396. Memorandum of Conversation1
SUBJECT
- Govt. Party
PARTICIPANTS
- [name not declassified]
- Ambassador Unger
[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said he had asked me to come in immediately following a meeting which had taken place the day before involving I gathered, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]. At that time [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] had told [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] to approach me to indicate a renewed interest in a US contribution for the Government Political Party. ([less than 1 line of source text not declassified] spoke in such a way as to suggest to me that he had been taking the initiative with [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] who now was prepared to have the request to us renewed.) [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] confirmed to me again that only he, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] and [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] were witting of this matter.
[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] explained further that the Government Party had at last worked out its major problems of organization [Page 882] and that there was now complete unity among the leaders. The head of the party is the Prime Minister and his three deputies are Pote, Praphat and Pol. Gen. Prasert. ACM Dawee is the Secretary-General, although [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] pointed out that this is not in the same sense as the all-powerful Secretary-General of a Communist party. The three Deputy Secretaries-General, who relate to the three Deputies respectively, are Gen. Sawaeng, Gen. Krit Siwara, and Police General Pichai Kunlawanit. In addition, there are various advisors including Thanat for foreign affairs, Serm for finance, Phya Arthakariya Nibhonda for legal matters, and perhaps others. All of these officers of the party would constitute a board of directors, like the board of a large corporation.
When [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] came back to the question of a contribution I said there must be many well-to-do individuals who realized their stake in a strong government party and who, therefore, would be ready to contribute. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said that it was true that there were a number of potential wealthy contributors who had made their willingness known, but they were approaching the matter in the traditional Thai manner and would expect some concrete benefit from any contribution they made. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said it was important for the Government Party not to be beholden to such people. Once the Government Party was successful in the elections and secure in office it could accept such money because it would not have to accept the conditions, but until these elections had taken place funds would have to be found from other sources.
[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] spoke again as he had in the past about [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] and his very bad image which is a political liability to [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]. As far as [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] himself is concerned, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] spoke in a good deal more friendly vein than earlier and acknowledged that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] himself was effective in his relations with the public as long as [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] is not in the picture. While I could not get very specific answers to my questions, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] left me with the impression that as a result of the Prime Ministerʼs definite views and [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] acquiescence [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] will be kept out of the picture as much as possible; to what extent this means he will be leaving the country and how much cleaning up of his business connections might be involved was not clear. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] and I were diverted for a few minutes to a discussion of the importance of Thailandʼs developing a livestock industry and I stressed the potential this had for diversification of agriculture in [Page 883] the Northeast. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] indicated an intention of taking this matter on so that the pork monopoly would no longer block in-country production for the urban market.
[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] returned to his earlier statement to me that there will be some Cabinet changes to get rid of the older, less active members. It is clear that he personally strongly favors moving in some of the younger men, but has encountered a good deal of resistance on this score, including probably from the Prime Minister who would find it uncomfortable to push through such changes. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] also said that it is a problem, given Thai attitudes, in that younger men who have the energy and ideas nevertheless are hesitant to speak out in the presence of their elders, or certainly to engage in any controversy.
[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] also said that the Prime Minister had recently talked to the newly appointed members of the Senate and impressed on them the importance of their role, making it clear that they were not expected to be a rubber stamp for the Government. On the one hand it is hoped that the Senate will avoid a situation typical of earlier Thai parliamentary history when small interest groups of deputies could force the body to take irresponsible action and impede government programs. On the other hand, Thanom expects the Senate to keep Thailandʼs broad interests uppermost and speak out against government actions if necessary; [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] felt that the Senate will be an effective check against extremes in either direction. He confirmed that there will be additional appointments made once the total size of the house is determined, so that the Senate will number two-thirds of the larger body. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] also was at pains to explain that many of the apparently military men in the Senate are not really playing a military role today; he cited as an example his son-in-law who, although a colonel, is also a fully functioning civil servant.
[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] referred to the two elements he was concerned about in the forthcoming elections. The first was the Communists who would not be permitted to form a party but who will undoubtedly try to support candidates whom they think they can control. The other element he referred to as the left wing. According to [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] this represents extreme economic egalitarians whose idea is to take from the rich and obstruct the kind of rapid economic development taking place in Bangkok and spread the money evenly over the entire population. He thought it likely that this group would be exploited by the Communists. Otherwise, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said he didnʼt really care who won the election and this meant that he could view with equanimity Seni Pramoj and the Democratic Party winning for example. In answer to my [Page 884] question he confirmed that he saw it as important that the present united government leadership retain control and leadership through this first round of elections. Once those difficult seas were safely navigated some new directions might be tried.
Returning to the matter of a US contribution I told [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] that this matter had been shelved by the US as a result of his comments to me several months ago and [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] apparent reluctance to discuss the matter. There was now a new fiscal year and I did not know about the availability of funds at the present time. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] promptly reminded me that Ambassador Martin had earlier explicitly promised the availability of funds up to [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] following a visit to the US in which the matter had been cleared out with President Johnson. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] mentioned incidentally that that large a sum might not be needed. I said that I recognized this and now that he had given me the word that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] specifically asked him to put this matter to me I would in turn raise it with Washington promptly. I reminded him that when we had earlier discussed this matter I had raised several questions, particularly with regard to the real unity of the Government Party leadership—as well as with regard to just what purposes the funds would serve. In this connection I wondered whether it would not be advisable to enlarge the Thai circle of those aware of a possible US contribution to include [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] reacted negatively to this, mentioning at first that bringing in [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] would almost inevitably bring in [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] as well which they did not wish to do. Later he tended to emphasize more that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] simply could not be depended on to keep such a matter to himself and that through him the word would inevitably get out.
As to arrangements, if there is a US contribution it would probably work via [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] told me that he has recently transferred some properties so that he has now provided an ostensible source of funds if questions should at any time be asked. He also stated again that if there were any reports or queries he would absolutely deny them and would assume I would do the same.
I told [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] that I would raise this matter promptly with my government and that as a matter of fact I might during the next week have a good opportunity to discuss it if Mr. Bundy were to be visiting Bangkok following the Honolulu Conference, as now appeared possible. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] once more assured me that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] [Page 885] was now seeking our help and he said that he would await further word from me.
Comment: Although [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] confirms indications from other sources that there is now some greater unity among the Government Party leaders, divisions apparently persist. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] comments strongly suggest a desire of his group to be as well heeled to run their side of the show as [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] group will be, presumably from the kitty built up by [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] over the years.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 12 THAI. Secret; Eyes Only. Drafted by Unger. Copies sent Eyes Only to Unger, Hamilton, Jantzen, and Hannah. The meeting took place in [text not declassified].1↩