Chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin's Interview With The Nation Multimedia Group

[Jai Dee]

FULL INTERVIEW

Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chairman of the Council for National Security

CNS Chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin speaks to Nation Multimedia Group's top editors in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

NMG: What do you think about the underground opponent movement ?

Sonthi: The movement does exist and its members are present in universities, the provinces and Bangkok. In one year from now the Armed Forces will deal with the movement via mass psychology like when they handled circumstances in the past.

NMG: Do you think the movement members already know that the CNS is keeping a close watch on them?

Sonthi: Some may and others may not. The CNS itself may not have information about some movement members especially those without permanent careers. For this particular group, the martial law will be helpful in tracking them.

NMG: When will the CNS scrap enforcement of the martial law?

Sonthi: Personally, I want to quickly abolish the martial law enforcement considering negative views against it from the outside world. But for now, the law still has its merit in helping control national security. Those who might be planning unrest would be deterred by the power of the law.

NMG: Does the prime minister's recent meeting with former insurgents is part of the attempts to counter the underground movement?

Sonthi: In fact, it is. Those people have been neglected by past governments although the military has consistently been in contact with them. They are our ally and we can get them to help in development of the country.

NMG: What was the real situation when you had to unprecedentedly accompany former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on his trip to Burma before the coup?

Sonthi: At first I did not understand why he wanted me to go with him then. He told me to wear a military uniform but I asked to put on a suit instead since I can hide something inside. I did not know what would happen then and I had to take precautions by taking a seat next to the pilot and close to an exit. I would be able to make an easy escape thanks to such a strategic seating in case something bad would happen.

NMG: Did the timing of the coup have anything to do with Thaksin's plan to sack you as Army chief?

Sonthi: I knew that he planned to sack me without prior notice and thus had to move the coup date, originally planned on Sept 20, one day forward to Sept 19. This was to avoid possible bloodshed since the People's Alliance for Democracy then plan a major antiThaksin rally on Sept 20 and Thaksin's supporters would likely come out to confront them. Without me, noone else would have led the coup.

NMG: Did Thaksin plan to declare a state of emergency to help him retain power then?

Sonthi: He did and he knew that I would not cooperate. I had always been against any use of force against the people and he knew that he could not command me. The only thing he could do was sack me.

NMG: Did you inform or seek approval from Privy Council President Gen Prem Tinsulanonda before staging the coup?

Sonthi: I could not do that. I did not want him to get involved.

NMG: If Thaksin would charter a flight back to Bangkok without notifying the CNS, what would you do?

Sonthi: I will not allow him to land. He would have to notify me first if he wanted to come back.

NMG: What do you think about the speculation that the CNS would detain Thaksin and put him under house arrest like the Burmese junta did to Aung San Suu Kyi if he would come back?

Sonthi: That will not happen. I will just not let him return without seeking permission from the CNS first.

NMG: Did you have Gen Surayud Chulanont in mind as your choice of new prime minister since you first planned the coup?

Sonthi: I did not. In fact, I first even had no idea that I had to take part in selecting a new prime minister too. I just told Armed Forces leaders to privately make their choice without consulting one another but they finally reached a consensus on Gen Surayud.

NMG: Had you consulted Gen Surayud Chulanont about staging the coup?

Sonthi: I did not. I rarely had a chance to talk to him except for one occasion when we once took a train trip to Surin province. It was a twosentence conversation. When I met him to ask him to take the prime minister post, he spent a long time thinking about it.

NMG: Had Gen Surayud turned down the interim premiership, who would have been your second choice?

Sonthi: It would have been a deadend for me then. I just had no second choice at all. I that case, I would have to keep asking him again and again.

NMG: What about nominating yourself then?

Sonthi. I did not want to.

NMG: What will you do with cases of Thaksin's possible acts of lese majesty while he was in power?

Sonthi: He has cleared some of the cases and our officials are looking into the other remaining cases. I am not sure how far the Office of the Auditor General can investigate suspected corruption cases involving him. They might get to nowhere at all.

NMG: Will there be any investigation of Thaksin's financial accounts?

Sonthi: We cannot impound the money he made with accountable legal evidence but can only look for some possible hidden one with questionable background.

Source: The Nation - 26 October 2006