Push for anti-coup law

An anti-coup bill is currently under initial consideration of the House Committee on Military Affairs.

If it is placed before Parliament for deliberation and sails through, the government will no longer have to worry about the possibility of a sudden military-led power seizure.

Democrat MP Kowit Tharana, who is deputy chair of the House committee, said he was against the bill because it aimed to reduce the military’s authority and give way to political intervention. He said that setting up a subcommittee did not mean the panel has agreed to consider it.

Thailand has seen coups at regular intervals in its history since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

The House Committee on Law Modernisation, set up by the House speaker, has already proposed the anti-coup draft law or the Defence Ministry Reorganisation Bill to the House Committee on Military Affairs.

Chaired by Pheu Thai MP General Somchai Wisanuwong, the House committee has now set up a panel to consider the bill.

"The essence of this draft law is about preventing a coup," the secretary of the House speaker, Prasop Busarakham, said yesterday in his capacity as the chair of the Committee on Law Modernisation.

According to the bill, any proposed appointment of general-ranking military officers would need the endorsement of the defence minister and the deputy defence minister. The defence minister will also have a role to play in providing security to the Royal Family.

 

‘Political ploy’

A military legal expert said the bill was meant to merely stop the top brass from opposing the government’s amnesty bill if it did get implemented after undergoing the parliamentary process.

"All measures in the Reorganisation Bill will become ineffective when it comes to practise and justification," the high-ranking officer, who asked not to be named, said. He went on to say that the bill would not even have to be considered by the Defence Council, because it is not being initiated by the military or the Defence Ministry. "It’s a bill initiated by the House, which has to be promulgated through the parliamentary process. But it’s another matter whether the law is justifiable enough to be followed later," the source said.

Speaking about the point in which the Royal Aide-De-Camp Department is authorised to provide security and protection to the monarchy in case of a coup or political violence, the source said this was the military’s mandate anyway.

"Adding that condition to the bill is only meant to show the bill was written by a loyal subject ready to protect the monarchy, but the real intent is to block the military from stopping the Pheu Thai government’s political ploys," the source said without elaborating.

Prasop, a Pheu Thai member, said the bill would ensure

that political-office holders are more powerful than military leaders.

"If we can prevent coup-makers from reaching the King, coup attempts would fail," he said.

Prasop said if the Defence Ministry Reorganisation Bill sailed through, the defence minister would have the authority to command coup-thwarting operations. "Soldiers can’t stay idle when a coup is in the making," Prasop said, "This draft law states clearly that soldiers have the duty to quell a coup."

‘Soldiers must respect laws’

Asked whether the armed forces had agreed to embrace the bill, Prasop said all soldiers had to respect laws.

According to him, a group of at least 20 MPs can propose a draft law to Parliament. The House Committee on Military Affairs has 15 members.

"If the House committee agrees with the bill, we shouldn’t have problems getting the support of five more MPs," Prasop said.

He believed it would be best to |propose the Defence Ministry Reorganisation Bill via a House committee, as both opposition and government MPs were on the committee.

"If the government proposes the bill, some critics will label it as the government’s law," he said. The former MP said he was not worried about the reactions towards the Defence Ministry Reorganisation Act.

"No matter what the reactions are, I am ready to face it. I have to work for the country," Prasop said.

He believed the courts should take action against coup-makers, too, suggesting that the courts should strictly invoke Article 113 of the Criminal Code.

This article prescribes life imprisonment/death sentence for coup-makers.

Asked which organisation or which person would dare to challenge coup-makers, Prasop said the pressure on coup-makers was huge these days.

"Due to the pressure, they will likely lose power within two years. When they lose power, we can lodge a complaint with the court against them," Prasop said.

General Somchai Wissanuwong, the chairman of the House Committee, said the bill had been brought up in last week’s meeting and would be discussed further on July 31. Members of the military’s Judge Advocate-General’s Department will also be present to study the legal aspects. The panel has set up a subcommittee led by Pheu Thai MP retired admiral Suraphol Jaendaeng to study the bill in detail. Somchai said he had no clear understanding of the bill and was not aware of Prasop’s motive behind his proposal for the bill.