BANGKOK, 1 November 2013, The Blanket amnesty bill has sailed through second and third readings after all Opposition Party members walked out.
The House of Representatives has passed both second and third readings this morning with unanimous votes of 310 to 0, with four abstentions. The debate took about 19 hours before reaching a conclusion and the House meeting was declared closed at 4:25 am. The four Phue Thai member who abstained are red-shirt activists who have been charged with terrorism, All of the Democrat Party members staged a walkout.
The seven-section amnesty bill brought up by Pheu Thai MPs has raised controversy as Section 3 of the bill grants blanket amnesty to all charged in politically-motivated cases, including who staged the coup d’ tat that toppled Thaksin Shinawatra’s government.
