Charter reform isn't the main issue
For the last 65 years I've seen many new constitutions born and old ones ripped up. We the people didn't have a clue what the fuss was all about. The policemen in my soi still demanded a bribe under every constitution, which neither he nor I had read.
Laws might matter, but the implementation of the law matters much more. India has wonderful laws against rape. If they elevated these laws and enshrined them in the constitution, I wonder, would women suddenly start to feel safe?
You can’t legislate honesty. The current Constitution, with its supposed independent agencies, is not going to stop any politician from finding a new route around it to carry on ripping off the country. The previous Constitution didn’t either. The drafters of the current Constitution cleverly made sure that some old crimes committed under the previous one wouldn’t escape prosecution under the new one. That’s why the affected people are crying foul. Anyway, this technical detail has nothing to do with us, the people.
Those who are so passionate about true democracy should bother less about votes and referendums that embolden governments to screw the people under the guise of democracy. They should be more concerned about a free press and what’s shown or not shown on their TV screens. Never mind Thailand. Even the Chinese government, with a million-man army, quakes in its boots when the media expose a truth they have been trying hard to suppress.
The one who loses an election gracefully is a true democrat. The one who wins an election might or might not be a democrat. Only time will tell. If he’s still in power ten years later, there’s a high probability that he is not one.
Suthep Kittikulsingh
Bangkok
