Surayud to review junta's plan to discredit PPP

The meeting is expected to take place after Surayud concluded his twoday inspection trip to the Northeast and the North which began on Thursday.

Surayud will likely ask the junta to review its plan in order to ensure a free and fair voting in light of the leadup to the December 23 election.

Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said People Power Party leader Samak Sundaravej was acting paranoid to interpret the junta's propaganda as a malicious ploy to go after his life.

Samak claimed on Monday that the junta would go all the way to destroy his party, including a possibility of killing him.

Plans don't target any party: PM

In his reaction to Samak's comments, Boonrawd said he saw the propaganda plan as part of the efforts to restore democratic rule and ensure a successful general election. The plan did not aim at destroying any party, he added.

"All top military commanders have pledged to keep soldiers out of politics and will not interfere with the electoral process," he said.

The Nation