Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said that the 66/2523 policy, adopted by the government of then-PM General Prem Tinsulanonda in 1980 to counter communism in the Kingdom, was meant to deal with people of different doctrines equipped with heavily armed forces.

“But the doctrine is not what is dividing our country now,” Prayut, head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said at his weekly press briefing. “I want everyone to think twice [about the idea].”

His deputy and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan also rejected the idea, suggested by the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) panel on reconciliation on Monday, reasoning that he doesn’t want to use legal tools to make every party compromise. “We’re not going to use laws nor violate them,” Prawit said. “Unless there are some [relevant] deadlocks that need to be solved by enacting new laws.”

The 66/2523 policy also involved counter-terrorism measures and amnesty, both subjects deemed by Prawit as “unfit” to current political climates and circumstances. “I’m going to make everyone live together peacefully in future without pardoning any [wrongdoers],” he said.

Prawit oversees the committee to prepare reconciliation issues, which include an “agreement of truth” based on recommendations from political blocs. The panel also includes some top NRSA figures.

The NRSA should get a report conducted by its subcommittee within next couple of months.

The subcommittee said that the 66/2523 order, having shifted the authority’s hardline military stance to more moderate approach to cope with communist insurgency, could be held as an example to use public policy to facilitate reconciliation.

Their work is in response to the junta’s scheme revealed this month to bring about political unity. So far, the initiative has received support from political blocs, albeit with different conditions.

Prayut, meanwhile, said political figures who don’t want to join the pact “can’t be helped”. “We’re giving a chance for fruitful talks for us all to move forward with global trends,” he said. “Let society judge about that if this is not of their concern.”

In related news, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said he would hold initial talks with party members today regarding a letter from the NRSA panel seeking their recommendations. They planned to reply by the end of January, he said.

Abhisit restated his principle that reconciliation should be forward-looking, while past incidents should be dealt with through legal procedures, except for ordinary people breaking laws issued under special circumstances, who he said should be granted amnesty.

Suthep Thaugsuban, chairman of the PDRC Foundation, said his group would lend support to the government in pursuit of reconciliation. If invited, he would take part and propose long-term solutions for past conflicts.