Panel backs appointed drafting assembly

Ukrit Mongkolnawin, chairman of the Independent National Committee to Promote the Rule of Law, has recommended that 34 experts be appointed to a committee to amend the 2007 junta-sponsored charter.

 Ukrit said he would formally present the proposal to the government and Parliament next week. He explained that an expert committee is needed to rewrite the charter because “the government and the people” still do not understand the issue of the rule of law, and that there have been violations of the current charter. 

He said three or four organisations created by the then military junta, known as the Council for National Security, are still in existence – and ought not to be. This, he said, is tantamount to a violation of the people’s sovereignty under the charter.

Ukrit said he won’t be disappointed if the Yingluck Shinawatra administration rejects his proposals, but added that history will at least record his suggestion, which was offered in a spirit of altruism and with society’s interests at heart.

The proposal, if accepted, would spare the expense of having to or-ganise a nation-wide election of members of a Constitution Draft-ing Committee, Ukrit said. Handpicked experts would be more qualified to finish the task, said Ukrit, adding that he is not personally close to any of the 34 people he has in mind and whose identities he will reveal soon.

Seri Suwanphanon, a former member of the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA), said Ukrit’s proposal was “suspicious” and could lead to more conflict. Ukrit’s claim that it would save time, said Seri, was of little consequence given the seriousness of the matter. 

 In a related development, Senator Sak Korsaengruang, believed to be one of the experts who would sit on the constitution-drafting committee at the centre of Ukrit's proposal, said he would wait for more details before reacting the plan. He added that he has many duties as a senator and as president of the Law Society of Thailand.

 Sak refused to say whether the move to rewrite the charter now is appropriate or not, adding, however, that people must examine whether there are any problems with the current charter before making any move.

 Democrat Party spokesperson Chavanond Intarakomalsut said Ukrit’s proposal may itself go against the rule of law, and asked to know what criteria Ukrit is using to select the 34 members. “[The idea] is most dictatorial,” said Chavanond.

 As for the proposal by the Nitirat group of law lecturers to amend the lese majeste law, Chavanond said he was looking into the details of the proposal with a view to charging the lecturers over their use of academic works to harm the institution of the monarchy. Chavanond urged the group to stop sewing “rifts and chaos” in society.

 Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung also reiterated yesterday that the Pheu Thai Party has no plan to amend lese majeste law.