On Saturday, a Thai soldier died after slipping while on patrol and accidently shooting himself, an army spokesman said
KANTARALAK, Thailand, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Saturday he would seek face-to-face talks with Cambodian leader Hun Sen after a border clash near a 900-year-old temple this week.
"I am looking for the right time to talk with him. We should have an opportunity to talk," Somchai told reporters after visiting Thai troops facing Cambodian forces along the border.
The Thai leader echoed Hun Sen's comments on Friday that outside mediation was not needed to resolve the dispute. "This is an issue between Thailand and Cambodia. We should not let other countries get involved," Somchai said.
Both sides have sought to ease tensions since three Cambodian soldiers were killed in Wednesday's 40-minute firefight. Two Cambodians and seven Thais were wounded.
Both leaders were expected to attend a Southeast Asian meeting in Beijing next week to discus the global financial crisis, but it was not clear whether they would meet then on the sidelines.
"At this moment, there is no change in schedule. After talking to him late yesterday, the prime minister will go to Beijing as planned," government spokesman Nattawut Saikuar told Reuters.
On Saturday, a Thai soldier died after slipping while on patrol and accidently shooting himself, an army spokesman said.
The armies have agreed to conduct joint border patrols and to hold more talks on reducing their forces around the Hindu temple, a source of border tension for generations.
Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who has ruled Cambodia for more than two decades, said on Friday the stand-off would not escalate into a wider and more serious conflict.
Some analysts link the eruption of fighting on the border to the political instability that has roiled Thailand for the past three years, and reached another climax this week when Somchai faced calls from his own generals to quit.
Army chief Anupong Paochinda's televised interview on Thursday, in which he said Somchai should step down after bloody clashes between police and anti-government protesters last week, ignited fresh coup rumours two years after former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a bloodless putsch.
But Somchai refused on Friday to resign or call a snap election, saying Anupong was expressing "one opinion".
Somchai said an investigation of the Oct. 7 street clash, which killed two protesters and injured nearly 500, would be completed in 15 days and decide who was responsible.
Analysts read Anupong's remarks as an attempt by the army, which is under pressure from the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), to undermine Somchai so much that he jumps without the need for a full-blown coup.
"As expected, (Somchai's) response puts the ball straight back in the military's court," the Nation newspaper said in an editorial on Saturday.
Somchai, Thaksin's brother-in-law and a political novice, came to power in September after a court removed his predecessor, Samak Sundaravej, for hosting a cooking show on commercial television while in office.
The political crisis dates back to 2005 when the PAD, which has the explicit backing of Queen Sirikit, launched street protests against Thaksin. It has meandered through a coup to elections and back to protests and shows no signs of resolution.
Even if Somchai did call a snap election, lingering rural support for Thaksin would be likely to return a broadly pro-Thaksin government, putting it on a collision course once again with the royalist and military elite in Bangkok.
(Additional reporting by Pisit Changplayngam; Writing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
14 comments:
This war is not the civil war between Khmers.
In This war, kampuchea defends itself against the Siamese aggression.
The defence of the homeland concerns all the Khmers. Everybody has to participate in the defence of the nation.
Prisoners must be sent to the front to dig trenches and fortifications. Their punishments will be reduced.
The prisoners which make a commitment in the army to fight will be pardoned.
And the single Khmer girls who have no children to bring up, why they do not make a commitment in the army? The equality between the women and the men do not exist during the war?
Our men soldiers will be less alone to make the patrol and will be comforted if you the neary khmères: laphany phana, pholla, bopha, thida, you patrol in uniform with them in the front.
Our héroines khmères phana, pholla, bopha, thida, laphany , sothy, .....where are you?
It's not you my boss.If Hun and zihanouk pay us 500$/month why not?
I'll go with Bunrany manet Arunrasmey pong chiv gehk.
Hi, the single Khmers girls ,
engage you in the army, choose a noble profession, become a soldier!
There is no place for women at the front.
Don't be stupid.
The guy shot himself!!!!
Sigh...
Somchai the problem with you is your not the boss of your country. Also the problem with the Thai is that they say one thing now and the day after they don't remember what they said the day before.
And you have a new map every 50 years.
My personal feeling is that in order to avoid another coup by top military officiers, the current Thai government needs to make the border clash happen at any cost. So, the Thai public would focus more on border clash than the coup itself. It will bring a bad image to the coup planners if they wish to go while border stand off still continues. It would make thing complicated for coup planners to mobilize the troops for the coup. The public would punish them. That's why Thai PM needs to get closer to the local Thai commanders. PM won't prefer clash, but just a stand off and sometimes fighting because soldiers are human and their patiece is limited. It's a political game in Thai politics. The question is do Khmers want to play the game with them or do we really need to think about the territory? The latter is to have international mediation, but Thai government won't choose it at least until the threat from coup planners is over.
Whether Khmer government wants to play the game with them or not, lives of Khmer soldiers need to be protected and treated fairly.
If a large scale conflict happens, Thais would be united, and the military will take the government completely. Somchai never wants this to happen either. It's a tough situation there. If coup fails, there is a high risk for the coup planners and those behind them.
In my opinion, Khmers should not involve with their game for the best interest of the nation. Thais ALWAYS get advantages while we were in troubles. Why not we? We should focus more on economic development and leave the works to the international communities because we have law and peace accord. Just like Singapore, the more we have strong economics and humand resources, no one would touch us. Hun Sen should really think about this.
In all the nations and the big countries of the world, there are men and women who serve in their armies: US, Russia, China......
It is a question, of defending our country against the Siamese aggression.
It is not the civil war between Khmers!
You need strong gov.t ready to protect the people! That's how things work! Guess what your gov.t has done enough to face such incidents. Folks this incident happens everywhere: you're weak and you will be exploited! Ask your gov.t since most of you despire this gov.t very much, right?
Look at what this gov.t has done: ruling for over two decades and military is no better than forces to suppress the local people lawlessly and shamelessly. Coz the military serves their purpose and ambition well: suppress and kill those who dare to speak out against their animals instinct no better than animal instinct. Protecting only own pride the associates and clans interest!
And when it comes to war(actually this war can threaten their power. Ask them that they worry if the Thai fighting jet plans to target their camp in PP?)That's exactly what they worry about.
And you see why the ruling gov.t refuses the mediation by third party or bringing the case to UN or be ruled by ICJ or seeking legal assistance from Paris Peace Accord? Coz this will revise all the treaties with YOUN-gov.t and land ceded to YOUn so far. As well as the illegal YOUN-immigrants living and flowing rampantly into Cambodia.
If the ruling gov.t is not brailess, illiterate and using the animals'instinct, what else as better words to decribe their leadership?
Khmer NY
Soon there will be 100 thai soldiers killed coz slipping in accident and shoot themselves...but when the body is checked they are all killed by AK 47...:D...it is absolutely not killed by khmer soldiers..hahahaha
The thailande is not always friendly with Kampuchea.
The Siameses were an enemy and an opponent of always Khmers.
And it is also the division and the civil wars between Khmers that weakened our nation.
I invented nothing, it is the history of our nation since the origin of AngKor Wat that shows it.
what a lame excuse! i thought thai army were superior, why are they slipped and shot themselves in the head by accident?
Its not a lame excused some thai soldier feel unfair to Cambodia country they feel ashame to be thais invader they feel bad because cambodia is their good neighbored they rather kill themselves then do unfair thing.
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