Opposition mounts against Thai amnesty bill

[webfact]

Opposition mounts against amnesty bill
The Nation



Many groups vow to intensify agitation after House pushes through draft law in predawn hours

BANGKOK: -- OPPOSITION INTENSIFIED yesterday against a government-proposed bill that would grant blanket amnesty to all law offenders before and after the 2006 coup, after passage of the draft law by the House of Representatives before dawn yesterday.

In addition to the opposition Democrat Party, which is holding a rally against blanket amnesty near Bangkok's Samsen railway station, different groups of people and organisations yesterday expressed their strong disagreement to the proposed amnesty law.

If the bill becomes law, it will absolve all those responsible for the deaths and injuries of people during the recent anti-government street protests. All criminal offenders and politicians accused or convicted of corruption would also benefit from the amnesty law, in addition to ordinary protesters.

The Democrats will next focus on persuading senators not to vote for the amnesty bill during the Senate deliberation, according to a party source.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva will also address protesters at the Samsen rally despite concern that the party's political enemies might use his presence to take legal action and possible dissolution of the main opposition party, the source said,

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday that she was worried about the situation but expressed hope that the growing opposition would not lead to violence.

"It is difficult to predict whether the protest will be prolonged. But we [the government] will do our best to maintain peace," she said. "From our experience, nobody will want to see a bad incident happen to Thailand again. We don't want to see any loss."

Fearing violence, the Stock Exchange of Thailand's main index yesterday lost 13.80 points or 0.96 per cent to end at 1,429.08, on thin turnover of Bt29 billion.

Some intellectuals in the red-shirt movement, which serves as the main support base of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, reacted angrily at its push for blanket amnesty.

Red-shirt leader Sombat Boon-ngam-anong, in a Facebook message, said Pheu Thai and ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would have to take responsibility for any consequence of the successful push for blanket amnesty. "Don't worry that the red shirts will overthrow a government that we voted in. But there is no guarantee or obligation that we will vote you to form a government again next time," he said.

Academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun said Pheu Thai MPs had "betrayed the red shirts in an inexcusable way". He said the blanket amnesty would legitimise the killings of protesters in 2010. "This was a disgusting act," he said, referring to the bill.

A small group of students from Thammasat University, some of them pro-red shirts, yesterday submitted a letter to Pheu Thai at its headquarters, voicing opposition to the blanket amnesty. They said amnesty should be given only to protesters who had violated the law, and not those responsible for the deaths of protesters.

Several organisations yesterday also opposed the blanket amnesty.

The Rural Doctor Society, which has some 4,000 members, issued a statement against the bill. It urged medical workers across the country to oppose the bill until the government withdraws it and instead proceeds with the people's draft, which limits amnesty to people who joined political demonstrations.

The Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT) sought help from the international community, while other business organisations are also concerned about the development. ACT yesterday submitted a statement to the US Embassy in Bangkok expressing its concerns over the amnesty bill and arguing that the bill supported graft and the whitewashing of wrongdoers.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce will announce its stand next week, pending responses from all 77 provincial chambers.

The National Human Rights Commission, in an open letter to the prime minister and the Senate Speaker, called on them to maintain support and respect for human rights.

A group of academics at Khon Kaen University yesterday began a signature campaign against the draft law. Associate Professor Chavalit Pairojkul of the faculty of medicine said many academics at the university disagreed with the push for blanket amnesty, particularly over the fact that corrupt politicians would benefit.

"We have agreed to express our opposition. If the government still ignores this reaction, there will be a strike, and people will join the protests in Bangkok," he said.

Meanwhile, Democrat leader Abhisit insisted that the controversial amnesty bill was unconstitutional and that the party would petition the Constitutional Court for a legal interpretation.

Abhisit argued that the vetting process of the bill was unconstitutional and that the House Speaker's actions undermined public confidence in the parliamentary system. He also urged the Senate to oppose the bill and said his party would file a petition in the Constitutional Court for legal interpretation once the Upper House finished vetting the bill.

Abhisit made the statement hours after the special session of the House of Representatives voted 310-0 to pass the third reading of the bill early yesterday. Four Pheu Thai MPs - Nuttawut Saikuar, Weng Tojirakarn, Worachai Hema, Khattiya Sawasdipol - abstained from the voting.

The House session ended at 4.20am. The third reading passed after 19 hours of heated debate and protests that interrupted the meeting. Many Democrat MPs booed and jeered as they vented their anger at the ruling Pheu Thai MPs for their attempts to ram the bill through. The protests failed to deter House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont, who insisted on swift and continuous voting on articles of the bill, which sailed through the second and third readings. The House Speaker closed the session at 4.25am.


