Charupong vows unity, charter bid

New Pheu Thai Party leader and Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan has vowed to press ahead with the controversial reconciliation and charter amendment bills, renewing fears of a new round of political unrest.

In an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post, he said the government would proceed with amending the charter while at the same time push the so-called national reconciliation bills through a referendum and public forums. The whole process should be completed within this parliamentary session, said Mr Charupong.

Earlier this week, Pheu Thai secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai said the ruling party's leadership was restructured especially to expand membership, a strategy that will support an attempt to change the charter.

Mr Phumtham said Pheu Thai would try to persuade the public to accept the reasons for the changes.

Chusak Sirinil, a Pheu Thai legal adviser, said on Tuesday the coalition's working group on constitutional amendments will decide soon whether to proceed with the third reading of the bill to amend Section 291 of the constitution. Mr Chusak is a member of the working group. He said the government plans to change Section 291 to pave the way for a constitution drafting assembly to write a new charter.

Moves to amend Section 291 stopped on July 13, after opponents asked the Constitution Court to rule whether the proposed changes were part of a plan to overthrow the monarchy.

At that point, the Pheu Thai-led government backed away from deliberation of the bill in its third and final reading.

The House voted on May 31 to move the four reconciliation bills to the top of the agenda for urgent deliberation.

This was met by opposition from the Democrat Party and a protest by the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy, which blockaded parliament on June 1 to prevent lawmakers debating the bills.

The Democrats and yellow shirts have since decried the legislation as an attempt to whitewash ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's crimes. The House went into recess on June 19 without deliberating the bills. The bills have since been shelved.

Mr Charupong admitted the Interior Ministry had been unsuccessful in previous efforts to organise public forums on the constitutional amendment attempts because it lacked knowledgeable speakers.

To resolve this, the government would now search for qualified figures known to be politically neutral _ not being branded either yellow- or red-shirt people, said the Pheu Thai Party leader.

These figures could be academics from several educational institutions and their main task would be to screen people who would take part in the public forums to be organised by the ministry's Community Development Department, he said.

All the reconciliation and charter amendment bills would be aired together at the public hearings to reduce the costs of organising the forums, according to Mr Charupong.

"Both issues [reconciliation and charter amendment] are equally important," he said.

The minister conceded that society is still greatly divided on the two issues. He said, however, that the the charter amendment bills could not be left pending in parliament and had to be passed within this current session.

The government would never attempt to exacerbate the situation. It would proceed with patience and try to listen to the public more, he said.

"This will not happen [without listening to opposing voices]," he said.

The large turn-out at the Pitak Siam rally last Sunday was a reminder that the government cannot afford to be complacent, he said.

