[Thai] Democrat MP among 7 arrested by Cambodia

Thu, Dec 30, 2010
The Nation/Asia News Network

Thailand: MP Panich Vikitsreth of the ruling Democrat Party and six yellow-shirt activists including Veera Somkwamkid will be tried and held in prison in Phnom Penh today, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reportedly said after they were arrested yesterday while inspecting the Sa Kaeo border.

"I believe that the location where I was inspecting is under Thai sovereignty," Panich told The Nation by phone. "The 46th boundary monument that indicates the territory of the two countries is situated in the area."

Panich said his group was walking in a paddy field when eight or nine Cambodian soldiers took them into custody at 11am.

The disputed area in Ban Nong Chan village of Sa Kaeo's Khok Sung district has been claimed by Thailand and Cambodia for decades after a group of Cambodians fled from war to settle there.

Ban Nong Chan residents regard Sri Pen Road as the de facto boundary line and refrain from crossing over to the Cambodian side.

Panich, who is a member of the House committee on boundary affairs and a former vice foreign minister, said he needed to inspect the disputed area after locals complained that Cambodians occupied Thai territory.

Panich's group also included activist Samdin Lertbutr of the Dharma Army Foundation, who has close connections with Chamlong Srimuang, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy.

Nationalist Veera claimed Cambodia intruded on to Thai soil at many places, including the areas adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear. Veera and his group were briefly held by Cambodian authorities in August when they also were inspecting the disputed area near Ban Nong Chan.

Panich made a phone call to inform Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Democrat Party's headquarters in Bangkok about his arrest.

Maj-General Walit Rojanapakdi, commander of the Burapha Task Force, which oversees the area, assigned a team to negotiate with Cambodian authorities on releasing Panich and his group.

After the talks at the local level failed, the group was sent to Phnom Penh to begin undergoing prosecution for illegal entry, said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the Thai foreign minister. The ministry would try its best and provide legal assistance to help the Panich group return home, he said.

Hun Sen said: "They were measuring Thai territory inside Cambodian territory. So Cambodia has the right to arrest them."

He said the seven would be taken from the border in the northwestern province if Banteay Meanchey to the capital, where they would be charged and then locked up awaiting trial.

"They will be sent to the court on Thursday and when the court charges them, they will be jailed in Prey Sar prison," Hun Sen was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.

He said he hoped the incident would not affect relations between the two countries.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over border disputes in recent years after Thailand moved to block Cambodia's proposal to list Preah Vihear as a world heritage site. The temple was ruled by the International Court of Justice in 1962 as situated inside Cambodia, but Bangkok has argued that the surrounding areas belong to Thailand.

Negotiations to settle the boundary conflict have moved at a snail's pace, as the Joint Boundary Commission cannot proceed with talks without approval from Parliament.