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Published on September 1, 2007

"We will put off our plans to censure the government. The ministers [targeted for the censure] have agreed to follow suggestions from NLA-related committees," vice-admiral Pajun Tamprateep said after consulting with Prasong Soonsiri, the leader of the rebel NLA group.

This agreement followed a report that most NLA members did not want to be involved with Prasong's group because they did not see the Surayud Chulanont government as a failure. The Surayud administration will step down once the newly elected government assumes power early next year. Prasong's group is close to opponents of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The group was planning to organise a signature campaign among NLA members for the censure debate.

They claim that Surayud has failed in some aspects of national administration, particularly where probes into alleged fraud by the Thaksin government are concerned.

NLA speaker Meechai Ruchuphan also said on Thursday that the new Constitution did not allow for such a debate.

NLA transport committee chairman Bannawit Kengrien said he was willing to drop the censure plan if Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen gave serious thought to his panel's proposals to solve ongoing problems.

The Nation