ID :
127542
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 19:13
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http://m.oananews.org//node/127542
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Thai Constitutional amendments part of national reconciliation plan
BANGKOK, June 12 (TNA) -- Amendments to the Thai Constitution are expected as part of a proposal initiated by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in his national reconciliation plan aimed at ridding social injustices prevailing in Thai society, according to Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, rector of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA).
Dr Sombat, appointed by the prime minister to head a working group to consider Thai law and revising the Constitution, said he had been asked by the premier to reconsider six amendments of the 2007 charter and whether the amendments are needed and whether they will benefit the country.
Six charter amendments were proposed earlier by the former committee, comprising mainly elected members of parliament and senators. The proposal brought an outcry from critics who feared the changes would only serve politicians and not the whole country.
Dr Sombat said all six proposals will be reviewed by his 19-member working committee. Their names have been sent to Mr Abhisit for his approval and their first meeting, to which the prime minister will be invited, will be held soon.
The study could be concluded by yearend, he said.
An amnesty for politicians banned from engaging in political activities for five consecutive years in line with the current 2007 Constitution was not proposed among the amendments, Dr Sombat said, adding that the issue could be considered if it is raised by many people.
Some 220 members of parliament from four political parties--including the Thai Rak Thai Party founded by ousted, fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra--have been banned from engaging in political activities for five consecutive years after election frauds. The four political parties were also dissolved.
The six amendments proposed by the former committee include a punishment for MPs engaged in fraud without dissolving the parties, reintroduction of the 1997 charter requiring all senators to be elected and minimum qualifications of party list MPs not needed as specified in the 1997 constitution, abolished following the September 2006 coup.
In related development, the Associated Press quoted Thailand's special envoy Kiat Sittheeamorn as saying in an interview in the US that Mr Abhisit's government does not want to rush into elections before dealing with the deep social divisions that sparked violent clashes between protesters and soldiers last month.
He said that an early election without solving the problem will only drag the country into a similar problem again.
Mr Kiat, who is also Thailand's trade representative, met this week in the United States with senior White House and State Department officials and with US lawmakers to explain his country's efforts at reconciliation. He said it was very unlikely elections would be held this year.
Meanwhile, human rights protection group Amnesty International called on Mr Abhisit to ensure an independent and impartial investigation into recent unrest and to lift a state of emergency immediately, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), a French news agency.
Former attorney-general Kanit Na Nakorn was apponted to head an independent panel tasked to provide an impartial assessment of what happened in Thailand's worst ever domestic violence--the recent protests by the anti-government 'Red Shirt' United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
He said said his investigation will focus on fact-finding for national reconciliation, not attempt to find culprits for prosecution.
At least 89 persons were killed and nearly 1,200 were wounded during the confrontation between army personnel and Red Shirt protesters. Most casualties occurred on April 10 at Ratchadamnoen Avenue’s Khok Wua intersection and on May 19 when the army sealed off Ratchaprasong intersection.
The prime minister's five-point national reconciliation plan comprises upholding the monarchy, resolving fundamental problems of social injustice, enabling media's constructive operation, establishing the facts about the violence by an independent fact finding committee and establishing mutually acceptable political rules.(TNA)
Dr Sombat, appointed by the prime minister to head a working group to consider Thai law and revising the Constitution, said he had been asked by the premier to reconsider six amendments of the 2007 charter and whether the amendments are needed and whether they will benefit the country.
Six charter amendments were proposed earlier by the former committee, comprising mainly elected members of parliament and senators. The proposal brought an outcry from critics who feared the changes would only serve politicians and not the whole country.
Dr Sombat said all six proposals will be reviewed by his 19-member working committee. Their names have been sent to Mr Abhisit for his approval and their first meeting, to which the prime minister will be invited, will be held soon.
The study could be concluded by yearend, he said.
An amnesty for politicians banned from engaging in political activities for five consecutive years in line with the current 2007 Constitution was not proposed among the amendments, Dr Sombat said, adding that the issue could be considered if it is raised by many people.
Some 220 members of parliament from four political parties--including the Thai Rak Thai Party founded by ousted, fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra--have been banned from engaging in political activities for five consecutive years after election frauds. The four political parties were also dissolved.
The six amendments proposed by the former committee include a punishment for MPs engaged in fraud without dissolving the parties, reintroduction of the 1997 charter requiring all senators to be elected and minimum qualifications of party list MPs not needed as specified in the 1997 constitution, abolished following the September 2006 coup.
In related development, the Associated Press quoted Thailand's special envoy Kiat Sittheeamorn as saying in an interview in the US that Mr Abhisit's government does not want to rush into elections before dealing with the deep social divisions that sparked violent clashes between protesters and soldiers last month.
He said that an early election without solving the problem will only drag the country into a similar problem again.
Mr Kiat, who is also Thailand's trade representative, met this week in the United States with senior White House and State Department officials and with US lawmakers to explain his country's efforts at reconciliation. He said it was very unlikely elections would be held this year.
Meanwhile, human rights protection group Amnesty International called on Mr Abhisit to ensure an independent and impartial investigation into recent unrest and to lift a state of emergency immediately, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), a French news agency.
Former attorney-general Kanit Na Nakorn was apponted to head an independent panel tasked to provide an impartial assessment of what happened in Thailand's worst ever domestic violence--the recent protests by the anti-government 'Red Shirt' United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
He said said his investigation will focus on fact-finding for national reconciliation, not attempt to find culprits for prosecution.
At least 89 persons were killed and nearly 1,200 were wounded during the confrontation between army personnel and Red Shirt protesters. Most casualties occurred on April 10 at Ratchadamnoen Avenue’s Khok Wua intersection and on May 19 when the army sealed off Ratchaprasong intersection.
The prime minister's five-point national reconciliation plan comprises upholding the monarchy, resolving fundamental problems of social injustice, enabling media's constructive operation, establishing the facts about the violence by an independent fact finding committee and establishing mutually acceptable political rules.(TNA)
