CDC insists crisis panel not on cards
The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has affirmed it has no intention of providing room in the charter for the establishment of the controversial crisis panel.
The CDC is currently studying ways to initiate the reconciliation process, which must be acceptable to all parties, but the CDC said it has no desire to have a National Strategic Reform and Reconciliation Committee, or “crisis committee”, to deal with a critical deadlock of national administration, CDC spokesman Udom Ratammarit said yesterday.
The crisis panel was originally proposed by the now-defunct charter drafting committee led by Borwornsak Uwanno.
Members of the crisis panel would have comprised the top military brass, and would have had the power to override the elected government of the day if they considered it unable to govern by constitutional constraints during a time of intense political conflict.
Politicians accused the former drafters of trying to legitimise coups through the crisis panel, and this is believed to be one of the reasons the proposed charter was voted down by the National Reform Council. The Borwornsak-led committee has now been replaced by the drafting panel chaired by Meechai Ruchupan.
Mr Udom noted the content of the current draft charter still received unfavourable responses from politicians. However, their reaction is not unexpected as some political parties have objected to the draft charter since the beginning.
The parties should keep an open mind since the CDC is trying to find a solution to the contentious issues in the draft, he said. The parties can convey their drafting suggestions to the CDC, which is ready to heed their concerns, he added.
According to the spokesman, the drafters have finished writing almost 200 sections, or 70% of the charter. The CDC is now working on the last few issues, including local administration and reforms during the transition chapter. Views submitted by different parties will be considered, Mr Udom said.
Meanwhile, Mr Meechai announced on Thursday the first draft of the new constitution will be released on Jan 29. The National Human Rights Commission will provide its views on the charter on Monday, Mr Udom said.
National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) member Seri Suwanphanon spoke in favour of abolishing censure debates in parliament, saying they are ineffective at removing cabinet ministers.
Instead the opposition should be given more power to keep governments in check. “Censure debates against a government are only a political game played by the opposition parties and pave the way for [political] bargaining,” Mr Seri said.
Meanwhile, Sompong Srakawee, of the NRSA, said yesterday the assembly will set up a sub-committee to study the amnesty proposal raised by the previous CDC.
He said the sub-panel will give serious consideration to an amnesty, which the Borwornsak-led CDC insisted would ease social conflict by offering to exonerate individuals facing political charges for past protests.
Leaders of rival political groups will be invited to give input to the sub-panel, which will set clear-cut criteria for an amnesty before the next general election expected in mid-2017, Mr Sompong said.