By The Nation, Agencies
Nationalist activists Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipattanpaiboon might have to stay behind bars in Cambodia for possibly two-thirds of their jail term or longer, after the Cambodian government officially rejected their requests for a royal pardon.
"According to Cambodian law, whoever is convicted of a crime has to serve two-thirds of his or her jail term before being considered for a royal pardon," Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said at Phnom Penh International Airport before leaving for Indonesia to hold border meetings with Thailand. "So they [the two Thais] have not met the qualification for royal amnesty."
Veera and Ratree were arrested on December 29 together with five other Thai nationals, including Democrat Party MP Panich Vikitsreth, while inspecting a disputed border area near Sa Kaew province's Ban Nongchan.
The five were released following suspended prison terms on the charge of trespassing, but Veera and Ratree were convicted of additional charges of espionage, with eight- and six-year jail terms respectively.
Thailand's ambassador to Phnom Penh, Prasas Prasasvinitchai, submitted through the Cambodian Foreign Ministry their request for royal pardon in mid-March. Veera's family also sought assistance from the opposition Pheu Thai Party and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has close connections with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The current government under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva failed in several attempts to secure freedom for Veera and Ratree because of sour relations between the Thailand and Cambodia.
Veera's younger brother Preecha Somkwamkid told The Nation that the family would make another attempt to request a royal pardon for him.
"I understand that the Cambodian government is sitting on the request and has not yet submitted it to the Cambodian king for political reasons," he said. "Unfortunately, his case is too much politicised."
Yellow-shirt activists Veera and Ratree were arrested when relations between Thailand and Cambodia had soured over their border conflict, notably in areas adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.
Veera and Ratree are among nationalist activists under the Thai Patriots Network that has campaigned against Cambodia's and Abhisit's stance on a boundary deal. The TPN and the People's Alliance for Democracy are now camping out near the Prime Minister's Office to put pressure on Abhisit to seek ways to help Veera and Ratree.
Royal pardons are known to be influenced mostly by the policy and position of the Cambodian government, rather than pure legal procedures.
Hun Sen had requested a royal pardon for Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong in late 2009, securing his release from a seven-year sentence for the charge of espionage after only a month in prison. He had been accused of stealing flight information pertaining to Thaksin, who was then an adviser to Hun Sen. Thaksin requested Phnom Penh to free the engineer.
Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama, a close aide to Thaksin, said earlier that he had conveyed the request of Veera's family to Thaksin, asking him to talk to Hun Sen about freeing the two activists.
However, Veera was not on good terms with Thaksin after participating in street protests of the yellow-shirt movement that eventually led to the prime minister being toppled from power by a coup in 2006.
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