Cambodia denies Thai ex-PM Thaksin made citizen

2010-02-05
By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

Cambodia on Friday denied a report that Thailand's disgraced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been granted citizenship, an allegation that had drawn threats in Bangkok that the billionaire ex-politician could lose his native Thai nationality.

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the allegation, which surfaced earlier this week on "Khmer Intelligence News," a Cambodian anti-government Web site, was untrue.

"Cambodia never granted Cambodian citizenship to Thaksin," Khieu Kanharith told The Associated Press. "Even if Cambodia would give him citizenship, I think that Thaksin would not accept it."

Cambodia late last year named Thaksin, a fugitive from justice in Thailand, as its special economic adviser. The appointment and Thaksin's subsequent visit to Cambodia angered the government in Bangkok and resulted in a recall of ambassadors from both countries.

Thaksin has lived in self-imposed exile since 2006 military coup ousted him. He was convicted in absentia in 2008 of violating a conflict of interest law and sentenced to two years in prison, and his Thai passport has been revoked, forcing him to travel on other countries' passports.

His representatives could not be reached for comment Friday.

Thai officials frequently claim he is trying to undermine the government.

"I don't know about this report yet, but according to Thai laws, we are allowed to have only one nationality," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit told reporters Friday. "If he wants to use Cambodian nationality, he must give up Thai nationality first."

Cambodian-Thai relations are also strained over competing claims to some territory along their border near the hilltop temple known as Preah Vihear. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is to visit the area Saturday. Troops from the two nations had at least two brief clashes there last month.

Cambodia on Friday sent a letter of protest to Google, complaining that maps on its Google Earth service inaccurately place the border line near the disputed territory to favor Thailand's claims.

It called on the company to withdraw the "already disseminated, very wrong and not internationally recognized" map.

Abhisit says Thaksin must forego Thai citizenship if he becomes Cambodian

February 5, 2010
The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday that former prime Thaksin Shinawatra will have to forego his Thai citizenship if he wants to become a Cambodian citizen.

Abhsiit was commenting on reports that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen would give Cambodian citizenship to Thaksin.

Abhsit said he has not been formally informed of Thaksin being naturalized Cambodian.

"But by the standard of Thai laws, a Thai citizen must hold a single citizenship. If he wants to become a Cambodian citizen, he must forego the Thai citizenship," Abhisit said.

Info from Khmer Intelligence News could put Thaksin in hot water

Probe into Thaksin’s 'khmer nationality'

5/02/2010
Bangkok Post

The Foreign Ministry will investigate a report on a Cambodian blog that former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was granted Cambodian citizenship and issued with a Cambodian passport in March last year.

“The ministry had earlier asked Cambodian authorities about this issue, but had never received a response," the foreign minister's secretary-general, Chavanont Intharakomalsuth said on Friday afternoon.

"A serious effort will be made to check on this again," Mr Chavanont said.

The blogspot KI-media made the claim in a "Khmer Intelligence News" report posted on Feb 1:

The report said: Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra obtained a Cambodian passport in the last week of March 2009. The Royal Decree granting Thaksin Khmer citizenship was signed off by CPP and Senate President Chea Sim in his capacity then as Acting Head of State. King Norodom Sihamoni had been “advised” to unexpectedly but discretely leave Cambodia for France in that last week of March 2009 in order to keep secret the CPP decision to grant Khmer citizenship to thaksin. http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html

Democrat Party spokesman raised the report today.

“This has enabled Thaksin to obtain a passport and conveniently travel to and from Cambodia,” Mr Buranat said, adding that he had referred the matter to Mr Chavanont.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday that he had no knowledge of Thaksin having changed his nationality, but he insisted that Thaksin can have only one nationality at a time.

If he had Cambodian nationality, he would have to give up his Thai nationality, he said.

[Siem] FM to probe Thaksin’s nationality

5/02/2010
Bangkok Post

The Foreign Ministry will recheck a news report that ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shnawatra has been given a Cambodian nationality since 2008, secretary-general to the foreign minister Chavanont Intharakomalsuth said on Friday afternoon.

“The ministry had already made an initial double-check with the Cambodian authority but has received no response. A serious recheck will be further carried out”, Mr Chavanont said.

Buranat Samutrak, spokesman of the Democrat Party, earlier this after noon claimed that the Intelligent News [Khmer Intelligence News], a Cambodian news agency, had on Feb 1 reported that Thaksin has received Cambodian nationality since March 2008.

King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia had directed relevant Cambodian officials to keep this matter a top secret, he added.

“This has been able Thaksin to obtain passport and conveniently travel to and from Cambodia”, Mr Buranat said. He had forwarded the document to Mr Chavanont for fact finding.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday that he had no knowledge about changing nationality of Thaksin. But he insisted that Thaksin can have only one nationality.

If he gained Cambodian nationality, he would have to abandon the Thai one, he said.

HRP wants stats on immigration

Thursday, 10 December 2009
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

Ou Chanrith, a lawmaker for the Human Rights Party, has written a second letter to Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, asking him to provide statistics on the number of immigrants who have been naturalised as Cambodian citizens during the past decade. “[People] are concerned because there are many immigrants. If they are naturalised foreigners who entered [Cambodia] illegally, they should be sent back,” he said in the letter.

The Cambodian naturalization of Vietnamese immigrants

30 September 2007
By Kim Pov Sottan
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The Cambodian naturalization for Vietnamese immigrants in Cambodia is a difficult and complicated matter, but, it becomes very easy if these immigrants are willing to bribe.

