Red rifts will grow if amnesty plight ignored

Red rifts will grow if amnesty plight ignored

At a glance, the Yingluck Shinawatra administration is doing well to restore the country's image after political protests in the capital and the subsequent bloody crackdown in 2010.

The ‘January 29 for the Release of Political Prisoners’ group took to the streets this week to urge the government to consider amnesty for political prisoners. PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASIL

Yet there are growing signs that it is starting to feel the heat - not from its political opponents, but from its own supporters.

Tuesday's rally by the red shirt-affiliated "January 29 for the Release of Political Prisoners" group clearly demonstrated the rising levels of discontent among supporters of the Yingluck government. These people stepped out to demand their fair share from the government which they helped vote into power.

The red-shirt movement has progressed politically far beyond the original United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). It has now transformed into a civic group of Pheu Thai supporters, who until this week had waited patiently for their government to deliver on a campaign promise it made both openly and behind the scenes - amnesty for political prisoners.

Well aware of the sensitivity of such a move, the group has been timidly begging for justice for their comrades - those on the run as well as those behind bars - since the installment of the Pheu Thai government in 2011.

While it's not their goal to topple the government, the division within the ranks of government supporters has become more visible.

While compensation packages to those injured and the families of those killed in the April-May 2010 crackdown have significantly reduced frustrations, it is simply not enough for those whose lives have been derailed, if not shattered, by criminal charges stemming from the political divide. The lukewarm response to amnesty from the Yingluck government, which has cited legal technicalities for delaying the move, must be a disappointment for supporters, especially for the more progressive red-shirt factions.

By making excuses and further promises (that the amnesty proposal needs to first go to the Council of State, etc), the Yingluck government is simply distancing itself from the contentious issue.

At the same time, the opposition and anti-red media have had no hesitation in rubbing salt into the wounds of the families of detainees, highlighting the point that their demands are being shunned by the very people for whom they fought to put in power.

On a more positive note for reconciliation, the case of former Voice of Taksin editor Somyot Preuksakasemsuk, who was last month sentenced to 10 years in prison for lese majeste, has helped bridge the political divide. Non-red activists and intellectuals from anti-Thaksin camps have united and shown sympathy by submitting a petition calling for a lighter sentence for Somyot.

Of course, amnesty alone will not bring peace, let alone justice. But it would certainly help.

The government should consider - and act on - the proposal by the "January 29" group that some prisoners, especially those who were mobilised during the political turmoil, be freed or bailed.

After all, many of the arrested and imprisoned red shirts have already, in many cases undeservingly, spent many dark days and nights in prison.

By granting the amnesty, prisoners' families could move on with their lives. The prisoners themselves could at least apply for jobs.

The least the government could do, without the need for more parliamentary debate, is revoke the thousands of outstanding arrest warrants stemming from recent political violence.

It is time for the Pheu Thai government, especially the "red darling" prime minister, to show a humane face and give something back to its true supporters.

The cabinet, meanwhile, should set aside time to discuss the plight of families who have been torn apart by political conflict and figure out ways to help them.

Don't forget that these are the same people who the government will rely upon to return them to power come election time in two years or so.

The Democrat Party already learned their lesson from the last election, where they were punished not only at the grassroots, but also from their middle-class support base who were sick of their politicking and below-the-belt tactics.

Pheu Thai risk losing their progressive turf if they continue to drag their feet on amnesty for political prisoners.


Achara Ashayagachat is Senior News Reporter, Bangkok Post.

Achara Ashayagachat

Senior reporter on socio-political issues

Bangkok Post's senior reporter on socio-political issues.

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