By Nopporn Wong-Anan
HUA HIN, Thailand (Reuters) - Thailand's embattled government on Thursday played down Cambodia's offer of asylum for fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as an anti-government campaign again cast a shadow over a Thai-hosted regional summit.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday described Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, as an "eternal friend" and said he had a residence waiting for him, state television reported.
Thailand is seeking to extradite Thaksin to serve a jail term for corruption. The billionaire has business interests in several countries, including neighbouring Cambodia, where he has invested in the telecoms sector.
"If former prime minister Thaksin moves to Cambodia, surely that will have some effect on our relations," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told a news conference at a regional ASEAN summit in the Thai resort of Hua Hin.
"Hun Sen would know how to take all these considerations into account. It is not possible that the relations between two individuals would be more important that the bilateral relations between two countries."
However, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said it was unnecessary for Thailand to issue a protest. Hun Sen, he said, would not have said Thaksin had been unfairly treated if he had been properly informed.
Thailand and Cambodia have long had fraught relations. Hun Sen caused a stir this month when he ordered troops to shoot any Thai crossing illegally into Cambodia, as tensions mounted over an 11th century temple the neighbours have contested for decades.
Pitch Pongsawat, a political science lecturer at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said relations with Cambodia had worsened under the Thai government of Abhisit Vejjajiva and that Thaksin stood to gain popularity by mending their ties.
"Thaksin is trying to steal the show and if his party continues to get stronger, we're moving towards a whole different battle," he said.
SUMMIT EMBARRASSMENT
Cambodia's offer coincides with the summit in Thailand, where Hun Sen is due to meet his Thai counterpart, whose government is battling to survive amid mass protests by Thaksin's supporters.
Hun Sen previously threatened to boycott the Hua Hin meeting over the temple row, but has confirmed he will attend, though he will miss Friday's opening ceremony.
The ASEAN and East Asia Summits have twice been postponed in Thailand over the past year due to political unrest, causing the government deep embarrassment. Abhisit has been anxious to minimise Thaksin's influence from exile, and Cambodia's offer is sure to further strain relations.
Suthep told reporters he was not surprised by Hun Sen's offer, conveyed to Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, a Thai political heavyweight and close Thaksin aide, during a visit to Phnom Penh.
"It is a liberty of a prime minister of a country to have as many friends as he wishes. If he is a friend of someone whom we have a problem with, there is no reason for us to be mad at the entire country," he said in Bangkok.
Hun Sen also pledged his support for Puea Thai, Thailand's main opposition and the latest incarnation of Thaksin's disbanded mass Thai Rak Thai party.
Thaksin, who scored an unprecedented two landslide election victories, has been living mostly in Dubai since skipping bail in August 2008 to avoid a two-year prison sentence for graft.
He owns a private jet and has travelled the world on various passports, including one from Nicaragua, and continues to rally his supporters in telephone and video addresses from exile.
Analysts say with Thaksin's vast war chest and huge support among the rural masses, Puea Thai would likely win the next election, a scenario that would lead to more instability in a country dogged by four years of intractable political strife.
(Additional reporting by Martin Petty in Hua Hin and Pracha Hariraksapitak in Bangkok; Writing by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Ron Popeski)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday described Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, as an "eternal friend" and said he had a residence waiting for him, state television reported.
Thailand is seeking to extradite Thaksin to serve a jail term for corruption. The billionaire has business interests in several countries, including neighbouring Cambodia, where he has invested in the telecoms sector.
"If former prime minister Thaksin moves to Cambodia, surely that will have some effect on our relations," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told a news conference at a regional ASEAN summit in the Thai resort of Hua Hin.
"Hun Sen would know how to take all these considerations into account. It is not possible that the relations between two individuals would be more important that the bilateral relations between two countries."
However, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said it was unnecessary for Thailand to issue a protest. Hun Sen, he said, would not have said Thaksin had been unfairly treated if he had been properly informed.
Thailand and Cambodia have long had fraught relations. Hun Sen caused a stir this month when he ordered troops to shoot any Thai crossing illegally into Cambodia, as tensions mounted over an 11th century temple the neighbours have contested for decades.
Pitch Pongsawat, a political science lecturer at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said relations with Cambodia had worsened under the Thai government of Abhisit Vejjajiva and that Thaksin stood to gain popularity by mending their ties.
"Thaksin is trying to steal the show and if his party continues to get stronger, we're moving towards a whole different battle," he said.
SUMMIT EMBARRASSMENT
Cambodia's offer coincides with the summit in Thailand, where Hun Sen is due to meet his Thai counterpart, whose government is battling to survive amid mass protests by Thaksin's supporters.
Hun Sen previously threatened to boycott the Hua Hin meeting over the temple row, but has confirmed he will attend, though he will miss Friday's opening ceremony.
The ASEAN and East Asia Summits have twice been postponed in Thailand over the past year due to political unrest, causing the government deep embarrassment. Abhisit has been anxious to minimise Thaksin's influence from exile, and Cambodia's offer is sure to further strain relations.
Suthep told reporters he was not surprised by Hun Sen's offer, conveyed to Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, a Thai political heavyweight and close Thaksin aide, during a visit to Phnom Penh.
"It is a liberty of a prime minister of a country to have as many friends as he wishes. If he is a friend of someone whom we have a problem with, there is no reason for us to be mad at the entire country," he said in Bangkok.
Hun Sen also pledged his support for Puea Thai, Thailand's main opposition and the latest incarnation of Thaksin's disbanded mass Thai Rak Thai party.
Thaksin, who scored an unprecedented two landslide election victories, has been living mostly in Dubai since skipping bail in August 2008 to avoid a two-year prison sentence for graft.
He owns a private jet and has travelled the world on various passports, including one from Nicaragua, and continues to rally his supporters in telephone and video addresses from exile.
Analysts say with Thaksin's vast war chest and huge support among the rural masses, Puea Thai would likely win the next election, a scenario that would lead to more instability in a country dogged by four years of intractable political strife.
(Additional reporting by Martin Petty in Hua Hin and Pracha Hariraksapitak in Bangkok; Writing by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Ron Popeski)
2 comments:
Hun Sen's wife Bunrany wanted a Threesome with Thaksin and Hun Sen. Then that way they can live more lively. Especial with extra lemon juice. Hahaha!
Why should Cambodian government continue to deal with an unreliable thai goverment, in particular with stupid, thick-faced and unreliable Kasit?
"Hun Sen caused a stir this month when he ordered troops to shoot any Thai crossing illegally into Cambodia". Is it stupid yellow shirted guys who caused that?
"as tensions mounted over an 11th century temple the neighbours have contested for decades"
This stupid author, is s/he still dreaming that Preah Vihear is still contested?
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