"If I were going to resign, I would not be here tonight," Surayud told the Thai Journalists' Association gala dinner at the Dusit Thani Hotel.

Meanwhile, a dozen student activists protested against the media at the venue before Surayud and renowned social activist Thirayuth Boonmi took to the stage.

In front of hundreds of journalists, Surayud stressed his intention to reduce economic inequality in the country in which the richest 20 per cent owned 55 per cent of the country's wealth, while the poorest 20 per cent owned only 4.5 per cent.

"This stark inequality is the result of decades of economic development. The problem should be treated as a national priority for the new constitution, all political parties and the media," he said.

He also said the Southern insurgency would take time to resolve, but he was committed to reconciliation and  the maintenance of good relations with Malaysia and Indonesia, which both have Muslim majorities.

Surayud's concerns over inequality and his commitment to a peaceful resolution in the South won support from Gothom Areeya, president of the National Economic and Social Development Advisory Board.

"The economic gap in this country is not new, neither is it easy to solve but I'm glad the premier at least recognises the problem," Gothom told The Nation.

However, he said the government's approach in the South should also focus on bringing justice to families who lost loved ones at the hands of the security forces. He said the Tak Bai incident, in which many were killed in military trucks, needed to be addressed.

"The government focuses on paying compensation to families of people who were killed but the loss of life should also be taken as criminal cases. Those in the security forces who are found guilty should be punished."

Thirayuth, another speaker, warned that Thailand would not have a strong and balanced democracy unless the people's influence was strengthened and the voters were encouraged to play a greater role in politics.

He said although sovereign power belongs to the people, politicians in the past had weakened the role of the public. The Thaksin Shinawatra government allowed public participation to go no further than the ballot box, he asserted.

Beyond that people - particularly rural Thailand - were made to depend on government handouts and forced to become consumers.

Thirayuth wanted to see institutions like the judiciary, academia and the news media play more aggressive roles in strengthening checks and balances.

"The judicial system [especially] is a process to keep the executive branch accountable," he said. "We need judicial activism in which the judiciary becomes aggressive in addressing accumulated problems in our country.

"The judiciary will have a tough task ahead because it will have to handle [corruption and other cases] passed to it from investigation committees," he added.

Journalists were accused of being complicit in the country's political turmoil by lending legitimacy to the failing policies of the junta-installed government.

Elsewhere, student activists from the Anti 19 September Coup Network said academics and journalists had shown they preferred to stand by people in power rather than the principle of democracy.

"Journalists allow themselves to be recruited into the junta-installed National Legislative Assembly and Constitution Drafting Assembly. They just want to protect their own interests," said Suwit Lertmetheekrai of Thammasat University.

However, vice president of the Thai Journalists Association Prasong Lertratanawisut argued the press had a long history of defending democracy.

The students attacked Surayud for his failure to heal social rifts while conspiring with the junta to cling to power.

At the same time, they criticized Thirayuth for "exploiting" his status as an intellectual to support an undemocratic regime.

Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The Nation