RTG WAITING FOR DPKO ON WORD OF SUDANESE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 000136 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR IO/PSC GRACE M. KANG E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2018 TAGS: PREL MOPS PGOV UNSC SU CH SUBJECT: RTG WAITING FOR DPKO ON WORD OF SUDANESE ACCEPTANCE OF THAILAND AS TCC REF: SECSTATE 2736 Classified By: Political Counselor Susan M. Sutton, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) POLOFF met January 14 with Cherdkiat Atthakor, Director of the Peace, Security and Disarmament Division at the MFA to confirm the RTG position on contributing to UNAMID. Cherdkiat said that the RTG considered its deployment to Sudan a multilateral issue not a bilateral issue with the government of Sudan. The RTG had made its pledge to contribute to UNAMID in order to assist with international security but does not want to damage relations with Sudan. As such, the RTG is waiting for word from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) that Sudan has accepted Thailand as a troop-contributing country (TCC) prior to deployment to Darfur, Cherdkiat said. The RTG would appreciate receiving more frequent updates from DPKO on progress on the status of Sudan's acceptance of the TCC list to assist the RTG with planning purposes. ¶2. (C) Separately, Post learned from the Peace Support Operations Center (PSOC) at the ROYAL Thai Supreme Command that Colonel Nopadon Mungkalaton, who is attached to Thailand's UN mission, recently met with a Sudanese military advisor at the UN in an attempt to push for Sudanese acceptance of Thailand as a troop-contributing country. While no progress was reported, PSOC and the ROYAL Thai Army are positive that the deployment will proceed in the coming months. JOHN