The disputed clauses in Article 61 in the Act prohibits the spread of rude, provocative, or intimidating messages about the charter draft and the upcoming referendum. The crime is punishable by up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Bt200, 000.

However, Somchai stressed that if the referendum law was to be amended it would be a responsibility of law-making bodies like the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) rather than the EC.

His agency was an enforcer, not a legislator, he said.

Asked if more announcements or regulations on the referendum would follow, Somchai said existing measures should suffice in current circumstances.

Apart from that, Somchai clarified that the main task of his agency concerned providing an explanation regarding the process of the referendum only, not the charter draft content or the additional question.

He said that next month, the EC might hold a press briefing for the media to ask about any referendum matters, but no further stages would be held other than those already scheduled.

The Nation Human Rights Commission (NHRC) called on the government to allow public talks on the constitution draft. People reserved the right to freedom of expression and to information, civil rights panel president Angkana Neelapaijit said yesterday.

The request echoed in the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review to whom Thailand had agreed to consider opening public forums for discussions about the charter draft before the August referendum.

Angkana said public debates, if held in the form of academic conferences or seminars, without defamation, could benefit not only the public but also the authorities.

“The authorities could see diverse perspectives and see how the people think,” she said. “If the current draft fails, the government could have some ideas on how to proceed further, based on public sentiment. If it passes, the comments could still be beneficial when writing organic laws.”

The rights advocate also touched upon the EC, which recently promulgated regulations on the referendum, saying that some clauses rely largely on the authorities’ judgement to determine whether some actions breach the law or not.

For instance, wearing clothes or accessories showing signs about the charter and the referendum could risk violating the law, she said. Angkana expressed concern that such practices would limit rights, freedom, and people’s privacy. She said the EC should be open-minded and not let trivial issues deepen the conflict. Meanwhile, charter content dissemination training sessions have kicked off at district level and will continue across the country until June 7.

Some major concerns raised at some sessions include rights and liberty of people. Some trainees were concerned that this matter was not sufficiently addressed in the draft, thus depriving people access to basic social welfare, such as free education and free healthcare.

Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) spokesman Chartchai na Chiangmai reassured that people could still enjoy all rights except those that the charter or relevant laws said otherwise.

“Everything else besides what is prohibited in the constitution or the relevant laws are all accessible for everyone,” he said.

The training sessions are a part of the public relations scheme, aiming to promote the constitution draft written by the junta-appointed panel. Teacher A, recruited from a provincial level, would train Teacher B from the districts, who would then train Teacher C in communities nationwide, who would help explain the charter content door-to-door.

Norachit Sinhaseni, another spokesman who too sits on a sub-panel to assess if people distort the charter, said the panel was looking at cases violating the referendum law and relevant regulations and would forward details of offenders to the EC.

Regarding issues that have been criticised by opponents, he said the CDC would try to explain them on organised stages, and would not submit the cases to the EC for further litigation.

“I urge everyone to reduce their use of plastic bags by shopping with cloth bags,” he said.

General Prayut said the government has set a target of reducing the country’s overall waste output by 5 per cent, or approximately two million tonnes per year, in order to bring the number down to about 23 million tonnes per year.

“As for our efforts to solve waste management issues, I have tried to expedite progress in this area for the past two years, but the results have not been up to pace,” General Prayut said.

He was speaking in his weekly national TV show “Returning Happiness to People in the Country”.

The prime minister said he had tasked the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with creating a joint action plan on waste management for June 2016 to June 2017.

Separate waste to cut garbage

He called on the public, state agencies and other establishments to join in the effort to separate waste in order to help reduce garbage.

“It starts from fostering a sense of awareness on the reduction of waste that is hard to disintegrate such as plastic bags.

“I also have a policy on how many plastic bags we need to reduce each month,” he said. The government would enact policies that will coincide with the agenda of reducing plastic bags and separating waste, the PM said.

“I’ve seen programmes at some department stores where plastic bottles and cups can be turned in for money,” he said. “This is one of the examples of how to recycle and reduce waste.

“We need to be mindful not to be spendthrifts on plastic items. Another thing to do is to dispose of food content before you throw away foam or plastic food containers, in order to be considerate to the person who is disposing of your garbage.

“I would like this year to be one where we can successfully reduce waste in Thailand. “We can set goals of, let’s say, 30 to 50 per cent for the years 2016-17.”

He said Prayut often read the three papers viewed as “unfriendly” to the government and National Council for Peace and Order first. The publications were not named.

“General Prayut does not just scan through the pages. He often circles with his pen the reports and articles that interested him,” the spokesman told Nation TV’s Primetime programme.

The PM remembered the names of columnists who criticise him regularly, he said.

‘Angered by govt critics’

Despite his busy schedule, Sansern said the prime minister often found time to watch TV news programmes before going to work in the morning.

And he read newspapers while in his bullet-proof Mercedes limousine on his way to Government House.

Sansern said General Prayut often instructed the government spokesman’s team, through Line messages or phone calls, to immediately explain to the public media reports containing information he deemed inaccurate.

“Once during a Cabinet meeting, he showed other participants a pile of newspapers that he read. He told us to study the articles that he circled and explain the accurate information to the public,” the spokesman said.

He said the PM regularly watched TV channels known to be critical of his government, and often ended up getting angry.

