Redshirts Refuse To Give Up Constitutional Amendment

 

While Pheu Thai Party and the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra have not publicly commented on the verdict, the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) has asserted a firm opposition to the Constitutional Court′s ruling by calling on the government to ignore it.

 

Addressing tens of thousands of Redshirts rallying in Rajamangala Stadium, UDD Chairwoman Thida Tojirakarn declared that the Constitutional Court has proven today that the ammart (feudal elite) still refuses to hand sovereign power to the people. 

 

"We should thank the Constitutional Court for showing us its naked form," Ms. Thida said.

 

She insisted the stance taken by many UDD and Pheu Thai figures that the Constitutional Court has no rights to interfere with the charter revision effort undertaken by Parliament as it amounts to interfering with the Legislative Branch.

 

Ms. Thida also encouraged the government to intensify its effort even further by pushing for the revision of the entire Constitution in one go, as opposed to separate revisions of certain provision advised by the Constitutional Court last year. 

 

Although the Court refrains from punishing the government, such as disbanding the ruling party or stripping its MPs of their positions, Ms. Thida said the Redshirts should not be content with the survival of the government, because they should keep aiming for a "complete democracy", which, in Ms. Thida′s opinion, requires the amendment of the ammart-backed 2007 Constitution.

 

Former UDD Chairman, Weerakan Musikapong, took to the microphone after Ms. Thida, urging the Redshirts to brace for "long term" fights against the ammart clique, symbolised by the Constitutional Court′s verdict today.

 

"We Redshirts are still combating with the same ammart," Mr. Weerakan said, "And it looks like we will fighting with them for many years to come".

 

Echoing similar sentiment, Mr. Jatupon Prompan, another UDD prominent figure, compared the UDD campaign against the ammart as a fight for survival. 

 

"If we don?t keep pushing forward, they will spare us no quarters," Mr. Jatupon said, "I would like ask you, are we going to simply sit here and wait for the day of our demise?"

Like Ms. Thida, Mr. Jatupon said the government has no other option but ignoring the court ruling and fulfilling its pledge of constitutional amendment.

"The people will be the reinforcement in this quest to a complete democracy," Mr. Jatupon told the cheering crowds.

 

After further rounds of speeches exhorting the Redshirts to stay united in their opposition against the Constitutional Court′s alleged intervention, the UDD leaders announced the end of their overnight rally, ending the biggest show of strength of the Redshirts in recent months.