The country will decide in a referendum on Sunday whether to accept the constitution in the biggest test of public opinion since the generals seized power in 2014. A vote in favour of the charter could give the military a permanent role in overseeing economic development and politics.

As about 3,000 students, civil servants and military cadets gathered in Bangkok to urge people to vote, Thaksin said in a statement emailed to Reuters the charter was a “nightmare of contradiction and confusion”.

“The drafters … created a constitution for the’continuity’ of the absolute power of the present coup makers to continue even after the new constitution is proclaimed,” he said in response to a question about his opinion on the referendum.

The ruling military council has said the charter will pave the way for a general election in 2017, ensure clean politics and end more than a decade of political turmoil since Thaksin, his allies and their rural supporters challenged the royalist and military establishment.

Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon who won the loyalty of legions of poor voters with populist policies, was toppled in a 2006 coup. He lives in self-exile to avoid a graft conviction he says was politically motivated.

Thailand’s two biggest political parties, one of which isloyal to Thaksin, oppose the constitution because they say provisions are designed to ensure military supervision of politics.

The constitution would put so much power in the hands of bodies tasked with acting as counter-balances to governmentsthat it would make Thailand ungovernable, Thaksin said.

“I predict that, even if the new government receives perfect endorsement from the present regime, it will find it impossible to manage the Thai economy or administer the country under those proposed conditions,” he said.

The junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order, has said it wants to return Thailand to democracy but to ensure politicians put the people’s interests first.

Big Day

However, Reuters interviews with senior military officers believe those claims and show that the military’s ambition is to make future coups unnecessary by weakening political parties.

Under the proposed charter, which would replace one torn up following the 2014 coup, a junta-appointed Senate with seats reserved for military commanders would check the powers of elected lawmakers.

The junta has promised a general election in 2017 if the constitution is approved. A ’no’ vote could usher in more uncertainty.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is also junta leader,has said he would come up with another charter if this one is rejected.

Crowds gathered at central Bangkok’s Royal Plaza on Thursday as cars bearing banners urging people to vote set off around the capital.

The government has banned provocative criticism of the charter and detained dozens of activists. Referendum rules also ban anyone from campaigning for either side, so people carried neutral signs, urging voters to cast ballots.

About 50 million Thais are eligible to vote in the referendum and the Election Commission has said it expects an 80 percent turnout.

The junta has broadcast songs and television programmes to drum up enthusiasm.

“Everyone in the country … must come out to exercise their right to vote,” said Supachai Somcharoen, chairman of the Election Commission.

“This is the big day.”//Reuters

FOREIGN COUNTRIES have warned their citizens in Thailand to stay safe given possible political tensions in the run-up to Sunday’s referendum on the charter draft.

Embassies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Finland and Denmark have issued messages warning their citizens to be vigilant, to avoid large gatherings and to observe Thai |laws.

The warnings are based on perceptions of possible political unrest on Sunday.

The US Embassy emphasised the junta’s suppression of public expression and possibly a heightened military presence during the referendum.

It said the junta had banned mass political gatherings and placed restrictions on media, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

“Individuals, including foreigners, may be detained for publicly criticising the National Council for Peace and Order or the monarchy,” it said in a security message on its website yesterday. “Security forces have additional powers, including the right to control movement and search for weapons.”

It also recommended that its citizens should follow news and enrol in the Department of State’s Smart Traveller Enrolment Programme, and it provided contacts at the embassy and the US Consulate in Chiang Mai.

‘Illegal to criticise’

The British and Finnish embassies, like the US mission, warned their citizens about limited freedom of political expression and assembly.

“It’s illegal to criticise the coup and you should be wary of making political statements in public,” said the British Embassy in advice published since last week.

The Canadian Embassy, while not issuing its own message, shared a travel advice from the Canadian government via its Facebook page, warning people in Thailand of possible demonstrations.

“There is an increased military presence throughout the country, and public gatherings of more than five people are prohibited,” said the travel advice, adding that current laws allow the junta to retain and exercise sweeping power at any time.

The Danish Embassy also warned its citizens of the Election Commission’s restrictions on the serving and sale of alcoholic drinks from 6pm on Saturday to midnight on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar Embassy warned its nationals in Thailand to be on alert for increased raids and surprise checks by Thai authorities.

