VZCZCXRO7763
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHBK #4168/01 2130846
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 010846Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8623
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4602
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 7471
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3414
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 9571
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 004168 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS 
NSC FOR PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR PHUM ASEC TH
SUBJECT: SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: LEADING ACADEMIC EXPERT SEES 
SOME IMPROVEMENT 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 03813 (SECURITY FORCES MOVING FORWARD AS 
        SECTARIAN TENSIONS SIMMER) 
     ¶B. BANGKOK 03378 (NEW VIOLENCE STATISTICS MORE 
        DEADLY AMBUSHES) 
     ¶C. BANGKOK 01390 (UPDATED VIOLENCE STATISTICS FOR 
        2006) 
 
Classified By: CDA Jim Entwistle. Reason 1.4 (b,d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Noted southern scholar Dr. Srisomphop 
Chiphiromsi believes that Army-led arrests of suspected 
insurgents has led to fewer attacks in the troubled southern 
provinces and that the overall situation is "more stable." 
Srisomphop is not yet sure whether this is a short term 
development or evidence of a sustained improvement in the 
security situation.  He is working to expand the scope of his 
work beyond cataloguing violence statistics to more 
comprehensive studies of local attitudes towards the 
government and separatist movement.  Srisomphop acknowledged 
increased tensions between the ethnic Thai Buddhist and 
ethnic Malay Muslim communities but said that sectarian 
attacks remained infrequent and limited to a handful of 
areas.  He also dismissed rumors that insurgent groups were 
beginning to provide political organization and social 
services in areas under their control. End Summary. 
 
THE GOOD DOCTOR 
--------------- 
 
¶2. (C) During a July 25-26 visit to the southern provinces of 
Pattani and Yala, we met with Dr. Srisomphop Chiphiromsi of 
Prince of Songkhla University (PSU), Pattani campus (Note: 
septels will report other meetings and overall impressions. 
End Note).  Srisomphop is the lead scholar in PSU's efforts 
to develop public information on the violent insurgency under 
way in the South, and is most famous for being the sole 
source of reliable statistics on the violence in that region. 
 A longtime resident of the South, Srisomphop has become an 
invaluable resource for the government, public and diplomatic 
community in understanding the conflict.  He is currently 
working to expand the size of his research effort to include 
new studies on public attitudes, economic conditions and the 
efficacy of government programs. 
 
"MORE STABLE" 
------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Srisomphop's overall assessment is that, over the last 
few weeks, the situation has gotten "more stable."  According 
to his figures (which will be released in August) there have 
been fewer incidents of violence in the last two months, 
which he attributes to the recent surge of arrests. 
Srisomphop believes that these operations have disrupted the 
insurgent networks.  In his view, the Army is more confident 
and energetic; local commanders believe that they can solve 
the unrest.  Srisomphop was not sure if this calm is 
sustainable: "the next few weeks will test" this dynamic. 
This intervention policy may have an impact on separatists 
over the long term, but Srisomphop was quick to note that the 
military must use the justice system to handle those arrested 
so as to ensure that the process is transparent and seen as 
just.  Srisomphop said that a local Royal Thai Army (RTA) 
commander recently told him of an RTA request for more 
assistance from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in handling 
detainees. 
 
¶4. (C) Srisomphop said that the RTG is also working to make 
sure that ongoing projects are having an impact on people's 
attitudes.  These projects range from poverty alleviation to 
infrastructure construction.  When asked about the lack of 
press reporting on these efforts, Srisomphop agreed that the 
RTG needs to do a better job of publicizing these programs. 
PSU will conduct a survey in August on the nearly 200 
projects under way in the area.  The results of this survey 
will drive RTG planning on the "peace strategy."  In his 
view, the government is starting to do a better job at 
improving its image in the South.  The military in particular 
appears to be working hard to build public trust. 
 
 
BANGKOK 00004168  002 OF 002 
 
 
POPULAR ATTITUDES IN THE SOUTH 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) Recently, PSU conducted a survey on popular attitudes 
in Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani, Satun and Songkhla towards 
specific institutions.  Interestingly, Srisomphop said that 
people expressed the least confidence in the military.  The 
police, who are usually the most widely distrusted, were 
rated slightly higher than the Army.  Of note, the media also 
received very low marks from locals, who believe that the 
Thai press misrepresents the situation in the South and 
overemphasizes violence against ethnic-Thai Buddhists, while 
painting a negative portrait of ethnic-Malay Muslims.  Local 
Islamic committees, Imams, the Department of Rights 
Protection from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Forensic 
Lab headed by Khunying Porntip from MOJ, and the National 
Human Rights Commission were all widely seen as trusted 
institutions.  The overall justice system received mixed 
results. 
 
¶6. (C) When asked about broader attitudes and support for the 
separatist cause, Srisomphop explained that his center hopes 
to conduct such a survey later this year.  In 2005, PSU 
polled local people in the three provinces and found that 8 
percent supported the separatist cause.  In June 2006, the 
King Prachadipok Institute (KPI) conducted a similar survey 
with a slightly smaller sample size and found that 18 percent 
of people supported separatism.  Srisomphop noted that the 
KPI survey was conducted before the violence escalated, 
suggesting that, in his view, support would likely be lower 
this year, given widespread anger at the brutality of 
insurgent attacks. 
 
TRENDS IN VIOLENCE, TACTICS 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) When asked about recent trends in the 
violence--Srisomphop is finalizing the latest update on his 
comprehensive violence statistics--he explained that, apart 
from the recent drop in attacks, 2007 has been marked by more 
direct attacks on security patrols.  More soldiers and police 
are being killed.  Srisomphop said that separatists were more 
focused on direct attacks on state officials, after rumors of 
popular backlash against broader attacks on economic and 
civilian targets.  Srisomphop acknowledged that sectarian 
tensions remained high, but noted that revenge attacks 
between the ethnic-Thai Buddhist and ethnic-Malay Muslim 
communities remained infrequent and restricted to a few 
specific locations.  He made special mention of the rising 
number of protests and counter protests against security 
operations; according to his figures, there were only 10 such 
protests in 2006, but 30 so far in 2007. 
 
¶8. (C) Srisomphop said that he had seen no evidence of 
insurgent efforts to provide political organization or social 
services to the local population.  Instead, some insurgent 
groups were trying to build popular support through direct 
pleas for such.  According to Srisomphop, in recent weeks 
armed groups of separatists have moved into a handful of 
villages (Note: he did not specify where. End Note) in the 
middle of the night, rousted the entire population and led 
them to the local mosque.  Here, the frightened villagers 
were subjected to a short lecture asking them to support the 
separatist cause and warning them not to provide aid to the 
RTG.  Srisomphop noted that this was a new tactic and 
coincided with wider public admission that there is, in spite 
of previous denials by many, an active, local insurgency. 
ENTWISTLE