PUTTING BURMA IN THE FOREFRONT OF THAI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 005374

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF PHUM KDEM KPAO TH BM
SUBJECT: PUTTING BURMA IN THE FOREFRONT OF THAI
DELIBERATIONS

REF: A. BANGKOK 5315

B. BANGKOK 5314

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Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce, reason 1.4 (b) and (d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) In an effort to boost Thailand's awareness and
consideration of current events in Burma, Embassy Bangkok has
coordinated public outreach efforts, held meetings with key
RTG officials and third country diplomats, as well as
continued contact with various Thailand-based Burmese exiles
working for democratic change in their homeland. Fellow
diplomats concur with the need to keep the issue alive in
various segments of Thai society, as highlighted by the
Chinese and British Ambassadors joining the U.S. Ambassador
on a major Thai talk show to discuss Burma on October 5. End
Summary.

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PRESSING FOR MEDIA COVERAGE
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2. (U) During the past two weeks the Public Affairs Section
(PAS) orchestrated several outreach efforts with local media
to bring them up to date on current events in Burma. Despite
lackluster coverage at the beginning of the protests, Thai
media headlined the military crackdown beginning September 25
and continued front page reporting for several days, though
this has since waned. In addition to regular contact, we
arranged for local media (including newspapers, television,
radio and websites) to publish statements made by the
President and Mrs. Bush decrying the Burmese regime's violent
crackdown of the protesters. Using our resources at the IRC,
we sent a special "Issues-in-Focus: Burma" edition that
included all recent USG statements to more than 400
subscribers. The mission website is kept up-to-date with
fact sheets and official statements highlighting USG policy
on Burma. We will continue to work in the coming weeks and
months to identify new ways to keep Burma in the news in
Thailand.


3. (U) On October 5 the Ambassador joined his counterparts
from China and Britain on one of the country's most popular
news programs ("World Beat") to discuss current events in
Burma. Editor in Chief of the media conglomerate "the Nation
Group" Suthichai Yoon hosted the program, which aired the
evening of October 8. The Ambassadors held a frank
discussion about Burma, with interviews by monks and exiled
student activists used to set the scene. The highlight of
the program occurred when the Chinese Ambassador stated that
the Burmese people should choose their own government
(referring to China's long standing view that it was an
internal matter),to which the U.S. Ambassador replied that
the Burmese people had tried to choose, and were met with
bullets from the military.


4. (U) Finally, PAS coordinated with Embassy Rangoon to have
local and Bangkok-based international media interview Charge
Villarosa in Rangoon, which resulted in several interviews
with prominent Thai media outlets and ongoing contact with
the international press. Various print and television
outlets circulated her poignant eyewitness descriptions of
events and strong reiteration of USG policy on Burma. These
included pieces on major televised news programs and
continuing coverage in online reports.

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BANGKOK 00005374 002.2 OF 003


RTG OFFICIALS OPEN TO HEARING US OUT...
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5. (C) We continue to reach out to our counterparts at the
MFA and in other offices to press the RTG to take a stronger
stance in its reaction to Burma. To date the RTG
(particularly the MFA) is reluctant to change its engagement
policy (or lack thereof). MFA Director General of the
Department of American and South Pacific Affairs Nongnuth
Phetcharatana told us that until the USG takes action against
Chevron operations in Burma, it would be difficult for the
MFA in Thailand, or for their counterparts in other countries
in the region, to argue for curtailing economic relations
with Burma in light of recent events. We noted that the U.S.
had already curtailed about 98% of its economic (and
potential economic) relations with Burma so to require the
U.S. to cut off the last 2% before countries in the region
would do the first 1% was rather unbalanced. She admitted
that was true, but said nevertheless that with Chevron
continuing to do business it was hard for them to make the
case. Nongnuth added that of course even if we did go after
Chevron operations, there was no guarantee that other
governments in the region would follow suit. However, there
seems to be a growing recognition of the international
community's expectation that the RTG must do something more.
The Prime Minister's speech at the UNGA struck a new, tougher
note that we welcomed.


6. (C) In a meeting with the legislature's Foreign Affairs
Committee chair October 10, we heard that the Thai are
disturbed by the crackdown, particularly the abuse of monks.
But the chairman also emphasized Thailand's dependence on
Burma for energy sources. We noted that Thailand seemed to be
lagging behind other countries in ASEAN in expressing its
concerns about the Burmese junta, and we pointed out that
Thailand, which has fought for its own democracy, would be
expected to be a leader in promoting democratic reform in the
region. The chairman accepted copies of USG statements on
Burma and said he would distribute them to other members of
his committee. We will meet with the legislature's security
committee chairman later this week to make the same points.
We do not anticipate any significant help from the
military-appointed legislature, which is close to the end of
its term, but hope to at least raise awareness about the
ongoing abuses in Burma, and the strength of international
reaction against the junta.

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...BUT FELLOW DIPLOMATS MORE PROACTIVE
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7. (C) On October 8 the Ambassador organized a consultative
session with Ambassadors from a range of countries sharing
similar views about the military junta in Burma (ref A).
This broad group of diplomats shared the view that now more
than ever we must push to keep the issue of Burma alive in
Thailand and throughout the region.

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MAINTAINING SUPPORT FOR EXILE COMMUNITY
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8. (C) We continue to meet with Burmese activist exiles
based in Thailand. We will continue to send the message that
the USG supports the efforts of those within and outside of
the country to promote democratic change in Burma. Various
exiles expressed their belief that recent events have only
strengthened the Burmese resolve to keep pushing for change
(ref B).


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COMMENT
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9. (C) Despite decades of engagement, 2,400 kilometers of a
shared border, and the presence of perhaps two million
Burmese here, most Thais remain almost indifferent to the
ongoing humanitarian crisis and abuse of human rights taking
place in neighboring Burma. Embassy Bangkok is actively
working to draw attention to the plight of the Burmese people
through official channels and the media.
BOYCE