THAILAND: SENIOR GOVERNMENT ADVISOR DISCUSSES THE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 002062

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND: SENIOR GOVERNMENT ADVISOR DISCUSSES THE
SOUTH

REF: A. BANGKOK 1817

B. BANGKOK 1528

C. 04 BANGKOK 7171

D. 04 BANGKOK 6647

Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce. Reason 1.4(d)


1. (S) SUMMARY: Ambassador and Poloffs met with Mark
Tamthai, a prominent academic and senior advisor to the Thai
National Security Council (NSC),to discuss RTG policy for
southern Thailand. He said the Thai government,
acknowledging recent policy failures, is increasingly focused
on the separatist violence in the deep South. Tamthai
discussed persistent rumors of U.S. involvement in the
violence, and stated that he thought most forms of U.S.
assistance would be counterproductive. He listed six
individuals he thought would have the credibility to refute
allegations of U.S. involvement, saying the six are crucial
for establishing a dialogue with southern Muslims. Tamthai
said that the recently announced National Reconciliation
Commission (NRC) has become the central plank of RTG policy
towards the south. END SUMMARY


2. (SBU) On March 13 Ambassador met with Mark Tamthai, a
retired Chulalongkorn philosophy professor, and current Vice
Chairman for Peace Strategy Resolution at the National
Security Council to discuss RTG strategy and policy towards
the south. On March 14 Poloffs held an extended follow-up
meeting with Tamthai. As an advisor to the NSC, Tamthai has
sometimes been a key influence on RTG southern policy and is
currently working with former Prime Minister Anand to select
members of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) for
southern Thailand. He is a well-known and respected figure
both in policy circles and with non-governmental
organizations interested in southern Thailand.

FORGET BURMA; THE GOVERNMENT IS FOCUSED ON THE SOUTH


3. (C) Tamthai said the troubled Muslim south has become by
far the most important issue for the NSC. He said the
Council spends "95% of its time" working on ideas to deal
with the southern problem. This concentration on the South
has dropped Burma to a much lower policy focus at the highest
levels of the NSC and government. As a consequence, Tamthai
claimed, the Army has returned to being the primary
institution continuing work on Thailand's "constructive
engagement" policy with Burma.

RTG SOUTHERN POLICY - SUCCESSIVE FAILURES


4. (C) Tamthai has been involved in formulating strategies
for southern Thailand for 6 years, going back to the second
Chuan Leekpai administration. He complained that the Thaksin
administration had undone many of the effective policies put
in place under the Chuan administration. He said that the
RTG needed to return to a focus on social development and
coordinated security efforts, instead of just security.
Tamthai described the Thaksin administration's policy over
the past year as "disastrous," although establishment of the
National Reconciliation Council (NRC) encourages him.

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION COMMISSION


5. (C) Tamthai confirmed that he will serve as a member of
the National Reconciliation Commission which Prime Minister
Thaksin has set up (after first ignoring the concept) to
develop long-term solutions to the crisis (reftel B). He is
working with the NRC's designated Chairman, the highly
respected former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun, to fill
out the 40-commission membership. He noted that a surprising
number of people want to serve on the NRC, but suggested that
the Commission's high profile was attracting "people of
influence" (a negative expression in Thai) more interested in
promoting themselves than working on the South.


6. (C) Tamthai said that Prime Minister Thaksin genuinely
wants Anand and the NRC to succeed, and was looking for the
Commission to come up with viable answers to the situation.
He said the Prime Minister is aware that his policies to date
have not worked in the South, but faces resistance to
changing to a softer line from Thai security forces. Thaksin
is counting on Anand and the NRC to give him political cover
to make policy adjustments. Tamthai said the government is
"pinning all its hopes on the National Reconciliation
Commission."

RUMORS OF U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN THE SOUTH - A SERIOUS CONCERN


7. (C) Tamthai discussed persistent rumors of U.S.
involvement in the violence in the deep South, noting that
these rumors are widespread and widely accepted (reftel C).
While he personally knows this is nonsense, he said many
Muslim leaders in the South have convinced themselves that
U.S. agents are directly encouraging militant Muslim youths
in the region to commit violent acts in order to draw the
Thai government deeper into the War on Terror. Tamthai
indicated that these speculations and rumors were of serious
concern to the RTG because they are so widely circulated and
believed.

THE SIX MUSLIM LEADERS WHO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE


8. (S) Tamthai told the Ambassador he had identified six
primary individuals whom he believed could be credible
interlocutors in the South between the government and
disaffected Muslim population. Those six are: Abdul Rahman
Abdul Samad - Chairman of the Islamic Council of Narathiwat
Province; Waedueramae Maminchi - Chairman of the Islamic
Council of Pattani Province; Abdulromae Jesae - Chairman of
the Islamic Council of Yala Province; Nider Waba - President
of the Islamic Religious Private School Association in the
Southern Border Provinces; Aziz Yanya - Chairman of Pondok
School Association in the Southern Border Provinces; and Dr.
Ismail Lutfi Japagiya - Rector, Yala Islamic College.


