US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK7253

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 007253 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KPAO, PINS, PROP, TH 
SUBJECT: TENS OF THOUSANDS GATHER TO LISTEN TO SONDHI DISH 
DIRT ON PRIME MINISTER 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 5419 
     B. BANGKOK 7213 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Alexander A. Arvizu for reasons 
1.4 (d) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY. Defying a November 17 court order banning him 
from criticizing the PM, outspoken talk show host Sondhi 
Limthongkul continued with his weekly "mobile talk show" in 
Bangkok. The rally attracted an estimated 30-40,000 people. 
Sondhi detailed two heretofore new scandals, alleging that 
the Prime Minister's sister had used a government plane to 
transport friends to her housewarming party, and citing 
possibly inappropriate links between the Prime Minister and a 
millionaire Chinese businessman with dual nationality. The 
Government has so far taken no action to arrest Sondhi, 
although party spokespeople accused Sondhi of working with 
the opposition in order to try and topple the government. 
Despite government efforts to limit the broadcast of the 
speech, Sondhi's speech was available throughout the country 
via cable television and community radio. The mainstream 
media barely covered the event. With intimidation tactics not 
working on Sondhi, the RTG now has to decide whether to make 
an arrest, potentially leaving them with a political prisoner 
on their hands. The RTG may also be nervous to do anything 
which could potentially upset the King in advance of his 
December 5 birthday address. END SUMMARY 
 
LARGEST ANTI-GOVERNMENT RALLY IN YEARS 
 
2. (U) Defying a November 17 court order banning him from 
criticizing the Prime Minister (Reftel B), outspoken talk 
show host Sondhi Limthongkul continued with his weekly 
"mobile talk show" in Bangkok's Lumpini Park. The crowd 
continued to swell throughout the two-hour-plus event; police 
estimate it attracted an estimated 30-40,000 people (NOTE: 
Sondhi's newspaper "The Manager" reported 50,000. END NOTE) 
making it one of Thailand's largest political rallies since 
Thaksin came to power. The assembled crowd was especially 
notable for its diversity; Thais of all ages and economic 
classes were well-represented in the audience. Poloff 
observed students in school uniforms, Muslim girls in 
headscarves, groups of elderly men and women, upscale young 
professionals as well as a large cadre of volunteers passing 
out literature and selling t-shirts and other paraphernalia. 
About 20% of those in the crowd were wearing yellow t-shirts 
emblazoned with the motto "We shall fight for The King" 
written in Thai. The indoor arena where Sondhi was speaking 
had a capacity of approximately 4000, with the rest of the 
crowd standing, sitting and squatting outside, watching and 
listening to Sondhi on a large number of outdoor screens 
which had been set up in advance by Sondhi's "Manager". 
 
3. (U) Sondhi began his show with a nod to the gag order, 
saying he was free to discuss any and all issues except those 
specifically mentioned by the court. He asked for the crowd's 
support for his efforts to have the order overturned in court 
the following week. He threatened to petition the 
Administrative Court against any ban on local cable 
television stations carrying his program saying "The Prime 
Minister keeps preaching about the creation of a 
knowledge-based society, but how can this kind of 
establishment come true if the people's rights to information 
have not been guaranteed?" Sondhi then played an old 
video-clip of Prime Minister Thaksin in which he promised to 
uphold the right of the Thai people to freedom of speech, 
eliciting hoots and applause from the audience. 
 
TWO NEW SCANDALS SURFACE FOR THAKSIN 
 
4. (U) Much of Sondhi's speech focused on the exposure of two 
major scandals for the Thaksin Administration. First, Sondhi 
produced a copy of a Ministry of Defense document which he 
said proved that the PM's younger sister, businesswoman 
Montathip Kovitcharoenkul, had used a state-owned C-130 
aircraft to transport her friends and relatives from Bangkok 
to Chiang Mai for a lavish housewarming party. The crowd 
cheered wildly as Sondhi cried out "Does everything in this 
nation belong to you and your family?!" Sondhi also detailed 
how the Governor of Chiang Mai had skipped four major 
meetings, including one on avian flu, in order to attend 
Montathip's gala. Sondhi alluded to an incident in 1973 when 
it was revealed that senior army officers had used an army 
helicopter to go on a hunting trip with friends. (NOTE: This 
scandal is viewed as one of the catalysts that sparked the 
1973 uprising in Thailand. END NOTE) 
 
5. (U) The second allegation questioned the link between PM 
Thaksin and millionaire Chinese businessman Yan Bin (a.k.a. 
Yian Ping and Charnchai Rouyrungrueng). Sondhi explained that 
Chinese citizen Yan Bin had somehow acquired a Thai passport 
and claimed to be an adviser to the ruling Thai Rak Thai 
(TRT) party on his business card. He further alleged that Yan 
Bin had made statements claiming to be the representative of 
TRT in China, leading Sondhi to question how this was 
possible when China was a one-party state. He also informed 
the crowd that the Consular Section of the Thai Embassy in 
Beijing had recently been moved to a building owned by Yan 
Bin under mysterious circumstances. After occupying the 
building rent-free for a year, the RTG was asked to pay an 
exorbitant amount in rent. 
 
6. (U) Sondhi ended the show with an appeal to the Thai 
people to remain vigilant and to protect their constitutional 
rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. He 
asked Thai people to buy only "allied" newspapers, namely 
Matichon, Thai Post, Krungthep Thurakit and of course, 
Sondhi's own "The Manager". (NOTE: Thai Post, Matichon and 
The Manager have been sued by the RTG and its supporters 
within the past two years. END NOTE) To close the rally, 
Sondhi signed a petition in front of the crowd asking the 
Government to "return power to the King." This petition had 
been featured in an earlier edition of "The Manager" 
newspaper. The rally ended with a passionate rendition of 
both the Thai national anthem and the Thai royal anthem by 
the entire assembled crowd. 
 
