THAI-CAMBODIAN SPAT: THAKSIN RETURNS TO CAMBODIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 003188 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS TH CB SUBJECT: THAI-CAMBODIAN SPAT: THAKSIN RETURNS TO CAMBODIA TO TAKE CREDIT FOR PARDON OF THAI, LATEST ILLEGAL LOGGING INCIDENT Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Robert D. Griffiths, reas ons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra December 13 returned to Phnom Penh to take credit for the by-all-accounts orchestrated release of Siwarak Chutipong, a Thai engineer who had been imprisoned for reportedly sharing flight details for Thaksin's November visit to Cambodia with the Thai Embassy. Major General (ret.) Sornchai Montriwat, a close associate of opposition party leader Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, confirmed to us that public speculation was correct that the pardon of Siwarak was a continuation of the closely managed effort by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thaksin to pressure the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Contacts have recently indicated to us that the Thai-Cambodian relationship is not as strained as it appears publicly, yet a December 16 public statement by government spokesperson Panitan Wattanayakorn clearly illustrates that much will need be done before relations return to normal. Panitan called on Cambodia to cease interference in the Thai judicial system and in Thai politics and to annul Thaksin's appointment as economic advisor to Phnom Penh. While the two governments continue to quarrel, the latest of three armed clashes involving Cambodians illegally logging in Thailand took place, leaving one dead. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Comment: Nearly all Thai officials and pundits we have talked to recently say that Thaksin's Cambodia gambit is an extension of Thai domestic politics. Though Thaksin's image within Thailand likely risks being tarnished if his visits leave him appearing too closely aligned with Cambodia, the former Prime Minister's visits serve his apparent goal of socializing Thai audiences to the idea of his presence in a neighboring country. In addition, the visits also appear to be part of a strategy to pressure Prime Minister Abhisit at a time when the Thai Supreme Court for Political Office Holders is expected to rule soon on the fate of 76 billion baht of assets seized from Thaksin by the Assets Examination Committee due to accusations that Thaksin illegally enriched himself while Prime Minister. End comment. THAKSIN RETURNS TO CAMBODIA AS PART OF A MANAGED DRAMA -------------- -------------- �00A;¶3. (U) Fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned December 13 to Cambodia to visit Siwarak Chutipong, a Thai national who had been sentenced to seven years in prison following his November 12 arrest for reportedly leaking information about Thaksin's flight schedule during a November visit to Cambodia, and to resume duties as an economic advisor to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Siwarak had been sentenced December 8 to seven years in prison by Phnom Penh Municipal Court but received a royal pardon December 11. Siwarak had been working as engineer for the Cambodian Air Traffic Services prior to his arrest. SIWARAK A VICTIM OF POLITICS, NOT INTERNATIONAL ESPIONAGE -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Siwarak's case has been widely viewed by the Thai media and our contacts as a continuation of the Thai political divide that pits Thaksin and his red-shirt supporters against the Democrat-led government. Siwarak worked for a company controlled by Thai businessman Samart, a long-time competitor to Thaksin's A.I.S. and currently one of the key financial backers of Phumjai Thai defacto leader Newin Chidchob, who defected from the pro-Thaksin camp in December 2008. ¶5. (C) MGEN Sornchai Montriwat, a Puea Thai MP and close advisor to Puea Thai Party leader General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, told us during a December 9 meeting that he had not slept the night before due to the case. A bleary-eyed Sornchai said he had fielded calls from Hun Sen, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, and Siwarak's mother as discussions proceeded on how to script the pardon. According to Sornchai, Hun Sen and Tea Banh wanted Chavalit to file the pardon request immediately after the Cambodian court had sentenced the Thai defendant. Sornchai reluctantly woke BANGKOK 00003188 002 OF 003 Chavalit up in the middle of the night, after telling Hun Sen and Tea Banh that he could not make commitments himself. Sornchai, who had been negotiating as the point man between Hun Sen and Chavalit, told us that Chavalit had not wanted his name at the TOP of the pardon petition signature list. In the end, Hun Sen credited Thaksin for the pardon; according to December 14 press reports. ¶6. (C) Sornchai told us December 16 that he had led the Puea Thai team of MPs to Phnom Penh December 14 to bring Siwarak back to Thailand and that the group had met with Hun Sen for one hour. Regarding the incident which led to accusations of spying by Siwarak, a conviction, and then a pardon, Sornchai told us Hun Sen had said that the event had been a coincidence and the Thai air traffic controller was unlucky. Sornchai's account of Hun Sen's assessment that the Siwarak incident was ancillary to Thai-Cambodian relations was backed up