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Published on April 7, 2008

The Campaign for Popular Democracy yesterday said it would team up with the People's Alliance for Democracy to jointly oppose any government attempt to rewrite the charter.

Spokesman Suriyasai Katasila warned that if the government insisted on  pushing through constitutional amendments, the movement would retaliate with two measures - launch impeachment proceedings against coalition MPs, and launch a signature campaign against the charter rewrite.

"In essence, the government wants to rewrite just Articles 237 and 309, to serve its own interests," he said, referring to the contentious clauses on party dissolution and amnesty for the junta and its activities, including the creation of the Assets Examination Committee.

He said if the government was sincere about the charter rewrite to better serve society, then it should amend Article 291, which prescribes the process for constitutional amendments, to pave way for the formation of the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) instead of confining the charter debate to Parliament only, he said.

Coalition MPs would be involved in a conflict of interest if they tried to rewrite the rules on party dissolution in order to escape punishment for electoral fraud, he said.

Suriyasai vowed to activate the impeachment process by soliciting the signatures of 20,000 voters.

A separate campaign would seek the endorsement of 20,000 voters to sponsor the bill to revise Article 291 to transfer the rewrite from Parliament to the CDA, he said. He criticised the government for leading the country back into turbulence similar to what happened under the Thaksin regime.

"Coup rumours would not have circulated if the government did its job in restoring trust and confidence," he said.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej should heed the advice of his People Power Party spokesman Kuthep Saikrajang to start working instead of making provocative remarks, he said.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva called for a comprehensive charter review. Parliament would be the appropriate forum for a rewrite as the existing process would factor in the views of every section in society.

The Nation