Amnesty in Thailand is a hot topic amongst politicians in Thailand and on the run in other countries. The selling point is to bring back harmony and unity. Unfortunately amnesty will be like mopping the floor under a leaking container, it will not stay clean for long.
All things considered, people are divided to forgive or punish the politicians. Some feel that if the bad boys are forgiven, they have no incentive to reform. Others may have got sucked into a situation they did not want because of not being allowed their own voice under Thaksin. The red shirts and the yellow shirts simply exist because of one man, and that man is Thaksin Shinawatra.
So all things considered, Thaksin is the leak in the container and amnesty is the mop. The leak must be stopped or the cycle will repeat in just a short period of time. A short period of time meaning as soon as Thaksin launches his next attack, and they seem to come only a few months apart. When that happens things will have come full circle and people will be looking at another amnesty to come and mop the floor again.
It does not matter too much who proposes the amnesty, if Thaksin is still out there it will have accomplished nothing in bringing back unity. Thaksin’s goal is to divide Thailand and the fuzzy logic that Thaksin supporters may abandon Thaksin if given amnesty will quickly be replaced with the crisp reality of Thaksin’s wallet.
It was Thaksin’s wallet that started them down the path they are on displaying Thaksin type arrogance and disrespect for everyone. Seeing as there have been no negative consequences handed out as yet, although many are in the works, there is no incentive to change. With the psychology of Thaksin’s petition to the King floating in their minds, there is a certain sense of invincibility amongst Thaksin supporters.
So without dragging this analysis out too long, simply put Thaksin must be under control in jail before any amnesty can be considered or it simply will be a wasted effort by all sides.
