Former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said on Friday he personally was not interested in the current charter drafting and whether a referendum will be held on it because he believed the new constitution will only be torn up in the end as past ones were.
Former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, pictured with his wife, Phankrua, addresses the media during a party held on Friday to celebrate his 83rd birthday. Gen Chavalit said he was not interested in the current charter drafting as he believed the new constitution will only end up being torn up in a new coup, sooner or later. Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
He made this remark at a party held on Friday to celebrate his 83rd birthday.
Gen Chavalit said he previously proposed two drafts for the new charter but his proposals were ignored.
As for a referendum on the draft charter written by the Constitution Drafting Committee, he said, he said it was a sure bet it would be aborted.
The same old pattern is still there — a new charter is drafted, and then a new election is held, and then the military steps in to tear up the charter when political conflicts erupt, he said.
"It's our duty to reflect what the public thinks," he said.
Gen Chavalit, however, said he tends to sympathise with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha because he has to exercise his special powers under Section 44 of the interim charter because those powers are crucial for managing the country under the current circumstances.
Asked if he thought the government's reconciliation efforts would succeed, Gen Chavalit said he has not seen key details of the reconciliation plan but personally agreed with the National Council for Peace and Order's (NCPO) plan to start with reconciliation before moving on to national reform.
The public should not fear that the new constitution will allow the military to set up a political party while the NCPO should demonstrate its fairness and neutrality towards every party; otherwise it will not be able to resolve the political conflicts.
Gen Chavalit also said he was always ready to become prime minister again although he believed he could contribute to the good of the nation no matter what political status he holds.
He reiterated that his recent visit to Ayutthaya province where he met a group of farmers did not have any political implications, saying before that trip, he had also travelled to several provinces in the North, Northeast and South but no one raised issues with those visits.
Many key political figures who went to Gen Chavalit's birthday party yesterday included Veerakarn Musikhapong, a key red shirt with the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD); Weng Tojirakarn, another core UDD leader; Pitaya Pukkaman, executive director of the Pheu Thai Party; and Wan Muhamad Nor Matha, a key Pheu Thai member.
Also in attendance was Chatt Kuldiloke, former deputy interior minister; Chaturon Chaisaeng, former education minister; and Sanoh Thienthong, a key Pheu Thai member.