Vote for amnesty could be political suicide for senators
"Regardless of the outcome of the Senate's decision - be it to disagree with, to withhold or to revise the bill - I believe those members of Parliament who cast their vote for the bill's passage will accept the result for the sake of national reconciliation."
That was what Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said as part of the statement she made on Tuesday amid widespread public opposition to a government-backed bill to provide blanket amnesty to political-related cases. The bill would also grant amnesty to people convicted of corruption and criminal offences.
The prime minister may have realised that trying to hold herself above the problem - something she has practised for a long time - is not working in this case.
Remaining aloof is likely to threaten her government's stability. Earlier, she had avoided commenting on the controversial amnesty bill, explaining that it was a matter for Parliament, and not the administration.
In her statement, Yingluck appeared to be passing the buck to the Senate. "I want to plead for the senators, those appointed and those elected, to use their discretion while deliberating the bill. It is well known that the Senate is beyond interference." It appeared the prime minister was signalling to senators that they should vote freely on this amnesty bill, without concern for the government.
The prime minister's clear message should make it easy for many senators to make their decision on whether to support or oppose the amnesty bill.
In the next three months, a group of senators will have to complete their term in accordance with the Constitution. The charter was amended recently to allow incumbent senators to seek re-election immediately, without having to wait for another term to be completed. Many of the incumbent senators are known to be preparing for the next senatorial election.
Opposition to the proposed law for blanket amnesty has now expanded to a large group of diverse people and organisations all over the country, although a number of loyal government supporters have voiced their support for the bill.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the opposition Democrat Party, asked opponents of the amnesty bill to pressure senators to vote against it unless they want to lose the next senatorial election. "During the senatorial debate on the amnesty bill, I would like to ask people in the provinces to keep an eye on senators from their respective provinces. See if they vote to support the bill. If your senator backs the bill, you should not elect that person again," he said.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party appeared to be confident of strong backing from its supporters when its MPs rushed the amnesty bill through the House of Representatives overnight.
In fact, there was some warning from a small faction in the party, particularly some red-shirt MPs of the party closely connected to the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). But nobody in the ruling party seemed to care. Many of Pheu Thai's red-shirt politicians were gagged.
As the situation appeared to be under control, the party's big boss - now in self-imposed exile overseas - seemed confident the amnesty bill was unlikely to attract much opposition - possibly 10,000 protesters at most.
Now it is clear that he made the wrong assessment. The waves of opposition against the Pheu Thai-backed bill have grown like wildfire.
The ball is now in the Senate's court. It is time for them to vote on the amnesty bill with their conscience. However, voting against the tide of public opinion could be political suicide for them.