The government yesterday started publicising the "social contract for unity" document, which has received mixed reactions from political actors.
The government believes it to be fundamental to the reconciliation effort since it will act as a mutual contract between state and citizens in setting an acceptable code of behaviour.
Ministry of Defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich said the document will be circulated by government agencies to raise awareness. It is available via download from websites of the government's Public Relations Department and other agencies.
"Although the general content is not new, it is fundamentally based on the needs of a majority of the people who have expressed their desire to live under a set of laws and rules of society that are mutually agreed," said Maj Gen Kongcheep.
As part of the national committee on reconciliation, the military earlier organised public forums around the country to gather ideas from various groups.
Gen Kongcheep said the document was drafted after considering public opinion, previous studies on reconciliation efforts and lessons learned from past conflicts.
This social contract, he said, will form a framework for peaceful coexistence in the future.
The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship's Thida Thavornseth, however, criticised the document, saying the wording is vague and intangible since it focuses on the term "unity and reconciliation" without providing a clear path as to how Thailand will achieve democracy again.
She added it should have created a mutual acceptable framework that would allow different values of both conservatives and liberals to coexist based on democracy and the rule of law.
Moreover, she took issue with the summarised version of the text for being what she described as "a conservative version of a social contract" that doesn't reflect the will of the people. Ms Thida said the content should be better summarised.
As only an abridged version of the text will be distributed to the vast majority of people, more work on the wording was needed.
"It will be distributed nationwide; not only will it fail to impress the people, it will also sabotage the goodwill of the people who came together to draft the document," she said.
On the other hand, Akanat Promphan of the People's Democratic Reform Committee is more optimistic and said the social contract is viable since it is not binding and won't inflict damage on either side.
"I think it is possible to carry out, but the content is more important than the principle. I don't know whether there will be any mechanism that will act as an assurance for acceptance and compliance for people on all sides," he said.
Gen Kongcheep said the government is emphasising the reconcilliation effort and the social contract is a fundamental component in that process.
