(25 October) The death of the Supreme Patriarch, the spiritual leader of the Thai Buddhists, has caused political groups to suspend their scheduled rallies, as the nation begins its 30 day mourning period.

After battling a prolonged illness at an elderly age for almost a decade, Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara passed away last night at Chulalongkorn Hospital. He was 100.

Official statement said that His Holiness died of blood sepsis at 19.30. Although his death was announced more than a hour later on nationwide TV broadcast, much of the social network was already made aware of the news due to Facebook posts made by close aides of the late Supreme Patriarch.

News reports say the police would "ask" organisers of entertainment events to cancel their programs in the mourning period, initially announced to be 15 days and later extended to 30.

It remains unclear whether nightlife establishments and other related venues where alcohol is served would also be "encouraged" to close down due to the Buddhist religious belief which frowns on consumption of alcohol; sale of alcohol is restricted during other Buddhist religious occasions.

Meanwhile, anti-government faction has responded to the Supreme Patriarch′s death by cancelling their activities.

The Students and People Network For Political Reform, which has been organising protests against the government at Uruphong Intersection, released a statement that the protesters will not demonstrate out of their encampments throughout the 15 days of mourning.

The statement added that the Student and People Network leadership will discuss about further political activities once the national mourning is over.

The White Masks, yet another anti-government activist group, also cancelled their upcoming protest, which was planned to take place in Bangkok this Saturday.

Similarly, the Democrat Party postponed its rally from 26 October to 2 November. The rally was slated to feature appearances of top Democrat officials berating the government′s attempts to amend the Constitution and borrow money for its 2.2 trillion infrastructure overhaul project.

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BANGKOK — The relatives of victims killed in the 2010 crackdown on Redshirt protesters marched from Democracy Monument to the Parliament House in Bangkok today to protest the blanket amnesty bill backed by the government.

The activists were protesting a proposed anmnesty bill that would dissolve legal cases against all political actors since 2004, including the authorities responsible for the 2010 crackdown on Redshirt protesters that left more than 90 people dead.

The procession was led by Payao Akhard, the mother of a volunteer medic shot by military bullets on 19 May 2010.

Some of the marchers dressed up as keng, a type of basket commonly seen in Thai fresh markets, in reference to the bill's nickname, mao keng, which means "all in the basket."  The nickname is a jab at the bill's all encompassing-nature.

After arriving at the Parliament House, Payao and others submitted a letter of protest to Wicharn Minchainan, a Pheu Thai MP.

The letter called upon Pheu Thai to withdraw its support for the amnesty bill, which the activists said would perpetuate impunity for those behind the 2010 crackdown, namely former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the military.

Payao was accompanied by Pussadee Ngarmkham, who is said to be the last Redshirt to leave the protest site on 19 May 2010. Pussadee also criticised the blanket amnesty bill and Pheu Thai Party for sponsoring it in spite of resistance from the crackdown victims' families and many Redshirts.

"Pheu Thai is hurting the Redshirts," said Pussadee. "How could you sacrifice people′s lives in favour of power?"

More protests against the "amnesty for all" bill are expected this week, including a demonstration in Ratchaprasong Intersection scheduled for this Sunday by the Red Sunday group, a progressive faction of the Redshirts.

The coordinator of the group, Sombat Boon-Ngarmanong, said the rally aims to remind the Redshirts of the need to hold security forces accountable for their atrocities against unarmed protesters in 2010.

Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer who has represented the Redshirt movement, said he "completely and utterly" condemned the blanket amnesty bill.

In an email statement, he added that he will not stop his efforts to bring those responsible for 2010 military crackdown to justice. "The Red Shirts should not lose heart," Amsterdam said, "It took decades in Argentina to bring those responsible for massacres to justice but they finally did it."

However, he refused to comment on whether he had personally tried to convince former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to withdraw his support for the bill.