Sien Sam Bun is the Cambodian name of a 62-year-old Vietnamese man living in Chrauy Changvar, Phnom Penh city. He said that he was born there, and he received the Cambodian nationality, however, for some Vietnamese who are not born here, the Cambodian naturalization is not a difficult problem. All they have to do is bribe the authority and the story will end there, however, they must change their names and adopt a Cambodian name, or they have to declare a fake birthplace in Cambodia.

Sien Sam Bun said: “We take (the Cambodian nationality) for one period of time only to ease the living condition, we are not immigrants, we have the citizenship, some are naturalized, there’s no problem. Only the old bald men who have dollars (in their pocket) can be naturalized. If we talk about it, the issue can be extended further and further, so I make it short, (otherwise) they will say that we are opposing them (the Cambodian authorities), (that we bring in) corruption because of that.”

Several thousands of Vietnamese families living on the Tonle Sap Lake, in Kampong Chhnang province, all have their Vietnamese immigrant identification cards issued by the Ministry of Interior.

Nguyen Thi Thu, a 37-year-old woman, living in Kandal village, Phsar Chhnang commune, Kampong Chhnang province, claimed that she came to live here 7-year now, but she did not obtain the Cambodian citizenship yet. The authority wouldn’t allow her to be naturalized, and even her daughter who was born here is not a citizen: “We live here a while, then move to another place, we have no place to go, they wouldn’t let us in…”

Nguyen Van Bu, a 53-year-old man who can speak Cambodian without accent, claimed that he was born in Kampong Os, Kampong Chhnang province, however, he does not have the Cambodian citizenship, and he still lives at the same place. He said that he fled to Vietnam during the KR era, and there, the Vietnamese authority considered him as an immigrant also.

Nguyen Van Bu said: “I want to be naturalized but I don’t know what happen with the Cambodian government when it comes to people like me who came here since 1983. I was born in Cambodia, but because of the war, I went to Vietnam, and when I returned back from Vietnam and arrived in Cambodia, I was considered a refugee, an immigrant, the same way it was, they don’t give me the citizenship for several years now. If I was actually from Vietnam and just arrive here, then when they don’t give me the citizenship, that’s fine by me. If I was born here, and since 1983 I came here, I went to Vietnam because of the war, if there was no war, I wouldn’t go back.”

Nguyen Van Bu said that his living condition is very difficult because in Cambodia, he is considered an immigrant, and when he lived in Vietnam, he was also considered an immigrant as well: “It’s difficult, in short, jobs for immigrants are not the same as for actual Cambodians, the jobs (finding) is difficult, the traveling for us, as immigrants, is like for refugees, we are being followed.”

Le Vung Khanh, a 25-year-old Vietnamese man living on a boat and who also speaks Cambodian clearly, added that there is no difficulties at all, currently, if someone wants to be naturalized, all they have to do is to bribe the authority, and the issue will be solved. However, he said that, for himself, he doesn’t want to bribe because he has no money, even though he knows that the Cambodian naturalization helps in the living condition.

Le Vung Khanh said: “In my family, it cost $200 each (in bribe for the naturalization), we are three at home, it will cost us $600, when you multiply $600 by 2 millions (Vietnamese immigrant families?) … and my father is already over 60, why should I be naturalized, it’s a waste of money. But, for Cambodians, business is very easy, first of all, it’s easy to travel, and secondly, wherever we go, nobody dares do anything to us.”

Among the Vietnamese living on the Tonle Sap, none of them have the Cambodian citizenship, they only have an Vietnamese immigrant identification card, even though some claim that they were born here, and that they want to become Cambodian citizens in order to ease their living condition.

Up to now, the Ministry of Interior did not yet provide the number of Vietnamese immigrants in Cambodia who were naturalized, and those who didn’t.

However, Sim Chi, the president of the Vietnamese associations in Cambodia, claimed that among the 100,000 Vietnamese living in Cambodia, half of them have been naturalized: “Those who obtained the paperwork from the authority (for their naturalization), they number about 50%.”

Sim Chi claimed that the naturalization of Vietnamese people was done after they fulfilled their legal duties, such as being born here, speak Cambodian, respect the culture, etc…

This claim was rejected by opposition MP Son Chhay. He indicated that the Cambodian naturalization was very strict starting from the colonial period. To the contrary, currently, the naturalization is conducted like a fanfare mainly because of corruption.

Son Chhay said: “Lately, we have not seen any request document by Vietnamese people to be naturalized as Cambodian, (and the reason for this is because) the national institution for nationality is too lax. We observe that there is a large number of Vietnamese do not have to make a legal request anymore, all they have to do is to bribe the police officers, then they can obtain all the paperwork and the naturalization very easily. Some don’t even know how to speak a single word of Cambodian and they have Cambodian citizenships also.”

The nationality law in Cambodia contains 19 articles stipulating that immigrants from all nations, who came to live in Cambodia legally, or if they were born in Cambodia, for 7 years, or if they are married with a Cambodian citizen, they have the right to be naturalized, but this can be done only after the king signs a legal decree to the effect.

Son Chhay said that a large number of Vietnamese people living in Cambodia, are illegal, and he never saw the king signing any decree allowing the naturalization of these Vietnamese people, but to the contrary, at each election, the opposition party always has to demand to the National Election Committee (NEC) to erase the names of Vietnamese immigrants who hold Cambodian identification cards.