Can Thailand solve its political impasse without a 'crisis panel'?

It is widely acknowledged now that inclusion of the NSRRC was a key reason for the rejection of the previous draft, given widespread criticism of the proposed “crisis” panel for weeks prior to the September 6 vote.
The controversial point of the panel was the authority it would assume in the event of an emergency or a crisis; the committee would have supreme power over the executive and the legislative branches at such a time.
Thus, it was viewed by many, especially politicians, as undemocratic because it would create “a state within a state” and allow the NSRRC to overrule the elected government in a time of crisis.
However, others defended the NSRRC as a necessary measure to deal with political impasses the country may very likely face. They stressed that the body did not necessarily overrule the government since it would only have ultimate power during an emergency. They also noted that the body could prevent military intervention or a coup, which would undermine the country’s credibility in the international arena.
Several political academics recently said they believe a similar mechanism will be put in the new charter draft, although its form would be different. But whether or not it is desperately needed is the subject of debate.
Sirote Klampaiboon, an independent political science scholar and critic, said he believed an NSRRC-like body would be included in the new draft. He suspected that opposition voices may be thin in number, given that people opposed to the previous draft had a mixed agenda.
“We have to see whether the draft was rejected because they saw the NSRRC as really problematic in principle, or the move was [interpreted] by those who saw it as a game allowed by the NCPO.”
He believed the charter was shot down because its rejection gave the junta a further seven months in office.
Sirote predicted that objections to the new charter would be light and it could possibly pass a refer?endum.
But conceptually speaking, the scholar did not think such a committee [the NSSRC] was necessary, as he does not think Thailand is in a serious crisis. Compared with France or Germany, which had gone through world wars, the political divide here was of another context, he said.
If the country really faced a crisis in the future, it was Sirote’s view that an NSRRC-like body would not be the answer. He said past conflicts were more likely caused by differences in ideology involving millions of people. A future conflict of a similar kind was unlikely to be solved by a group of 15-20 people who had not even been elected by the people.
If there was to be a body to deal with a national crisis, Sirote suggested it had to be based on the Parliament or anything that could link up with the people’s power.
Sirote said the NSRRC’s advocates would claim such a committee was necessary to keep peace and order when the country goes through a transitional period. But he said people should reflect hard on the situation if we were not able to get through a troubled phase without violence because of the absence of such a strategic body, or because there were bodies setting out to overthrow rules to keep the peace.
If the latter was the case, an NSRRC-like body wouldn’t help, he concluded.
Likhit Dhiravegin, a former drafter of the 1997 Constitution and fellow of the Royal Society Institute, said he had no idea what the junta’s next move would be. However, he warned that it would have to answer a lot of questions if anything like the NSRRC appeared in the new draft, given it was one of the contentious points that caused the previous draft to be rejected.
Likhit expressed strong opposition against such a body, saying it was undemocratic.
“What’s the point of having an election when there’s going to be a body overruling those elected?” said.
Asked what body could best to tackle a political crisis, he said: “A regime incapable of solving problems is a bad one,” adding that if elected politicians could not solve the problem, then we should give up on democracy.
Likhit invited people to consider if the problems and crises that the country faces were natural or man-made.
He said if a crisis was natural or real, he believed the regime would always be able to figure a way out. But if a government failed to do its job and solve the problem, there would be no way it could persist.
“There’s no such a thing as a dead-end crisis,” Likhit remarked. “If a government fails to fix things, it should be dissolved one way or another. Also, it wouldn’t be re-elected.”
Likhit said people should keep opposing the idea of installing such a mechanism in the new charter. “The military should stay in power as the coup-maker then, because there are really no other ways out.”
Attasit Pankaew, a political scientist from Thammasat University, said that if such a body was necessary for crisis management, perhaps its temporary status and role may offer a solution.
He suggested that the charter leave room for the military to come in an adviser to the government when there is an impasse, given the fact a permanent body like the NSRRC was highly unpopular and may well block approval of the draft charter.
More importantly, he emphasised that it was crucial that the draft charter also addressed how those in charge of dealing with the crisis be accountable for what they do. He explained that if anybody was affected from the crisis management, they had to be held responsible.
Ekachai Chainuvati, law lecturer from Siam University, predicted that there would be another attempt to include an NSRRC-like mechanism into the new draft. He emphasised that if a strategic body to tackle a national crisis was needed, it should be linked to power of the people.
“I can accept such a mechanism [which could overrule the executive and legislative branches] on two conditions: one is that it could refer back to the people, and two, it could be checked and balanced by other organisations,” he said.
Only through this way could it be said that the mechanism resembled Article 16 of France’s Constitution, which gives supreme power to the president when an emergency situation occurs, he said.