News Khmer

BANGKOK, Nov 7 (TNA) – Bank of Thailand (BoT) Governor Tarisa Wattanagase on Friday downplayed concerns over the political tension between Thailand and Cambodia, saying it would not worsen significantly because both countries had forged good bilateral relations over a long period.

Thailand has downgraded its diplomatic ties with Cambodia following the formal appointment of convicted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as the Cambodian PM’s economic and personal advisor.

She said the political tension between the neighbouring countries might shake confidence among Thai investors in Cambodia, but the central bank projected it would not affect the bilateral ties as the two countries had maintained good relations for a long time.

“The political tension is the government-to-government problem. The people of both countries still have good relations with each other," she said.

Mrs Tarisa added the Thai economy had already bottomed out. The government had initiated investment projects in various fields and managed to implement its policies quickly.

With these factors and the strong economic fundamental, she said, the Thai economy began recovering in the second quarter of this year and continued picking up in the third quarter.

Based on data in the second and third quarter, she projected the Thai economy would continue recovering as could be witnessed by the improved exports and increased private investment.

BANGKOK, Nov 7 (TNA) – Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) chairman Santi Vilassakdanont on Friday voiced concerns over the ongoing tension between Thailand and Cambodia, saying business people did not want to see the situation deteriorate and lead to the border trade closure.

Unless both countries are able to find a common solution on their own, they might be well-advised to accept a country with a neutral stance such as China or ASEAN to mediate a reconciliation of their differences.

He said that Thai nationals running businesses in Cambodia such as the hotel and hospitality industry, tourism, restaurants and textiles told him that they still do business in the country as usual.

However, they are afraid the tension between both neighbouring countries would heighten. In particular, it might lead to the border trade closure, which could benefit neither country.

At present, the border trade represents 80 per cent of the Thai-Cambodian trade value. Last year, the value of the border trade between the two countries reached Bt70 billion.

But in the first eight months of this year, border trade had declined by some 20 per cent to Bt36.70 billion due to global economic sluggishness. It is expected the trade value would be around Bt50 billion for this year.

Should the border trade be closed, he said, a large amount of goods would be smuggled into the country.

Consequently, he hoped the governments of both countries would accelerate talks to find a proper solution to the problem and believed they could settle it without a need to close bilateral trade.

The storm and flooding that followed Tropical Storm Mirinae have left almost 130 people dead in Vietnam

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

HANOI — At least 13 people have been killed in a landslide in central Vietnam following storms and flooding that have now left almost 130 people dead, according to officials.

The 13 were killed and another person was seriously injured in the early hours of Friday in the coastal province of Quang Nam, local emergency official Vo Xuan Quang told AFP.

The landslide, triggered by rains that have lashed the country since Tropical Storm Mirinae hit on Monday, dumped thousands of tonnes of earth and mud on a group of gold miners, who were sleeping at the time, Quang said.

The storm and flooding that followed have left another 116 people dead, most of them in the country's easternmost province of Phu Yen.

ARANYAPRATHET, Nov 7 (TNA) -- Most Cambodian traders are now accepting cash only from their Thai counterparts as they closely monitor tensions between the two neighbouring countries after ambassadors have been recalled following the appointment of convicted former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as economic adviser by the Cambodian government.

Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot Saturday visited the key border district of Aranyaprathet and found that border trade was still lively as more than 9,000 Cambodian traders crossed the border for trading purposes or for employment at Thai firms.

However, most of the Cambodian traders would not offer credit to Thais traders but would accept only cash.

On the contrary, the number of Thai gamblers who usually cross to the casinos in the Cambodian border town of Poi Pet, opposite Aranyaprathet--usually more than 5,000 on typical weekend day--fell sharply Saturday due to concerns over the political situation. Less than 1,000 gamblers went there on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Santi Villassakdanon, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), speaking in Pattaya resort that most Thai businessmen operating in Cambodia worry that if the situation worsens, cross-border trade could close.

Cross-border trade between the two countries now accounts for about 80 per cent of the total trade amounting to approximately Bt40 billion annually.

Governments of the two countries must quickly negotiate to settle the dispute so that the private sector would not be affected, said Mr Santi.

