Coalition Leader Hits Back At Misinformation On Amnesty Bill

At Parliament on July 9, Kraiweerasak Parisnanantkul, an Ang Thong MP for Bhumjaithai Party and chairman of the government coalition coordination committee, addressed concerns about the Senate's handling of the Social Peace Promotion Act. He confirmed that the Senate's July 8 amendments did not change the law's fundamental principles, including Article 112, which had already been approved by the House in a previous session. Regarding the controversial Senate amendment procedures, Kraiweerasak stated that multiple parties had attempted to distort facts, noting that all appendices remained unchanged and only the law's priority ranking was reorganized without inserting any new legislation.

Kraiweerasak emphasized that the election law amnesty covers groups who blocked polling stations during past demonstrations, including yellow-shirt, red-shirt, and all other protest movements. He outlined three exclusions from the amnesty: corruption, violence causing loss of life, and Article 112 offenses, which he stressed remain firm policy. He acknowledged that Article 112 is a sensitive issue and that pushing too hard against public sentiment could create new conflict, citing past amnesty experiences.

When questioned about amnesty for youth offenders under Article 112, Kraiweerasak explained the government's intent is to promote reconciliation and reduce conflict, not create new divisions. He noted that the passed bill benefits over 6,000 people with more than 2,000 pending cases. Regarding the Democratic Party's Facebook post claiming the government amended the bill to exclude coup-related cases while exempting those who blocked elections, Kraiweerasak expressed concern about presenting distorted facts to the public, though he acknowledged the party later removed some misleading statements.