Senate speaker pushes changes

       Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondej has urged the government to continue to take a leading role in maintaining the momentum for constitutional changes.
       He said amending the constitution could not go ahead if the government did not play a central role in it.
       The call was made in response to a hint by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that he might stop the amendments if enough parties disagreed with them.
       Mr Prasopsuk said he believed there was still time for the coalition parties to talk through their differences on the issue and reach an agreement.
       He admitted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's call for the 1997 constitution to be revived had influenced the opposition party into withdrawing its support for the charter rewrite.
       The opposition Puea Thai Party's position remains unclear. Opposition chief whip Witthaya Buranasiri last week said he supported constitutional amendments.But Puea Thai MP Chalerm Yubamrung earlier said most of the opposition MPs did not support the changes.
       The prime minister yesterday called on the opposition to confirm whether it would honour the agreement with the government and the Senate to work out national reconciliation through constitutional amendment.
       Mr Witthaya said he was ready to resign as opposition chief whip if his action involving the charter rewrite had hampered the management of the party.
       However, Puea Thai members could settle their own differences on the issue among themselves and those with differing views should not stall the amendments, Mr Witthaya said.
       Puea Thai leader Yongyuth Wichaidit said he had received a resignation letter from Chalerm Yubamrung who had asked to step down as Puea Thai's chief of MPs over a rift within the party over the amendments issue.
       Mr Yongyuth said he did not approve the resignation.
       Government chief whip Chinnaworn Bunyakiat said the amendments will go ahead.
       He said Mr Abhisit had written to ask House Speaker Chai Chidchob to order the legal affairs bureaus of the Senate and the House of Representatives to draw up an amendment draft based on the six changes proposed by a parliamentary committee on national reconciliation and constitutional amendment.
       The amendment draft is expected to be tabled at a meeting of the government,opposition and senate whips on Oct 22.