Thai Rak Thai Party caretaker leader Chaturon Chaisang said the party will move on even though former party leader Thaksin Shinawatra has announced he has washed his hands off politics.

Chaturon said party leaders will discuss plans and policies with supporters to prove that Thai Rak Thai is a political institution and that its existence does not depend on individual. He said the party will announce its new policies in mid-February. Some old policies will be maintained and some will be improved.

"We want to reiterate to people across the country that even though Thaksin announced that he will play a role outside the political arena, the party will maintain the policies that were initiated during his leadership,'' he said.

Despite vowing to carry on, Chaturon complained the party is facing a hard time under the administration of the Council for National Security and its installed government.

"Several television stations have stopped presenting news about the Thai Rak Thai Party. This translates as whoever is in power is in the right and the Thai Rak Thai is in the wrong and cannot make any political moves,'' he said.

Chaturon voiced concerns that the constitution draft may leave a gap for non-elected prime ministers and senators. "There is a trend that we will have only a half democracy. The country will go back to the same atmosphere when General Suchinda Kraprayoon was premier. The political party system will be destroyed. People are not interested in politics and policies. Local politicians will return to power,'' he said.