Plan To Dissolve Top Courts And Key Govt Agencies Shows Thai Govt's ' True Intent'

[webfact]

Plan shows govt's 'true intent'

The Nation

Democrats condemn move to cut key courts, agencies via new charter

BANGKOK: -- Radical proposals by a House working committee - to dissolve top courts and key government agencies - showed the "true colours" of the ruling Pheu Thai Party and its push to write a new constitution, the opposition Democrat Party said yesterday.

Democrat politicians pointed to the proposals made by the panel studying constitutional changes that call for the dissolution of independent organisations, the demotion of the Constitution Court, and removal of a clause that supports acts made under the post-coup Interim Constitution.

Observers noted that the panel's proposals are consistent with earlier calls by Pheu Thai and former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who is believed to run the ruling party. These include dissolution of the Constitution Court, plus the Supreme Court's Division on Criminal Cases against Political Office Holders, plus the Auditor-General's Office, and reducing the power of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Similar proposals were voiced during Pheu Thai's election campaigns and political rallies of its red-shirt supporters.

The panel is chaired by non-MP Sophon Phetsawang, who has a connection with the ruling party. It was appointed by House Speaker Somsak Kiartsuranond, who is a Pheu Thai MP.

Opposition chief whip Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday the proposals showed that ruling politicians wanted to turn the country into "totalitarian democracy dominated by evil capitalism".

"They seem to fear scrutiny," he said, adding that by weakening the check-and-balance system, the government would have limited freedom in running the country.

Jurin, the Democrat's deputy leader, said the proposal for Article 309 to be removed was the clearest proof the amendment move was aimed to benefit "someone special". This confirmed that public concern was warranted, he said.

Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said most of the proposals would only benefit corrupt politicians and ordinary people would suffer more because of weakened scrutiny.

Constitution Court spokesman Pimol Thammapitakpong said yesterday that its judges were not worried and had not felt pressure from the proposal for the court to be demoted to the status of a tribunal. He said the court had sought to deal with all cases impartially, carefully, and in line with the laws and evidence.

"The court has strictly adhered to the national interest and the public benefit," he said.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai figures sought to distance the party from Sophon's panel yesterday.

Wattana Sengpairoh, spokesman for the House Speaker, said it was improper for Sophon to make public the proposals before submitting them to the speaker. He denied Pheu Thai had influenced Sophon's panel.

The panel is part of the Committee for Law Improvement and Amendment. It consists mostly of Pheu Thai politicians and pro-government figures.

Sophon said yesterday that the proposals resulted from three months of studying all the country's past constitutions. He said his working group consisted of many academics and experts, adding that the goal was to "give full power to the people, who have the power of sovereignty".

Proposed changes

Charter amendments as proposed by a House working group led by Sophon Phetsawang:

- Leave provisions on the monarchy intact

- House and Senate compositions to emulate the 1997 charter

- House to comprise 500 seats - 400 from direct voting and 100 from proportional (party-list) voting

- Senate to comprise 200 seats from direct voting

- Disband Constitution Court and revert to Parliament-appointed constitutional judges tasked to rule on constitutionality cases without mandate to dissolve political parties

- Disband the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders and subject all political cases to three-tier review by the Courts of Justice

- Disband the Ombudsman's Office and transfer its responsibilities to the Administrative Court

- Revoke the National Anti-Corruption Commission's mandate to prosecute without the endorsement of the Attorney-General's Office

- Revoke Article 309, which sanctions the 2006 coup, but uphold all judicial proceedings for graft cases, past and present, initiated under this provision

-- The Nation 2013-01-09

[Chao Lao Beach]

Revoke the National Anti-Corruption Commission's mandate to prosecute without the endorsement of the Attorney-General's Office

[Siripon]

Sophon let the cat out of the bag with this one, revealing the true intentions of Pheua Thai to emasculate all checks and balances and turn Thailand into a dictatorship run by the Shinawats.

Awaken all Thais, rise above the clouds and fight the evil !

[Ricardo]

And PM-Yingluck wonders why she's found foreign governments regard Thai democracy with some suspicion ?

She need look no further than this panel's recommendations !

It is a recipe for a kleptocracy !

[KKvampire]

Thailand.the biggest fake psuedo democracy in Asia.

