The first article in the series appeared last Thursday.

 Although the Cabinet has scrapped the ban on political gatherings of more than five people, this does not mean that the country's political situation has settled down and the "undercurrent" of dissent from Thaksin supporters has subsided and the government will be free of challenges and protests.

During his five years in power, deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra built up a strong culture of nepotism through his populist policies, and no one can deny that the Thai Rak Thai Party has a strong network upcountry.

Before he was overthrown, Thai Rak Thai was believed to have the capacity to mobilise 3,000 people per constituency - or 1.2 million people across the country - for a mass rally in Bangkok. Thaksin was quoted as saying he was willing "at any cost'' to demonstrate his popularity and strong grassroots support.

The hundreds of thousands of people who turned up at Wat Phra Dhammakaya before his government was brought down were the best testimony to Thaksin's ability to mobilise massive support. No one can guarantee that he has lost this clout.

Meanwhile, the movements by local administrative organisations, which were the force behind the grassroots rally in the capital in the middle of this year, continue.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's visit to Buri Ram earlier this month had other purposes besides visiting ex-communist leaders there. The ulterior motive was to stop the political movements of the Thai Rak Thai network.

The government has been frank: it does not want to see Thaksin's return to the country right now.

The decision has met with resistance from Thaksin's supporters. Promsak Saenpho, a Thai Rak Thai network leader in the north, said the move to delay Thaksin's return is not right because, as a Thai citizen, Thaksin should not be deprived of that right.

"They fear that Thaksin will mobilise his supporters to protest against the government," he said.

The latest word is that Thaksin will not come back soon. Promsak said in a telephone conversation, Thaksin told him he would not come back in the near future because the country has no democratic atmosphere. "If the constitution is drafted and the election day is set, the political movement will start again,'' he said.

Although it seems right now that Thaksin is yielding to the government's opposition to his return, the government and the Council for National Security cannot be complacent. Thaksin still has a vast number of supporters who are becoming annoyed at being deprived of their political rights. Calls for the scrapping of martial law and allowing Thaksin to return are growing louder.

How is the government going to deal with the "undercurrent", as it grows stronger? Can it keep deploying troops to strategic locations, to keep Thaksin's men under a close watch forever?

CNS chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin knows  money can buy everything, including people.