Pita urges all parties to amend charter after latest case against Pheu Thai
FORMER leader of Move Forward Party Pita Limcharoenrat, which was dissolved by court but reborn as People’s Party, today (Oct.10) urged all parties to amend the constitution after a lawyer petitioned the Constitutional Court to end alleged “erosive” acts by Pheu Thai and the party’s de facto boss Thaksin Shinawatra, Naewna newspaper said late afternoon.
a lone lawyer, namely Thirayut Suwankesorn, accused Thaksin of having practically kept himself above the law, flouting the monarch’s pardon which had curtailed his eight-year jail sentence to only one year on account of perpetrating power abuse and misconduct during his previous premiership prior to his having fled the country in self-exile abroad.
Pita pointed out that while ethics should exist in society it should not be used a weapon to destroy one another. Should a compliant be filed about something, the punishmen should be proportionate to the complaint.
Society should together determine which ethics are appropriate or inappropriate and this should not be used as a weapon to disqulify people from politics.
This is the issue that all political parties should together discuss and move to amend the constitution, he added.
Pita was among Move Forward executive board members who lost their MP status and banned from politics for 10 years after the Constitutional Court dissolved the party for violating the the lese majeste law by openly making campaign-promised moves deemed by court as tantamount to undermining rule of the country.
Asked whether he had a word of encouragement for Pheu Thai, Pita said he still insists that Move Forward should be the last party to be dissolved and that this sort of action be stopped.
If something were to happen the punishment should be propotionate and not lead to the prime minister elected by the people being dismissed or a party dissolved.
The only way to overthrow a government in Thailand is through a coup d’etat, he said, adding he did not want Pheu Thai dissolved.
Asked whether Thirayut’s petition would unmask those behind the push to dissolve Move Forward, Pita said he did not bother about such things and that likewise Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinwatra should not be distracted and focus on solving the country’s problems.
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Former Move Forward leader Pita Limcharoenrat. Photos: Thai Rath
This report originally appeared at www.thainewsroom.com