-- The Nation 2013-11-02

[moe666]

For one man and only one man too hell with Thailand

[winstonc]

when red shirts start voicing there anger at pheu-thai and thaksin.you know its getting bad...i feel a coup coming on....the wife said she was speaking to some redshirts in bkk yesterday they are seriously pissed off...totally betrayed and lied too..over and over again.... i so understand people on here saying they deserve what they voted for,and i was one of them ...but voting in good faith and being sold a lie..well.......poor buggers.they dont deserve this treatment....

[siampolee]

Let's wait and see how the opposition develops, interesting to both hear and see just how much the Red Shirts dislike this bill yet strangely enough there were but four abstentions in the parliamentary vote on the bill

So where are or where were those Red Shirt politicians who opposed this bill, perchance at the bank checking their voting incentive bonus thus ensuring their ''aye'' vote as they sell their Red Shirt pawns down the river?

Opposition at the moment seems to be vocal and small in size, however ''Great oaks from little acorns grow.'' We shall have to await the passing of time to see what may transpire concerning the matter.

An interesting point to consider is if and when the bill receives Royal assent.will or dare Thaksin actual return to Thailand?

Perhaps at the end of the day all Thaksin's puppets efforts will have been in vain due to a certain reluctance of their puppet master to actually set foot in Thailand again due to doubts about his personal safety.

Craven cowards are indeed expert at hiding behind a woman's skirts as we have seen most vividly over the last few years or so.

Please return Thaksin then your debts to Thailand can be repaid, or perhaps it will be a case of the debt due to you for all the social and civil strife you have caused will be rendered unto you.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday that she was worried about the situation but expressed hope that the growing opposition would not lead to violence

The solution and the preservation of civil order can easily be achieved by instructing the Senate to vote against this bill, then you should either reword or withdraw this iniquitous divisive bill thus then there would be no problem as you seem to think there may be.

At the end of the day Madam Manipulated Prime Minister the problem has been and was created by your brother, your family and your brown nosing acolytes who some time back as you may recall instigated a campaign of violence and civil unrest to usurp power.Now others may well follow the path that was forged by your kind.

''Imitation is the highest form of flattery.''.

Or perhaps we should say ''As ye sow , so ye shall reap.''

I am not referring to the current ongoing rice harvesting activities either concerning reaping

Edited November 2, 2013 by siampolee

[h90]

when red shirts start voicing there anger at pheu-thai and thaksin.you know its getting bad...i feel a coup coming on....the wife said she was speaking to some redshirts in bkk yesterday they are seriously pissed off...totally betrayed and lied too..over and over again.... i so understand people on here saying they deserve what they voted for,and i was one of them ...but voting in good faith and being sold a lie..well.......poor buggers.they dont deserve this treatment....

Well Thaksin didn't lie once or twice....he did it a 1000 times. And always the red shirts ignored it.

All the court cases against Thaksin are very clear and not secret.

I can't even imagine who they could believe Thaksin from the beginning and I wonder if they will believe him again if he hands out 500 Baht to everyone?

[Artisi]

Let's wait and see how the opposition develops, interesting to both hear and see just how much the Red Shirts dislike this bill yet strangely enough there were but four abstentions in the parliamentary vote on the bill

So where are or where were those Red Shirt politicians who opposed this bill, perchance at the bank checking their voting incentive bonus thus ensuring their ''aye'' vote as they sell their Red Shirt pawns down the river?

Opposition at the moment seems to be vocal and small in size, however ''Great oaks from little acorns grow.'' We shall have to await the passing of time to see what may transpire concerning the matter.

An interesting point to consider is if and when the bill receives Royal assent.will or dare Thaksin actual return to Thailand?

Perhaps at the end of the day all Thaksin's puppets efforts will have been in vain due to a certain reluctance of their puppet master to actually set foot in Thailand again due to doubts about his personal safety.

Craven cowards are indeed expert at hiding behind a woman's skirts as we have seen most vividly over the last few years or so.

Please return Thaksin then your debts to Thailand can be repaid, or perhaps it will be a case of the debt due to you for all the social and civil strife you have caused will be rendered unto you.

Think it would be on odds on bet that Thaksin will never return - well not in the foreseeable future. No balls and not enough faithfuls to monitor him 24/7 up close and at a great distance. Bear in mind that the likes of the so-called "black-shirt" would only need one clear shot from many hundreds of meters away to fix the problem once and for all - something he would be well aware of.

[Bkungbank]

Great words

[bedbugy]

and the red bull driver gets off too

[Muhendis]

Timing is of the essence.

The farmers are gearing up for harvest.

The Cambodian border dispute is in the news.

The rice farmers have been dealt a blow with the new rice pledging quota.

