QUESTIONING THE UNQUESTIONABLE? UPTICK IN ONLINE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 003350

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP, DRL, IO; NSC FOR PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO TH
SUBJECT: QUESTIONING THE UNQUESTIONABLE? UPTICK IN ONLINE
ANGER AT ROYALS AS THAI ARMY, POLICE ADDRESS LESE MAJESTE

REF: A. BANGKOK 3289 (THAILAND IN TRANSITION)

B. BANGKOK 3080 (QUEEN SHOWS SUPPORT)

C. BANGKOK 2344 (FURTHER LESE MAJESTE ACCUSATIONS)

D. BANGKOK 1949 (LEADING UNIVERSITY)

E. BANGKOK 1662 (LESE MAJESTE ACCUSATIONS)

F. BANGKOK 966 (AMBASSADOR MEETS JUSTICE MINISTER)

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Classified By: Ambassador Eric G. John, reason 1.4 (b, d)

SUMMARY AND COMMENT
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1. (C) Online and open public criticism of Thai royals,
particularly of Queen Sirikit, has increased recently. Army
Commander Anupong Paojinda issued a public warning October 27
that the Army would take unspecified steps against people
committing lese majeste, or offense to the monarchy. A
high-ranking Royal Thai Police official publicly referred to
32 ongoing lese majeste investigations by his bureau,
although the total number of cases in process nationwide is
greater. Pro-Thaksin activist Jakrapob Penkair told us that
he and others are actively seeking to shape perceptions of
the monarchy in order to facilitate transforming the
institution into a more ceremonial one after the death of
King Bhumibol. Two United Front of Democracy Against
Dictatorship (UDD) figures accused of lese majeste have been
detained for months without bail, causing several other
activists to leave Thailand out of concern they, too, might
be arrested.


2. (C) Comment: The Army Commander's statement indicates that
lese majeste offenses are not viewed simply as criminal acts
but as a threat to Thailand's supreme institution. The rise
in high-profile lese majeste cases, the frequency of online
remarks bordering on lese majeste, and the seriousness of the
authorities' response indicates that some segments of society
are highly dissatisfied with the behavior of some members of
the royal family, if not the institution itself. If the
authorities were to harshly repress critics of the monarchy,
this could prove counterproductive, as quiet discourse in
many circles could shift from mere gossip about some royals'
distasteful behavior to a more weighty questioning of the
monarchy's role after the death of widely-beloved King
Bhumibol (ref A). Septel will provide updates on higher
profile lese majeste cases currently underway. End Summary
and Comment.

ROYAL BEHAVIOR TO BLAME FOR SURGE IN CRITICISM?
-------------- --


3. (C) After Queen Sirikit presided over the October 13
funeral of a People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protestor
killed during an October 7 clash with police (ref B),public
criticism of the Queen increased notably. Thanapol Eawsakul,
editor of left-wing Same Sky Magazine, told us that critical
online comments posted to his website spiked, and overall
traffic to his site increased from 10,000 hits per day to
30,000 hits.


4. (C) Thanapol, who has been charged with lese majeste for
material previously published in Same Sky (ref E),told us he
spent much of his time cleansing his website of content that
could lead to further lese majeste accusations, such as: nude
photos of the Crown Prince's consort, including video clips
of an infamous birthday party (ref C); multiple postings
ranting about the Crown Prince's lewd sexual behavior; photos
(that Thanapol suspected to be digitally edited) of the Queen
wearing what appears to be a famous stolen Saudi blue
diamond; and multiple links to other sites with purported
evidence linking the royal family to the stolen Saudi jewelry
(ref F). To his surprise, people even posted comments
speculating about King Bhumibol's involvement in his
brother's death, some going as far as to suggest that
Bhumibol shot then-King Ananda. Posters also drew upon
Forbes magazine's recent report claiming the King's assets
topped $35 billion, decrying the monarchy's wealth as a
result of generations of extortion, and calling the upcoming
royal funeral of the King's elder sister as a waste of
taxpayer money.


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5. (C) BBC reporter Jonathan Head (protect),subject of an
ongoing lese majeste investigation (ref D),spoke with us on
November 3 from the northeastern province of Udon Thani,
where he said people raged publicly against the Queen in a
manner he had never witnessed before. "The Queen ripped up
the rule book when she attended the (PAD) funeral," he said,
adding that he remained uncertain how to incorporate recent
interviews into future BBC reporting without becoming the
subject of additional lese majeste investigations. Many of
the people he interviewed in Udon Thani complained that the
royal family had not devoted similar attention to three
locals (whom we presume were members of the security forces)
killed in recent violence by southern insurgents.

UDD SCRUTINIZED FOR LESE MAJESTE, WITH CAUSE
--------------


6. (C) Jakrapob Penkair, discussing his lese majeste case
with us on October 3, said he expected to be convicted and
imprisoned. This marked a change from mid-August, when he
thought that legal action would ultimately stall short of a
court conviction. He described his current efforts as
focused on grass-roots education of Thai citizens, "preparing
the way" for eventual royal succession on terms favorable to
his political force. While others on the Thaksin team
focused on near term political matters, his efforts were
mid-term, using new media like the internet and old tactics
like whisper campaigns in small town barbershops and beauty
parlors, to frame the issue of the proper role of the
monarchy in 21st century Thailand. Jakrapob envisioned a
small, ceremonial institution as in Japan and Sweden.
Jakrapob did not hide his disdain for the Queen when talking
to us, and said that he was counting on her to overreach and
overreact.


7. (C) Suspects associated with the pro-Thaksin UDD are
receiving strict scrutiny. Police have denied bail to two
UDD figures, prompting two others charged with lese majeste
to flee abroad after police obtained warrants for their
arrests. Assessing the seriousness of the alleged offenses
is difficult since in most cases, no public records of the
offending remarks are available; any person or media outlet
that reproduces the offending content would also be at risk
for lese majeste charges. A credible NGO contact told us the
tone of UDD figures' remarks was unusually strong, showing
"open vengeance against the monarchy, scaring everyone."

ARMY INSERTS ITSELF IN THE LESE MAJESTE WATCH
--------------


8. (SBU) Army Commander General Anupong Paojinda warned Thai
citizens of the dangers associated with criticizing the
monarchy in a televised press conference on October 27.
According to an English-language daily, Anupong said, "There
must be no cases of contempt or disrespectful acts toward the
monarchy. The Army will take action using every means
against any person or group acting in contempt of or being
disrespectful toward the monarchy." Anupong's remarks
appeared to be a direct response to the recent increased
criticism of the monarchy.


9. (SBU) Note: The Thai criminal code outlaws lese majeste,
but there is no legal basis for the Army to take action
against those committing that crime. The Constitution
specifies, however, that the King concurrently holds the
position of head of the Thai Armed Forces. The Internal
Security Act does provide that the Internal Security
Operations Command (ISOC),an interagency body headed by the
Prime Minister with the Army Commander as his deputy, is
supposed to, among other tasks, "encourage people to be aware
of their duty in upholding nation, religion, and King."


10. (C) UDD co-leader Charan Ditthaphichai claimed to us that
most lese majeste investigations involving UDD supporters
resulted from the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC)
Task Force 6080, which focuses on offenses against the
monarchy, reporting cases to Anupong, who then forwarded them
to the police. Charan stated that Army Chief of Staff
General Prayut Chan-Ocha, a close associate of the Queen,
manages Task Force 6080 by virtue of his role as Secretary of

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ISOC.

POLICE DISCUSS 32 ONGOING LESE MAJESTE CASES
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11. (SBU) In a rare public statement detailing police
investigations of lese majeste, Police LTG Woraphong
Chiewpricha, Commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau
(CIB),disclosed to the press on October 29 that the CIB was
investigating 32 lese majeste cases. The CIB had forwarded
four cases, including Jakrapob's, to the Office of the
Attorney General (OAG) for further consideration. Of the 32,
15 cases originated from website content, and two resulted
from community radio programs. Our contacts believe that the
CIB handles only a relatively small fraction of the number of
lese majeste cases in progress; most cases are investigated
by the police unit that receives a les majeste complaint.
The CIB tally appears to exclude cases in which figures are
charged with other offenses tangentially related to the
offending statements (e.g., if a community radio operator is
charged for broadcasting without a permit).

PAD AND DEMOCRAT PARTY FUELING THE FIRE
--------------


12. (C) UDD supporter Suttachai Yimprasoet, a professor at
Chulalongkorn University, claimed to us that the PAD seeks to
use lese majeste provisions of law against the academics who
provide intellectual leadership for the UDD, cooperating with
Manager Media staff to scour newspapers and monitor public
debates for lese majeste offenses by UDD supporters.


13. (C) Democrat Party MP Ong-art Klampaiboon told us on
November 5 that the DP had compiled a list of 29
anti-monarchy websites on May 20 and demanded that ICT take
further legal action. The Democrats, he said, also proposed
to increase the length of imprisonment for lese majeste
charges from the current three-year minimum to 12 years and
to extend lese majeste charges beyond distributors of
anti-monarchy material to include also recipients and
enablers of such transmissions. Ong-art also confirmed that
Democrat Party MP Phiraphan Sariratuipak had drafted a law to
amend the Computer Crime Act 2005 to focus on website content
that violates lese majeste provisions.
JOHN