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Published on September 20, 2007

The following are excerpts of interviews given to several media organisations.

If there had been no coup on that day, what would have become of Thailand at this moment? What would the old power clique be doing now? Everybody knows, and all organisations know, that the country would have suffered much more than it is suffering now.

After the coup, I returned power to a new government within 12 days. This is not a dictatorship.

Calling me a dictator is simply part of a political attack.

I will not answer the question as to whether I would hand power back to a civilian government if I could turn the clock back. Others would easily find an excuse to attack me again.

But the reason the Council for National Security remains in power is because we have to look after the country's best interests. There has not yet been a transfer of power because things will have to move according to natural stages.

I will not give a score to the Council for National Security on its performance over the last year. We can't give ourselves a score. Others can be responsible for giving out ratings.

Sometimes we might send back the exam paper, but it might get lost on the way. Or our teacher might forget to mark our paper.

I can't answer on behalf of the government for its performance over the past year. You have to ask the government itself.

The Council for National Security has given the government independent authority to run the country. The Council for National Security only appointed the prime minister - not the Cabinet.

But the prime minister is an honest and determined man.

As for the four reasons for the coup, we have assigned the police to go after the former prime minister for lese majeste. This lies beyond our authority and we do not want to trouble His Majesty the King.

On the corruption charges, the Assets Examination Committee has been formed to do the job. Initially there were problems with the AEC. Later, after a change in its membership, the AEC became more courageous and has made progress in its work.

In regard to independent institutions, all the members of the Election Commission, the National Counter Corruption Commission, the National Legislative Assembly and the National Constitution Drafting Council have been newly appointed.

As for the last point regarding national unity and reconciliation, we are in the process of seeing the changes take place. But all the parties must work together to achieve this.

Next year, what will happen to the Council for National Security after it fulfils its task?

I should be the first person called to account if something happens or if the old power clique is allowed to return to power. The members of the Assets Examination Committee might be next in line. But don't be afraid.

We should not be like Chinese New Year chickens that fight and go at each other under bamboo cages. In the end, they all have to be slaughtered.

This is similar to Aesop's fable about a bird and a hunter, the story of one who works and one who does not work but just sticks his leg into the water and pretends to paddle while others are doing all the work.

If the Thaksin regime were to make a comeback, who would be the first to get hit? If this were to be the case, then are you saying that the Council for National Security is not working but is just sticking its feet in the water while others are doing the paddling?

Thais in the Northeast voted against the constitution draft in the referendum. But if we look at the figurers closely, we find that about six million of them were supporters of the old regime. Now this figure has fallen to four million. The number of people who support the old regime could easily fall further.

The military coup was intended to restore democracy. In the future, if there is a coup and the  people do not support the coup-makers, a military government could not survive. But if society is strong enough, we will not need to have coups.

All parties must help to restore strength and democracy to the country. We have to love the country more in ideological terms. Take Vietnam as an example. Their people are very patriotic. They have discipline. Their leaders love the country.

It is possible that a coup might happen again in the future if the country's leadership has a conflict of interest or is corrupt. But a coup must be based on the people's power. This is inevitable.

Sonthi Boonyaratglin