The coup launched by the Thai military against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is a setback for Thai democracy. Over the last two decades, largely through the active involvement of civil society, a more people-oriented, participatory democracy was beginning to develop in Thailand. Besides, there has been no military coup in Thailand in the last 15 years.

But it is Thaksin who is mainly responsible for this setback. Thaksin had undermined the principal institutions of Thai democracy such as the judiciary, the election commission and the media through blatant manoeuvres aimed at reinforcing and perpetuating his power. In the last few months in particular, in the face of widespread, concerted opposition from the Thai middle-class, he had virtually closed all the avenues for peaceful, democratic change.

The Army commander-in-chief at the head of Thailand's latest coup, General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, has promised that a civilian prime minister will be appointed in two weeks' time and a general election held in a year's time. He has assured the people that the coup leaders are committed to democracy and their only intention in staging the coup was to end the stalemate created by Thaksin's Machiavellian politics.

It is now obvious that the coup has the blessings of the revered Thai King, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who in recent months has developed an antipathy towards Thaksin.

One of the major political issues which allegedly created a rift between Thaksin and the King was Thaksin's mishandling of the volatile situation in southern Thailand. In fact, many Thai analysts regard Thaksin as the main obstacle in the efforts to resolve the conflict in the south.

Now that he is out of the picture, one hopes that the root causes of the conflict would be addressed, guided by some of the excellent ideas and proposals contained in the recently published report of the National Reconciliation Commission.

The writer is president, International Movement for a Just World (Just).