Thaksin Rally Raises Interference Questions

Thaksin Shinawatra sprays water towards supporters in front of Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap, April 15, 2012. (AFP)

Analysts say Cambodia’s backing of the former Thai PM’s supporters sends mixed messages.

2012-04-16

Radio Free Asia

“It is unwise for the government to only maintain relations with the Red Shirt group or the ‘Pheu Thai’ Party. To do so [could damage relations] with the Democratic Party of the former Thai prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, and also the Thai King. Both are unhappy with Thaksin.”

Cambodia’s hosting of a mass rally at the weekend for ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra may result in warmer ties between governments of the two countries but has also raised questions of Phnom Penh’s interference in the internal politics of a neighboring country, experts say.

The fugitive Thaksin on Saturday addressed thousands of his "Red Shirt" supporters, who streamed across the border from Thailand to Cambodia’s northwestern Siem Reap province in the first major rally he has attended since being toppled from power in a military coup in 2006.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed Thaksin’s supporters into the country, ordering immigration officials to provide “special treatment” to the visitors and waiving their fees for entry to the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex near Siem Reap.

Independent analyst Sok Touch said Hun Sen’s move could mend ties with Thailand following several military skirmishes near a shared border area last year.

“The Cambodian government’s decision … is a message to the Democrat Party and Opposition Party in Thailand that the Cambodian government is taking a balanced political stance or has a political strategy towards solving border conflicts between the two countries.”

Cambodian PM attacked for 'excess generosity'

BHQ means Bang Hun Qwack?

Sunday, Apr 15, 2012
The Nation/Asia News Network

Hun Sen had ordered immigration officials to provide special treatment to the red shirts from Thailand

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has been criticised for being overly generous to red-shirt supporters of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in Cambodia this weekend.

Many Cambodians were upset that their PM allowed red shirts from Thailand to visit Angkor Wat without having to pay the US$20 (S$25) entrance fee. The move could cause Cambodia to lose about Bt30 million in revenue, a source said yesterday.

Hun Sen also ordered more than 10 VIP buses to pick up red shirts arriving in Cambodia from the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet.

Thaksin hails 'signs of reconciliation'

Sat, 14 Apr 2012
Agence France-Presse

Ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday Thailand could begin to heal its deep political rifts in an address to thousands of "Red Shirt" supporters in Cambodia.

Thaksin, a divisive figure in his homeland who lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, was greeted with cheers in northwestern Siem Reap province, in the first major rally he has attended since being toppled from power in a military coup in 2006.

"There are signs of reconciliation. Everybody wants it... There are signs that I will be able to return home to stay with you," he said, adding that royal anniversaries this year make it an "auspicious time".

Thaksin arrives in Cambodia

Red Shirts posing with armed security sent by Hun Xen to protect Thaksin, his Siamese croc friend

14/04/2012
Bangkok Post

"If a Cambodian group banned from returning to Cambodia [rallied] in Thailand, what would we think? It would be a jumbled relationship."

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived on Saturday in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where thousands of his supporters were waiting to greet him.

He was welcomed by red-shirts from Surin province who were waiting for him at the City Angkor Hotel since the morning.

Thaksin was scheduled to take to the stage to talk to his supporters at a local stadium at 5pm. A Buddhist ceremony with 260 monks from Angkor Wat and a Songkran water-pouring ceremony for Thaksin are planned in Siem Reap on Sunday.

Thaksin supporters have been traveling to Siem Reap via road from Thailand since Wednesday. Provincial authorities have set aside a 22-hectare campsite for them about two kilometres outside of Siem Reap.

The Phnom Penh government has said that it will foot the bill to provide crowd control and protection for the deposed Thai leader, who has strong links to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Why does Hun Xen allow Thaksin to conduct his political business in Cambodia? - Op-Ed by Khmer Expat

Critics Question Wisdom of Thai Red Shirt Gathering in Siem Reap [-Thaksin to be blessed in Siem Reap Chhneah (សៀមឈ្នះ)???]

Thursday, 12 April 2012
Reporters, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh, Washington DC

“The red shirts will pay courtesy to Thaksin on April 14, and they will have a Buddhist ceremony with 260 monks from Angkor Wat on April 15.”

Cambodian officials are preparing to host a massive gathering of Thai political activists and supporters of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in what critics say is a dangerous political gamble that could hurt relations with Thailand later on.

Up to 50,000 “red shirt” supporters of the former premier are expected to descend on the tourist town of Siem Reap over the weekend, provincial authorities said. Thaksin himself will attend for a Buddhist ceremony, as Thais and Cambodians celebrate the New Year.

“The red shirts will pay courtesy to Thaksin on April 14, and they will have a Buddhist ceremony with 260 monks from Angkor Wat on April 15,” Siem Reap Governor Sou Phearin told VOA Khmer. “Thaksin will have a water blessing before he leaves the country.”

Cambodia deploys 4,500 police for Thaksin’s safety: Red Shirt leader [-Cambodian taxpayers to pay for Thaksin's security]

BANGKOK, April 12 (MCOT online news) – A key leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), Thailand’s Red Shirt movement, said Thursday that more than 4,000 Cambodian police will be deployed to ensure the safety of Thailand's ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra who will visit the country this week.

