Thai NRC reconciliation report fails to win broad approval

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NRC reconciliation report fails to win broad approval
PIYAPORN WONGRUANG,
WASAMON AUDJARINT
THE NATION

LONGSTANDING RED-YELLOW DIVIDE COMES TO FORE AGAIN

BANGKOK: -- POLITICAL leaders and activists have received the latest report by the National Reform Council's reconciliation committee with mixed reactions.

The report was completed on Friday. It was submitted to NRC chairman Thienchay Kiranandana on Monday for deliberation before being forwarded to the government.

The report suggested six key measures for reconciliation including amnesties. It suggested amnesty for all except those involved in serious criminal or human-rights violations, corruption, and lese majeste, stirring wide debate on whether this was appropriate.

Colour-coded camps received the report with a mixture of cheers and jeers.

Chaturon Chaisang, former education minister under the Pheu Thai Party, said he agreed that reconciliation should take place, but the recommendations in the report appeared unachievable and misdirected.

He said the report suggested reconciliation should come under the new constitution, and a new strategic reconciliation promotion committee that would be created under the charter would be the wrong start.

First of all, he said, it was not certain how long it would take to formulate the new constitution or whether it would be accepted and put into effect. Besides, it would be difficult to proceed with or correct reconciliation procedures if they were tied up with the constitution.

The constitution itself, he added, may create new conflicts if it remains in its present form.

Chaturon said the proposed amnesty measures were a bit too late, as many demonstrators have already been punished. Meanwhile the amnesty proposed for political leaders and government supervisors was not likely to be meaningful as the preconditions were too murky.

Reconciliation, in Chaturon's view, involves all sides getting together from the start to look into the causes of conflict and to find solutions.

He said that so far he had not seen any signs of understanding of the issue from the government except its wish to end arguments between opponents. That, he said, was not reconciliation.

"What we are discussing is the attempt to solve the problem at its end, but what we need is understanding of the causes and finding solutions so that they will not happen again."

He suggested a forum where all sides sit together for talks plus impartial bodies to work together to figure out the best way out of conflicts.

Thida Thavornseth, former chairwoman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, agreed with Chaturon, saying the report was of little use now given the fact that many demonstrators had served their penalties.

She said the behaviour of the military regime was perceived by its opponents as a way to suppress them, citing the case of the 14 students arrested for criticising the coup and pressing for a return to democracy.

"Injustice and conflicts are increasing every day, so how could reconciliation be possible?" said Thida, giving another example of the city-hall arson incident, claiming some defendants had only watched the incident. Yet they were found guilty, prosecuted and jailed for five years.

"The report tries to reconcile every party theoretically, while everything in reality is nothing near the claimed utopia," she said, questioning who benefits most from the recommendations in the report.

"To correct a wrong, the idea from the start has to be right, so that it can lead to right actions."

But the yellow-shirt and Democrat Party camps viewed the report differently.

Suriyasai Katasila, People's Alliance for Democracy coordinator, said he agreed in principle with the committee's report as the recommendations would benefit a majority of ordinary demonstrators.

As he is also a party to the conflict, he said he might not be able to discuss this much, but noted that reconciliation normally took time, twice as long as the conflict itself. So it might need up to 20 years to restore a conciliatory society in Thailand, and a strategic plan to drive this was needed.

So far, he said, he has not yet seen any serious signs that the government wants to develop such a plan to support the work of reconciliation, which is a must, Suriyasai said.

Earlier, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, accused of giving a directive to crack down on red-shirt demonstrators in 2010, voiced support for amnesty for a majority of ordinary demonstrators. But he cautioned that it should not be blanket amnesty and the public should be allowed to take part in a discussion on the criteria for granting amnesty to protest leaders.

Ekachai Chainuvati, a law lecturer from Siam University, cited what former British prime minister Tony Blair said about the reconciliation issue in Thailand in 2012. Blair said that what his country learned about reconciliation in Northern Ireland could be adapted to Thai contexts.

"According to standard reconciliation principles, first, every involved party has to have shared opportunities. Second, every party has to understand and comply with each other's differences," Ekachai said.

"Thus it can be noticed that the current reconciliation committee established by the NRC does not follow the first principle. The [National Council for Peace and Order] doesn't see shared opportunities that every party wants to move forward for the sake of country."

