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| Thai Court Rejects Bid to Amend Constitution | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A Thai court ruled on Wednesday that a major initiative by the ruling party was an attempt to “overthrow” the constitutional monarchy, creating what one commentator called a power vacuum in a country already made fragile by weeks of antigovernment protests. | A Thai court ruled on Wednesday that a major initiative by the ruling party was an attempt to “overthrow” the constitutional monarchy, creating what one commentator called a power vacuum in a country already made fragile by weeks of antigovernment protests. |
| The court ruled that members of the ruling party, which is controlled by the polarizing billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, acted against the Constitution when they tried to make the upper house of Parliament directly elected rather than partly appointed. | The court ruled that members of the ruling party, which is controlled by the polarizing billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, acted against the Constitution when they tried to make the upper house of Parliament directly elected rather than partly appointed. |
| The ruling went to the heart of a power struggle in Thailand between Mr. Thaksin’s powerful political party, which has won every election since 2001 and has a loyal following in the hinterland, and members of the country’s elite, largely based in Bangkok, who are seeking to curtail Mr. Thaksin’s dominance. | The ruling went to the heart of a power struggle in Thailand between Mr. Thaksin’s powerful political party, which has won every election since 2001 and has a loyal following in the hinterland, and members of the country’s elite, largely based in Bangkok, who are seeking to curtail Mr. Thaksin’s dominance. |
| When Mr. Thaksin was removed from power in a 2006 coup d'état the Thai military appointed a committee that rewrote parts of the Constitution, including making the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, partly appointed by judges. | When Mr. Thaksin was removed from power in a 2006 coup d'état the Thai military appointed a committee that rewrote parts of the Constitution, including making the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, partly appointed by judges. |
| Mr. Thaksin’s party has tried to roll back those changes. | Mr. Thaksin’s party has tried to roll back those changes. |
| Supot Kaimook, one of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court, said Wednesday that the rights of the minority in Parliament were being abused. | Supot Kaimook, one of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court, said Wednesday that the rights of the minority in Parliament were being abused. |
| “Thailand’s democratic system allows the majority to set the standard,” he said in the ruling. “But once it uses its power arbitrarily and suppresses the minority without listening to reason, this makes the majority lose its legitimacy.” | “Thailand’s democratic system allows the majority to set the standard,” he said in the ruling. “But once it uses its power arbitrarily and suppresses the minority without listening to reason, this makes the majority lose its legitimacy.” |
| He said the system could no longer be called “democratic” when the majority acted this way. “It results in the tyranny of the majority,” he said. | He said the system could no longer be called “democratic” when the majority acted this way. “It results in the tyranny of the majority,” he said. |
| Members of Mr. Thaksin’s party, Pheu Thai, have said in recent days that the court had no jurisdiction in the matter and they would not accept the ruling. Tens of thousands of government supporters, known as Red Shirts, have massed at a stadium in Bangkok. | Members of Mr. Thaksin’s party, Pheu Thai, have said in recent days that the court had no jurisdiction in the matter and they would not accept the ruling. Tens of thousands of government supporters, known as Red Shirts, have massed at a stadium in Bangkok. |
| In another part of Bangkok, the opposition Democrat Party has drawn tens of thousands of people to protest against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Ms. Yingluck is Mr. Thaksin’s sister. | In another part of Bangkok, the opposition Democrat Party has drawn tens of thousands of people to protest against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Ms. Yingluck is Mr. Thaksin’s sister. |
| Some in Thailand had speculated that the court would dissolve Mr. Thaksin’s party, as has happened twice in the past decade. But the court did not offer a remedy, leaving what Virapat Pariyawong, a Harvard-trained legal expert, said was a vacuum of power. | Some in Thailand had speculated that the court would dissolve Mr. Thaksin’s party, as has happened twice in the past decade. But the court did not offer a remedy, leaving what Virapat Pariyawong, a Harvard-trained legal expert, said was a vacuum of power. |