THE AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON NEW INTERIOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 007331

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PINR TH
SUBJECT: THE AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON NEW INTERIOR
MINISTER ARI WONG-ARAYA

Classified By: AMBASSADOR RALPH L. BOYCE. REASON 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) Interior Minister Ari Wong-Araya outlined to the
Ambassador on December 7 the Surayud government's approach to
the conflict in the South, which focuses on building
understanding through peaceful means, including the
restoration of the old Southern Border Provinces
Administration Center. Ari also detailed efforts to reform
the police and a new program to educate rural voters on
democracy. The Ambassador thanked Ari for his Ministry's
cooperation in the recent decision to open a new U.S.
resettlement program for Burmese refugees in Mae La camp.
Biographic information for Ari is included in paragraph nine.
End Summary.

SOUTHERN THAILAND
--------------


2. (SBU) During an introductory call on December 7, the
Ambassador asked new Interior Minister Ari Wong-Araya, a
Muslim and former Ministry of Interior (MOI) careerist, for
his perspective on the situation in southern Thailand. Ari,
who was hailed by southern leaders as the right choice for
Interior Minister, explained that the government's focus is
on peaceful methods in handling the conflict. This new
approach centers on improving understanding among the people
and government officials. According to Ari, the Surayud
government is very engaged on this issue, in contrast to the
previous government, which didn't even have a strategy.


3. (C) The Ambassador explained that many people outside of
Thailand ask him about Thailand's "Muslim Problem" in the
South, to which he explains that this is not a religious
issue, but one rooted in difference between Thai citizens who
are ethnically Malay and ethnically Thai. That said,
relations between these two groups are fraying in the South.
Ari agreed with this point, but added that one cannot look at
this as merely a police or security problem. In the recent
past, according to Ari, people haven't focused enough on
development in the troubled provinces. Ari says that he has
told Prime Minister Surayud that the government cannot take
cops from Bangkok or the north and drop them into South, a
region that they don't understand. This only exacerbates the
problems there. According to Ari, the new government
understands this and is thus focusing on rebuilding the old
Southern Border Provinces Administration Center (SBPAC),
which was an effective interagency medium in the eighties and
nineties for local citizens to air their grievances and feel
involved in governance. (Note: the Thaksin government
disbanded the old SBPAC in 2002 and replaced with a more
security-focused coordination body. Many Thaksin critics
have pointed to this decision as a contributing factor to the
surge in violence since 2004. End Note.) Ari said that he had
worked with the old SBPAC and this structure effectively kept
the peace. The new government has only been in office for
two months, but Ari is confident that the situation will
improve.


4. (C) In response to the Ambassador's question about the
difference between the old and new generation of separatists,
Ari explained that the new generation does not appear to have
a plan or platform, and is not scared of death. The key to
combating them lies in building up local cooperation and
support for central government efforts; the local villagers
know who is conducting the violence. Ari explained that those
who actually support the idea of separating from the Thai
state are a very small minority. The majority of southern
people have ethnic and other grievances, but still accept and
even love the Thai state. Even in the small, private Islamic
schools in southern Thailand, the Thai flag still flies. Ari
does not believe that external actors are involved in the
South. The Ambassador explained that in Aceh, external
terrorist groups had offered assistance to local separatists,
which were rebuffed. Local separatists were focused on their
own, limited cause and were not interested in a broader
extremist agenda. Ari agreed that this dynamic was likely at
work in southern Thailand as well, where people are
struggling with their identity and what it means to be Thai.
This is difficult for both the ethnic Malay and ethnic Thai.
For years Buddhist Thai have called their ethnic Malay
countrymen by a pejorative term that means outsider or guest.


5. (C) When asked about the recent closing of schools in the

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three southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani, Ari
explained that the vast majority had reopened on December 7.
The teachers in the South are very good, according to Ari.
Local teachers know the area and the local people. That
said, their work in the South is difficult and the government
needs to focus on supporting them more effectively. Private
Islamic schools often teach local children nothing but
religious subjects that leave them unprepared to enter the
workforce. Ari said that he has personally talked to
Ministry of Education officials on the need for a new
education policy. The Ambassador explained that many local
Islamic schools in Indonesia are quite good, teaching both
religious subjects (under the supervision of the central
government) and traditional secular areas of education. Ari
replied that government leaders are starting to understand
this point and moving to offer more vocational training and
support to local students who wish to study at the university
level. Ari hopes that the government can also support more
local students to go to college and return to the area as
teachers. The Ambassador asked if the government had
considered this "go local" approach to police recruitment as
well. According to Ari, the academy for police officers (as
opposed to noncommissioned, lower ranking personnel) is
relatively small, and many applicants from the South don't
have the educational background to meet the entrance
requirements. That said, locally-recruited police know the
area and the language. Just as important, local people trust
them.