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[MunterHunter]

This was inevitable... We all know that 'Democracy' is not PTP Thaksin's goal

[rubl]

Wattana Sengpairoh, spokesman for the House Speaker, said it was improper for Sophon to make public the proposals before submitting them to the speaker. He denied Pheu Thai had influenced Sophon's panel.

Well said, what did k. Sophon think. This has nothing to do with the public. They only need to be told when the time is right.

[dcutman]

All this pesky checks-and- balance sh!t. Who needs it?

It can only hinder this PTP governments democratic vision of being the servants of the people that elected them.

If a few (most) elected and appointed officials (family and friends) get suddenly and unusually filthy rich during there term in office, Well....... did I mention they have a vision and are only servants of the people?

[siampolee]

At last we are starting to see the true intention of the Thaksin puppet government and its pursuit of unbridled power for the Thaksin family and their brown nosing acolytes.An out and out despotic dictatorship is the ultimate aim.

There are many frightening parallels with other dictatorships and their ultimate enslavement of nations and its peoples, notably the rise to power of a despotic xenophobic dictator in the early part of the last century which ultimately embroiled the world in a 5 year war. More locally and indeed recently Pol Pots ideology comes to mind and Hun Sens ideology too

How long now before the Thai people have to start to fear the knock on the door in the middle of the night, an increase in mysterious deaths and disappearances and the ghosts of Pol Pot and his regimes terror tactics come to walk among and haunt Thailand and its peoples ?

Destroying the nations judicial system and any opposition voices by hook or by crook has been bubbling under the surface for some considerable length of time. Now these policies are at the forefront of the P.T.P. puppet regime as they feel they have the strength to carry such policies through without any opposition as the forcing of the charter changes will allow the wholesale rape and subsequent destruction and the death of civil rights and the legal system and the Thai people. Of course the removal of the legitimate checks and balances now in place which act as a brake no matter how weak those checks and balances are at the moment are vital to the puppet master and his aims.

Remove those checks and balances and we have a runaway train of the abuse of power, nepotism, wholesale corruption and a country mired in a quagmire of terror, misery and fear much like the scenes in Zimbabwe at the moment and indeed reminiscent of the scenario in Cambodia courtesy of Pol Pot, and not too far removed from the current regime of Hun Sen

We have already seen Thaksin supporting civil disorder both financially and also heard his exhortations telling and encouraging the Red Shirt movement to support him (Thaksin) in his fight to return to Thailand, Turbulent times clearly are ahead for this country and it's people, it is nearing to becoming make or break time for what little democracy exists here at the moment.

The time is coming when there will I think be a reason and an occasion for the military to step in yet again in the not too distant future and I fear it will be a bloody battle as the only way Thaksin and his acolytes will go is as we have seen in the not too distant past is by inciting civil disorder.

Body counts cost Thaksin nothing worry wise or financially in his thirst for ultimate power, the wealth and riches awaiting him if he succeeds will go to him and Thailand and the Thai people will be the carcass that Thaksin and his fellow vultures and maggots will bloat themselves on.

As I have already said, ''Turbulent times lie ahead for Thailand and its peoples.''

Edited January 9, 2013 by siampolee

[Thait Spot]

Thaibodia here we come

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[Ricardo]

Thaibodia here we come

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Or perhaps ThaksinLand ?

One can only hope that PM-Yingluck sees the errors of the path which is being laid-out here, these are currently only proposals, and that she rejects them, otherwise it really would be time for the Re-Set Button to be used again, which would normally be regrettable.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Ricardo

[smedly]

Thailand.the biggest fake psuedo democracy in Asia.

Sent from my LG-P350 using Thaivisa Connect App

and it seems it's about to get worse, I predicted all of this (as did others) on other threads on TV.

Now if they really wanted to move Thai democracy in the right direction they should be doing the exact opposite to what's proposed above - funny that

Not sure this farce will be allowed to continue much longer

[Disinto]

Gotta love this never-failing blazing yellow propaganda on this forum. Never fails to amuse me, especially coming from clueless foreigners. Abhisit, Prem and the military brass appreciate your help.

