Progress made at reconciliation meet but differences remain

[rooster59]

Progress made at reconciliation meet but differences remain

BANGKOK: A MEETING of key members of rival political camps last week under the guidance of the Centre for Reconciliation and Reform (CRR) may have produced satisfactory results but it is still not clear if the country is a step closer to reconciliation.

Since Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha staged the May 22 coup last year, the two political camps have met 10 times under the guidance of the CRR.

The politicians and political activists invited to the meeting last Monday included United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship leaders and former Pheu Thai MPs Wiputhalang Pattanapumthai, Chinnawat Habunpat, Suporn Attawong and Laddawan Wongsriwong.

Also there were former UDD core leader Sompong Sarakawee, former Senate speaker Suchon Chaleekrua and former People's Alliance for Democracy leaders Suriyasak Katasila and Sirichai Mai-ngam.

Those who attended also included Samran Rodpetch, former leader of the People's Democratic Reform Committee, Ekachai Srivilas, a former member of the National Reform Council, and Anek Laothammathas, a former member of the Constitution Drafting Commission.

The National Reform Steering Assembly was represented at the meeting by Sompong, Suchon, Sirichai and Samran.

A yellow-shirt leader at the meeting told The Nation he had received a phone call from a red-shirt member who also attended the meeting in which he claimed the National Council for Peace and Order had secretly discussed suspending the jail terms of people who committed serious criminal offences in connection with political unrest.

He said the red shirt member also told him red leaders had been instructed to give the junta a list of its jailed members so the suspension of their sentences could be considered.

Arson attacks were rampant during the unrest. Malls and department stores in Bangkok were targeted along with provincial halls and state agency buildings in many provinces. Bomb attacks took place at rally stages, killing and injuring many people especially during the "Bangkok Shutdown" campaign led by the People's Democratic Reform Committee.

If the amnesty proposal is accepted, people who committed these crimes may be pardoned.

A red-shirt leader who attended the Monday's meeting urged Prayut to exercise his power under Article 44 of the interim constitution to grant amnesty to people so the country can achieve reconciliation, another source said.

The red-shirt said some NRSA members had proposed granting amnesty to people who committed violent crimes in connection with political unrest and people who joined political rallies, the source said. Protest leaders, however, would be excluded from the amnesty.

The red-shirt leader agreed that people who committed lese majeste offences and those who escaped prison sentences by fleeing the country should not be given amnesty, the source said. But, some members of the yellow shirts opposed granting amnesty to people who committed violent crimes.

The source said Buntham Oris, deputy director of the CRR, remarked at the meeting that although the rival camps have different political ideologies, they do not want to see political violence in the country.

The fact that the CRR was able to get both camps to the negotiating table to discuss reconciliation 10 times must be regarded as a success on some level, Buntham was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, members of the two groups are working on the NRSA and National Legislative Assembly and had worked on the now-defunct NRC.

The CRR has spoken to people in various sectors in an attempt to get them to understand that the agency aims to bring about national reconciliation to ensure there are no killings and civil strife from political conflict in the future. Input from the 10 meetings was being shared with them.

One negative to come out of Monday's meeting was the threat from hardcore reds to sever ties with the red shirts who attended, the source said. Reds at the meetings said the group would try to get 'extremists' to change their attitude for the sake of the country. They said they were willing to support the Prayut government and the junta to move the country forward, the source said.

A member of the NRSA said one of the agency's major goals is to bring about reconciliation for people with different political opinions.

It remains to be seen if the NRSA will achieve this goal as there are differences between the red and yellow shirts over the amnesty idea.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Progress-made-at-reconciliation-meet-but-differenc-30272015.html

-- The Nation 2015-11-01

[zaphod reborn]

A meeting of key members of rival political camps last week under the guidance of the Centre for Reconciliation and Reform (CRR) may have produced satisfactory results but it is still not clear if the country is a step closer to reconciliation.

Judging from the red shirt wearing nonsense from today, I think the answer is a resounding"no", as in no progress has been made - only temporary suppression under threat of extraordinary governmental repression.

[Pib]

These meetings are probably like pre-fight publicity meetings of two fighters before the championship bout. You know, the nose-to-nose, stare-down, throw a few insults at each other type meetings. After the meeting everyone goes home to begin rehearsing for the next publicity meeting.

[smutcakes]

I wonder if the military see themselves as protagonists in the ongoing conflict, or they are completely ignorent to their never ending meddling in political affairs....

[oneday]

My sentiments are with the red shirts and reconciliation, but I don't believe anyone who committed a violent crime on any side should be given amnesty.