The 10 groups, led by former senator Kraisak Chonhavan and human rights campaigner Somchai Homla-or, handed their proposals to CDC chairman Prasong Soonsiri, asking his panel to consider them along with other suggestions.

The proposals are:

lThe defunct 1997 People's Constitution should be a model for the new charter

lThe prime minister should be an elected MP

lAn MP need not resign if he or she takes a Cabinet post

lA House candidate does not need to hold a bachelor's degree

lSenators should be elected

lLegitimate power should arise from only elections, not military coups

lLocal communities should have autonomy to manage their local resources

lA new charter should not tolerate any acts of torture and inhuman treatment

lA human rights court should be founded to handle human-rights cases

lThe new charter should empower independent agencies and prevent interference from political groups

lThe new charter should give priority to the people's participation

lThe new charter should recognise the variety of races, religions, languages and cultures

lBuddhism should not be stated as the national religion because it could cause conflicts in society

lThe new charter should support free trade economy along with a sufficiency economy

lThe power of the police should be reduced while a checks-and-balances system for the police force should be created.

Kraisak complained after the meeting that the participatory

level of the public in drafting

the constitution is still lagging behind.

"The government has its mass media but they're not doing anything to offer a meaningful report about [the drafting]," said Kraisak, who warned that the whole affair of the referendum over the constitution could turn out to be a very politicised voting process - if the situation did not improve.