AMBASSADOR AND ICRC DISCUSS SOUTHERN THAILAND,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 000959

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MLS; GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF ICRC TH BM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND ICRC DISCUSS SOUTHERN THAILAND,

REFUGEES

REF: A. BANGKOK 957 (MEETING WITH ANUPONG)

B. BANGKOK 845 (HIGH PROFILE BOMBINGS)

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

SUMMARY
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1. (C) International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Regional Head Christian Brunner briefed the Ambassador on
ICRC activities in southern Thailand and told the Ambassador
the Red Cross would continue to maintain a presence in the
region despite a deadly March 15 bombing at the hotel which
houses its Pattani offices. The Ambassador offered to lobby
RTG officials to cooperate with the ICRC and encourage the
Army to grant ICRC staff access to southern detention
facilities where security officials have allegedly abused
detainees. The ICRC said it was providing information
gathered from Burmese along the Thai-Burma border to its
Rangoon office, and that the ICRC would offer to monitor
repatriated Lao Hmong refugees in Laos. End summary.

RED CROSS STAFF ESCAPE UNHARMED
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2. (SBU) On March 24, the Ambassador met with International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Bangkok Regional Delegation
Head Christian Brunner and Deputy Regional Head Anne Ryniker
to discuss ICRC activities in Thailand and the region. The
meeting took place one week following the deadly March 15 car
bomb attack (reftel B) at the C.S. Pattani hotel, where for
the last 15 months the ICRC had maintained an unofficial
regional office with five expatriate and two local staff
members. The Ambassador expressed his relief that no ICRC
staff were injured in the bombing.


3. (C) Brunner explained that the ICRC was still deliberating
the full extent of its presence in the South in the bombing's
aftermath. He explained that the Thai Ministry of Foreign
Affairs had refused ICRC requests to open an office in
Pattani, fearing such a move would create the perception that
the conflict in the South was becoming internationalized.
Brunner explained the ICRC would likely continue to maintain
a presence in the South by moving to a nondescript, unmarked
stand-alone property in Pattani province.


4. (C) Brunner emphasized the ICRC's commitment to neutrality
and unbiased field work, especially when visiting prisoners
in the southern provinces. According to Brunner, the ICRC
received good cooperation from southern officials when
visiting individuals incarcerated under the Department of
Corrections' conventional prison system, and was able to
visit prisoners without third parties present. However,
Brunner lamented that the RTG had yet to grant the ICRC
permission to visit suspected insurgents detained under
provisions of martial law and the emergency decree in
southern military and police facilities.


5. (C) The Ambassador offered to lobby Thai authorities to
permit ICRC access to these detainees, explaining that he
would shortly meet with Army Commander-in-Chief General
Anupong Paochinda (reftel B). The Ambassador said he would
urge Anupong, who had yet to reply to ICRC meeting requests,
to meet with Brunner. Brunner welcomed the Ambassador's
offer, and emphasized that the ICRC wanted to receive Royal
Thai Army cooperation to privately visit southern detainees.
The ICRC was willing to discuss with Anupong the RTG's terms
for granting such access. The Ambassador agreed that
granting the ICRC such access would help allay concerns in
the international community and, in turn, would have the
effect of reducing the internationalization of the conflict.


6. (C) Brunner echoed widely-reported concerns in the human
rights community that security forces sometimes abuse
detainees during the 37-day detention period permitted under
provisions of martial law and the emergency decree.
According to Brunner, 90% of suspected insurgents arrested

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under martial law and the emergency decree are subsequently
released, while the remainderQill face charges in the
conventional judicial system. (Comment: We believe this
assessment is credible based on information received from
other sources. End comment.) Brunner shared his worry that
extremist religious instructors were indoctrinating some
ethnic Malay Muslim children in Pondok schools (Muslim
religious schools) in the South.

REGIONAL ICRC ACTIVITIES
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7. (C) Brunner briefed the Ambassador on ICRC activities in
northern Thailand and Burma, explaining that Chiang Mai and
Mae Hong Son provincial ICRC offices provided assistance to
and monitored persons who had fled Burma. Brunner said ICRC
personnel along the Thai-Burma border received excellent
cooperation from RTG officials, and were interviewing
recently-arrived refugees to gather information on conditions
in Burmese prisons. This information was then passed to the
ICRC office in Rangoon, which lacked access to these
facilities. Brunner said that since 2006, the ICRC has
funded medical treatment for 140 Burmese victims of landmine
explosions and gun shot wounds who had fled to Thailand, more
than double the number in previous years. (Comment: The
increase in landmine victims is consistent with reports from
Dr. Cynthia's Mae Tao clinic on the Thai-Burma border. End
comment.)


8. (C) Turning to Lao Hmong refugees, Brunner told the
Ambassador that he would soon travel to Laos to propose that
the ICRC monitor repatriated Hmong refugees from Thailand.
Brunner explained that ICRC monitoring could perhaps be a
good way for the GOL to grant such access to repatriated
refugees and thus alleviate the concerns of the international
community. The Ambassador said he appreciated ICRC advocacy
on this issue, and noted that, should the Lao Government
agree to the ICRC proposal, it would mark a dramatic
breakthrough. (Note: See septel on Embassy intervention on
Hmong refugees with the Thai military. End note.)

COMMENT
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9. (C) The ICRC remains a valuable interlocutor on conditions
in southern Thailand and often receives access to individuals
and groups who are off-limits to human rights NGOs and other
parties. The Ambassador has urged Army Commander Anupong
(reftel A) to grant the ICRC access to southern detention
facilities and detainees, noting that such access will help
allay concerns in the international community regarding human
rights conditions in the area.
JOHN