Sunday, January 09, 2011

Yellow Shirts come to prisoners’ aid

Sunday, 09 January 2011
Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

A delegation of Yellow Shirt activists from Thailand arrived in Phnom Penh on Sunday to assist in the defence of seven Thai nationals, including a parliamentarian, arrested for trespassing in Banteay Meanchey province last month.

The group includes former senator Karoon Sai-ngam, lawyer Natapom Toprayoon and university professor Walwipha Charoonroj, as well as several Thai journalists. The group are scheduled to meet with the defendants today at Prey Sar prison.

“We want to talk to the seven prisoners so they can plan more what they are going to do,” Karoon told reporters in Phnom Penh yesterday. “We hope the Cambodian government and prison will cooperate … resolving in a fair way that can be better off for both countries.”


The group said they planned to meet with the prisoners’ defence lawyers and officials from the Thai Embassy during their visit. A trial date has not yet been set in the case.

Panich Vikitsreth, a lawmaker from Thailand’s ruling Democrat Party, was questioned in Phnom Penh Municipal Court last week along with his co-defendants, including former Yellow Shirt leader Veera Somkwamkid. The group has been charged with illegal entry and unlawfully entering a military base, charges that carry a combined maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the government had granted permission for a group of 11 Thais to visit Prey Sar prison on Monday.

“I don’t know what colour they are, red or yellow, but we allowed them to visit at 10am on Monday,” Koy Kuong said.

Suchart Lainamngern, an MP from Thailand’s Red Shirt-aligned Puea Thai party, said on Saturday that former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was willing to assist in the case if necessary, the Bangkok Post reported.

Thaksin, who lives in self-exile to avoid a prison term for corrruption, made headlines in Thailand and Cambodia in 2009 when he accepted a controversial appointment as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government.

Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, a rival of Thaksin, condemned the appointment, and the countries downgraded their diplomatic relations before restoring them in August following Thaksin’s resignation from the position.

But despite the offer, Koy Kuong said there was no scope for intervention of any sort at this point in the proceedings.

“Since this case is under the court’s jurisdiction, we will let the court do its work,” he said.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believed Cambodian Government has been more than fair to the Thai. If the role were to reverse, the faith of Cambodian that trespassed into Thailand would not be the same (death). I have seen it happened many times last several years alone, and it also happened in 1979, when thousands of harmless Cambodian refugees were forced to cross over death zone full of Land mines by the Thai army.

So, you want fair trial, you must be stupid or uneducated.

Anonymous said...

When Thais crossed illegally in Cambodia, they were caught and trial. How about Khmers kill by crossing in Thailand, no justice. Why the two cases are different?

Anonymous said...

Of course they're (PAD/Yellow shirt) stupid enough and uneducated peoples by not knowing Suffering is caused by desires from Greed,Anger and Delusion and also they're not much difference animals from south africa.
Most Thai/Siam's PAD and especially Abhislt and Kasit always talking about losing land,most part of Thailand,Vietnam and Laos belong to our Kingdom of Cambodia.

Khanti's Fobearance

Anonymous said...

I don't hate any one, but to know, that newly our ordinary Khmer citizen were killed and treated very bad from the Thai border patrol.
Send all of them to Prey Sar. They deserved to be treated same as our Khmer citizen.
These Thai only manipulated and lied almost of the time. They said, they did not cross the border. They also said, that our Cambodian military forces went into their place (1) to catch them out Thailand.
(1) will not say their country or Thailand, because all these parts belong to the Khmer people. They should let us Khmer made the decision and decide our future of life.

Anonymous said...

why siem used violence on khmer civilians instead of the law like we do? now should we learn from them and shoot and use violence on them like they did to our khmer civilians?

Anonymous said...

Both Thai and Youn are the sameone because they knew very well about the weak point of your Leaders they care only their POWERS and their own families and much more corruption,can't stop them to invade and take your land from your farmers do nothing.How many millions of Vinameses...in Cambodia ? 7 millions ?. Don't pretend you know nothing and hear nothing. Don't lie to yourself. More Inf. about Vietnameses in Cambodia ask Ex.PM.Pen Sovan and Mam Sanando or your senators in your own Country, because you voted for them to look after your properties and pay them to work for you and potect your Kingdom of Cambodia.They gave you o.50 cents US @ 2000 Riels They've luxery car,Houses,ect...Their salaries not more then $1000.us a month,especially the teachers less then $100.us a month, try to investigate and find out by yourself and don't pretend that you hear nothing and know notthing.

Khmer Surin

Anonymous said...

Sam raisy is a man of no future, SRP company cheat alot of our money, now can't you denied this?Rainsy he kick Veit away durring thai waging war, good boy that the thai said! Nad KI team how you see yourself now? Hunsen is Khmer, kem sokha is khmer, Sam riansy hu not khmer he is chines why you fight against your own peolpe. reunited, if rainsy he got talent why not help now why wait, he want power first then he help khmer later why he do so, Sam rainsy just nobody, we have thousand Khmer people got PHD much better, better and better than Sam rainsy. Anyway Sam rainsy have no leadership skile he was very weak you now know it right?. do you absulutely understand how mess SRP was,Sam Sarry gangster and Sam rainsy always street wilds beast act to divide us Khmer you know that. Mike

Anonymous said...

yellow shit people, cambodia is not about thailand, ok! go back to nanchoa province of china, ok! give back all the old khmer provinces you yellow craps stole from cambodia during cambodia's dark age era. it's not right for you people to take advantage of cambodia like that, ok! khmer want all of our old khmer province to make our khmer empire again, ok! this time we will build the great wall of china to protect our khmer empire boundary, you know!