BANGKOK — Constitution Day will for the first time be celebrated today under its new name “Constitutions Day”.
While the national holiday will still honor December 10, the day King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) graciously bestowed the country’s first inviolable charter on the people, its new more inclusive name will allow Thais to pay respects to any of the 17 sacrosanct charters ratified since 1932.
“The old Constitution Day was never very popular,” explained a BMA spokesman who was involved in the holiday’s relaunching. “As one of the few non-Buddhist and non-royal holidays on the annual calendar it was celebrated with a certain amount of ambivalence and tepidness. Constitutions Day, on the other hand, will highlight our unique heritage as the country with more founding documents than any other country in the world.”
To support the new version of the holiday, the BMA has erected large tents at 17 different locations across the city, each dedicated to a different constitution. Those who are passionate about the 1949 charter, which restored many royal powers, for example, will meet at the equestrian statue of Rama V. Meanwhile, Army Headquarters will host a reading of Thanin Kraivixien’s 1976 constitution, which allowed for summary justice, significantly toughened the lese-majeste law and banned political parties.
The BMA is also considering a late request for an 18th location where those who prefer when Thailand was still an absolute monarchy with no constitution can gather.
“We are still deciding if this is really in the spirit of Constitutions Day or not,” said the BMA spokesman. “We are concerned that honoring this request could significantly reduce the number of people celebrating actual constitutions at other locations.”
Each of the 17 tents will feature a replica of the respective charter, which is typically written on palm leaves. In addition, an informative panel will be displayed explaining how the inviolable constitution of that year came about and how it was ultimately abolished.
Many people were still debating which constitution they should honor today. “In 1997, I was one of tens of thousands to celebrate the People’s Constitution,” explained current anti-government protestor 73-year-old Yupawadee Dheerathiromsak. “The 1997 constitution was a great constitution, but that constitution was abused by Thaksin. Now I feel like the 2007 charter is the most sacred and the one we should cherish forever. But you know I also like the 1959 constitution which had only 20 articles. Sarit got a lot done for the country back then. Maybe I will light a candle for each one of them today.”
Democracy Monument is noticeably absent from the locations where Thais can celebrate Constitutions Day because the large monument depicts only one constitution, which is against the spirit of the new Constitutions Day. The BMA spokesman said this would be rectified over the next year. A new design with sixteen additional constitutions stacked on top of the current representation of a single constitution is currently being approved. This extension honoring all of Thailand’s constitutions would be complete in time for Constitutions Day 2014, “unless further constitutions were ratified before then,” said the BMA spokesman, “in which case, well, it might become like the Sanctuary of Truth near Pattaya. We can keep building it over time. It will become a living monument that truly reflects the character of our rich constitutional history.”
