PM, senators denounce petition for royal pardon for Thaksin
- Published: 3/07/2009 at 04:25 PM
- Online news: Local News
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday condemned as inapproriate the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship's (UDD) campaign to collect a million signatures of support for a petition requesting royal clemency for fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The UDD leaders and their red-shirt supporters should not try to bring the royal institution into politics, he said.
To petition for a royal pardon, the convicted person or his relatives must present the petition, not other people purporting to act on their behalf.
Royal clemency could be granted only to convicted felons serving jail terms The most important thing, he said, was that Thaksin must first admit to his guilt.
Mr Abhisit said the government will ask state agencies to help ensure the general public has a clear understanding on this matter, so they do not become the dupes of those trying only to create confusion.
Former member of the defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) Kaewsun Atibhodhi and his twin brother Kwansuang, a former senator, also took the red-shirt movement to task on Friday for its ''improper'' petition.
They demanded at a press conference that the red-shirt group stop disturbing the royal family and drop its plan to gather a million signatures in support of a pardon.
Mr Kaewsun said he would use left over donations from his failed bid for the Bangkok governorship to place advertisements in newspapers informing readers about the red-shirts' action and explaining why it would not bear fruit because it was in violation of the constitution.
Mr Kaewsun said would be willing to support the Puea Thai Party if it could find an acceptable new leader and could show it was a better alternative than the Democrat Party.
He insisted his opposition to the petition was not a love-hate issue between him and Thaksin. Rather, it was about the royal institution, which was the core of the nation.
The red-shirt leaders should not be acting this way. They knew how people who sign their names would feel towards the royal institution if His Majesty the King did not grant a pardon to Thaksin, he said.
Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail after the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions last year found him guilty of abuse of power in his wife's purchase of a prime block of land on Ratchadaphisek road from the Financial Institutions Development Fund in 2003 when he was prime minister.
Mr Kaewsun said the case against Thaksin was over. Thaksin should accept this and face his punishment according to the law.
A group of 40 senators also condemned the campaign, saying it would further divide the country.
Appointed senator Prasarn Marukaphitak said it would split the country in two -- those who love His Majesty the King against those who love Thaksin.
He called on the campaign organisers to drop the plan, and urged the general public to think carefully before signing their names.
Bangkok senator Rosana Tositrakul slammed Thaksin, saying he was using the people as a shield to protect himself.
Thaksin should return to serve his jail term, and then petition for a royal pardon, she said.
About the author
- Writer: Bangkok Post.com
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