This is an edited transcript.

How did legal expert Meechai Ruchuphan get involved in writing coup announcements?

I wrote all the announcements and orders on the afternoon of September 19. Before broadcasting them, I wanted to check their legality. It so happened that a friend of mine knew Meechai.

I called him, asking for advice, and dispatched a car to pick him up. He arrived at Army headquarters at around 10pm or 11pm.

This was the first time I had met Meechai in person. I gave him the draft announcements and moved on to do other things.

Why didn't you use past announcements?

I wanted to prevent [people who might leak them to the public] getting hold of copies of the old announcements.

No one knew about the coup.

Who coined the name 'Council for Democratic Reform' (CDR)?

I came up with the name Council for Democratic Conservation. General Winai Phattiyakul revised it to CDR because he is the son-in-law of Admiral Sa-ngad Chaloryu who staged a coup under the National Administrative Reform Council. He wanted the key word "reform" in the name. I simply didn't want to duplicate the old name, but academics said the word would catch on more easily than my choice of word. The English translation caused a problem ... but I left this in the hands of capable people.

Was it because you wanted to entrust capable people, that you recruited Meechai as the speaker of the National Legislative Assembly?

Not really. I never suggested Meechai as the NLA speaker. I don't understand much about the attacks against him. I know about the attacks on [ex-Cabinet secretary general] Bowornsak Uwanno and [ex-deputy premier] Wissanu Krea-ngam. I have known the two for a long time. Not many people realise the two have been with me for some time. They resigned their positions because they could not tolerate the fact that ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra saw senior figures of the country as his enemies.

How about the political undercurrent against the Council for National Security?

I'd like to say two things about the military coup. First, I received calls for the coup from many people.

Second, soldiers are obliged to protect national security, safeguard the nation and uphold loyalty to the monarchy. The military cannot tolerate any leaders who lack or have limited loyalty to the King.

Under the previous government, widespread corruption was evident. The administration was plagued by irregularities. Independent organisations failed to function; the administrative mechanisms as per the 1997 Constitution were stalled.

In politics, the government was in charge of caretaker duties. There was no functioning legislative body, and the judiciary could not function. There appeared to be no way out. This was before factoring in the social divisions. The country could not survive under the circumstances, and the coup was deemed necessary.

The armed forces' aim is to reform politics and introduce sustainable solutions. The administrative system should be rectified in line with true democratic rule. We want to place emphasis on having the King as Head of State.

People across the country, including those in rural areas, have thanked the armed forces for staging the coup. Many even told us we were late in intervening.

I understand the coup may have tainted the country's image internationally. But I believe a little interruption is acceptable in order to enable everyone to move forward once again.

I can say that none of the military leaders want to run the government or get involved in politics. We want to return power to the people as quickly as possible. The transition of power will take place when the people are ready for it. The people should understand what happened and strive to prevent a repeat by introducing charter amendments and adjusting the administrative system.

The charter should be designed for Thailand and the nature of its people. It is a futile exercise if we copy foreign models.

I suspect many Thais still lack a proper understanding of democracy. The people have to understand their rights and their duties. Some have yet to learn about discipline. I think it is important to educate the people about true democratic rule. It is a challenge to enable all 60 million Thais to gain an in-depth understanding of democracy and all its rights, duties and rules. Democracy will thrive once the people learn its true meaning.

I would also like to tell the people that we should pay more attention to scrutinising the basic law.

I will try to develop an armed forces that truly belongs to the people. In the future, the moves of the armed forces will also be the moves of the people.

What can you say about the [so-called] undercurrent?

I am looking at the country from a security perspective. The armed forces need more time to assess the undercurrent.

A full transcript can be found at www.nationmultimedia.com.