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| Leading figures, including former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, appear to have distanced themselves from the government's draft decree for a royal pardon to mark His Majesty the King's 84th birthday. |
Thaksin, seen as the main beneficiary of the decree, has been denying any knowledge of the government's push to pardon him from serving his two-year jail term after being convicted for abuse of power.
"It's at the full discretion of His Majesty," he told Reuters on Wednesday in Dubai in reference to the pardon issue.
He said he did know what the Cabinet discussed at its confidential meeting on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Bali that the vetting of the decree was still incomplete and that the authorities had not drawn up the list of names eligible for pardon.
"It's normal for a royal pardon every year before the King's birthday ... They have to work on the legal [aspects]. After that, the committee will select the names. So there are still many processes ... It's not done yet," Yingluck said in an interview with CNBC.
The Senate Committee on Monarchy Protection called on the government to review and cancel a controversial clause granting pardon to fugitives.
Senator Pornpan Boonyarattapan said there was no legal precedent to pardoning fugitives or those convicted for corruption and drug trafficking.
She said senators opposing the decree would on Monday petition the Privy Council and the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary to review the pardon provisions before submitting them for royal endorsement.
Pornpan said the committee would summon Yingluck for clarification next Friday.
According to the law on the parliamentary committee's authority, a person who ignores a summons from the committee for investigation is liable to up to three months' jail and/or a Bt5,000 fine.
At a rally in Lumpini Park, the leader of the multicolored shirts, Tul Sitthisomwong, yesterday said he would submit a signed petition at 9am on Tuesday to the prime minister at Government House when the Cabinet meets.
The group asked the Justice Ministry and all related people to stop the process requesting royal pardon for Thaksin for three reasons:
The petition for royal pardon for Thaksin is illegal when signed by an unauthorized person, as the prime minister did not attend the meeting, while never before has a fugitive received a royal pardon.
Submitting an illegal petition would put His Majesty the King in an awkward position and if it were rejected, some people might feel offended, Tul said.
A fugitive who has not shown any sorrow for wrongdoing and conducts himself in a way that threatens the country does not deserve a royal pardon.
The People's Alliance for Democracy will on Monday hold a rally against the draft decree reportedly aimed at securing a royal pardon for Thaksin.
PAD spokesman Parnthep Puaphanpong posted a message on his Facebook page that the yellow-shirt movement would stage a rally in front of the Council of State on Monday from 10am to 6pm.
The Cabinet has approved a draft decree to seek royal pardon for convicts on the occasion of His Majesty the King's birthday. Thaksin's opponents claim the decree's criteria would make the former prime minister eligible to receive royal pardon for his two-year jail term.
Democrat Party deputy spokesman Mallika Boonmeetrakul circulated a letter urging the Privy Council to oppose the decree.
The House Committee on Reconciliation, chaired by Matubhum leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin, made clear at its first meeting that the proposed pardon for Thaksin was not part of the process for mending fences among rival camps.
Sonthi said his committee would rely on the report of the Truth for Reconciliation Commission to guide its work.
Committee deputy spokesman Nakorn Machim said the pardon issue was under the government's jurisdiction without any linkage to the legislative branch.
Deputy Army chief General Dapong Rattanasuwan said the military had no involvement in the pardon issue.
"All military leaders are busy assisting flood victims," he said.
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