THAILAND: TRT MPS BEGIN THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001817

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/BCLTV
PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND: TRT MPS BEGIN THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN THE
MUSLIM SOUTH

REF: A. BANGKOK 1775


B. BANGKOK 1528

C. BANGKOK 1008

Classified By: Political Counselor Robert Clarke. Reason 1.4 (d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Prime Minister Thaksin's select group of
25 Members of Parliament (MP) from his Thai Rak Thai (TRT)
party has begun the work he personally assigned them to
assess and develop strategies for dealing with the Muslim
South. Two MPs told poloffs about their initial visit to the
South and their intentions to work with local Muslims on
southern discontent and violence and to provide Thaksin with
honest assessments and possible solutions. Meanwhile, daily
violence in southern Thailand continued at a heightened level
this past week. End Summary.

TRT MPS SAY THEY'RE LISTENING TO LOCAL CONCERNS AND WILL
IDENTIFY LOCAL SOLUTIONS


2. (C) PolOffs met with two of the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) MPs
selected by Prime Minister Thaksin to work in the Muslim
South on strategies to address the troubled situation (reftel
B). Deputy Secretary General of TRT Ekkhaphap Polsue, an MP
from the northeastern province of Roi Et, confirmed that
Thaksin had personally proposed the idea of sending the 25
MPs to the deep South (one to each local district in Pattani,
Yala, and Narathiwat provinces). Ekkhaphap said he wasn't
concerned about complaints sometimes heard, that the selected
MPs are mostly from northern Thailand and that few have prior
experience working with Muslims. Ekkhaphap countered that
northern MPs were chosen because they are perceived to be
"unbiased" by southerners, and because of their experience
dealing with the communist insurgency in the '70s.


3. (C) Ekkhaphap reported that the parliamentary group's
February 28 initial visit to the region had been successful,
noting that he was already in regular contact with local
district leaders. He said he planned to travel to the south
every two weeks to meet with local officials and build
goodwill among the local populace. His current assessment
was that 80% of the violence is fueled by a general sense of
injustice at the hands of the central government coupled with
lack of educational and economic opportunities. Ekkhaphap
pointedly told poloffs that the southern situation was a
domestic issue that Thailand could handle without outside
assistance.


4. (C) Pairote Suwunchawee, an MP from Nakhon Ratchasima
province in northeastern, said Thaksin's establishment of the
group of TRT MPs, along his sponsorship of a soon to be named
National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) headed by former PM
Anand Panyarachun; indicated that the administration was
serious about trying to understand the complexities of the
situation. He said the government would listen to local
concerns instead of simply relying on security measures.
Pairote acknowledged that abusive police tactics and corrupt
officials fueled local anger toward the central government,
and said that increasing the military's presence could
actually make the situation worse. He said people in the
south live in fear from both security officials and from the
militants. Pairote noted that since mid-2004 the violence
has become increasingly indiscriminate in nature or directed
towards Buddhist civilians (reftel C).


5. (C) Pairote confided that the Prime Minister had two
other reasons for selecting the 25 MPs to work in the south.
Thaksin, he said, believes that Sawat Sumanysak (the
government appointed central Islamic cleric for Thailand, or
"Chularatamontri") simply does not have any credibility with
southern Muslims and therefore cannot influence the situation
away from violence. Secondly, Thaksin is concerned that he
is getting unreliable or inaccurate information from his
security services so he wants trusted political operatives to
give him honest assessments of what is happening on the
ground.

MEANWHILE, THE VIOLENCE CONTINUES


6. (U) Last week, violence in southern Thailand continued
in the familiar pattern of the past year. Militants used
improvised explosive devices in a March 4 attack that injured
four policemen in a unit providing protection for teachers in
Yala province. Brazen shooting attacks continued on a daily
basis throughout the far south. A March 6 shoot-out in
Narathiwat between police and a group disguised as
fully-veiled Muslim women left 3 police and up to 3 militants
dead.

COMMENT

7. (C) Comment: The TRT MPs we spoke to appeared genuinely
interested in working on the southern problem (which Thaksin
has called his number one domestic issue). They start with
open and even sympathetic attitudes towards the Muslim
population in the South. However, it remains in doubt
whether they can convert those attitudes into deeper
assessments and then present them convincingly to the Prime
Minister. The initial visit to the South on February 28 of
the TRT MPs was a media circus. With press attention and
genuine security concerns, it will be difficult for the MPs
to earn the trust of and interact in depth with the local
populace. Still, it is hopeful that the MPs defined their
task as listening to local concerns, acknowledged problems
with some of the security services, and echoed the tone of
the Prime Minister second inaugural address (reftel A) in
which he spoke of educational and economic development for
the south rather than increased security measures.
BOYCE