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(24 October) Dissenting Pheu Thai figures who are protesting the government-sponsored ?amnesty for all? are merely acting to fool the Redshirts, said the spokesman of the Democrat Party.

His comment followed an increasingly visible rift among the ruling party between those in support of the revised amnesty bill which would grant amnesty to all sides involved in the long-running political conflict, and those who do not.

But Mr. Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, the spokesman of the Democrat Party, said the defiances are pointless, as the real power in making the calls of Pheu Thai Party rests with those who maintain close ties with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, such as his sister Yaowapa Wongsawat, who is currently an MP of the party.

Ms. Yaowapa and her allies easily overwhelm all the dissents in the party, such as Mr. Nattawut Saikua and Mr. Weng Tojirakarn, the spokesman said.

He also accused the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) of pulling "theatrical acts" to fool the Redshirts by giving them false hope that Pheu Thai Party will change its course and withdraw the revised bill.

"The Redshirts leaders who are sitting in the Parliament should just quit their MP membership and rally against the amnesty bill outside the Parliament if they are genuinely against the bill," Mr. Chavanond said, "Otherwise, they are welcomed to continue their theatrical acts".

He added, "They are not even brave enough to raise hands and oppose the bill. Like Mr. Nattawut who refused to say whether he will vote against the bill".

Mr. Chavanond also suggested that the "play" which the Redshirts leaders are fooling their supporters should be named ?Tom Yum Redshirts?, referring to the the action film Tom Yum Goong starred by famous Thai actor, Tony Jaa.

"The difference is that in Tom Yum Goong the protagonists try to bring an elephant home, but in Tom Yum Redshirts they will try to bring Mr. Thaksin home," Mr. Chavanond said.

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(24 October) A top official of the ruling Pheu Thai Party has insisted the party will go ahead with its controversial amnesty bill, in spite of the growing dissents among the party cadets against the bill.

Pheu Thai MP Weng Tojirakarn said in a press conference today that he wants to ask his fellow Pheu Thai cadets whether they "truly love Mr. Thaksin".

"Do they want Mr. Thaksin to return to Thailand in an unblemished manner?" Mr. Weng asked, arguing that the revised amnesty bill would only turn the public opinion against the former Prime Minister.

He also warned that even if the bill is passed by the Parliament, it would still be subject to scrutiny by the Constitutional Court, its chance of survival uncertain. "The [revised] amnesty bill will never succeed in bringing Mr. Thaksin home," Mr. Weng added.

His comments followed the insistence of other prominent Pheu Thai figures such as Mr. Nattawut Saikua who similarly argued against the ?amnesty for all?. Ms. Thida Tojirakarn, the chairwoman of the official Redshirts leadership, also rejected the bill, noting that those responsible for 2010 crackdown do not deserve amnesty.

In the letter submitted today to the House Committee on the amnesty bill, Ms. Payao Akhard, a representative of families of the victims who died in 2010 crackdown, stressed her position that she will not accept the amnesty for the authorities behind the lethal crackdown.

Ms. Payao, who lost her daughter in the last day of the military operation in May 2010, urged Pheu Thai Party to reconsider its stance on the ?blanket amnesty?, recalling that the party had previously called for legal prosecution against the security forces and Mr. Abhisit during the election season of 2011.

She also lashed out at former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat who had urged "all sides to sacrifice" and adopt the ?amnesty for all?. "Mr. Somchai said we have to make sacrifices so that the country can move forward. But we have been making so much sacrifice already," Ms. Payao said.

She continued, "The Redshirts have lost their family members. Is their sacrifice not big enough? I would like to see Mr. Thaksin making his own sacrifice, too".

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(22 October) Prominent leaders of the Redshirts and their allied activists have expressed their opposition to the government-sponsored bill that would grant amnesty for all parties involved in the 2010 political violence.

The bill was originally drafted and proposed to the Parliament by Pheu Thai MP Worachai Hema. Its initial contents promised amnesty to the Redshirts protesters currently imprisoned or detained for their alleged crimes during the violent months of April-May 2010, in which the Redshirts clashed with the security forces who ultimately dispersed them.

