US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK7213

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 007213 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KPAO, PINS, PROP, TH 
SUBJECT: THAI COURT TRIES "GAG ORDER" TO SHUT UP PROMINENT 
ACTIVIST 
 
REF: BANGKOK 06096 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Susan M. Sutton for Reasons 1.4 (d) 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY. The Thai Civil Court has issued Thaksin 
critic Sondhi Limthongkul a gag order, effectively banning 
him from criticizing the Prime Minister until libel suits 
against him can be litigated. Since his popular political 
television program was canceled in September, Sondhi has been 
doing his weekly show live to rapidly growing crowds in 
Bangkok. Yesterday's gag order would effectively bar Sondhi 
from continuing with these shows, and from criticizing the 
Prime Minister via newspaper or Internet. The Public 
Relations Department announced that any provincial TV 
stations broadcasting the shows would have their contracts 
suspended and VCDs of Sondhi's shows would also be banned 
from further distribution. The fate of the website of the 
"Manager" newspaper, part-owned by Sondhi, was up in the air. 
Sondhi vowed to "fight to the death" to defend his right to 
speak out against the government. He met with the leading 
opposition Democrat Party on the morning of November 18 and 
appeared ready to defy the ban by continuing with his show in 
the evening. Meanwhile, Thaksin filed another lawsuit against 
the beleaguered Sondhi, this time for alleging the PM had 
helped his family's company secure lucrative contracts. END 
SUMMARY 
 
2. (U) The Thai Civil Court has ordered the increasingly 
prominent businessman-cum-journalist Sondhi Limthongkul to 
shut up or face jail time. Alongside nine of his colleagues, 
the court slapped Sondhi with a gag order effectively banning 
him from criticizing the Prime Minister until libel suits 
against him can be litigated. The first of these is scheduled 
to begin on February 8, 2006. Sondhi has become involved in 
an increasingly heated war of words (and lawsuits) with his 
former ally, PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Since his popular 
political television program was canceled in September 
(Reftel) Sondhi has been doing his weekly show live to huge 
crowds in public venues like Thammasat University and Lumpini 
Park. Crowd estimates for his last event on November 11 ran 
as high as 40,000 and Lumpini Park Police expect his November 
18 appearance to attract an even larger crowd. Yesterday's 
gag order would effectively bar Sondhi from continuing with 
these shows, and force him to refrain from criticizing the 
Prime Minister. The Public Relations Department also told all 
provincial cable TV operators that their contracts would be 
suspended if they continued broadcasting Sondhi's "libelous" 
performances, which they had begun obtaining from ASTV, a 
small satellite station owned by Sondhi. VCDs of five of the 
first seven Sondhi shows, which had been selling briskly, 
would also be banned from further distribution. 
 
FATE OF WEBSITE IN LIMBO 
 
3. (U) "The Manager" (Phujatkan) newspaper, named as a 
co-defendant in the gag order, also appears to be prevented 
from any further reporting of Sondhi's criticisms of the 
Prime Minister. It is unclear how the newspaper's popular 
website www.manager.co.th, would be affected. The status of 
the website was a matter of much speculation in the day's 
press coverage. A government spokesman told The Nation 
newspaper that there had been no government order to shut 
down the website, while the web host said Friday morning that 
they had received no order to close down the site, and that 
they were wary of being sued by one side or the other, no 
matter what they did. The Manager's website continued to be 
fully operational through Friday afternoon. The Nation 
newspaper reported that the site was Thailand's leading 
Internet source for news. 
 
SONDHI VOWS TO "FIGHT TO THE DEATH"... 
 
4. (U) Sondhi appeared to be readying himself for a 
protracted battle, vowing to "fight (government underlings) 
to the death" while making a speech at Assumption University. 
He stated that the cancellation of his television show had 
made him more popular than ever and challenged the PM to meet 
him in a debate to discuss the recent scandals that had 
plagued his administration. Sondhi added that if the 
government was upset by his comments, it should have offered 
a rebuttal instead of trying to deny access to his views. The 
November 18 issue of the Manager newspaper asked people to 
sign on to a petition supporting "returning power to the 
King." In addition, there appeared to be no plans to cancel 
his weekly show, scheduled for Lumpini Park. 
 
5. (U) On November 18, Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the 
opposition Democrat Party (DP), paid a visit to Sondhi's 
office to offer "moral support". Sondhi noted that under DP 
rule, there had also been problems with freedom of the press, 
but that it had never resorted to the use of "dictatorial 
authority" like the current administration. 
 
6. (U) While the English-language press and Thai-language 
Manager were highly critical of the move against Sondhi 
(NOTE: Sondhi is part-owner of "The Manager." END NOTE) 
coverage in the rest of the Thai-language press was decidedly 
muted. The Friday edition of Thailand's leading daily "Thai 
Rath" did not even mention the Sondhi case although 
television news programs did report on it. 
 
...AND FACES YET ANOTHER LAWSUIT 
 
7. (U) In the mean time, the government filed yet another 
lawsuit against Sondhi on November 17. The latest suit 
alleges that Sondhi defamed the Prime Minister by reporting 
that Thaksin had been instrumental in awarding a 
multi-million dollar satellite contract to a company owned by 
members of the Prime Minister's family. The lawsuit seeks 1 
billion baht ($US 25 million) in compensation. 
 
8. (C) COMMENT. The always thin-skinned Prime Minister has 
proven to be especially sensitive to allegations that he has 
not shown due respect to the monarchy, an institution which 
commands enormous devotion and respect in Thailand. Thaksin's 
attacks on his critics, yet again using the guise of libel 
suits as a means of intimidation, are becoming increasingly 
more brazen in nature. Recent opinion polls show that the 
Prime Minister's actions are increasingly unpopular in the 
capital, although Thaksin's electoral base in the provinces 
has always been more interested in bread-and-butter issues. 
It is clear that Sondhi is trying to provoke a direct 
confrontation with the Prime Minister. Both sides are 
counting on their supporters to carry them through rough 
seas. Sondhi is hoping to mobilize enough grass roots support 
through his live shows, and by disseminating them by VCD and 
free Internet downloads. The PM is counting on political 
apathy and indifference of the majority of people to lofty 
issues like human rights. By defying the gag order and 
continuing with his November 18 show, Sondhi will effectively 
be thumbing his nose at the PM. Thaksin, not one to accept a 
loss of face lightly, will likely be inclined to do something 
to "one up" his former ally which would just make Sondhi into 
more of a celebrity. 
BOYCE