Share your thoughts

Discussion 1 : 03/11/2012 at 01:04 AM
Disc #8 Do you really think the polls reflect what the population thinks? On average they poll approx. 1200-1300 people out of 65 mill. We never know how the questions are asked and I doubt many people even know what the changes would be let alone whats in the constitution now.
Discussion 2 : 02/11/2012 at 02:23 PM
RE:d17...bikeme.in answer to the question just read the entire quote. and,Sorry I did not write that statement but have seem many scholars make similar statements and do believe it is for the most part true. And let me ask you how do you feel the 06 constitution was an improvement on peoples rights over the 97 version? Even Abhisit claimed he did not like the 06 version, and in act he did not write it, the military did, and for their own purposes. And that purpose is to get back some of the control that was denied them in the 97 version.
Discussion 3 : 02/11/2012 at 01:18 PM
So to achieve reconciliation, PT's plan is to press ahead with the plan to whitewash the criminal Thaksin which absolutely GUARANTEES mass protests on the street? Genius.
Discussion 4 : 02/11/2012 at 11:35 AM
D13 bkposter - A landmark of what? As compared to previous Thai constitutions? As compared to the constitutions of successful mature democracies? Yes it was an improvement over previous Thai constitutions, albiet full of loopholes (some of which were closed with the current constitution), but on an international scale it was far from landmark status, more like kindergarten.
Discussion 5 : 02/11/2012 at 10:37 AM
bikeme 12 - "the key word in those quotes is AMEND, which is the correct approach. However the PTP want to totally rewrite a new constitution." "he said the government would proceed with amending the charter... third reading of the bill to amend Section 291...Moves to amend Section 291...organise public forums on the constitutional amendment" BangkokPost, this article
Discussion 6 : 02/11/2012 at 10:33 AM
I am expecting Thaksin to find a way to rig the process of a public referendum so that he gets the winning total. Perhaps by using the Village Chief and Kamnan Association (or whatever it is called), which he controls. Whatever result he creates, street demonstrations will increase to stop him returning. The Red Shirt mobs will intimidate and get violent, just to add oil to the fire. The more Thaksin tries to force his way back, the less chance he has of succeeding. He should stay in Dubai and enjoy counting his hundreds of billions.
Discussion 7 : 02/11/2012 at 10:18 AM
As can be seen by poster comments, most still can't see the difference between the charter and the reconciliation bill and continue to get the comment irrelevant. Also better for serious posters to check the details of the charter changes and made comment on the rationality of such changes. Afterall, Ahibisit himself agree that the current constitution has flaws and openly declared that it need changes on his first day of office. Rest is history.
Discussion 8 : 02/11/2012 at 09:34 AM
RE: D9 you are correct and they are separate issues. But let me quote something that is often written " The 1997 Constitution, often called the "People's Constitution," was considered a landmark in terms of the degree of public participation involved in its drafting as well as the democratic nature of its articles. It stipulated a bicameral legislature, both houses of which were elected. Many human rights were explicitly acknowledged for the first time, and measures were established to increase the stability of elected governments." I don't think anyone thinks the 06 version is better, but many believe that some of the elite like the 0
Discussion 9 : 02/11/2012 at 09:17 AM
D2 facts_only - the key word in those quotes is AMEND, which is the correct approach. However the PTP want to totally rewrite a new constitution. Amending forces each change to be discussed and debated one at a time. This forces honesty and transparency for each change. A total rewrite put all changes in a single debate and as the public never reads the entire constitution keeps most devious changes out of view. I have no problem with amending a couple of sections, I oppose a single party controlled rewrite of the entire constitution.
Discussion 10 : 02/11/2012 at 08:14 AM
Please keep trying to manipulate the constitution to bring Thaksin back .It will be your downfall .
Discussion 11 : 02/11/2012 at 08:14 AM
Let me get out my secret Peua Thai decoder ring. Unity, charter bid = Thaksin-whitewash, autocratic consolidation of country.
Discussion 12 : 02/11/2012 at 07:20 AM
I don't think you can mention unity and charter re-write in the same sentence. Charter amendment is more realistic but even that is going to be controversial given the hidden agenda that the sponsors have. As for the amnesty bill, in its current form its just going to bring the protesters and coup protagonists back on to the streets.
Discussion 13 : 02/11/2012 at 07:10 AM
RE: D5 seems to me that the polls I saw said that the majority were in favor of both these bills. Also seems to me that the majority of MPs are in favor.....And the biggest hanging point on both are the changes in democratically elected Senators instead of "appointed by the elite only" senators. And this seems to be a contentious point as the senate appoints the courts. The Elite had total control on the courts until the 1997 constitution leveled the field and stopped them from using the courts as a personal political tool as they alone had say over who would be the judges. I have never seen a scholar that claimed the 06 constitution was Su
Discussion 14 : 02/11/2012 at 07:02 AM
'Thaksin/Pheu Thai would try to persuade the public to accept the reasons for the changes'. And they are ? What difference will any change make ? How will they improve life for anyone other than the fugitive ?
Discussion 15 : 02/11/2012 at 06:59 AM
Sorry I might have missed something in all of this. Has the Gov actually ever said what the changes will be? Can BP please provide its readers with a breakdown of the suggested changes? If unable to do so then BP should be instruct its journalists to do nothing but ask the relevant questions. "What are the changes? What are the changes? etc etc etc." Never give up and never surender
Discussion 16 : 02/11/2012 at 06:39 AM
Mr Phumtham said Pheu Thai would try to persuade the public to accept the reasons for the changes. And if the public doesn't accept the reasons they will go ahead anyway. Quote All the reconciliation and charter amendment bills would be aired together at the public hearings to reduce the costs of organising the forums, according to Mr Charupong. "Both issues [reconciliation and charter amendment] are equally important," he said. The minister conceded that society is still greatly divided on the two issues. He said, however, that the the charter amendment bills could not be left pending in parliament and had to be passed within this c
Discussion 17 : 02/11/2012 at 06:38 AM
In other words this so-called new Pheu Thai Party leader has the same goal of all Pheu Thai top members; to work for the good of the party (not the country) and bring home the fugitive. The Thai people, daily killings in the south, corruption, Dark Age’s education system, preparing the people for the AEC, evolving from 2G, finding a lasting solution to water management and basically anything to help the country can all sit on the far back burner and wait. The goal is absolute power that has already absolutely corrupted this government and most everything it touches. And they do it all in plain sight with no respect for the peoples intellige
Discussion 18 : 02/11/2012 at 05:44 AM
It becomes very obvious how contrived, manipulated and disingenuous this whole thing has been when you consider the quotes, facts_only, (Disc. 2) offers along with the rejection of early elections during the riots which the red shirts leadership claimed was key to ending the occupation. The insult to the intelligence of the average person in the face of the transparency of the details behind, "reconciliation", is quite telling.
Discussion 19 : 02/11/2012 at 04:49 AM
"The best solution for the current political crisis is to amend the constitution to pave the way for political reform." Abhisit, Feb 26, 2006 "Before dissolution we need to first to agree to amend the constitution." - Abhisit, March 28, 2010 "A joint sitting of parliament on Friday passed two constitution amendment bills in the final reading without the presence of MPs of the opposition Puea Thai Party, who staged a walk-out." - BangkokPost, Feb 11, 2011
Discussion 20 : 02/11/2012 at 03:20 AM
May be we should call it "Disunity Bill," because it will have just the opposite effect by destabilize the already bad situation even more. The Yellow Shirts will sure come out and raise hell on the streets again. And if "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is in effect, they will join the Pitak Siam, and the Muti-Colors crowds. Although, all of them combined can't outvote the Red Shirts at the Poll, they can create plenty of havocs for PM YS. And if they all are successful in creating another absolute anarchy, another unwanted coup will become a real possibility. But at the end, for what, other than more needless bloodshed and violence?

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