Chaturon slams govt’s plan for unity talks as too late
Pheu Thai Party key figure Chaturon Chaisaeng has slammed the government’s belated attempt to gather views on reforms from all stakeholders, saying the process should have started three years ago.
He was referring to the unity talks which have been initiated by a government committee on national reconciliation chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
The government began discussions on reconciliation with politicians on Valentine’s Day, with a set of 10 topics for politicians to contribute ideas regarding how national unity can be achieved.
The topics also cover issues relating to national strategy and reforms.
Mr Chaturon said it may be too late to gather opinions on reform issues and conflicts over energy and natural resources.
“The government should have listened to the views from various stakeholders including political parties and groups almost three years ago,” he said.
He added reform efforts by the defunct National Reform Council, and the government’s move to draw up its national strategy are not open and inclusive and lack clear direction.
He said he was concerned that legislation being prepared to support the government’s reform measures, and its 20-year national strategy will impose restrictions on future governments and cripple their ability to make decisions to respond and adapt to changing circumstances, which in turn will affect the country’s competitiveness.
Mr Chaturon added that if the government’s bid to build unity cannot tackle the root cause of the political conflict, the country will become unattractive to investors, which would cause damage to the economy in the long term.
He also said the new constitution makes it difficult for future governments to amend the legislation on reforms and national strategy.
This could have put the country in “a freezer” in development terms, leaving the country backward and uncompetitive in the region, he said.
He said the government must allow all stakeholders to speak their minds openly if it wants the country to move forward.