Law voiding verdicts to be tabled

MP Watana Muangsuk, deputy chairman of the House committee for national reconciliation, said yesterday that the panel’s chairman, Matubhum Party leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, would be submitting the reconciliation bill for House deliberation. 

He said the law would grant amnesty to protesters and state officials involved in the 2010 crackdown, which would also cover then-prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban. 

“In addition, orders issued by relevant state agencies after the coup will be expunged, so people who were ruled upon by court can enter the justice process again. Thaksin will have to return for a retrial,” Watana, who hails from the pro-Thaksin ruling Pheu Thai Party, said. 

He said he did not think expunging the court verdicts would reduce the credibility of the judicial system, adding that it was not likely that everyone would agree to the amnesty. “Certainly there will be some people who are not satisfied, but we have to let our country move ahead,” he said.

The law would also lift the ban on electoral rights on politicians whose parties were dissolved by court after the coup, Wattana added. He said Article 7 of the eight-article law would also allow the damaged party to take legal action.

Sonthi submitted the draft reconciliation law on Thursday for House deliberation, Deputy House speaker Charoen Jankomol said yesterday, adding that he expected the matter to be tabled for deliberation by Wednesday or Thursday.

“However, the House might put the bill higher on the agenda for earlier deliberation,” he added. 

Sonthi, then Army chief, led a coup in September 2006 that brought down Thaksin’s government. He cited widespread corruption, interference into independent organisations, possible violent clashes between rivalling political groups and disrespect to the monarchy as major reasons for staging the coup.

 

‘Consult Constitution Court’

Meanwhile, Kaewsun Atibodhi, former member of the post-coup Assets Examination Committee (AEC), said yesterday that issuing a new law to cancel the legal impact of judicial orders could go against the Constitution. He suggested that the Constitution Court be consulted about this issue.

He said the AEC had been appointed lawfully by the coupmakers after they seized government power. “AEC members followed the law when performing their duties,” he said.

Kaewsun said this “reconciliation law” should actually be called the “amnesty law” because it would be granting amnesty to people involved in the 2010 political riots and exempt Thaksin from his conviction. He said the 2010 political turmoil was different from the pro-democracy protests in October 1973 and May 1992 because they had not been planned. 

In a separate development, the Democrats and senators revealed that the bill had suspiciously been added to the House agenda for deliberation on Wednesday. 

 

Doubts from Democrats

Chief opposition whip Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday that he suspected the government of having gone back on its promise to not rush through reconciliation designed to help Thaksin overcome his legal predicament.

“It is clear that the government is trying to be sneaky,” he said.

Previously, the government had said it would hold a public dialogue to form a consensus on mending fences before pushing for the passage of the reconciliation bill, he said, adding that political strife might erupt again if the government continued pushing for legislation designed to benefit just one man.

In a related development, yellow-shirt leaders will today discuss and announce their response to the proposed law, People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) spokesman Panthep Puapongpan said yesterday.

He also said that the group called on the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) to expedite a case in which the PAD accused 416 MPs and senators supporting constitutional amendment of acting against the country’s political system. The PAD is calling on the OAG to take the issue to the Constitution Court as soon as possible because the PAD had no more documents to provide, he said. 

Meanwhile, some MPs from the coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party said yesterday that their names had been included in the list of supporters of the reconciliation bill without their consent. 

MPs Tun Jintavech and Korawi Prissanananthakul said they had not given their consent to the party to use their names as supporters of the bill. 

However, another party MP Chada Thaiseth said the party had earlier resolved to support the bill and he could remember exactly when the decision was made. 

 

 

Key points of the National Reconciliation Bill

Article 3: Any conduct related to political assembly or expression of political opinions between September 15, 2005 and May 10, 2011 that were deemed illegal will no longer be illegal and the wrongdoers will be freed from responsibility for the misconduct.

 

The misconduct includes: 

1. Misconduct caused by political assembly or expression of political opinion including violation of law prohibiting any anti-government gatherings, statements or advertisements or any disobedience of government officials as well as protests that affect other people physically or their assets.

2. Any conduct by government officials or anybody related to the prevention or suppression of political assembly, expression of political opinions or any related conducts.

 

Article 4: Once this law is effective, investigation and legal action against a person as per Article 3 must be stopped. If the case is in court, then the court must dismiss it. If the person is already convicted, then the person must be deemed as never having been convicted. If the person has been serving the penalty, then the penalty must end and the person released. 

 

Article 5: People affected by the conduct or the operation of an organisation or group of people appointed under the order of the Council for National Security or the council’s chairman, who seized power on September 19, 2006, will not be considered suspects or wrongdoers. The statement in Article 4 shall be applied and all related organisations will treat the people according to the rule of law. 

 

Article 6: The revocation of the voting rights of former executives of a dissolved party will be ended and the persons will be deemed as those whose voting rights had never been revoked once this law is effective.

        

Article 7: Any conduct according to this law will not be considered as a reason to end one’s right to take civil action and seek compensation for any damages from people whose penalty has been lifted as per this law.