Ekachai said undemocratic powers always got involved whenever there were political conflicts.

He also pointed to flaws he saw in the proposal: "It is not based on the will of the Thai people, but is a conclusion proposed by now-powerful actors.

"I suggest that the NCPO stop using Article 44, so people can propose reconciliation [of their own will], as currently, this article is blocking people from expressing their thoughts freely."

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/NRC-reconciliation-report-fails-to-win-broad-appro-30263987.html

-- The Nation 2015-07-08

[Manbing]

Chaturon (Pheu Thai) - No surprises there, claims amnesty can't occur after punishments are administered.

But that is just plain wrong.

People can be released from prison with amnesties, and offenses can be legally expunged and stricken from records.

He goes on the whinge that the government are failing to find resolution and settle the disputes. By engaging in a debate which resolves the matter by satisfying all parties. Stating this expectation is a clear indication he either doesn't understand or can't accept reconciliation.

Thida (former chair person of the UDD) , unsurprisingly agreed with him- what with them broadly representing the same ambitions- those of ex pm Mr T and the Shins.

She claims ongoing abuses and nastiness still occur on a daily basis. Squabbling churlish rabble rousers being told to shut up and sit on the naughty step for 10 minutes. Harking back to the good old days where differences were settled with an anonymous grenade lobbed in a drive-by, from a guy dressed in black.

So the Shins representatives are declining to accept the literal definition of an 'amnesty' - presumably in the same way they believe election fraud = democracy.

Refusing even to acknowledge the basic framework of a reconciliation.

Other interested parties seem quite willing to accept the 'in principle' understanding. Representing a step forward.

Reconciliation is a process of agreeing to disagree but move forward for the benefit of all. Expecting all your interests will be served is simply unreasonable.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Manbing

[oneday]

By trying to formulate a constitution and attempting to create a list of reforms by hand-picked cronies of this biased government they have guaranteed failure and so this mess will continued into an unforeseeable future ad-nausem.

Maybe this current government wanted this whole mess from the beginning so they could have a great reason to stay in power.

[Bannum opinions]

"LONGSTANDING RED-YELLOW DIVIDE COMES TO FORE AGAIN"

Of course it does. Only self-righteous anti-democrats would think otherwise.

If for the moment one sets aside this authors political orientation, with his/her attempt to obscure political context. For example, hiding their anti-democratic impulses behind nonsensical color differentiation within a political lexicon. They are deathly afraid people will recognize this as an anti-democrat thing vs. Democracy and contextualize them accordingly. They know it has nothing to do with color-affiliation. But they are also arrogant enough to think they can pull this off.

The fact remains that the anti-democrats think closing the barn doors after the horses are out, is reasonable.

It is a slam against one's intelligence.

Write a constitution by and for us, and then seek reconciliation? Yeah right!

But this makes sense to these arrogant people, who pretend that reconciliation is important. Reconciliation with those they consider lesser citizens. They actually believe their own propaganda as the quote above demonstrates...They really believe that they have altered the political landscape and co-opted their political opposites....(...comes to the fore again)

Contemptousness at its extreme.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Bannum opinions

[wabothai]

Start getting rid of your arrogancy and have some respect for the less fortunate.

That is where to start with reconciling.

Am afraid that won't happen.

[Srikcir]

"20 years to restore a conciliatory society in Thailand"

Is that Junta-nese for saying it must stay in control for 20 years to assure a conciliatory society?

[Fat Haggis]

The report suggested six key measures for reconciliation including amnesties. It suggested amnesty for all except those involved in serious criminal or human-rights violations, corruption, and lese majeste, stirring wide debate on whether this was appropriate.

The devil is again in the detail, reading this makes me arrive with the conclusion that 14 months down the line, nothing has been done towards any sort of reconciliation. And these are mere ideas to start such a process. I think maybe the chance to unite the country has eroded quite a degree, all's not well in the Garden of Eden.

Interesting times ahead, what with the Thai Intelligence Agencies telling Prayuth, it was American Agencies behind the current student dissent.

I have noticed a very clear trend in my short time here in that it's never their fault, it's always someone else to blame, someone else s doing.