The amnesty would also cover protesters of all shades that had been rocking the nation since 2006.

According to Mr. Worachai′s proposal, leaders of the protests – Red and Yellow – and the former government which authorised the 2010 crackdown would not be included, although the military would be granted amnesty, much to the ire of civil rights activists who accused the military of killing and injuring scores of people throughout the operation.

The anti-government faction, namely the Democrat Party, opposed the amnesty bill, arguing that the bill would ?whitewash? the Redshirts protesters and their de facto leader, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was convicted in absentia for corruption charges, although Pheu Thai Party had insisted Mr. Thaksin would not benefit from the amnesty.

However, the House Committee has revised the adopted proposal to extend the amnesty to all parties involved, including Mr. Thaksin, the former government responsible for 2010 crackdown, and all ?political prisoners?; nevertheless, lese majeste convicts are curiously exempted from the amnesty deal.

The revelation that the bill has been altered from what the Parliament has adopted prompted protests and condemnations from almost every political spectrum in Thailand.

Former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has been charged with murders for his role in 2010 military operation, had previously rejected the offer of amnesty for him, stating that he is willing to fight the allegation in the court.

The Democrat Party and anti-government critics view the altered proposal as the proof that the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is only committed to helping Mr. Thaksin escape his convictions and return to power in Thailand.

Many prominent figures in the Redshirts movements also opposed the bill – nicknamed ?Suud Soi?, literally, To the end of soi (alley).

Ms. Thida Tojirakarn, chairwoman of National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), said ?Suud Soi? amnesty would undo all the legal attempts of the Redshirts to hold the former government accountable for 2010 bloodshed.

She said she does not oppose an amnesty bill that would benefit the ordinary protesters. "But amnesty for all is too much … Pheu Thai Party and Mr. Thaksin must understand and sympathise with UDD, because we are a popular organisation for political struggle, not a political party. We cannot betray the people".

Ms. Thida added that the ?Suud Soi? amnesty draft would only become ammunition for the anti-government factions.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nattawut Saikuea, a Pheu Thai MP and leader of the UDD, said he opposed the altered version of the amnesty bill because it would exempt former PM Abhisit from legal prosecution.

"Those who [kill] the people must stand trials according to the laws," said Mr. Nattawut, "It is our principle we must put in historical records, that the powerful who resort to violence against people′s lives will no longer enjoy impunity".

He refused to say on records whether he would go as far as voting against the ?Suud Soi? bill if it ever makes it to another Parliamentary session, saying that he would prove his stance by other means, and insisted that in spite of this contentious issue, Pheu Thai Party and the Redshirts remain united.

"I don?t want the Democrat Party to expect that the Redshirts would suddenly support the party in its attempt to overthrow this government," said Mr. Nattawut.

Mr. Jatupon Prompan, Deputy Chairman of UDD and a former Pheu Thai MP echoes Mr. Nattawut′s statement, saying that he will not accept an amnesty for himself and Mr. Thaksin. However, Mr. Jatupon said Mr. Thaksin deserves an amnesty because he had been a political "victim".

One of the staunchest opponents of the ?Suud Soi? bill came from Ms. Payao Akhard, the mother of a volunteer nurse killed by the military gunfire in Wat Pathum Wanararm Temple on the final day of the 2010 military crackdown.

Since her daughter′s death, Ms. Payao has been actively campaigning for legal prosecution against the military and former government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier this week, Ms. Payao stressed her stance, noting that Thailand recently commemorated the 40th anniversary of October 14th Student Uprising but has done very little in the past decades to hold the authorities accountable for their violence against protesters throughout Thai political history.

She also made a plea for Mr. Thaksin to "think this through", as the endorsement of this bill would prove that the government has lied to the people and ignored the wills of the families of the crackdown victims.

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