Senate could amend blanket amnesty bill, speaker says
Senate Speaker Nikom Wairatpanich has admitted that the Senate is ready to approve the blanket amnesty bill in principle and then amend it to grant an amnesty only to people who participated in rallies without committing serious crimes.
Nikom said the bill would be amended as proposed by Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban, who is leading the protest on Ratchadamnoen Avenue,
Nikom said on radio station 97.0 that if the Senate voted for the bill in its first reading scheduled for Monday, the bill would then be vetted. He added that he would serve as chair of the vetting committee and the senators on the committees would scrutinise the bill section by section.
“I agreed to amend Section three back to the first draft proposed by Pheu Thai MP Worachai Hema. If all senators agree to do that, we can complete the process within a day. The Prime Minister would forward it to His Majesty the King for royal endorsement. If every party is sincere, we should be able to complete all the processes within November, and bring an end to the political conflicts,” he said.
Nikom also rejected Suthep’s demand that the Senate should consider the bill as a financial bill and return it to the Prime Minister for endorsement. He said the Senate could not do that because the process must be considered in the House, not the Senate.
