Having fought a rearguard public-relations battle for more than a month, the leaders of the September coup and their interim government are planning a frontal attack this week in which they will announce that progress has been made.

The highlight will be news of the much-anticipated probe into assets of key leaders of the overthrown administration.

The Council for National Security (CNS) announced it would commence a campaign to tell the public what had been achieved.

It would also reveal tough new legal measures against political conflicts of interest - the biggest alleged malaise of the Thaksin regime.

CNS chairman and Army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said mechanisms set up by the CNS to tackle alleged wrongdoing committed by the previous government had completed a lot of work but the public remained in the dark.

He said a lot of progress had been made, especially in investigations into alleged corruption by the previous government.

However, those in charge had failed on the information front.

In an interview with The Nation last week, Sonthi admitted that no solid evidence had been uncovered to link Thaksin Shinawatra to major corruption cases.

This admission inflamed criticism against the coup and fuelled suspicion that the ousted leader might be trying to "negotiate" with those who brought him down to save the bulk of his fortune.

Sonthi said yesterday that state committees and mechanisms set up by the CNS must let the council know their progress or establish subcommittees to keep the public in the loop.

State corruption was a headline reason for toppling the Thaksin government. But so far, the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) and the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) - with members appointed by the CNS - had failed to file charges against anyone.

With no clear progress, the public and activist groups have started to criticise the CNS for failing to justify the coup.

One of those critics is Suwit Watnoo, a member of the Campaign for Popular Democracy. He said yesterday there were signals that the CNS would compromise with the politicians of the previous government.

"It could all turn into a political farce," said Suwit, adding he had learned there were now rifts within the CNS.

Sonthi admitted the CNS had failed in its public-relations efforts.

"The CNS has done a lot of work but we have not informed the public. This has caused people to wonder what the CNS is doing. Actually, we are working all the time," Sonthi said.

The Democrat Party called on the CNS earlier yesterday to explain again why it had staged the coup.

Spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said that so far no promises made by the coup leaders had been fulfilled and the CNS should explain why.

For example, Ong-art said, assets investigations against Thaksin and his cabinet members had yielded no progress.

"So far, corruption allegations are just that - unfounded allegations. This makes society uneasy," he said.

If the CNS fails to convince the public of the reasons behind the coup and moves ahead with political change, "undercurrents" - the term used by Sonthi to describe clandestine pro-Thaksin and anti-coup activities - would continue to affect the stability of the post-coup government.

"The CNS and government must be proactive in explaining that the political system had to be changed temporarily for the sake of a sustainable democracy," said Ong-art.

He said the CNS needed to realise that while it had succeeded in seizing power, it required public endorsement to run the country.

He said if a majority of people were behind the interim government the "undercurrents" would die down.

He said without the dissemination of accurate information the government would find it hard to run the country.

He said he did not believe Thaksin would be allowed to return to the country, although it was completely understandable that the former leader would seek to make another bid for power.

Ong-art thought the meeting between Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda and Pojaman Shinawatra was an act of "mercy" -purely personal and in no way political.

He said he was unconcerned about its affect on the current assets investigations by the AEC.

Sonthi has admitted the CNS knew nothing of the meeting until it was reported by the news media. He, too, was unconcerned about the meeting.

Meanwhile, Sonthi said the CNS would consider several legal cases left unresolved by the previous government.

These include charges against 58 alleged demonstrators at Tak Bai in the South in 2004, as well as accusations levelled at military men this year over an alleged assassination attempt against Thaksin.

"The CNS will speed up these cases because there is significance in them and they are in the public eye," Sonthi said.

A source said the CNS would dismiss charges in both cases. It would ask prosecutors to drop charges against the Tak Bai 58 and officers accused of planning the assassination.

However, one officer was expected to face trial for illegal possession of explosives.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont is set to outline his government's policies to the national Legislative Assembly on Friday, when he will announce new measures to crack down on corruption.

According to a draft policy statement, a campaign against political conflicts of interest would be a focal point.

"In order to enhance the ability of independent agencies and the public to effectively scrutinise corruption, including any conflict of interest, the government will propose a law against conflicts of interest for both holders of political office and government officials," a policy statement said.

Panya Thiewsangwan

Bancha Khaengkhan

The Nation