COMMITTEE SHAPING DRAFT CONSTITUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002073

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM TH
SUBJECT: COMMITTEE SHAPING DRAFT CONSTITUTION

REF: A. BANGKOK 1630 (AMBASSADOR'S DISCUSSION WITH
BANHARN)

B. BANGKOK 1598 (PRASONG ON CONSTITUTION)

C. BANGKOK 1538 (AMBASSADOR'S DISCUSSION WITH
CHATURON)

D. BANGKOK 1465 (AMBASSADOR'S DISCUSSION WITH CHUAN)

Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce, reason: 1.4 (b) and (d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) met on April
10 to adopt a position on some controversial provisions
proposed for a draft version of the constitution. The most
controversial proposal would allow persons other than elected
legislators to become Prime Minister; this idea faces
widespread opposition, from both civil society and members of
the drafting committee. The CDC is also debating how to
define the role and composition of the Senate, and whether to
create an ad hoc committee with special rights and duties in
a time of crisis. The CDC's draft will not establish
Buddhism as Thailand's national religion, and this omission
will likely energize religious groups to lobby the
Constitution Drafting Assembly. Whatever decisions the
drafting committee makes will be subject to further public
debate and may be modified or even reversed before the
constitution's completion in July. End Summary.

TIMETABLE AND PROCEDURES
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2. (SBU) The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has begun
a meeting designed to settle the CDC's position on certain
contentious provisions of the draft constitution. After
resolving these issues, the CDC will spend approximately one
week finalizing its draft. The CDC intends to release the
draft to the media on or about April 18 and formally present
it to the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) on or about
April 19. After approximately one month for public comment
and debate, the CDA will then spend weeks finalizing the
draft, aiming to complete its work in early July. The CDC's
April 10 decisions will influence subsequent discourse but
are open to reversal or modification.


3. (SBU) The CDC has determined that its April 10 meeting
will be closed to the public, and the voting that takes place
will be by secret ballot. These modalities have disappointed
members of the media and public who had hoped for greater
transparency in the CDC's processes.


4. (SBU) Up to this point, the CDC has issued press releases
informing the public about its debates and providing some of
its draft language. (These releases can be found online, in
English, at: http://cda.parliament.go.th/index en.php)
However, most media articles on constitutional issues have
highlighted ad hoc statements by various CDA figures or other
government officials with unclear authority to speak on the
issues under discussion. Political parties and NGOs have
responded to these trial balloons and expressions of opinion.

ELIGIBILITY FOR PM AT ISSUE
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5. (C) The most contentious provision at issue is whether the
constitution will enable the House of Representatives to
elect as Prime Minister someone who is not an elected member
of the House. Political parties, NGOs, academics, and
members of the media have expressed strong opposition to any
loophole that might allow an unelected figure to become Prime
Minister; they fear that leaving an opening for such a
selection would make it likely that figures associated with
the Council for National Security (CNS) would ensure their
selection, extending the military's hold on political power.
(General Suchinda Kraprayoon, who was forced from office
after a bloody crackdown on demonstrations in 1992, used this
strategy.) Our contacts have consistently told us that
including a provision for a "non-elected PM" would spark
strong opposition to the constitution, likely including
street protests. Nevertheless, CDC Chairman Prasong Soonsiri
told the Ambassador in March that he hoped to preserve a
variation of this provision for use in times of crisis (ref
B).

THE SENATE

BANGKOK 00002073 002 OF 002


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6. (C) The new constitution will redefine the role and
composition of the Senate. (The system established by the
1997 Constitution aimed to produce an elected but
non-partisan Senate. It failed.) While political parties
have expressed a preference for retaining an elected Senate,
they appear not to view this issue as rising to the same
level of importance as that of the "non-elected PM" --
perhaps because Thailand only began holding direct elections
for the Senate after 1997; previously, Senators were either
indirectly elected by the House or appointed. NGOs,
academics, and media pundits appear even less motivated than
the political parties to retain an elected Senate. The next
Senate's role in lawmaking and appointing members of
independent agencies (e.g., the Election Commission, the
National Counter Corruption Commission) remains unclear.

OTHER POLITICAL ISSUES
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7. (C) The CDC will take an initial stance on whether to
retain a party list mechanism for the election of members of
the House. Some critics charge that the party list system
allows parties a mechanism for providing large donors and
cronies with seats in parliament. Others claim that the
party lists are useful in allowing intellectuals or others
who lack the knack for campaigning to find a route into the
parliament. Politicians appear ambivalent on the retention
of party lists; like the composition of the Senate, proposals
for and against retaining party lists do not evoke strong
feelings.


8. (C) A more controversial provision that may be included in
the CDC's first draft would allow for a special committee to
convene and make important decisions during a time of crisis.
The composition of this committee, and its modalities,
remain unclear. Advocates of a new mechanism of this sort
appear to be trying to find a way -- short of intervention by
the King -- to resolve the type of situation that arose in
late 2005 and early 2006, when urban Thais held large
protests against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who
retained political support in many rural areas. Including
this provision would likely engender substantial debate in
civil society.

BUDDHISM
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9. (C) Up to this point, no CDC member has advocated making
Buddhism Thailand's national religion. However, Buddhist
groups have traditionally lobbied ardently (but
unsuccessfully) for such a provision whenever the authorities
draft a new constitution. Our contacts tell us we may again
see a heated debate on the issue, but it has not yet arisen
within the CDC, and the first draft will not contain a
provision enhancing the primacy of Buddhism in Thailand.

COMMENT
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10. (C) The above list of issues is not comprehensive, but it
includes the most important provisions that the CDC has begun
discussing. Although the CDC's views will provide a useful
indication of where the drafting process is heading, the CDA
is empowered to make whatever charges it sees fit to the
CDC's first draft. So, while the April 10 debate may
generate sensationalist headlines, it should be seen as a
meaningful but far from final step toward promulgating a new
constitution that lays the groundwork for elections.
BOYCE