According to The Irrawaddy website, the interventions are part of security clampdowns ahead of voting day.

Myanmar people in Thailand have been advised always to carry required immigration documents with them and to submit calmly to inspections by Thai police.

As of press time, Government House did not make any comment on the warnings, saying it was consulting with the Foreign Ministry on how to react.

HOW HAS THE OVERALL ATMOSPHERE BEEN IN ISAAN DURING THE RUN-UP TO THE REFERENDUM?

Concerning attentiveness, it is somewhat quiet. Mostly people follow referendum matters via TV and radio programmes on a few channels and by reading large placards in the cities. However, I rarely see referendum banners set up along main roads. The PNET has talked to its allies in Nakhon Ratchasima province and found that villagers seldom discuss it.

Most voters have not seen the full draft. Even I have not seen the complete version. The Election Commission (EC) should distribute the full draft to all voters for the referendum’s credibility and transparency’s sake. Whether people will read it or not is entirely another matter.

There is a great deal of ambiguity here. If the voters do not know or understand the draft, how can the referendum be valid? People should have the chance to deliberate. Public debates should have been held to raise people’s motivation about and awareness of the charter and referendum.

Villagers seem to receive selective information from mainstream media and will make decisions based on what the media tells them.

HOW IS ISAAN DIFFERENT FROM OTHER REGIONS?

Isaan is the largest region with the largest number of residents in the country, 21.9 million as of last year. More and more people from Isaan graduate (from academic institutions) in the country or abroad. Isaan people, I think, are highly aware of politics at both the local and national levels. This region usually matters in general elections and the region’s voting results have been used as an indicator of the country’s situation.

DOES SUCH A QUIET SITUATION APPLY TO THE ENTIRE REGION, OR IS IT MORE PRONOUNCED IN THE CITIES OR THE COUNTRYSIDE?

Big cities are quiet. And, of course, upcountry areas are even worse. Urban people talk about what they have heard concerning the referendum, but there are only some matters that they dare to speak about.

DUE TO THIS SILENCE, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE VOTER TURNOUT WILL REACH THE 80-PER-CENT GOAL SET BY THE EC?

Let’s see whether it will. I anticipate a large number will turn out. Perhaps voters will be interested in the referendum as it will determine the country’s future, laying down laws and regulations for the nation. Or people may feel apathetic regarding Sunday’s referendum because they have no idea how to vote.

THE EC WISHES TO SEE “QUALITY” VOTES, WHICH ARE NOT INFLUENCED BY CAMPAIGNS. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE VOTES?

I wonder how enthusiastically people will participate in the referendum, as they have not seen the charter. The term “induce” implies that a superior succeeds in convincing someone perceived as inferior to do something. And, I think, a number of voters could be more likely to be induced as they have not received or studied the full charter.

HOW HAVE YOU PLANNED TO COVER THE REFERENDUM?

Our network covers the entire nation and is characterised by various groups of volunteers including ordinary people, the business sector, civil servants, NGOs and local administrators. The network will send volunteers to observe the situation and communicate via social media. Local observers will post regular updates about the social and political situation in their areas and send survey reports to each other.

During the run up to the referendum, we will be visiting our allies throughout Isaan. On August 7, we will observe the referendum in certain districts in Nakhon Ratchasrima, the largest province in the country. Our allies in other provinces nationwide will do the same and afterwards we will publish reports about referendum.

FORMER prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday repeated her stance of rejecting the draft charter, while Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha dispelled concern about the growing opposition to the draft by heavyweight politicians, instead vowing to stick to his road map towards democracy regardless of the outcome of this Sunday’s poll.

Yingluck also rejected a related proposal in the August 7 ballot on whether the appointed Senate should share power with MPs in the elected House of Representatives to select the next prime minister.

While the country seems to remain divided on the draft charter, with the opposition voices are growing, Prayut said yesterday: “I’m not worried about it. It’s up to you, how you vote on it, and I will stick to the road map to democracy no matter what.”

Yingluck responded to a clarification on political bans, and insisted she had the right to cast a ballot in the referendum. She said she would definitely exercise that right on Sunday.

Yingluck was hit with a five-year political ban in January last year when the National Legislative Assembly, dominated by military-appointed members, voted the former PM guilty in an impeachment case for failing to exercise sufficient oversight of a rice-subsidy scheme.

