Govt reconciliation move in the balance

The House committee’s report, which the government hopes would form the core of a reconciliation blueprint, was deemed by the Democrats to be biased in favour of Thaksin Shinawatra and his supporters.

The resignation was in protest against the chairman, former coupmaker General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, after he refused to review the report despite strong caution from those who made it, researchers of the King Prajadhipok’s Institute. The researchers had voiced concern that the committee may have mistreated the document.

The resignations were announced by Phatthalung MP Nipit Inthara-sombat. He said the government had shown it does not attach importance to coming up with reconciliatory measures for the entire country, but was giving priority to red-shirts and their supporters. “Thus, we will leave the government to reconcile with the red shirts on their own,” Nipit said.

Nipit told Thai Rath Online that the resignations were in protest at panel chairman Sonthi’s refusal to review or modify the reconciliation proposals of the KPI.

Nipit said the Democrats, who were minority members of the ad hoc panel, submitted a request to Sonthi on Thursday, asking him to review the proposals of the KPI on national reconciliation – but Sonthi would not listen to the demands of the minority side on the panel.

Among the KPI’s proposals was the expunging of all legal cases of the Assets Examination Committee. Sonthi decided to submit the report and proposals of the KPI to the House for endorsement.

Nipit said the KPI itself had backed down from its proposals, asking the panel to first review the pros and cons of its three proposals before rushing them before the House. But Sonthi was still determined to submit the KPI’s proposals to the House for a majority vote.

Democrat leader and opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has written three open letters to the KPI and Sonthi asking for a review of the report and the proposals but his requests have gone unheeded.

Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chairman of the House committee on national reconciliation, said yesterday his panel has completed its report on reconciliation proposals and would submit the report to Parliament for further study and deliberation.

Sanan Kachornprasart, chief adviser to the coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party, yesterday called on Sonthi to postpone submission of his panel’s report to Parliament. He said it was because the research study by Parliament’s King Prajadhipok’s Institute on which the panel’s report was based failed to cover all the important issues.

“Many parties disagree on the KPI study report. If they still want to rush the matter for early parliamentary deliberation [today], there will be worse division,” Sanan said.

Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Prom-phan, who is also a red shirt leader, yesterday criticised the nine Democrat MPs who resigned from the Sonthi panel.

Jatuporn said the Democrats were “narrow-minded and wanted to return to power through military help again”. 

House of Representatives secretary-general Pitoon Phumhirun said yesterday that in today’s joint sitting of the two Houses, there is a motion to vote on whether Parliament would approve deliberation of non-legislative issues during the current ordinary legislative session. He said the meeting was not intended to endorse the Sonthi panel’s report.

In a related development, former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh yesterday issued an open letter in response to opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva’s open letter that expressed concern that the proposed general amnesty would severely damage the country’s justice system.

In his letter, Chavalit expressed support for a general amnesty, saying it would help improve the image of Thailand’s justice system. He said it would help prevent the use of the judiciary in attempting to solve political problems.

 The KPI report proposed that all legal cases stemming from investigation by the post-coup Assets Examination Committee should be expunged and that a general amnesty should be given to all those involved in the political conflicts, including offenders in criminal cases. Many critics viewed these proposals as an attempt to help whitewash ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s wrongdoings.