The rubber producers are preoccupied with their problems.

Maybe this culmination of events has been engineered to distract the populace from the Amnesty Bill.

[ggold]

when red shirts start voicing there anger at pheu-thai and thaksin.you know its getting bad...i feel a coup coming on....the wife said she was speaking to some redshirts in bkk yesterday they are seriously pissed off...totally betrayed and lied too..over and over again.... i so understand people on here saying they deserve what they voted for,and i was one of them ...but voting in good faith and being sold a lie..well.......poor buggers.they dont deserve this treatment....

Actually they do deserve this treatment, The idea that the leaders of the red shirts did not know this was going to happen is laughable. The red shirt leaders used the people for their own ends as much a Thaksin did. The peoples only excuse is lack of inteligence or greed for money.

You can hardly say they voted in good faith when their vote was bought and paid for!

Edited November 2, 2013 by ggold

[webfact]

NSC expects number of demonstrators to increase, fears third party

BANGKOK, 2 November 2013 (NNT) – The National Security Council of Thailand (NSC) expects the number of anti-government demonstrators to increase during the weekend, while expressing concerns about a third party.

Although the number of anti-amnesty demonstrators is expected to rise during the weekend, the NSC still believes that there will not be any violence, saying the situation will not be similar to the one in 2010, while affirming that the NSC will constantly monitor all protests as police forces have been deployed around demonstration sites in a bid to prevent possible interference by a third party or any unexpected incidents that could lead to violence.

The NSC added that the Royal Thai Police will be the main agency in charge of maintaining law and order in those demonstration sites.

As for an expansion of Internal Security Act (ISA) area, the NSC said the situation will be assessed daily whether or not the imposition of ISA should cover areas like Sam Sen train station where the anti-amnesty demonstration led by the Opposition Democrat Party is being staged.


-- NNT 2013-11-02

[whybother]

NSC expects number of demonstrators to increase, fears third party

Surely with all the police in attendance, they should need to worry about third parties.

[siampolee]

The NSC added that the Royal Thai Police will be the main agency in charge of maintaining law and order in those demonstration sites

The quote above should read thus.

The NSC added that the Royal Thai Police will be the main agency in charge of maintaining outlaws and disorder in those opposing the demonstration sites, much as they did regarding their pro Red Shirts terror campaign stance in the Red Shirt activities in 2010

Edited November 2, 2013 by siampolee

[mikemac]

As the opposition to this disgusting, poor excuse for a political party grows, expect more and more "distractions".

And if I were one of the anti-government protesters I would be extra careful, these devious PTP scumbags will do anything to make them look bad, in order for PTP to look good, or pitied.

[Lite Beer]

National unity signs put on hold after criticisms from anti-amnesty groups

BANGKOK, 2 November 2013 (NNT) – Provincial governors have been told to put on hold 'reconciliation' vinyl signs meant to promote unity in the country, after messages on the signs ran into criticisms by anti-amnesty bill groups.

The Department of Provincial Administration on Friday issued urgent letters asking city halls and district offices to cease production of the signs, earlier commissioned in an effort to promote national unity. According to department director-general Siriphong Hantrakun, the messages on the signs were not in accord with the intention to foster unity.

Deputy Interior Minister Wisan Techathirawat indicated the messages in question may have resulted from provincial officials' misinterpretations of the Provincial Administration Department's policy.

-- NNT 2013-11-02

[winstonc]

when red shirts start voicing there anger at pheu-thai and thaksin.you know its getting bad...i feel a coup coming on....the wife said she was speaking to some redshirts in bkk yesterday they are seriously pissed off...totally betrayed and lied too..over and over again.... i so understand people on here saying they deserve what they voted for,and i was one of them ...but voting in good faith and being sold a lie..well.......poor buggers.they dont deserve this treatment....

Actually they do deserve this treatment, The idea that the leaders of the red shirts did not know this was going to happen is laughable. The red shirt leaders used the people for their own ends as much a Thaksin did. The peoples only excuse is lack of inteligence or greed for money.

You can hardly say they voted in good faith when their vote was bought and paid for!

well put.i agree.and retract most of my post.....thank you...

[Card]

And what about the farang who was arrested, spent time in jail and then deported for burning some rubbish outside the WTC? Will he be pardoned?

[Stradavarius37]

There won't be any serious opposition. Its obvious that Thaksin and the old establishment have cut a deal. The Yellows and Reds have no serious chance because they lack any great number of "True believers". The yellow numbers swell when the old establishment paid them, the red number swell when Thaksin paid them. No one is paying because they have agreed on how to split the pie. This is the end of a 7 year chapter. Thaksin will be back in PM office in 6 months.

[Valentine]

It did not take long for the 3rd party fearmongering to start.

