Hopes rise as Thaksin quits post

Abhisit: ‘‘Clearing the way to normalcy’’

Neighbours decide to send back envoys

24/08/2010
Thanida Tansubhapol, Aekarach Sattaburuth and AFP
Bangkok Post

A [Thai] government source said the move by Thaksin to resign his post was a result of talks at several levels between Thai and Cambodia on the stumbling blocks to improving relations if the former premier remained an adviser to Phnom Penh. Thaksin was forced to resign the position so relations between the two countries could move ahead, the source said.

The resignation of Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser to Cambodia and subsequent return of Thailand's ambassador to Phnom Penh have boosted hopes of an easing of diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

"I believe that the normalised relations with the reinstatement of the ambassadors will clear the way for the two countries to more easily resolve all problems," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

Thailand has decided to return its ambassador to Cambodia, Prasas Prasasvinitchai, to Phnom Penh today after ousted premier Thaksin yesterday resigned from his controversial advisory role.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Thaksin's resignation satisfied a Thai condition - that he not play a role in the Cambodian government - before bilateral ties could return to normal.

A spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, Koy Kuong, said in Phnom Penh that Cambodia was ready to send back its ambassador You Aye to Bangkok once Thailand's envoy had returned.

Cambodia said Thaksin had stepped down "because of personal difficulties in fulfilling his role completely".

"The Cambodian government accepts the request by His Excellency Thaksin Shinawatra with thanks to the contributions that he has made to the Cambodian economy," a statement said.

Mr Kasit said: "I would like to thank the Cambodian government for the intention to move forward our relations."

Thailand recalled its ambassador one day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed Thaksin to the advisory role on Nov 4 last year. Cambodia responded by ordering You Aye to return to the Cambodian capital on Nov 6.

A government source said the move by Thaksin to resign his post was a result of talks at several levels between Thai and Cambodia on the stumbling blocks to improving relations if the former premier remained an adviser to Phnom Penh. Thaksin was forced to resign the position so relations between the two countries could move ahead, the source said.

Thailand expected good news from Cambodia regarding Thaksin even before it was officially announced by Phnom Penh, the source said.

But Thaksin's legal adviser, Noppadon Pattama, denied the allegation that Thaksin was forced to step down. "I can confirm that the resignation was voluntary to benefit ties between the two countries," Mr Noppadon said.

It was Thaksin's intention to quit the role because his business engagements overseas gave him no time to work for the Cambodian government, he said.

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith also said yesterday Thaksin's resignation was unrelated to the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, saying the former prime minister had resigned because he was "busy with a lot of work".

The normalising of relations comes ahead of a planned meeting in Brussels in October between the Thai and Cambodian prime ministers to resolve their conflicts on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting summit.

Ties between the two countries have been strained since July 2008 by a series of deadly border clashes over land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple after it was granted world heritage status under Cambodian stewardship.

The two countries stepped up their war of words over the territorial spat recently, with Hun Sen warning it could lead to fresh bloodshed, after Thailand blocked the Cambodian management plan for the temple and its buffer zone at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil last month.

Thailand opposed the plan on the grounds that part of the buffer zone included the disputed area which it said should be settled first.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the Thai foreign minister, said Thailand's position on the Preah Vihear temple remained unchanged despite the resignation of Thaksin from his advisory role to Phnom Penh.

Thailand was ready to talk with Cambodia to try to settle the problem, he said, and the return of the respective ambassadors to Thailand and Cambodia would pave the way for better diplomatic relations.

The Foreign Ministry yesterday sent a letter to the Cambodian interior ministry to ask permission for Thai diplomats based in Phnom Penh to visit three Thais detained at a prison in Siem Reap.

Sanong Wongcharoen, Lim Puangpet and Lan Sapsri were arrested last Wednesday in O'Smach in Oddar Meanchey province, opposite Surin, for entering Cambodian territory illegally.

Surin governor Raphee Phongbuphakit phoned staff he sent to Siem Reap and learned they had visited the three Thai villagers and provided them with food.

Mr Raphee is waiting for a response from the Siem Reap governor after he wrote to him on Friday to seek the release of Thais who unintentionally entered Cambodian territory.