A bill seeking to absolve Thailand’s leaders of crimes committed over a decade triggered protests in the streets of Bangkok. The Wall Street Journal reported, supporters of the opposition Democrat Party marched across the city and set up a camp in the city’s historic Democracy Monument. The amnesty includes the brother of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. His overthrow in a military coup started years of instability for the Asian country. The bill is also being rejected by some of Mr. Thaksin’s supporters in the “Red Shirt” movement, as the proposed amnesty also covers Thaksin’s rivals accused of crimes in the 2006 coup. The amnesty plan was passed by the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai Party in a dawn vote in the lower house of Parliament last week. The bill’s chances of passing the Senate aren’t guaranteed. Stock prices fell sharply Monday, with the Stock Exchange of Thailand Index dropping 2.9%.
Read the full story on WSJ.
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.