“The country’s top law must be democratic and accept the people’s decision and ensure rights and liberties of the people,” she said. “The checks and balances must be well suited and address the people’s grievances. However, I have followed the charter-drafting process and find that it does not follow this guideline, so I reject the draft. And I also disapprove of the additional referendum question.”

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said politicians who had been deprived of political rights, such as members of the “111 group” or the “109 group”, had the right to vote in the referendum because the 2014 interim charter did not carry any provision that bans them from casting a ballot.

The so-called “groups of 111 and 109 MPs” from the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai, People Power,Chart Thai and Matchimatippatai parties were banned from politics for five years by the Constitutional Court in 2006 and 2007.

“But in the future, it is not certain that they still have this right, as it depends what the future charter says about this issue,” Wissanu said.

Under this charter (if accepted), previously banned politicians are allowed to stand for election. However, previously impeached officials including Yingluck would be forbidden from running in the election scheduled for next year.

Prayut, meanwhile, played down the moves by politicians and some members of the public against the draft. However, he admitted that the charter-drafting process involved no public participation. He also refused to say whether the next draft – if there is one – would be any different.

“How could you say that no one knows anything at all? They [authorities] have informed people in several areas,” Prayut said. “Those opposing the draft just never want to listen to them.”

Apart from slamming different movements, officials from his administration had sought to build knowledge about the draft and the vote on the charter via almost all means available, from tradition oral explanations to online platforms and mobile applications.

This included pamphlets on the referendum distributed by the Election Commission that drew controversy for seemingly exaggerating the original content of the draft. A legal team for the Pheu Thai Party filed a petition to Prayut on Monday, urging the PM to consider whether the pamphlets broke the referendum law for distorting the draft’s content.

Prayut said he had instructed authorities to keep the situation in order and would not set up a war room on August 7. All irregularities would be dealt with by legal action, he said. Once the referendum result is known, his government will take further action, and a Cabinet meeting would be held next week to review the result and look into the steps forward.

“I tabled for you a picture of the future, although it may not quite clear somehow, and that should be better than having no [prediction] at all. It’s really up to you to choose,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan stressed that the People’s Democratic Reform Foundation (PDRF) could not organise a whistle-blowing event to show support for the draft because of the junta’s order banning more than four people from staging a political gathering.

Constitution Drafting Commission head Meechai Ruchupan will tomorrow (4) lead all CDC members to answer questions about the draft from viewers who phone in to a live programme being aired on Thai PBS television station from 9pm to 11pm.

This is seen as a last-ditch attempt to secure support for the new charter, with all drafters instructed to answer questions in person about the draft. On Friday, the commission will also go on Channel 11 to discuss key elements of the draft, such as the rights and liberties of the people, the new electoral system for MPs and how to make politics “clean”.

CDC spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni said Meechai would answer every question from the media at the two events. The CDC chairman had earlier expressed concern that the reform process would be in disarray if the draft were rejected.

Norachit defended the commission for not joining the Interior Ministry’s charter forums in 77 provinces, saying they could not cover all provinces.

THE powers-that-be yesterday urged voters to use their own judgement and not allow politicians to |influence their decisions when casting their ballot in Sunday’s referendum on the new constitution.

Meanwhile, Meechai Ruchupan, chairman of the Constitution Drafting Commission, warned voters yesterday against basing their decisions on comments by politicians. He said doing so would be “dangerous” as politicians have conflicts of interest regarding the new constitution.

“The constitution has provisions to be enforced affecting not only the public, but also politicians. If you totally believe political parties and politicians, without respect to the content of the draft, that is dangerous. It’s because politicians also have conflicts of interest,” Meechai said.

Responding to politicians’ warnings that the constitution could cause conflicts in the future, the chief drafter said Pheu Thai and Democrat politicians could join hands in the future to amend the charter.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said people should vote how they liked. “If you like [the draft], vote yes. If you don’t, vote no,” he said.

Prawit said the government had not conducted surveys to determine the possible results of Sunday’s vote.

He reiterated that the next general election would certainly be held next year in accordance with the government’s political roadmap.

Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda urged voters to use their own judgement when going to the poll, saying that nobody should be able to tell them how to vote.

“This is our basic right. It’s |inappropriate for anyone to tell us how to vote. I want voters to use their judgement and knowledge. This is the democratic way,” Anupong said.