UDD key leader Jatuporn Prompan, also a Pheu Thai party-list MP, said the Cambodian government will step up security measures at venues where the ex-Thai premier will visit during the Songkran Festival with 4,000 police officers and 500 plainclothes police being deployed.

Mr Jatuporn added that a number of Red Shirt guards will also join the security operations with the Cambodian officers.

Cambodia deploys huge security for Thaksin rally [-Cambodians will pay for Thaksin's security ... thanks to Hun Xen]

Thursday, Apr 12, 2012

Thaksin’s fans will also be granted free entry to the Angkor temple complex during their stay, both officials said. A standard day pass to the country’s most popular tourist attraction costs $20.

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodia will deploy thousands of security personnel to police a mass rally for ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra this weekend, officials said Thursday.

Thaksin, a deeply divisive figure in neighbouring Thailand who lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, is set to address tens of thousands of his “Red Shirt” supporters on Saturday in northwestern Siem Reap province.

Phnom Penh said it will foot the bill to provide crowd control and protection for the former Thai leader, who has strong links to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“We have a duty to provide security for Thai people and for Thaksin,” national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith told AFP.

Ex-Thai PM Thaksin to address rally in Cambodia

(Photo: Reuters)

04-09-2012
AFP

Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra will address thousands of "Red Shirt" supporters at a rally this weekend in neighbouring Cambodia, his followers said Monday.

After three days in Laos, Thaksin is due to visit the Cambodian city of Siem Riep to give a speech on Saturday evening at a gathering attended by several leaders of the Red Shirt movement, the organisation said.

"Tens of thousands" of supporters in total are expected to greet Thaksin during his trip to the two countries over the Thai New Year, said Red Shirt spokesman Worawut Vichaidit.

"They will probably travel together and rent buses by themselves," he added.

10,000 red shirts rally to Thaksin [... in Siem Reap]

8/04/2012
Bangkok Post

About 10,000 red shirts from the lower Northeast have confirmed they will join the trip to meet former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Siem Reap in Cambodia during the Songkran holiday, Theppanom Namlee, a red shirt leader in Surin province, said.

Mr Theppanom claimed on Sunday about 10,000 Thaksin supporters from Yasothon, Buri Ram, Roi Et and Surin provinces have already registered with the trip organisers to meet the ousted premier and perform a rod nam dam hua ceremony, in which Songkran celebrants show respect to their elders by pouring holy water over their hands, on April 14.

Thaksin has invited his followers to meet him when he spends his Songkran holidays in Laos between April 11 and 13 and in Cambodia between April 14 and 15.

Champasak tipped for Thaksin meet [... and he will meet the Red Shirts in Siem Reap]

29/03/2012
Bangkok Post

The southern Lao province of Champasak is likely to be the venue for red-shirt supporters to meet deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, according to Noppadon Pattama.

Mr Noppadon, Thaksin's legal adviser, revealed on Thursday Thaksin’s tentative travel plans in Laos and Cambodia during Songkran holidays between April 11 and 15.

He said Thaksin will arrive in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, at about noon on April 11 and stay there two nights before leaving for Champasak province on the morning of April 13.

“Champasak province is near Ubon Ratchathani province, so if any Thai brothers and sisters want to meet Pol Col Thaksin, they can travel there conveniently,” Mr Noppadon said.

Thaksin will be in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province on April 14 and 15.

Hun Xen's Cambodia is the second base of Thaksin's Red Shirts?

Hun Xen embracing Thaksin

Thai ex-premier Thaksin to get warm welcome in Laos, Cambodia

29 March 2012

Bangkok (dpa) – Fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to be greeted by an estimated 50,000 supporters when he visits Laos during the Thai New Year holiday next month, news reports said Thursday.

Thaksin, who was overthrown in a 2006 coup and fled the country in 2008 to escape a two-year jail sentence for abuse of power, is scheduled to visit Laos and Cambodia during Songkran, the traditional New Year celebration.

Nisit Sinthuphrai, a leader of the so-called red-shirt movement working to bring Thaksin home, was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying about 50,000 Thaksin backers would gather at a sports stadium in the north-eastern Thai province of Nong Khai on April 11 and then cross the Mekong River to the Lao capital, Vientiane, the next morning.

Another 10,000 Thaksin supporters were expected to greet their leader when he visits the Cambodian city of Siem Reap on April 14-15.

Reds plan across border [i.e. Cambodia] Thaksin celebrations, says Jatuporn

March 26, 2012
The Nation

Thousands of red shirts will celebrate Songkran with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Laos and Cambodia, Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan said yesterday.

"Thaksin is not coming back to Thailand at this time but will stay close in order to allay the feelings of those who miss him," he said.

Jatuporn said Thaksin will be in Vientiane on April 12-to-13 to meet his red supporters from Udon Thani and Nong Khai.

Thaksin's next stop is Siem Reap on April 14-to-15, he said, revealing he will lead the red shirts to join Thaksin in a grand celebration.

Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen might take part in the event, he said. At present, a Cambodian aide was looking for a suitable venue to welcome tens of thousands of red shirts, he added.

