PM tells opposition: take part in charter rewrite

Faced with demands to call a snap election, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva made a counter offer to the opposition yesterday - take part in a rewrite of the charter, which, after eight to nine months, should lead to a dissolution of Parliament.

"Although next year is expected to see an increase in political violence, the government is striving with utmost effort to foster reconciliation," he said.

To maintain an atmosphere conducive for fence mending, he tried not to fuel nor get involved in the conflict, he said.

Dissolving the House to bring about a fresh start in politics was not out of the question, but he had to ensure that any snap election would bring about a successful end to the strife instead of more entanglement.

Prerequisites for dissolving the House were economic recovery, revising the charter and agreement by rival camps to stop provoking disturbances designed to prevent the other side from campaigning.

After consulting with his coalition allies for four hours, the prime minister clarified his plan to invite the opposition to redraft the constitution.

Rewriting process

Each coalition party would be free to sponsor amendments if the Pheu Thai Party refused to take part, he said.

Although the Democrats still wanted to involve the opposition, coalition allies could move ahead with the rewriting process regardless of the Pheu Thai response.

He called on the opposition to participate in the charter rewriting process, which is seen as key to revising electoral rules so the voting outcome will be accepted by all parties.

The coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party might sponsor charter amendments, such as switching from multi- to single-seat constituencies and refining the framework for parliamentary scrutiny of international agreements, he said.

If the opposition insisted on boycotting the rewrite, then the debate on proposed charter amendments would be treated as a regular legislative matter and not a bipartisan move to forge reconciliation, he said.

Army chief General Anupong Paochinda urged the rival camps to put the common good of the country before their narrow interests.

"It is a sacred duty of every Thai citizen to safeguard our homeland and no one should allow the conflict to spiral out of control beyond the debate on democratic principles," he said.

Rival camps, distinguished by different political colours, should suspend their struggle to let the political process run its course, he said.

In many countries, people |of contrasting partisan |interests could learn to co-exist without bloodshed, he said.

Plans by either camp to annihilate the other would only lead to the destruction of the whole country, he said.

"I'm confident that most Thais can think things through. The country is like our common ship and nothing will be gained, not even democracy, if the ship sinks," he said.

Pledge for peace

Soldiers were not allowed to side with any camp and would also not allow Thais to fight one another, he said, pledging to ensure peace.

"Next year will not see the eruption of political violence as has been feared, nor will there be a coup," he said.

The military would not intervene in politics because there were other options to safeguard the country, he said, warning against the dangerous idea that a seizure of power could be a breakthrough for the political standoff.

Barred Thai Rak Thai executive Chaturon Chaisaeng said the call to involve the opposition in a rewrite of the Consitution was a plot hatched by the main coalition party.

The Democrats were not sincere about amending the charter but want a distraction to help them cling to power, he claimed.

"In the next few months, there's going to be a political change because the people will not stand for the government to complete its term," he said.

Democrat MP Thepthai Senpong said the main opposition party should take part in the charter rewrite in order to move democracy forward.

"Pheu Thai should take action instead of just making demands about democracy - this is like wanting to eat rice but refusing to cook," he said.

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said the Democrats had a hidden motive in trying to reshape the charter.

The Democrats' call for a rewrite the charter coincided curiously with a decision due from the Election Commission on whether to penalise the party for the Bt258 million campaign contribution case, he said.