"My proposals are the peaceful way and won't lead to violence," he said. "The people's faith in Thaksin has run out."

Prawase said Thaksin was turning a blind eye to the fact that he was the root of all problems, and was instead blaming other people.

"Why would his old friends like Sondhi Limthongkul, Chamlong Srimuang and Chai-anan Samudvanija turn against him?" Prawase posed. "These are people who had backed him and expected him to solve national problems," Prawase said. "But he has destroyed their trust in him."

Sondhi had been at the forefront of an anti-government campaign for several months last year before the People's Alliance for Democracy took over. They allege that Thaksin is involved in several corruption scandals and had visions of challenging the Royalty.

The campaign caught on and led to mass protests on the streets of Bangkok, forcing Thaksin to dissolve the House.

Prawase said that although the allegations were wrong, Thaksin was still guilty of damaging the public's trust in the prime minister.

"If the people cannot trust the leader any longer, how can he unite a divided society?" he said.

The protests happened because the people doubted his transparency, he added.

Prawase suggested that if Thaksin did not want to resign, he should allow an ad hoc investigative panel to probe his assets.

He believed the government would face more difficulty in solving the turbulence in the southernmost provinces after revelations of Thaksin's letter to US President George W Bush asserting his legitimacy as a leader and blaming his foes for not playing by democratic rules.

He said local Muslims did not like the US and would not be happy with Thaksin's stance.