Govt must think again on reconciliation bill

The red-shirt rallies were supposed to be to get an early election to restore “their democracy” but when it was offered it was refused, leading to the “crackdown”. As this was clearly not a political gathering, it is presumably not covered by the new regulation. The refusal of the new election, the retaining in the wat of those who wanted to go home and the lengthy delay before the final surrender were all deliberate acts by the red-shirt leadership. Were these political acts? As they led to the deaths of their followers, the new regulation should be very specific about who and what is being forgiven.
Now that the red shirts are viewing the “egotistical Thaksin” in a different light they might reconsider the actions of their leaders. Should the bill be passed, it means that armed insurrection will be legal. It would allow them to come armed to Bangkok with a genuine “political” reason. Now that some of Thaksin’s “hired hand” red-shirts leaders are calling for a rally, how will they react if their erstwhile followers turn up accompanied by their black-shirted pals?
I presume that the new regulations will need to be passed by Parliament. I wonder how many of the MPs will recuse themselves from voting on the basis of conflict of interest. How will this bill get passed? I think Pheu Thai needs to think again, assuming any thought went into their proposal.
RICHARD BOWLER
Bangkok