Opposition bloc launches public campaign for changes to ‘undemocratic’ Constitution

[snoop1130]

Opposition bloc launches public campaign for changes to ‘undemocratic’ Constitution

By The Nation

 

 

The opposition bloc has formed a working group to campaign among the general public for amendments to what it deems the current “undemocratic” Constitution, a politician from the Puea Chart Party said on Monday.

 

Ketpreeya Kaewsanmuang, spokesperson for the opposition party, said the campaign had been launched on Monday to coincide with the establishment of a Thai democratic state and the promulgation of the country’s first charter on June 24, 1932.

 

She said the opposition bloc’s goal was to amend the Constitution, written after the military coup of May 2014, to “become democratic for the maximum benefit of the country and the people”.

 

The Puea Chart politician also noted that when King Prajadhipok abdicated following the Siamese Revolution of 1932, he proclaimed that he had agreed to pass on his royal powers to the general public, and not any particular groups of people.

 

Ketpreeya said the current Constitution had been written for the benefit of the ruling junta, the National Council for Peace and Order, without taking into account “the true voice of the people”. 

 

Clauses in the charter were aimed at keeping the council in power, she added.

 

In the run-up to the 2016 public referendum on the draft constitution, detractors of the charter and those who made accusations of vote-rigging faced legal actions that resulted in fines and imprisonment, she said. 

 

Those people included Puea Chart’s “main campaign assistants”, Yongyuth Tiyapairat and Jatuporn Prompan, she pointed out.

 

Both men are key leaders of the red-shirt movement and, due to their previous legal offences, they have been prohibited by law from contesting an election.

 

The opposition’s working group on constitutional amendments is headed by Prachachart Party secretary-general Thawee Sodsong, with Pheu Thai Party deputy secretary-general Paophum Rajanasakul serving as its secretary, Ketpreeya announced.

 

She said the group would work with members of the public from all elements of society, in order to determine the main areas of the Constitution that should be amended.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30371650

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-06-24

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[geoffbezoz]

I hope her and the team remain safe and are not interfered with by the PM and the other psycho General. Hope it gathers pace without harm coming to anybody.

[Eligius]

1 hour ago, geoffbezoz said:

I hope her and the team remain safe and are not interfered with by the PM and the other psycho General. Hope it gathers pace without harm coming to anybody.

I share your hope, Geoffbezoz.

In the long run, however, I just don't see how any progress is going to be made 'without harm coming to anybody'.

 

It is all so terribly sad - and all so very unnecessary (or would be, in an even barely, minimally just society) ...

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by Eligius

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Opposition takes charter change campaign to public 

By THE NATION 

 

 

On 87th anniversary of Siamese Revolution, antijunta camp targets clauses ‘aimed at entrenching’ the military’s role 

THE anti-junta camp chose the 87th anniversary of the Siamese Revolution yesterday to kick off its campaign for amendments to the junta-sponsored Constitution, vowing to make it democratic for the benefit of the country and the people.

 

A working group has been formed to campaign among the public to push for amendments to the current “undemocratic” Constitution, a politician from the opposition Puea Chart Party said yesterday.

 

Ketpreeya Kaewsanmuang, the spokesperson for the Puea Chart Party, said the campaign was launched yesterday to coincide with the establishment of the democratic Thai state and the promulgation of the country’s first charter on June 24, 1932.

 

She said the opposition bloc’s goal was to amend the Constitution, written after the military coup of May 2014, to “make it democratic for the maximum benefit of the country and the people”.

 

The politician also reminded that when King Prajadhipok abdicated following the Siamese Revolution of 1932, he agreed to pass on his royal powers to the general public and not to any particular group of people.

 

Ketpreeya said the current Constitution was written for the benefit of the ruling junta – the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) – without taking into account “the true voice of the people”. Clauses in the charter were aimed at entrenching the NCPO in power, she said.

 

She said that in the run-up to the public referendum on the draft constitution, detractors of the charter and those who had made accusations of vote rigging faced legal actions, which resulted in fines and imprisonment. Among the victims were Puea Chart’s “main campaigners” Yongyuth Tiyapairat and Jatuporn Prompan, she added.

 

Both men are key leaders of the red-shirt movement. Due to their previous legal offences, both Jatuporn and Yongyuth are prohibited by law from contesting an election.

 

The opposition’s working group on constitutional amendments is headed by Prachachart Party secretary-general Thawee Sodsong, with Pheu Thai Party deputy secretary-general Paophum Rajanasakul serving as its secretary, according to Ketpreeya.

 

She said the working group would work with all sections of the public in order to determine the main topics in the Constitution that should be amended.

 

Pheu Thai spokesperson Laddawan Wongsriwong also emphasised the need to amend the charter yesterday in her speech celebrating the 87th anniversary of Thailand’s democracy. 

 

The politician noted that there were grounds to believe the Constitution and the organic laws may have been written to favour the NCPO and its network.

 

For instance, the charter laid out the mechanism to empower the Senate and the independent agencies, she explained. She said it was highly likely that all these measures were aimed at enabling the NCPO to retain power after the election.

 

Unless these mechanisms were removed from the Constitution, it would be impossible for democracy to thrive in Thailand, the Pheu Thai politician stressed. She urged the elected MPs to collaborate and amend the Constitution, also with public participation in all stages, to make it more democratic and prevent the junta from exploiting it.