In the northeastern province of Buri Ram bordering Cambodia, Ratchapol Tranakyos, chairman of the Buri Ram Chamber of Commerce, said the trade and tourism businesses between the two countries had already been affected as tourists were not confident of their safety, while traders slowed their purchases.

A European diplomatic source even commented Thailand's recall of their Ambassador could cause significant damage to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), especially if this stand-off is to continue. With ASEAN meeting this week and with representatives from both Thailand and Cambodia being in attendance the worry is this will affect ASEAN's ability to get things achieved.

Actually, Thailand's withdrawal of their Ambassador is not surprising, as diplomats themselves should be aware. When it comes to Cambodia, Thailand has a history of over-reacting, with the still-ongoing dispute about the 11th century temple a prime example. Troops massed on the Thai border and even some random shots were reported. This all over a temple that is patently on Cambodian ground and has been ruled by several international bodies as being the property of Cambodia. But, with Thailand having always treated Cambodia like a third-class citizen, it's not surprising their latest round of 'diplomacy' came to this.

As for ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, he is a master of manipulation and current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is playing into his hands by reacting to every small thing he does. Abhisit though is a novice at politics and, rumor is, he is being controlled by other people more powerful in Thailand. If only Abhisit would ignore what Cambodia is doing, it would give Thaksin even less support. But with his anger over the Cambodian decision to hire Thaksin as an economic adviser, he is only elevating Thaksin's importance and keeping his name in front of the millions of people in Thailand who still support Thaksin.

Posted on 7 November 2009

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 637

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

“Immediately after the Cambodian government appointed Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra as Samdech Dekchor Hun Sen’s and the government’s advisor, Bangkok was angry and summoned its ambassador back to Thailand as a so-called diplomatic retaliation. The Thai ambassador left Cambodia in the night of 5 November 2009. In response, the Minister of the Council of Ministers, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, summoned the Cambodian ambassador to return to Phnom Penh. He consideres that this is a normal reciprocity measure between government and government. Regarding this diplomatic dispute, there has not been any new report about border tensions between the two countries.

“Relating to Thailand recalling its ambassador, Mr. Sok An said that this is not the cutting off of diplomatic ties. When Thailand sends its ambassador to Cambodia again, we will send our ambassador to Thailand. He explained that there is no problem in the relations between both countries’ citizens and in commerce.

“He noted that Thailand did so, following a demand from the yellow-shirt group [of government supporters].

“He explained also that it is an internal affairs of Cambodia to nominate Thaksin Shinawatra, and Cambodia had appointed foreigners as advisers before, for example the current president of South Korea. He had also been an adviser of Samdech Dekchor.

“He criticized that Thailand has hurt Cambodia by sending troops to invade the Preah Vihear border areas in Cambodian territory. The second point is that when Cambodia proposed to list the Preah Vihear Temple as a world heritage site, Thailand had sent partisans to disturb it.

“Contrastingly, [Thai] Deputy Prime Minister Sutheb Thaugsubanasked, ‘What would Cambodia think if Thailand nominated [the opposition party president] Mr. Sam Rainsy as adviser?’ Mr. Sok An answered, ‘Cambodia would welcome such a nomination, because Cambodia has a citizen appointed by foreign country. Therefore, Thai people should be happy as one of their citizens is named adviser.’

“The decision of the Bangkok government to summon their diplomatic official like this, pushed the diplomatic ties between both countries to fall to a terrible level, threatening even political, economic, and cultural relation between both countries, as well as the solidarity in ASEAN.

“Prime Minister Abhisit Vijjajiva said that Thailand summoned their ambassador back to Bangkok as a sign of first diplomatic retaliation toward Cambodia for appointing Thaksin Shinawara as advisor, and for rejecting to extradite him. He said that Thailand wants Cambodia to know the dissatisfaction of the Thai people.

“Immigration officials at the Phnom Penh International Airport said that the Thai ambassador boarded the plane at around 9:00 p.m. to travel back to Bangkok.

“Political analysts said that the decision of the Bangkok government will make ASEAN to be viewed as a quite fractioned institution, making the imitative to establish the ASEAN community by 2015 to be in hazard, and it is necessary that thereis a regional mechanism to restore the situation.

Cambodian Troops Are Prepared to Defend the Country from an Invasion

“At the border, the commander of special Intervention Unit 3, Mr. Srey Dek, said that the Cambodian troops are always on alert. He added, ‘If they dare to enter only half a millimeter, we will attack (open fire) immediately. But he said that so far, there is nothing abnormal.