POLICE REFORM
--------------


6. (C) The Ambassador asked Ari about PM Surayud's efforts to
reform the police (Note: septel will report in further detail
on this subject. End Note.) Ari explained that Surayud is
considering this issue in the hopes of improving the justice
system. In the United States and the Philippines, local
police are drawn from and are responsible to the surrounding
community. In Thailand, the police remain a centralized
entity, like the Army--a holdover from an earlier era of more
centralized monarchic and militarized rule. In order to make
the police more responsive to local officials and citizens,
the government is considering decentralizing the police and
placing them under the control of the provincial governor
(Note: Bangkok is the sole province with an elected governor;
the other 75 have Ministry of Interior careerists appointed
in these positions. End Note.) According to Ari, the current
system has to change, and while the Surayud government has a
limited time in office, it has to seize this opportunity.
The Ambassador pointed out that, bluntly put, the Army and
the police have traditionally been rivals and some police
officials may feel that the military is taking advantage of
the coup to weaken their competitors. Ari agreed that many
police officials may view it this way. Such a reform effort
will be a hard sell, but it will be accomplished peacefully.
According to Ari, if left undone, the current structure will
lead to a continued lack of justice in future, elected
governments. The police "misuse their authority...Thaksin
was a policeman."

EDUCATING THE VOTERS
--------------


7. (C) The Ambassador asked Ari about recent press reports
that MOI will work to educate voters on how to select their
representatives. Ari explained that this program, starting
nationwide in January, will help improve the political
sophistication of voters in the countryside. Elections are
important to democracy, and citizens need to know how to
judge candidates. The Ambassador admitted that, in a
previous tour in Thailand, he had asked local people about an
upcoming election, to which they replied that someone would
come pay them and tell them who to vote for. At that time,
interest and access to information about politics were very
low. Most people didn't really think about politics.
Continuing with this point, the Ambassador noted that the
Thaksin government had made use of the expanded media outlets
throughout the country, and regularly touted the government's
latest programs and policies to the people. Why hasn't the
Surayud government conducted a similarly aggressive campaign
to win broader public support? Ari said that he had advised
just such an approach. While the government wants to promote
the corruption cases that it is pursuing against Thaksin and

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his allies (one of the stated reasons for the coup),these
are very complicated issues and the investigations are
underway. Moreover, those populist policies that Thaksin
touted were abused and often benefited the former PM and his
cronies. "We need to tell the people this."

REFUGEES
--------------


8. (SBU) The Ambassador thanked Minister Ari for RTG
cooperation in the opening of a new resettlement program for
Burmese refugees at the Mae La camp. The United States hopes
to move several thousand eligible candidates to the United
States in the next year. Ari replied that MOI has had no
problems with this issue and that cooperation with the Thai
NSC has likewise been excellent.

Biographic Information
--------------


9. (U) Ari Wong-Araya was born in 1935 in Bangkok. He
received a bachelors degree in political science from
Chulalongkorn University in 1959, and received graduate
degrees from the University of the Philippines, University of
Missouri and National Defense College. Ari began his career
in the Interior Ministry as a police constable in 1960 before
moving to the Department of Community Development (within
MOI) in 1969. In 1979, he was appointed governor of Saraburi
province, followed by terms as governor of Prachinburi and
later Suphanburi. Ari was appointed Deputy Interior
Permanent Secretary twice, in 1988 and 1991. He was Director
General of the Land Department in MOI in 1990 and became
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry in 1993 before retiring
in 1996. In October 2004, Ari joined the Thaksin government
as Deputy Education Minister, but resigned several months
later to serve as President of the Islamic Bank of Thailand.
Ari, a Muslim, is a board member of the Central Islamic
Committee of Thailand. Ari is married to Ms. Sumana; they
have one son and one daughter. His son Ekkaphot was elected
as a Thai Rak Thai member of parliament in 2005, representing
Bangkok. Ari speaks limited English.

BOYCE