US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK2837

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 002837 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV 
PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, TH, Southern Thailand 
SUBJECT: THAILAND: QUEEN CALLS FOR UNITY AND VIGILANCE IN 
THE FACE OF CONTINUING SOUTHERN VIOLENCE 
 
REF: 04 BANGKOK 8067 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Robert J. Clarke. Reason 1.4 (d) 
 
1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  On April 23 Queen Sirikit delivered a 
strongly worded nationally televised address calling for an 
end to the violence in southern Thailand.  She urged all 
Thais to work with the government against persons responsible 
for recent killings and bombings, saying the violence 
threatens the economic livelihood of the entire country.  The 
remarks were delivered at the Royal Palace in Bangkok in 
front of a large gathering of Village Scouts and other 
representatives of nationalist civil defense groups.  This 
speech follows emotional remarks delivered by the Queen on 
November 16, 2004, where she called for peace in the South, 
but suggested that direct action needed to be taken to 
protect the local Buddhist population.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (C)   On April 23 Queen Sirikit gave a stern, at times 
passionate, 40-minute speech from the Chitralada Royal Palace 
in Bangkok on the violence in southern Thailand.  Her 
remarks, broadcast simultaneously nationwide by all of 
Thailand's television stations, were delivered in front of 
nearly 1,200 members of the Village Scouts and members of 
other voluntary civil defense organizations from across the 
country.  After delivering the remarks she was heard telling 
Privy Councilor Surayudh Shulanont that "His Majesty wanted 
to say this, but feared it would be too strong, so he asked 
me to speak instead." 
 
3.  (SBU)  In her remarks, the Queen said that Thais should 
not "sit idly by" while violence escalated.  She called for 
Thais to unite in a common effort against those responsible 
for southern violence, saying that citizens shouldn't expect 
the government alone to solve the problem.  She stressed that 
she was not asking for Thai citizens to take up arms, but was 
calling for all Thais to work with the government and serve 
as "eyes and ears" for security forces.  The Queen, echoing 
recent statements by Prime Minister Thaksin and other RTG 
officials, suggested non-violent methods be used to restore 
peace in the South. 
 
4.  (SBU)  The Queen focused much of her remarks on the 
potential the violence had to harm the national economy.  She 
twice mentioned the April 13 triple bombings in Songkhla that 
targeted important commercial symbols, including the 
international airport and a western-owned retailer.  She 
warned that the violence could scare away foreign tourists 
and investors, impacting the entire nation.  She noted that 
the continued violence could have a far more negative impact 
on Thailand's economy than the December 26, 2004 tsunami 
disaster.  "It will affect the tourism industry and the 
economy could collapse." 
 
5.  (U)  The government's response was, predictably, 
complimentary of the Queen, with officials promising to heed 
her advice.  Prime Minister Thaksin praised the Queen's 
remarks, saying that Thais, "should take the Queen's words to 
heart, and cooperate with Thai authorities by passing on 
useful information."  Interior Minister Chitchai said the 
Queens remarks "will be the light to guide our work."  Other 
officials echoed the praise, while urging southerners to 
provide information about militants. 
 
6.  (C)  COMMENT:  It has been extremely rare for a member of 
the Royal Family to speak publicly about an ongoing situation 
in the country.  Historically, the Queen's formal public 
speeches have been limited to her birthday, yet this is the 
second time in less than six months that the Queen has made 
formal remarks about the situation in the South.  More 
unusually, the Palace did not announce ahead of time that the 
Queen would deliver the remarks or that the audience would be 
televised. 
 
7.  (C)  COMMENT continued:  The Queen's remarks -- which we 
would characterize as reserved, but resolute -- were quite 
different in tone from her highly emotional November 16, 2004 
speech (reftel) where she indicated that direct self-defense 
measures were required to protect Buddhist Thais living in 
the South.  This time she did not single out the embattled 
Buddhist population, but instead focused on all the innocent 
victims of the "brutish" militants, and the potentially 
devastating economic impact of the violence. 
 
8.  (C)  COMMENT continued:  While the tone for the Queen's 
speech was different, her immediate audience for her remarks 
was the same - the Village Scouts.  The Scouts are a 
nationalist organization, originally organized by the 
government in the 1970s as a means to mobilize the rural 
population against the communist insurgency.  The Scouts, 
with over 6.7 million members nationwide, organized a large 
rally in support of the Government following the Queen's 
November remarks.  Some local observers have expressed 
concern that the Scouts -- who have a history of violence 
towards those seen as opposing the government -- could 
aggravate the situation in the south by encouraging 
nationalist sentiment among the Thai populace, while further 
alienating southern Muslims.  By keeping the Scouts in the 
picture, the Queen runs the risk of doing just that. 
 
