Bangkok Post, June 1, 2012
House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont on Friday
adjourned deliberation of the reconciliation bills, scheduling the
resumed debate for June 6 and 7, House of Representatives
secretary-general Pithoon Phumhiran said.
Asked if this week's protests in and outside parliament and subsquent adjournment of the debate were likely to be repeated next week, Mr Pithoon said that was a matter of the future. He insisted that the meeting venue would still be the parliament.
Earlier this afternoon, second Deputy House Speaker Wisut Chainarun ordered the indefinite postponement of the deliberation of the reconciliation bills, after the House meeting was unable to convene. Mr Somsak later rescheduled the debate.
The order followed a meeting between Mr Wisut and government chief whip Udomdej Rattanasathian.
Multi-colour group protesters led by Tul Sitthisomwong on Friday morning closed the Karn Ruan intersection on Ratchawithee road, blocking the route to the parliament’s Prasartthevarit gate, the only gate open for entry and exit.
The other gates were closed by police after the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) moved their protest from Royal Plaza to the parliament complex on Wednesday.
On Friday, the new blockade resulted in Pheu Thai Party MPs not being able to enter the House of Representatives to attend the scheduled session to deliberate the four proposed reconciliation bills, which had been moved to the top of the agenda by government majority on Thursday.
Reports said that only Democrat and other opposition MPs were allowed access to the parliament.
Red-shirt co-leader Jatuporn Prompan on Friday afternoon accused the PAD of trying to incite violence to pave the way for another military coup,
At a press conference to explain the stance of the red-shirt United front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) held at Imperial Lat Phrao shopping centre, Mr Jatuporn claimed that the yellow-shirts planned to create conditions for a coup, as happened on Sep 19, 2006.
UDD chairwoman Tida Tawornseth and other UDD co-leaders were also at the news conference.
The yellow-shirts had obstructed Pheu Thai MPs from entering parliament to prevent them from attending a meeting to deliberate the four reconciliation bills, even though the process of creating national unity was in line with the democratic system, Mr Jatuporn said.
Mtr Jatuporn called on the red-shirts to stay cool, stay put and closely follow the political situation.
In the event of a coup, red-shirts in all provinces must travel to Bangkok and join forces at the Democracy Monument, which would be the centre for the fight against the coup, said Mr Jatuporn.
Mr Jatuporn sought to reassure all soldiers that the red-shirts have no thought of toppling the high institution, as alleged, and that they would fight against only those trying to destroy democracy.
Mr Nattawut, the agriculture and cooperatives deputy minister, took the same tone.
He said the disruption of the parliamentary sitting over the past two days by the Democrats seemed like a signal for a power outside parliament to topple the government.
The Democrats and the "outside power" planned to topple the government by using the reconciliation bills as a justification.
He called on Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign as leader of the Democrat Party, saying he had failed to show responsibility for the House brawling caused by his party members.
Mr Abhisit had not tried to stop the Democrats from inciting chaos in the House of Representatives, he said.
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