NCPO urged to go ahead with Somsak, Nikom cases
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Experts say NLA empowered by interim charter to follow up on impeachment
Legal experts called on the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) yesterday to impeach the former president of Parliament and his then deputy.
Democrat deputy spokesman and lawyer Rames Rattanachaweng voiced concerns over the issue and urged the NCPO to take action.
“I am concerned about the impeachment case because it poses a big problem. Owing to uncertainty in the law, the NCPO has still not been able to take any action and now the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) has been scrutinising the [impeachment] case and there is still no solution to it,” Rames said.
Last week, the NLA deferred its decision on whether to consider the impeachment of former Parliament president Somsak Kiatsuranon and his then-deputy Nikom Wairat-panich for allegedly violating the charter in connection to amending the composition of the Senate.
Political observers are concerned that the NLA’s decision on the impeachment case would set a standard and affect other cases as well, such as the one against former premier Yingluck Shinawatra in relation to the graft-ridden rice-pledging scheme.
Rames also said he was determined to gather information in relation to the impeachment of other top politicians, in addition to Somsak and Nikom, adding that they reserved the right to defend themselves according to law. But he said it would be a waste if wrongdoers could get away due to legal loopholes.
Some observers have been saying that Somsak and Nikom’s cases should be dropped to promote reconciliation, but Rames said that reconciliation did not mean making compromises and letting wrongdoers get away.
“How can politicians be allowed to violate the law? We all come under the same law, and these politicians can crucially damage the country,” Rames said.
He said if he was taken on as a legal adviser to the NCPO, he would suggest that it use its authority to amend the provisional charter and give the NLA full authority to impeach politicians for wrongdoing.
Former Democrat spokesman Warong Dejkitvikrom, meanwhile, said he did not believe the impeachment of Somsak and Nikom would affect other cases, specifically the one against Yingluck.
‘Clarity necessary’
“The NLA should be clear on these cases, especially since it is empowered to do so under the [interim] charter. However, holding closed-door meetings will only make people question the NLA’s transparency,” Warong warned.
He went on to say that since the NLA was working “as the Senate as stated by the interim charter, it needed to be clear on its authority. Holding closed-door meetings will also make people question the NCPO.”
Warong said Yingluck’s case, filed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission for negligence of duty in regard to the rice-pledging scheme, would be easier to scrutinise and pursue because it comes under the Anti Corruption Act, not just the defunct 2007 charter.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai deputy secretary-general Chawalit Wichaya-sut called on government agencies and politicians to scrutinise the cases without personal prejudice.
“I do not defend the wrongdoers or advocate reconciling with them. If they are proved to be guilty, their cases should be judged under the law and not be based on political disagreements or personal prejudice,” he said.
Chawalit also called on PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and related agencies to resolve the dispute and scrutinise the case thoroughly.
