NACC issues statement against amnesty bill
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The National Anti-Corruption Commission Tuesday issued a statement denouncing the blanket amnesty bill, saying its enactment would violate good governance and go against a UN convention against corruption.
The statement was announced by NACC spokesman Wicha Mahakhun.
Wicha said that the NACC held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the bill. It found that Article 3 of the bill would affect anti-corruption operations, the good governance principle as well as campaigns to promote honesty.
It would also affect Thailand’s ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
Wicha said Thailand ratified the UNCAC on March 1 2011 and were the bill to be enacted, it would severely affect the country’s image. He added that Thailand is now being monitored and evaluated as a nation that has ratified the convention.
Wicha said the NACC has informed the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that the NACC is against the amnesty bill.
The spokesman said the NACC would like to warn the Senate that if the amnesty bill is enacted, it would annul 25,331 corruption cases the NACC has investigated following the 2006 coup and would affect 24 cases that the Assets Examination Committee passed on to the NACC to investigate.
Of the 25,331 cases, 400 cases were allegations against senior political office holders and the rest were cases against permanent officials. The NACC has found grounds to charge suspects in 666 cases, Wicha added.
