Well, after two years of derailment, here we are, back on the rusty tracks of "Thai democracy". And to pilot the country into the new era is our notorious new Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej who will most likely be joined by such well-matching personalities as Chalerm Yubamrung as interior minister and Plodprasop Suraswadi as environment minister.

A dream team for a nightmare.

To tell the truth, I have absolutely no hope whatever of seeing any social reforms being initiated by this infamous coalition of power-hungry politicians ready to sleep with anyone as long as it's on the golden bed.

Nevertheless, I have decided to compile a 12-point agenda for a social reform policy, at least to serve as a marker for the kinds of changes in social policy that I, and many other civil society activists, would like to see.

1) Strict adherence to the rule of law.

This means that the powerful and powerless must be treated equally before the law. (It has never happened in Thailand.)

Extrajudicial killings must cease. (Unfortunately, Chalerm has promised to renew the infamous "war on drugs".) There must be no political interference in investigations and criminal proceedings against any individuals within or linked to the government. Radical police reform and mechanisms to provide real police accountability to the public are absolutely necessary. Investigative powers after arrests and charges need to be shifted from police to prosecutors.

2) Semi-autonomy for the southern Muslim majority provinces.

As I stated in a previous column, the only real way out of the violence and conflict in these southern provinces is to "decolonise" the region through negotiations with local community leaders of all races and religions.

We have to accept some form of self-government or autonomy in which local culture and traditions are allowed to prevail, and in which the area is governed by its own local leaders, not by governors appointed from Bangkok. Peace would be enforced by local police and military units, while outside forces would be withdrawn.

3) Respect for community rights.

All local communities in Thailand should be allowed to determine their own ways of life and to live according to their own culture and traditions, using local languages in schools, community radio, and local government.

The constitutional rights of communities to manage their own local resources - land, forests and water - need to be strengthened, as well as their right to protect themselves from environmental damage from outside. This means that no industrial, mining, power-generation or dam projects affecting communities would be allowed to go ahead without their informed consent.

4) Respect for media freedom and independence.

This is the most important issue for the development of democracy in Thailand.

First of all, the new public broadcasting act must remain untouched with no political interference in the selection of the board of the public broadcasting authority.

The computer crimes act needs to be amended to remove the overhanging threat of criminal proceedings that is affecting freedom of political expression on the Internet.

Newspaper advertising by government agencies must be strictly non-discriminatory so as not to influence editorial freedom.

Radio and television broadcasting frequencies need to be reallocated by a new independent broadcasting commission to allow multi-sector broadcasting including genuine community radio and television.

The prime minister cannot be allowed to have his own radio or television programme to speak to the public unless the opposition leader and civil society leaders are allotted equal time to respond on the same stations.

5) Repeal or amendment of all laws that violate democratic principles.

These include the recently passed internal security act and the law on public administration in emergency situations that is being used in the southern border provinces.

The criminal code regarding the crime of lese majeste also needs to be amended to allow legitimate democratic expression of views regarding the monarchy.

6) No free trade agreement with the US on present negotiating terms.

In negotiating free trade agreements with Thailand and many other countries, the United States has consistently insisted on protection of intellectual property rights relating to medicines and health treatments that go well beyond the requirements of the World Trade Organisation.

US requirements include extension of patent protection lifetime, data exclusivity, no pre-grant opposition to drug patent applications, patenting of surgical procedures, etc.

For Thailand to agree to these demands would spell disaster for our universal health insurance programme and to our perfectly legal generic production of essential life-saving drugs. It would mean probable premature death for well over 100,000 people living with HIV/Aids who now have access to anti-retroviral therapy that keeps them healthy.

The Thai government should make it clear that no agreement is possible while such US requirements remain.

I will conclude my social reform policy agenda in next week's article.

Jon Ungphakorn is a former elected senator for Bangkok and is now chairman of the Thai NGO Coordinating Committee on Development. Comments are welcome at: [email protected].

First publised in Bangkok Post