BURNING ISSUE

Charter rewrite still confounds govt

Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- It seems the "big boss", the coalition, the Pheu Thai Party and the red-shirt movement have tried to create new hot issues to divert public attention from the plan to rewrite a new charter.

The clearest effort to divert public attention was the plan by the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship to propose an amnesty bill for the people facing criminal charges related to political conflict from January 1, 2007 to December 2011. The DAAD planned to submit the draft to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to endorse and forward it to the House. The DAAD said the bill would also grant amnesty to other groups, not only the red shirts.

In a similar move, the Nitirat Group proposed that the current Constitution should be amended to add a new chapter on amnesty and on how to end political conflicts. The group proposed that this new chapter would absolve all groups of wrongdoings stemming from political rallies following September 19, 2006.

It seemed these ideas came up after the plan by the Pheu Thai and the coalition government to push for the rewriting of a new charter met severe obstacles and could not move on.

Earlier, the Pheu Thai thought a public referendum would provide a solution for the coalition to go ahead with the new charter drafting. But the big boss and Pheu Thai have found that a referendum would not help the coalition reach its goal. Worse still, the charter rewriting effort might cause the government to collapse.

Eventually, the government decided to buy time and delay the charter rewrite by assigning a new committee to study how to hold a public referendum on the charter amendments. The Cabinet assigned Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana to head the panel, whose members include PM's Office Minister Varathep Ratanakorn, Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan, Justice Minister Pracha Promnok and the secretary-general of the Office of the Council of State.

So far, the Pongthep panel has been unable to give a clear-cut timeframe for its study. In the latest development, the panel consulted with representatives of the Election Commission on Friday on legal technicalities relating to the public referendum. The panel asked the EC representatives to ask the full EC five questions. It is expected the EC would answer the questions in another month after studying the legal aspects. This would further delay the referendum plan.

It prompted several sides, including the opposition, to suspect that the coalition is planning to use the EC as a tool, or that the coalition might be seeking a way to cancel the referendum plan without losing face.

Phongthep argued that the EC had to be consulted for the sake of clarity because "the government has never held such a referendum. And the EC will be the one to hold the referendum".

It seemed that the government was hesitating and lacked determination on the new charter rewrite. It was understandable why the government appeared so - it is because the referendum outcome could determine the government's survival.

The planned charter rewrite has become a hot issue that has raised the political mercury because several groups have expressed clear signals that they would come out to campaign against the charter amendments.

As a result, the government has had second thoughts and moved cautiously, as its survival is at stake.

The opponents may seek an impeachment motion against the government and may even seek Pheu Thai's dissolution. So, no one dares to rush to get the charter amendments done in a way that could lead to a political accident.

Moreover, the government is now facing several problems that could erode its image and affect its stability.

Such problems include the battle for the land surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple, currently being waged at the International Court of Justice.

Moreover, the government is facing negative economic impacts from its Bt300 daily minimum wage policy.

And its populist schemes are causing severe fiscal pressures on the administration. Worse still, the people are facing the problem of a rising cost of living while crop prices are falling and affecting poor farmers.

There are also problems of alleged corruption in various projects and flood prevention and rehabilitation measures, and allegedly increasing corruption in the rice-pledging scheme.

Now the government is in a critical situation and is besieged by all the problems. So Pheu Thai has apparently decided it cannot push ahead the plan to draft and enact a new charter. It cannot step back, either. As a result, the only option is to indefinitely postpone the issue until the timing is right.

-- The Nation 2013-01-17

Anyone still believe PTP is working for the good of all Thai people?

Oh what a tangled web we weave when we pratice to deceive.

Assuming that Number One approved the current constitution, the previous administration and it's duly appointed PM then doesn't it follow that only he could give amnesty to criminals convicted by the courts regardless of whether the current administration accepts it or not?

On another thread Thai Charter Change: Road Ahead Is Lined With Booby-Traps

there was a clear admission of the purpose of the rewrite.

"For the first time, Pheu Thai leaders admitted - after a Khao Yai resort powwow one recent weekend - that legal and political complications had piled up to form a roadblock against changing some major clauses in the charter that they believe are serious obstacles for their own political future."

It is in other words to help there future not Thailand's.

Does anyone ever take notice of these summaries? "... the government is now facing several problems that could erode its image and affect its stability". (It has been unstable since elected!)

• Problems include the battle for Preah Vihear Temple land
  
• Facing negative economic impacts from its Bt300 daily minimum wage policy
  
• Its populist schemes causing severe fiscal pressures on the administration
  
• People are facing the problem of a rising cost of living
  
• Crop prices are falling and affecting poor farmers
  
• Problems of alleged (hardly alleged) corruption in various projects
  
• Increasing corruption in the rice-pledging scheme
  
• The government is in a critical situation and besieged by all the above problems
  

Thai people actually voted for this governance and stupidly, will again...? You get what you asked for. And all this at the hands of one man seeking vengeance over his conviction and confiscation of illegally gained assets and money who is openly acknowledged as still running Thailand. No wonder he wants to change the charter. My goodness, the Australian Prime Minister should seek his advices in her quest for handling her corruption.

Edited January 17, 201313 yr by Locationthailand

"The clearest effort to divert public attention was the plan by the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship to propose an amnesty bill for the people facing criminal charges related to political conflict from January 1, 2007 to December 2011".

Guess they are just looking after themselves and their boss.

"The UDD first formed in 2006 to oppose the military government and the military coup, which overthrew Thaksin five weeks before scheduled elections. UDD organized anti-government rallies during the military government's rule in 2006–2007 and opposed the military's 2007 constitution."

"PAD was formally established on February 8, 2006, after Thaksin's family sold shares in Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings.^[33] The PAD saw the transactions as a proof of a conflict of interest",

.........So much for reconciliation