The Democrat Party will today ask the Administrative Court to issue an injunction restraining payment of a compensation package for victims of political violence.
Democrat MP for Rayong Sathit Pitutecha said he and the party's legal team will lodge a petition with the court today, a day before the compensation package is due to be tabled with the cabinet for its approval.
Mr Sathit said the package is unfair and unconstitutional.
"It was designed for a certain group of people who share [the government's] interest," he said.
The package has been proposed by a committee monitoring the implementation of the Truth for Reconciliation Commission's recommendations.
The committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit, has proposed allocating 2 billion baht to victims of political violence which occurred between 2005 and 2010.
The relatives of those who were killed during the unrest will receive up to 7.75 million baht each, including 3 million baht for psychological trauma.
The recipients include relatives of 102 people killed.
Democrat spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said the party has no problems with the the principle of compensation but it did not agree in practice.
The government should consider other types of unrest as qualifying for the same compensation payments, particularly the violence in the Deep South.
"This kind on measure should be a national blanket policy without discrimination," he said.
The 7.75 million baht package for the victims of political violence would set a bad precedent for political parties.
"Parties can form their own army," he said.
"They can urge people to join a political rally with a promise to pay when they come to office."
The government must avoid sending the wrong message.
The Democrat MP said if the government is committed to pursuing rehabilitation, it should introduce a national policy with standard guidelines.
"We don't have problems with the rehabilitation, but the government should also consider those who are victims of other crimes too," he said.
The families of those who were injured or killed in the insurgency seem to have been left out.
The government says it is working on a separate compensation package for victims of southern violence.
The Democrats say all victims should have been bundled in together in the same package.
A committee, chaired by Justice Minister Pol Gen Pracha Promnok, last month came up with the compensation package with a maximum of 7.75 million baht for families of four groups of violence victims in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla's four districts _ Chana, Na Thawi, Saba Yoi and Thepha.