re: "Charter amendment 'necessary'" (BP, December 15, 2019)
Dear editor,
Who would not welcome a constitution founding their nation on a broad consensus of the Thai people? But for the latest permanent constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand to be amended with everyone's consent, all citizens must be accorded an equal right to a voice in forming the finally agreed upon legal foundation of their nation.
A good place to start the amendment process would, therefore, be to enable the necessary discussion by amending the current section 34, which fails to give strong legal protection to the fundamental right to free speech. The needed amendment to enable Thais a just voice in Thai affairs could be done by adding the word "equal" and deleting a few words so that the amended section 34 read: "A person shall enjoy the liberty to express opinions, make speeches, write, print, publicise and express by other means. The restriction of such liberty shall not be imposed, except by virtue of the provisions of law specifically enacted for the purpose of protecting the equal rights or liberties of other persons."
Such amendment to respect the rights of all Thai citizens as equally entitled to a voice in forming their nation's government and society has the virtue of recognizing democracy as fundamental to a just society that works for consent in forming the laws that govern it.
Felix Qui
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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.
The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 16, 2019, under the title "No right to a voice" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag
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