• 
• 

Published on April 25, 2008

THE NATION

Charnvit Kasetsiri wants the government to amend the charter in accordance with international standards, which the 1997 Constitution had adopted but were torn up after the coup on September 19, 2006.

His proposals include a change from "The Kingdom of Thailand" to "The Kingdom of Siam", abolition of the Senate and the return of provincial status to Bangkok's Thon Buri district.

Abolishing the Senate would save the country money, he said.

The Senate is irrelevant for democracy in our country since the first constitutional monarchy was introduced in 1932, said Charnvit, who is also a historian.

Charnvit said the word "Siam" was a more suitable name as the Kingdom was home to more than 50 ethnic groups, not only Thais.

Demanding a new law to

return provincial status to Thon Buri, the historian said Thon Buri had once been a province with a great history but had been destroyed by undemocratic rule since 1971.

Charnvit has asked members of the public to support his proposal by visiting http://www.petitiononline.com/SIAM2008/petition.html