VZCZCXRO4230
PP RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHCHI #0157/01 2631122
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 201122Z SEP 06
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0276
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0550
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 0314

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000157 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  9/20/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PINS ASEC TH
SUBJECT: SUPPORT FOR THASKIN MUTED IN CHIANG MAI FOLLOWING COUP 
 
REF: A) BANGKOK SEPTELS B) CHIANG MAI 120 (THIRD ARMY COMMANDER CHALLENGES THAKSIN'S NORTHERN POWER BASE 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000157  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Beatrice Camp , Consul General, Consulate Chiang 
Mai, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Although well known as a Thai Rak Thai (TRT) 
stronghold and home town of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin 
Shinawatra, Chiang Mai showed no signs of unrest following the 
late-Tuesday military takeover of the government in Bangkok by a 
group calling itself the Council for Democratic Reform under the 
Constitutional Monarchy (see Embassy Bangkok reporting). Support 
for Thaksin has not been in evidence, as powerful political 
allies and relatives in his northern Thailand home base 
scattered or kept a low profile, while the majority that 
supported him in previous elections now seems largely 
sympathetic, or at least tolerant, toward the military takeover. 
Meanwhile, armored vehicles stationed near the Consulate General 
appear to be positioned to control access to municipal offices 
located across the street rather than to protect the safety of 
the consulate, as was reported by some media and Third Army 
sources. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.      (U) Despite the declaration of martial law by the 
military-run Council for Democratic Reform under the 
Constitutional Monarchy, Chiang Mai residents awoke to calm this 
morning. Troops, tanks, and armored personnel carriers (APCs) 
were stationed at some intersections and government buildings - 
including municipal offices across from the consulate - but for 
the most part business carried on as usual. While government 
offices, banks, and most schools closed in accordance with the 
announcement of a national holiday, most shops remained open 
with the notable exception of some Shinawatra family-owned 
businesses in Thaksin's home town of San Kamphaeng, just east of 
Chiang Mai. Military units were also placed near Thaksin's Green 
Valley estate in the Chiang Mai suburb of Mae Rim, located north 
of the central city. There were no reported gatherings or 
incidents, for or against, at any area Shinawatra businesses or 
homes. 
 
¶3.      (C) Not unexpectedly, Third Army Commander Lt. Gen. 
Saprang Kalayanamitr, was reportedly in Bangkok as a committed 
participant in the coup.  Long at odds with Thaksin, Saprang, 
the top military official in the north, drew significant 
attention in recent months due to his vocal and very public 
opposition to the prime minister.   (ref b) 
 
¶4.      (C) Many Thaksin loyalists in politically powerful 
positions remain unaccounted for, have left the city, or are 
avoiding any visible moves at this time. While a weary-looking 
Chiang Mai Gov. Suwat Tantipat and Mayor Boonlert Buranupakorn 
complied with orders to present themselves to 33rd Military 
Circle Commander Supa-Aksorn at the Kawila army base in Chiang 
Mai, MP Pakorn Buranupakorn and Thaksin's brother MP Payap 
Shinawatra are said to have left the city. Thaksin's wife 
Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra reportedly left Thailand for 
Singapore moments before the coup along with Thaksin's sister, 
Yaowapa Wongsawat, who herself was an MP from Chiang Mai and 
influential TRT leader. 
 
¶5.      (C) A little after 5 a.m. today, four M113 APCs with at 
least 40 soldiers arrived in the area of the consulate. Two APCs 
took up positions on the road separating the consulate and the 
Chiang Mai municipal offices, just a few feet from the north 
gate entrance to the consulate. Two other APCs moved into 
position around the corner between the municipal office building 
and the Ping River. Soldiers were relaxed and did not interfere 
with traffic in and out of the consulate or the daily outdoor 
produce market that operates in the narrow alleys near the 
municipal headquarters. A Third Army source told the consulate 
that the units were deployed to protect the safety of the 
consulate, an explanation later repeated on some media 
broadcasts. (COMMENT: We believe the units were instead sent to 
control access to the municipal offices, controlled by Thaksin 
ally Mayor Boonlert. No similar "protection" was in place near 
the Chinese or Japanese consulates in other areas of the city 
and some of the APCs had moved to block the gates of the 
municipal office parking lot by mid morning. END COMMENT). Calls 
to the municipal office went unanswered Wednesday. 
 
¶6.      (C) Chiang Mai and other northern areas have always been 
dependable sources of moral support and votes for Thaksin and 
his Thai Rak Thai party. Most northerners continued to back 
their hometown boy throughout the recent political crisis and 
annulment of the April elections. Moreover, the few anti-Thaksin 
northerners - mostly academics and other elites - were unable to 
or prevented from organizing  effective grassroots displays of 
opposition.  Yet on the day following the coup, Chiang Mai 
residents showed no signs of opposing the military takeover or 
resenting the military forces occupying busy intersections and 
other strategic locations. Indeed, many people passing through 
the market near the consulate offered refreshments and snacks to 
the soldiers stationed there. 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000157  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.       (C) COMMENT: The speed and effective coordination of 
Tuesday night's coup appear to have prevented any organized 
pro-Thaksin movement in and around Chiang Mai from getting off 
the ground. Although he was deeply popular here in his home 
base, Thaksin's political strength relied on a top-down 
organization of politicians, TRT organizers, and other 
quasi-political heavyweights. Despite overwhelming support from 
farmers, middle class workers, and other rural populations in 
elections, almost no NGOs or civic groups not tied into the TRT 
political structure exist in Northern Thailand that could 
represent or mobilize these potential supporters. With 
influential Thaksin loyalists dispersed or scattered and martial 
law supposedly banning groups of five or more from gathering in 
public areas, it seems unlikely that there will be any 
significant displays of civic opposition to the coup. And while 
they supported Thaksin with their votes, northern Thais - like 
many Thais - may view Thaksin's forced removal from politics as 
an acceptable path out of the recent tensions if it leads to a 
return of calm and stability, something that even Thaksin's most 
loyal supporters here would admit did not seem likely with him 
staying in power. END COMMENT. 
CAMP