The Senate committee, tasked with studying MOUs 43 and 44, between Thailand and Cambodia, has asked for a further 90 days to study them because the two documents are very complicated and there is a great deal of related documentation.
The panel reported the progress of its comprehensive study of the two MOUs to the Senate today, as part of a referendum process aimed at helping the Thai people to understand the gist of the documents, enabling them to make an informed judgement when they subsequently go to the polls to vote for or against them.
The committee’s chairman, Senator Noppadol Inna, told the media today that their study of the MOUs is focused on whether the documents conflict with the Constitution or other laws, whether their contents can actually be put into practice and whether they are beneficial to the country.
In studying MOU 43, he explained that the panel has delved into the origins of the document, the reports from the General Border Committee, the Regional Border Committee and the Joint Boundary Commission, which were formed before MOU 43 was signed, as well as the demarcation of the border line in 1904 and 1907.
Regarding MOU 44, he said that the panel has conducted field trips to Trat province and discovered that Cambodia has been committing maritime and land border violations for quite a long time.
He stressed that any decision on the futures of the two MOUs must not be based on sentiment or emotion, but on solid information and in the national interest.
The senator said the panel was originally given 90 days to complete its study, but requires an extension.
Kamnoon Sidhisamarn, a committee member, said that MOU 43 is at risk of being ruled unconstitutional, because it has not been approved, only ‘recognised’ by the Cabinet.
