Former House Speaker urges scrapping of bills
Former House Speaker Uthai Pimchaichon has called on the present House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont to withdraw the amnesty and national reconciliation bills from the parliamentary agenda.
Uthai warned parliamentarians against trying to "break a large stick with the knee", adding that bills of this kind would only plunge the country into deeper division.
He submitted a formal request to Somsak recommending that the 200-300 prisoners detained on charges related to the 2010 political protests should be released, since they were not common criminals but people who joined the political rallies to fight for their beliefs. "Thai society is peaceful now, we do not need these bills to cause further rifts,’’ he said.
Uthai also urged the Democrat Party to stop wooing the public to rally against the reconciliation and amnesty bills. "The Democrats are an old party and should be an exemplary model. Sometimes one has to sacrifice [swallow one’s own blood],’’ he said.
Uthai also submitted a letter to Senate Speaker Nikom Wairatpanit, expressing his concern and urging him to find a solution to the political mess.
Nikom said he would present to parliamentarians Uthai’s recommendation that those jailed for offences during the 2010 political protests should be released on bail.
Nikom said without a political solution, it was inevitable that the bills would become law.
