Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont outlined his vision for post-coup Thailand on Tuesday, promising to overhaul the justice system, accelerate political reforms and a bigger role for Islamic law in the rebellious Muslim south, according to Reuters. "Thailand's interim government is in a hurry," the 63-year-old retired general, appointed by the military after a Sept. 19 coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, told foreign correspondents. Surayud said his administration faced four major challenges over the next 12 months -- political reform, restoring national unity, fighting poverty and a return to the rule of law. He said there had been a rapid deterioration in the past five years under Thaksin, whose administration is accused of rampant corruption, abuse of courts and the undermining of independent watchdogs. The government would "undertake far-reaching and drastic reforms" in the administration of justice, in the police and strengthen anti-corruption agencies, he said. "Until every citizen stands equal in the eyes of the law, and is treated equally, there can be no real justice for all, no end to corruption which has become a national disease," he said. Several corruption probes have begun against Thaksin and his cabinet colleagues, but investigators admit they have found no evidence of wrongdoing. Surayud said his government would try to speed up the drafting of a new constitution to pave the way for elections expected late next year. A new Political Development Council would aim to stimulate a debate among 64 million Thais on the future of democracy in a country that has seen 18 coups in the last 74 years. "It will be their choices, hopefully made from a more informed point of view," he said in an apparent reference to rural voters who handed Thaksin's party two landslide election victories. When he was asked how he was going to ensure free and fair elections, Surayud said he could not copy other countries and it would have to be done the "Thai way". ISLAMIC LAW On the insurgency in the Muslim south, he said all Thais shared the burden of ending the violence in which more than 1,700 people have been killed since January 2004. Since assuming power, Surayud has worked to reverse Thaksin's hardline policies on the region bordering Malaysia and home to most of predominately Buddhist Thailand's six million Muslims. Surayud went south to make a public apology to Muslims for Bangkok's iron-fist actions and his government has dropped charges against dozens of Muslim protesters and agreed to pay compensation to families of Muslims who died in army custody. On Tuesday, he said Islamic law should be given a bigger role in the region, where 80 percent of the people are ethnic Malay and Muslim. "They should have the Islamic law in practice, Shariah, because the way they are dealing with the normal practice in their society, in their life, is completely different from us." He also told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand the only condition his government would impose for talks with insurgents in what was an Islamic sultanate until annexed by Bangkok a century ago was no discussion of separation. Surayud also tried to assure foreign investors that the government's "sufficiency economy" approach did not mean Thailand was disengaging from the global economy. The back-to-basics philosophy espoused by King Bhumibol Adulyadej emphasizes living within ones means, avoiding excessive debt and using domestically-made products to reduce reliance on international markets. "Thailand is and will continue to be an open market economy," Surayud said.
