Charter Intrigue Deepens: Thai Analysis

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ANALYSIS

Charter intrigue deepens

Tulsathit Taptim

The Nation

'Blueprint' for dissolution of two courts contains double-barrelled irony

BANGKOK: -- When the current "military-installed" charter is toast, one could be forgiven for indulging in some good wine. But the incidents on Saturday night involving allegedly "improper" behaviour by certain government politicians are not an indicator of what will come next. To foresee Thailand's political future reliably, one needs to check out Thaksin Shinawatra's Skype-in to the red shirts last Saturday, and the press interview proudly given by the Pheu Thai Party's Watana Muangsook.

Thaksin praised Watana for the latter's "great" charter debate. With the compliment still ringing in everyone's ears, the MP was quoted in a Thai-language newspaper's front-page headline news story as saying that the country's new constitution needed virtually to rein in the Con-stitution Court and the Administra-tive Court. The term "dissolution" was used, although Watana envisaged the two courts being reincarnated under the wings of the Supreme Court.

Watana's so-called constitutional "blueprint" produces two big ironies. First, it follows repeated attempts by the Yingluck Shinawatra government and the Pheu Thai Party to distance themselves from charter reform. Their charter amendments, which would transfer the task of writing up a new charter from Parliament to an elected drafting assembly, are in fact designed to guard the ruling camp against charges of having a malicious constitutional agenda.

Second, the Constitution Court and Administrative Court originated from the 1997 "People's Constitution", which Thaksin and his supporters always speak of in high regard. The two courts were essential parts of a checks-and-balances mechanism introduced in the 1997 constitution and passed on into the current charter, which is abhorred by the Thaksin camp. To downgrade the two courts, therefore, would be more of a contempt against the 1997 charter than the current one.

"We may be starting to see the true colours of this so-called charter reform," Democrat Jurin Laksanavisit quipped yesterday. His party's leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, also expressed dismay, warning the ruling side that it must not try to take down every institution perceived as a threat to its political or business interests.

After the Constitution Court acquitted Thaksin of share concealment in 2001 despite obvious evidence of his business empire's shares being held by his servants in massive numbers, it handed down rulings that hampered his attempts to return to power after the 2006 coup.

The Administrative Court has not been popular with the Thaksin camp, either, after verdicts that disrupted ambitious business policies affecting the likes of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and PTT, formerly the Petroleum Authority of Thailand. While the Constitution Court dissolved two Thaksin-affiliated political parties and let the Democrats off the hook in a party-dissolution case, the Administrative Court rattled the Democrat-led government with a ruling that virtually froze vast sections of the Map Ta Phut industrial estate for months.

Watana's "blueprint" will add more tension to the charter-reform process, which is already fragile because of speculation that the ruling camp would exert power over the elected "drafters" and abolish all legal consequences of the 2006 coup. Such consequences include probes into Thaksin's staggering wealth and the subsequent seizure of his assets.

The Yingluck government and the Pheu Thai Party understandably will not lend more weight to Watana's "blueprint", although many analysts say that what Thaksin said during his weekend Skype-in spoke volumes. The ruling party yesterday "urged" its MPs to avoid publicising their ideas on how the new charter should look.

"Don't jump to a conclusion," Chalerm Yoobamrung told reporters, repeating his remark made during the charter-bills debate that speculation about the new constitution would be an insult to the drafting assembly, which is yet to be elected.

If Watana is part of a plan to influence the drafters, it will remain to be seen whether having him come out so openly to propose such controversial ideas was a wise move. The "blueprint" could put the drafting assembly in an awkward situation, as considering such proposals would subject the drafters to the label of being a government tool. If the assembly were to ignore criticism and embrace the "blueprint", Thaksin's political opponents would find fresh ammunition with which to attack the ruling camp, and such a showdown might have unpredictable consequences.

