"As things stand, it is quite possible that we shall see a repeat of what happened after the 1991 coup.

"There are many similarities," Somchai Homlaor of the Campaign for Human Rights Committee (CHRC) said yesterday.

"No blood has been shed, and many people have welcomed the coup, but that is no guarantee of better consequences," he said at a seminar at Thammasat University organised by the CHRC.

Somchai said it was in the nature of a coup to try to prevent any further coup, which it did by means of violence and control of the expression of public opinion, and Thai history showed that this led to a violent reaction.

"It is very dangerous for five people to run a country unconstitutionally," he added.

Sak Khosangruang, former president of the Law Society of Thailand and a former Bangkok senator, said the worst result of the coup was the ban on political gatherings of more than five people as it would prevent public participation in the political process.

"The ongoing drafting of an interim charter should at least include human-rights experts," he said.

Pairoj Pholphet of the Union for Civil Liberty said his greatest worry was the reaction of Thais to a coup that suggested they lacked confidence in their political power as citizens.

"It is the culture of patronage, which seeks to suppress democratic development," he said.

"In practice the new charter should be based on the 1997 one," he added.

ML Wanwipha Burut of Thammasat University said the most urgently needed action was an end to martial law and to the ban on political gatherings.

Rights activist Somsri Harn-anantasuk added: "Today's situation certainly puts Thailand in a false position to comment on human-rights violations in Burma."

Atthayut Bootsriphoom

The Nation