Gothom said his proposed talks would not be a debate that must have a winner. He said each side must listen to reason to discover a way out of the conflict.

"It will be like a seminar seeking a solution, and members of the public will be allowed to participate. But, I am not sure if both sides will agree," he said.

He made the offer after the CNS yesterday refused to talk with the Democratic Alliance against Dictators.

Gothom said he had offered to mediate because political tension was affecting the economy and consumer confidence.

A former leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), Somsak Kosaisuk, said the group would not stage political moves at this time.

It believed the Assets Examination Committee had made concrete achievements in its corruption investigation.

Somsak did not believe ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would come back and hence there was no question of the PAD returning to the streets in protest against him. "Thaksin is creating conditions to seek political asylum," he said.

He added that anti-coup groups and Thaksin supporters would be unable to create political turmoil because

the public did not support them.

Their motivation is personal and vested interests, he said. "I have been working for years in rallies and I know to get public support you must have legitimacy.

"The last time, the PAD had a hard time winning support even though we had that legitimacy," he added.