Representatives from three major political parties yesterday told a seminar that they either supported the death penalty or believed Thai society was unprepared to live without it.

"If the death penalty brings peace to society, Thailand doesn't need praise from the international community for abolishing it," Pongthep Thepkanchana of the Thai Rak Thai Party told an audience that included diplomats, human rights activists, politicians and legal experts.

Pongthep admitted, however, that capital punishment had a drawback - many innocent people are condemned to death.

The seminar was held by the Union for Civil Liberty and the National Human Rights Commission at the latter's office.

Kasem Sorasakkasem of the Chart Thai Party noted that the death penalty had deep roots in Thailand and said that public hearings might be needed before it could be abolished.

Democrat Suwaroj Phalang said his party's legal team agreed that it would be beneficial if Thailand abolished the death penalty. "But we are concerned about abolition for offences committed against the royal institution," he said.

Somsri Han-anuntasuk, president of Amnesty International Thailand, suggested that politicians learn from the examples of Britain, Cambodia and Norway, all of which maintained their royal institutions despite having abolished the death penalty.

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation