"The government is confident of keeping the situation under control and will strive to reason with opponents through peaceful means because I don't want to see Thais clashing with Thais," he said.

Surayud was reacting to remarks by Council from National Security chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who revealed that subversive elements linked to the ousted government were trying to trigger instability. Sonthi expressed concern about street protests ahead of the May 30 judicial decision that could lead to the Thai Rak Thai Party being banned.

In his speech to a youth group yesterday, Surayud said his government was making progress to restore political normalcy, even though many problems were complex and required time to sort out.

"I think if everyone listens to one another, there must always be a point of equilibrium in which an acceptable solution can be found for all concerned parties," he said.

"There is nothing perfect - even the theory of economic sufficiency - and not everything about the last government is bad," he said, noting that his government would strive to rectify flaws and not discard past achievements.