A Pheu Thai Party member on the House committee studying amnesty for political prisoners yesterday backed a proposal to incorporate into the bill offences related to the lese majeste (LM) law.
Somkid Chueakong, spokesman of the House special committee, said he believes extending an amnesty bill to cover Section 112 of the Criminal Code will not be an uphill battle.
He made the remark after Chaithawat Tulathon, leader of the main opposition Move Forward Party (MFP), expressed his concern that the party's push to include the LM law could be more complicated with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra having recently been indicted on an LM offence.
Mr Somkid is a former Pheu Thai MP for Ubon Ratchathani and is now a deputy secretary-general for political affairs to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
A proposal to have Section 112 offences covered by the bill has been made and is favoured by several committee members, according to Mr Somkid.
He insisted these developments occurred long before it was known the attorney-general had resolved to indict Thaksin, who wields considerable influence over Pheu Thai, in a LM case.
On May 29, the attorney-general announced Thaksin's indictment on this and computer crime violations arising from an interview he gave to a newspaper in Seoul on Feb 21, 2015. He has been ordered to appear at the Office of the Attorney-General on June 18.
"Now with Thaksin facing a lese majeste charge, Pheu Thai has suddenly found itself in an awkward situation.
"After all, Pheu Thai never said it was opposed to the idea of including Section 112 offences in the amnesty bill. Hence, if Section 112 offences were to be included, the amnesty would be on its way [through the legislative process]," Mr Somkid said.
"If the amnesty bill is eventually passed, anyone [facing a lese majeste charge], not only Thaksin, would be eligible to benefit from it," he said.
Mr Somkid dismissed criticism that Pheu Thai now supports the proposed inclusion of Section 112 offences because it wants to get Thaksin off the hook.
Nikorn Chamnong, secretary-general of the House committee, meanwhile, insisted no conclusions have been made as to whether Section 112 offences should be included in the amnesty bill.
The committee will have until mid-July to decide on the matter, said Mr Nikorn, adding his Chartthaipattana Party opposes the bill including LM violators.
Defence Minister and Pheu Thai list-MP Sutin Klungsang insisted the amnesty bill needs to take into consideration opinions from the Defence Council and other security organisations before it is submitted to parliament, because the bill is a security law.
More importantly, he said, it is crucial for Pheu Thai to listen to the views of its coalition partners regarding their stance on the matter.
