NEWS - Thailand to Grant Amnesty to

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Subject: NEWS - Thailand to Grant Amnesty to Regional Prisoners

Thailand to Grant Amnesty to Regional Prisoners

BANGKOK (Aug. 26) XINHUA - Thailand will grant amnesty to Southeast
Asian prisoners to mark the king's 72nd birthday, the Bangkok Post
reported on Thursday. 

The amnesty, initiated by Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan, will
take effect on December 5, the king's birthday. 

Diplomats from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have
been asked to submit their lists of inmates to be included in the scheme
by the first week of September. However, the chance of release would
depend on criteria being worked out by the Correction Department. 

Those convicted on serious charges might be excluded, the report said. 

In 1996, about 25,000 inmates including 4,000 foreigners were pardoned
on the king's Golden Jubilee. 

The Thai Foreign Ministry and agencies concerned are finalizing the
exact figure of ASEAN prisoners in Thai jails. Most of them are serving
time on non-criminal charges including illegal entry, over-staying and
counterfeiting official documents. 

The ministry, meanwhile, is pushing for an agreement with other ASEAN
members on prisoner transfers so as to allow ASEAN inmates to serve
their remaining terms in their home countries. 

So far, Thailand still has no such agreements with any of the other
ASEAN members -- Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. 

Later, the ministry would also push for similar agreements with
non-ASEAN countries, especially in the West.