[smedly]

Gotta love this never-failing blazing yellow propaganda on this forum. Never fails to amuse me, especially coming from clueless foreigners. Abhisit, Prem and the military brass appreciate your help.

I am not a red or yellow supporter, I support democracy and law and order and have an understanding of what it means - you obviously don't

Do you honestly believe that the above proposals to be a step forward for democracy in Thailand ? if so you are very very naive and misguided in your thinking

Edited January 9, 2013 by Rimmer

[robblok]

Wow, i am shocked this way there are no independent checks and balances anymore. Everything appointed by the ruling party, that means nobody will hold them in check.

Red maffia is a better word for it.

[Tatsujin]

Here we go . . . warmed up communism and a dictatorship by the Shinawatra clan and their cronies is back in full swing . . .

[Disinto]

Gotta love this never-failing blazing yellow propaganda on this forum. Never fails to amuse me, especially coming from clueless foreigners. Abhisit, Prem and the military brass appreciate your help.

I am not a red or yellow supporter, I support democracy and law and order and have an understanding of what it means - you obviously don't

Do you honestly believe that the above proposals to be a step forward for democracy in Thailand ? if so you are very very naive and misguided in your thinking or just plain stupid

Gotta love this never-failing blazing yellow propaganda on this forum. Never fails to amuse me, especially coming from clueless foreigners. Abhisit, Prem and the military brass appreciate your help.

I am not a red or yellow supporter, I support democracy and law and order and have an understanding of what it means - you obviously don't

Do you honestly believe that the above proposals to be a step forward for democracy in Thailand ? if so you are very very naive and misguided in your thinking

Right. So reverting back to an illegitimate government stemming from a military junta responsible for endless coups is what you call democracy? I now understand your definition of democracy. You're the one being naïve (note how I avoid insulting others, unlike what you've done) if you don't realize the courts' political bias (have you seen the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court regarding article 112? If not here's a link: www.constitutionalcourt.or.th/office/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=105&Itemid=4〈=th )

[Tatsujin]

Gotta love this never-failing blazing yellow propaganda on this forum. Never fails to amuse me, especially coming from clueless foreigners. Abhisit, Prem and the military brass appreciate your help.

Anti-red or anti-idiot doesn't automatically make one a yellow supporter or clueless. In fact, I would hazard a guess that most foreigners here are more clued in to the real politics that happen here than the majority of the Thai's are.

Besides all that, it makes a nice counterpoint to the blazing red propaganda so many spout out here

[Tatsujin]

Right. So reverting back to an illegitimate government stemming from a military junta responsible for endless coups is what you call democracy? I now understand your definition of democracy. You're the one being naïve (note how I avoid insulting others, unlike what you've done) if you don't realize the courts' political bias (have you seen the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court regarding article 112? If not here's a link: www.constitutionalcourt.or.th/office/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=105&Itemid=4〈=th )

@Disinto - have you changed your name again or started a new profile?

[Disinto]

Right. So reverting back to an illegitimate government stemming from a military junta responsible for endless coups is what you call democracy? I now understand your definition of democracy. You're the one being naïve (note how I avoid insulting others, unlike what you've done) if you don't realize the courts' political bias (have you seen the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court regarding article 112? If not here's a link: www.constitutionalcourt.or.th/office/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=105&Itemid=4〈=th )

@Disinto - have you changed your name again or started a new profile?

My joining date may give you the answer.

[Disinto]

Gotta love this never-failing blazing yellow propaganda on this forum. Never fails to amuse me, especially coming from clueless foreigners. Abhisit, Prem and the military brass appreciate your help.

Anti-red or anti-idiot doesn't automatically make one a yellow supporter or clueless. In fact, I would hazard a guess that most foreigners here are more clued in to the real politics that happen here than the majority of the Thai's are.

Besides all that, it makes a nice counterpoint to the blazing red propaganda so many spout out here

Do you have any sort of explanations to backup your claim? I find it disrespectful to 'hazard' such things.

And I don't know where you've been, but what you call red propaganda is quite scarce these days. Or maybe I'm just trying to recognize trolls on TV threads reporting articles of the ersatz of a newspaper that is The Nation

Edited January 9, 2013 by Disinto

[unanimosity]

All this pesky checks-and- balance sh!t. Who needs it?

