Charter changes first, coalition and govt heads say

[Mentors]

Coalition parties agree that changes to the Constitution should be completed before the House of Representatives is dissolved, a government source said yesterday.

 

It has been agreed that coalition parties should propose their amendment draft to the Parliament [color:red]as soon as possible so the House can be dissolved after the changes have been done[/color], a highly-placed source from the coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party said.

 

Banharn Silapa-archa, who is Chart Thai Pattana's chief adviser, said the government should set a clear roadmap for constitutional amendment and House dissolution to assure the protesting red shirts that their demand for House dissolution is eventually met.

 

[color:red]"The rules should be changed - that is the Constitution. Changes can be done in three to four months - September, October or November - and after it's completed, then House dissolution," he said, adding that for him sincerity counted.[/color]

 

"Both sides must have mutual sincerity. The government should state clearly about the changes to the rules: when and how they will be changed, when it will be finished, and when the House will be dissolved. There may be House dissolution within this year, probably around year-end," Banharn said.

 

He said the charter changes should focus on the problematic clauses already agreed upon by the political parties, such as the penalty for dissolution of political parties.

 

Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat, in his capacity as deputy leader of the coalition Bhum Jai Thai Party, also voiced support to amend the Constitution's problematic clauses first before Parliament is dissolved. He said an early dissolution would leave the cause of discontent by the red shirts unattended.

 

Banharn, a former prime minister, said he disagreed with a red shirt leader's demand for the prime minister to dissolve the House within two weeks.

 

"That's too short a time. The government now has many problems to solve. The budget bill for fiscal 2010 needs to be deliberated soon. If the House is dissolved now, the deliberation will be postponed and there will be damage to the country," he said.

 

However, the veteran politician also disagreed with the proposal to hold a referendum to gauge public opinion on whether the charter should be changed and on what clauses. He said the process was time-consuming and unnecessary.

 

When asked to comment on the bomb explosion near his Bangkok house on Sunday night, Banharn said he had often received threats over the phone, as well as from people on stage at the red shirts' rally site. He said Chart Thai Pattana would not pull out of Abhisit's coalition, as urged by the reds and opposition politicians.

 

"The government is doing well solving economic problems. If the party pulls out, the economy will get worse," he said.

 

[color:red]Banharn admitted fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra had called him last month. But he declined to disclose details of their discussion. "I just told him I couldn't do much at the moment," he said.[/color]

 

Meanwhile, Democrat executive and chief coalition whip Witthaya Kaewparadai said yesterday's meeting in the government's war room agreed that before House dissolution, the problematic constitutional clauses should first be amended and the feuding sides should end their confrontation to allow a reconciliatory environment in the run-up to a general election.

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/03/30/politics/Charter-changes-first-coalition-and-govt-heads-say-30125898.html