BANGKOK — Thailand's next constitution will allow for an unelected Prime Minister to take control in the event of a political crisis, drafters of the charter said yesterday.

Kamnoon Sitthisaman, spokesperson for the junta-appointed Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), said that the Prime Minister "won't be required to be an MP," contrary to recent Thai constitutions.

According to Kamnoon, the change will be enshrined in Section 173 of the new charter, which is expected to be finished by September 2015. The removal of the requirement is intended to offer a solution in the event of a political crisis, he said. 

"In normal situation, the Parliament will elect a Prime Minister from the MPs," Kamnoon said, "But in an abnormal situation, they may appoint an outsider to serve in that position."

Kamnoon did not elaborate on what types of abnormal situations would warrant an unelected Prime Minister. 

According to the provision, which was approved by 17 out of 31 committee members present for the vote, the outsider PM will need to receive support from more than half of the House of Representatives, and will be limited to serving two terms.

Critics says the measure is further evidence of the junta’s alliance with the conservative movement that campaigned against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Ushering in an unelected "outsider" Prime Minister was one of the protesters' chief demands.  

In May 2014, the movement’s leaders asked the Senate to unilaterally appoint a PM after Yingluck was ousted in a court ruling. The Senate refused, and was dissolved only a few weeks later after the military stepped in and staged a coup on 22 May.

After seizing power, the junta shredded the 2007 constitution and appointed the CDC to draft a new one. The committee is stacked with military allies and prominent members of the anti-government movement, including Kamnoon.

Speaking to reporters today, Gen. Lertrat Rattanawanich, another spokesperson of the CDC, urged the public not to worry about "outsider" Prime Minister clause.

"I believe in normal situations, no MP would ever vote for an outsider to be the Prime Minister, unless there is any reason or any situation that would force them to do so." Gen. Lertrat said.  "Therefore, do not be worried. If any inappropriate thing happens, the people will punish their MPs by refusing to re-elect them."

Although junta leaders insist they are impartial in Thailand’s bitter political divide, analysts say their military government is bent on crippling the political faction that supported Yingluck and her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Last month the junta's lawmaking body voted to retroactively impeach Yingluck over corruption in an agricultural policy, thereby banning her from political office for five years. 

The CDC also announced this week that the Senate will be a fully-appointed body under the new charter, a development widely seen as an attempt to blunt the power of the Shinawatra-backed parties that have won every national election since 2001.

BANGKOK — Several dozen students and lecturers staged protests on Thursday denouncing Thammasat University's recent decision to fire history professor Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a prominent critic of the Thai monarchy who is currently living in exile.

According to an order released by the university this week, Somsak, 56, was fired for failing to show up for work for more than 15 days. The dismissal effectively disqualified Somsak from receiving a pension and other benefits, despite the fact he has taught at the university for over 20 years.

Students and professors denounce Thammasat University's decision to fire history professor Somsak Jeamteerasakul, 25 Feb 2015.

Today's protests were organized by a group calling itself "Thammasat Community" at Thammasat's Tha Prachan and Rangsit campuses.

The demonstrators at Tha Prachan campus read a statement to the press expressing disappointment over the university’s decision to fire Somsak rather than accept his letter of resignation, which he said he submitted to the university in December 2014. 

"It is disappointing that the administrators of Thammasat University have abandoned their chance to show moral courage in defense of liberty and academic independence," the statement read. "Instead, they display fear toward the dictatorial power that has interfered in the university, to the point of refusing to protect their own personnel."

In a symbolic gesture of solidarity with Somsak, one of the demonstrators put white powder in his hair in reference to the historian’s nickname as "the white-haired professor." 

Several plain-clothed police officers monitored the event, Prachatai English reported, but no arrests were made. Public protests and political activities are currently banned by the junta, which declared martial law and seized power in a coup in May 2014.

A historian by trade, Somsak is a rare outspoken critic of the monarchy in Thailand, where insulting the Royal Family is punishable by up to 15 years under the country’s lese majeste law. 

Somsak, who was charged with lese majeste in 2011, is believed to have fled Thailand shortly after the May 2014 coup.

The junta, known officially as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), summoned Somsak and hundreds of other academics, activists, and politicians for "attitude adjustment" after the military takeover. When Somsak did not comply, authorities issued an arrest warrant for him and eventually revoked his passport.

After six months of silence, Somsak posted on his Facebook that he was living in exile in Europe. Although he has never specified which country he is living in, many people have confirmed that he is residing in France. Over the past few months, Somsak has published dozens of historical documents and criticism of the monarchy on social media. 

The rector of Thammasat University, Somkid Lertpaitoon, told TNN news agency yesterday that the order to expel Somsak was in accordance with university regulations, which prohibit employees from missing work for more than 15 days "without due cause." He added that the university summoned Somsak to testify before a university committee in person, but that the historian did not comply, leaving the university administrators no choice but to fire him. 

"The punishment of Mr. Somsak is not related to his expression of political opinions, because we regard it as academic freedom," Somkid was quoted as saying. "And it's not related to lese majeste, either. Mr. Somsak is being prosecuted under the criminal codes, which is the duty of police officers to proceed under the laws." 

However, Somsak posted on his Facebook that university regulations allow for a wide range of punishments for employees who miss work, ranging from temporary suspensions to requested resignations.

"I suspect that the rector has been so busy working for the NCPO that he forgot the regulations of his own workplace," Somsak wrote, referring to Somkid's membership in the interim legislature appointed by the ruling junta.