Sonthi will not withdraw reconciliation bill - for now
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Matubhum Party leader Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin insisted Friday that he would go on sponsoring his version of the national reconciliation bill.
Sonthi said he would not withdraw the bill from the House agenda unless opinion surveys indicated that the bill should be pulled.
Sonthi was commenting on a proposal by House Speaker Somsak Kiartsuranon that the Mathubhum leader and Pheu Thai MPs withdraw their reconciliation bills or the country would plunge deeper into political crisis.
The four national reconciliation bills sponsored by Sonthi and his group and by Pheu Thai MPs have been put on top of the House agenda and would be the first bills to be deliberated after Parliament convenes the next parliamentary session on August 1.
Sonthi said he felt his bill would not cause political conflicts.
Sonthi added that it would be useless for him to withdraw his bill because the three other bills had been submitted and put on agenda.
He said his bill was aimed at having all sides forgive and forget and cooperate to rebuild the country in much the same way as the 66/23 police once announced to absolve former communists.
Sonthi said government agencies were now holding public hearings and organising opinion surveys on the reconciliation bills so he would wait for the surveys’ results and withdraw the bill if the people wanted him to.
