TENS OF THOUSANDS GATHER TO LISTEN TO SONDHI DISH

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