In this photo released by Thai Spokesman Office, Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (centre), flanked by Cabinet ministers and aides, speaks during a news conference at the government house in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday, Nov 5, 2013. Ms Yingluck sought to defuse rising tension in Bangkok on Tuesday, saying she would accept any Senate decision on a political amnesty Bill that could see the return of her convicted billionaire brother and former premier. -- PHOTO: AP
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra sought to defuse rising tension in Bangkok on Tuesday, saying she would accept any Senate decision on a political amnesty Bill that could see the return of her convicted billionaire brother and former premier.
The Bill, which critics say is a thinly veiled attempt to whitewash the crimes of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a 2006 military coup, sailed through Thailand's Lower House of Parliament last week, provoking widespread public outrage, and is set to be debated in the Senate on Monday.
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Bangkok since Friday in protest at the Bill, and more than 1,500 were on the streets again on Tuesday, threatening to disrupt months of relative calm in a country scarred by bloody unrest in 2010.
"My government will strive to serve the nation's interests. Regardless of the outcome of the Senate's decision... I will accept the result for the sake of reconciliation," a sombre Ms Yingluck said in a televised speech.
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