US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK4696

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 004696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/BCLTV, INR/B 
PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, TH, Southern Thailand 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES THE SOUTH WITH DEPUTY PRIME 
MINISTER CHATURON 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 4596 
 
     B. BANGKOK 4653 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce. Reason 1.4 (d) 
 
1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  On July 15, Ambassador met with Deputy 
Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng to discuss the situation in 
southern Thailand.  Chaturon spoke frankly, and often 
critically, of the Thaksin Administration's handling of the 
situation in the South.  Chaturon, a member of the National 
Reconciliation Commission (NRC), believes the Government's 
failure to understand the nature of the situation in southern 
Thailand is perpetuating a cycle of violence and further 
alienating the local population.  Chaturon, while not a 
Thaksin confidant, is a popular and well regarded U.S. 
educated politician who has managed to have a very successful 
political career despite his days as a radical student 
activist in the 1970s.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (C)  On July 15, Ambassador met with Deputy Prime 
Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng.  Chaturon has been a key player 
in recent efforts to deal with the ongoing unrest in southern 
Thailand.  In April 2004, Chaturon submitted a "Seven Point 
Plan" to the cabinet to resolve the violence.   The proposal 
followed an extended period of consultations with southern 
community and religious leaders.  Among other conciliatory 
ideas, Chaturon's plan called for a lifting of martial law 
and limited amnesty for some insurgents.  The plan was not 
received well by the security services and was largely 
ignored. 
 
IN THE WAKE OF YALA ATTACKS A NEW SECURITY LAW 
 
3.  (C)  Chaturon came to the meeting directly from an 
emergency cabinet meeting convened by Prime Minister Thaksin 
to discuss the coordinated attacks in Yala province on July 
14 (reftel A).  He told the Ambassador that the cabinet had 
approved an Emergency Decree to replace the selective martial 
law already in place in parts of the South (reftel B). 
Chaturon characterized the new law as an attempt to "soften" 
the image of martial law and claimed that NRC Chairman Anand 
Panyarachun had been consulted about the new law prior to the 
cabinet's decision. (NOTE: Publicly, Anand has not been 
supportive of the new emergency decree. The decree has also 
been roundly condemned by the media and by NGOs who see the 
law as an attempt to give authorities more leeway to go after 
suspected insurgents while limiting press and other civil 
freedoms in the region. END NOTE) 
 
"THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE JUST DON'T GET IT" 
 
4.  (C)  Chaturon told the Ambassador he wanted to speak 
frankly and privately about the South.  He expressed great 
frustration that "high level people" (implying PM Thaksin and 
his senior advisors) still do not understand what is really 
happening in far southern Thailand.  Chaturon complained that 
Thaksin and other officials are still approaching the unrest 
with a "policeman's mentality" -- looking at the violence as 
criminal acts -- rather than understanding the complicated 
cultural and religious problems in the South.  Chaturon said 
the military high command simply did not understand how to 
solve a conflict between "citizens and the state."  He 
described the military establishment as falling into two 
camps -- those who understand the cultural underpinnings of 
the unrest, and those who want to treat the situation "like a 
war."  Chaturon claimed that the members of the Privy Council 
also believe that Thaksin does not understand the problem and 
are very concerned about the government's handling of the 
crisis. 
 
"TENS OF THOUSANDS" OF POTENTIAL MILITANTS 
 
5.  (C)  Chaturon said he understood the deeply felt feeling 
of "injustice" in the South and is worried that there are 
potentially "tens of thousands" of Muslim youth in the region 
who could turn against the government.  Chaturon complained 
that "the people in charge" are ignoring how widespread and 
serious the problems are in the South.  He said the 
government's tactics and disregard for the rule of law has 
further alienated the general populace in the region and that 
Muslims feel like they do not have an outlet to the 
government.  Chaturon said his assessment is that the 
violence is still localized in the far southern Muslim 
majority provinces because most often it is often directly 
related to local grievances or a cycle of revenge killings 
between security forces and local Muslims.  He indicated that 
this cycle of violence is beginning to take on a life of its 
own. 
 
COMMENT 
 
6.  (C)  Chaturon is a well regarded and outspoken 
politician, especially on social issues.  He has a carefully 
cultivated public image of a humble, uncorrupt politician and 
he is consistently rated as one of the most popular members 
of the Thaksin administration.  In person he is thoughtful 
and soft-spoken and is obviously seriously concerned about 
the deteriorating situation in the South.  While Chaturon is 
popular with many voters and has a prominent public position, 
he is not considered to be part of the Prime Minister's inner 
circle, and by all indications Thaksin does not seek his 
counsel on how to handle the South.  During the meeting, the 
Ambassador related an earlier private conversation he had 
with the Prime Minister.  The Ambassador had asked Thaksin if 
the creation of the NRC was an admission that Chaturon had 
been right about the South back in April 2004.  Thaksin, 
gritting his teeth, said, "No!  His proposals were wrong at 
that time, but happen to be right now."  Chaturon took some 
obvious satisfaction from the anecdote, but indicated that 
his calls for Thaksin and the government to understand the 
complex cultural and religious elements in the South and deal 
with the problem in a comprehensive fashion are being largely 
ignored.  END COMMENT 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: 
 
7.  (C) Chaturon was born on January 1, 1956 into a 
prominent, politically active family.  During his studies in 
the Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, he became a 
political activist and was president of the Chiang Mai 
University Student Union in 1976.  He played a significant 
role during the October 1976 student uprising.  Following the 
government's crackdown, Chaturon left school and escaped into 
the northern jungle to join the Communist Party of Thailand. 
He returned home in 1980 and subsequently traveled to the 
U.S. for further studies, receiving a BA in Economics from 
the State University of New York at Buffalo and an MA in 
Economics from American University.  He worked toward, but 
did not complete, a Ph.D. at American University. 
 
8.  (C)  Chaturon first won a parliamentary seat in the 1986 
election as a Democrat.  However, he and his faction (the 10 
January faction) later split from the DP and formed the 
Prachachon (People's) Party.  He later was briefly in Chart 
Thai before joining the NAP in 1991, winning a seat in three 
of the four succeeding elections (the exception was September 
1992). During the mid-1990s, Chaturon served as NAP spokesman 
and in April 1999, he became the party's secretary general 
after a tough contest with Sanoh Thienthong.  At least in 
part due to the animosity generated by his snub in not 
receiving the secretary generalship, Sanoh left the party for 
Thai Rak Thai.  Ironically, Chaturon quit the NAP and 
followed Sanoh into Thai Rak Thai in June 2000, where he was 
elected to the Lower House in the number 15 position on the 
TRT party list in January 2001.  Following the TRT's election 
victory he was named Minister attached to the Prime 
Minister's Office.  During the March 2002 shuffle, Chaturon 
became Minister of Justice, and in October 2002 he was moved 
to his current position as Deputy Prime Minister, where he 
focuses on social issues and education.  Chaturon's past 
positions include Secretary to the Deputy Finance Minister 
(1986-87), Secretary to the Commerce Minister (1990-91), and 
Deputy Finance Minister (1996).  He is also widely remembered 
for the leading role he played in the movement opposing the 
Suchinda government in 1992.  Chaturon is an avid soccer 
player and fan. 
 
END BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 
BOYCE