The Defence Ministry's reconciliation panels will see a diverse set of members, not just a pool of military officers, said defence permanent secretary Chaicharn Changmongkol.
Gen Chaicharn, who heads the directing committee for national reconciliation, said Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon is demanding better representation on the sub-committees.
He said he is screening and approaching civilian academics to sit on the sub-committees and the lists of members of the sub-committee are expected to be completed this week.
The Chaicharn committee, known as the directing committee for national conciliation, was set up by Gen Prawit who chairs one of the four committees to push national reform, national strategy, reconciliation and strategic national administration.
The four panels are under the Committee for National Administration under the Framework of National Reform, Strategy, and Reconciliation chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The directing committee is made up of the leaders of the armed forces and the police, the interior permanent secretary, and Lt Gen Nat Intaracharoen, chairman of the regime's reconciliation centre.
Army Commander Chalermchai Sittisat, tipped to be named a member of the Prayut committee, said dialogue is the best approach to address conflicts and divisiveness.
He expressed confidence that if all stake-holders put the national interest before others, the country will be able to put the conflicts behind it and move forward.
Gen Chalermchai also warned the media not to press on with questions and speculation before the unity building process takes shape, saying it could create confusion and affect the process.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday urged those involved in the reconciliation process not to treat the issue as conflicts between groups of people otherwise divisions will not be addressed.
"If it is treated as a conflict between people, [the focus of unity efforts] will only be on those who will be brought in for talks. The issues that are at the centre of the divisions will not be tackled," he said.
Mr Abhisit also urged all those concerned to refrain from discussing proposals involved in the unity building process, saying they tend to be controversial and would complicate the work.
He also voiced concerns about possible overlapping of the work between the government's committees and the National Reform Steering Assembly's (NRSA) political reform panel.
Seri Suwanpanont, chairman of the NRSA's political reform committee, yesterday played down Gen Prayut's rejection of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda's reconciliation approach, known as the 66/23 policy.
He said the proposed use of the 66/23 policy is being studied and it is not finalised. He said the committee is open to recommendations which will be studied.
He also said it was too soon to say if the proposals will include an amnesty plan.
Meanwhile, Gen Prayut will chair a workshop on Feb 1 to discuss how to drive reconciliation and reform in a unified manner, said Prime Minister's Office Minister Suvit Maesincee.