The suggestions came after politicians from the largest political parties, Pheu Thai and Democrat, made comments against the draft constitution. Last week, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajivabecame the latest political heavyweight to say he would vote against the draft.

Prawit yesterday also dismissed a rumour that military personnel had been ordered to vote for the draft charter. “That’s not true. Nobody did so. The decision should be based on personal preference,” he said.

The spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Colonel Piyapong Klinpan also denied there had been an NCPO order telling military personnel how to vote in the referendum.

“There has been no special order from the NCPO commanders [regarding this matter]. Everyone in the |military ranks is allowed to vote freely,” he said.

In a related development, Midnight University, a group of political activists and academics, yesterday issued a statement criticising the draft constitution.

The group said the draft would establish a new political system |dominated by “the privileged”, which would be against democratic principles. The statement said the process of drafting the charter had been authoritarian and done by a small group of people.

The group also said its members would vote against the additional |referendum question asking whether selected senators should be allowed to vote with elected MPs to select the new prime minister for the next five years if the new constitution takes effect. The statement said the stipulation would allow a non-MP to become prime |minister and help the junta to retain its power.

However, Suthep Thaugsuban, a politician-turned-political activist, said yesterday empowering senators to choose the prime minister would help to ensure a neutral PM and reform efforts not disrupted.

Suthep said in his daily Facebook Live broadcast he was convinced new senators would have no connections with political parties and therefore would not have conflicts of interest.

AT DAWN before stepping out of houses on their way to the paddy fields, farmers in Ban Sommai village in Udon Thani province hear a familiar voice over the village’s public address system.

But being in a rush to plant rice before the scorching hot sun reaches its zenith, farmers do not catch many of the words. They do, however, recognise the voice of their headman mumbling along with an unfashionable song about the constitutional referendum on August 7.

Farmers have heard that routine broadcast every morning at dawn for more than a month. Not until the beginning of Buddhist Lent, however, when people gathered at a temple to make merit, did villagers realise what those sounds over the PA system meant.

In the local temple, the village head and nine village committees explained the draft. They are Kru Kor, or “Teacher C”, acting as draft representatives to knock on doors and explain the charter to villagers.

“We [Teacher Cs] disseminate details of the draft by talking to large groups at social events, so they can further discuss among themselves, which saves time,” said Krisada Monthathip, Udon Thani province’s Ban Sommai village headman.

Krisada’s routine duty starts at 6am every morning when he speaks via the PA system, asking villagers to cast ballots and explaining briefly what the referendum is about.

Teacher Cs were trained for two days before disseminating draft content to villagers – but it was not enough training for them to provide all the answers to people, Krisada said.

Villagers keep asking about the draft, but he does not know the answers because he could not fully learn about all the content during the two days.

What he does remember is that “Teacher Bs” repeatedly reiterated that Teacher Cs must not induce voters to vote in any particular way, otherwise they might be charged with breaching the referendum law. Prohibitions regarding the referendum campaign, a code of conduct when approaching voters, and permissible messages to be disseminated were also on the training agenda, he said.

He admitted Teacher Cs, who each received full charter drafts five weeks before the referendum, have failed to give local residents a good understanding of the draft as the explainers themselves do not fully understand it.

“They are just ordinary people without a legal background and knowledge and we feel the draft contains a lot of technical terms,” he said.

“Even the community leaders do not understand the law, so how can the villagers?”

‘Climate of fear’

The lack of information is not just the result of technical problems.

Teacher Cs cannot give a clear answer to villagers, Krisada said, because of the climate of fear and the junta’s ban on influencing voters. So the people tasked with explaining the draft often prefer to keep silent.

“What villagers want to know most is if this draft is good or not, so they can make a decision,” he said.

Villagers do not have time to study the draft and do not understand technical terms in the law, he said. They just want someone they trust to honestly tell them the pros and cons of the draft and the consequences if the draft is approved or rejected, he added.

“What’s the point in wasting time and budget training us, Teacher Cs, if eventually we cannot explain anything to our neighbours? The only message we can give is ‘please go to cast ballots in the August 7 referendum’. That’s it,” he said.

Following the schedule, one month before referendum day Teacher Cs asked voters to study the draft. However, the draft booklet “10 things you need to know about the draft” was delivered to villagers just two weeks prior to the referendum day, while the full draft was not provided.

