Thousands of Thai protesters blocked access to Parliament on Friday, preventing legislators from debating reconciliation bills that would reportedly absolve fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of his criminal convictions, dpa reported. Wearing yellow and pink shirts to show their loyalty for the monarchy, about 2,000 members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) blocked legislators' cars from reaching Parliament. On Thursday, Parliament voted in favour of debating four reconciliation bills as urgent legislation. The PAD and the opposition Democrat Party say the bills are intended to benefit Thaksin, the de facto leader of the Pheu Thai Party that leads the current government and holds a majority in Parliament. Thaksin, who has been living abroad since 2008 to avoid a two-year jail sentence for abuse of power, is believed to wish to return to Thailand. A populist former billionaire telecommunications tycoon, Thaksin was prime minister from 2001 until he was overthrown by a coup in September 2006. The former army general who led the coup, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, last week tabled a reconciliation bill that would provide an amnesty for all politically related acts of violence since 2006, and revoke all politically related court rulings in the same period. If passed, Thaksin would likely be able to return to Thailand without serving his sentence, and to retrieve 1.6 billion dollars in seized family assets. The PAD has vowed to continue protesting until the bills are withdrawn.
