PM confirms he won’t use Section 44 to deal with Phra Dhammachayo

[rooster59]

PM confirms he won’t use Section 44 to deal with Phra Dhammachayo

BANGKOK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha reiterated that he would not invoke Section 44 of the interim constitution to deal with Phra Dhammachayo because there are other ordinary laws which can be used to deal with the case.

He said that he is ready to accept the ruling of the Council of State regarding the interpretation of Section 7 of the Monastic Act about who has the power to nominate the appointment of the new supreme patriarch. However, he quickly added that he had not yet seen the council’s ruling.

As far as the government is concerned, Prime Minister Prayut maintained that he is willing to follow the council’s ruling on the person authorized to nominate the new supreme patriarch if there won’t be any problem.

He indicated that if the appointment of a new supreme patriarch will result in troubles, then he will not do it.

Personally, he said he has respect for all Buddhist monks provided that they are good monks.

He noted that laws are not written in a way that the supreme patriarch must be appointed and, hence, it would depend on his judgement on how or what to do under the present circumstances.

He insisted that he is not biased against any monks in particular but since the issue at stake involves Thai people throughout the country and Buddhism in Thailand he has to be neutral and will not make any decision by himself but with the consultation of several other people.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/pm-confirms-wont-use-section-44-deal-phra-dhammachayo/

-- Thai PBS 2016-07-09

[sjjmmi]

Waiting for the spaceship to take off

[arthurboy]

Given the vast amounts of money involved and the huge land 'donations' made, this is not at all surprising.

I guess that the utter incompetence over the handling of this case has nothing to do with other very influential, unnamed people being involved...

[NongKhaiKid]

No fool this PM, he's going to be very careful about who he takes on.

He's right that there are perfectly adequate ' ordinary ' laws available so why isn't he ensuring the relevant agencies do their job and use them ?

Edited July 8, 2016 by NongKhaiKid

[ratcatcher]

"Personally, he said he has respect for all Buddhist monks provided that they are good monks."

I can only assume that statement rules out a large portion of the monkhood, since the main person in this whole sad saga is not a good monk.

And then there are all the monks who've taken up the saffron after killing people or being involved in some shady business. It's conveniently called "merit making". Ought to be called "merry making".

[colinneil]

Prayut says he has respect for all buddists as long as they are good monks

Please stop the laughing is now hurting .

[ezzra]

So, selective application of section 44 than? the PM will decides who to apply it to and who's not,

and I thought that the law is equal and applicable to all, and with this arbitrary 'common sense'

how do you expect to take the PM and the law seriously?.....

[tx22cb]

In which normal country does the PM appoint the leader of any religion?

Prayut is right - the Govt should stay out of religion.

The Thai govt does not appoint who the leader of the Christian clergy in Thailand is, nor that of the Muslim faith.

So why should it appoint the leader of the Buddhist monks in Thailand?

[MaxLee]

Okay,.... business as usual, case closed......

[The stuttering parrot]

These ain't no 7 students daring to voice a no vote

These ain't no brawling school students.

These ain't no sandwich eating protesters.

They are however in the same class as the land encroachment mob who have article 44 invoked on them yet because such is the influence money and Hiso followers the PM has once again shown his bias towards the privileged society which in the end will be his downfall.

[cockatoowho]

Bit too close to home PM, had a few calls from associates have we?

[Balance]

What happened to rooting out corruption and crimes and theft from hard working people? Is the PM going to pay for the corruption and refund all of the money taken from the workers retirement accounts? When will he do this?

He has said in the past that there are no people who are above the law and that everyone will be treated equally. Well, we now know that was a bunch of crap.

Anyway, not to worry as Thailand is marching to become a developed country.

[klauskunkel]

The tough talking Army General, kickboxing PM is in fact a KFC ingredient.

Edited July 9, 2016 by klauskunkel

[tuanku]

PM confirms he won’t [use Section 44 to] deal with Phra Dhammachayo

[chainarong]

I was so please at hearing this news , I hit the piss.............................

[Classic Ray]

.

In which normal country does the PM appoint the leader of any religion?

Prayut is right - the Govt should stay out of religion.

The Thai govt does not appoint who the leader of the Christian clergy in Thailand is, nor that of the Muslim faith.

So why should it appoint the leader of the Buddhist monks in Thailand?

In the UK the following practice takes place (quote from Wikipedia)

In the Middle Ages there was considerable variation in the methods of nomination of the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops. At various times the choice was made by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral, the Pope, or the King of England. Since the English Reformation, the Church of England has been more explicitly a state church and the choice is legally that of the Crown; today it is made by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister, who receives a shortlist of two names from an ad hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission

[TheLogikal1]

Bet "Hello Kitty' won't get his vote! ROFLMAO

[sanukjim]

Because the PM has NO BALLS.

[dieseldave1951]

something should be done as this monk appears to be guilty by vertue of the fact he refuses to be interviewed by the authorities, who then can make roads to exonerate him of all charges, still getting the brown envolpes ready maybe ?????

In which normal country does the PM appoint the leader of any religion?

Prayut is right - the Govt should stay out of religion.

The Thai govt does not appoint who the leader of the Christian clergy in Thailand is, nor that of the Muslim faith.

So why should it appoint the leader of the Buddhist monks in Thailand?

[dieseldave1951]

Prayut says he has respect for all buddists as long as they are good monks

Please stop the laughing is now hurting .

good at what ummm anything as long as they don't get caught

so what category do the deadly car drivers gay murderers and all those that go to tho temple to escape the media

[sujoop]

Thaksin and the Dhammakaya:

https://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/thailand-buddhist-feud-threatens-fragile-peace

Edited July 9, 2016 by sujoop

[Emster23]

PM just gave a wink to the monk, more or less said "Don't worry, we are not serious about this".

If PM actually meant for government to do something about this sham investigation etc he would say "We're keeping our options open". at the very least.

[connda]

Another two-tiered justice system example. A normal person would be arrested already. This guy? He gets to make a spectacle out of lauding his 'untouchable' status to the entire country, something that is not lost on the news media who reports on this stupidity daily.