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Dear
friends,
Thailand
will
soon
have a
new
Constitution.
Here’s
the
process:
the
National
Assembly’s
2,000
members,
who are
from
various
professions,
will
elect
200
representatives
from
among
themselves.
And from
these
200
representatives,
the
National
Security
Council
will
select a
hundred
of them
to be
members
of the
Constitutional
Drafting
Council.
But the
process
of
preparing
to draft
the new
Constitution
will be
accomplished
by the
Constitutional
Preparation
Commission.
This
Commission
is
composed
of 35
appointed
experts:
25
elected
from
within
the
Constitutional
Drafting
Council
and the
other 10
nominated
by the
National
Security
Council.
It can
be said
that the
structure
and Acts
of the
new
Constitution
will
depend
on how
these 35
commissioners
shape
them
during
the next
6 to 8
months.
However,
I see
that
Thai
society
should
not
allow
this job
to rest
solely
in the
hands of
these 35
commissioners
alone.
But we
should
pay
close
attention
and give
importance
to this
process.
After
all, the
rules
and
regulations
encoded
in this
Constitution
are very
important
and will
determine
the
future
shape of
Thai
society.
The new
Constitution
will
determine
the
rights
and
freedoms
of the
people,
the
structure
of Thai
politics,
the
provision
of
powers
for
different
organizations,
the
creation
of
mechanisms
to
monitor
government
authority,
and
different
facets
of
economic
and
social
justice.
Therefore,
every
part of
Thai
society
should
participate
in
drafting
our new
Constitution.
I would
like to
offer a
few
suggestions
for this
process,
as
follows:
First,
the
1,900
members
of the
National
Assembly
not
elected
to the
Constitutional
Drafting
Council
should
not
simply
be
dismissed
and sent
home.
Instead,
they
should
take
part in
inviting
Thai
society
into the
drafting
process.
In other
words,
they
should
be
incorporated
into a
specific
organization
that
creates
campaigns
which
disperse
knowledge
and
information
to the
people
in each
province.
This
will
dramatically
boost
the
people’s
understanding
of the
laws in
the
Constitution.
At the
same
time,
public
hearings
should
be held
at each
stage of
the
preparation
process
to
elicit
the
opinions
and
needs of
people
in each
province.
This
feedback
would,
in turn,
be
passed
to the
Constitutional
Drafting
Council
and the
Constitutional
Preparation
Commission,
enabling
the
substance
of the
new
Constitution
to
reflect
the will
of Thai
citizens
from
every
part of
the
country.
Second,
newspapers,
radios,
television
and even
websites
– all
public
media –
should
provide
space to
showcase
information
on this
campaign.
This
will
help
people
from all
parts of
our
nation
to
become
alert to
the fact
(understand)
that the
Constitution
is not a
far-away,
fairy
tale
issue or
something
useless,
but of
vital
importance
to their
immediate
life.
Moreover,
space in
all mass
media
should
welcome
the
opinions
and
suggestions
of
people
from
every
province
and
deliver
the
ideas
they
have
garnered
to the
Constitutional
Preparation
Commission.
This
would
create a
new
Constitution
that
would
truly
belong
to the
people.
Third,
the
academic
sector,
educational
institutes,
private
development
organizations,
and
people
well
known in
society
should
concurrently
create a
shadow
constitution.
This
shadow
constitution
would be
based on
published
academic
research
and
studies
in
progress.
These
parties
would
evaluate
weaknesses
and
strengths
in the
1997
Constitution.
They
would
collect
data
from
former
MPs,
former
Senators,
academics,
and NGO
organizations
about
how the
previous
Constitution
functioned
over the
past 9
years.
They
could
collect
a wish
list of
Constitutional
features
that
people
from all
parts of
Thailand
would
like to
see
enacted.
And such
organizations
would
submit
their
shadow
constitution
to the
Constitutional
Preparation
Commission
for its
consideration
during
the
drafting
process.
Fourth,
before a
referendum
to
approve
or
reject
the
drafted
Constitution,
public
hearings
would
examine
the
drafted
Constitution
Article
by
Article
and in
full
detail.
These
hearings
would
give
people a
forum to
raise
questions
and
discuss
their
concerns
about
the new
Constitution.
This
will
engage a
full
spectrum
of Thai
society
in this
process.
All
people
will
receive
information
and can
participate
in
asking
questions
and
expressing
opinions
about
the new
Constitution
before
the
referendum
itself.
During
the next
6 to 8
months,
Thailand
will be
engaged
in the
process
of
drafting
a new
Constitution
that
will
determine
(shape)
our
future.
Therefore,
Thai
society
should
not
ignore
this
process
but
actively
participate
in
expressing
their
opinions,
criticisms,
and
suggestions.
We want
this new
Constitution
to
really
come
from the
people.
Or at
least,
we
should
help to
make
this
process
as
people-oriented
as
possible.
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