Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXVII, Mainland Southeast Asia; Regional Affairs

401. Memorandum of Conversation¹

Bangkok, August 9, 1968, 6 p.m.

SUBJECT

• Political Parties, etc.

PARTICIPANTS

• [title and name not declassified]
• Ambassador Unger

As arranged by telephone the previous day [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] and I had an extended private discussion of possible US assistance in connection with the forthcoming campaign in Thailand. I first explained to him again that I had reopened this matter with Washington after our discussion in July and also discussed it with Mr. Bundy here and was now awaiting word from Washington. I expected Mr. Hannah to bring back some information, including word as to whether there are at present funds available as well as other aspects of the question which Washington may wish to explore further. I made it clear that while we recognize the undertaking of Ambassador Martin some time ago, I could not at the present time speak with assurance about what Washingtonʼs attitude would be. I said that I had conveyed [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] assurances on the matter of the unity of the present leadership in the government party, but that this question still gave us trouble (Washington and myself) in view of [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] position that no one besides [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] should be aware of the US assistance.

[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] had obviously done some thinking overnight on this subject and said that he understood our concern on this matter, although he did not believe it should be a troublesome point. Nevertheless, if we felt it was advisable, then he suggested that I talk directly with [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] and work matters out with him, rather than with [less than 1 line of source text not declassified], on the understanding that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] would also be informed. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] felt that in this way [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] would be under more pressure to keep the matter confidential and thus [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] felt that his concerns about a leak, while not entirely put at rest, would not be as grave. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] stressed if we followed this road and [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] was in the know, then (he seemed to be saying) his [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] role should be at least secondary.

[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] went on to insist that there is full unity in the leadership of the government party and that he and [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] are entirely agreed on basic political questions such as the need for Thailand to protect itself from Communism and to maintain close relations with the US. His differences with [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] relate solely to the latterʼs “business” ventures and association with unsavory individuals like [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]. He said that he has argued repeatedly with [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] to clear up his connections but he feels he has only been partially successful thus far. He has pointed out to [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] that his legitimate business connections bring in ample income and he should not be greedy for more. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] was discouraged at the moment that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] was continuing or even expanding his participation in the government refinery which [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] does not regard as improper in spite of his position. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] also mentioned his desire to do something about the pork monopoly problem but has failed to date. In spite of all of this, however, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] had his virtues and was patriotic and they would work together on fundamental matters. The thing [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] absolutely opposed was to have government funds used for the elections by the government party and this was one of the reasons why he was looking for help.

I told [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] I found his suggestion about approaching [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] directly a useful one that would probably meet some of the reservations I had expressed. I asked him not to do anything further in the way of arranging a meeting with the [less than 1 line of source text not declassified], however, since I did not know of Washingtonʼs views or possibilities on this matter and needed as a minimum the word that I hoped Mr. Hannah would be bringing back. I said to [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] quite frankly that I was sure he realized the delicacy of this matter for the US. We fully understand that there is not only competition among political parties, but among trends and factions within political parties, including the government party. We are interested in helping those who are interested in helping secure Thailandʼs independence against the threat of Communism but we do not want to be supporting one faction in the government party against another. Again [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] hastened to assure me that there were no such divisions and that assistance from us would not be used in any divisive way. I then asked as a practical matter, for example, how would he expect that the leadership of the government party would go about the selection of candidates. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] shied away from this one and said that he would rather not discuss this. (Nevertheless, later he left me with the impression that if our assistance should be provided it would be accompanied by some discussion of government party planning for candidates and campaigns.) He again stated that there are no divisions among the party leaders on these matters.

I also said to [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] that the question I was sure would be in Washingtonʼs mind would be just what these funds would be used for and how they would be used. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said that I had his word that they would be used without question for the purposes intended and would not be diverted to anything else. As heʼd earlier said, they would be used for printing and equipment and travel of candidates in connection with the campaign. I said I fully accepted his word but that my question had related more to the effective use of funds rather than any question of diversion. Without giving me any specific information [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] again said we could rest assured that the funds would be used to very good effect even though they did not wish to go into detail on this. “Trust us—we know what to do”, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said.

[less than 1 line of source text not declassified] at this point went off into a discussion of the difficulties others besides himself had with [less than 1 line of source text not declassified], notably Police General Prasert. Many matters which had been going smoothly have again run into trouble and precipitated debate since [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] return to the country. Specifically [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] mentioned the reopening of the VSF question.

I then asked [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] where Thanat and Puey figured in the government party picture. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] never replied to my query about Puey but said that Thanat is certainly with the government party group, although like [less than 1 line of source text not declassified], he has reservations about [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]. The military, however, are dubious about taking Thanat fully into their councils. They feel he is too emotional and they also are critical of his manner of dealing with the US. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] recounted the Cabinet discussion on B–52ʼs (presumably the question about their original deployment) and made it clear that Thanat had been rather negative. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] said he had pointed out to Thanat that Thailand had concluded it was in its interest to work closely with the US and this could not be done in half measures. Nevertheless, [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] left me with the impression that Thanat is basically with the government party group and not likely to set off on his own.

At the conclusion of our conversation we agreed that:

1) I will see what Mr. Hannah brings back from Washington. In the light of this information and my further consideration about approaching [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] directly, I will consider what next step I could take and when.

2) At that point I will get in touch with [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] but I know that it is out of the question that I will have anything for him before next Tuesday at the very earliest.

3) Only after I have contacted him will [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] then tell [less than 1 line of source text not declassified], who will then call me in if I have to take the matter up directly with him.

In winding up our conversation [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] acknowledged the possibility that we may come to the conclusion not to go ahead on this matter, although he obviously was very much in favor of our helping and appeared to feel that it was an important factor in his being able to influence the conduct of the elections in a way we would like to see them held. At the same time he also emphasized that [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] was not prepared to agree to conditions about elections in return for our assistance. [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] also mentioned that he would envisage the hand-over of cash, probably to [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] or to him, as the procedure which they would wish to adopt.

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 12 THAI. Secret; Eyes Only. Drafted by Unger. Copies sent Eyes Only to Hannah, Hamilton, Jantzen, and Godley. A report of a preliminary conversation is in an August 8 memorandum of conversation. (Ibid.)