US embassy cables: Thai king's relaxed reaction to

Thaksin Shinawatra's downfall

 guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 December 2010 20.07 GMT
 Article history

Wednesday, 20 September 2006, 12:29

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 005811
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
TREASURY PASS TO FRB SAN FRANCISCO/TERESA CURRAN
EO 12958 DECL: 09/19/2016
TAGS PGOV, PHUM, TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND: MY MEETING WITH GENERAL SONTHI
Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce, reason 1.4 (b)(d)
Summary
1. This cable recounts Thai king Bhumibol's relaxed reaction to the 2006 Thai coup, in which former prime
minister and Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted. It details a conversation which took place
the day after the coup between US ambassador Ralph Boyce and General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, commander-in-
chief of the Thai armed forces between 2005 and 2007. Sonthi, one of the leaders of the coup, tells Boyce about
his meeting with Bhumibol the previous night. Sonthi claims Bhumibol was "happy, smiling throughout." Key
passages highlighted in yellow.

2. Read related article

1. (C) I met with General Sonthi privately directly after he addressed the diplomatic corps this
afternoon. He thought the session had gone well (see septel for details; I doubt most of the
Western diplomats, at least, will share his assessment).

2. (C) I began by asking Sonthi about the audience with the King last night. Who had attended?
He said Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda had brought him, Supreme Commander
Ruangroj and Navy Commander Sathiraphan in to meet the King. Sonthi stressed that they had
been summoned to the palace; he had not sought the audience. He said the King was relaxed
and happy, smiling throughout. He provided no further details.
3. (C) Turning to the US reaction, I reminded him of our conversation, August 31, when I told him
any military action would result in immediate suspension of assistance programs such as IMET,
FMF and numerous others. I told him he could expect us to announce such a measure shortly.
He understood. I added that the restoration of such assistance could only come after a
democratically elected government took office. In the meantime, I stressed that the coup group
needed to make every effort to demonstrate a sincere intention to return to civilian rule as soon
as possible. His announcement today that an interim constitution and civilian government would
be installed within two weeks was a good example. I reiterated these points several times.

4. (C) Sonthi responded by saying the military had truly acted in order to improve Thai
democracy, not destroy it. The prevailing situation had become untenable. Had Thaksin only
been willing to announce publicly that he would not return as Prime Minister, this action could
have been avoided. But his unwillingness to do publicly what he had repeatedly told many
privately had led people to fear that his true intention was to seek a renewed mandate and return
to power. Thus the military had acted. But they did not seek sustained political power and would
return to barracks as soon as possible. The sooner the better, I repeated. I told him to expect
fairly broad international criticism, as military coups were generally seen as a thing of the past.

5. (C) Was he going to seize Thaksin,s assets? No, he stated flatly. Would Thaksin and his
family and colleagues be allowed to return to Thailand? Yes, unconditionally. What is the
officially approved English rendition of the coup group,s title? &Council for Democratic Reform
Under Constitutional Monarchy,8 or CDRM.

6. (C) Why had the military chosen to act at this particular point in time? Smiling slightly, he
leaned forward. &Thaksin was at his weakest and we were at our strongest.8

7. (C) Comment ) Sonthi was relaxed and calm. Clearly the royal audience was the turning point
last night. (Septel reports Thaksin,s defiant attitude dissolving completely when he learned of the
audience.) For now at least, the CDRM appears to be taking the high road as far as how they will
treat Thaksin. We have ready access to this group and will press them to implement their
announced intention to return to civilian rule as soon as possible. Meanwhile, a coup is a coup is
a coup and we believe a strong U.S. statement announcing the suspension of assistance and a
call for an early return to civilian rule and eventually elections is entirely warranted and will
submit suggested text via septel.
BOYCE BOYCE