BIT PLAYER: Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong.13/12/2009
Bangkok Post
It was, as Bangkok Post columnist Veera Prateepchaikul put it, "a well-scripted drama", and the government had no lines. Sivarak Chutipong, the Thai accused of spying, had no choice but to play his own silent part: Fire his first lawyer, go to court, receive his pre-determined "guilty" sentence, be respectful, go back to his cell at the unspeakable Prey Sar prison and wait for the gracious King Norodom Sihamoni to grant his pardon.
In this drama, Sivarak's mother Simarak na Nakhon Phanom appeared as the tragic figure.
The prosecutor, Sivarak and Mrs Simarak all fingered a senior Thai diplomat at the embassy in Phnom Penh as the key figure in the case. First secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai was identified by all three as asking Sivarak for Thaksin's flight plan. But Mr Kamrob was kicked out of Cambodia and has not appeared in any of the public events surrounding the trial - and of course could not have been at the trial even if he had wanted.
Still, ''Where is Kamrob?'' sobbed Mrs Simarak immediately after the verdict. She called on the diplomat to ''act responsibly'' for getting her son in trouble.
Mrs Simarak, weeping over the fate of her son, bitter at the former first secretary, finally turned to the only obvious middleman.
On cue, Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh strode in, ready to invoke the name of party icon Thaksin Shinawatra and speak to the Khmer authorities about Sivarak. By coincidence, in fact, Gen Chavalit already had prepared a letter to Hun Sen, asking for help.
The foreign ministry found itself basically unable to help. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, from the beginning, has been the very personal target of Hun Sen, for remarks he made as a yellow shirt supporter.
The ministry hired a lawyer for Sivarak - and he was fired by his client for botching the case. The ministry was waiting for a copy of the court verdict to study its options while Gen Chavalit already had his amnesty appeal ready.
Cambodia wanted a few days, maybe a few weeks, to let everyone stew, but the stage was clearly set and, as this column wrote two weeks ago, the point is near where Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterates he has no quarrel with Thailand, only with the government, and Cambodia ''takes its propaganda gains, releases the 'spy' and calls the whole thing off''.
In this drama, Sivarak's mother Simarak na Nakhon Phanom appeared as the tragic figure.
The prosecutor, Sivarak and Mrs Simarak all fingered a senior Thai diplomat at the embassy in Phnom Penh as the key figure in the case. First secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai was identified by all three as asking Sivarak for Thaksin's flight plan. But Mr Kamrob was kicked out of Cambodia and has not appeared in any of the public events surrounding the trial - and of course could not have been at the trial even if he had wanted.
Still, ''Where is Kamrob?'' sobbed Mrs Simarak immediately after the verdict. She called on the diplomat to ''act responsibly'' for getting her son in trouble.
Mrs Simarak, weeping over the fate of her son, bitter at the former first secretary, finally turned to the only obvious middleman.
On cue, Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh strode in, ready to invoke the name of party icon Thaksin Shinawatra and speak to the Khmer authorities about Sivarak. By coincidence, in fact, Gen Chavalit already had prepared a letter to Hun Sen, asking for help.
The foreign ministry found itself basically unable to help. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, from the beginning, has been the very personal target of Hun Sen, for remarks he made as a yellow shirt supporter.
The ministry hired a lawyer for Sivarak - and he was fired by his client for botching the case. The ministry was waiting for a copy of the court verdict to study its options while Gen Chavalit already had his amnesty appeal ready.
Cambodia wanted a few days, maybe a few weeks, to let everyone stew, but the stage was clearly set and, as this column wrote two weeks ago, the point is near where Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterates he has no quarrel with Thailand, only with the government, and Cambodia ''takes its propaganda gains, releases the 'spy' and calls the whole thing off''.
14 comments:
The more I read about political strategy of Hun Sen and his 8th grade background education, I think he is not stupid at all as a present leader and as a Cambodian strongman in Cambodia. He plays an excellent move to make Thailand looks so..............stupid to the world.
Keep up the good work, Ah Khwak!
why PM Hun Sen is so involved in Thai politics? I wish he spends more time to solve problem in impoverish Cambodia.
And he should position him well to improve his own image in the world stage.
7:16 AM
Don't be so..............stupid. Read the news and follow the region political events. If Thais don't fuck around with Preah Vihear, Hun Sen would leave them alone.
He is a Cambodian strongman with an 8th grade education in Cambodia. Don't fuck around with Ah Khmer Khwak "phnek mouy".
I personally do not hear the compensate from Thai while the Thai burnt khmer Village and Market on Donrek mountain and too many Cambodian who arrested and jail in Thai to be released ,why the King and Hun Sen bother to care the lil man that the court rewarded him seven years in jail and $8200.00 fined?
Oh perhaps they think they win over the Thai hearts?
Hahhhahahhah to me I think khmer leaders are so stupid lack of simple knowledge.
How much the Cambodian paid to Thai while Cambodian burnt down Thai Embassy? Now Thai burnt ours ,Jailed our khmer sisters brothers no one pay attention on?
khmer characters
I agree! our people being shot and killed, burned alive by Thais soldier and Thailand still not paying for the damaged for shelling, destroying khmer market...yet? Hun Sen still playing soft with Thailand?
Not only Hun Sen soft, the Khmer military commanders are soft and kissing SIAM's Azzzz!
You all are forgetting, Hun Sen recieves his script to act out on from Hanoi.
9:09am that is because these khmer military figures recieved their fake military diplomas from Hanoi. They bought it for cheap in Vietnam.
I'm so proud of our TING MONG Robot King.
This case has achieved many things, among them it has once again shown the world that Cambodia's judiciary is essentially a political tool. As I said yesterday, this does not instill confidence in business people coming to Cambodia to invest and who might need an impartial (free) judiciary. This case will serve to put off serious investors in Cambodia who hope to develop the country as well as do business. Certainly, Mr. Hun Sen has proved that he can meddle in Thai businesses in Cambodia, and with Thai nationals in Cambodia, and the Thai opposition have shown that they have better relations with Cambodia than do the current Thai government. Ultimately, however, what does this prove apart from Mr. Hun Sen is getting very close to being involved in Thai politics?
Let's hope the Thais like Thaksin enough not to take out their mistrust of Cambodians on the thousands who live and work in Thailand.
P.s. Mr. Hun Sen can't provide work for his citizens. The evil Thais can and have enough to spare for us to have some of the work they don't want or won't do. Mr Hun Sen has made us third class citizens in foreign countries and not first class citizens in our own.
This king can pardon this thai by request of Hun Sen, but not for Sam rainsy.
CPP khmer killer regime like pol pot.
Agree w/ 11:26AM.
Cambodians are like the Mexicans in United States.....third class citizen. They get a job that the Thai citizens don't want to do it or it's a hard labor job that pays too cheap.
They often get mistreated by their handler/boss. Not to mentioned, a lack of labor law to protect them.
It's hard to fathem or imagine that these very people shared a similiar background of ethnicity can treat other like slave.
11:29 AM
According to sources in Phnom Penh
today said, Hun Sen will not allow Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia. Sam Rainsy must face criminal trail and serves time in Prey Sar at least 10 years before he could run the public office again.
Some of his followers start defect to CPP more and more every day at inside and outside the country.
hahhahahah go to jail ten years for defending Cambodia encroaching from YOUN.
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