Nidhi Eoseewong on conflict over the Thai constitution
By Jon Fernquest |
A constitutional revision is looming in the near future.
A renewal of street protests in Bangkok has already begun.
Thai constitutions in the past were amended by the military.
This time a democratically elected government is pushing to amend the constitution.
Historian Nidhi Eoseewong explains what is happening nowadays in Thai politics and what's likely to happen in the future.
Also read a previous Bangkok Post article written by professor Nidhi Eoseewong on class divisions in Thai society.
Here is the article in full:
THAI POLITICS
Charter amendment: the vagaries and vulgarities
NIDHI EOSEEWONG
Wednesday April 09, 2008
This is not the first time Thailand is trying to solve its political problems by amending the Constitution. It was the solution of choice when the army had direct control over politics in the past. If they had some kind of power over members of parliament, they sought to amend the problematic articles only, or to expand the transitory provisions. If they had no command over parliament, they took care of the matter by staging a coup, then promulgated a charter that was not so problematic or simply drafted a new one. The present Constitution is no exception: it was written to solve an immediate political problem.
The latest attempt to amend the Constitution is different from those in the past in that it is not an initiative of the military. It is the politicians who want it changed to avoid their own charter-related predicament. And, at least as far as theory goes, they are entitled to seek this constitutional change as they have enough votes in parliament.
I do not know how the military view the latest attempt by politicians to amend the Constitution. Indeed, I am not even sure if there still is a unified political stance by the military as an institution.
Viewed in this light, the constitutional amendment initiative is another step forward for the electoral side, in taking over political power and establishing itself as the topmost leader. It also reveals what the face of electoral politics would be like.
What is noteworthy is that though the current Constitution has been endorsed in a national referendum, it is widely viewed as flawed and deserving of an amendment. During the run-up to the referendum, some of the drafters even asked the public to vote "yes" and then seek to rewrite it later. In short, it is not a very popular Constitution. And that should make it easy for politicians and election specialists to seek to change it, even if the move has no other objective than to save the politicians. The thing is, they should not be seen going about it in a rough and tough way - to have it their way by using the majority vote in parliament. They should build a momentum among the public and put into motion a process of constitutional amendment that is acceptable to society. If they had managed their public relations better - informed the public better of what exactly they want to change and probably compromise a bit to accommodate what others want to change, too - the whole process might have moved forward more smoothly. If they had managed the issue better, they could have masked the brusque side of the electoral politics and prevented it from being displayed as nakedly as it has been.
Of course, the time constraint is the main thing. Since the pending electoral fraud cases which could lead to their parties being dissolved are forcing their hand, these politicians have no choice but to do what the military did: which is to do the equivalent of a coup in parliament and stage an overwhelming vote for the amendment.
As I write this article, a certain number of People Power party MPs plan to seek a motion to amend the Constitution. I have no clue if parliament will accept. I am certain, however, that a movement to oppose it will be mobilised in society far and wide.
The forces to counter the politician-led constitutional amendment process will come from many sectors. Again, I have no clue whether such a widely-ranged civil movement would be strong enough as to halt the charter change.
But of course, some members of the academia would oppose the change, yet they are not unanimous in their analyses of the problem or prognoses. Some of them agree that the charter should be changed but they wish the process was made fairer and more accountable; for example, to have people from other sectors, apart from politicians, as representatives in a committee to amend the constitution. Others, especially those who took part in drafting the charter, would rather that society continued to use it until they know from experience what its flaws are and then make a prudent decision about it later.
The group of people that call themselves a "civil society" movement comprising NGOs, activists or community leaders, are likely to move against the charter change as well. Like the academics, they will not let their diverse views torpedo the unified stance. This group should focus on articles concerning the rights and liberties of the public and the ability of public interest groups to censure public office holders. For that reason, their members would naturally be more interested in making the relevant organic laws clearer and more effective when put into practice.
There is no need to analyse the election specialists from the opposition party. They would seize the opportunity when so many groups have come out to rally against the government, to jump on the bandwagon too. And their mission would be to bring to light how unjustifiable the government's move to amend the charter is.
Even though there is an effort by the government to strike a compromise with the army - to refrain from investigating the Council for National Security's use of "secret budget", for example - certain military men just cannot accept the return to power of politicians who have come in with the electoral mandate. This faction would then lend support to groups that oppose the government. With its power divided, the army becomes useless as a political tool. It cannot really help any side.
