CONSTITUTION COURT

Govt has mixed feelings as charter ruling looms

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Pheu Thai Party is bracing for an unfavourable verdict on charter change, MP Phiraphan Phalusuk said yesterday, while voicing optimism that Friday's decision would not result in a worst-case scenario leading to party dissolution.

"I hope the verdict will bring peace and help the [community] to advance," he said, though conceding there might be a setback for the charter amendment bill.

Phiraphan said in the closing statement, the ruling party reaffirmed that the proposed charter rewrite had not violated the ban against the toppling of democratic rule, as determined by Article 68 of the Constitution. Violation of the ban was tantamount to treason but there was no evidence that such a violation had taken place, he said.

Somjet Boonthanom, one of the five complainants against the bill, said his written closing statement, to be submitted today, would sum up his testimony. He would highlight how the bill was designed to rescue fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. He insisted the first and second readings of the bill could be construed as tangible action to undo the Constitution, rebutting a defence argument the complainants brought up imaginary charges since no actual changes had been enacted.

Another complainant, Varin Thiemcharas, said his closing statement would point out that Parliament had no mandate to form the Constitution Drafting Assembly to overhaul the political system.

Varin said he would also argue that Article 68 of the Constitution has allowed individuals, such as himself, to bypass the Attorney General and put cases to the court.

-- The Nation 2012-07-11

Well it seems a pretty big mess. While the claim that PTP MPs plan to do away with the constitutional monarchy in the process of re-writing the charter seems a bit of an exaggeration, they clearly aim to reverse court convictions for corruption and fraud and white wash legion criminal acts as well remove all the constitutional checks and balances that are designed to make corruption by politicians a lot harder.

In the 90s a backlash against the corruption of the Chatichai government and the corrupt and evil generals that ousted him created the atmosphere for the 1997 "Peoples' Constitution" with all the checks and balances to which the 2007 constitution is almost identical. Today the people seem sadly to have given up on corruption and only care about what's in it for them personally. Corrupt politicians and generals are fine as long as they give you what you want.

Thus there is not much hope for the integrity and ethics of the Thai political and legal system in the next generation or two. After that it will have become evident that Thailand's system of "legalized" corruption and short term populism has rendered the economy utterly uncompetitive against neighboring countries that will have overtaken it. When Thais are being treated like shit as poorly educated slave labourers in Burma they might realise there was a problem.

should we get ready for another round of protests?

I have the strong feeling (and I hope I am wrong) that we gonna have quite rough times soon.

Well it seems a pretty big mess. While the claim that PTP MPs plan to do away with the constitutional monarchy in the process of re-writing the charter seems a bit of an exaggeration, they clearly aim to reverse court convictions for corruption and fraud and white wash legion criminal acts as well remove all the constitutional checks and balances that are designed to make corruption by politicians a lot harder.

In the 90s a backlash against the corruption of the Chatichai government and the corrupt and evil generals that ousted him created the atmosphere for the 1997 "Peoples' Constitution" with all the checks and balances to which the 2007 constitution is almost identical. Today the people seem sadly to have given up on corruption and only care about what's in it for them personally. Corrupt politicians and generals are fine as long as they give you what you want.

Thus there is not much hope for the integrity and ethics of the Thai political and legal system in the next generation or two. After that it will have become evident that Thailand's system of "legalized" corruption and short term populism has rendered the economy utterly uncompetitive against neighboring countries that will have overtaken it. When Thais are being treated like shit as poorly educated slave labourers in Burma they might realise there was a problem.

Pick the lesser of 2 weevils - Thaksin pardoned or Thaksin adorned.

Most would opt for ©