CONSTITUTION REVIEW

House to consider charter amendment drafts Thursday

THE NATION

BANGKOK: Parliament will on Thursday consider three separate charter amendment drafts proposed by the government, the ruling Pheu Thai Party, and coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party, the House speaker said yesterday.

Somsak Kiartsuranont, who is also the Parliament President ex-officio, said he believed the work would be completed in one day because the amendment involved only one article of the Constitution, Article 291.

The three amendment bills, as well as other drafts submitted separately by civic groups including the red shirts, all seek changes to Article 291 of the post-coup 2007 Constitution to pave the way for the setting up of a constitution drafting assembly. There are small differences between the three amendment drafts.

Somsak said yesterday he had assigned whips for the coalition, the opposition, and Senate to discuss the guidelines among themselves for joint deliberation by the Senate and House of Representatives. He said he did not think there would be confusion or conflict during the deliberation if everyone adhered to meeting regulations.

In regard to a move by the Ombudsman's Office to appoint 10 law advisers to study strengths and weaknesses of the current charter, Somsak said he did not think it would affect the constitutional amendment. He said the drafting assembly would have to take any findings by the advisory panel into its consideration.

Meanwhile, Chart Thai Pattana leader Chumpol Silapa-archa informed the House Speaker in writing yesterday that he would present the party's amendment draft before Parliament himself for deliberation on Thursday.

Chart Thai Pattana submitted its bill for charter changes last week.

Chumpol said yesterday although there were some problems involving efforts to amend the Constitution, he foresaw no serious conflicts. He pointed out that most political parties had identified problematic clauses that need to be amended, such as overlapping powers among the independent organisations.

"Chart Thai Pattana sticks to the principle that good things in the Constitution of 2007 should be retained," said Chumpol, who is also the tourism and sport minister.

In a related development, Deputy Premier Chalerm Yoobamrung said yesterday he had completed drafting six articles of a bill on national reconciliation. Chalerm dismissed reports that he would disclose the content of the bill when addressing a gathering in the Northeast province of Udon Thani today.

"I don't need to sound out people in the Northeast. It's because 80 per cent of them agree to this [reconciliation bill]," he said, adding that reconciliation was part of the ruling Pheu Thai Party's election campaign promises.

Chalerm denied he had met former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Beijing during his trip to China between February 15 and 17. "He did his work and I did my job. I did not meet him but I called him," he said.

-- The Nation 2012-02-21

Deputy Premier Chalerm Yoobamrung said yesterday he had completed drafting six articles of a bill on national reconciliation.

Reconciliation a long way off

Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) late last year cited a Constitution Court verdict on the case of the "hidden assets" of Thaksin Shinawatra in 2004 - that resulted in the acquittal of Thaksin - as a root cause of the violent events in our country.

The case should be reopened, and the judges whose actions were suspicious investigated. If the people concerned are found guilty of malfeasance, they should be punished according to the law.

The Nation - February 21, 2012

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Edited February 21, 201214 yr by Buchholz

Chalerm knows that 80% of those in the NE support charter change, presumably because they voted PTP. This of course ignores the grab-bag of goodies in their populist policies, Thaksin's promise that they would all be rich in 6 months, the plethora of anti-Democrat propaganda created by the BKK occupation, and the death of non-PTP campaigners in the area due to the threat of political violence. None of which affected voting patterns, or so Chalerm would have us believe.

Edited February 21, 201214 yr by OzMick

Reconciliation a long way off

Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) late last year cited a Constitution Court verdict on the case of the "hidden assets" of Thaksin Shinawatra in 2004 - that resulted in the acquittal of Thaksin - as a root cause of the violent events in our country.

The case should be reopened, and the judges whose actions were suspicious investigated. If the people concerned are found guilty of malfeasance, they should be punished according to the law.

The Nation - February 21, 2012

This will be one of the TRCT's recommendations that will be ignored.