CDA member Chirmsak Pinthong said he differentiated between the right to unionisation, which he deemed as serving the collective interests of media professionals, and the right to set up an association within a single media organisation to promote and protect press freedom, which he sees as altruistic.

CDA member and charter-drafter Manit Suksomjit, a senior journalist at Thai Rath daily newspaper, vehemently op-posed the proposal that "media owners" must promote the establishment of such an organisation because, he claimed, existing pan-media organisations such as the Thai Journalists' Association and the Press Council are "adequate".

Chirmsak insisted that trampling of press freedom went on unabated during the Thaksin Shinawatra era.

"We want to see an organisation that protects press freedom and justice [within each media organisation]," he said.

The majority of CDA members were convinced by Chirm-sak's argument but decided on softer wording for Article 46 covering media professionals' rights to organise. The word "unionisation" was removed.

A two-hour debate on rights to personal information ended inconclusively. An attempt to ensure that private information is protected under Article 45 was abandoned after some of those supporting the move became convinced that the state, and organisations like universities, should have access to some personal information.

Those in favour of protecting personal information said private companies and the mass media exploit private information for their own financial benefits. Their move was abandoned but the topic may be discussed again.

In the afternoon, a proposal for the establishment of an independent organisation to oversee broadcast reform failed, with the majority of the assembly voting against it

The assembly then descended into chaos when Pichian Amnajworaprasert reiterated allegations made in a Tuesday  interview on Nation TV that there was a systematic attempt by some charter writers and CDA members to block a debate on enshrining Buddhism as the national religion. Both the CDA chairman and the drafting committees denied the existence of such a conspiracy.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation