Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday played down the transfers of 129 middle-ranking Army officers with close links to his military-school classmates, saying the rotation is an internal affair and has nothing to do with the government.

"These transfers are an internal affair of the Army. The government normally is notified about transfers of generals because we have to forward the list for royal endorsement," Thaksin said.

He rejected any connection between the mass transfers of Bangkok-based officers and the possibility of a military coup.

"That's not a creative way of thinking," Thaksin responded sternly when asked to comment.

The transfers, ordered by Army commander-in-chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, involve officers with the rank of colonel and lower. Most of them have been working under the command of generals who graduated from the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School's Class 10, of which Thaksin was a member.

The mid-ranking officers are deemed to be essential to the Army's chain of command as they have been in direct charge of troops and battalions on the ground, mostly attached to units based in Bangkok.

Interior Minister Kongsak Wantana, who was the Air Force chief before joining the government, said he did not think the transfers had any political implication as they were part of routine changes of Army personnel.

He also dismissed speculation that there is a conflict between members of Class 10.

A Government House source said yesterday that a senior Cabinet member would soon nominate National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general General Winai Pattariya as the Defence Ministry's new permanent secretary, to replace Gen Sirichai Thanyasiri, who is to retire in October.

Gen Prapan Nilawong, Winai's close colleague who is now a specialist at the Supreme Command, is likely to replace Winai at the NSC, according to the source.

Maj-General Prin Suwanathat, the commander of the First Infantry Battalion (Royal Guards) in Bangkok, yesterday dismissed press reports suggesting a dispute between him and First Army Area commander Lt-General Anupong Paochinda. Speculation suggested the dispute was the cause of the mass transfers of middle-ranking Army officers.

He said it was true that Anupong had not discussed the transfers with him, but that did not mean they were at odds with each other.

"I don't feel slighted about the transfers. I have known many of the [new appointees] since I was a junior officer. I have no problems working with them. It's not true that my men have been moved out. We are all like brothers and nobody is anybody's man. We're all soldiers of His Majesty the King," Prin said.

However, Suriyasai Katasila, spokesman for the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy, disputed Anupong's statement. He said there had been a clear rift in the armed forces and he blamed political intervention for that.

Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura said he expected the Defence Ministry's permanent secretary to deliver transfer lists of high-ranking military officers to him today.

When asked if the Army chief would be removed from his post, Thamarak said he didn't know because he hadn't seen the transfer list.

Piyanart Srivalo,

Panya Thiewsangwan

The Nation