The proposed amnesty bill for lèse majesté offences will not be applied across the board, but selectively, Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang told the Thai media today.
He said that, in drafting the bill, the opinions of all stakeholders, including the military, will be considered, adding that parliament must heed the opinions of the majority of the people.
He hinted that there would have to be a process for the screening of offenders charged and/or convicted of lèse majesté, to determine whether they deserve amnesty.
The defence minister said that the Pheu Thai party, which is spearheading the bill, must proceed with great caution and must not repeat the mistake it made in 2013.
Then, Pheu Thai MP Worachai Hema and 39 other fellow MPs proposed an amnesty bill to exonerate all political offenders who had participated in rallies between 2006 and 2011, including protests by the “yellow-shirt” People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the “red-shirt” United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
The bill was interpreted by opponents of the Pheu Thai party, however, as being designed to clear former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of corruption charges and convictions. Protests ensued, leading to the dissolution of parliament by then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Critics of the latest proposed bill question whether the Pheu Thai party’s motive is, again, to benefit paroled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, after prosecutors recently decided to indict him on lèse majesté charges.
The Move Forward party is supportive of the bill, but other coalition parties and the opposition Democrat party are against it.