RTG ATTEMPTS DAMAGE CONTROL 
 
7. (U) Representatives of the TRT party and the military hit 
back with harsh words, but have so far refrained from taking 
any retaliatory actions. Although Sondhi's website predicted 
the government would issue an arrest warrant "within days", 
Sondhi remains free. A spokesman for the Air Force admitted 
that the C-130 had been used by Ms. Montathip's friends but 
argued that the plane had been flying to Chiang Mai on a mail 
run and that it was normal practice for guests to be allowed 
on board. A TRT spokesman characterized the relationship 
between Thaksin and Yan Bin as a normal one, and noted that 
foreign advisers are often hired by governments for advice on 
dealing with bilateral relations. 
 
8. (U) On November 20, a Thai Rak Thai spokesman alleged that 
Sondhi's actions were part of a plot to topple the 
democratically-elected Thaksin administration. He reasoned 
that Sondhi's November 17 meeting with the leader of the 
opposition Democrat Party, Abhisit Vejjajiva, coupled with 
his growing support from the political opposition proved that 
Sondhi's goal was to get rid of the TRT government. He also 
commented that "No one in this land is less loyal (to the 
monarchy) than Sondhi." Abhisit noted that his party did not 
consider itself to be allied with Sondhi as they had 
disagreements on a number of important issues. However, the 
Democrat Party supported Sondhi in his attempts to safeguard 
the right of all Thais to freedom of speech. 
 
9. (SBU) On November 19, Supreme Commander General Ruengroj 
Mahasaranond warned that "Our patience is reaching its 
breaking point. We may take action if Sondhi does not cease 
his criticism by citing the monarchy." This thinly veiled 
threat has provoked strong negative reactions and some 
newspapers have raised concern that the Thai military might 
seek to involve itself in the growing controversy. 
 
CITIZENS HEAR ABOUT SPEECH VIA WORD-OF-MOUTH AND THE WEB; 
GOVERNMENT PRESS COVERAGE SCANT 
 
10. (C) Although the Government threatened to revoke the 
licenses of cable stations that continued to broadcast 
Sondhi's shows, a number of local cable operators (including 
stations in Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Phuket and Hat Yai) defied 
the ban and broadcast the show via a link obtained from ASTV, 
a small satellite-cable channel which is owned by Sondhi. 
ASTV allowed stations to use the signal for free. Reports 
from Chiang Mai indicate that the central government 
intervened directly to try and prevent the speech from being 
broadcast. The speech could also be heard on the radio via 
recently re-opened community radio station 92.25 (Reftel A), 
and could be downloaded for free on the Internet. Sondhi's 
website contained information on how Thais could tune in to 
the speech. 
 
11. (U) Coverage of the event in the country's mainstream 
media outlets, most of which are owned or controlled by the 
government, was conspicuous by its absence. What little 
coverage there was typically consisted of a few seconds of 
visuals followed by interviews with RTG spokespersons 
defending the actions of the Government against Sondhi's 
criticism. 
 
12. (U) Sondhi spoke eloquently in a composed, conversational 
tone throughout most of the speech. The rally was peaceful at 
all times and although there was a strong police presence in 
the park, Poloff did not observe any interference with 
Sondhi's rally. At one point, Sondhi and his co-hostess 
informed the crowd that they had received information that 
the government might attempt to shut off the electric power 
in the park, and urged them to remain calm. They noted that 
with the help of some of their "friends" they hoped that to 
be able to continue, which they did. 
 
CENSORSHIP AND A "FIRECRACKER" IN CHIANG MAI 
 
13. (C) A Chiang Mai-based reporter from "The Manager" 
newspaper notified Consulate staff on Friday afternoon that 
Chiang Mai's Payap University had given verbal permission to 
broadcast the speech there. A subsequent "request" from 
Chiang Mai Governor Suwant Tantipat reportedly caused the 
University president to cancel the event a few hours before 
it was scheduled to begin. The audience of about 200 people 
then moved to "The Manager"'s Chiang Mai office to watch the 
program. According to observers, a Thai intelligence officer 
was openly videotaping the gathering, leading some to feel 
uneasy and leave. At approximately 11 pm, after the speech, 
there was a small explosion in front of the newspaper's 
office. While police concluded the explosion was caused by 
firecrackers set off by teenagers in the waning days of the 
Loy Krathong festival, Banarot Bauklee, called it a threat to 
staff and similar to the handmade "bomb" that has exploded 
outside "The Manager"'s Bangkok headquarters on November 3. 
 
14. (C) COMMENT. The Thai Government is clearly flummoxed. 
Sondhi's relentless anti-Thaksin campaign has caused the 
Government to lose face; he has not been cowed by the 
Government's endless lawsuits and intimidation tactics. 
Accusations of lese majeste are serious allegations in 
Thailand. While it is certain that the RTG would like nothing 
better than to throttle Sondhi, it risks a potentially 
serious backlash if it arrests him and makes him a political 
prisoner. There is also the matter of the King's birthday 
address, which will take place on December 5. With both 
Sondhi and the Government hurling insults at each other and 
condemning the other side for "speaking for the King", Thais 
of all stripes will be eager to see whether the King makes 
any reference to the ongoing political war of words. 
Although it seems highly unlikely that the King would side 
openly with one protagonist over the other, he may offer some 
additional political commentary. 
BOYCE