VZCZCXRO9440
PP RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHCHI #0009 0170335
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 170335Z JAN 07
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0371
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0634
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 0411
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000009 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR TH
SUBJECT: CHIANG RAI RATED "SUSPECT PROVINCE" 
 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary:  Chiang Rai's Thai Rak Thai connections make it 
the "second most suspect province" in the country, according to 
the provincial police chief, who claimed that vigilance has 
prevented the school fires and bombs that have plagued other 
parts of the country.   Meanwhile, leaflets that appear to have 
originated in Chiang Rai and distributed in the northern region 
attack the Council for National Security (CNS) for serving 
Muslim interests.    End summary 
 
¶2. (SBU) During a meeting with the Consul General in Chiang Rai 
Jan. 11, Provincial Police Commander Pol. Maj. Gen. Sutep 
Dechrugsa vigorously defended the coup, citing the corruptive 
effects of big money on democratic systems such as elections. 
Patting his back pocket he described how unnamed politicians 
used "capitalism" to buy elections, adding that "even the US, 
the best democratic system in the world, has problems; how can 
Thailand deal with this?" 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Sutep said many coup supporters in Bangkok view Chiang 
Rai, Thailand's northernmost province, and Buriram in the 
northeast as the top two "suspect provinces" where opposition to 
the CNS has the strongest hold.   Chiang Rai apparently won its 
place in the top ranks thanks to Yongyut Tiyapairat, who 
represented the district in parliament and served as one of 
former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's key lieutenants. 
Coup supporters claim that Yongyut, as Minister of Natural 
Resources and Environment, was instrumental in countering PAD 
demonstrations by organizing forestry workers, allegedly 
undocumented migrant workers, to attack protest gatherings in 
Bangkok. Yongyut was detained for ten days following the Sept. 
19 coup and his actions have been closely monitored since. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Sutep credited police vigilance for sparing Chiang Rai 
from school burnings or bombs, actions that have elsewhere been 
seen as anti-coup protests or provocations.  Calling an aide to 
set up a monitor, he showed visitors closed circuit TV coverage 
from nine spots in the city.   The system cost hundreds of 
thousands of baht he conceded, adding that this is what is 
needed to stop bombings.   (Although he implied that Chiang Rai 
was uniquely favored with the budget for this system, Chiang Mai 
has a similar set-up, installed as a traffic control measure 
about two years ago.) 
 
¶5.  (U)  A TRT contact in Chiang Rai told the Consulate Jan. 16 
that a series of anti-CNS leaflets have been sent to local 
police stations in the province claiming that the Sept. 19 coup 
was meant to serve Muslim interests.   The leaflets and a CD, 
issued by the "Buddhists" and "Buddhist Monks", note that the 
CNS chairman and Interior Minister are Muslims and allege that 
the upcoming Constitution will be based on an Islamic model. 
According to "Manager On-Line" news service, the leaflets were 
first distributed Jan. 4 at a gathering in honor of revered Thai 
monk Khruba Boonchum at a temple in Burma opposite Thailand's 
Chiang Saen/Mae Sai district.  The leaflets have since been 
reported in Chiang Mai and Phitsanulok as well as in Chiang Rai. 
 
¶6. (U)  Bio note:  Pol. Maj. Gen. Sutep Dechrugsa graduated in 
law from Chulalongkorn University in 1977 and earned an MPA from 
NIDA in the early 1980's.  Since joining the Royal Thai Police 
in 1978 he has been posted in the Upper North, including 
Lampang, Tak, Lamphun, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son.  In Chiang 
Mai he served many years as chief of the Phuping Police Station, 
Investigation Chief for Provincial Police Region 5 Headquarters, 
and Deputy Provincial Police chief.   He was promoted to Maj. 
Gen. in late 2005, becoming  police chief of Mae Hong Son before 
being transferred to Chiang Rai the following year.   Sutep is 
seen as a fast-rising star in Police Region 5, thanks both to 
his investigative skills and his close ties with the Crown 
Prince.   Office of Narcotic Control Board contacts speak highly 
of him, especially his integrity and crime-busting efficiency. 
Sutep's wife, Kasama Dechrugsa, teaches in the Law Faculty at 
Chiang Mai's Payap University. 
 
CAMP