Yes, this refers to the pro-Thaksin rally at Sanam Luang on Friday, when over a thousand people heard a series of tirades directed at those responsible for the ouster of the former premier from power.

The PTV team, comprising ex-Thai Rak Thai members, managed to stay put with police eventually allowing the rally to continue.

The targets included the junta and the government, of course, with some unkind remarks about Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda, regarded as a soft spot sensitive to sharp tongues.

The Council for National Security (CNS) must have been frustrated at not being able to prevent the rally. PTV team members intend to hold another one next Friday, bolstered by their hard-earned success this time round.

The team promised that the next rally would be even bigger, possibly with more people from upcountry. Whether or not they would be attracted by a daily stipend, as has been the case in the past, was not mentioned.

The source of the financial support behind the PTV team that enabled them to start the television project and plan more rallies has never been disclosed. Again, the Thai Rak Thai Party is well funded with a huge war chest. If the scheme to cause political trouble for the CNS and the government works well, there should be even more money flowing in to help them gain political ground.

Financiers of the PTV team and allies, now accounting for more than 10 little-known activist groups, should be very generous now that Thaksin, his family members and his network of cronies are destined to face legal troubles. More such problems are on the way, and they carry the potential risk of jail terms.

Corruption charges, tax evasion and other misdeeds on a grand scale have kept investigators busy for months with startling revelations over the audacious style of law-breaking that has taken place. The contract between the airport authorities and the duty-free-goods operator is now up for cancellation after it was found to be a sweetheart deal. Long litigation is expected though.

The only possible escape route from prosecution and conviction for Thaksin and his cronies is for their supporters to hastily engage in all kinds of campaigns and rallies to discredit the CNS and the government, whose popularity ratings have been slipping due to a lacklustre performance.

The CNS is now being mocked as the kindest coup-makers yet, allowing freedom of expression and seemingly reluctant to enforce its own edicts and tough laws. It is this soft approach designed to spur national reconciliation which has been exploited by the pro-Thaksin camp.

The PTV team's insistence that they be allowed to run a satellite TV station is driven by ulterior political motives. Everybody knows that. The team members have gone from being politicians to being TV newscasters of a new breed with a single purpose: to end the CNS's grip on power and force the government to hold a general election as soon as possible.

Their campaigns have never dealt with the ongoing investigations into corruption-related charges. They chose instead to bring up issues around the coup to overshadow the daring instances of corruption and misdeeds their patrons are accused of having committed. This is pure public-relations campaigning and spin-doctoring.

If the CNS and the government stand to face more political troubles, they have themselves to blame for not being as tough as it was widely expected they would be in dealing with powerful elements. These elements are strong financially and politically with wide support from rural grass-roots people who have been dependent on populist projects for more than five years.

With only six months left before his time in power is set to expire, CNS chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin has been forced to announce that he has no intention of seeking the premiership, extending his term as Army chief or having the junta cling on to power. A general election will be held as promised.

If the CNS and the government continue to retreat before pro-Thaksin allies more emboldened to hasten the offensive, there could be political trouble which both sides could use as an excuse to pursue their own hidden agendas.

Thaksin, now in exile, is not expected to give up hope of reclaiming political power, no matter how often he has declared through his legal adviser that he has washed his hands of politics.

Retaking the government is among the few choices open to him to ensure a future without confinement for himself.

Sopon Onkgara