Thaksin: Article 112 Enforced Without Much Ado Until...
The Article 112 of the Criminal Code had been long enforced without trouble and turbulence until recent years when it was used as a relentless legal weapon by one party against another, according to Thaksin Shinawatra.
Puea Thai MP Pirapan Palusook quoted on Tuesday the former premier as saying the controversial law, which may be referred in lese majeste lawsuits, had been applied for a long time and had not caused a legal crisis over the past decades. But it might probably be abused at any given time by anyone's political foes, the MP, who traveled to Dubai over the weekend, quoted Thaksin as saying.
Thaksin, who remains in self-exile in the Middle East city since he was ousted in 2006's coup, did not name names but apparently referred to his political foes, including the Democrat Party, Yellow Shirt activists and some military leaders.
Those who might develop a serious conflict with their political foes could possibly be prosecuted in court under lese majeste charges in unjust fashion, according to the former premier, who repeatedly called on all opposing sides to bury the hatchet for the sake of ''national reconciliation.''
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of the globetrotting Thaksin, earlier expressed her dissent to any effort to amend the Article 112 though the ruling Puea Thai Party is endorsing constitution amendment bids.
Former Red Shirt leader Nattavudh Saikua, who has become deputy agriculture minister, remarked the Article 112 needs not be amended and that the authorities will see to it that the law will be no longer exploited to serve the hidden agenda of any party.
The so-called Enlightened Jurists, a group of Thammasat University's law lecturers, had earlier pushed for amendment to the controversial law, prompting their critics to launch unrelenting barrages against them.
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