By Prak Chan Thul
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia denied on Tuesday accusations from neighbouring Thailand that a Cambodian military base was used to train Thais linked to a plot to assassinate Thailand's leaders.
Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said on Monday 11 Thai men arrested in northern Thailand last week were among 39 "red-shirt" protesters who trained in Cambodia after fleeing Thailand following military clamp-down on anti-government protests in May.
"The Thais always put the blame on Cambodia when they cannot solve their internal problems," said Koy Kuong, a spokesman at Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The accusations threaten to rekindle tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbours whose relations have deteriorated over border disputes and Cambodia's ties to former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose 2006 ouster triggered Thailand's four-year-old political crisis.
This comes as Thailand stepped up security following a series of mysterious bomb blasts in the capital last week. A blast that killed four people on October 6 in a suburban Bangkok flat had raised fears of a possible radicalisation of some anti-government protesters in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.
"These 11 red fighters were fed misinformation and brainwashed through videos and CDs which were anti-monarchy," Lieutenant Colonel Payao Thongsen, a DSI senior investigator, told a news conference in Bangkok. Thailand's strict les majeste laws prohibit discussion of the Thai monarchy.
He said the men were trained to use weapons and explosives at a military base in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, near the Thai border. Thongsen based his accusations on the detainees' confessions and confiscated maps of the homes of Thai leaders.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed last November after Cambodia appointed Thaksin as economic advisor. He is believed to be a source of funds for the "red shirt" anti-government protesters who clashed with Thai troops in April and May.
Relations were normalised when Thaksin resigned from the position in August, although Thai officials continued to express concerns about links between the Cambodian government and the "red shirts."
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has not commented on the accusations by the DSI, who has been criticised frequently by the opposition as a political tool for the government.
(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Ambika Ahuja; Editing by Jason Szep and Tomasz Janowski)
Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said on Monday 11 Thai men arrested in northern Thailand last week were among 39 "red-shirt" protesters who trained in Cambodia after fleeing Thailand following military clamp-down on anti-government protests in May.
"The Thais always put the blame on Cambodia when they cannot solve their internal problems," said Koy Kuong, a spokesman at Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The accusations threaten to rekindle tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbours whose relations have deteriorated over border disputes and Cambodia's ties to former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose 2006 ouster triggered Thailand's four-year-old political crisis.
This comes as Thailand stepped up security following a series of mysterious bomb blasts in the capital last week. A blast that killed four people on October 6 in a suburban Bangkok flat had raised fears of a possible radicalisation of some anti-government protesters in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.
"These 11 red fighters were fed misinformation and brainwashed through videos and CDs which were anti-monarchy," Lieutenant Colonel Payao Thongsen, a DSI senior investigator, told a news conference in Bangkok. Thailand's strict les majeste laws prohibit discussion of the Thai monarchy.
He said the men were trained to use weapons and explosives at a military base in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, near the Thai border. Thongsen based his accusations on the detainees' confessions and confiscated maps of the homes of Thai leaders.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed last November after Cambodia appointed Thaksin as economic advisor. He is believed to be a source of funds for the "red shirt" anti-government protesters who clashed with Thai troops in April and May.
Relations were normalised when Thaksin resigned from the position in August, although Thai officials continued to express concerns about links between the Cambodian government and the "red shirts."
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has not commented on the accusations by the DSI, who has been criticised frequently by the opposition as a political tool for the government.
(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Ambika Ahuja; Editing by Jason Szep and Tomasz Janowski)
6 comments:
"The Thais always put the blame on Cambodia when they cannot solve their internal problems," said Koy Kuong, a spokesman at Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Yes this is a typical Siem.
But your Prime Minister is always goes along with Abhisit.
Khmer is saying :
Hun Xen Gnere Dorch Chker Deing Tontine "
If this is true , I won't be surprised because killing is nothing new to Hun Sen and CPP . Hun Sen orderes alot of people kill during the coup against Ranarith . Hun Sen got hundreds of million dollars in the Bank and paying one or two millions to whoever can kill Abhisit its just like a cup of water from the jar.
Lets get some documents and video showing that those Thai have been training in Cambodia by CPP members and then take Hun Sen to Internation Court for supporting terrorists.
documents and videos can be fake! they are made to achieved your dirty game objectives!
Don't deny it Hun Xen! that is a dirty mind between you and your boss Hanoi!
If you are not guilty for any wrong doing please resolve diplomatically with our neighbor for Khmer sake, specially our poor soldiers, not to fight for a few big brothers, millionaire dollars....
The truth will tell, you can hide but you can not run from the truth..
Please resolve Cambodia - Thai conflict with diplomatic diaglogue or International legal framework.
You can do the same with Viet as well in accordane to Paris agreement October 1991.
Hope Khmer leader open eye for long term benificial for all the Khmer people.
Love Khmer
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