The National Council for Peace and Order will issue a new order about this next Wednesday (June 1), Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.

“This new order will help improve the situation in the country. Society will be aware that the government well understands the country’s problems and is ready to listen to criticism,” Sansern said.

However, the NCPO ban on political party gatherings will remain, he said. “The meeting agreed that the time was still not right now. We need some more time” before the ban will be lifted, he added.

Colonel Piyapong Klinphan, a spokesman for the NCPO, said lifting of the ban was an idea of General Prayut, who also heads the NCPO. His proposal to the meeting was based on findings by his staff, the spokesman said.

“The goal is to relax the atmosphere and create an environment of heeding viewpoints from different groups of people,” he said.

Yesterday’s meeting at Government House was attended by commanders-in-chief of the armed forces and lasted about 90 minutes.

Pheu Thai politicians on Saturday welcomed the junta’s decision to revoke a travel ban order for some of politicians and academics.

“I’m so glad that I get my right [to travel abroad without seeking permission from the junta] back,” Pichai Naripthaphan, a Pheu Thai key figure, said.

Pichai, who sought the permission many times after the coup, said during the past two years he faced difficulties in travel overseas and sometimes he was not permitted by the junta even he was invited by well-known organizations from United States and Europe.

He said the NCPO should comply with United Nation charter in order to avoid the damage of the country’s image and reputation and to avert a risk of being sanctioned by United Nations and world communities.

Somkid Chua-kong, a former Pheu Thai MP for Ubon Ratchathani, said it was good that the junta lifting the ban because it was not justifying.

“I think the junta [‘s decision to lift the ban] was pressured by international communities,” he said.

Paiboon said the inability to enforce legislation was because organic laws or ministerial announcements had not been further elaborated. “Some ministers don’t know how to proceed once a law is published in the Royal Gazette. They don’t know that organic laws from their own ministry are not issued as such,” he said.

Moves have been made to improve the country’s legislation and several relevant agencies have been set up and assigned the task, but they have barely cooperated with each other, Paiboon said.

He added that he has wanted to tackle the issue over the past two years, but relevant agencies have never acceded to reform because “interests” were involved.

Hence, he said, the integration of laws remained a major concern and he hoped the Justice Ministry and other related agencies would work together to push the agenda forward.

Meanwhile, legal expert Pakorn Nilprapunt, who is also a member of the Constitution Drafting Commission, said the problem lay with Thailand’s law-enforcement methods, which rely largely on government officials and authorities.

“Relying on the authorities to pass judgement on some cases has to be revised because this practice can plant the seed of corruption,” he said. “For example, charging a garbage collector with violating copyright laws just because he sold some CDs found in the trash shows there is a flaw in the justice system.”

Laws should also keep up with the changing world, Pakorn said. They need to be constantly revisited to ensure their relevancy, he said, adding that enforcers of the law should also have proper knowledge and understanding when it came to fulfilling their duties.

He said the charter draft, which will be the subject of a referendum in August, gives importance to key stakeholders including the general public. He added that legislation must include the process of heeding public opinion.

Pakorn also said the draft charter included content regarding justice and legal reforms that can be realised. The drafters have set deadlines in the draft, requiring implementation with one year of the charter being drafted, he said, adding that the charter specifies that within five years, responsible agencies have to achieve the specified goals or officials will face malpractice proceedings and be removed from office.

Prime Minister’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said yesterday that the post-coup government was implementing reforms in different areas, such as reducing inequality, although its priorities may differ from those of political parties or politicians.

“Contrary to what critics say, the reform has not failed. In fact, progress has been made continuously,” Suwaphan said. “We try to stop the practice of making gains from state projects. We make it easier to access the justice process. There is nothing that the NCPO [National Council for Peace and Order] and this government ignore.”

On May 22, 2014, the NCPO seized power from a government led by the Pheu Thai Party.

Suwaphan said that by listening to opinions from different groups, people should decide for themselves who sincerely had good intentions towards the country and who had a hidden political agenda.

He said politicians saying that the current stability and peaceful conditions in Thailand were “not real” was a pity because they thought peace after the coup was only temporary.

“It sounded as if some people want Thailand to not have peace again,” he said, adding that many people he met told him that a peaceful society was what they desired most.

The minister said there had not been one forced disappearance under the tenure of the post-coup government. “But we are enforcing the law straightforwardly,” he added.

Pheu Thai has said the post-coup administration had failed to solve the problems coup-makers cited as the reason for seizing power.

The party said people in power had been unable to end the political conflict, attain social reconciliation or create a sustainable democracy even after the second anniversary of the coup.

“The country has been at the lowest point in its history,” Pheu Thai said in a statement released yesterday. “There has been increased opposition from the international community and continued dissatisfaction from public members, business people and academics.”

The party called on the junta to restore “international democracy” as soon as possible.

The NCPO said that over the past two years it had focused mainly on serving the public although it had rarely advertised what it had done.

Colonel Piyapong Klinphan, a spokesman for the NCPO, maintained that the 2017 schedule for the next general election would remain unchanged, in accordance with the original reform roadmap.

In response to concerns that the NCPO may be in power for at least another five years, the spokesman said: “It is possible.”

He added that the NCPO would keep all its promises made to the public.