Thailand Tense as Government Debates Amnesty Bill
Security forces set up barricades outside parliament
Thai opposition protesters wave national flags as they parade during rally in Bangkok on November 11, 2013.
Thai police ramped up security in central Bangkok on Monday as the
Senate began deliberations on a bill drawing ire from both pro- and
anti-government camps. The Amnesty Bill, proposed by the ruling Pheu
Thai Party, would absolve Thais of convictions related to political
violence dating as far back as 2004.On Monday, the Centre for the
Administration of Peace and Order deployed nearly 7,000 police to cordon
off an area around the Parliament and the prime minister’s office,
where protesters have camped out on the main road for about two
kilometers. “They’re shouting and the crowd has whistles,” said Wei
Xiangnan, a Chinese national who spoke to TIME by phone from his office
on Ratchadamnoen Ave. “The road is full of people. It’s very, very
crowded.”
The Senate will hold its first reading of the legislation today,
after failing to reach a quorum on Friday when a large group of
anti-government senators boycotted the meeting. Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra is expected to speak after the Senate decision is announced,
which could be as late as 10 p.m. local time.
Thailand’s Justice Minister said the bill is the best way to resolve
the country’s ongoing political stand-off by wiping the slate clean,
particularly for those involved the political violence of 2010.
Anti-government protestors worry the legislation could allow Thailand’s
exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra to dodge criminal charges and
return to the country. They are calling for the bill to be dropped
completely.
The bill is also drawing criticism from supporters of the current
government. They are campaigning against pardons for former officials
and members of the military that they hold responsible for the deaths of
their red-shirt comrades in 2010. More than 90 people died and at least
2,000 were injured when the military opened fire on red-shirt sympathizers that year.
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