself from the ruling camp and the red shirts by questioning claims that Thaksin was the de-facto leader of a growing democracy movement in Thailand. Thaksin’s personal aide Noppadon Pattama has called Thirayuth “totally biased” and “unprofessional”, while the red shirts have attacked him for not giving their movement the credit they think it deserves.

No matter who is right, Thirayuth or the red-shirt movement, a new battle-line seems to have been drawn. On one side are those who think peace can return to Thailand only when there is a total amnesty in which everyone, including Thaksin, is absolved. On the other are those who don’t believe that pardoning Thaksin is the answer, and feel that doing so may only make things worse.

It will be a “Let bygones be bygones” principle, which General Sonthi has been advocating so vocally, up against charges that everything is being done to help just one man. Abhisit has written on his Facebook page in detail of how he thought the King Prajadhipok’s Institute study was lopsided in putting most, if not all, of the blame on Thaksin’s political rivals.

Despite having to endure criticism for their stands, Thirayuth and Abhisit appear spot-on on one thing. They predict that the road to reconciliation certainly looks long and bumpy. That appears to be a fact that even Prime Minister Yingluck’s short addressing of the issue yesterday cannot hide.