His query was directed at the National Legislative Assembly (NLA)’s legal standing committee, which is considering a draft bill on the public referendum on the proposed charter.

“I found that the bill concerning the planned referendum had no clauses giving authority to the CDC to explain the constitution to the people. If it is not us, then who would do it?” an apparently irritated Meechai said.

Under the draft bill, members of the Election Commission would have this responsibility. But Meechai questioned that body’s capability, saying EC members were not charter drafters. It must stay neutral and be mindful not to become too suggestive in terms of how people vote.

“The EC [responsible for holding the referendum] cannot say if this is a good or a bad charter. So, we drafters are perplexed by the NLA’s move,” Meechai said.

“If it was really [bad] it would affect the referendum and we might have to propose a new referendum bill.”

Meechai added that the CDC had already told the government about such irregularities.

Asked what if the NLA was not impressed with the CDC’s charter draft, the head drafter said that the legislators would have to write the charter themselves.

Taweesak Sukawatin, a member of the NLA committee, said his panel had already resolved not to revise the bill but authorised the CDC to explain the charter to voters.

He said the 2014 interim charter only gave the CDC authority to notify Cabinet and the NLA after the draft was completed and then it would be up to the EC to publicise the draft content.

“Considering the interim charter, we can see that it would become an issue of conflict if we had the CDC authorised to publicise the charter draft,” he explained.

In addition, the draft bill paved the way for others to join in the public discussion on the charter draft, including the CDC via the EC, he said.

As of yesterday, draft charters had almost completed the draft and today they will symbolically submit it to the Cabinet. Technically, the CDC has until Thursday to find and iron out any mistakes, technical or linguistic, anywhere in the draft.

The CDC and the NLA and the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) will meet tomorrow. The constitution writers will summarise and explain key points in the draft to their colleagues.

The NLA and the NRSA are not authorised to vote for or against the charter.

NLA vice president Surachai Liengboonlertchai said the NSRA had until this Friday to propose any additional question in the referendum on the charter. After that, on April 7, the NLA would discuss whether any new question was needed – and if so, what it would be.

He assured that the legislators take cues from nobody and any decision about an extra referendum question would be made independently.

He said opponents and supporters of the charter draft such as Jatuporn Prompan and Suriyasai Katasila could dispatch representatives to record debates and the EC would disseminate the recordings through the media.

He said if the people organised their own debates to discuss the charter it may be deemed in violation of the law.

He said the EC did not need to ask the National Council for Peace and Order to cancel the ban on political rally to allow EC-registered debates to take place because the process was just an expression of opinion and not a rally.

Prawit said the EC would seek the support of 47 branches of the Rajamangala University of Technology and Rajabhat University to help disseminate the content of the charter draft ahead of the public referendum.

He said once the Constitution Drafting Commission submitted the charter draft summery to the EC, the agency would take one month to distribute it ahead of the referendum.

THE JUNTA is toughening its stance against politicians who are critical of the post-coup government and refuse to cooperate.

Government figures warned yesterday that people who “have failed to behave” after being repeatedly summoned for “attitude adjustment” will have to undergo an intensive “training course”.

The latest move by the generals came under fire as critics likened the plan to “re-education” camps in communist countries and described it as violation of human rights.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday that a “training course” would be necessary after politicians failed to get the point after many sessions to adjust their attitude.

“We will hold a training course for them that may last three to seven days. The National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO] will be the organiser,” Prawit told reporters at the Defence Ministry.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha added yesterday that the NCPO’s attitude-adjustment sessions would now be held in the form of training courses “for better understanding”.

“They will be asked about their behaviour in the past, whether it was right or wrong,” Prayut said. “They will be asked what they would do if they were in government and if they understand what this government is doing. If they don’t know, they should no longer be politicians.”

The junta’s warning comes as the final constitutional draft is set to be submitted to the Cabinet and a national referendum on the draft charter is just months away.

Critics yesterday reacted strongly against the plan to hold training courses for “repeat offender” politicians who refused to toe the junta’s line.

Chaturon Chaisang, a key Pheu Thai Party figure, said the junta’s initiative was “unbelievable”, adding that it reminded him of methods used by communist countries to gag their dissidents.

“This reminds me of how communist countries dealt with dissidents in the past,” he said.

Human rights lawyer Yaowalak Anupan said that the NCPO move seemed to be intended to force people how to think. That constituted an infringement on human rights, she said.

“Basically, people can think differently and the junta should not force them to think in the way they want them to. The NCPO is frightening people,” Yaowalak said.

