Draft charter flawed
Journo charges a joke
I was shocked at the Aug 25 report that Kwan Hok-Chun, a journalist from Hong Kong who covered the Erawan shrine bombing, was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi airport. He was detained under the 1987 Arms Control Act after an X-ray machine at the departure terminal detected a helmet and bulletproof vest with the word “Press” on it in his carry-on luggage. Both items are considered weapons under the act.
The report said if found guilty, Mr Kwan could face up to five years in prison and a fine of 50,000 baht.
He also faces an additional two years in prison or a fine of up to 5,000 baht under the Air Navigation Act.
Is this the high priority this government is focusing on?
I truly feel sorry for the journalist. And by the way ... I would pay the 5,000 baht instead of two years in prison.
I trust Bloomberg — Mr Kwan’s former employer — will communicate this in a professional way.
TS In his Aug 18 column, Songkran Grachangnetara wrote we need a new constitution free from fear. He said the Constitutional Drafting Committee’s “so-called crisis committee” is rather like the man who chopped off his legs because he lived with low ceilings. He believes the idea will “institutionalise military coups” and that “it will seek to legitimise the illegitimate. It is nothing less than constitutional heresy.”
Arthur Chancellor, who penned “Praising charter draft” (PostBag, Aug 25), claims to have “lived in Thailand long enough to know a good deal about Thai politics”. He commends the idea of this crisis committee. What is needed is not a good knowledge of Thai politics but a clear understanding of how to reform Thai politics along democratic lines, based on a sound, concise constitution.
Mr Chancellor claims the key to democracy is the strength of its “checks and balances system”. What a hackneyed phrase. Democracy is adversarial by nature. It enjoys stability but not equilibrium. The key to democracy is enforced accountability under the law, not accountability to an appointed committee. Democracy is a form of government controlled by laws. The constitution is the paramount law. Khun Songkran said “all liberal democracies also have their own version of a crisis committee, called the Supreme Court”. In Thailand’s case, of course, it is the Constitutional Court.
Surely, a new constitution could have been established simply by “plagiarising” from an established democracy. It would have been concise and true to democracy. It would seem the current homemade draft is considered to be quite flawed, verbose and muddled, having itself been drafted by a committee.
JC WILCOX