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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 000287 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, NSC FOR WALTON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2030 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PINR TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND: KING BHUMIBOL RESUMES A MORE VISIBLE 
ROLE - IN HIS HOSPITAL RECEPTION ROOM 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 165 (RESHUFFLE UNFOLDS ACCORDING TO PLAN) 
     ¶B. 09 BANGKOK 3025 (KING,S FRAIL HEALTH) 
     ¶C. 09 BANGKOK 2488 (KING,S HOSPITALIZATION) 
 
BANGKOK 00000287  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: DCM James F. Entwistle, reasons 1.4 (b, d) 
 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
¶1. (C) King Bhumibol Adulyadej has actively presided over 
three separate swearing-in ceremonies at Siriraj Hospital 
since mid-January, dispensing philosophic advice to ministers 
and judges in public and the Prime Minister in private.  In 
addition to swearing-in the five new cabinet members on 
January 18 (REF A), King Bhumibol also administered the oath 
of office to two separate groups of judges on January 25 and 
February 1, delivering extemporaneous remarks -- which were 
later broadcast on TV -- both times.  On the latter two 
occasions, he spoke at relative length (10 minutes), evenly, 
and in the typically Delphic and inscrutable style for which 
he has long been renowned.  In the January 18 private session 
with PM Abhisit, the King purportedly discussed his concerns 
about application of lese majeste and directed Abhisit to 
implement changes after a careful review of current 
procedures.  Despite these clear indications that the King is 
resuming a more active life in recent weeks, he remains 
hospitalized at Siriraj Hospital, where he has stayed since 
last September. 
 
¶2. (S) Comment: The status of his ongoing physical recovery 
aside, the recent audiences are promising signs of King 
Bhumibol having re-engaged mentally after whispers that he 
was suffering from depression in addition to physical 
ailments like Parkinson's and pneumonia.  His ability to 
deliver off the cuff comments to new ministers and judges 
were in marked contrast to more pained delivery of written 
remarks at his December 5 birthday audience and for New 
Year's.  The lese majeste discussion with Abhisit in 
particular seems to indicate that Bhumibol is aware of the 
wider debate about the role of the monarchy, present and 
future, in Thailand.  The real question at this stage 
remains: why does he continue to be hospitalized?  The stated 
rationale -- to build up his physical strength and endurance 
-- could be accomplished in a palace, either in Bangkok or 
his preferred seaside residence in Hua Hin.  Some will 
suspect other motives, but what those might be remain 
unclear.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
SWEARING IN THE NEW MINISTERS... 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The five new members of PM Abhisit's cabinet 
traveled to Siriraj hospital on January 18 for a swearing-in 
ceremony with the King (REF A).  Following the official 
swearing-in, King Bhumibol addressed the group, hewing in 
large measure to an overall theme of honesty.  He asked the 
group to keep national interests at heart while they 
performed their duties, underscoring the importance of 
honesty and integrity at every step of the way.  The King 
emphasized that as public figures, the ministers' actions 
would be scrutinized and held up as a model for appropriate 
behavior.  In closing, the King noted that if the ministers 
carried out their duties in line with public expectations, 
they would help bring peace and progress to Thailand. 
 
...WHISPERS FOR ABHISIT... 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (S)  After the Ministerial swearing in concluded, the King 
asked Abhisit to stay behind for an hour long one-on-one 
discussion; the focus was application of lese majeste 
provisions, according to a trusted, long-time Embassy contact 
who heard it from the person Abhisit subsequently briefed on 
his session with the King, Justice Ministry PermSec 
 
BANGKOK 00000287  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Kittipong.  Kittipong serves as the Chair of a Committee 
Abhisit established in November 2009 to review the 
implementation of lese majeste provisions.  According to 
Kittipong, King Bhumibol told Abhisit he needed to review, 
with an eye towards reforming, the judicial procedures 
associated with lese majeste implementation.  Such a review 
needed to proceed carefully, Bhumibol supposedly told 
Abhisit, but he was aware any changes would primarily affect 
one person - himself.  The King also reportedly reminded 
Abhisit that as King he had the ability to pardon anyone 
convicted on lese majeste grounds. 
 
¶5. (S) Note: King Bhumibol is on the public record, in his 
2005 annual Birthday address, as stating clearly that he was 
not above criticism and in fact welcomed it.  His comments 
then and now are a likely indication that he understands that 
lese majeste as currently implemented serves to weaken, not 
protect, the institution of monarchy.  Bhumibol does have a 
track record of pardoning those convicted of lese majeste, 
though there are two prominent recent convictions of Thais 
for which pardon appeals have not been forwarded to the King. 
 Both cases are mentioned in the 2008 and 2009 Human Rights 
Reports. 
 
...SERMONS FOR THE JUDGES 
------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) A week later, King Bhumibol presided over a January 25 
swearing-in ceremony for newly appointed Supreme Court 
Administrative judges.  Speaking for ten minutes in a voice 
that was even, though little more than a whisper likely due 
to the effects of Parkinson's, Bhumibol exhorted the judges 
to abide by professional standards based on Buddhist tenets, 
a theme that allowed him to deploy the standard talking 
points he has made in such settings for years.  He urged the 
judges to carry out their duties with fairness, impartiality, 
a sense of justice according to Buddhist norms on 
righteousness, and with an emphasis on maintaining 
neutrality. 
 
¶7. (SBU) On February 1 the King met with another group of 
Supreme Court judges, and again drew on familiar themes in 
unscripted remarks.  Bhumibol urged the judges to ensure 
justice and righteousness, to fully honor the dignity of the 
court, and to serve as the guarantor of the nation's peace, 
prosperity, and order.  He noted at one point that: "Even 
bandits hope for justice."  He closed by congratulating them 
on the opportunity to have a deep and lasting impact on other 
people's lives. 
 
¶8. (S) The King's messages to both sets of judges would have 
sounded familiar to anyone who has heard the King speak in 
the past: grounded in Buddhist tenets, delphic in nature, but 
potentially applicable to the current Thai scene in a number 
of ways - in other words, how Bhumibol has addressed his 
ministers, judges, and citizens for decades.  That fact 
alone, given the recent extended hospitalization and concerns 
that the end of reign was approaching more rapidly, made both 
events highly significant.  Whether any deeper meaning could 
or should be read into exhortations to judges to do their 
duty, weeks before a scheduled February 26 landmark court 
decision on fugitive former PM Thaksin's frozen assets, will 
remain open to question, and speculation. 
JOHN