Rejecting new charter could make things worse
Hundreds of Buddhist monks and lay people take part in a march from the Buddhamonthon religious complex in Nakhon Pathom to Parliament yesterday. Nine elephants and a number of vehicles were also used in the procession.
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Constitution Drafting Com-mittee (CDC) secretary Somkid Lertpaitoon warned those who opposed the new constitution they might have to live with one drafted by the Council for National Security (CNS).
If the new draft charter fails to pass a public referendum, the interim constitution stipulates the CNS is allowed to take recourse with any previous charter by adapting some provisions.
"The CNS can pick the 1997 constitution and change the clause that senators must be appointed or add a clause that Buddhism must be a state religion. I'm not making a threat, but opponents of the constitution should be aware of these possibilities," he said. He pointed out that opponents wanted five issues addressed: the election system for MPs, the appointment of senators, the courts' power to appoint independent agencies, having 11 agencies making decisions when the country was in crisis and the addition of a clause making Buddhism the state religion.
He said the CDC was not concerned about the opposition, because it believed there were many who supported the constitution but remained silent.
He said the CDC could still make changes to the draft constitution now but that after it was forwarded to the Constitution Drafting Assembly, 60 votes would be required to make any further changes.
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