[h90]

There won't be any serious opposition. Its obvious that Thaksin and the old establishment have cut a deal. The Yellows and Reds have no serious chance because they lack any great number of "True believers". The yellow numbers swell when the old establishment paid them, the red number swell when Thaksin paid them. No one is paying because they have agreed on how to split the pie. This is the end of a 7 year chapter. Thaksin will be back in PM office in 6 months.

Come on....In the old Yellow days there were a lot true believer...half my staff went there every evening.

But this fire is gone. Without Samak on TV it doesn't work.

[Robby nz]

The violence has already started with M79 grenades and shots being fired at the houses of the leaders of the rubber farmers protest by "Third parties"

The grenade launchers have been put back into action, only a matter of time before they get to BKK.

[Stradavarius37]

There won't be any serious opposition. Its obvious that Thaksin and the old establishment have cut a deal. The Yellows and Reds have no serious chance because they lack any great number of "True believers". The yellow numbers swell when the old establishment paid them, the red number swell when Thaksin paid them. No one is paying because they have agreed on how to split the pie. This is the end of a 7 year chapter. Thaksin will be back in PM office in 6 months.

Come on....In the old Yellow days there were a lot true believer...half my staff went there every evening.

But this fire is gone. Without Samak on TV it doesn't work.

If they aren't going now..they aren't, and never were, true believers...

[h90]

There won't be any serious opposition. Its obvious that Thaksin and the old establishment have cut a deal. The Yellows and Reds have no serious chance because they lack any great number of "True believers". The yellow numbers swell when the old establishment paid them, the red number swell when Thaksin paid them. No one is paying because they have agreed on how to split the pie. This is the end of a 7 year chapter. Thaksin will be back in PM office in 6 months.

Come on....In the old Yellow days there were a lot true believer...half my staff went there every evening.

But this fire is gone. Without Samak on TV it doesn't work.

If they aren't going now..they aren't, and never were, true believers...

And you care to explain why?

[lungmi]

There won't be any serious opposition. Its obvious that Thaksin and the old establishment have cut a deal. The Yellows and Reds have no serious chance because they lack any great number of "True believers". The yellow numbers swell when the old establishment paid them, the red number swell when Thaksin paid them. No one is paying because they have agreed on how to split the pie. This is the end of a 7 year chapter. Thaksin will be back in PM office in 6 months.

Chalerm said nearly the same.

[AleG]

It did not take long for the 3rd party fearmongering to start.

Some goons have already beat up Korn's assistant.

[waza]

It did not take long for the 3rd party fearmongering to start.

Some goons have already beat up Korn's assistant.

Violence the last refuge of the criminal

[icare999]

when red shirts start voicing there anger at pheu-thai and thaksin.you know its getting bad...i feel a coup coming on....the wife said she was speaking to some redshirts in bkk yesterday they are seriously pissed off...totally betrayed and lied too..over and over again.... i so understand people on here saying they deserve what they voted for,and i was one of them ...but voting in good faith and being sold a lie..well.......poor buggers.they dont deserve this treatment....

they deserve all they get and more and in the end they will be the ones who suffer most - silly foolish people many willing to sell their vote and many happy to accept money to protest. A few have some conviction but the vast majority are nothing more than cowardly sheep. They will also suffer even more if their hero is brought back and deserve that as well. I live amongst Taksins most ardent admirers and believe me they simply follow the herd and do exactly what head of village says who has been paid handsomely. A very feudal system which wont change much for some time.

[icare999]

when red shirts start voicing there anger at pheu-thai and thaksin.you know its getting bad...i feel a coup coming on....the wife said she was speaking to some redshirts in bkk yesterday they are seriously pissed off...totally betrayed and lied too..over and over again.... i so understand people on here saying they deserve what they voted for,and i was one of them ...but voting in good faith and being sold a lie..well.......poor buggers.they dont deserve this treatment....

they deserve all they get and more and in the end they will be the ones who suffer most - silly foolish people many willing to sell their vote and many happy to accept money to protest. A few have some conviction but the vast majority are nothing more than cowardly sheep. They will also suffer even more if their hero is brought back and deserve that as well. I live amongst Taksins most ardent admirers and believe me they simply follow the herd and do exactly what head of village says who has been paid handsomely. A very feudal system which wont change much for some time.

[Artisi]

NSC expects number of demonstrators to increase, fears third party

Surely with all the police in attendance, they should need to worry about third parties.

Maybe the police are the third party, remember Thaksin is one of them.

[A1Str8]

Yinglucky said they want to maintain peace. If they wanted to, they wouldn't push the bill. Why is that, that nothing she says ever makes sense. Was she born with it or picked it up along the way?