He says the group, which gathered in Bangkok in March for several weeks to support embattled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, will now focus on 'arming people with knowledge'. 

Does the Caravan of the Poor plan to rally in support of the premier?

No. We have changed plans from a march to holding seminars in northeastern provinces in order to give political knowledge to villagers instead. Surely, we will come back [for political activities] but the return is not to support any politician in particular. We will campaign for the next election to go on as planned.

Could you talk about the seminar format?

We have three concepts. First, we will discuss the political crisis in order to seek a way to solve the problems. Second, we will campaign for public support for the election. And, finally, we will discuss farmers' problems due to the political crisis.

The seminar will kick off this month. We will start in Khon Kaen, then move to Buri Ram and Mukdahan.

Why doesn't the Caravan of the Poor hold a march like before?

We don't want to be viewed as taking sides with any party or acting as a political tool. Now we have to arm people with knowledge, letting them learn that elections are part of democracy.

We admit that some group members seemed aggressive in the past. However, I want to tell you that our comeback is aimed at keeping the election on track for the sake of our democracy.

If the People's Alliance for Democracy holds a rally to protest about Thaksin again, what will you do?

It is the PAD's business. We have to respect them. We won't arouse people to come out against the PAD or any groups. We only campaign for the election to go ahead as planned. Nevertheless, we don't rule out a rally if some people want to destroy our democracy.

Could you define 'destroy the democracy'?

Any unconstitutional means, such as a coup d'etat, or calling for royal intervention to appoint an interim prime minister by invoking Article 7 of the Constitution.

To hold seminars, you need to have funds. Where's the money coming from?

[Brief pause] As you know, we don't have much money. We must pay at least Bt10,000 to hold each seminar. We have to share the costs. We welcome donations but if there's no donations, we can afford to cover the cost among ourselves.

Will the group accept donations from politicians?

Umm… we do, but politicians must not use our seminar for their benefit. I've known that many observers said there are politicians behind our group. We can't forbid them to speak or think like that.