Livelihood at the Poipet border gate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UU0nuYiI_o

Thais SHOULD fight each other over border with Cambodia, we, Cambodians, urge you!

Walit: ‘We are ready to do our duty’

Thais must not fight each other over border

14/01/2011
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

Maj Gen Walit Rojanapakdi, commander of the Burapha Task Force, is in charge of security along the Thai-Cambodian border.

He tells Bangkok Post reporter WASSANA NANUAM that Thais should attempt to put aside their differences, as internal disunity will only please the country's enemies.

How will the Burapha Task Force cope with the Thai Patriots Network if it rallies and seals the Thai-Cambodian border in Sa Kaeo to protest against Cambodia's arrest of seven Thais for trespass?

Please do not close the border. That would not put any pressure on Cambodia. Do you think [prime minister] Hun Sen will release the seven Thais in response? No, he won't. Over 2,000 local people are praying for peace. If problems grow, they will be in trouble. They will not be able to do business.

The Thai Patriots Network wants to block Thai gamblers from visiting Cambodian casinos which it believes are the main sources of Hun Sen's income.

Yellows not allowed to close checkpoint

13/01/2011
Bangkok Post

The government will not allow supporters of the Thai Patriots Network to close the main border checkpoint in Sa Kaeo, as they threaten to do, Deputy Prime Minister for security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban said on Thursday.

Mr Suthep said other people’s rights would be abused if the checkpoint were closed. He had ordered state authorities in the border area to perform their duties as usual.

The yellow-shirts, rallying in front of Government House, are also planning to petition His Majesty the King, accusing the government of failing to help free the seven Thais being held in Cambodia,

Mr Suthep said the government and state authorities have been trying their best to get the seven Thais released.

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.

Thai Patriot Network cannot close Sa Kaeo border checkpoint: Suthep

BANGKOK, Jan 13 (MCOT online news) -- Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Thursday that the government will not allow the activist Thai Patriot Network to push its agenda and close the Sa Kaeo border checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district as threatened to urge the government to help seven Thais detained in Cambodia.

Mr Suthep said the government has given every assistance in trying to help the detainees, and he personally believed the talks were the best way to find a solution, He expressed confidence that using threats will not bear fruit.

As for the Thai Patriot Network's plan to rally at the Thai-Cambodian border area at Aranyaprathet and threaten to close the border to pressure the Thai and Cambodian governments to release the seven Thais, Mr Suthep said he has ordered local officials to carry out their duties as normal.

However, he said, the government would not let the political activist network close the border as it could violate the other people rights.

"The protesters could demonstrate in accordance with their rights but the border closure will not be allowed as the area is business area, the people of the two countries are crossing to each other territory. The government wants to see the good relations between the two countries and eases the rift," he said.

[Thai] 'Patriots' threaten [Poipet] checkpoint

Poipet border crossing

Closing border crossing 'would hurt Cambodia' [KI-Media Note: It will also affect Thai export!]

13/01/2011

Bangkok Post

A splinter group of the yellow shirt People's Alliance for Democracy is threatening to close a border checkpoint in Sa Kaeo to press for the release of seven Thais in a Cambodian jail.

The group's target is the permanent Aranyaprathet-Poipet checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district through which goods worth almost 30 billion baht pass each year.

Chaiwat Sinsuwong, a core member of the Thai Patriots Network, yesterday said the group needs to strike where it hurts Cambodia the most.

He said the closure would prevent Thai gamblers from crossing the border to visit casinos in Poipet and stem illicit activities along the border including contraband, drugs and illegal labour.

The town of Poipet houses a number of casinos, a prime source of income for Cambodia, and many Thais visit it.

Neighbours [Cambodia and Thailand] agree to new checkpoint

23/12/2010
Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post

PHNOM PENH: Thailand and Cambodia are pushing for the opening of a new border checkpoint to boost trade between the two countries.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kasit Piromya discussed the checkpoint with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his counterpart Hor Namhong when he met them this week to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The new checkpoint would be located at Ban Nong Eian in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo, opposite Stung Bot in Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province. The existing Poipet-Aranyaprathet border checkpoint is about seven kilometres further north.

