After a series of failed amnesty bills over the past decade, a new attempt to pardon people charged with lese majeste has become a burning issue that is adding heat to Thailand’s political conflict.
Proposed forgiveness for people charged with political crimes has been a hot potato since 2013, when the Pheu Thai-led government’s attempt to pass a blanket amnesty led to street protests that culminated in a military coup.
Since then, all sides have failed to agree on whether an amnesty should cover any offence committed with “political motives”, including murder, terrorism, abuse of power, and insulting the monarchy.
The heated debate now centers on the question of whether protesters and activists charged with lese majeste should benefit from a new amnesty law in the making.
Row over the online poll
If the result of a recent online poll conducted by the Secretariat of the House of Representatives is any indication, the draft bill to pardon people charged with violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code (aka the lese majeste law) could face a rough road ahead.
The survey asked members of the public whether they agreed with a “people’s” draft amnesty law proposed by the People’s Amnesty Network (PAN) – a coalition of civil groups and activists – and supported by 36,723 signatures. Officially called the “Bill on People’s Amnesty”, the draft legislation is one of four amnesty bills currently under parliamentary consideration.
Of the 90,503 people surveyed over one month from May 13 to June 12, 64.66% voted against the bill while 35.34% voted for it.
The results appeared to surprise both supporters and opponents of the proposed bill.
And both sides made allegations of “suspicious developments” surrounding the online poll.
The bill’s supporters suggested the poll was rigged, claiming that as many as 26,000 “no” votes flooded in on June 11 alone.
Opponents of the bill claimed there were last-minute attempts to pump up “yes” votes even after the survey was officially closed.
Deputy House speaker Padipat Suntiphada later ordered an examination of IP addresses used by online voters to determine if there were any irregularities.
Thailand’s biggest amnesty
The special House committee studying guidelines on drafting a new amnesty law has come up with the term “acts committed with political motives” to describe crimes eligible for amnesty.
The panel, which is headed by the ruling Pheu Thai Party’s deputy leader Chusak Sirinil, defines the term as “any act that is based on political belief and related to political conflict, or any act meant to achieve a political goal during the period of conflict or political disorder”.
Expectations are high that this definition will include those charged under Article 112 of the Criminal Code.
Pheu Thai’s patriarch Thaksin Shinawatra – who many regard as its de-facto leader – would benefit in this case after recently being indicted on a lese majeste charge over a comment he made in South Korea in 2015 during his self-exile.
Thaksin’s youngest daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is the current leader of Pheu Thai.
The Chusak panel is considering 25 offences for amnesty, including lèse majeste.
However, committee members need more time to decide whether the offence should be included in the amnesty bill as they are aware of the “big differences” between opposing sides over the matter, according to Yuthaporn Issarachai, a panel member and political scientist from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.
The eligible offences are covered by 25 different laws, including the Criminal Code, Civil Code, Internal Security Act, Computer Crime Act, Public Assembly Act, Aviation Act, Public Referendum Act, State of Emergency Act, as well as orders issued by the coup-makers National Council for Peace and Order.
Yuthaporn, who chairs the subcommittee tasked with identifying offences eligible for amnesty, says his panel has proposed the amnesty bill should cover four periods of political conflict: from 2005 to 2008, 2009-2012, 2013-2019, and 2020-2024 or the day that the law comes into force.
“This amnesty will be the biggest in Thailand’s political history. No previous amnesty laws have covered a period of almost 20 years like this one.
The goal of this legislation is to bring social unity and reconciliation. It should not lead to a new round of conflict,” he said.
23 amnesty laws so far
Since the country abandoned absolute monarchy and introduced a constitutional monarchy in 1932, Thailand has seen a total of 23 amnesty laws – most of them granted to those involved in successful or failed coup attempts.
Eleven amnesty laws were issued to exempt from punishment people involved in 11 separate military coups, from the first in June 1933 to the latest one in May 2014.
Five other amnesty laws were issued for those involved in mostly failed coup attempts who were charged with treason or rebellion.
Three amnesty laws were issued for all those involved in the country’s three major uprisings against military dictatorship – in October 1973, October 1976, and May 1992.
One amnesty law issued in August 1989 exonerated those convicted of violating the Anti-Communism Act.
Another one was issued in April 1946 to grant amnesty for people who resisted occupying Japanese forces during World War II.
4 amnesty bills proposed
Currently, four amnesty bills have been proposed separately by three political parties – Move Forward, United Thai Nation, and Thai Teachers for People – as well as the civil network PAN.
The draft laws have between nine and 14 articles covering offences committed during all political conflicts since 2005.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party is also expected to submit its own amnesty bill, although it has so far made no clear announcement regarding the matter.
Only the PAN’s bill clearly states that lese majeste violators should be eligible for amnesty.
The draft laws proposed by United Thai Nation and Thai Teachers for People exclude the offence, as well as those convicted of corruption.
The PAN’s bill covers various situations since the coup of September 2006, including lèse-majesté convictions, civilians tried in a military court, and violations of the state of emergency and the Referendum Act on the 2017 Constitution.
Move Forward’s bill does not mention lese majeste cases, though the party has campaigned for changes to Article 112.
The bills proposed by Move Forward and the civil network would not pardon state security officials involved in crackdowns on protesters, or those who overthrow a government or the Constitution.
By Thai PBS World’s Political Desk
