BANGKOK — The chairman of the junta-appointed Constitution Drafting Committee has urged the media to stop describing the next Senate as "unelected" and use the term "indirectly elected" instead.

"Certain newspapers and TV channels have identified the new Senate as unelected," CDC chairman Bowornsak Uwanno said at a press conference today. "It's not lovely. It's an inaccurate presentation of news.”

The CDC announced yesterday that the next Senate will be a fully-appointed body under the new charter. 

The Senate will consist of 200 members, half of whom will be chosen by the council of "experts," which Bowornsak described as "a diverse group of individuals with expertise and morality about politics, national administration, the judicial system, society, ethnology, and folk wisdom." 

It remains unclear how the council of experts will be chosen. 

The other Senators – also appointed – will be chosen from a pool of former high-level politicians and bureaucrats such as prime ministers, military commanders, parliament speakers, judicial leaders, and representatives from other civic organizations.

Each senator can serve only one six-year term.

Under the previous constitution, which was dissolved after the May 2014 coup, the Senate was a half-appointed, half-elected body. The CDC's announcement of a fully-appointed Senate appears to confirm speculation among political analysts that the military junta is seeking to further curb the influence of elected politicians.

However, the CDC chairman stresed today that elected members of local administrative organizations will be included in the process of selecting senators, because they will be responsible from choosing 100 senators from a list of 200 candidates approved by the panel of "experts."

"Therefore, accusations that the new Senate is unelected are false," Bowornsak said.

He also told reporters that some foreign countries have similar parliamentary models, citing France,  though he failed to point out that French senators are indirectly elected by a "super-electorate" of elected local and regional officials, whose options are not screened by any unelected panel of professionals.  

"Columnists have the freedom to express their opinions," Bowornsak said. "But as for the news presentation, headlines, and news reporting by anchormen, it is absolutely necessary that they have to present accurate and unbiased news reports. Otherwise, the public will be exposed to one-sided information." 

The CDC is expected to finish drafting the new charter by September of this year, after which it will be sent to the junta for approval.

The junta has promised to hold an election after the constitution is finalized, given that “national reconciliation” has been completed and the political climate is deemed stable. 

BANGKOK — Thailand's ruling military junta has accused a prominent critic of the monarchy of falsely framing his lese majeste charges as an act of harassment.

In a letter written to Thammasat University, Somsak Jeamteerasakul explained that he had fled Thailand and could not return to his job as a history professor because of repeated harassment from the Thai military.

The letter, which was posted on Somsak’s Facebook account today, described how armed soldiers in two military vehicles arrived at his home several weeks after the May 2014 coup, presumably to detain him for failing to report for a summons order.

"When they could not find me, the military and police harassed my wife, my mother, and my brother at their homes and offices, even though those family members of mine did not have anything to do with my actions," Somsak wrote. "They continued this harassment for months. At the same time, the military junta revoked my passport and issued an arrest warrant on me for failing to report to the military."

Somsak also described a drive-by shooting of his house that occurred in February 2014, several days after Col. Winthai Suvaree, the spokesperson of the Royal Thai Army at the time, threatened to use "social measures" to punish Somsak for his criticism of the monarchy.

Col. Winthai, who is now serving as a spokesperson for the junta, insisted today that the military never harassed Somsak, but merely visited his home because he failed to report to the junta, officially known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The NCPO summoned and detained hundreds of politicians, activists, and academics for “attitude adjustment” in the wake of the coup.

"Since he failed to report to the security officers, it was normal that the security officers had to track him down and make him enter the legal process," Col. Winthai said at press conference today.

The junta spokesperson also alleged that Somsak "presented insufficient information and distorted the facts" about the lese majeste (insult of monarchy) charges that the military filed against him in 2011 and 2014.

"Prior to the NCPO's [takeover] and efforts to move the country forward, Mr. Somsak was already facing criminal offences, and Mr. Somsak had the opportunity to contest those charges all along, yet he refused to use those legal channels," Col. Winthai said.

He added that Somsak's portrayal of the lese majeste charges as an act of intimidation "is only a claim from the perspective of Mr. Somsak."

