Progressive Movement secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul has voiced his disagreement with the exclusion of two key issues, one relating to the monarchy and the other concerning amnesty for political offenders, from the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed yesterday by eight parties agreeing to join a coalition government led by the Move Forward party. | Thai PBS World

Progressive Movement upset that lèse majesté is not included in MoU

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Progressive Movement secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul has voiced his disagreement with the exclusion of two key issues, one relating to the monarchy and the other concerning amnesty for political offenders, from the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed yesterday by eight parties agreeing to join a coalition government led by the Move Forward party.

He warned that the inclusion of the wording "the inviolable status of the monarch" in the MoU indicates "a person with a guilty conscience" and it may turn into "a noose around the neck" of the Move Forward party when it proposes a bill to amend the lèse majesté law to the House in the future.

Piyabutr, former secretary-general of the now defunct Future Forward party, predecessor of Move Forward, said in his Facebook post on Monday that, in the past ten years, he has penned several academic articles about the status of the monarch, as stipulated in Section 6 of the Constitution, in comparison with the constitutions of other countries.

He said that the Thai Constitutional Court has interpreted the provision so broadly and beyond the intent of the provision and, hence, it needs to be reviewed to correspond with the principle that "the monarch shall not commit an offence because he does not wield political or administrative powers, but the ministers concerned have the power and shall be held accountable,"

"That is my personal opinion," said Piyabutr adding, however, that he does not think the Move Forward party will touch this provision.

On the amnesty issue, the scholar, who is well known for his anti-monarchy stance, said that the Move Forward party has an obligation to several political prisoners, detainees and suspects, adding that these people are not criminals but are people who share different political opinions from those of state officials.

The amnesty law is the only tool to solve this problem and help these people, said Piyabutr, adding that it is a pity that it was not included in the MoU.