"Both Thai and Cambodian officials in charge of the planned construction of the Nong Eian-Stung Bot checkpoint are working very hard to complete it within two years," Thailand's ambassador to Cambodia Prasas Prasasvinitchai said.

The new checkpoint would serve as an international trade route while the Poipet-Aranyaprathet border crossing would be used only for international tourist traffic, he said.

Mr Prasas said Thailand would reap many benefits from the cross-border trade using the new checkpoint.

The total value of trade between the two countries is estimated at 60 billion baht, 90% of which is Thai exports.

Thai businessmen could increase both the volume and the value of their exports through the checkpoint, he said.

The new checkpoint was raised several years ago but nothing concrete was done until Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power two years ago.

Mr Abhisit and Mr Kasit have held several talks with Cambodia to push for the checkpoint, which could be developed as a special economic zone.

Hun Sen also has said he wanted to turn those areas along the border which are now infested with landmines into a special economic zone.

Former Thai ambassador to Cambodia Poksak Nilubol, who now heads the Thailand-Cambodia Friendship Association, has also travelled to Phnom Penh to provide the Cambodian government with medical equipment and supplies to help improve services at three health centres in Oddar Meanchey province.

Scambodia: crossing the border from Aranya Prathet to Poipet

4th October 2010
Ruth Edwards
Impact Magazine

Don’t judge those that conduct the scams too harshly though. These scams are a product of need not greed. It is the Cambodian government that is really to blame as they pay their officials far too little. Many officials have had to ‘buy’ their positions from higher ranking officials and are forced to pay monthly installments to keep their jobs secure.

Busy borders are always filled with people wanting to make as much money out of naïve tourists as possible. However, out of all the borders I have ever crossed, none come close to what I experienced crossing from Aranya Prathet in Thailand to Poipet in Cambodia.

After arriving at Aranya Prathet we took a tuk tuk to the border, or at least that’s where we thought we were going. Instead we were taken to a building next to the Cambodian Consulate and experienced one of the most professional scams I have ever seen. We were met by very professional looking men who told us that we needed to stay with them to fill out forms and then they would go with us to the Cambodian Consulate next door where we would get a visa. We told them we thought we had received a visa at the border but they insisted we could only get one there. We were dubious, but only because we had been warned of scams at this border crossing, otherwise I would definitely have believed them. To start with we politely told them we would go there instead but all of them - even our tuk tuk drivers, who were obviously in on it - persisted to us that we needed to get our visas at the Consulate. It was only when I, very forcefully, demanded to be taken to the border that we finally went on our way.

The success of this scam lies not only in how official everything looks but also in the fact that you can get a visa from the Cambodian Consulate but it will cost up to 40 dollars, twice what you pay on the border. So you wouldn’t be aware of what had happened until you arrived to the border and realised you had been fooled.

After that narrow escape we carried on to the border and crossed over to the Cambodian side without a hitch. We went to the visa office, where we were subjected to another scam. Tourist visas cost 20 dollars but one of the officials, who was needlessly taking our passports to and from the visa desk, tried to charge us 100 baht for the ‘express service’, insisting it would take 2-3 hours otherwise. No signs mentioned anything about an extra charge and so we flatly refused to pay. As the man was talking to other tourists we took our passports to the desk ourselves and got our passports back in about 10 minutes.

Don’t judge those that conduct the scams too harshly though. These scams are a product of need not greed. It is the Cambodian government that is really to blame as they pay their officials far too little. Many officials have had to ‘buy’ their positions from higher ranking officials and are forced to pay monthly installments to keep their jobs secure. Just remember to keep your head and trust your guidebook and, like us, you will get through unscathed.

Kasit, Cambodia discuss bilateral issues

26/01/2009
BangkokPost.com

Foreign Affairs Minister Kasit Piromya on Monday will have a bilateral meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong on Monday.

Mr Kasit will use this opportunity to thank Cambodia for agreeing to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, scheduled to be held in Hua Hin between February 27 and March 1.

During the meeting, both ministers would discuss the plan to open a permanent Thai-Cambodian border checkpoint in Sakaeo province. They would discuss tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Mr Kasit may also ask for pardons for two Thai-Muslims who were sentenced to a life imprisonment by the Cambodian court on charges of being involved with the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

However, the ongoing border dispute around Preah Vihear temple in Si Sa Ket province would not be raised during this time.