The same divisiveness marks capitalists as well. Although the Thaksin government is considered one for the globalised capitalists, not all owners of capital in Thailand are globalised ones. In fact, many local businesses lost out due to Thaksin-style globalisation-friendly policies. Quite a few believe the policies were made at their expense. This group of business people would not trust the PPP. Actually, even businesses that used to support the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai party would not put their faith in the PPP wholeheartedly. The PPP government is not like the TRT one. It has no business-interest representatives, or their nominees. The power is shared by election specialists both in and outside the clique of the 111 banned TRT functionaries.
Under the circumstances, some members of the capitalist group would lend their weight to the protest against the charter amendment, while others would opt to appear neutral. At most, they would just express their concern at the still "rippling" politics.
It's true that the more informed members of the middle-class are probably not ready to take to the streets with the People's Democratic Alliance (PAD).
The future, however, is not yet certain. A lot depends on how arrogant the government is in its attempt to ward off the opposing side. Nothing is more intolerable to the Thai middle-class than the vulgarity of politicians who were voted into office by members of the lower class. This is because it reminds them that the political power they once enjoyed is slipping out of their hands as the electoral system has come to replace the half-electoral, half-bureaucratic polity system.
I have no clue as to what will happen during the political upheaval caused by the clash of opinions regarding the constitutional amendment that is to come. One thing I can say, which incidentally echoes Prime Minister's Samak's belief, is that there is not enough incentive for the military to stage another coup now.
It is worth noting as well that the opposition to the coalition government's charter amendment for self-preservation has no force in the rural areas. It is very much limited as an urban phenomenon. If there really is another general election (after a party dissolution, a coup or other untoward event), all these election specialists we have known so well will return under the banner of any given political party and form a government once again.
The latest attempt at charter amendment is especially interesting because it is a test of the electoral system's power. If the politicians manage to change it, it shows that Thai politics has become fully electoral. It will also confirm the vulgarity of the regime - a glimpse of which we have had all along.
If, for some reason, the amendment attempt does not go through, then the newly emerged electoral system and the age-old half-electoral, half-bureaucratic policy one - whose real face has been gradually revealed to be as vulgar - will be stuck in a continued face-off.
Professor Nidhi Eoseewong is a historian who started the alternative educational forum, the Midnight University.
(Source: Bangkok Post, op-ed section, 09-04-08, NIDHI EOSEEWONG, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
vulgarity - behaviour that is rude and lacks taste
vagaries - unexpected and unpredictable changes in a situation (which we have no control over)
revision - rewriting and changing
looming - about to happen
renewal - beginning again
pushing to X - trying to force X to happen
amend the constitution - change the constitution
a showdown - a final conflict to resolve a long-standing problem
amending the constitution - changing the constitution
transitory - lasting for only a short time
provisions - arrangements included in a law or agreement
staging a coup - planning and carrying out a coup (See Edward Luttwak's Coup d'etat: A Practical Handbook)
a charter - a formal document describing the principles, goals, and rights of a group of people or organisation
promulgate - make a new law official
promulgated a charter - make a charter official
X is no exception - X like every other case, follows the rule
an initiative - action taken to solve a problem
a predicament - a problem that is difficult to solve
charter-related predicament - a difficult problem created by the last charter or constitution
in theory, as far as theory goes - supposed to be true acccording to the rules that explain or govern this sort of thing, but may actually not be true "in practice"
in practice - what actually happens in constrast to what was supposed to happen
entitled to Y - allowed to do Y, have the right to do Y
a stance - an attitude and opinion on an issue
unified political stance - everyone in the group has the same attitude and opinion on a political issue
a social institution - an important organisation or system within a society (with its own history, traditions, and way of doing things)
the military as an institution - the military as an organisation within society (with its own history and traditions)
viewed in this light - seen from this way, seen from this perspective
a step forward - an improvement, a positive change, progress
noteworthy - a fact or event that is important and interesting
endorse - public statement that you support and approve of something
a referendum - when the citizens of a country are asked to show whether they agree or disagree by voting
endorsed in a national referendum - the public showed support for it by voting for it
flawed - not perfect, contains a mistake or undesirable characteristic
the run-up to Y - the period before Y happens
run-up to the referendum - the period before the voting in the referendum
drafters - people who write a constitution or law (draft a constitution, draft a law)
going about it - doing it
going about it in a rough and tough way - doing it in a rough way
