Elephant Guide to Thailand
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Yet another constitution for Thailand |
Thailand's coup-installed military regime has told citizens to
vote "yes" for a new constitution, written while half the country
is muzzled under martial law, or accept a mysterious back-up
constitution which is being kept secret from the public. In a
bizarre political game of constitutional hide-and-seek, the junta
refused to reveal which of Thailand's 17 previous constitutions it
might use, or what amendments might be added, if a majority "no"
vote on Aug. 19 thwarts their draft.
"This is ridiculous. It is a matter of national interest and
concern," said Somchai Preechasilpakul, dean of Chiang Mai
University's law faculty. The coup leaders "should not be hiding
anything," Mr. Somchai said on Aug. 4. Many Thai and foreign
analysts predicted a victory for the regime's "yes" campaign,
after the junta mailed copies of the new, thick constitution to
millions of households in this Southeast Asian Buddhist nation.
"I received one, and I started to read it, but I didn't finish,"
one middle-aged businesswoman, who asked not to be identified, said
in an interview.
"I think we Thais are lazy and not many people will read the entire
constitution. But I will vote 'yes' because they say it is an
improvement." The junta also offered a simplified cartoon version
of the draft constitution for apathetic or poorly educated Thais.
The new constitution could help battle corruption and tighten
loopholes which flawed the popular 1997 "people's constitution,"
according to analysts and regime officials. Elected politicians
would be weakened and have their numbers shrunken, however, while
appointed judges would be gain powers to install top officials. The
politicized, U.S.-trained military would also increase its
influence in Thailand, a "non-NATO ally" of America. A 150-seat
Senate would include 76 elected politicians and 74 appointed
members.
"The appointment of half of the senators also insults the
intelligence of the people," said Thongbai Thongpao, a prominent
human rights lawyer. Parliament's 480-member Lower House would get
400 members elected by constituency, plus 80 elected by
proportional representation -- a mix designed to hobble big
political parties, according to Chulalongkorn University law
professor Vitit Muntarbhorn. "The draft text clearly shows a degree
of mistrust towards politicians, especially those in the
executive," Mr. Vitit wrote in an analysis published on Aug. 6.
Supporters of a "no" vote complained of harassment and threats,
after their anti-coup rallies attracted several thousand people in
Bangkok in recent weeks.
"The referendum on the draft constitution has the facade of being a
democratic choice, but it is being carried out under a distinctly
undemocratic and repressive climate," the English-language Bangkok
Post's Aug. 1 editorial said. "The threat that the country will
remain unsettled unless we vote for the draft charter is a cheap
scare tactic, but one that seems to be working," the editorial
said. The junta, meanwhile, continues to demonize and prosecute
Thaksin Shinawatra, the thrice-elected prime minister it toppled on
Sept. 19, 2006 in a bloodless coup.
A "yes" vote will prevent Mr. Thaksin, his cronies, and other
politicians from wielding abusive political and financial power,
the regime said. Junta-appointed tribunals froze billions of
dollars in cash and assets held by Mr. Thaksin, his family and top
officials, amid charges -- still unproven -- of massive corruption.
The new constitution gives amnesty to the coup leaders who used
tanks, armored personnel carriers and hundreds of armed troops to
overthrow Mr. Thaksin's authoritarian, monopolistic government.
Despite more than a dozen coups since the 1930s, the 2006 coup was
cheered by many well-off Thai residents, businessmen,
intellectuals, reporters, academics and others, but criticism
increased after the country's economy faltered.
Mr. Thaksin hides in self-exile in England, where he recently
purchased the Manchester City football club while defending his
five-year administration from charges of wrongdoing. "If there were
to be free and fair elections, my party would win again, because
this is the first time in Thai history that they have overthrown a
very popular government," Mr. Thaksin said in Manchester on Aug. 5.
Human rights campaigners demand the regime investigate 2,500
extra-judicial killings committed during three months in 2003, when
Mr. Thaksin led a brutal "war on drugs." Mr. Thaksin vowed to
create "drug-free" provinces, and officials proudly posted
statistics of the spiraling death toll. Mr. Thaksin claimed the
killings were by smugglers, dealers and addicts murdering each
other in a frenzied turf war.
"As far as I am concerned, he [Mr. Thaksin] has never instructed
any public officer to execute a drug dealer," Mr. Thaksin's legal
adviser, Noppadon Pattama, said on July 31. "We just tried to solve
the drug problem in Thailand by getting tough with criminals. But
he has never issued any instructions for shoot-to-ill policies,"
Mr. Noppadon told reporters. Mr. Thaksin is a former police
officer, and received a master's degree in criminal justice at
Eastern Kentucky University, and a Ph.D. in criminal justice at Sam
Houston State University in Texas. He met, and adored, American
President George W. Bush.
"We are both Texans, and have a Texas style of leadership," Mr.
Thaksin told applauding U.S. investors in 2004.
Written By: Richard S Ehrlich - a Bangkok-based
journalist who has reported news from Asia since 1978 and is
co-author of "Hello My Big Big Honey!", a non-fiction book of
investigative journalism. He received Columbia University's
Graduate School of Journalism's Foreign Correspondents Award.
Source:
Global Politician
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