Varathep
PM's Office Minister Varathep Ratanakorn is tasked with handling the controversial referendum on amending the Constitution before the third and final reading in Parliament on rewriting the charter. He spoke to The Nation on Sunday on the government's stance and insisted the move wasn't all for ousted and convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Is the new idea of holding a referendum first a method to reduce conflict and enable things to proceed?
The decision to hold a referendum is not new. If you look at the stance of coalition parties which set up a working committee, the committee has listened to voices from all sides in a balanced way for the past three to four months and concurred that the best solution in amending the charter is to enable all sectors to participate. Carrying out a referendum will be used as a clear indicator as to whether voters want to see an amendment through a constitution drafting assembly or not.
Politically speaking, [the move] can be perceived as a measure to handle the situation and reduce conflict. The real intention of the government, particularly the prime minister, is to ensure a stable nation that can move forward. [The premier] referred to HM the King's speech on December 5, which stressed the importance of unity, which is what the government is adhering to in particular.
Will the government take the view of the Constitution Court into consideration in carrying out the referendum?
It is one of the factors. The 11-person working committee has thoroughly read every letter in the ruling of the Constitution Court. The court ruled that amending Article 291 of the charter is not akin to overthrowing the democratic system with HM as the head. It was, however, as if the court issued a temporary injunction and suggested that the third reading be deferred. Nothing in the ruling refers to a referendum but it was like the court suggested that in drafting a whole new constitution, the people should be consulted first, and this led to the referendum.
Given that the opposition has always opposed it, how confident is the government that the referendum will be a success and lead to [this mode of] charter amendment?
We are confident in the result of the referendum - that it shall be endorsed and enable us to proceed with the third reading. After that, it will be the duty of the charter drafting assembly (CDA) and no longer the responsibility of either the government or the parliament. As to whether the CDA will touch on the monarchy section of the charter or not, I insist that it is not possible because it was clearly stated in the current charter that the section is forbidden from being amended.
So the amendment will look into aspects of whether the current charter is not democratic or contrary to the rule of law. Good parts would be maintained, however. After all is done, another referendum shall be carried out. In reality, the government is not afraid of those who oppose the move. Some are reasonable and others oppose it no matter what.
However, if less than half of the total electorate takes part in the referendum, then the referendum won't be valid. We must see what the repercussions will be. I don't want people to think negatively because the fact that the government intends to hold a referendum before the third reading means it is confident that it will be endorsed.
Will the government be involved in campaigning for the public to take part in the referendum?
There are two organisations responsible for that. First, the Election Commission. Government agencies have the role to make people understand, abiding by the Royal Act on Referendums (2009) which stated that the government or politicians cannot persuade the people [how to vote].
How will the questions in the referendum be put?
It will be something like: there will be a drafting of a new charter, wherein Article 291 of the current charter must be amended before a CDA can be formed - and in details it will be stated that the CDA cannot touch the monarchy section of the charter - and that after a draft has been completed, it will be subjected to another referendum for [public] endorsement.
The question cannot go into all these details but it will cover the issues and we will explain to the people. So the question may be like: "Do you agree with the amendment of the charter through a constitution drafting assembly to draft a new charter?"
The government sees a constitution drafting assembly as the best way to rewrite the charter?
Yes, it enables the people, who are the holders of national sovereignty, to be able to express themselves fully in the amendment process. And once it passes [a second referendum], the draft can be presented to HM the King for endorsement.
Many groups think article 309 will be removed in order to assist Thaksin Shinawatra.
That's not possible because it would be up to the constitution drafting assembly. The government can't meddle. It will be up to the people to balance the power of the drafting assembly.
Today, those opposite the government try to say everything is being done to help a single man, or for one government, for Thaksin. That's not the case because amending the charter is about setting up a structure of democratic governance.
No constitution is written for one man.
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/16/charter-amendment-not-for-one-man/
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