PM goes cool on charter change

       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is hinting he could stop the process of amending the constitution if enough parties disagree with the change.
       Mr Abhisit yesterday said the amendment process had been set in motion to promote the unity of all parties and should now be cancelled if it was being hampered by disputes.
       "I think it will then be difficult to find a reason to proceed," he said."If the PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) and the opposition disagree with it, why should it continue?"
       The PAD and its political arm, the New Politics Party, have vowed to oppose attempts to abolish the 2007 charter.
       The opposition Puea Thai Party's position remains unclear. Opposition chief whip Witthaya Buranasiri last week said he supported constitutional amendments. But Puea Thai MP Chalerm Yubamrung told the Bangkok Post yesterday most of the opposition party did not support the change.
       The prime minister yesterday called on the opposition to confirm if it honoured the agreement with the government and the Senate to work out national reconciliation through constitutional amendment.
       If the opposition supported the tripartite agreement, the process might take nine months from now to finish the constitutional amendments, he said.
       "The present delay results from the opposition and has nothing at all to do with the government. The government is not buying time. In fact, it is calling for clarity," Mr Abhisit said.
       The Council of State has advised that the amendment process must begin with a referendum asking people whether they want change. But the government parties want the referendum held after the draft on the amendment passes the first reading of parliament.
       Mr Abhisit said he would settle the referendum procedures with all parties.
       Meanwhile, Mr Chalerm insisted that almost all Puea Thai MPs had agreed not to support the amendment of the constitution because the six changes proposed would not benefit the party or the public.
       The six changes were proposed by a parliamentary committee on national reconciliation and constitutional amendment made up of representatives from the government, the opposition and the Senate.
       Mr Chalerm said the planned change to Article 190 of the constitution would only serve the interests of the government. The article requires the government to seek parliamentary approval before signing international agreements.
       The opposition did not see any use in supporting a constitutional change to make life easier for the government,he said.
       The exclusion of Article 237, which allows the dissolution of a political party when one of its executives violates the electoral law, also does not benefit Puea Thai.
       Mr Chalerm said Puea Thai members had experienced two party dissolutions and did not see any benefit in the amendment. It was the coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party of Banharn Silpa-archa that was demanding the change, he said.
       Puea Thai does not care about changing from a multi-seat constituency election to a single-seat constituency system as this only benefits small political parties, he said.
       Puea Thai also would not benefit from the change to replace appointed senators with elected officers and the move to allow MPs to assume other political positions, Mr Chalerm said.
       He criticised Mr Abhisit for raising the opposition's position as an excuse to cancel the process of the constitution amendment.