THAIS UNENTHUSIASTIC ON ZIMBABWE TRAVEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 003380 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/S - STEVE HILL E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ZI TH SUBJECT: THAIS UNENTHUSIASTIC ON ZIMBABWE TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS REF: STATE 75160 Classified By: Political Counselor Susan M. Sutton for reason 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) On June 18 Poloff and representatives from the Australian, UK, Canadian, and New Zealand Embassies delivered reftel demarche to the Thai MFA and urged the RTG to implement travel restrictions against some Zimbabwean officials. At a meeting attended by Ministry of Foreign Affairs South Asian, Middle East and African Deputy Director-General Panyarak Poolthup and Africa Division Director Tomwit Jarnson, Poolthup indicated he will submit the proposal to senior MFA officials for consideration but added that the RTG opposes sanctions against any single country. When pressed by the Australian representative that the RTG supports sanctions against Iran, Director Jarnson later clarified that the RTG only supports sanctions authorized under a United Nations umbrella. ¶2. (C) An ultimately-positive reply is unlikely, however, especially in light of comments by Jarnson during the meeting that the problem in Zimbabwe is an "internal matter" and that applying sanctions would "open Pandora's box" since "there are other African countries with similar problems". Jarnson openly questioned the efficacy of sanctions and the involvement of non-African countries in pressuring the Zimbabwean government. ¶3. (C) In an informal conversation with the Canadian Embassy representative prior to the meeting, Jarnson expressed disappointment over the negative response of the international community to Thailand's September 2006 coup. We suspect that some of Jarnson's opposition to any kind of sanctions against Zimbabwe may reflect his concern that Thailand could become the target for similar international sanctions. BOYCE