In a typically Thai way, he then asked the correspondents to "understand" why the coup-makers had seized power on September 19. He reiterated that it was an unavoidable step if the country was to avert possible clashes between supporters and opponents of Thaksin Shinawatra. If such tensions were left unchecked, the country would suffer greatly. On the same day at the CNS's headquarters, not far from where Winai spoke, a high-powered team of representatives from seven Thai media organisations met with General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the CNS's chief, and appealed for his "understanding" of the importance of having a free press and freedom of expression.

The Thai media community fears that the interim constitution that was announced yesterday will not offer the same level of freedom as the abolished 1997 people's charter. Senior editors also questioned the integrity of the constitutional experts brought in to draft the interim charter. Some of them served in the deposed administration. The blocking of a university website last weekend does not augur well for the pledge to respect freedom of expression.

Sonthi was quick to respond with assurances that the free press and freedom of expression will be respected and thanked the Thai media for their support. Article 3 of the provisional constitution, drawing on the 1997 charter, simply says that the human dignity, rights and liberty of the people shall be protected. It does not elaborate.

At the meeting, he was sanguine in admitting that there were bureaucrats and politicians who had tried to bribe him to get good positions. He further confessed that there were some bad apples in the nine-member anti-graft national committee, which would need to be attended to.

If anything, these two juxtaposed concerns relating to the role of the media could serve as a template for how the Thai government will handle the foreign and Thai press in the next year.

Since the surprise power-grab, the Foreign Ministry has been at great pains to explain some of the key issues that have formed the basis of news reports and analysis in the foreign media: the meaning of military intervention, the choice of a civilian prime minister, the scope of his power, the new constitution and the role of His Majesty the King.

The ministry's top priority is to convince the world that the coup was intended to strengthen democracy through political reform and the convening of free and fair elections within a year. This might sound a bit hyperbolic, but it remains the main message even though the international community has strongly condemned the power seizure as a huge setback for Thai democracy.

Now it is incumbent on the coup-makers to show that the international community's concerns were unfounded.

Both the Thai and foreign press want to know if the future civilian government will have the full mandate and authority to run the country. With yesterday's announcement that General Surayud Chulanont had been installed as the country 24th prime minister, expectations run extremely high.

Surayud possesses integrity and an unquestionably sound record. He must now form a similarly high-quality Cabinet within a week. When Anand Panyarachun served as prime minister on two different occasions in 1991 and 1992, his appointed governments were independent and transparent.

The most sensitive issue in the coup so far has emerged in analyses of the status and role of His Majesty the King in political matters. It is taboo in Thailand to write about the monarchy even though His Majesty the King said last December that he was not immune from criticism.

The foreign media are usually more candid when they analyse the current political situation in Thailand, this has been especially true in the wake of the coup. They are not confined to traditional and cultural interpretations of His Majesty the King's place in politics, including the respectability he has commanded throughout his 60-year reign.

In the Thai media, what is left unsaid or unwritten often speaks volumes.

Last week, the Foreign Ministry instructed the Thai embassies around the world to state vigorously that as the country's head of state and the embodiment of the nation, His Majesty the King is consulted on political issues. So, it was not surprising that the coup leaders sought and received an audience with Their Majesties the King and Queen to report on their actions and on the situation. The photo of their meeting appeared on the front pages of all of Thailand's Thai-, English- and Chinese-language newspapers.

In the next few weeks, the reactions of both the Thai and foreign media towards the bloodless military intervention will shift as the CNS has already made a retreat, as it pledged, with troops and tanks pulling out yesterday morning from all strategic locations.

The only way to reduce the global condemnation and media criticism of the coup is for the CNS and Surayud to make Thailand a higher-quality democratic country than before. This will include much-needed transparency and accountability.

If they can deliver these things together in the next 10 months, they have nothing to fear.

Kavi Chongkittavorn