builds momentum - over time moves more quickly and becomes more difficult to stop
put into motion a process of constitutional amendment -
public relations (PR) - actions to gain public approval for what you do
a compromise - give up something to reach an agreement (See glossary)
strike a compromise - make a compromise
accommodate - satisfy or please other people (do not just for your own benefit)
move forward - make progress (See glossary)
moved forward more smoothly - make progress without so many problems
brusque - doing things too quickly and rudely
a time constraint - the limited amount of time available to do something
overwhelm - with great strength, gain control
overwhelming vote for the amendment -
civil - involving the different groups of people in a country
a movement, a civil movement - a group of people in a society who share the same goals
civil society - a wide range of organisations outside of the state, families, or companies, including NGOs, professional or industry organisations, an arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values (See Google definitions and Wikipedia)
accountable - responsible for one's actions and can justify these actions(See glossary)
prudent - sensible and careful
a prudent decision - a sensible and careful decision
torpedo - prevent something from being successful
rights and liberties of the public -
the public interest - the general welfare of a society, an idea used in debates on government policy, a government policy should further the public interest (See Wikipedia)
an interest group - a non-profit and usually voluntary organization whose members have a common cause for which they seek to influence public policy, without seeking political control (See BusinessDictionary.com)
Public Interest Group (PIG) - an interest group striving to help the general public byond the members of their organisation (See BusinessDictionary.com)
censure - express strong disapproval, condemn
public office holders - government officials, elected and appointed
organic laws - fundamental laws, a law or system of laws which forms the foundation of a government, corporation or other organization's body of rules, a constitution is a particular form of organic law for a sovereign state (See Wikipedia)
seize the opportunity - take an opportunity when it exists (it may not exist again)
rally - encourage people to support something
rally against the government - encourage people to oppose the government or government policy
jump on the bandwagon - join an activity because it is very popular (everyone is doing it so I'll do it too)
refrain from - stop doing
Council for National Security (CNS) - the group of military officers who held power after Thailand's 2006 coup
a mandate - the authority to carry out a task or policy
an electoral mandate - authority gained from an election, to carry out a task or policy
factions - smaller groups with a larger group, conflicts exist between these smaller groups
lend support to - give support to
divisiveness - a state of unfriendliness and disagreement between people
capitalists - business people (however msot business people do not normally refer to themselves as "capitalists")
globalised capitalists - business people who believe in promoting business relations with foreign countries (investment, exports, imports)
policies were made at their expense -
defunct - no longer exists, stopped operating
put their faith in - trust, depend on, rely on
wholeheartedly - with great enthusiasm
a business interest - people whose businesses either gain or lose from poltical decisions and events
nominees - people who are serving in a position for someone else, often to get around rules or laws (for example, foreign business laws restrict ownership to under 50% so Thai nominees pretend they are the owners as a service to get around the law)
a clique - a group of friends, unfriendly to those not in the group
a functionary - an administrator, for the government or a political party
the clique of the 111 banned TRT functionaries - the group of TRT executives who were banned from politics for five years in a court decision last year
under the circumstances - in this situation, with these constraints
lend their weight to the protest - support the protest
rippling - gradually spreading effects of an event (also little waves on the surface of water)
informed - know about what is happening
the more informed members of the middle-class - middle class people who know what is really happening in politics
People's Democratic Alliance (PAD) - the alliance of anti-Thaksin protesters
arrogant - behaving in a overly proud way, as if believing that you are more important than others
ward off - prevent a dangerous thing from harming you
intolerable - so bad that no one can endure or live with it anymore
the political power they once enjoyed - the political power they once had
slipping out of their hands - slowly losing possession
a bureaucratic polity - name of an important study of Thai politics
I have no clue - I really do not know
an upheaval - a big change that causes a lot of trouble, confusion, and worry
incidentally - by the way (used to introduce information that is not relevant to what you are saying right now)
incentive - a reward, a reason for doing something
self-preservation - keeping yourself alive and safe in a dangerous situation
a phenomenon - something observed to happen or exist
an urban phenomenon - something that can be found in cities
a dissolution - officially ending and breaking up an organisation
a party dissolution - officially ending the life of a political party
an untoward event - an unexpected event that causes difficulties
under the banner of - as a member iof, affiliated or connected with
confirm - affirm, show that it is definitely true
a face-off - a fight or disagreement between two people or groups
