BANGKOK, Nov 1: Political tensions flared in Thailand on Friday after the House of Representatives in a majority vote approved an amnesty bill that could allow former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to return home, triggering street protests in the capital.

The pro-military opponents say the legislation, which was passed by the lower house but still needs the approval of the Senate, would “whitewash past abuses”.

Seven years after he was toppled by royalist generals in a bloodless military coup, Mr Thaksin remains a controversial figure in pro-military politicians in Thailand.

His anti-military political allies made a stunning political comeback in elections two years ago that swept his younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra into office.

MPs in the ruling Puea Thai Party-dominated House of Representatives voted 310-0 in the early hours of the morning to pass the amnesty bill, with four abstentions.

The pro-military opposition Democrat Party — which is against the amnesty — refused to take part in the vote, which came after about 19 hours of heated debate.

“We will continue our fighting in the street until the bill is aborted. There are other avenues such as by petitioning the Constitutional Court,” said party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut.

The bill is expected to be submitted to the Senate on November 11, Senate president Nikom Wairatpanij told AFP.

A group of opposition people joined a rally against the planned amnesty bill in Bangkok for a second day on Friday.

But some observers doubt that the pro-military Democrats can mobilise the same number of supporters as during previous bouts of political unrest.

“The demonstrations on their own won’t lead to a political crisis,” said Michael Montesano, a research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

“It would require behind the scene manoeuvres on the part of the military or people close to the palace or both.”

Anti-military supporters of the legislation say it will draw a line under years of turmoil, culminating in mass pro-Thaksin “Red Shirt” protests in 2010 that left more than 90 people dead in a military crackdown.

Mr Thaksin, the former owner of Manchester City football club, lives in Dubai to avoid prison for a corruption conviction imposed in his absence by the military rulers in 2008.He contends that the jail term — linked to a controversial purchase of state-owned land by his wife — was politically motivated.—AFP