Suriyasai: CNS and govt have achieved little after a month.

"The PAD still has activities and I'm still a coordinator. The five leaders still meet regularly. We keep an eye on the [political] situation constantly and we're ready to go back [to protesting] if the government heads in the wrong direction or plans to prolong its power," he said in an exclusive interview with The Nation.

On November 12, about 300 key PAD members from around the country will get together to discuss political developments and adjustments to the PAD's role, he said.

The meeting would also discuss future efforts to push for political reform.

The PAD is planning to establish a People's Assembly for Political Reform, comprised of PAD supporters, so that the people who fought side-by-side with the alliance for many months wouldn't just disperse, he said.

Suriyasai, also secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy, was worried about deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's regime possibly trying to lay the groundwork for a comeback. The subversion took many forms, such as underground operations by local canvassers, and Thaksin's people disguising themselves as members of ruling bodies such as the National Legislative Assembly, he said.

The people losing power to the military coup last month was also a cause for concern, he said.

The connections of General Winai Phattiyakul, secretary-general of the Council for National Security (CNS), were suspicious as he seemed to be close to some of the Thai Rak Thai Party's key members, he said.

Some military figures, especially the commanders of the forces, might want to keep their grip on power, even though Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont doesn't want to, he said.

The CNS and the interim government so far had little to show in terms of results, he said. The military junta hadn't cracked down on the crimes it claimed the Thaksin government had perpetrated, which was its justification for the coup.

"It made allegations and seized power from the Thaksin government. Why would it need to prove anything? It can just send the cases to court. But I understand it wants to show that this was a 'civilised' coup, or a 'soft' coup," he said.

If it didn't take action soon, those involved in corruption could continue destroying evidence, he said.

The CNS and the government could have used state media to promote national reconciliation and understanding among the people, but they had not done so, Suriyasai said.

The Campaign for Popular Democracy earlier this week criticised the work of the CNS one month after the coup, saying progress had been very slow.

The coup-makers had accused the Thaksin government of causing rifts in society, tolerating corruption, allowing interference in independent organisations and committing lese majeste.

The interim government

had done one good thing - putting free-trade talks with other countries and the privatisation

of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand on hold so revisions could be made, Suriyasai said.

Somroutai Sapsomboon,

Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation