Amnesty bills expected in December

The ruling Pheu Thai Party expects to table an amnesty bill to parliament along with other versions from other parties on Dec 12 when the next parliament session starts, PM’s Office Minister Chousak Sirinil said.
Mr Chousak, Pheu Thai’s legal expert and head of the House committee studying an amnesty bill, said on Monday that the party’s legal team was drawing up the amnesty bill while admitting that such a process is difficult because the team must decide on what kinds of political offence should be pardoned.
He also reiterated Pheu Thai’s decision that Pheu Thai’s bill will not include offences under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law, as well as Section 110 of the same law.
“Pheu Thai’s bill is expected to be submitted to parliament on Dec 12 when a new session begins,” Mr Chousak said, adding that four other amnesty bills separately proposed by other parties, including the opposition People’s Party (PP), will also be submitted to parliament on that day.
On Oct 14, the House of Representatives rejected the proposal to include lese majeste in the list of offences pardoned under a new political amnesty bill, with 270 MPs voting against the offence’s inclusion, while 152 voted to support the push.
The proposal is part of a House special committee report that outlines alternatives to the proposed amnesty bill for political offenders.
While the House voted against the inclusion of lese majeste, it endorsed the rest of the report, which outlined the research into various forms of amnesty that could be pursued.
The PP advocates an amnesty for those convicted under Section 112, while MPs in the government coalition disagree with extending amnesty to those convicted of lese majeste.
Regarding the referendum bill, Mr Chousak said that Pheu Thai had stood firm on a simple majority requirement for the new referendum, but if the joint MP-Senate committee fails to conclude, the referendum bill will be suspended for 180 days.
After that, the bill can pass if the House stands its ground and waits out the 180 days.