Keep the Thai people's voice in the constitution.
On Wednesday the third of April, the parliament passed the bill proposed by the Pheu Thai party, which is the current government.
The bill proposed to change three articles. One is to lift the party dissolution penalties and political bans against party executives. Another is to remove the requirement for the government to seek Parliament's approval before inking contracts with foreign governments. The third is to restrict the people's rights to file a petition in the Constitution Court directly, and instead require them to submit their petitions to the attorney-general.
These changes can eventually allow the government to change the Constitution of Thailand without the people having freedom to directly petition against it in the Constitution Court.
Fortunately, all hope has not been lost. Although they are the minority in the parliament, opposition parties still exist. They are making the claim to the Constitution Court that the proposed amendment directly violates the Charter as the Constitution Court had ruled earlier that it had the power to receive complaints from the public directly.
If the Court accepts this claim that the amendment is indeed illegal and rejects it, the parties who voted for the amendments may face dissolution.
However, the Pheu Thai party is filing a case that the Court cannot accept these claims as there exists an Article 40 that guarantees the rights of defendants to receive fair trial.
These politicians are continuing on their debates which we don't know how long will last, but we the public should fight for what is seen clearly here:
Our right to question the government through the Constitution Court.
This should not be allowed to happen. It grants the government far too much power and violates the principles of democracy. We live in a world today where we are more connected than ever and passiveness should not be acceptable. We need to do something.
Don't stand by; stand up.