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Published on April 3, 2008

The spectre of political turmoil is revisiting Thailand once again with potential clashes over the government's attempt to implement drastic amendments to the Constitution.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) yesterday threatened to launch impeachment proceedings against government MPs if they push for the charter rewrite, a move that is intended to allow parties to escape punishment by dissolution and saving former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from charges of graft.

Asked about the possibility of political violence from the charter rewrite, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Somchai Wongsawat admitted he is concerned about potential violence.

"But if we all were to hold to the rules of the game, there won't be any violence. In the democratic system, we have to end up debating the matter in Parliament, whose members are elected by the people," he said.

Somchai insisted that by law Parliament can amend the Constitution and it is a matter of opinion over whether one agrees with the move or not.

"In a democracy, we do not have to agree on everything. Sixty-three million Thais can judge what is right and wrong," he said.

Banyad Bantadarn of the Democrat Party said the government must review its attempt to amend the Constitution at this juncture because it is stirring political heat inside the country. 

The PAD, which played a key role in bringing down the Thaksin government in 2006, outlined what it described as the government's stubbornness to amend the charter for self-serving gains.

The government's intent to amend the charter's Article 237 is to elude the party's dissolution related to electoral fraud involving party executives, the PAD said. The planned cancellation of Article 309 will derail the graft proceedings against Thaksin, it added.

Once the constitutional amendment is completed, the government is expected to dissolve Parliament in order to make way for a return to power of the 111 former executives of the defunct Thai Rak Thai, including possibly Thaksin.

Other analysts have also expressed concern over the rising political risk in Thailand. In its report "Siam Sense - Risk of a New Poll" (April 2), Thanachart Securities said if the Election Commission presses ahead with party dissolution, the risks will increase over the possibility of Thailand's having another election within the next 12 months or sooner.

"Longer term, politics will remain one of two hardcore problems - the other being the lack of new growth drivers - derailing Thailand's investment boom," the report said.

The Political Desk

The Nation