publicly December 14 by Thani Thongphakdi, the Thai MFA's Deputy Spokesperson, who said that the RTG welcomed the release of Siwarak, but that this act would not necessarily lead to a restoration of full diplomatic ties. RELATIONS REMAIN OFF TRACK -------------- ¶7. (U) Despite the recent worsening of bilateral relations, signs point to halting attempts to improve relations. Thai Government Spokesperson Panitan Wattanayakorn said publicly December 16 that the Cambodian government had expressed its intention to repair bilateral relations via the return of Ambassadors to the two capitals. Panitan cautioned that the first steps to restoring normal diplomatic relations must be taken by Cambodia, as Phnom Penh would need to stop interfering with the Thai judicial system, cease meddling in Thai domestic politics, and revoke the appointment of Thaksin as an economic advisor to the Cambodian government. Panitan did suggest that the two sides may return the First Secretaries of their respective Embassies, who had been expelled after the Siwarak arrest, as a first step in normalizing relations. In contrast to the Thai government's strident reaction to Thaksin's November visit to Cambodia, Panitan December 13 downplayed the effect of Thaksin's second visit. Panitan said the RTG considered the trip a matter between Thaksin and Cambodia. ¶8. (U) Later December 16, Hun Sen was quoted publicly as saying that frayed relations with Thailand could not be normalized while the Abhisit government was in power, and he blamed the troubled relations on the conflict over disputed territory near the Preah Vihear temple. Hun Sen reportedly said that a new government in Thailand was necessary before the Thais would be willing to send an Ambassador back to Phnom Penh. ¶9. (C) While relations between Thailand and Cambodia are strained; contacts have suggested to us recently that the state of affairs is not as serious as described in the media. Thai National Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Achwin Wichaidit told us in late November that it was his personal view that the ongoing Thai-Cambodian confrontation was all about Thai domestic politics. Hun Sen had placed a bet on one side in the ongoing Thai domestic political conflict, Achwin said, but Hun Sen would eventually make a deal with whoever was in power in Bangkok in order to protect his own interests. Achwin predicted that Hun Sen would ultimately lose his bet because Thaksin would not be coming back. LATEST LOGGING CLASH LEAVES ONE DEAD -------------- ¶10. (C) An unpublicized December 6 incident that involved rangers (taharn praan),police, and forestry officials on the Thai side, and Cambodian loggers and possibly some moonlighting Cambodian police or soldiers on the Cambodian side, resulted in the death of one Cambodian on the way to the hospital. Human Rights Watch's Sunai Pasuk passed us an after-incident report, complete with pictures of Thai security officials' confrontation with Cambodians conducting illegal logging along the border in the vicinity of the Kantharalak District of Sri Sa Ket Province. Sunai told us BANGKOK 00003188 003 OF 003 that Cambodian soldiers were protecting the loggers when shots were exchanged between the two sides, resulting in the death of one of the loggers, who suffered from shotgun and grenade wounds. Patches confiscated from the Cambodians involved suggested involvement by security personnel, who were presumably moonlighting in this other role. A saw machine, 14 processed logs, and carts were also seized. The logger's body was repatriated December 7. ¶11. (C) This armed conflict involving illegal logging inside Thailand by Cambodians was the third such incident which has come to our attention in recent months. A September 11 clash between Thai security officials and Cambodian loggers on the Thai side of the border resulted in the death of one Cambodian. Some Cambodian NGOs and media alleged that that the logger had been burned alive by Thai forces, but the initial reports had the location of the incident in the wrong province, and we could not find any corroborating evidence to substantiate Cambodian allegations. HRW's Sunai told us that he had been able to confirm that the Cambodian had been shot to death during a confrontation with Thai taharn praan, but not burned alive. ¶12. (C) We were able to confirm Sunai's account separately with Suwit Buncharoen, the Chairman of the Surin Province Law Society, who is likely the province's foremost human rights advocate. Suwit had taken three trips to the border to inquire about this case, and a clear picture had emerged that no one had been burned. According to Suwit, both Thai and Cambodian contacts reported that an illegal logger had been killed on the Thai side of the border, and Cambodian contacts were sure the perpetrators had been dressed in the black outfits of the Thai rangers. ¶13. (C) Suwit stressed to us that while Thai police and military sources admitted the killing took place, they adamantly denied anyone was burned either before or after the fact. Such an act would trigger retaliation and no one wanted to see that. Killing illegal loggers was one thing, Suwit suggested, but burning someone would constitute an unimaginable act of barbarism. Separately, the regional Internal Security Operations Command reluctantly confirmed to us that a Cambodian had been killed, but stressed that there had been no burning involved in the incident. JOHN