Thai Supreme Commander affirms no coup

BANGKOK, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Supreme Commander General Songkitti Jakkabatra said Saturday that there would not be a military coup.

Songkitti said military top brass officers have been brainstorming for a solution for the political turmoil, in which anti-government protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) were engaged in stand-off and later violent clashes with the authorities, and have agreed on a solution, but not a coup, according to news website The Nation.

"I won't tell about a solution now but the military has thought about it," Songkitti was quoted as saying. "I affirm that there will be no coup."

The Supreme Commander's affirmation came after the Army Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda repeatedly ruled out a military coup as a wayout of the crisis, as has been witnessed on Sept. 19, 2006 when then Army Chief Sonthi Boonyaratkalin led military top brass including then First Army Region commander Anupong to stage a coupto topple Thaksin Shinawatra out of premiership.

The current confrontation between PAD, a consistent opposer coalition of Thaksin, and the current government led by PM Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law, has stemmed from the conflicts since the Thaksin administration. The PAD now portrays itself as royalists and puts those loyal to Thaksin as the opposite side, and keeps calling the Somchai government, which they call a proxy of Thaksin, to step down.

Military top brass has conceded that the 2006 coup had failed to solve the conflicts.