THAI GENERALS CHART LIKELY FUTURE!

Thai generals chart likely future
By Kate McGeown BBC News, Bangkok.

The coup leaders do not want to appear dictatorial.The leaders of Thailand's military coup have done what they promised to do - draft an interim constitution and hand over power to a designated prime minister within weeks of seizing control.
But questions about the military rulers' longer-term intentions still remain.
Perhaps the biggest clue to their plans is the hastily drawn-up interim constitution, which will remain valid until democratic elections due to be held in October next year.
This document gives substantial powers to the coup leaders - who now call themselves the Council for National Security (CNS). They are able to dismiss the prime minister if they choose, and are also influential in deciding the committee to draft the next, full, constitution.
"The military is keeping a lot of power for itself, and I would rather this wasn't the case," said Gothom Arya, from Mahidol University.
The CNS does not deny this, but insists such controls are essential in order to keep the peace.

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"This is an abnormal situation. We need to make sure the environment is right, otherwise the government will not be able to do its job," said Maj Gen Thawip Netniyom, a spokesman for the military council.
Lessons from the past
According to law lecturer Parinya Tevanarumitkul, the interim constitution is similar to a temporary charter drawn up in 1991, after the country's last coup.
That document failed to bring lasting peace, with violence breaking out just 15 months after the military took over.
But Prof Parinya said the current coup leaders seem to have learnt from the mistakes of the past.
"This time, the military has specified a definite time frame for elections and the drafting of a new [permanent] constitution," he said, adding that they had also refrained from giving themselves absolute power.
But there are various clauses of this temporary charter that continue to cause concern - chief of which is the wording on human rights.
"This draft is very short on basic guidelines about rights and liberties," said Mr Gothom. "I'd like to see a guarantee of freedom of expression, and freedom of the press."
His comments echo international concerns about restrictions on media freedom and political gatherings that the military have issued since the coup.
Prof Parinya said that while a guarantee of human rights was at least mentioned in article three of the interim charter, it was unclear how this would work when put in conjunction with article 36, which states that all orders from the CNS will remain effective.
"I'm worried because as a lawyer, I don't know what this will mean in practice," he said.
Repeat process
Much of the interim charter is taken up with detailing how the next, full, constitution will be put together.
The CNS will appoint a 2,000-member National Assembly, which will be gradually reduced to a core drafting committee made up of 25 members.
While people can start out with good intentions, they can easily get corrupted along the way
Abhisit Vejjajiva, Democrat Party leaderBut in reality, the military will be heavily involved in the whole selection process, and is even able to add another 10 members of their choosing to the final 25.
"On one hand they would like public participation, but on the other they are present in every step," said Mr Gothom.
It appears that the last full constitution, which was drafted in 1997 and was lauded at the time as an important advance in Asian democracy, will be used as a guideline for the new document.
The drafting committee is required to explain any departures from the 1997 accord before the new charter is approved.
Prof Parinya believes the military should never have nullified the 1997 constitution at all - just made some changes to it.
"This is the eighth time we have had to draft a new constitution," he said. "It takes a lot of time, and we could have had new elections sooner if they hadn't abolished it."
But it is widely acknowledged that at least some changes needed to be made, to stop the alleged manipulation of power blamed on ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The military took over in a coup on 19 SeptemberAccording to Abhisit Vejjajiva, the head of the Democrat Party - the main opposition to Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party - there were two main problems with the 1997 constitution.
"We need more guarantees of human rights, and more checks and balances on those in power," he said. "What went wrong with the Thaksin regime was that he was able to avoid those checks and balances."
But right now, the new constitution is only one of many pressing issues facing the military generals and their new prime minister, retired General Surayud Chulanont.
They have to keep the peace, form a working government and ensure Thailand's economy remains on an even keel, allaying the concerns of the international community.
Mr Abhisit, relegated for now to the sidelines of his country's politics, summed up the feelings of many Thais when he said: "We're really pleased the coup-makers are showing no signs of political ambitions, but we are still concerned because the challenges facing them are huge."
"While people can start out with good intentions, they can easily get corrupted along the way."

BBC NEWS REPORT.