Two yellow shirts face espionage charges

January 12, 2011
By Piyanart Srivalo
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Detained yellow-shirt activists Veera Somkwamkid and his secretary face a new trial over charges of espionage, which could have them facing severe punishment in Cambodia, while the Thai government faces more difficulties in trying to help.

The Cabinet okayed a budget of more than Bt500 million for preparing the military to protect the border, as yellow-shirt activists mount further pressure on the government to help their detained colleagues.

Only Veera, who is leader of a People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) faction called the Thailand Patriots Network, and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, will be tried today, while the other five Thai nationals, including Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth, await court decision on their bail request.

"The additional charge faced by Veera and Ratree is causing more difficulty for the government to seek ways to help them," Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, the foreign minister's secretary, said.

The seven Thai nationals were arrested late last month while allegedly inspecting the disputed border area near Sa Kaew province's Ban Nong Chan district. This was Veera's second arrest since he was briefly held once last August.

Thailand and Cambodia have been disputing over this area since the late 1970s, but information from the Royal Thai Survey Department and the Foreign Ministry indicates that the group had walked 55 metres deeper into Cambodian territory.

This statement infuriated the yellow-shirt PAD movement, who labelled Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and many other ministry officials as "traitors". They insist that the men were on Thai territory when they were arrested, and dismissed Cambodia's authority to prosecute them.

Kasit instructed concerned officials at the ministry yesterday to rephrase the statement, saying that "the group had gone beyond the [existing but unsettled] boundary line to an area that is effectively under the control of Cambodia". This is despite the fact that it was Kasit himself who had publicly said earlier that the group had walked 55 metres into Cambodian territory.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that from now on, the Cabinet only authorised the Foreign Ministry to provide information about the plight of the seven detainees in order to avoid confusion. Even the prime minister would not say anything on the matter, he said.

"All I have to say is that we have three policies for this: first we have to take care of and do our best to help the seven detainees; second we have to maintain good bilateral relations; and third we have to protect our sovereignty," Abhisit said.

During the Cabinet meeting yesterday, Abhisit brought up the issue of the detainees, saying that though Panich and the rest were not too well, they were in good spirits.

Kasit, meanwhile, told the Cabinet that he expected the Cambodian court to issue a verdict by this week but he did not know exactly when.

In related news, Defence Minister Pravit Wongsuwan has asked for a "secret" budget of Bt517 million for the military to take care of security matters in the border areas with Cambodia, a source said.

Thailand has boundary conflicts with Cambodia in many locations, including the areas near Ban Nong Chan and near the Preah Vihear temple.

The government dispatched the Thailand-Cambodia joint boundary committee's new chief, Asda Jayanama, to Phnom Penh yesterday to help seek solutions for the boundary dispute. Asda met his counterpart Var Kimhong and agreed to carry on negotiations to settle the conflict peacefully. The JBC chief is connected to the yellow-shirt movement.