06BANGKOK4040 KING’S PRIVATE SECRETARY DISMISSES THAKSIN CLAIMS

“70590”,”7/7/2006 11:05″,”06BANGKOK4040″,

 

“Embassy Bangkok”,”CONFIDENTIAL”,””,”VZCZCXRO1775

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“C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 004040

 

SIPDIS

 

SIPDIS

 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2016

TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, TH

SUBJECT: KING\’S PRIVATE SECRETARY DISMISSES THAKSIN CLAIMS

 

REF: A. BANGKOK 3916 (WHAT\’S THAKSIN UP TO?)

 

B. BANGKOK 3349 (NOODLES WITH THAKSIN)

C. BANGKOK 2990 (THAKSIN SEES SELF AS THAILAND\’S

ASSK)

 

Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce, reason 1.4 (b) (d)

 

1. (C) The Ambassador met July 7 with the King\’s Principal

Private Secretary, Asa Sarasin, to discuss the political

situation. Asa confirmed several of our assumptions. First,

he admitted that the government\’s proposed election decree

was on hold in the Palace. They wanted more clarity on

certain issues, especially the status of the Election

Commission, before the King would sign the decree, Asa said.

He expected the embattled election commissioners to step down

soon, and this would necessitate some delay in holding the

elections. (Comment: many Thaksin opponents have forecast

that the King would not sign the decree until the

controversial election commissioners were replaced. Asa

stopped short of saying this, but did indicate that the

Palace is not ready to go along with the current election

plans. End comment.) Asa complained that the main opposition

Democrat Party was hopeless; Thaksin was keeping it on the

defensive with a series of lawsuits. Asa joined most

commentators here in presuming that neither major party

would, in the end, be dissolved by the Constitutional Court.

Asa expected Thai Rak Thai to win the majority of seats in

the next parliament. (Note: Democrat Party leader Abhisit

also admitted to the Ambassador last week that the party was

not able to reach out as effectively to the voters and

formulate a winning platform because it was so busy defending

itself from Thaksin\’s attacks. End Note.)

 

2. (C) Asa also dismissed Thaksin\’s \”revised history\” of

his audiences with the King. (Asa is one of the few people

present when the King has an audience.) Thaksin has recently

taken to claiming that the King had ordered him to leave

office during his April 4 audience. Thaksin also says that

the King told him on May 19 that Thaksin could never return

as PM (reftel B,C). Asa\’s account parallels the original

story we had from Thaksin: the PM told the King right after

the election that he would step down, and the King just

nodded in response. Asa said that, during the May audience,

Thaksin told the King that he would return to a more active

role as caretaker, and the King approved. They then

discussed practical issues about the replacement for the two

vacant seats on the Election Commission.

 

3. (C) The Ambassador and Asa discussed the motivation for

Thaksin\’s lightly-veiled attack on the highly respected Privy

Council President Prem. Asa was quite upset by Thaksin\’s

comments, and joined in wondering what Thaksin could be

thinking (ref A). Asa suggested that it might be a misguided

attempt at gaining public sympathy, to keep his options open

for a potential return as PM some day.

 

4. (C) Comment: Asa does not always level with us, but we are

inclined to buy his version of the meetings between the King

and Thaksin, especially since Thaksin\’s story is constantly

changing.

BOYCE

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