It can only hinder this PTP governments democratic vision of being the servants of the people that elected them.

If a few (most) elected and appointed officials (family and friends) get suddenly and unusually filthy rich during there term in office, Well....... did I mention they have a vision and are only servants of the people?

Getting filthy rich in office is nothing new. Look at Suthep, who tripled his net worth during a short time as AV's deputy.

[Thait Spot]

Gotta love this never-failing blazing yellow propaganda on this forum. Never fails to amuse me, especially coming from clueless foreigners. Abhisit, Prem and the military brass appreciate your help.

Anti-red or anti-idiot doesn't automatically make one a yellow supporter or clueless. In fact, I would hazard a guess that most foreigners here are more clued in to the real politics that happen here than the majority of the Thai's are.

Besides all that, it makes a nice counterpoint to the blazing red propaganda so many spout out here

Do you have any sort of explanations to backup your claim? I find it disrespectful to 'hazard' such things.

And I don't know where you've been, but what you call red propaganda is quite scarce these days. Or maybe I'm just trying to recognize trolls on TV threads reporting articles of the ersatz of a newspaper that is The Nation

Corruption brings absolute power.

Cannibalise legalis

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[hansnl]

Cannot escape the idea I have seen this before in Asia

Indonesia after the Sukarno period?

Would be interesting if the PTP knew what happened as a result to a certain ethnic group.

[Disinto]

Cannot escape the idea I have seen this before in Asia

Indonesia after the Sukarno period?

Would be interesting if the PTP knew what happened as a result to a certain ethnic group.

The orang cina in Indonesia cannot be compared to the Thai Chinese for various reasons (their relative number vs the general population notably). What are you trying to imply?

[bigbamboo]

Looks like PT are planning to complete the job TRT were stopped from doing by the coup.

[Tatsujin]

Gotta love this never-failing blazing yellow propaganda on this forum. Never fails to amuse me, especially coming from clueless foreigners. Abhisit, Prem and the military brass appreciate your help.

Anti-red or anti-idiot doesn't automatically make one a yellow supporter or clueless. In fact, I would hazard a guess that most foreigners here are more clued in to the real politics that happen here than the majority of the Thai's are.

Besides all that, it makes a nice counterpoint to the blazing red propaganda so many spout out here

Do you have any sort of explanations to backup your claim? I find it disrespectful to 'hazard' such things.

And I don't know where you've been, but what you call red propaganda is quite scarce these days. Or maybe I'm just trying to recognize trolls on TV threads reporting articles of the ersatz of a newspaper that is The Nation

I don't need to back up anything, I made a statement based on my experiences here, it is neither backed up by facts nor anything else. Simply my opinion. As for where I've been, I've been here quite a long time actually, and the red propaganda is certainly NOT scarce, neither is the yellow.

And how is what I wrote disrespectful by the way?

[TackyToo]

Thaibodia here we come

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Maybe one day a clone mixture of Hugo Chavez and Pol Pot will run this country and make it the land of many truly happy smiles...

[animatic]

This is the route to another coup, and the reason behind the last.

It is well known Thanksin does NOT know when to stop and has

an ego of monumental proportions that must constantly be fed.

This is not about the poor getting a leg up or "Red Democracy".

This is about clan power and the ambitions for revenge and

power accumulation and use of one liege lord and his clique,

to displace the old guard, for their own profits.

Sure they use new means, but to the same old face making ends.

[lounger]

The cat is out of the bag early, that means there will be all the rhetoric from the wise and wonderful. What they should have done is copy the wes:

Margaret Thatcher was so insistent on her policies ( later known as Thatcherite) that even the UK civil service was thinking right wing... 'Get on your bike' ruled

Tony Blair nearly toppled the monarchy and certainly removed the final legal( conservative) veto from the House of Lords by retiring some conservatives and appointing sympathetic to Labour in their place. pawn the bike and live off the nanny state new socialist dawn ( Dawn a single parent got free housing, Dawn fell over and got a wellfare officer on her case, Dawn got married and men got maternity leave...) all in the interest of party continuity, a new constitution by stealth.The joke was on labour as Blair in fact moved the Labour party from left wing to central politics while increasing the welfare state.

let him who is without guilt cast the first stone