On 12 October 2007 at 7.00 am more than 1,000 civil society representatives from different networks including the Non-Government Organisations Coordinating Committee on Development (NGO-COD), the Confederation of State Enterprise Labour Unions, the Council of People's Organisations Network in Thailand, the Four Regions Slum Network, the Confederation of Teachers' Societies of Thailand, the Students Federation of Thailand (SFT), the Civil Society Organisation Network, and students and members of the general public, gathered in front of Parliament house intending to stop the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) from continuing its work.

 

Later at 9.00 am, trucks carrying loud speakers were moved to block the three entrances to parliament, marking the official closure of the parliament by the people.

However, although the three entrances were closed, members of the NLA were still able to gain access to the parliament building through the gate of Chang Ton National Museum (next to Vimanmek Palace). This particular entrance has not been in regularly use except on special occasions such as Children's Day. Therefore the NLA was able to attain a quorum for the meeting to continue as normal.

 

Declaring the Closure of the NLA

 

After the closure of the three entrances, Mr. Jon Ungpakorn, Chairperson of NGO-COD, announced that the closing of parliament was being done in a peaceful way to announce that the actions of the NLA are not acceptable. If the NLA plans to examine 40-60 acts in a few days to increase the power of the bureaucrats instead of giving more power to the people, it is unacceptable. He said he regretted that the NLA had passed many bills violating human rights such as the Computer Crime Act. Currently, the most dangerous act under discussion is the draft Internal Security Act (ISA), which will guarantee and establish military power over civilian government in the future.

 

Mr. Jon also stated that the National Legislative Assembly should change its acronym from NLA to SLA, which means Shameless Assembly. The gathering today was to express the fact that the people cannot accept laws violating people's rights and to demand that NLA members that care about the people's concerns should resign. After that, he read the declaration of the closure of the NLA:

 

Declaration Closing the Interim National Legislative Assembly Stop violating human rights and freedoms   It is clearly evident that the National Legislative Assembly, which was appointed by the military after a coup d'état that seized power from an elected government, had been passing laws to increase the power of the bureaucratic system and further the interests of capitalists. The NLA is destroying the rights and liberties of the people and their communities. Instead of improving the democratic system, Thai society is being taken backward to a system of bureaucratic polity. A series of unacceptable laws is being pushed through, such as 1) the draft Internal Security Act which increases the power of the military over the state and society; 2) the Community Forest and Water Resources Bill, which attempts to prohibit community rights; 3) the draft law relating to the Management of Radio and Television, which gives state agencies a monopoly of control over radio and television broadcast frequencies; 4) the draft Act on Privatisation Regulations and Standards which will privatise national enterprises vital to the livelihood of the public and put them in the hands of domestic and international corporations; 5) bills regarding the autonomy of six universities, which will turn universities into private enterprises controlled by the market and will prevent the poor from gaining access to education; and 6) the transportation-related Bill which will transfer transportation businesses to the corporate sector.   We feel that these numerous bills will have serious effects on the freedom and liberties of the people and on democracy; it will not be possible to hold the NLA responsible for these effects after they leave their positions.   We believe that if the current NLA continues to pass laws, even though there are only 13 days left before an election which would return the power to the people; there would be a severe impact on Thai society, which could be irreparable. Therefore we demand that the NLA stop functioning.   We, as citizens of Thailand, declare our right to "Close the Interim National Legislative Assembly, and to Stop Violating the Freedom and Liberty of the People".

 

 

Surapon Criticises the Demonstrators as "Cynic"

Associate Professor Dr. Surapon Nitikraipoj, an NLA member, gave an interview before attending the meeting and said that if the demonstrators declare that the assembly is illegitimate since it was appointed by the coup plotters, it meant that they thought that the NLA did not have legitimacy since the beginning. But he wanted to ask how, without the NLA, could elections or laws have been initiated. This assembly passed the laws to enable the election to take place. Thai society needs a legislative branch. The demonstrators could be thought of as cynics if they are not happy with certain laws but overgeneralise by saying that the NLA is not legitimate. However, the demonstration by the civil society groups is peaceful, he said.

 

Before the meeting to discuss the pending acts by the NLA, Ms. Pojanee Thanawaranit, 1^st Vice-Chairperson of the NLA and acting Chairperson of the meeting, informed the members that Assoc. Prof. Surichai Wan'kaew had resigned his NLA membership as of 11 December. However, the Chairperson did not reveal the reasons for his resignation.

 

Nation journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk said however that the resignation of Assoc. Prof. Surichai is still not enough. Assoc. Prof. Surichai should apologize to the people for playing his role to legitimize the coup plotters and for lubricating the work of the dictators. Pravit also demanded that Associate Professor Surichai donate his salary from working as an NLA member to the Wanida Tantiwittayapitak Fund, since his salary came from taxpayers' money.

 

Activists Climb the Fence into Parliament Declaring - "No Parliament Meeting Today"

 

The demonstration outside the parliament continued as representatives from different networks described the reasons why the NLA must stop considering new laws.

 

At around 11.30 am, Mr. Jon and the leaders of different networks, such as Saree Ongsomwang (Foundation for Consumers), Supinya Klangnarong (Secretary General of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform), Vasan Sitthiket (Artists Party), Nitirat Sapsomboon (Friends of the People), Pairoj Polpetch (Union for Civil Liberty) and other demonstrators brought wooden ladders to climb into parliament. About 20 persons from the first batch were able to climb over and ran to the doors of the parliament building, followed by security officers at the gate. Since the number of officers watching of the gate was reduced, about 60 more demonstrators then successfully climbed into parliament. The entry into parliament was to declare to the NLA that "there is no parliament meeting today."

