Power will be with the charter drafters, not the people
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The article featuring Jade Donavanik (Personality, yesterday) is headed, "Power to the people". At the same time, it discusses the drafting of the new constitution by a committee of which Donavanik is a member.
The heading would perhaps be more true were it “Power to the Charter Drafting Committee”. The committee is not representative of the people but the constitution is paramount. A constitution identifies a country and the manner in which it is governed.
Much of what Donavanik says would perhaps suggest adopting principles of democracy and yet his penultimate comment is, “If, in the future, Thailand faces an incident that requires military intervention, the charter won’t be ripped up but temporarily suspended”.
Were that to occur then the charter would be proved a failure as would the law and law enforcement. The military within a democracy is apolitical as is the judiciary and the police force. In fact all major institutions are apolitical.
During Obama’s recent visit to Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi proclaimed that if the country wished to be a democracy then it must live within the principles of democracy.
It is puzzling why Thailand does not adopt the same way forward rather than contrive yet another charter, having suffered 19 coups in the last 82 years.
Surely the simplest answer to the situation in Thailand is to take the advice of the great lady – write a constitution embodying all the principles of democracy.
Democracy is defined by its principles that have evolved over centuries as the result of people power – across-society involvement. It is not a perfect form of government but it has proved to be superior to all other forms known to mankind.
Democracy is not intended to “resolve a political divide”. In fact, it thrives on adversity. That is its strength, in law and politics. Freedom of expression is an essential principle.
Thailand really needs to decide whether it wants true democracy or more of the same political unrest with coups and charter rewrites or suspensions. Donavanik would seem to be a little unsure.
JC Wilcox
Bangkok
