Mon Dec 14, 2009
By Jared Ferrie
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra on Monday accused his country's government of using a Thai citizen jailed in Cambodia for spying as a pawn in an ugly diplomatic row with its neighbour.
The exiled Thaksin's latest swipe at the government came during his second visit in just over a month to Cambodia, which he is using as a base to attack his opponents and rally his supporters ahead of a big push to force new elections back home.
The billionaire, who is on the run from a prison sentence for abuse of power, helped secure a royal pardon last week for engineer Siwarak Chutipongse, whose case has attracted huge media attention in Thailand and kept the spotlight firmly on Thaksin.
"He's been used by the (Thai) ministry of foreign affairs," Thaksin said after meeting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who said Siwarak -- sentenced to seven years for leaking Thaksin's flight schedule in November -- was a "political victim".
In contrast, many commentators in Thailand believe Thaksin and Hun Sen have used the spy saga to fuel the row and discredit Bangkok. Many suggest the verdict and subsequent pardon were planned in advance.
On his Twitter page, Thaksin said Siwarak was "used as a tool in typical Thai style".
Critics have dismissed Thaksin's visits and his role in seeking the pardon as publicity stunts to raise his profile and show the Thai government in a bad light as it struggles with low poll ratings and myriad problems at home.
Hun Sen has openly backed the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai party in Thailand and calls the former tycoon his "eternal friend", who he says will not be extradited because his conviction was engineered by influential opponents keen to sideline him.
The extradition issue and Cambodia's asylum offer to Thaksin led to the recall and expulsion of diplomats and the freezing of bilateral agreements, including a pact to jointly develop untapped energy reserves in the Gulf of Thailand.
DIPLOMATIC STANDOFF
Neither side has made any move to restore diplomatic relations, now at their lowest point since January 2003, when Cambodian mobs vandalised Thai businesses in Phnom Penh and torched the Thai embassy over unsubstantiated rumours that an actress claimed an ancient Khmer temple belonged to Thailand.
Sirawak, an air traffic control engineer based in Phnom Penh, was accused of leaking Thaksin's flight details to a Thai diplomat. Cambodia then took temporary control of Thai-operated Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) and suspended Thai expatriates at the company.
In Bangkok, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Sirawak's arrest and release were "scripted and staged", adding it could take time to heal diplomatic rifts.
"(Relations) are not very good and Thaksin was the cause of many of the issues," Suthep told reporters.
"We have to find a way to fix things so they return to normal or at least with as little conflict as possible."
Thaksin plans to stay in Cambodia for several days and will hold seminars in his role as an economic adviser, government spokesman Phay Siphan said.
Analysts say Thaksin's continued presence in Cambodia could worsen a five-year political crisis in Thailand that has spooked investors and appears to be intensifying.
Twice elected in landslides and still highly popular among the poor, Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 but has since used his vast war chest to mobilise supporters and attack opponents from exile, laying the foundations for a future return to power.
(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak in Bangkok; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Alan Raybould and Bill Tarrant)
The exiled Thaksin's latest swipe at the government came during his second visit in just over a month to Cambodia, which he is using as a base to attack his opponents and rally his supporters ahead of a big push to force new elections back home.
The billionaire, who is on the run from a prison sentence for abuse of power, helped secure a royal pardon last week for engineer Siwarak Chutipongse, whose case has attracted huge media attention in Thailand and kept the spotlight firmly on Thaksin.
"He's been used by the (Thai) ministry of foreign affairs," Thaksin said after meeting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who said Siwarak -- sentenced to seven years for leaking Thaksin's flight schedule in November -- was a "political victim".
In contrast, many commentators in Thailand believe Thaksin and Hun Sen have used the spy saga to fuel the row and discredit Bangkok. Many suggest the verdict and subsequent pardon were planned in advance.
On his Twitter page, Thaksin said Siwarak was "used as a tool in typical Thai style".
Critics have dismissed Thaksin's visits and his role in seeking the pardon as publicity stunts to raise his profile and show the Thai government in a bad light as it struggles with low poll ratings and myriad problems at home.
Hun Sen has openly backed the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai party in Thailand and calls the former tycoon his "eternal friend", who he says will not be extradited because his conviction was engineered by influential opponents keen to sideline him.
The extradition issue and Cambodia's asylum offer to Thaksin led to the recall and expulsion of diplomats and the freezing of bilateral agreements, including a pact to jointly develop untapped energy reserves in the Gulf of Thailand.
DIPLOMATIC STANDOFF
Neither side has made any move to restore diplomatic relations, now at their lowest point since January 2003, when Cambodian mobs vandalised Thai businesses in Phnom Penh and torched the Thai embassy over unsubstantiated rumours that an actress claimed an ancient Khmer temple belonged to Thailand.
Sirawak, an air traffic control engineer based in Phnom Penh, was accused of leaking Thaksin's flight details to a Thai diplomat. Cambodia then took temporary control of Thai-operated Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) and suspended Thai expatriates at the company.
In Bangkok, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Sirawak's arrest and release were "scripted and staged", adding it could take time to heal diplomatic rifts.
"(Relations) are not very good and Thaksin was the cause of many of the issues," Suthep told reporters.
"We have to find a way to fix things so they return to normal or at least with as little conflict as possible."
Thaksin plans to stay in Cambodia for several days and will hold seminars in his role as an economic adviser, government spokesman Phay Siphan said.
Analysts say Thaksin's continued presence in Cambodia could worsen a five-year political crisis in Thailand that has spooked investors and appears to be intensifying.
Twice elected in landslides and still highly popular among the poor, Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 but has since used his vast war chest to mobilise supporters and attack opponents from exile, laying the foundations for a future return to power.
(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak in Bangkok; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Alan Raybould and Bill Tarrant)
4 comments:
អ្នកដឹកនាំប្រទេសគេត្រូវតែធ្វើឥញ្ចឹងមិនដួចលោកសមរង្សីទេចេះតែដើបង្កររឿងមិនឈរឈប់សោះអស់ពីរឿងមួយដល់រឿងមួយទៀត!បើគ្រាន់បើម្តេចក៏មិននិយាយខាងសៀមផង?សៀមវាយកដីខ្មែរធំជាងយួនទៅទៀតគឺ២៥ខេត្តរបស់ខ្មែរពីដើមហេតុអ្វីបានជាលោកសមរង្សីមិននិយាយផង?
Hun Hen nearly crazy with political in present. A lob ,bithch.
I do hope Taksin is "Tai Rouges" like the Khmer Rouges in the past. The real Thai people must care.
អាចោលស្រុក ជួបនឹងអាចោរ
ស្រុកទៀតហើយ !
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