Government guilty of selective myopia

Thailand might be the only country in Asean that is unable to ratify Asean agreements, even though it will host the Asean summit next month. Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat said the government might not be able to submit all the documents for both houses of Parliament to consider before the session closes at the end of this month.

Article 190 of the Constitution requires the government to submit draft agreements that affect Thai sovereignty for parliamentary consideration. It is designed to ensure transparency in foreign policy in the same way, for instance, the US Congress debates international agreements. Although the deadline for the ratification is still more than a week away, Sompong does not seem to be enthusiastic in urging Parliament to ratify the major Asean agreements.

The government's lack of enthusiasm has confused the opposition party, which expected to see Parliament discuss the issue by November 28.

Sathit Wongnongtoey, chief opposition whip, said he would meet House Speaker Chai Chibchob to ask about the schedule to debate the Asean agreements. Sathit added that it was not clear yet whether Parliament would debate the Asean agreements because those in charge, especially Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, and Sompong himself, are not presently in Thailand.

Somchai and Sompong are scheduled to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Peru, and Sompong is scheduled to meet Latin American ministers afterwards. By the time they come back to Thailand, the parliamentary session will be closed.

The government should have done better than this. It should have clearly delegated the authority to assign other ministers to debate and defend the Asean agreements in Parliament. There are around 30 pieces of legislation waiting to be debated, such as the road map for the Asean Community and the blueprint for Asean cooperation.

If Parliament fails to debate the Asean agreements before the session closes on November 28, it will be a missed opportunity and an embarrassment to the country. The Constitution requires it to promptly debate international agreements before the government ratifies them, and to promote public participation.

However, the Somchai government tends to imply that the Constitution's Article 190 is an obstacle blocking the government from entering into international agreements.

The government's lack of action or enthusiasm can be seen as a pretext to press for the overhaul of the current Constitution by holding hostage international agreements such as the Asean free-trade agreements with regional neighbours like India and Australia.

Sompong should be reprimanded for his lack of interest or action. We are not arguing that the government should have signed all the agreements regardless of the content. But we must ask whether the government has been sincere in pushing forward the processes for these international agreements, especially that of regional cooperation, which has long been a high priority in Thailand's foreign policy.

The People Power Party-led government controls the House and it should not have a problem passing these agreements if it wants to.

Besides, recent actions show that the Constitution is not an obstacle in blocking Thailand's accession to international agreements, if they are worth being ratified. Recently, the House managed to have the bill to support the Asean Charter deliberated in three straight readings.

Thus, the government should make a more sincere effort to include the Asean agreements in the current session, to allow legislators to debate the merit of them, instead of using the agreements to bargain for amendment of the entire Constitution.