Panel eyes conditional amnesty bill

Jutaporn says law will favour yellow shirts

A political reform panel has proposed legislation seeking to suspend court proceedings and convictions against all political offenders during the political unrest over the past decade as part of efforts to heal rifts and bring about national unity.

Those who will benefit from the proposed law include protesters who laid siege to state offices, blocked roads and stormed airports during moments of political unrest.

Under the proposed law, prosecutions and court cases derived from past political unrest will be suspended, despite some cases having gone through court proceedings.

“The proposed law is different from an amnesty in that it requires the offenders to plead guilty in a court trial first and abide by certain tough conditions to ensure they will not repeat the offences,” said Seree Suwanphanont, chairman of the committee under the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA).

An amnesty, according to Mr Seree, does not impose any terms on the beneficiaries.

According to Mr Seree, once the convictions are suspended, the offenders must abide by the terms and conditions specified or risk having the suspension revoked.

Such measures which could last a lifetime might include a ban on taking part in political demonstrations or the removal of political rights, he said.

“The proposed law, however, does not include charges of corruption and lese majeste and connected crimes such as arson,” he said.

The committee chairman said the draft legislation is part of the reform panel’s two-tier approach to create peace and assist in the reconciliation process.

According to the law, sources say, protesters from the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who broke through police cordons and stormed Suvarnabhumi airport in 2008, forcing the airport to close, would benefit.

For lesser politically-motivated offences, the committee recommends the prime minister drops the charges by invoking powers under Section 44 of the interim charter to suspend the investigation and prosecution stages, he said.

The NRSA member said the proposed law has received a warm welcome and the committee is seeking a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam to explain the details.

He said the panel hopes to see the draft legislation passed into law and implemented before the general election tentatively scheduled for mid-next year.

Before the NRSA was formed, its predecessor, the National Reform Council (NRC), endorsed a six-point report on reconciliation, which included an amnesty as a tool to foster reconciliation.

An amnesty should apply strictly to politically-motivated offences and should be given to those involved in political protests who did not commit serious criminal offences, corruption, lese majeste or gross violations of human rights, it said.

The report also said certain conditions should be met before an amnesty was granted.

The report received l ukewarm responses from stakeholders in the political conflict.

Jatuporn Prompan, leader of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), meanwhile, expressed doubts over the reason behind the move to pass the draft legislation, saying it was politically weighted in favour of the PAD and would be seen as unfair.

Mr Jatuporn said PAD protesters stormed the city’s main two airports in 2008, forcing then prime minister Somchai Wongsawat to resign and the airports’ closure.

It was deemed a serious offence under the international terrorist act, said Mr Jatuporn.

That could not be equated with the UDD’s smaller role in street protests.

“The maximum penalty for the PAD offence is execution,” Mr Jatuporn said.

Mr Jutaporn added the panel’s proposal will never lead to the national reconciliation it hopes to achieve because it goes against the core principle that law enforcement should be applied in a way that treats all parties properly and equally.