US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK7100

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 007100 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, TH 
SUBJECT: AUDITOR-GENERAL SELECTION PROCESS TO BEGIN ANEW 
 
REF: BANGKOK 6240 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR SUSAN M. SUTTON.  REASON: 1.4 (D) 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  The continued controversy over the 
placement of an Auditor General reached a turning point on 
November 10th, when, after failing to receive a directive 
from Thailand's Constitutional Court, Thailand's State Audit 
Commission decided that the best course of action was to 
begin the selection process from scratch.  Khunying Jaruwan, 
the Auditor-General sidelined for nearly 18 months while the 
bureaucrats argue her fate, is due to complete her term by 
the end of 2006 and will likely not serve in the position 
again.  By choosing this option in lieu of requesting that 
the Senate seek counsel from the King, the process is likely 
to be prolonged and controversial.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.    (U) As noted in previous reporting, Thailand's 
Auditor-General has been sidelined since a group of 
TRT-leaning Senators successfully pushed for the 
Constitutional Court to declare her original appointment 
process illegal.  The follow-up nomination of a successor and 
the silence from the King created a political quagmire that 
embarrassed the Thaksin administration.  Since the successive 
nominee voluntarily withdrew from the process, the case had 
since been thrown back to the State Audit Commission for 
further discussion.  The State Audit Commission had the 
option to reinstate Jaruwan, but it would have come at a 
tremendous loss of face for the Commission. 
 
3.    (SBU) The follow-up activities by the State Audit 
Commission have been widely viewed as delaying tactics by the 
TRT, since any delay in resolving the issue keeps the Office 
of the Auditor-General leaderless and effectively shuts down 
the agency's investigation activities.  The State Audit 
Commission, believed by critics to be influenced by the TRT, 
opted to send the issue to the TRT-influenced Constitutional 
Court to request additional clarification.  The Court, after 
lengthy deliberations, decided that they were not going to 
provide any clarification, forcing this back to the State 
Audit Commission.  With only two options left -* sending 
this for the Senate to seek the guidance of the King, or 
starting the nomination process over from the very beginning 
-* the Commission chose to start from scratch. 
 
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JUDGMENT DAY IS DELAYED, BUT CANNOT BE AVOIDED 
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4.  (C)  The Commission, in choosing to start from scratch, 
has only prolonged the inevitable: this issue will be 
revisited by King Bhumipol.  Once the Senate forwards the 
nominee to the King, the process will start over and could 
take months, especially with Senate elections slated for next 
spring.  The King will either endorse the nominee *- thereby 
removing Jaruwan from office -* or remain silent.  If the 
King remains silent after the State Audit Commission has gone 
through all the correct procedures in selecting their 
nominee, it could be read as signaling His Majesty's belief 
that Jaruwan remains the rightful auditor-general. 
 
5.    (C)  Comment:   Many political commentators are angry 
over the State Audit Commission's decision to move forward 
without apparently consulting with the Palace.  The King's 
silence when asked to endorse the Senate's original candidate 
to replace Jaruwan was read as support for her to remain. 
Sending another name forward, again without consulting with 
the King, could provoke further disapproval from the Palace 
and its supporters.  End Comment. 
 
 
BOYCE