Pheu Thai's Decision To Push Through The Amnesty Bill Was A Mistake: Weng

[Flashermac]

One year after the controversial blanket amnesty bill was pushed through just before dawn by the then-ruling Pheu Thai Party, red-shirt co-leader and former Pheu Thai MP Weng Tojirakan still says it was a grave mistake that led to the downfall of Yingluck Shinawatra's government.

 

He explained that it was at that moment that the anti-Thaksin Shinawatra forces managed to gain the critical mass to become a force to be reckoned with.

 

"It was like letting the genie out of the oil lamp - it went looking for a flying carpet, which took the form of the coup," he said, referring to the anti-Thaksin People's Democratic Reform Committee and the subsequent May 22 military takeover.

 

Only four Pheu Thai MPs, Weng included, abstained from voting for the controversial bill, which would have absolved Thaksin and others, including those who had a hand in the deadly crackdown on red-shirt protesters in May 2010, which led to almost a hundred deaths.

 

Weng recalled how the Pheu Thai whip tried to convince him to back the bill, but he said he was tired of seeing people being slaughtered on the streets during political protests and people getting away with impunity time and again.

 

Despite, the red-shirt United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)'s official opposition to the bill, key members like Jitra Kotchadej say UDD's move was too little and too insincere.

 

A red-shirt faction was disillusioned by Pheu Thai Party's move and the UDD's refusal to take a stronger stance against the bill - which ended up being the last straw for some of these so-called progressive red shirts.

 

"That incident led to divisions, people began seeing each other's real ideology," Jitra said. Though she still considers herself a red shirt, she is now working as adviser to a new political party called the Democratic Force Party.

 

"This split was all apparent and permanent," Jitra said, referring to the so-called progressive red-shirts moving away from those under the leadership of the UDD.

 

Weng, however, was defensive, insisting that only 1,000 or so people had abandoned the UDD.

 

"It is up to them to decide whether or not they want to be with the UDD. These so-called educated reds may look at the UDD negatively, but that's okay. I have been in touch with many grassroots people and they insist that they're still with us," Weng said, adding that the UDD denounced the use of violence though some reds have been tempted to resort to violent behaviour. At the same time, Weng said, the UDD would have nothing to do with the red-shirts who are anti-monarchists or those who want to change the lese majeste law.

 

He insisted that the UDD was still strong and that its new satellite TV station, Peace TV, was gaining more loyal viewers and was now, according to a survey by PSI Rating, ranked No 7 in comparison to some 30 stations surveyed. He pointed out that Peace TV was ahead of Thai PBS, Thairath TV and even the Army-run Channel 5.

 

The red-shirt co-leader said the very fact that some 20,000 to 30,000 red shirts had shown up at late Pheu Thai MP and former deputy House speaker Colonel Apiwan Viriyachai's funeral recently indicated that the red shirts were still united and strong.

 

One year on, Thaksin and Yingluck's supporters still discount the significance of the controversial bill, saying that Yingluck's enemies were going to remove her anyway, and that it was just a matter of time before they found an "excuse" to take to the streets and call for a military coup.

 

At the same time, there are those who believe in a conspiracy story suggesting that Thaksin and Yingluck had been fooled by the so-called "old-elite" clique that allegedly promised to support the bill only to betray them later.

 

Either way, dozens of what can be deemed as political prisoners are still languishing in prison, while Thaksin and his sister Yingluck still remain forces to be reckoned with and subjects of deep hatred for some.

 

Though Yingluck was removed by the Constitutional Court shortly before the coup took place, she now faces possible impeachment by the junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly, which could see her banned from politics for several years. Yet, many of her supporters on social media still believe that she will return as the next elected prime minister.

 

The future of Pheu Thai Party, meanwhile, appears to be uncertain. Its leader Jarupong Ruangsuwan resigned in June to lead the anti-coup 'Free Thai Movement' overseas. Yet, he seems to have gone quiet recently.

 

Suda Rangkupan, a staunch supporter of the blanket amnesty bill, is also a fugitive after ignoring the junta's summonses.

 

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Pheu-Thais-decision-to-push-through-the-amnesty-bi-30246651.html

[cavanami]

Typical politics...keep pushing until you get busted

[Coss]

"Weng recalled how the Pheu Thai whip tried to convince him to back the bill, but he said he was tired of seeing people being slaughtered on the streets during political protests and people getting away with impunity time and again."

 

Weng didn't get his fat envelope then...