Bangkok (Thailand): Thailand's new military rulers said on Saturday that they plan to take action over foreign news reports about their coup that they consider incorrect, and will investigate allegations of corruption against ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
At the same time, an interim constitution to temporarily replace the 1997 one scrapped by military when it seized power on Tuesday is expected to be ready very soon, a Thai newspaper reported late on Saturday.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngarm said the interim constitution was nearly finished and it could be presented to the ruling military council on Monday, The Nation said on its website.
The English-language daily said Wissanu, a legal expert, was speaking at a seminar on judicial affairs.
Lt. General Palanggoon Klaharn, spokesman for the ruling military council, told The Associated Press he had no information about the constitution.
Separately, Palanggoon said at a news conference that the Foreign Ministry would take ''proactive action'' to correct what he called misreporting about the coup.
He said some foreign journalists had also presented news which insulted the country's esteemed monarchy, and that the ministry had been ordered to respond immediately to such reports.
Palanggoon did not cite any specific reports or say what kind of response there might be, but said clarifications had been given to foreign diplomats.
Several foreign news reports have suggested that tension between the palace of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Thaksin's administration could have contributed to the staging of the bloodless military takeover.
However, under Thai law and tradition, it is taboo even to suggest that the king - a constitutional monarch with limited powers - might play a role in politics.
News reports originating abroad have also quoted Western governments and human rights groups calling the coup a setback for democracy, and criticizing restrictions placed by the military council on freedom of assembly and the media.
The military council - formally called the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy - meanwhile was gearing up for an investigation into Thaksin's assets, which could lead to their seizure.
''We will investigate his assets and use existing laws to confiscate them and money he gained from corruption and abuse of power. The assets and money he had before he became prime minister will not be touched,'' said a high-ranking official who demanded anonymity because the investigation has not yet been made public.
Asked about the investigation into Thaksin's assets, Klanarong Chanthik, one of nine members of an anti-corruption commission appointed Friday, told The Associated Press: ''At this moment the National Counter Corruption Commission is empowered to perform its duty within the framework of the law ... I can't comment on any specific case.''
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