“Only advantages of the draft were mentioned in the booklets,” said a villager, who asked to remain unnamed.

Military pressure

Plainclothes military officers also interfere in Teacher Bs and Cs’ mission, said lawyer Teerasak Thongsuang, head of Nong Tad tambon of Buri Ram province. He also serves as a Teacher B.

“They kept observing whenever we were working.”

Teacher Bs were trained for only one day and then tasked to educate Teacher Cs.

As a Teacher B, he said, he feels uncomfortable having officers follow and record video when he and other Teacher Bs train Teacher Cs. He said the Second Army Area commander was also present when provincial Teacher As trained him and others in Buri Ram.

However, a military source said officers did not interfere with the work of draft explainers. He said officers instead supported the referendum mission, following Teacher Bs for security purposes and ensuring that no troublemakers interfered in the referendum campaigners’ work.

Like Krisada, Teerasak said he does not deeply understand the draft – even though he has a legal background – because he has not had time to study every article in the draft.

His duty is training Teacher Cs to read aloud draft booklets to villagers and also to follow Teacher Cs to explain the draft content.

He said local people were mostly concerned about topics perceivably close to their lives, namely social welfare, elderly welfare, free education and important election methods. “They asked me whether it was true or not there would be cuts to elderly welfare, as they had heard from others.”

To answer that question, Teacher Bs explain that it depends on organic laws and policies of the next government as the draft does not confirm whether the elderly would get the same assistance from the state. He said he tried his best to neutrally explain the issue to people who asked him questions but often it remained unclear.

When villagers asked whether the new electoral system, mixed member apportionment, enshrined in the draft works or not – and what would happen if the country uses that system – he cannot speak out because he fears doing so could violate the law.

“That is the best thing we Teacher Bs and Cs can do.”

Waiting for an elected government

Teerasak said local people do not understand the draft and its consequences so they might make a decision based on their favourite politicians or trusted leaders. Villagers also want the climate of fear to end because they are very bored with disputes and argument regarding the draft, he said.

“They want the referendum to end as soon as possible so that they can exercise their electoral rights,” he said.

People want a government and a new local administrative body, he added, as the current powers-that-be cannot fix the country’s economic, social and other problems.

People believe that no matter how well the draft is written, at the end of the day it will be amended by the next powers as has been witnessed in past decades, the sub-district head said.

Importantly, the people feel it is not necessary for them to try to understand the draft, which will be used by the next government rather than as a real guarantee to protect rights.

 

He said the council was ready to support the EC in any activity and platform that was not in breach of the law.

“We are ready to [give our] support if the EC wants to relax restrictions by allowing talks between people with varying views through a good atmosphere. We will not stop the commission – but the debate has to be within the frame of law,” he said.

He said that there was only about two weeks before a public referendum was to be held – but state intelligence had not picked up any unusual political movement that would bring about disturbances.

Piyapong said the destruction of the eligible voter lists in Kamphaeng Phet was not the work of people with political motivation but two eight-year-old girls who did not know the significance of the documents.

They were released without being charged since they were young and had no intention of causing trouble.

THE destruction of eligible voter lists in Kamphaeng Phet was caused by two eight-year-old girls who did not understand the importance of the documents they were playing with, police said yesterday.

Pol Maj-General Damrong Petpong, chief of Kamphaeng Phet provincial police, said the voter lists were destroyed on Saturday during a monk-ordination ceremony at Hong Thong temple, which is near Wachirasarn Suksa School in Khanu Woralaksaburi district, where the polling station for the upcoming charter referendum is located.

A number of people were seen at the polling station, including some intoxicated adults and children.

Earlier reports had suggested that hooligan teenagers were responsible for destruction of the voter rolls.

The police investigation into the incident found that the two girls, who lived not far away, normally came to the school every day to play with other children.

On Saturday, the eight-year-olds and other children came to play near the board on which the voter lists were attached.

The two girls tore the lists from the board without knowing they were state assets.

Police say they questioned the two girls and their parents in a relaxed way. The girls were released without being charged for the destruction of state property.

Damrong said the children were young and had no intention to commit a crime. He would forward evidence including footage from surveillance cameras to his superiors.