 

Wallop Volunteers to Coordinate with Meechai

 

After the demonstrators climbed inside, they headed directly to the chamber of the parliament. The parliament session was ongoing, but had to be postponed after ten minutes. NLA member Mr. Wallop Tangkananurak came out to meet Mr. Jon, asking what law the demonstrators disagreed with. Mr. Jon explained by giving an extensive list and asked Mr. Wallop to call for a quorum on the assumption that many NLA members came to sign their names but did not really attend the meeting.

 

Mr. Wallop insisted that there were 140 members in attendance, which made a quorum, and he had recommended the Chairperson of the meeting to postpone the meeting due to the situation. He proposed that after this there should be no more discussion of the 15 recently proposed laws but only laws in the 2^nd and 3^rd readings.

 

On the issue of the civil society organizations calling for the NLA to resign, Mr. Wallop said it was a separate issue. He said resignation will not do any good, but he agreed that there are many acts that are big issues that need extensive consultation, not limited consultation. However, he will work as the bridge to bring the demands of the civil society to the Chairperson of the assembly.

 

Tuenjai Proposes Sending Representatives to Negotiate - Meanwhile Jon Agrees to Retreat if Draft ISA is Withdrawn

 

NLA member Mrs. Tuenjai Deetes came out to greet the demonstrators and said that she also wished to have a direct discussion between civil society with the NLA, since the demands were reasonable. It is true that the NLA is examining laws close to the election. There are some laws where civil society has extreme concerns, therefore she will propose to the NLA that a mechanism to interface between civil society and the NLA should be established.

 

When the media asked about the demand of civil society groups for NLA members to resign to show spirit, Mrs. Tuenjai responded that resignations would not do any good, since with her resignation the assembly would still have a quorum and could continue meeting. However, if she stays on, she could campaign for positive laws such as Nationality Act or Citizenship Record Act, which have been thoroughly examined.

 

At the same time, Mr. Jon responded that he did not know how to negotiate with the NLA since the demand is for the NLA to cease operating. Civil society is aware that the reason for the continuation of the NLA meeting is for to push for the draft ISA. The people will not accept this. However if the draft ISA is formally withdrawn, negotiations could taken place, he said.

 

Meechai States the NLA haË to Perform its Role According to the Constitution

 

Journalists reported that NLA Chairperson Mr. Meechai Ruchupan, after arriving at Parliament House from his medical check-up at a hospital, called for a meeting with relevant personnel such as NLA Secretary-General Ms. Suwimon Phumsingharat,; NLA and Parliament Property Director; NLA member Mr. Visanu Krue-ngarm; 1st Army Commander Lt-General Prayuth Chan-ocha; Assistant Police Chief Pol Lt-General Watcharaphol Prasanratchakit; Metropolitan Police Commander Pol Lt-General Asawin Kwanmuang; Dusit Police Station Superintendent Pol Col Prachai Jaicharnsukkit,. The main topic of discussion was ways of dealing with the demonstration. The meeting ended after an extensive one-hour discussion.

 

Mr. Meechai proposed to the police officers that the demonstrators be driven out of the parliament building so that the meeting could continue by 1.30 pm, but there was a feeling that this could lead to more dissatisfaction and greater conflict. Therefore Mr. Meechai decided to convene a press conference calling for the indefinite postponement of the session.

 

During the press conference, Mr. Meechai Ruchupan expressed sorrow at the disturbing situation which occurred in the morning and guaranteed that the NLA meeting would be postponed indefinitely.

 

However, he said that the NLA had to continue its role of in examining the laws as cited in the constitution. The NLA has the mandate to carry on its work until the beginning of the new assembly. He mentioned that in the past there has not been a case of trying to pass certain specific laws. In response to the demand for the NLA to resign, he said it will have an impact on the new government, because the NLA has obligations under the constitution. But if the people feel that there are certain laws that they are unhappy with, the new government can abolish or amend those laws.

 

1 Day ‘Closure of the Assembly' Successful

 

As the demonstrators continued to protest, Mr. Meechai called an end the meeting for the day. The demonstrators then returned outside. Mr. Jon declared on the stage in front of the parliament that civil society had been successful in pressuring the NLA to postpone its meeting today. However, this is not the ultimate success because the role of civil society is ultimately to end the role of the NLA. However, the people had learnt today that we cannot accept atrocious laws and this is a historic event where they had been able to get into the assembly chamber.

 

"The Chairperson of the SLA (Shameless Assembly) stated without shame that the role of the assembly is to continue examine the laws even though he was not elected by a single person. The chairperson can continue serving dictators in every government. Therefore we will meet again. There will be more mass demonstrations. This victory should be presented in all media in the nation. If there are laws that violate people's rights, we cannot accept that", Mr. Jon said.

 

Mr. Jon also said that the resignation of NLA members will show who is standing side by side with the people, and who is supporting dictators. At least, the resignation of Assoc Prof Surichai Wan'kaew shows that he stands with the people. However, it shows that those who continue to stay as NLA members have dictatorial hearts and we will continue our struggle.

 

News reports also said that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Development and Human Security Mr. Paiboon Wattanasiritham, and Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Mr. Thirapat Serirangsan would invite Mr. Jon to a meeting at Government House on 13 December, since the government fears that the demonstrations might escalate into violence and could be affect the upcoming election on the 23 December.

 

 

Translated by Pokpong Lawansiri