THAI POLITICAL UPDATE: CABINET ADDITIONS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002423

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM TH
SUBJECT: THAI POLITICAL UPDATE: CABINET ADDITIONS,
DEMONSTRATION, CONSTITUTION

REF: A. BANGKOK 2364 (BUDDHIST PROTEST WILTS)

B. BANGKOK 2280 (AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH WITH WINAI)

Classified By: Political Counselor Susan M. Sutton, reason: 1.4 (d).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has appointed three
new Deputy Ministers to his cabinet, but this move seems
unlikely to end public criticism of his administration's
relative ineffectiveness. An April 27 rally by some Thai Rak
Thai members had a pro-Thaksin theme and drew approximately
10,000 people; the organizers intend to hold such rallies
regularly. The general tone of public feedback on the draft
constitution has been negative, with many critics calling for
provisions enabling the election of Senators, even though the
Thai Senate has traditionally been an appointed body. End
Summary.

ADDITIONS TO THE CABINET
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2. (C) On April 28, a government spokesman announced the
appointment of three officials taking up new cabinet
positions:

-- Vallop Thaineua, as Deputy Public Health Minister: Vallop,
a physician, was dismissed as permanent secretary of the
Health Ministry in 2004, in a row with the Thai Rak
Thai-member Health Minister. She claimed that Vallop was
impeding the implementation of the 30-baht health scheme;
Vallop claimed that he had refused to go along on a corrupt
procurement deal. We hear that he may have been chosen to
try to restrain the excesses of the Health Minister, whose
lack of consultation before making controversial decisions
over compulsory licensing has caused headaches for the
government.

-- Nat Indarapan as Deputy Tourism and Sports Minister: Nat
Indarapan is a former governor of the Sports Authority of
Thailand.

-- Theerawut Butrsriphum as Deputy Interior Minister:
Theerawut served as commander of Police Region Nine -- which
has jurisdiction for all of southern Thailand -- from
1998-2000. His appointment is seen as an attempt to improve
coordination between police and civilian officials operating
in the far south. Theerawut's appointment could be a
positive -- better coordination is desperately needed to
address the crippling stovepiping among the agencies
operating in the South.

(Comment: Putting in more retirees from government service
into deputy minister slots probably will not do much to
enhance the cabinet's performance significantly, or to fend
off the criticism of the interim administration. Ref B
reported an insider predicting a meaningful cabinet reshuffle
could take place in approximately one month, if the status
quo continues. End Comment.)

THAKSIN ALLIES HOLD DEMONSTRATION
--------------


3. (C) Members of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin's Thai Rak
Thai (TRT) party, who have taken a leading role in seeking to
establish a new television station (called "People's
Television," or "PTV"),organized a demonstration at the
Royal Grounds in Bangkok on Friday, April 27. Although cut
short by heavy rain, the rally drew approximately 10,000
supporters, who listened to PTV leaders defend Thaksin, decry
the draft constitution and condemn the current government as
a dictatorship. While some local newspapers apparently
downplayed the number of attendees--in some cases by a factor
of 10--the gathering was significantly larger than PTV's
previous protests, if still a far cry from the hundreds of
thousands who protested against Thaksin in 2006. The crowd,
which appeared to be dominated by members of Bangkok's
working class, was notably subdued, but attended by a full
range of food and anti-CNS accessory vendors. A small
contingent of bored Metropolitan and uniformed Special Branch
police officers ringed the event. PTV leaders have publicly
pledged to continue their weekend rallies, in the hopes of
slowly building a groundswell of support for their cause.

BANGKOK 00002423 002 OF 002



VIEWS ON THE CONSTITUTION EMERGING
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4. (C) The Constitution Drafting Committee's draft charter
has prompted numerous complaints while generating little if
any enthusiasm. The top officials of both TRT and the
Democrat Party criticized various aspects of the draft, while
two dozen civic groups participating in a National Human
Rights Commission forum called for the Constitution Drafting
Assembly to make significant revisions. Criticism has tended
to focus on the provisions enhancing the role of the
judiciary and calling for the creation of a committee to
appoint members of the Senate. (Note: The 1997 Constitution
was the first to establish an elected Senate; previously,
Senators were appointed. End Note.) This criticism comes in
addition to demands from Buddhist organizations to include a
designation of Buddhism as Thailand's state religion (ref A).
(Comment: Post will monitor popular views and the
authorities' efforts to receive public feedback on the draft.
So far, we are hearing from a vocal but select group of
political activists, taking up their negotiating positions as
they try to influence the changes to the draft. But the
negative press coverage will not help the authorities as they
try to build support for the draft charter nation-wide before
the referendum. End Comment.)
ARVIZU