Pheu Thai members head to Cambodia to meet Thaksin [-Hun Neang about to croak?]

16/03/2012
Aekarach Sattaburuth
Bangkok Post

Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra has arrived in Cambodia to visit the sick father of Prime Minister Hun Sen, said a Pheu Thai Party source.

Many members of the Pheu Thai Party have flown to Cambodia to meet Thaksin, the source added yesterday.

Thaksin will tour countries in the region for a while before returning to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he lives in exile.

Thaksin was spotted by reporters at Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort in Siem Reap. He was accompanied by former Thai Rak Thai executive Yongyuth Tiyapairat, red shirt leader Suporn Attawong and National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department chief Damrong Pidech.

[Thai] FM: Cambodia to help Veera, Ratree [-Hun Xen to help the Yellow Shirt to please the Red Shirts?]

27/09/2011
Bangkok Post

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has shown an intention to help Thai Patriots Network coordinator Veera Somkwankid and his secretary Ratree Pipattanapaiboon get a royal pardon, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said in New York on Tuesday.

Mr Surapong said the matter was raised for discussion with Hun Sen when Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and he visited Cambodia on Sept 15.

He said the Cambodian prime minister said he would help by reducing the jail terms handed down on them by the Phnom Penh Court to enable them to finally meet a requirement to seek a royal pardon.

Steps must be taken before reaching that stage but it was unlikely to be too long before they were freed because Hun Sen had expressed his intention to help, said the foreign minister.

Red Shirts bus accident in Siem Reap

A Cambodian driver of the vehicle that hit the Red Shirts bus was being rescued by emergency personnel (All Photos: Hang Savyout, RFA)

The Toyota Camry and the bus carrying the Red Shirts are mangled along the road.

Red shirts' bus crashes on way home

26/09/2011
Prasit Saengrungruang
Bangkok Post

SIEM REAP : A coach carrying red shirts from Phom Penh yesterday was in collision with a taxi while on its way home from Saturday's Thai-Cambodian football match, killing the cab driver and wounding seven on the bus.

The taxi was sent skidding until it finally flipped upside down.

Seven red-shirt supporters were rushed to a hospital in Siem Reap, while the taxi driver reportedly succumbed to severe wounds.

It wasn't really a Cambodian victory in the soccer match ... Hun Xen was allowed to score 5 points by himself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EONUAYDBRnk

Guess why Hun Xen's team wear the Red Shirts color to represent Cambodia? Why only Thai Red Shirts display "We Love Hun Sen" sign?

Thailand's former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat (R) shakes hands with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen before a football match between the high leader of Cambodia and Thailand's Red Shirt members (Puea Thai's party) at the Olympic stadium in Phnom Penh September 24, 2011. Cambodian high leader play the football match against Red Shirt members for the friendship between both countries. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen kicks a ball during the football match between the high leader of Cambodia and Thailand's Red Shirt members (Puea Thai's party) at the Olympic stadium in Phnom Penh September 24, 2011. Cambodian high leader play the football match against Red Shirt members for the friendship between both countries. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) kicks the ball during the football match between the high leader of Cambodia and Thailand's Red Shirt members (Puea Thai's party) at the Olympic stadium in Phnom Penh September 24, 2011. Cambodian high leader play the football match against Red Shirt members for the friendship between both countries. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) is challenged during a football match between the high leader of Cambodia and Thailand's Red Shirt members (Puea Thai's party) at the Olympic stadium in Phnom Penh September 24, 2011. Cambodian high leader play the football match against Red Shirt members for the friendship between both countries. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, front right, prepares to kick a ball during a friendly soccer match between Cambodian and Thai politicians at Cambodia National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen runs after a ball during a football match between the high leader of Cambodia and Thailand's Red Shirt members (Puea Thai's party) at the Olympic stadium in Phnom Penh September 24, 2011. Cambodian high leader play the football match against Red Shirt members for the friendship between both countries. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

A man paints his face as he attends the football match between the high leader of Cambodia and Thailand's Red Shirt members (Puea Thai's party) at the Olympic stadium in Phnom Penh September 24, 2011. Cambodian high leader play the football match against Red Shirt members for the friendship between both countries. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

A woman holds a portrait of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen during the football match between the high leader of Cambodia and Thailand's Red Shirt members (Puea Thai's party) at the Olympic stadium in Phnom Penh September 24, 2011. Cambodian high leader play the football match against Red Shirt members for the friendship between both countries. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

Cambodia PM scores in football diplomacy with Thailand

Saturday, Sep 24, 2011
AFP

PHNOM PENH - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen led his side to a 10-7 victory in a friendly football match Saturday between Thai and Cambodian officials designed to showcase the neighbours' improving relations.

Hun Sen, clad in a red number nine shirt, smiled broadly as he scored his fourth goal in the final minutes to loud cheers from the 50,000-strong crowd at the Olympic Stadium in the capital Phnom Penh.

Hundreds of Thai "Red Shirts", who are loyal to Thailand's ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, travelled to Cambodia to cheer on the teams, made up of a mix of Thai Red politicians and Cambodian government figures.