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Thai politics Thailand

An update on Thailand’s amnesty bill — and the potential for protests early next month

The WSJ reports today:

An assembly of civil society groups has threatened to mobilize rallies across Thailand if the government pushes through a proposed amnesty bill that could open the door for deposed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to re-enter the country a free man.

The draft legislation has recently been altered in a way that could clear past legal convictions against Mr. Thaksin, who was handed a two-year prison sentence in absentia in 2008 for abuse of power.

And:

Should the newly altered bill make it to a final vote, it could spark a fresh round of political chaos in a country frequently mired in street protests.

The legislation is still subject to several rounds of debate in the House and Senate before it becomes law. In the meantime, eight anti-Thaksin groups said they would meet this Sunday to decide the timing of mass street demonstrations planned for early November. The exact time and venue have yet to be announced.

Worth a read.

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