THAILAND ISSUES AN ASEAN CHAIR STATEMENT CALLING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001219 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, NSC FOR PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM TH SUBJECT: THAILAND ISSUES AN ASEAN CHAIR STATEMENT CALLING FOR ASSK'S IMMEDIATE RELEASE REF: A. BANGKOK 1201 ¶B. BANGKOK 517 BANGKOK 00001219 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Eric G. John, reason 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In the absence of ASEAN consensus over the arrest/trial of Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK),Thailand issued an ASEAN Chair statement May 18 calling for the immediate release of ASSK. FM Kasit circulated the statement under the cover of a letter to ASEAN FMs and SecGen Surin May 18; on May 19, the MFA posted the statement on its website, and Thai media cited acting Government Spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn as having announced that PM Abhisit had released the statement and called on the Burmese junta to release ASSK and other political prisoners to promote national reconciliation and democracy. Visiting EAP DAS Scot Marciel discussed the Chair Statement and Thai views on Burma-ASEAN with Panitan and leading Thai academic Thitinan Pongsudhirak May 19; the latter lamented that Burma continued to be ASEAN's Achilles' heel. ¶2. (C) Comment: The issuance of the Thai Chairman's statement exceeded insider expectations of several days earlier. MFA PermSec Virasak told us May 15 that he did not think a Chair statement would be possible (ref A),an assessment repeated by ASEAN SecGen Surin May 16; Surin told us that he thought the views of the "new" ASEAN members--Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in addition to Burma--would make issuing a Chair statement much more difficult than in September 2007, when the ASEAN FMs were meeting at UNGA as blood ran in the streets of Rangoon during the Saffron Uprising. The May 18 statement came in the wake of Secretary Clinton's calls to both Surin and Kasit over the weekend, underscoring the importance and impact of Washington engaging key ASEAN interlocutors. The Chair Statement - following the personal actions of Abhisit and Kasit at the February ASEAN Summit to meet with Burmese civil society reps (ref B) - is another reminder that the current Abhisit-Kasit foreign policy team is the best Thai partner we have had in years on Burma policy, since the Chuan-Surin era (1997-2000). End Summary and Comment. DAS Marciel - Deputy PM SecGen Panitan -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Acting Royal Thai Government Spokesman and Deputy PM Office Secretary General Panitan passed a copy of the Thai-issued ASEAN Chair statement on ASSK's situation, as well as FM Kasit's cover letter to fellow ASEAN FMs and ASEAN SecGen Surin, to visiting EAP DAS Scot Marciel May 19 (text below). Panitan indicated that either PM Abhisit or he would release the statement publicly after the RTG Cabinet meeting concluded. Thai media later cited Panitan as having announced that PM Abhisit had released the statement and called on the Burmese junta to release ASSK and other political prisoners to promote national reconciliation and democracy. The MFA also posted the statement on its website. ¶4. (C) DAS Marciel told Panitan that the Chair statement was important for ASEAN's credibility and had been discussed by Secretary Clinton and Thai FM Kasit, who had suggested a UNSC statement as a useful follow-up to the hoped-for ASEAN statement. Panitan noted that some in the MFA were concerned at a negative Burmese reaction to the Thai statement and possible repercussions on the situation along the Thai-Burma border. Burma continues to be ASEAN's Achilles' heel -------------- ¶5. (C) Chulalongkorn Professor and ISIS Director Thitinan, who had led ASEAN civil society's engagement of ASEAN leaders at the February Summit in Cha-Am (ref B),told DAS Marciel separately May 19 that Burma continued to hobble ASEAN's promise and make a mockery of the ASEAN Charter's mandate to promote and protect human rights and freedoms. Thitinan scoffed at ASEAN's aspirations for an effective BANGKOK 00001219 002.2 OF 002 political-security community by 2015, stating that there was no way it would emerge by then, and expressed concern that Indonesia might lose interest in ASEAN and seek to exert its growing influence in other fora instead. Thitinan also worried that ASEAN SecGen Surin, a former Thai FM and Democrat Party stalwart, was depleting his personal capital/credibility without effect, not able to act or speak out publicly given the limitations of the SecGen position and its requirement to represent all ten ASEAN states. ¶6. (U) Chair Statement -------------- ASEAN Chairman's Statement 18 May 2009, Bangkok Thailand, as the ASEAN Chair, expresses grave concern about recent developments relating to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, given her fragile health. In this connection, the Government of the Union of Myanmar is reminded that the ASEAN Leaders had called for the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Furthermore, the Government of the Union of Myanmar, as a responsible member of ASEAN, has the responsibility to protect and promote human rights. It is therefore called upon to provide timely and adequate medical care to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as well as to accord her humane treatment with dignity. With the eyes of the international community on Myanmar at present, the honor and the credibility of the Government of the Union of Myanmar are at stake. Thailand, as the ASEAN Chair, reaffirms ASEAN's readiness to contribute constructively to the national reconciliation process and the peaceful transition of democracy in Myanmar. ¶7. (SBU) Kasit's cover letter to ASEAN FMs and SecGen Surin -------------- -------------- Excellencies, I have the honor to inform Your Excellencies that Thailand, as the ASEAN Chair, has been approached by several ASEAN Member States, the EU/EC, and the US to express concern about recent developments regarding Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. After having received the diverse opinions expressed by the, ASIAN Member States on these developments which have generated widespread reactions in the international community, Thailand has decided to issue the ASEAN Chairman's Statement on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi which is enclosed herewith for your information. It is my hope that this Statement would help to convey the concerns of ASEAN and the international community to the Government of the Union of Myanmar on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Please accept, Excellencies, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration. /s/Kasit Piromya Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand ¶8. (SBU) note: DAS Marciel did not have an opportunity to clear this cable. JOHN