Moreover, he said punishing or reshuffling people just because they worked for or supported former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would not be fair and may cause social rifts.

Punishing members of the former government or Thaksin's relatives could also cause more problems later, Chaturon said.

The Democrats on Sunday suggested the government and CNS promote public understanding of the coup and try to reduce opposition to state authorities and the coup makers. Using the term "Thaksin regime", they said the government and the CNS should inform the public about the damage the Thaksin government had caused the country.

Chaturon said the CNS might like to clarify its reasons for the September 19 coup, as suggested by the Democrats. However, he said the CNS had never used and nobody had clearly defined the term "Thaksin regime".

In the past, people used the word vaguely, he said. But since Thaksin was both criticised and admired, his legacy was not defined.

Chaturon did agree that dropping charges against the Tak Bai protestors would strengthen relations between the state and people in the South.

Former Thai Rak Thai MP Pracha Prasopdee said the Democrats were adding salt to the Thai Rak Thai party's wounds and that they should acknowledge that they were also MPs whose positions in Parliament were cancelled by the coup. He said the Democrats should instead cooperate with the government to have an election held as soon as possible.

Democrat party spokesman Thepthai Senpong said the party wasn't involved with the CNS and that no key members of the party were close to the CNS. He said the Democrats were not using the CNS to attack Thai Rak Thai and that Thai Rak Thai should acknowledge its wrongdoings.

Kesinee Jaikawang,

Yossawadee Hongthong

The Nation