Thai activists vow to ramp up tensions

Thu, Jan 13, 2011
The Nation/Asia News Network

As the trial of the seven detained Thais dragged on in Phnom Penh and the Thai government struggled to get them released quickly, the Thai Patriots Network yesterday threatened to escalate tensions with Cambodia.

"If the government won't take any action, the network will bring people to shut the border gate by ourselves," leader Chaiwat Sinsuwong said.

The border crossing at Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaew province, opposite Poipet in Cambodia, is the major gateway for trade and tourism between the two countries, with billions of baht of goods in transit per year.

Foot traffic has dropped by 60 per cent since last month after the arrest of the seven Thais, said Benjaphon Rodsawasdi, deputy commander of Sa Kaew Immigration Police.

The number of travellers crossing the checkpoint from either side has plunged from 3,000 to only 1,000 per day, he said.

The Thai Patriots Network, which is associated with the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), called for a major rally in front of Government House in Bangkok today to pressure the government to seal off the border.

The border area is basically under martial law, which authorises the military to control the situation and movement of people.

Colonel Thanathip Sawangsaeng, spokesman for the Defence Ministry, said the Burapha Task Force and Sa Kaew governor would look after the situation. The Thai Patriots Network could gather at the border area as long as it maintained law and order, he said.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said the group should not do anything to make the situation more complicated and difficult to resolve.

The network got angry after the government failed to rescue the seven Thais - including yellow-shirt activist Veera Somkwamkid and Democrat Party lawmaker Panich Vikitsreth - from the Cambodian prison.

The seven were taken into custody by Cambodian authorities late last month near Ban Nong Chan in Sa Kaew while they were inspecting the disputed border area. The Foreign Ministry said they had walked 55 metres into Cambodia.

All seven were charged with illegal entry into the country and illegal entry into a military zone, with a possible combined sentence of 18 months.

Veera and his close aide Ratree Pipatanapaiboon were also charged later with espionage for alleged attempts to collect information that might compromise Cambodia's national security. That charge could bring them a maximum 10-year imprisonment.

They were taken to court to testify again yesterday but Veera refused to speak via the court-appointed Khmer interpreter and requested an interpreter from the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, Chavanond said.

It was a court regulation not to allow interpreters from outside to provide services to defendants, he said.

Veera told reporters shortly before entering the courtroom that "they're trying to force me to accept the accusation".

Veera's action prolonged the hearing while the other five detainees were still waiting for the court's decision on their requests to be freed on bail.

The Thai Patriots Network accused their government of taking no effective action to put pressure on Phnom Penh to send the group back. They argued that the seven had been arrested in Thai territory and the Cambodian court had no authority to try them.

Thailand and Cambodia are in conflict over the boundary at many spots including the areas adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear and Ban Nong Chan.

The Cabinet had approved more than Bt500 million (S$21.2 million) for military readiness to protect the border with Cambodia, Thanathip said.

The budget was allocated for an emergency situation, and was not a secret budget as reported by the media, he said. The military would spend the money for logistics supplies to its mission to defend the border.