A
hasty push to amend the Constitution may inflame political conflict in
Thailand, so the government should step back and allow the Office of the
Ombudsman to review pertinent issues before activating the rewriting process,
critics said yesterday.
"The government should focus on flood
control and recovery measures and stop being involved in the charter
amendments," Senator Surachai Liengboonlertchai said.
Surachai, one of the writers of the 2007
Constitution, said he was worried about escalating tension as proponents and
opponents fought over the charter rewrite.
"I have heard that the coalition is
trying to sway senators to support the charter amendments in exchange for
letting them complete their [terms in] office instead of risking early
polls."
He said the political situation would go into
free fall if the government used its majority to silence dissenting opinions on
sensitive issues such as punishment by party dissolution (Article 237) and the
constitutional sanction (Article 309) to pave the way for granting an amnesty
to fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjjajiva said
the opposition would not cooperate in the legislative process, such as
submitting its version of the charter-rewriting bill, unless the government
could justify its push for charter change at this juncture.
Abhisit voiced suspicion that the government
had an ulterior motive to rescue Thaksin from his legal predicament.
Democrat MP Atavit Suwannapakdee said the Pheu
Thai-sponsored draft to amend the charter was designed to ensure the
government's dominance over the Constitution Drafting Assembly.
The 77 elected CDA members will likely be Pheu
Thai proxies and the 22 appointed members are to be vetted by the government,
he said.
He said the Democrats would oppose formation
of the CDA, blocking the charter rewrite.
Coalition chief whip Udomdej Rattanasatien
said the coalition parties would today submit a draft bill to amend Article 291
of the Constitution, transferring the mandate for charter rewrite from
Parliament to the CDA.
All coalition partners agreed to activate the
CDA, although the Chart Thai Pattana Party reserved its right to file a
separate draft on charter amendments at a later date, Udomdej said, pointing
out a democratic tactic to ensure options are made available before choosing
the best draft.
The junior coalition party spearheaded the
1997 People's Charter, which was suspended by the 2006 coup, and wants the
spirit of the suspended charter to be kept alive, he said.
He said Pheu Thai and coalition lawmakers had
endorsed the draft bill to activate the charter rewrite. The Cabinet members
did not co-sponsor the bill, he said, arguing that ministers might want to
await the government-sponsored draft, which would be completed at a later date.
News Desk
The Nation
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