Backlash Over Thai Amnesty Bill Spreads; Plan to Absolve Former Leader Thaksin Draws Opponents to the Streets

Backlash Over Thai Amnesty Bill Spreads

Plan to Absolve Former Leader Thaksin Draws Opponents to the Streets

JAMES HOOKWAY

Updated Nov. 4, 2013 10:12 a.m. ET

BANGKOK—A backlash broke out on the streets of Thailand’s capital Monday over a bill that would absolve the country’s leaders of crimes committed over nearly a decade of political turmoil. Early Monday morning, thousands of protesters joined forces at an intersection near Bangkok’s commercial center to protest the proposed amnesty for Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as prime minister in a 2006 military coup that set off years of instability in Thailand. Mr. Thaksin, a 64-year-old telecom tycoon who ran Thailand for five years, has been living in self-imposed exile, evading imprisonment on a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated.Supporters of the opposition Democrat Party marched across the city and set up a camp at Democracy Monument in the city’s historic quarter in a bid to draw on popular sentiment against the amnesty proposals, which would also clear other political figures—including Mr. Thaksin’s rivals—accused of crimes in the upheaval surrounding the 2006 coup.

The amnesty plan was passed by the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai Party in an unusual 4:30 a.m. vote in the lower house of Parliament last week. The bill’s chances of passing the Senate, however, aren’t guaranteed.

Thaksin’s Odyssey

Thailand’s former leader is now trying to find his way home after the coup that tossed him from power.

In the bustling Silom district, several hundred office workers and businesspeople streamed out of their office buildings as lunchtime approached, many lining up to sign a petition opposing the bill. Others blew whistles in a symbolic attempt to call time on the amnesty as the crowd steadily swelled.

Stock prices fell sharply Monday, with the Stock Exchange of Thailand Index dropping 2.9%.

The bill is even drawing detractors from some of Mr. Thaksin’s supporters in the grass-roots “Red Shirt” movement. Several members abstained fromlast week’s vote in protest of the blanket amnesty proposal that would also cover their political rivals: former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his former deputy, Suthep Thaugsuban. Those two politicians are now facing murder charges in connection with the military’s crackdown on pro-Thaksin demonstrations in 2010, in which more than 90 people were killed.

Messrs. Abhisit and Suthep have rejected the amnesty, saying they prefer to clear their names in court, and some of their adversaries in the Red Shirt camp are eager to help. They are leading their own rallies to ensure that Messrs. Abhisit and Suthep are put on trial.

“The amnesty issue seems to be bringing people from all sides of the political divide together, even if they are doing it for different reasons,” said Pavin Chachavalpongpun at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Mr. Abhisit was indicted last week, not long after advocates of the bill amended it to include a provision that would extend immunity to political leaders. Earlier drafts of the bill limited amnesty to ordinary protesters rather than the leaders of either side.

Some critics of the blanket amnesty said the murder charges are a ploy to build support among opposition members in the House, though the attorney general’s office denied any political motives, saying the indictment was a result of investigations that began last year.

The conflict over the proposed amnesty shows how far Thailand has to go in reconciling Mr. Thaksin’s populism with a more conservative, technocratic style of government encouraged by Thailand’s armed forces and royalist bureaucrats.

Similar tensions run through other countries in the region, including Malaysia, where the coalition that has ruled the country for more than half a century narrowly defeated an opposition alliance in an election earlier this year. In Indonesia, next year’s elections could pit Jakarta’s popular governor, Joko Widodo, against politicians who cut their teeth during the repressive regime of late President Suharto.

Some analysts say that by pushing an amnesty bill so aggressively, Mr. Thaksin and his backers might have lost the upper hand.

“In sum, in his ill-considered and disingenuously implemented effort to award himself amnesty, Mr. Thaksin, within a few days, has transformed the political landscape in Thailand,” Bangkok-based security and risk consultancy PSA Asia said in a note to clients. “His opponents are organized and energized. His supporters are split and angry.”

The amnesty bill isn’t a done deal. It has to be passed by Thailand’s Senate, or else it would be subject to legislative delays, and must also be endorsed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Already, 70 of the 150 senators have said they oppose the amnesty plan.

Democrat Party politicians say they intend to file a legal challenge to the bill, which would whitewash political figures from across Thailand’s political divides. The senate is due to begin deliberations Nov. 11.

The extent of the outcry against the amnesty plan appears to be catching the government—led by Mr. Thaksin’s sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra —by surprise. Government officials say they will launch a campaign to educate people on the benefits of the amnesty, while Ms. Yingluck on Monday urged the country to move on. “Only if we adhere to the principle of forgiveness and reconciliation can the country move forward,” she said.

Mr. Thaksin himself often talks about resetting Thailand’s politics to a time before the 2006 coup. In an interview with the Thai-language Post Today newspaper last month, he said amnesty would stabilize the country and better equip it to compete with up-and-coming neighbors such as Vietnam and Myanmar.

So far, though, the speed with which his sister’s government is pushing the amnesty plan appears more likely to send Thailand back to a more-volatile time.

A former police officer, Mr. Thaksin has loomed large over Thailand for more than a dozen years. As prime minister, he introduced populist electioneering to a country accustomed to a more placid form of democracy that was often guided by Thailand’s powerful bureaucratic and military hierarchies.

After the military toppled him in 2006, Mr. Thaksin continued to pull Thailand’s political strings from Dubai.

He successfully groomed Ms. Yingluck to run for the premiership in 2011, and sometimes uses Skype to dial into cabinet meetings or address mass rallies.

To stop his amnesty bid, opponents of Mr. Thaksin will have to set aside some of their differences. Many demonstrators on Bangkok’s streets Monday say they still view the Democrat Party as being latecomers to the protest movement.

“All the protesters should join forces to increase their negotiating power, but in reality each group has some slight differences, and they can be hard to reconcile,” said one demonstrator, computer business owner Thanopas Thansingthawee, 45.

“The Democrats aren’t the best political party here, but they’re not as bad as Puea Thai,” said another protester, 50-year-old Charae Prasitpant.