9.  (C)  COMMENT continued:  The most striking line of the 
speech seemed to be delivered directly to the Scouts; "I 
still remember the pledge of allegiance that all of you have 
uttered before His Majesty the King and myself that you will 
be loyal to the Nation, the Religion, and the Monarchy, and 
will defend the country."  To Thai ears "the Religion" means 
one thing, Buddhism.  While not explicitly doing so, the 
Queen could be interpreted by some as again having issued a 
call to action -- to defend Buddhists.  END COMMENT 
 
10.  (U)  An official transcript of the Queen's remarks was 
not released.  The following is an informal Embassy 
translation based on excerpts carried in the Thai language 
press: 
 
BEGIN INFORMAL TRANSCRIPT/TRANSLATION 
 
"I invite all of you here today in order to seek your 
cooperation.  I had pondered for a few days before I decided 
to invite you to meet me today mainly because of my grave 
concern about the situation in our country, particularly a 
spate of simultaneous bombings in various places in Hat Yai 
District, Songkhla province. Hat Yai has had a number of 
tourists and we have ever benefited from revenues from 
tourism.  If we allow these tragic incidents to continue 
spreading, our incomes from tourism will dramatically 
decrease and our national economy will collapse. 
 
I did not feel frightened in the face of massive natural 
disaster caused by Tsunami tidal waves in December 2004 
because it was a natural disaster.  But I do feel that the 
bombings at the airport and elsewhere have severely 
undermined our economy and affected the overall living and 
careers of the people. 
 
I still remember the pledge of allegiance that all of you 
have uttered before His Majesty the King and myself that you 
will be loyal to the Nation, the Religion, and the Monarchy, 
and will defend the country.   I would like to ask you to 
take this pledge as "words of truth" that will inspire us to 
get ready to protect our country.  Please don't be a silent 
force indifferent to prevalent tragic incidents in the 
country. 
 
Now, our southern provinces have gravely suffered not only 
from natural disasters but also from abnormal and cruel 
people who can kill human beings like fish or vegetables as 
you already know.  I volunteered and took the Royal Command 
(from His Majesty the King) to travel to Thaksin Ratchanives 
Palace for two months' stay in September and October 2004. 
His Majesty the King and I normally stay in the southern 
region for one or one and a half months at a time, but this 
last time I did not feel like returning (North) at the usual 
time because I had witnessed the hardship and untold 
suffering of our people.  I therefore extended my stay up to 
2 months.  I have always asked for cooperation from all of 
you, from the government and private sectors as well as NGOs 
who attended a previous gathering at this Dusitdalai Hall (in 
November 2004), to brainstorm and extend our heartfelt 
support and assistance to our sisters and brothers in the 3 
southern provinces in order to comfort them with our concern 
and understanding of their sufferings. 
 
But there still remains outbursts of violent incidents 
against authorities and villagers, who have shared the same 
destiny.  The most recent ones were the bombing at the 
international airport in Hat Yai District, Songkhla province, 
and simultaneous bombings of a department store and a hotel 
in the province, resulting in several deaths.  It is evident 
that this group of inhumane persons has intentionally killed 
the innocent without caring whether they are women, elderly, 
or children.  This is evidently an act of brutes who have no 
religion, no morality, no humanity, and who are capable of 
doing violent and cruel things that normal people cannot. 
These people have no sympathy for anyone else. 
I believe these people not only deliberately intended to kill 
others but have also conspired against the country.  For such 
unabated violent incidents would give our country an 
unattractive and poor look and scare away visitors who could 
not possibly feel safe in the face of incidents of bombings. 
I therefore think it is now time for me to talk clearly to 
you about the grave dangers now plaguing Thailand, especially 
the persistent bombings which damage the Thai economy and 
tourism despite the rich and beautiful national resources 
found in Thailand. 
 
When I hear lately about an increase in daily killing from 
one to 4-5 cases a day, and recently about even more frequent 
bombings, I feel that our country is in real danger.  I am 
reminded of your pledge to defend the country and the Thai 
people uttered before His Majesty the King at a time when I 
don't know who else to turn to for help. 
 
I have no specific proposal, and never think of mobilizing 
all of you to take up weapons to kill anyone, because we are 
all Thai compatriots and not duty-bound to suppress one 
another with arms.  I would merely like to ask you not remain 
idle, for your idleness could do great harm to the country. 
Rather, we must show that we realize the dangers facing the 
country and demonstrate understanding of years of suffering 
by our southern compatriots.  I think it is the Thai people's 
duty to defend the country and jointly condemn these inhuman 
and cruel acts of assaulting and killing innocent people at 
Thailand's expense.  We must also be silently vigilant and 
act like ears and eyes for state authorities to monitor any 
unusual activities. 
 
We must help keep our compatriots from getting killed, 
injured, maimed and being prevented from working for their 
livelihood. We all have to protect all official properties 
procured with taxes from the people.  All Thais and the armed 
forces have to preserve legal sanctity by non-violent means 
in order to restore peace to the south as soon as possible so 
that our brothers and sisters in the south can live safely 
and normally pursue their occupations.  In so doing, we can 
unify our efforts and thinking and combine forces to denounce 
any hostile act that could gravely affect the country.  We 
cannot simply stay idle, as we have already pledged to defend 
the country.   If we are able to comply with our pledge, 
every sector will be happy because of our mutual care. 
 
You should try to think and consult among you to determine 
whether it is time and appropriate for all of us to be united 
and not to stay idle or silent regardless of any bombing or 
whatever happens.  We cannot just leave these 
responsibilities solely to the government but must join 
forces to help one another and protect Thailand without 
holding any weapon.  I really hope that all of you who vowed 
to defend the country, and on whom I have pinned much hope, 
will unite your efforts to defend your country, to show your 
gratitude to your homeland, and to build the country for our 
new generations." 
 
END INFORMAL TRANSCRIPT/TRANSLATION 
BOYCE