A Constitution at Last

As it is for all major public events, the exact time was chosen by astrologers. They proclaimed 10:29 a.m. to be the most auspicious. At that precise moment, trumpets blared and a gold curtain in Thailand's National Assembly chamber parted to reveal King Bhumibol Adulyadej seated on a special gold en throne beneath the traditional nine-tiered umbrella. The King, wearing a white military dress uniform, sat silently while a court official read the royal proclamation. Then he slowly signed three copies of the document, handwritten by official scribes and stamped with the royal seal. As he did so, a 21 -gun salute sounded outside, planes of the Royal Thai Air Force dropped flowers, rice and popcorn, and the gongs and drums of dozens of Buddhist temples reverberated across Bangkok.

Thus last week, after ten years of firm though benevolent military rule, Thailand promulgated a long-delayed new constitution and took the first, if hesitant, step toward a return to representative government. Like the ceremony itself, the constitution is more show than substance: it does not necessarily mean the end of the military regime or, for that matter, even of mar tial law, under which Thailand has been ruled for a decade. Only the day before the ceremony, General Praphas Charusathien, 55, strongman of a regime in which he holds the posts of Deputy Premier, Interior Minister and army commander, had announced that martial law would remain in force, the new constitution notwithstanding; he also warned that any resumption of political activity could only benefit Communist subversion, which Thailand is fighting in several areas.

Most Extraordinary. Politicians and intellectuals, insisting that the new constitution automatically does away with martial law, were upset by Praphas' announcement. Said the Bangkok newspaper Siam Rath: "Thailand would be a most extraordinary country if we were to maintain this double standard." Then, in an event both startling and significant for a country in political hibernation for a decade, Thai university students took to the streets for their first political-protest demonstration in eleven years--initially against martial law, then against a bus-fare hike and high rice and pork prices. Ignoring the warnings of police, several thousand marched on the National Assembly building, on their way pushing down hastily erected metal barriers and hurling them into a canal. The police, backed by fire trucks, were at first stunned into inaction by the unusual sight, but later scuffled with demonstrators.

For all that, the constitution is a victory for popular and progressive King Bhumibol, who steadily prodded the reluctant military oligarchy until it permitted its promulgation. Thailand has been without a constitution since 1958, when the late Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat pulled the 26th coup of modern Thai history and suspended the old basic law. The new constitution decrees that the government must call elections for the Lower House (about 200 seats) within eight months, but it favors retention of the present regime. Any vote of no confidence in the government must be passed by both houses--and the Upper House will be, conveniently enough, a body of about 150 members appointed by the King on the advice of the government. Still, the National Assembly will provide a safety valve that has not been available; the government will be subjected to questioning and criticism, and regional views, up to now often neglected, will get a hearing.

Strong Support. Political parties have not yet been legalized, but several are likely to be formed soon. Meanwhile, the government is already forming its own party around Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, the honest but somewhat bland Premier, and the tough, earthy Praphas, who makes no bones about his distrust of elected government. One center of opposition will be the old Democrat Party, which can count on support from educated Thais. Led by Seni Pramoj, a distant relative of the King and a former Premier,* the Democrats will insist on greater civilian participation in the government, more emphasis on rural development and a slightly more independent foreign policy based on cooperation with, but not dependence on, the U.S. As for the new constitution, Seni feels that its faults need not be fatal. "It is like a set of false teeth," he says. "Not very real, but with some bite."

* Who was Ambassador to Washington in 1942, when Japan and Thailand were allied. He refused to pass on to then Secretary of State Cordell Hull his country's declaration of war against the U.S., later became a leader of the anti-Japanese Free Thai resistance movement.

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