SNAPSHOTS OF YOUTH REACTION TO COUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 005866 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/PD JESSICA DAVIES, EAP/P KEN BAILES, EAP/MLS MELANIE HIGGINS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO PHUM TH SUBJECT: SNAPSHOTS OF YOUTH REACTION TO COUP ¶1. SUMMARY: Public Affairs officers and PA local staff spoke with 22 Thai high school and university students throughout the country to gage their reaction to recent events; the majority expressed support for the military coup. All were grateful that no blood was shed. While most reasoned that it was the only way forward from the current political impasse, others were dismayed that democracy was circumvented. Some expressed appreciation for certain Thaksin initiatives and most expected Thaksin to return to Thailand eventually. Students are still sharing information about the coup with friends despite censorship of media sources (see septel) by leaders of the Council for Democratic Reform under the Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM). What follows are snapshots from telephone interviews with students from pro-Thaksin and anti-Thaksin districts around Thailand. END SUMMARY BANGKOK PERSPECTIVES -------------- ¶2. Ms. Pornchanok, a 20 year-old political science major at Thammasat University - one of Bangkok's best public universities - beamed that the coup was the "nicest in world history." She argued that Thailand is in trouble and that Thaksin could not solve any of its problems. Pornchanok echoed the views of other students interviewed when she said that what is important for Thailand is what comes after the coup - not the coup itself. She got much of her information about developments from TV and emails from her friends and was not particularly upset by censorship of websites by the coup supporters. ¶3. Another Thammasat University political science major held the opposite viewpoint: Ms. Ratchawet, 20, saw no justification for the coup and argued that the next round of elections scheduled for November 2006 should have been allowed to proceed. "Now we'll have to wait for one year," she lamented. Pornchanok admitted that while she was in the distinct minority on the issue of support for the coup, she did not feel inhibited to express her views freely in the classroom. Outside the classroom, she said she would not feel comfortable doing so. ¶4. Mr. Anucha, a 17 year-old Muslim student at an Islamic school in Bangkok, had mixed feelings. He believed that the coup was necessary and suggested that it was time for Thaksin to "take a rest." Yet he praised Thaksin's projects, one of which landed Anucha a scholarship to study at a university in Spain. "I wonder what will happen to my scholarship under the new government," he said. He's not betting that the new government will be any better than Thaksin's but believed it was not good for the country to be divided any longer. ¶5. Ms. Wanitcha, a 25 year-old student at Assumption University in Bangkok, supported the coup and disagreed with international media coverage of it. Asked what she thought would happen to U.S. - Thai relations, she stated that the U.S. might look at this as a step backwards, but eventually "the U.S. will understand why this had to happen." Wanitcha noted that she is at odds with her family in the north of Thailand, where her uncle is a prominent Thai Rak Thai politician opposed to the coup. She said that her parents and sister, who are farmers, have been beneficiaries of agricultural subsidies provided by Thai Rak Thai party members. In her view, those handouts "have made so many farmers lazy." VIEWS FROM SOUTHERN THAILAND -------------- ¶6. PAS interviewed students at Prince of Songhkla University (PSU) in Pattani and at Islamic schools in Nakorn Si Thammarat, both in the predominantly anti-Thaksin South of Thailand. Few surprises here; most students signaled that it was time for Thaksin to go because he couldn't resolve the political stalemate. They also expressed reservations about what the new government will bring. One 21 yr-old English major at PSU said that she didn't know if Gen. Sonthi had a hidden agenda, but that she has to believe that the coup will help solve Thailand's problems. Two PSU students interviewed at the Embassy's American Corner in Pattani expressed similar views about the need for Thaksin to go. Neither believed, however, that Thaksin's absence from the scene would quell the Islamic insurgency in southern Thailand. ¶7. A 17 yr old high school senior at an Islamic school in Nakhon Si Thammarat expressed hope that since General Sonthi is a Muslim, he might be able to find a solution to the problems in the South. Another student, Mr. Rathip, 17, from the same school disagreed with the coup, because "the people do not have a voice now." He said that the scheduled elections for November 2006 were so close and should have been allowed to happen. Rathip expressed admiration for Thaksin's handling of the country's drug problem. However, he thought that having a new government now might turn out to unite the Thai people. THE NORTHERN TAKE -------------- ¶8. PAS spoke with students at the American Corner at Chiang Mai University (CMU) in northern Thailand and at Ubon Ratchatani University (UMU) in northeastern Thailand. Both areas have been bastions of support for Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party. Opinions about the coup were mixed. One 22 yr-old female CMU student said that the political situation had reached the crisis point and she did not feel very good about the state of democracy in Thailand. She said that the coup would not solve the problem but that in her circle of friends no one wanted to speak publicly against it. A 28 yr-old Masters degree student at CMU expressed a similar view, noting that a new government might get rid of corruption but that a coup is not a democratic way to solve the country's problems. ¶9. Two 20 yr-old law students at Ubon Ratchatani University held opposing views of the coup. Mr. Jakruvut argued that the coup was not good for Thailand because the economy will worsen and people would have to wait one year to have a chance to vote for a new government when the November 2006 elections were just 2 months away. Jakruvut added that many other students at his school shared his viewpoint but they did not feel they could speak freely in public. The second law student, Mr. Winai, supported the coup, calling it "acceptable" because no one was hurt and because the coup leaders promised to hold power for only two weeks. Winai added that he and his parents had long been Thaksin supporters up through the March 2006 elections but the political problems dragged on far too long. Both Winai and Jakruvut did not like the current decree prohibiting them from talking politics in groups of five or more people. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. Despite attempts by CDRM agents to block websites and email transmission, Thai youth are certainly tuned in to political developments and quite willing to express their opinions when asked. In most cases, their views were not black and white and their thoughts about the coup and Thailand's fragile democracy are exercises in cognitive dissonance. Even though they may come from areas known for either supporting or opposing Thaksin, these students have formed their own opinions to the point of disagreeing with their families and friends. What unites them across geographical distances is a genuine concern with how this suspension of democracy will shake out. BOYCE