The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) should create an atmosphere for reconciliation that paves the way for national reform and not dominate the reform agenda, a Reform Now Network (RNN) meeting has been told.
Kittipong Kittayarak, former justice permanent secretary and commissioner on the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT), said the NCPO must neither act as a party to the political conflict nor take sides with particular groups.
He was speaking in the sixth RNN meeting in Bangkok yesterday.
The former permanent secretary said being a party to the conflict stands in the way of finding a solution to the country's political woes. Stakeholders in the conflict may be reluctant to work together and figure out a resolution, he said.
The NCPO must create a climate for peace and reconciliation which is conducive to reform, and avoid dominating the reform agenda, Mr Kittipong said.
He said reconciliation does not mean making people love each other and agreeing on the same things. Rather, it should encourage them to tolerate others with different opinions.
Former Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said national reform and reconciliation were part and parcel of the same thing. They depend on each other for both to succeed.
People must feel they "own" and can be part of the reconciliation and reform processes.
The reconciliation process can be designed to be flexible and serve specific groups of people to address their needs, Mr Surakiart said.
RNN member Somsak Chunharas said reforms must address changes in the law and social structure to reduce disparity and unfairness, and people must be free from being used as political tools.
The reform process must also take into account public participation, which is a key constitutional mechanism, Dr Somsak said.
Palakorn Wongkongkaew, director of the Community Organisation Development Institute, said the reform process must not be restricted to the work of civil servants.
Decentralisation of power is significant for addressing the needs of locals and diversity of political ideology among people, he said.
Khon Thai Foundation chairman Wichian Pongsathorn said reform must be carried out collectively. All sides must set a common goal for the country which should not take long to achieve, he said.
Surichai Wankaew, director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said the people should be free to express their views under the junta's regime. They should take part in the reform projects out of their own free will.
The political crisis has raised public awareness of the need for reform, he said.
He said the question now was how to ease the hostility which one social group might harbour against others.