Thaksin: It was the same with Thailand's 17 other coups. First, the people are shocked. Then they start to voice their concerns. And then they start to accept it, especially after it's endorsed by His Majesty the King. They're very disciplined. They obey. But they are watching what [the new rulers] are doing, and when they will return democracy to the people. People's tolerance is limited.

It was a reply that spoke 1,000 words more than what was actually said. What he really meant was open to anyone's interpretation and the generals who overthrew him are said to be putting it under very intense scrutiny. To me, this one statement revealed a lot about how Thaksin Shinawatra perceives his compatriots, as well as how he regards democracy.  Being "disciplined" and given to "obey" were terms used by Thaksin to describe people who, twice over the last five years gave him two unprecedented landslide victories in elections. But who was he referring to precisely? The middle-class, or a large portion of them to be precise, has risen against him although many voted for him in the 2001 and 2005 elections, so it is unlikely that he was talking about that group.

Does this leave us the "grassroots people"? But, again, it's unimaginable to hear such a description from the "champion of the poor". If the statement had been carefully scripted and crafted as many believe, he could have told Time "Tanks and guns are intimidating, don't you think?" And was he invariably implying that his support came from people who are disciplined and obedient?

Time: The junta also accuses you and your government of corruption.

Thaksin: The allegations are baseless. I asked very detailed questions about projects that went to the Cabinet for approval, and I shot down many of them. In all the previous 17 coups, corruption was one of the excuses. But some juntas ended up being more corrupt. At any rate, corruption will not go away in Thailand - it's in the system.

Interpretation: My "war on corruption" was a piece of political propaganda. My statement that "I don't need receipts to get rid of corrupt officials" was ... errr ... Wait, show me proof that I said that.

Time: You have criticised the junta for muzzling the media, but you were accused of doing the same.

Thaksin: The press printed groundless information about me. The press should not print unless it has all the facts because this can hurt the reputations of others. So I criticised them; sometimes I used strong words.

Time: You did more than just express strong words. You slapped lawsuits on newspapers that printed things you didn't like.

Thaksin: That was the only way I could seek justice. But I never intervened in their activities or closed them down. 

Interpretation: Ample Rich, Winmark, share concealment, my wife's land purchase, the CTX bribery case, the Temasek controversy, my relatives in key military and political posts, weakened checks and balances systems were all the Thai media's imagination. The hundreds of millions of baht lawsuits against the likes of Supinya Klangnarong and Thai Post for questioning conflicts of interest were appropriate, so was my plan to sue the Bangkok Post for Bt1 billion for reporting about non-existent cracks on the Suvarnabhumi Airport runway.

Editors and ITV rebels lost their jobs without my knowledge, and Thailand's drop in world press freedom rankings during my time in office was the result of a poor survey. The Anti-Money Laundering Office's probe into assets of Thai journalists and publishers of papers critical of the government was more justified than groundless accusations involving my servants and other tax-free dealings. My government had nothing to do with the angry mob that besieged The Nation's head office at the height of the street protests against me.

Local media, the majority of which supported me during my first years in office, are not to be trusted. Foreign media? I'm sorry I was wrong about them. My sincere apologies.

Time: How mature is Thailand's democracy?

Thaksin: Without democracy it's not possible for Thailand to prosper, because without democracy, we will not get the trust and confidence [of investors] to develop the country.

This one is my favourite. Just let Thaksin's statements speak for themselves. "I'm a straightforward man. Provinces that give us their trust deserve our special care. We have to take care of the whole country, but our limited time has to be allocated to provinces where we receive the most trust. Provinces that trust us less will have to wait." "Democracy is a good and beautiful thing, but it's not [my] ultimate goal. Democracy is just a tool, not our goal. We can't drive a Rolls-Royce to a rural village and fix people's problems; sometimes a pickup or good off-road vehicle will do".

Slips of the tongue? Probably. But putting them together with his latest interviews can tell a lot about how mature Thailand's democracy is. Some blame Thaksin more than the military and vice versa. The debate over which one is worse is wide ranging and seemingly endless. There is one question though that I think Time should have asked Thaksin:

"Democracy gave you the biggest ever mandate, not once but twice. What have you done to protect it?"

Tulsathit Taptim