House defers decision on JBC minutes [Thailand is playing games again]

Chai Chidchob, speaker of the Thai parliament who is a Khmer Surin, during his visit Cambodia on 23rd July, 2009.

Lack of quorum forces delay till next Tuesday

Writer: Manop Thip-Osod
Published: 30/03/2011
Bangkok Post

Parliament has deferred its decision on the results of a study into the three minutes of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission due to the lack of a quorum.

The House will discuss the matter again next Tuesday, House Speaker Chai Chidchob said yesterday.

The study was conducted by a joint committee of MPs and senators, following fierce disagreements among MPs over the motion that parliament approve the three minutes.

However, a group of about 80 MPs led by Democrat MP for Songkhla Sirichoke Sopha previously petitioned the Constitution Court to rule on the exact status of the three documents.

Chaowana Traimas, secretary-general of the court's office, said yesterday the court had already accepted the petition and notified parliament on Friday about the petition being submitted and accepted for consideration.

As a result, the joint parliamentary sitting yesterday was split on whether it should proceed with the meeting agenda to deliberate the study results of the three JBC documents while the court decision was still pending.

One group of MPs and senators said parliament should put on hold its consideration of the study results while the other group wanted to first consider approving an associated recommendation by the same committee that studied the JBC documents.

Government chief whip Witthaya Kaewparadai proposed that parliament at least approve the five-point recommendation by the committee which he said should be treated separately from the study results.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who also encouraged members of the parliament to approve the five-point recommendation, said the government might have to request a postponement of a new JBC meeting pending parliament's consideration of the study results of the minutes.

To acknowledge the recommendation was a way of showing to Cambodia that Thailand was trying to resolve the border issue through a bilateral mechanism as it has promised, he said.

But the motion to consider approving the study results of the JBC minutes was overridden by a new motion filed during yesterday's session by Chon Buri senator Surachai Chaitrakulthong.

After that Democrat MP for Songkhla Wirat Kalayasiri submitted another motion to end the disagreement by voting to decide whether the study results should be approved by the House.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob then called a quorum count and found that the meeting lacked a quorum and the vote had to be deferred to next Tuesday.

The five-point recommendation included that the border survey and demarcation under the 2000 memorandum of understanding between Thailand and Cambodia is only a bilateral means of peacefully seeking collaboration of both sides, and not acknowledgement of the 1:200,000 map made by France.

The committee also recommended that Thailand should switch to informal negotiations with Cambodian premier Hun Sen as there has been no progress on previous efforts to demarcate the border with Cambodia.