Somsak is a rare outspoken critic of the monarchy in Thailand, where violating the country's harsh lese majeste law is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He is believed to have fled Thailand shortly after the military staged a coup against an elected government on 22 May 2014.

In the letter to Thammasat University, Somsak argued that he would not be given a fair trial if he returned to Thailand to contest his lese majeste charges in court.

"It is clear that I would never have the opportunity to be treated fairly in accordance with the laws,” Somsak wrote. “Therefore, I have the legitimate right to preserve my life, body, and liberty by refusing to allow the military junta, who committed the treasonous act of seizing power, to arrest and harm me under the excuse of lese majeste."

The historian said he sent the letter to Thammasat University in December 2014 after he heard that the university administrators were contemplating firing him.

However, Thammasat announced yesterday that it had declined his attempt to resign and would formally expel Somsak instead, effectively disqualifying him from a pension and other benefits.

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Thammasat University Expels Monarchy Critic Living in Exile 

BANGKOK — A well-known history professor and outspoken critic of the Thai monarchy living in exile has been formally fired by Thammasat University for his absence.

The order, released by Thammasat University yesterday, states thatSomsak Jeamteerasakul, 56, violated university regulations by failing to report for work for more than 15 days despite a notice that ordered him to do so in late December 2014.

The order was signed by Thammasat University rector Somkid Lertpaitoon, who is also a member of the interim legislature appointed by the ruling military junta. 

"The aforementioned behavior and action of Dr. Somsak Jeamteerasakul constitutes a deliberate dereliction of duty,” the order reads. "It has caused grave damage to the University's reputation and funds.”

The document noted that Somsak submitted a letter of resignation in December 2014, but said the university administration declined to approve it. The university’s decision to fire Somsak instead of accept his letter of resignation means that the professor will be denied a pension and other benefits despite having taught at the university for more than 20 years.

A historian by trade, Somsak is a rare outspoken critic of the monarchy in Thailand, where offending the Royal Family is a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He is believed to have fled Thailand shortly after the military staged a coup against an elected government on 22 May 2014.

The junta summoned Somsak and hundreds of other academics, activists, and politicians for "attitude adjustment” after the coup, but Somsak did not comply, prompting the military court to issue an arrest warrant and eventually revoke 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 others 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. 

Somsak posted on Facebook yesterday that he was disappointed by university's decision to fire him instead of accept his letter of resignation.

"My savings are not much," he wrote. "What's more important is that I worked there for more than 20 years, so they should at least not punish me for not going to work … the punishment should not affect the pension that is supposed to reward all the work I have done."

Somsak also defended his reason for not returning to Thailand, namely the junta’s intensified crackdown on perceived anti-monarchists. At least 20 people have been prosecuted for violating Thailand's lese majeste monarchy law since Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, a staunch royalist, staged a military coup last May. Gen. Prayuth has also granted martial courts jurisdiction over lese majeste cases, removing the option for appeals.

"Throughout the 20 years of my career as a professor at Thammasat University, I have performed my duty to my utmost ability (for example, I almost never missed any class)," Somsak wrote. "I have also conducted myself as a good citizen of the country, and a good member of Thammasat University."

He added, "However, in the situation that individuals who severely violated the laws have installed themselves as rulers of the country by illegal means, and aimed to cause harm to my life, body, and liberty in such a direct manner, I regard it as the rights and duty of a bureaucrat, citizen, and member of the Thammasat community to disobey, oppose, and reject their effort to jail and harm me."

Somsak was referring to the drive-by shooting that targeted his home in February 2014 after he urged Thais to think critically about the monarchy in a Facebook post. Police have never identified the perpetrators, though the attack came only several days after a spokesperson of the Royal Thai Army threatened to use "social measures" to punish Somsak for his comments.

Today a member of the ruling junta denied speculation that the military pressured Thammasat University into firing Somsak. 

"It was in accordance with the regulations of the university,"  said Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. "The military is merely administering peace and order. But we ended up facing these accusations. The procedure of the university was in accordance with its rules, regulations, and laws."