 

The Constitution, written by a junta-appointed commission, however, had clauses that make amendment an uphill task.

Any proposal for amendment must be made by one-fifth of the members of the lower house or both houses or by a petition signed by 50,000 people.

 

To be successful, the amendment must pass three readings in Parliament. But the first and last readings of the amendment would need the support of one-third of the junta-appointed senators. 

 

Observers view any amendment as almost impossible without the junta’s consent.

 

However, sources in Future Forward Party revealed steps towards amendments, borrowing ideas that led to the creation of the 1997 Constitution.

 

The steps would include amending particular clauses that were especially problematic. That would open the way for the setting up of a new constitution writing committee to draft a new Constitution altogether, the sources said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30371685

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-06-25

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[YetAnother]

9 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Observers view any amendment as almost impossible without the junta’s consent.

and along with it, thailand's near-term future positive prospects

[Thaiwrath]

45 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

To be successful, the amendment must pass three readings in Parliament. But the first and last readings of the amendment would need the support of one-third of the junta-appointed senators. 

Unfortunately, there are 2 hopes.

Bob Hope and no hope

 

[Lungstib]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

when King Prajadhipok abdicated following the Siamese Revolution of 1932, he proclaimed that he had agreed to pass on his royal powers to the general public, and not any particular groups of people.

A very interesting use of a Royal quote, something that I'm sure will get buried as deep as the plaque that commemorated the event. Its the right thing to do and the correct way. Bring it up in parliament where at least it can get some media attention and a chance for the international community to hear just how rigged the present constitution is. Yes, it will be beaten away but this issue has to be kept in the public's attention. A proper constitution is vital to a country which desperately needs to reduce military authoritarianism.

[Eric Loh]

Need good coup to tear up the bad coup constitution. 

[holy cow cm]

I hope the Junta's headache gets bigger and bigger. Let the games begin!

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

Need good coup to tear up the bad coup constitution. 

Unfortunately , a people's coup does not have tanks and guns at their disposal !

[Eric Loh]

58 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Unfortunately , a people's coup does not have tanks and guns at their disposal !

I honestly don’t wish for a bloody situation to change the constitution. Hopefully it will be like the events leading to the 1997 People Constitution. It came about with persistent and strong campaign towards a fully elected and accountable bicameral houses through a referendum. It was a peaceful transition. The other possibility is the economy is so badly managed that the wealthy elites got hurt and covertly engineer a regime change. 

[geoffbezoz]

4 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

I honestly don’t wish for a bloody situation to change the constitution. Hopefully it will be like the events leading to the 1997 People Constitution. It came about with persistent and strong campaign towards a fully elected and accountable bicameral houses through a referendum. It was a peaceful transition. The other possibility is the economy is so badly managed that the wealthy elites got hurt and covertly engineer a regime change. 

The wealthy and the extremely wealthy will already have their billions out of Thailand and like many, if not all of them, have established residences overseas. So In the event of a bloody coup, they will go  or continue to stay overseas, and when it is all over, just like Leeches they will come back and attempt to suck the spoils again, just as always, unless they are permanently dealt with finally so that the nation can prosper.

[Eric Loh]

9 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

The wealthy and the extremely wealthy will already have their billions out of Thailand and like many, if not all of them, have established residences overseas. So In the event of a bloody coup, they will go  or continue to stay overseas, and when it is all over, just like Leeches they will come back and attempt to suck the spoils again, just as always, unless they are permanently dealt with finally so that the nation can prosper.

One at a time. Those leeches are next. 

[CGW]

6 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

they are permanently dealt with finally so that the nation can prosper.

"Truth be told" this is the answer to not only this countries problems but many more. Leeches are never content they want more! exactly what is happening in the world, the social divide increases, the rich thrive on inequality.

[sammieuk1]

Next step public jailed with one or all of 44 reasons????

[Burma Bill]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

Unfortunately , a people's coup does not have tanks and guns at their disposal !

But they do have "People Power" like the protesters currently active in Hong Kong. If one million people took to the streets of Bangkok in a peaceful protest the "Military Elite" wouldn't dare use firepower against them. It would create worldwide condemnation and crucify Thailand's tourism and business image. 

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

Unfortunately, there are 2 hopes.

Bob Hope and no hope

 

And Bob Hope left town... yeh I get it !

[robblok]

4 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Need good coup to tear up the bad coup constitution. 

I take it your sarcastic ?

[Eric Loh]

44 minutes ago, robblok said:

I take it your sarcastic ?

Coup can be defined as a violent takeover or simply as a master stroke or achievement. 

[robblok]

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

Coup can be defined as a violent takeover or simply as a master stroke or achievement. 

Yes but in Thailand coup usually means something different. That is why i was a bit confused because you were always pro democracy and anti coup. So I was just a bit surprised. (i have no problem with amending the constitution)

[chama]

On 6/24/2019 at 7:48 AM, snoop1130 said:

Ketpreeya said the current Constitution had been written for the benefit of the ruling junta, the National Council for Peace and Order, without taking into account “the true voice of the people”.

Hope Ketpreeya don't disappear or becomes easily discredited. If this was possible to do before the "election" it is likely to have been a very different result.