PAD calls rally to protest rewrite

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is planning a rally on Sunday to preserve the Constitution and constitutional monarchy. It is scheduled to begin at 3pm at the Democracy Monument.

The PAD said signatures would also be collected in support of its campaign to impeach the MPs who back the Constitution amendment motion.

A total of 129 coalition MPs and 21 senators on Wednesday filed the motion with House of Representatives Speaker Chai Chidchob.

The five PAD leaders, Chamlong Srimuang, Somsak Kosaisuk, Piphob Dhongchai, Sondhi Limthongkul and Somkiat Pongpaiboon, met yesterday on the rally.

The group is campaigning against what it calls the "Thaksin regime" and its legacy. It describes the move to amend the Constitution as a bid to whitewash graft cases against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and allow him to return to power.

A PAD statement read by Suriyasai Katasila, the group's coordinator, said the amendment, which would replace most of the Constitution with articles from the 1997 charter, reflected "perilous manoeuvring" by the legislative and administrative branches that was posing a threat to the nation, the religion, the monarchy and society.

As a threat to the nation, the PAD said, the charter changes would bring back a constitution that allowed political interference in the legislative and judicial branches. It warned weakened scrutiny would stir a political crisis similar to the one that took place during Thaksin's tenure.

It said the proposal for Buddhism to be recognised in the Constitution as Thailand's national religion would only cause rifts among worshippers of different religions.

As for the threat to the monarchy, the PAD said the "puppet government" and Parliament had failed to take any concrete action against an ongoing smear campaign targeting the highest authority.

In regards to society, the group said the government had failed to absorb the impact on ordinary people of the economic problems.

"The puppet government instead is trying to remove the basic state policies [prescribed in the current charter] aimed at ensuring self-reliance for people ... and trying to reduce the public's power to scrutinise politicians," it said.

Sondhi and Chamlong called on Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to order his party MPs to withdraw their amendment motion if he was really sincere about his plan for holding a public referendum on the

matter.