US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK3381

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 003381 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV. HQ USPACOM FOR FPA HUSO. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, TH 
SUBJECT: THAILAND:  REPLACEMENT OF RTG AUDITOR-GENERAL 
SPARKS CONTROVERSY 
 
 
 1.  (SBU)  Summary:  A controversy over the status of 
Auditor-General Khunying Charuwan Methanaka is receiving wide 
attention in Thailand.  On May 12, citing a Constitutional 
Court decision voiding her original appointment, the Senate 
named former Finance Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary 
Wisut Montriwat to replace Charuwan after she has been in the 
job since November 2001.  Her supporters are crying foul, 
accusing the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) government of removing an 
effective anti-corruption investigator who has become a thorn 
in its side.  Her supporters claim that, after a series of 
investigations that targeted Thaksin-appointed senior 
officials, she now has Transport Minister Suriya 
Jungrungruenkit in her sights for suspected involvement with 
fraud connected to the new airport project.  Charuwan's 
removal appears to be legal, even if it is 
politically-motivated.  This controversy has reopened debate 
about the larger questions of government influence on key 
appointments and on the constitutionally-mandated 
independence of the Senate and other offices.  End Summary. 
 
 
ACTIVIST AUDITOR-GENERAL 
 
2.  (SBU)  Charuwan was an active, senior career auditor in 
the Auditor-General's Office when she was nominated by the 
Senate Auditor General Commission and subsequently selected 
by the Senate to the top post in November 2001.  Her name was 
second on a list of three candidates but she received the nod 
from the Senate at that time, all of whose members are still 
holding seats. 
 
3.  (SBU) As head of the constitutionally-mandated 
independent Auditor-General's office, Charuwan has proved to 
be a strong anti-graft investigator, looking into many cases 
alleging government fraud and malfeasance under the Thaksin 
administration.  The Palace awarded her the royal honorific 
of "khunying," and "promoted" her to a higher order, because 
of her corruption-busting performance.  Charuwan investigated 
projects under the Transport Ministry (the new airport and 
various highway projects) and the Agriculture Ministry 
(questionable rice and rubber sales).  In 2003, she 
reportedly was prepared to investigate allegations of fraud 
by senior Ministry of Health officials administering 
Thaksin's vaunted 30 baht health care program. 
 
4.  (SBU)  In June 2003, a group of senators led by Buriram 
Senator Police Colonel Suraphong Phai-nuan raised questions 
over the selection procedure for Charuwan, pointing out that 
since she had been ranked second among the three nominees for 
the post, her appointment was technically illegal because it 
did not follow guidelines that only the top nominee should be 
selected.  These Senators petitioned the Constitutional Court 
to rule on Charuwan's appointment, and the Court subsequently 
ruled that Charuwan's appointment was unconstitutional and 
she was thus disqualified for the post.  Though a number of 
senators sent a letter to the Court supporting Charuwan, the 
Court re-affirmed its ruling in February, 2005.  On May 12, 
amidst accusations by her supporters in the public that the 
Thaksin administration was pushing out a strong 
anti-corruption official in favor of a more malleable figure, 
the Senate selected former Finance Ministry Deputy Permanent 
Secretary Wisut Montriwat to replace Charuwan.  Critics of 
 
SIPDIS 
the appointment of Wisut maintain that because Charuwan has 
not been formally removed by royal fiat, a replacement cannot 
be named and submitted to the King.  For her part, Charuwan 
is still occupying her office space, but has packed her bags. 
 
 
NGOS POINT ACCUSE THAI RAK THAI GOVERNMENT OF POLITICAL 
MOTIVATION IN REMOVAL 
 
5.  (U)  The prospective replacement of Charuwan has stirred 
up a political storm. The NGO Campaign for Popular Democracy 
(CPD) on May 12 accused the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Government of 
engineering her exit in order to rid itself of a troublesome 
official who was revealing embarrassing instances of 
corruption.  CDP Secretary-General Suriyasai Katasila charged 
that a majority of senators -- who are supposed to be 
non-partisan -- had been instructed by the administration to 
vote for Wisut.  According to Suriyasai, during her term as 
Auditor-General, Charuwan had discovered and was taking 
action on several instances of corrupt practices involving 
TRT ministers, including the prominent airport contract fraud 
allegations now plaguing Transport Minister Suriya 
Jungrungruenkit.  To stop Charuwan from breathing down 
Suriya,s neck and despite the legal uncertainty over 
Charuwan's status, Suriyasai alleged, the Senate,s selection 
of Wisut as new Auditor-General had been hastily arranged. 
 
 
6.  (U)  Chairman of the NGO Confederation for Democracy, 
Weng Tojirakan, has also charged that the dispute over the 
Auditor-General post stems from fear among some Thai 
politicians that Charuwan was getting too close to them in 
her investigations.  According to Weng, after her extended 
tenure as Auditor-General, Charuwan was close to making major 
corruption cases against other members of Thaksin's 
government.  Sensing trouble, Weng maintained, these 
politicians moved to get her out.  Weng bemoaned what he 
considered undue administration influence over the nominally 
independent Senate, which selected a replacement for Charuwan 
without plausible reasons, and the Constitutional Court, 
which passed an unclear ruling on her case.  Weng also cited 
Prime Minister Thaksin,s reluctance to appoint Charuwan to 
the fact-finding committee on the CTX explosive device 
detection machine fraud matter, in Weng's view, out of fear 
that Charuwan would dig up embarrassing facts. 
LEGAL ARGUMENTS BY A SUPPORTER 
 
7.  (U)  One of Charuwan's supporters, former Constitution 
Drafting Assembly (CDA) member Khanin Boonsuwan, on May 18 
characterized the Senate,s appointment of Wisut as a "legal 
mistake."  Khanin argued that Charuwan still retains her 
status as Auditor-General, since the Constitution provides 
that the removal from office of the Auditor-General shall be 
in accordance with the organic law on state audit, and this 
law does not stipulate that a ruling made by the 
Constitutional Court (CC) as a valid reason for the 
Auditor-General,s removal.  Khanin added that the CC,s 
ruling, which declared the unconstitutionality of the 
Senate,s earlier selection of Charuwan as the 
Auditor-General, did not specifically mention that she be 
removed from the office.  Therefore, Khanin concluded, the 
royal appointment of Charuwan as the Auditor-General was 
still in effect, and that should render the selection of 
Wisut invalid.  He further argued that this also makes it 
inappropriate for the President of the Senate to present 
Wisut to the King as new Auditor-General. 
 
8.  (SBU)  Comment:  It does appear that Charuwan's selection 
in 2001 did not follow the Constitutionally-stipulated 
procedures, a fact that was known and overlooked by the 
Senate at the time of her appointment.  A royal fiat is not 
now required to remove her.  She had a good reputation before 
becoming Auditor-General but her real problem is that she has 
proved to be a much tougher investigator than anticipated. 
Her removal now clearly is politically-motivated but also is 
achievable legally, despite the arguments of Khanin. 
Speculation over what Charuwan knows about government 
corruption and what she planned to do is particularly topical 
because of current widespread allegations of fraud in the 
awarding of contracts for the new airport.  Her imminent 
removal has renewed the debate about the degree of influence 
exercised by the government over the nominally independent 
Senate and Constitutional Court.  Throughout the Thaksin 
years the opposition has claimed that these and other 
constitutionally-mandated watchdog bodies have been packed 
and unduly influenced by the ruling party and essentially 
been turned into rubber stamps. The manner in which Charuwan 
is being replaced as Auditor-General has fed these suspicions 
among Thaksin's critics and more widely in the Thai public. 
End Comment. 
ARVIZU