The NCPO has to adjust itself and be more flexible, otherwise the public will begin to view it as ineffective, she said.

Leading anti-coup activist Sombat Boonngam-anong asked yesterday to see the training course’s curriculum and suggested that the junta modify attitude-adjustment sessions to be held as seminars at a resort rather than at a military camp.

The activist, also known as Bor Kor Lai Jud, or the “Polka Dot Editor”, said those detained for attitude adjustment would join the camp if the curriculum involved discussion and debate instead of detention.

Prawit said yesterday that this was not the right time for politicians to take action. “I would like to ask for time. The next election is not long after this.”

“The new constitution is almost finished now and the referendum will take place a short while afterwards,” he said.

Commenting on the detention of Pheu Thai’s Wattana Muangsuk and Worachai Hema, Prawit said their detention was not in violation of human rights.

Asked how many days the two politicians would be held, Prawit said he did not know as the NCPO was dealing with the matter.

Meanwhile, Army commander General Teerachai Nakwanich said authorities would ensure that no moves are taken to create confusion in the run-up to the referendum.

 

On Thursday, Worachai called for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to take responsibility by resigning from the premier’s post if the charter draft is voted down in the upcoming referendum.

During his weekly talk show on Friday, Prayut said people telling him to resign “should be careful” and could be prosecuted under the law.

NCPO spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said the ex-MP’s comments were “uncreative” and “sarcastic” and could lead to a public misunderstanding. They were also controversial regarding the junta’s peacekeeping efforts, Winthai said.

However, a Pheu Thai statement replied that Worachai’s comments were in line with a democratic approach and had not caused any public disturbance.

The military’s forced detention also violated principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the party said, adding the action would affect the image of the junta government and of the country.

Worachai should be tried under a legitimate legal process if he is found to have committed a crime, the party said, adding that the government and the NCPO should explain how Worachai’s actions had broken the law.

The party statement also asked the junta to respect people’s freedom of expression after the military had summoned more than 1,500 citizens for “attitude adjustment”.

The NCPO on Friday met with representatives from ministries, public relations departments, the premier’s secretariat, and TV stations including Channels 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 to solve the ratings problem, the NCPO source said.

The NCPO worried the ratings could result in the public not understanding the junta’s work.

The meeting resolved that the programme should contain more special reports produced during field trips to attract a larger audience. The reports will include interviews with people such as directors-general, local law-enforcement officials and village heads as well as with ordinary citizens, the source said. The new programme will focus on presenting policies and following the government’s activities and outcomes in areas in which people are interested, the source said.

The meeting, however, did not consider revamping Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s weekly talk show “Returning Happiness to People”, the source added.

Suriyasai Katasila, deputy dean of Rangsit University’s College of Social Innovation, said this “may become the weakness of the charter draft that overshadows the positive points of the draft”. “The Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) must quickly disseminate the strengths of the draft in addressing political and reform issues,” he said.

The CDC will make final revisions to the charter draft today before forwarding it for Cabinet approval, CDC spokesman Amorn Wanitwiwat said.

The CDC has revised 279 articles of the charter draft by taking into account suggestions from all sectors.

The CDC will review the final wording before delivering the final revised version to the Cabinet tomorrow.

The drafting of the charter will be completed within the 180-day period required by the interim charter of 2014, and CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan will hold a press conference to talk about the draft’s implications.

The CDC will explain the draft to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) and other state bodies on Wednesday.

Amorn said the CDC had taken on board some suggestions from the four major government bodies that it believed were reasonable and did not bow to pressure to change the draft. All the suggestions were presented to the commission.

NRSA deputy chairman Alongkorn Ponlaboot lauded the CDC for sticking to the roadmap for a return to democracy and the commitment to hold a general election next year. The CDC also included the reform roadmap in the charter draft as suggested by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the NLA and the NRSA.

“It is unprecedented that the charter would have such a reform roadmap,” Alongkorn said.

He said the NRSA would question the CDC tomorrow about the election system, the new checks and balances for Parliament, and the local and central administrations, including the drafting of related organic laws.

Former charter writer Kanin Bunsuwan called on the junta to reveal what its next move would be if the charter draft does not pass the public referendum.

“We want to know if the public rejects the draft, will the junta appoint a new charter writing team or bring a previous charter into use? Keeping mum on this point is not good for the country as we are facing uncertainty again,” he said.

Former foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul criticised the NCPO and the government for rejecting proposals from all groups that were designed to make a democratic charter.

“Our calls have fallen on deaf ears. They [the junta] only want the charter to be written the way they wanted from the beginning. I feel sorry for Thai people,” he said.