Civicnet Institute president Chaiwat Tirapuntu said he had observed the junta and its government at work for two months. He now wondered if helping to draft a new charter was "worth it".

"I'm no longer paying attention to it because I know it's futile," he said. He added military leaders would have the final say as to who would write the document.

"I don't give a damn. Let chaos reign first," added Chaiwat.

He believed a better solution to constitutional problems was simply amending a few articles of the suspended 1997 charter.

Colleague and former senator-elect Kaewsan Atibhodi held a different opinion. He argued civic groups must remain engaged and monitor and participate in the drafting process. This was in spite of his belief the process was neither participatory nor democratic.

"It's kind of a headache," said Kaewsan. "But we must do something about it."

The drafting process will see 2,000 people chosen to form a National Confederation that will appoint 200 of its number to be candidates for a Constitution Drafting Assembly. From those, half will be chosen by the Council for National Security.

Kaewsan encouraged civic groups to concentrate on issues that mattered and made a difference - such as free-trade agreements, state-enterprise reform and finding ways to save small businesses from unfair competition.

He said the junta's promise to withdraw after one year created a political vacuum. Many bureaucrats were treading water until an elected government was in power.

But not all civic leaders remain convinced the military will step back after a year.

Nimit Nopparat, deputy director of the Chiang Rai-based Local Wisdom Development Foundation, thought the military had a hidden agenda and would remain in power after new elections. In spite of claims many supported the coup, Nimit claimed 90 per cent of Chiang Mai residents opposed the takeover.

He questioned the validity of the new Constitution. It would not be a "people's charter" as the 1997 document was known.

"The 1997 constitution was born out of a nationwide process. They will have a problem about winning the people's acceptance," he said.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation