Let's hear no more about Anand Panyarachun
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha should have used his dictatorial powers to invoke the 1997 charter and schedule elections for November or December this year. The reform and charter-drafting routine will lead to nothing and are mere stalling tactics.
The suggestions that Anand Panyarachun should lead the next charter-drafting charade are based on the false assumption that Anand can restore the 1997 constitution, which was the most democratic in Thailand’s history. To what extent, if any, Anand, who oversaw the drafting of that charter, actually contributed to the cause of democracy was never clear.
Anand was prime minister for the Suchinda Kraprayoon-led junta in the early 1990s. Suchinda was forced out by people power, but at great cost. Anand has always tried to play down the extent of the Black May 1992 massacre, in which hundreds of civilians were gunned down by police and soldiers.
Anand’s record in dealing with the conflict in the deep South is also dubious. The key to solving the Muslim Malay insurgency is in allowing limited forms of autonomy. Asked by then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to report on the matter a decade ago, Anand feigned interest, travelled a bit, met a few people, talked a lot about “diversity”, and agreed that some autonomy should be possible for Pattani. But at the last moment, he turned around and argued against any autonomy, claiming it would lead to secession.
Let’s hear no more about Anand Panyarachun.
Lek Chaiyakhon
