Locked In Suspicion Over Thai Charter Change

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BURNING ISSUE
Locked in suspicion over charter change
Avudh Panananda
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The fight over charter change will be messy unless the rival camps stop resorting to trickery in an effort to outwit one another.

The government and its opponents are equally at fault for fuelling animosity.

All sides agree on the untold damage inflicted by the 2006 coup. Hence, it is ironic, even absurd, that relevant parties are citing the coup as a pretext to push for their respective agendas.

Supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra are pushing to amend the charter in order to erase the poisonous legacy of power usurpers.

Opponents of Thaksin are defending the charter not because they find it flawless but out of spite for the ousted leader, whom they see as a bigger foe of democratic rule than all the coup-makers combined.

In a way, the Constitutional Court's decision to launch a review of the constitutionality of the charter-change bill is a rehash of last year's fight over the formation of a constitution drafting assembly (CDA).

The Pheu Thai Party had majority support to rewrite the charter via the CDA. But the opposition successfully petitioned for judicial intervention, which cast doubt on allowing a CDA to completely rewrite the charter.

This month the ruling party activated a new round of charter debate by aiming to amend the Constitution provision-by-provision, in lieu of a major revamp.

Once again the party mustered majority support for its move - and again, the opposition managed to persuade the high court to rule on the constitutionality of the proposed changes.

Regardless of the outcome of the judicial review, the momentum for a charter rewrite is presently in limbo.

The rival camps are likely to carry on debating charter change until the end of time, and it seems this political rough patch will never end.

The fuss over charter amendments would not have happened at all if the government and its opponents opted to work out their mutual distrust ahead of the parliamentary deliberation.

If the government was sincere about amending the charter in order to improve on the political system, it should have tried to reason with the opposition instead of making a hasty legislative push plagued by suspicions of ulterior motives to resolve Thaksin's legal wrangling.

Likewise the opposition should not treat every piece of legislature as if waging a proxy war against Thaksin.

If the pro-Thaksin camp insists on invoking the majority to get its way and if the opposition continually involve the independent organisations to counter and negate the majority, then Thai politics will remain in a quagmire.

Since 2005, the rival camps have been trying to resolve the political stand-off through a number of intermediaries.

After the political polarisation became a full-blown problem, Thaksin named his confidante Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan to convince the Democrats to end their boycott of the 2005 general election.

That spectacularly failed.

When Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva became prime minister in 2008, he designated his secretary-general Nipon Prompan to broker a reconciliation deal with Thaksin. That too was unsuccessful.

Presently, Thaksin has dispatched a number of henchmen to reason with his opponents. An in-law, Bhanapot Damapong, is in charge of swaying the elite. Legal adviser Noppadon Patama is working behind the scenes to pacify the Democrats.

Yet, mutual suspicion seems to persist instead of dissipating.

Perhaps it is high time Thaksin directly approached and tried to talk with key nemeses like Abhisit and Chamlong Srimuang of the People's Alliance for Democracy.


-- The Nation 2013-04-05

[Locationthailand]

It won't really matter because if Thaksin sets foot back here there is more than an even chance he will be assassinated and he is not about to take that chance just yet.

[Buchholz]

Presently, Thaksin has dispatched a number of henchmen to reason with his opponents. An in-law, Bhanapot Damapong, is in charge of swaying the elite. Legal adviser Noppadon Patama is working behind the scenes to pacify the Democrats.

,

Bhanapot Damapong, convicted of tax evasion.

Noppadon Patama, convicted of electoral fraud.

A sterling Team Thaksin.

.