The "drunk or not drunk" episode involving some government politicians during last week's charter-bills debate was just a side-show blown out of proportion. The real issue, analysts believe, is what the drafting assembly will do once it is formed. And the final question will be which charter spirit - the one belonging to the 1997 charter that Thaksin so publicly advocates, or the one belonging to the existing, much-criticised Constitution - will be repelled.

Some points made by Pheu Thai party-list MP and legal expert Watana Muangsook on the 2007 Constitution:

_ Loss of balance of power - the administrative and legislative branches cannot

examine the judicial branch.

_ Lacking proper checks-and-balances for independent agencies - members can be impeached in a vote by three-fifths of the Senate, but appointed senators are selected

by the presidents of the Supreme Court, Constitution Court and National Anti-Corruption Commission.

_ The way members of independent organisations perform their roles is not uniform - in a case where senators are authorised to scrutinise laws, they can be selected for the task. But when they are called on to impeach elected MPs and ministers, they too must have been elected to office.

_ Some legal clauses are against principles of international law - for example, the ruling of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders is considered final and does not allow an appeal to a higher tribunal while, according to international legal principles, a person has the right to appeal.

_ In an interview with Thai-language newspaper Matichon, Watana said the Constitution Court and the Administrative Court should be dissolved and replaced by newly established divisions in the Supreme Court.

-- The Nation 2012-02-29

[ianf]

Wow! Wow! Therein lies the true intentions. If only the Thai masses understood their greedy game ....

[animatic]

"Malicious agenda ", indeed!

[OzMick]

Thaksin, the red's political genius, has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. Remember his "B500" speech?

[Crushdepth]

The state of governance in Thailand is truly pathetic. Only a pig with its snout in the trough would suggest weakening it still further.

[phiphidon]

Wow! Wow! Therein lies the true intentions. If only the Thai masses understood their greedy game ....

Come on then spell it out, what is their greedy game as you see it?

[lungmi]

Wow! Wow! Therein lies the true intentions. If only the Thai masses understood their greedy game ....

Come on then spell it out, what is their greedy game as you see it?

One of the Three Monkeys asks Ianf what he can see, hear and say. He asks (one function is not disabled) why his two brothers cannot hear and see?)

Edited February 29, 2012 by lungmi

[jdinasia]

Hmmmmmm with all the pending charges against Thaksin is it any wonder that attempting to diminish the power of the courts even further is on the TRT/PPP/PTP/Red agenda?

[sparebox2]

The charter changes is to benefir 1 man and 1 man only. It whitewash Thaksin of all previous and future crime.

[phiphidon]

Wow! Wow! Therein lies the true intentions. If only the Thai masses understood their greedy game ....

Come on then spell it out, what is their greedy game as you see it?

One of the Three Monkeys asks Ianf what he can see, hear and say. He asks (one function is not disabled) why his two brothers cannot hear and see?)

Oh, you've got the answer then? Or do you have anything useful to add?

[bigbamboo]

Please don't forget that any speculation about the new constitution would be an insult to the assembly, which hasn't been elected yet. And presumably no opportunity for members of said assembly to sue for said insults?

Edited February 29, 2012 by bigbamboo

[lannarebirth]

The charter changes is to benefir 1 man and 1 man only. It whitewash Thaksin of all previous and future crime.

You're a slow learner, but you seem to have grasped the concept finally. Of course that's just a precursor to what comes next.

[anterian]

Please don't forget that any speculation about the new constitution would be an insult to the assembly, which hasn't been elected yet. And presumably no opportunity for members of said assembly to sue for said insults?

Please don't forget that any speculation about the new constitution would be an insult to the assembly, which hasn't been elected yet. And presumably no opportunity for members of said assembly to sue for said insults?

Only fools count their chickens before they hatch. Why not wait until the assembly has been elected?

[Skywalker69]

Wow! Wow! Therein lies the true intentions. If only the Thai masses understood their greedy game ....

Come on then spell it out, what is their greedy game as you see it?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/4293-thaksin-democracy-is-not-my-goal/