The date he referred to was the day the military toppled the Thaksin Shinawatra regime.

Germany holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation European grouping.

Nitya's explanation came during the plenary session of the 16th Asean-EU Ministerial Meeting (AEMM) that ended here yesterday, with 27 ministers from the EU and 10 from Asean attending.

Steinmeier's comment was the most positive response from the EU since the change in government last year. Following the coup, the EU, then led by Finland, issued two statements voicing dissatisfaction with the political situation in Thailand and urging the military-appointed government to lift martial law and hold a general election as soon as possible.

The AEMM presented the first opportunity for Nitya to directly inform the EU about the situation in Thailand before and after the coup.

Nitya told his European counterparts not to forget that it was Thaksin who dissolved Parliament in February, and the "free and fair" general election in April was nullified by the Administrative Court.

"It was not a popularly elected government as claimed," Nitya said, adding that he saw the Kingdom at that juncture as heavily polarised and the bloodless coup in September as benign intervention.

He also assured the European ministers that the current government did not intend to cling to power, and that the draft constitution was due to be made public in July before going through nationwide hearings and a referendum.

Nitya remained positive that a general election would be held by year-end.

He also talked about the need of the government to impose capital controls as well as toughen foreign business laws, and pointed out that such changes did not deter the flow of investment into the country.

Steinmeier, who on Wednesday met individually with Nitya, noted that the constitution-drafting process was quite arduous and wished Thailand and its people success in overcoming the challenging steps ahead.

Besides Germany, Nitya also held bilateral meetings with his peers from Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and the European Commission on Foreign Affairs.

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller made inquiries into the ongoing violence in the three southernmost provinces and suggested that the government should use both carrot-and-stick measures to deal with the insurgency.

Nitya emphasised that this government is intent on employing peaceful means and that a development element was needed in the solution to the problem, particularly to provide secular education to religious students.

Moeller agreed to consider the possibility of providing some kind of assistance in that regard.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt urged the government to stick to its own timeline in framing the constitution, which will lead to the general election.

Sopaporn Kurz

The Nation

Nuremberg, Germany