9. (C) (NOTE: Embassy officers have met with all six of
these leaders. Of them, Dr. Lutfi Japagiya is the most
controversial. He admits to having met with the Jemaah
Islamiyah (JI) leader Hambali prior to Hambali's 2003 arrest
in Thailand but denies that he is a JI or Hambali supporter.
Lutfi is building a large and modern facility in Yala to
house Yala Islamic College (reftel D). He also openly admits
that he receives funding for the College from Gulf-based
charities, but maintains that he has no choice other than to
take that money because the Thai government and other donors
are not willing to fund his educational enterprise. END NOTE)


10. (S) Tamthai asked the Ambassador to take a direct role
in refuting allegations of U.S. involvement in the violence,
indicating the NSC was very concerned about how the rumors
take on a life of their own. Tamthai suggested that the
Ambassador meet with the six Muslim leaders he had identified
to personally assure them that the U.S. was not involved in
fomenting the violence. Tamthai said that if these leaders
received this message directly from the U.S. Ambassador they
would return to their constituencies and refute the
allegations. He agreed that the Ambassador should avoid
personally traveling to the region, suggesting the NSC could
arrange a meeting in Bangkok. Ambassador agreed to a
meeting, stipulating that he required the full prior support
of the RTG. Tamthai said he would followup on the request.

U.S. ASSISTANCE IN THE SOUTH, THANKS BUT NO THANKS


11. (C) When queried about possible fruitful ways the USG
might assist with the south, Tamthai was clear in his view
that he could not think of direct programs there that would
be welcome and not counterproductive. Tamthai used a Thai
expression "ya chak seuk khao baan," a common Thai idiom
similar to "don't air your dirty laundry," but which
literally translates into "don't bring the enemy into your
home," to describe a common attitude in the RTG on this
issue. He said the feeling was that if Thailand were to
allow the U.S. to openly provide assistance that would draw
in "outside" forces, not currently involved, to
counter-balance the U.S. Tamthai said that visible U.S.
involvement in activities in the geographic deep South,
however well intentioned, could exacerbate the problem by
reinforcing allegations that the U.S. is behind the violence.
American moral support for the Thai government is
appreciated, but direct involvement is not, Tamthai said,
adding "this is something we must do ourselves, and we don't
need outside help."


12. (C) Tamthai did suggest that the U.S. should continue
to work with the Thai military outside the South to develop
professionalism, especially among the officer corps. Tamthai
extended this idea to suggest the U.S. expand training for
the military and work with both the military and police
academies. There are good officers, he said, but the Thai
security forces need to develop more uniformly professional
services. He also noted that human rights training which is
legalistic does not meet the need for training on how to
respect human rights concerns in operational situations.

OTHER POLICY APPROACHES


13. (C) Tamthai also identified "cultural reform" and
developing better understanding between the Buddhist and
Muslim communities as the keys to a long-term solution in the
South. He outlined some of the new policy approaches the RTG
was implementing to address these themes. The NSC has a
pilot project with 250 mosques to create community based
"self-help" projects. Tamthai said that the RTG would like
to expand these "self-help" projects to all 1,400 mosques in
the far south by next year. The NSC is also working on a
joint project in conjunction with Mahidol University and the
Ministry of Culture titled, "What does it mean to be Thai?"
Princess Sirindhorn will help launch the project, which aims
at developing tolerance between the Buddhist and Muslims
communities.


14. (C) Tamthai said he was concerned that frustrated
security forces will resume "disappearing" suspected
militants or resorting to tactics than punish areas
collectively in the South if policy failures continue. He
described the mentality as "it's better to punish someone who
is innocent than to let a guilty one get away."

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE - MARK TAMTHAI


15. (SBU) Born in Brooklyn, New York on August 20, 1947,
Tamthai obtained a BS in Mathematics and Physics from the
University of Washington. He received a MS and Ph.D. in
History and Philosophy of Sciences from Indiana University.
He began his academic career as a Mathematics lecturer at
Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Sciences before moving
to the Philosophy Section in the Faculty of Arts. He was
Chief of the Philosophy Section when he stepped down from his
position at Chulalongkorn in 2003. His other affiliations
are: Board Member of the Institute of Religion and Culture
at Payap University; Vice Chairman for Peace Strategy
Resolution at the National Security Council; and Chairman of
the Thailand Association of Philosophy and Religion. Mark's
sister-in-law is the noted political rights activist,
academic, and ex-Democrat Party MP, Dr. Phutsadi Tamthai.
His father was a member of the Seri Thai or "Free Thai"
movement that fought the Japanese occupation during WWII.
BOYCE