BURNING ISSUE

Hopes for a new, progressive constitution dimming fast

Junta's control of drafting process casts shadow over charter

A series of embarrassing complaints is making it more difficult to remain optimistic about the junta-led constitution drafting process.

Yesterday saw another controversial chapter close when veteran spymaster Prasong Soonsiri, a figure close to the junta and privy council president Prem Tinsulanonda, was elected through a secret vote to chair the 35-person panel drafting the charter.

His election occurred amid speculation he is the man the junta wanted to chair the panel.

Some drafters complained of a bloc vote.

Meanwhile, just a day before the vote, Prasong paid a visit to Prem. One must not forget that during the height of the protests against ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Prasong paid numerous visits to People's Alliance for Democracy leader Sondhi Limthongkul and acted as the movement's advisor.

Prasong is far from being a non-controversial figure, but it seems the junta believes he is the right man for the task of drafting a new constitution within the six-month timeframe.

Heavy lobbying occurred prior to the voting for Prasong and some drafters made no secret of it. But whose constitution will it turn out to be?

The people's or the junta's?

Many sceptics abandoned any hope of seeing a progressive constitution long ago.

Those who refuse to accept the legitimacy of the Council for National Security (CNS) say the constitution will be anti-democratic from its very inception.

The junta's hands have been all over the place in the various stages of selecting the drafters, they say.

Those who had been more optimistic are losing what optimism they had. One scandal after another has plagued the selection process since the compromised voting for the short-list of 200 members for the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) early this month.

Then, the previously agreed consensus to reserve the CDA chair for a member of the drafting committee was overturned after only 24 hours on Tuesday.

For die-hard optimists, one must ask how participatory can the constitution be when everything will be required, by the junta again, to be concluded within 180 days?

If that's not enough of a headache, then you have the junta-led referendum scheduled to take place after the first half of this year. This referendum, the first ever for Thailand, is in a way a positive move, but the socio-political context surrounding it is not.

In fact, the referendum on the constitution risks turning into a referendum on the junta itself.

If not handled properly, it could lead to a new round of social confrontation.

Thaksin's supporters are expected to vote against it. Those who may not support Thaksin but oppose the coup will likely vote against it or not cast their vote at all.

At least some of the people who are still optimistic may later be disappointed by the finished product and decide to vote against it, especially if the charter in any way appears to be giving the junta a new lease on live.

Already, some legal experts have predicted this latest charter will not last, saying it will either be scrapped after yet another coup or social unrest.

These naysayers suggest the public should wait until after the junta is gone so people can try to draft a real people's constitution. One is not sure when that will occur, however, especially given the continued climate of political calamity.

One can try to look at the process as yet another political drill. At least the ongoing drafting process will get more people talking about the relevance and importance of having a constitution.

However, no one should delude themselves by thinking that the majority of Thai people are deeply versed in constitutional rights or suggest that the constitution is a deeply ingrained part of the political culture for the majority of the populace.

The fact is likely the opposite; so more debate about the constitution should always be welcomed.

Perhaps the whole drafting process will distract the public from more urgent or even ugly political issues.

The media cannot fail to report on it and even this article is one such example.

This is the price the whole society has to pay since staging a coup entailed that the existing constitution must be nullified so the coup-makers would not be guilty of "breaking the law".

Is all this a small price for Thai society to pay?

Well, it depends on who you ask.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation Thailand
Sunday January 28, 2007