VZCZCXRO2162
PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHVC
DE RUEHCHI #0208 3340626
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 300626Z NOV 06
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0342
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0609
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 0381

UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000208 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON LA VM TH
SUBJECT: BREAKFAST IN NAN, DINNER IN DIEN BIEN PHU 
 
REF: CHIANG MAI 93 (GOLDEN TRIANGLE TO BECOME GOLDEN GATEWAY 
 
¶1.  Summary:   Nan, a remote northern province that suffered 
through some of the fiercest fighting during Thailand's 
communist insurgency in the 1960s and 1970s, now aims to become 
northern Thailand's "door to Indochina".  Situated on the 
shortest route between Hanoi and Bangkok, local officials 
envision a time when their province will be the jumping off 
point for road trips to Laos and northern Vietnam as well as a 
symbol of reconciliation.    End summary 
 
¶2.   During a recent Consulate visit to Nan, Provincial Governor 
Prinya Panthong predicted a day when travelers will have 
"breakfast in Nan, dinner in Dien Bien Phu".   As a first step 
to this goal, the Nan Chamber of Commerce set out Nov. 22 by 
road for Dien Bien Phu, in northern Vietnam.   Under current 
road conditions the journey took two full days, but the 42 
travelers returned optimistic about tourism possibilities and 
the chance to connect with ethnic Tai speaking groups in the 
Dien Bien Phu area.   Camera crews from iTV and Channel 5 filmed 
the ground-breaking journey for future broadcast. 
 
¶3.   With the neighboring provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai 
focused on increased trade with China along the future highway 
from Kunming to Bangkok (reftel), Gov. Prinya described to 
Consulate visitors a different "cultural road" across Indochina. 
   In fact, the UNESCO World Heritage site of Luang Prabang lies 
only 152 kilometers east of the Nan border, a tantalizing but 
deceptive distance considering that a traveler currently needs 
nearly three hours to drive from the provincial capital to the 
border point.    Tourism ambitions are further hampered by the 
fact that Laos does not currently permit third country nationals 
to cross the border from Nan. 
 
¶4.   While the Chamber of Commerce journey transcended 
international animosities from the Indochina war era, a memorial 
in the province to Thailand's own insurgency signals 
reconciliation within the country.   Memories of Nan's history 
as a former stronghold of the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) 
were revived on December 11 last year when Gen. Surayud 
Chulanont, then Privy Councilor and now appointed Prime 
Minister, presided over the opening ceremony of the People's 
History Building and the Lawa-Hmong Phu Payak Museum in Chaloem 
Phrakiat district.   The event and the government-financed 
museum near the former CPT base commemorated the war during the 
1970s and 1980s and honored those, including insurgents, who 
died fighting.   Surayud was invited to preside over the 
ceremony because his father, Lt-Colonel Payom Chulanont or 
"Comrade Khamtan", was a key communist cadre based in Nan. 
 
¶5.  The reappearance in the Thai political arena of several 
former communist activists, including current Thai Rak Thai 
acting party leader Chaturon Chaisaeng, combined with 
sympathetic articles about Surayud's father, has led to renewed 
discussion of the former insurgency.  Surayud himself made a 
connection between that era and today during a 2005 trip to the 
southern provinces by pointing out that "Thailand had a problem 
like this before. This will be the second time. The first time 
was the communist movement. Simply put, there was injustice in 
the country and it created conditions for communism to grow." 
 
 
¶6.  Comment:   While most of the trade and investment excitement 
in northern Thailand is focused on China, tiny Nan is ready to 
take advantage of its history and location by turning toward its 
Indochina neighbors and former enemies.  AmCit development 
experts working in the border region contend that the route is 
"more promising" and "more likely" than the proposed road 
through Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai province.  Although the 
border crossing remains closed to third-country nationals for 
now, a sign post reminds travelers that Luang Prabang is only 
152 kilometers away, with China's Mengla 295 kilometers and Dien 
Bien Phu 406 kilometers. 
 
CAMP