Thai Charter Vote May Be A Watershed For Good

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BURNING ISSUE

Charter vote may be a watershed for good

Avudh Panananda

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The pro- and anti-Thaksin camps are gearing for a showdown through a referendum vote on a new charter, expected to take place early next year.

Despite what the doomsayers are predicting, the upcoming referendum is likely to become a watershed event for two reasons - there will be no military meddling in politics and it may bring an end to the political divide.

The country's political system has malfunctioned time and again because rival camps played the military card in order to gain an upper hand in the power struggle. The 2006 coup was the latest example of using a wrong remedy to fix the political flaws.

At the onset of political turbulence in 2005, the leadership of then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was a catalyst for the escalation of a power struggle on a scale unprecedented in modern Thai politics.

Opponents saw Thaksin as the autocratic leader who cited his popular mandate to shield his plunder of the country.

Supporters rallied behind their idol, who refused to yield to any attempts to usurp power.

The state mechanisms ground to a halt in the face of the political tussle between the anti- and pro-Thaksin camps. Unfortunately, both sides involved the military to outwit one another. The soldiers, in turn, took the matter into their own hands and marched out of the barracks.

The military intervention to seize power compounded the fierce conflict. The push to rewrite the charter was mired in the anti-coup sentiment.

Instead of rectifying the flawed political system and restoring normalcy, the coup-sponsored Constitution became a bone of contention.

Even though the referendum in 2007 gave clear approval for the charter, the political divide seemed to have widened.

Furthermore, opponents of the charter cited the military's involvement in an awareness campaign to sway the referendum outcome as grounds for questioning its legitimacy.

Some 57 per cent of 46 million eligible voters took part in the referendum. Some 14 million people cast "yes" votes for the charter, outperforming the opponents by more than three million votes.

Yet the referendum turned out to fuel divisiveness because the Northeast, seen as the bastion for the red shirts, rejected the charter by a clear majority of 62 per cent.

As rival sides are presently preparing to write the new charter, slated to be the country's Constitution No 19, the military has already sent a strong signal that it will stay out of the charter debate.

At last month's Defence Council meeting, Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat and Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha reached a gentleman's agreement that the soldiers would not meddle with the charter amendment process. In a return gesture for the military's goodwill, Sukampol pledged not to tamper with the military line-up.

This is a critical first step to wean the armed forces off politics and vice versa. If the top commanders keep their promises, the seizure of power will become a thing of the past, paving the way for a new era of politicking.

The proponents of charter change are obliged to ensure consensus-building on draft provisions. Otherwise the new charter will become a divisive issue similar to what happened at the last referendum vote.

Should the government overcome the political minefield related to charter provision, then there is a fair chance for closing the ugliest chapter of Thai political history. The question is: Will the rival sides think of the greater good and help one another put politics back on course?

-- The Nation 2012-03-06