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Published on July 12, 2007

A new round of battles between supporters and opponents of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra has kicked off ahead of the national referendum to approve the recently concluded draft constitution.

From now until the referendum on August 19, both sides are expected to campaign nationwide through all available channels for their causes.

The charter is not the only thing at stake. A divided nation is at a crossroads.

As the country begins the countdown to the referendum, the Council for National Security (CNS) has serious concerns about the possibility of the draft charter, written by the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA), being rejected.

With anti-military sentiment mounting in recent weeks, the referendum has shifted in significance from being a normal vote to a golden chance for anti-

CNS groups to hammer the junta.

Key members of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party stand in the front row of the campaign to defeat the new charter. They raise the same issues as the People's Television (PTV) group. But nearly all of their executives are former TRT members.

With TRT unwilling to accept the CNS-installed Constitution Tribunal's ruling to dissolve the party and ban 111 of its executives from assuming political office for five years, the referendum is a prime opportunity for revenge.

Chaturon Chaisang, Newin Chidchob, Surapong Suebwonglee and Nisit Sinthuprai led about 30 TRT veterans on Tuesday to launch a campaign under the slogan "Vote No to the 2007 Constitution and Demand the Return of the 1997 Constitution".

They say the draft charter is undemocratic and claim authorities have misled voters into believing they can only cast votes of approval.

The popularity of TRT remains strong in the North, Northeast and Central regions, so the CNS does not take the "Vote No" campaign lightly, particularly after nearly 300 former TRT MPs and candidates vowed to take the campaign nationwide.

The September 19 Network Against the Coup is also moving against the junta-sponsored draft. It is encouraging people to cast a 'No' vote in the referendum. The campaign includes newspaper advertisements, distribution of printed material and T-shirts with anti-draft messages.

Although the CNS has the power to pick any previous charters and adjust it to form the new constitution, if voters reject the CDA draft, it is working at full speed to get a majority of Thais to say "yes".

For anti-CNS groups, the "Vote No" campaign is a message to oust the military.

A few days ago, Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas dismissed reports that tens of thousands of people oppose the new charter. He said the numbers were hugely inflated as the "old power clique" had found it difficult to get enough people to continue the anti-charter drive.

However, the 100 CDA members agreed on a plan on Tuesday for a publicity blitz to win public support for the new charter.

They plan to utilise every media outlet including all television, cable and radio stations, websites, print media outlets, government agencies, education institutions, billboards and places where crowds gather.

Two weeks ago, the propaganda battle started in the Thai-language newspaper Matichon. Two full-page ads carried distinctly different messages - one from the CDA urged people to vote in favour of the draft constitution, while the September 19 Network Against the Coup advocated a "No" vote with detailed arguments on how the country would benefit if the draft charter was rejected in the referendum.

The CNS recently came up with a new weapon: the Referendum Act. Expected to take effect soon, the law will be used to "shoot down" anti-charter activists with punishments of Bt200,000 fines or a maximum of 10 years in prison.

As the clock ticks away to August 19, both sides are working at full bore to undermine their opponent, as the loser could see its legitimacy badly dented.

Weerayut Chokchaimadon

The Nation