Judges opposed to royal intervention
Judges, law lecturers and activists have opposed a call to use the Constitution's Section 7 to resolve the political crisis, saying there were better options.
Sri-amphorn Salikupta, head of judges at the 3rd Region Appeal Court, said Section 7 should only be used if the charter and mechanisms under it could not function. He said Section 7 was not needed and could not be applied to fix the current political turmoil. The judge made the comment after the Law Society of Thailand and the Press Council of Thailand on Saturday issued a joint statement urging the public to support their call for royal intervention under Section 7. Section 7 states: "Whenever no provision under this Constitution is applicable to any case, it shall be decided in accordance with the constitutional practice in the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of the State." The current situation is a conflict between two groups of people, but provisions under the Constitution still work, Sri-amphorn said. Instead of calling for Section 7, the judge urged each side to take one step back and listen to the people by conducting a referendum to find an alternative to end the conflict. Ekamol Saijan, a political scientist at Chiangmai University, also opposed the call by the Law Society and the Press Council. He said the current conflict was not at a state of political deadlock, which would require application of Section 7. The problem was that the premier did not accept that he was the root cause of the problem, Ekamol said, adding the problem would be resolved and dealt with under due political process if he resigned. Weng Tojirakarn, president of Federation for Democracy, also said Section 7 was not a suitable option. Meanwhile, a group of young activists called the People's Democracy Group yesterday issued a statement to oppose the call for a non-elected prime minister. "We support a conflict resolution under the democratic system and with the people's participation. But we oppose political action that abuses constitutional practice, especially a coup d'etat and an appointment of a non-elected prime minister," the group's statement said. The group is holding a peaceful campaign called "Candle Lighting for Democracy" to remind the anti-Thaksin movement to be more concerned about taking political action within democratic ideals. The campaign will be held tomorrow at Democracy Monument on Rajdamnoen Avenue from 7pm to 10pm.
Kesinee Taengkhieo The Nation
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