A CIVIC GROUP yesterday demanded that the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) stop acts of intimidation after banning the group’s planned event in Amnat Charoen province, which the group said was meant to educate the public about the charter draft ahead of the referendum.

The Women’s Movement in Thai Political Reform (We-Move), led by Sunee Chairot, complained that security officials in the province cancelled the event, which was set for Saturday.

A source said We-Move issued the statement calling on the NCPO to stop acts of intimidation after officials followed its team members into a hotel where they were staying. The alleged intimidation took place after the event was cancelled, the source said.

Sunee said banning the event was intimidatory and prevented people from participating in the charter drafting process, although she admitted she had not sought permission to hold it.

She argued the event was meant to educate the public about the draft and was not political.

She said her group had held similar events in Bangkok and Lampang provinces without a problem. She added that events in Amnat Charoen would not stop her group’s planned charter education event in Phatthalung province at the end of this month.

Former labour minister Ladawan Wongsriwong expressed concern over what had happened to We-Move, saying the government’s image had been tarnished. She urged Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) chairman Meechai Ruchupan to heed public recommendations on amending the first version of the charter draft.

Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama called on the government to hold a broadcast debate over the charter draft and allow the media, the public and politicians to join it.

He dismissed claims by the CDC that the charter draft was democratic by international standards, pointing out that in Germany and France the selection of the senate and the constitutional court is linked to the people or representatives of the people.

“Critics have questioned why the CDC gives too much power to the Constitutional Court, which has the power to decide the fate of other agencies, without providing effective checks and balances on the court itself,” he said.

Democrat Party deputy spokesman Ramet Rattanachaweng urged the CDC to be open-minded and accept public reflection on the charter draft and to review controversial points such as those covering people’s rights and liberty.

“If the CDC believes that politicians only present ideas that benefit them, or the charter writers really shun politicians, they can write that there should be no politicians or people’s representatives,” he said.

Democrat Party deputy leader Ong-art Klampaiboon said the draft lacked a guarantee for people’s rights and liberty, especially the rights of communities to manage national resources.

There was also no provision on human dignity like in the 1997 and 2007 charters, Ong-art said.