Reports of the destruction of voter lists have prompted the Interior Ministry to give the green light to local administrators and provincial “order maintenance” centres nationwide to intensify monitoring to ensure stability and to apply tough legal measures against provocateurs, while reporting such incidents to the ministry.

Government Spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd responded yesterday to reports about destruction of the voter rolls by saying Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had instructed provincial centres nationwide to step up measures to prevent offences committed particularly ahead of the referendum.

Officials have also been instructed to watch for the dissemination of false information regarding next month’s referendum and the draft constitution.

Sansern also denied social media comments, alleging that if voters enter their 13-digit ID numbers on the Department of Provincial Administration (DPA)’s website http://www.khonthai.com, their personal details could be accessed by criminals.

“It is not true, because the ID number will go into an automatic information process that will show whether they have voting rights in the referendum,” he said.

Sansern said the DPA already had every citizen’s basic personal information because everyone has to apply for national ID cards.

“Thais do not need to worry about privacy violations. When they seek state services through electronic systems, they also have to fill in their ID numbers, so this is not dangerous at all,” he said.

THE prime minister yesterday warned that “many people will be put in jail”, as the authorities investigate the source of funding for the publication of a booklet on the draft constitution described by the drafters as containing false and distorted information.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who also heads the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said authorities were investigating the matter to determine who had produced the booklet and the source of the funding.

He added that it was against the law to falsify a state document.

“We will find them finally. If they are put into jail, there could be a protest again,” he told reporters.

The PM said he believed “some people” had funded the publication of the document, adding that “things are getting clearer and clearer now”.

When asked if he was confident the masterminds would be arrested, Prayut said: “I am confident in the officials responsible. They will make any arrests, not me.”

Responding to a reporter who asked whether he thought the Election Commission (EC) would be able to deal with people attempting to disrupt the August 7 referendum on the draft constitution, he said he was hopeful and would offer moral support to the authorities involved.

“Many people will end up in jail. Don’t worry about that. Investigations are under way on several cases. And don’t accuse me of persecution,” he said.

On Thursday, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) asked the EC to take action over the distribution of copies of a document containing what it said was false information about the draft charter – an action which was against the Referendum Act.

The “fake” booklet looks like the one produced by the CDC that summarises the draft constitution with specific points, but it also includes information that does not exist in the draft charter and contains “false” content, according to the CDC spokesmen.

On Thursday, a group of student activists, called the New Democracy Movement (NDM), admitted that they had produced the document in order to criticise certain points in the draft constitution.

Pakorn Areekul, a leader of the group, said the cost of publication had been covered by donations, denying a suggestion that it was funded by an unnamed political group.

The NCPO is investigating to determine who gave financial support to the NDM in producing copies of the document that contained “distorted information”, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday.

“We will find out whether the students could afford to print copies of the document, and if anyone had supported them. Also, we will see where the copies were printed, how many were printed, and how much it cost,” the NCPO source said. He added that the CDC and the EC were separately attempting to find out in which provinces copies of the document had been distributed, and who was behind the distribution.

CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan said on Thursday that he was convinced the document had been published in large numbers, and that its publication must have been funded by a group of people.

Yesterday, Meechai said a CDC subcommittee was looking into the document produced by the NDM student group to determine whether any of its content was against the law.

However, he admitted that although initially he had found part of the document’s content to “lack good reason”, it was not a distortion or false.

The subcommittee has yet to conclude its findings, CDC spokesman Chatchai Na Chiangmai said yesterday.

In a related development, the German Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has criticised the content of the draft constitution, the EurActiv Germany website reported. “With concern, we note that the draft constitution does not strengthen a separation of powers, but the power of the military is maintained in the future,” said the committee’s coordinators – Norbert Rottgen, Stefan Liebich and Marieluise Beck.

Upon the release of the activists from Bangkok Remand Prison, one of them, Korakot Saengyenpan, 24, was arrested by officers from Thonburi Railway Police Station on an outstanding charge of violating the junta’s ban of political gatherings.

Korakot had earlier joined fellow activists on a trip to Rajabhakti Park in Hua Hin to investigate fraud allegations, after which they were arrested.

When the six freed activists appeared in front of the prison’s main entrance yesterday, a roar swept over the crowd, and they joined in song.

The activists led by Rangsiman Rome said they stood firm to fight against dictatorship and the junta for democracy’s sake. They also voiced concerns over the arrest of Korakot.