“The Banteay Meanchey governor, Mr. Ung Oeung, said that the border situation remains normal. But there might be some psychological war coming relating to border closings. But there is nothing visible yet.

Thaksin Is Happy while Abhisit Is Pale

“The Thai former prime minister, Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, said on Thursday that he accepted the position as economic advisor of the Royal Government of Cambodia, and he expressed appreciation toward Prime Minister Hun Sen for offering this honorable position. He said on his website, ‘I can refresh my brain while I am not yet able to serve the Thai people. I will ask for the permission from Thai people to provide economic advice to the Cambodian government, based on the appointment by King Sihamoni, until I can go back to my country. In fact, I have already become adviser of a government. I accept this position in order to keep my brain to remain fresh, otherwise it would become lame if I don’t keep it up to obtain new ideas and new developments. I want to work with the Thai people, but I cannot. The Thai government does not even allow me to carry a Thai passport.’

“Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra added, ‘Our neighbor is not an enemy. We must be close to each other forever. It is good that we are friends.’

“In the mean time, a legal adviser of Mr. Thaksin, [the former minister of foreign affairs who resigned after the high court found he had violated the Thai constitution] Mr. Noppadon Pattama, spoke to the former prime minister, regarding the issue that Thaksin Shinawatra feels that he has received a great honor, and he will provide advice on how to solve Cambodia’s economic problems and overcome poverty.

“Mr. Noppadon Pattama added that it is not necessary that Mr. Thaksin comes to live in Cambodia, because he can give advice through the telephone or the Internet. He said, ‘Thaksin Shinawatra has no plan to go to Cambodia at this time. Therefore, the government needs not worry or feel afraid, because it is not a political affair or seeking asylum. Mr. Hun Sen decided to appoint Thaksin, because he sees his value and ability.’

“Nevertheless, Thailand does not understand it as Mr. Noppadon does. On 5 November 2009, Thailand summoned their ambassador back to their country immediately as a move of disapproval of Cambodia for offering a position to Thaksin.

“The Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vijjajiva said to journalist, ‘We have summoned our ambassador as the first diplomatic retaliation toward the Cambodian government so as to let the Thai people’s dissatisfaction known. The announcement of the Cambodian governments disrespects the legal system, and does influence the feeling of the Thai public.

“Abhisit said also that [Thai] aid for Cambodia will be suspended also, but the border between both countries are still open, and the relations between the people will not be affected.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5040, 6.11.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

TOKYO: The leaders of Japan and Southeast Asia's five Mekong River nations wrapped up a summit at which Tokyo pledged more than US$5.5 billion in loans and grants and vowed deeper ties.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told a press conference on Saturday the Mekong region was a "priority area" for Japan's official development assistance (ODA) as it seeks to boost development in the resource-rich area.

A joint declaration said "Japan commits more than 500 billion yen of ODA in the next three years" for the further development of the Mekong region, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand.

"We strongly recognised the need for further strengthening of the Mekong-Japan relationship and cooperation to maximise the potential of the Mekong region," the statement said.

Asian giants Japan and China have for years poured aid and investment into the region, home to more than 220 million people, and are seen increasingly as competitors for influence.

Much of the region along the lower reaches of the 4,800-kilometre (2,980-mile) Mekong River has historically been isolated by war and political turmoil and remains poorer than other parts of Southeast Asia.

Hatoyama, who has pushed the concept of an EU-style Asian community, has set his sights on boosting economic development and has vowed to expand aid, particularly to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Eighty per cent of the US$5.5-billion package would be in low-interest yen loans, for projects ranging from regional highway links to water infrastructure and technological training, a government official said.

The leaders also agreed on an action plan to promote development, protect the environment and fight climate change under the slogan "A decade towards the Green Mekong."

And they demanded that Myanmar take steps towards democracy, calling for transparent elections next year.

The action plan said the leaders "expect that the government of Myanmar would take more positive steps in its democratisation process."

Hatoyama was later Saturday due to meet Thein Sein, Myanmar's first premier to visit Japan since 2003.

The Nikkei economic daily said Hatoyama would outline plans to increase aid to the country, criticised for human rights abuses including its detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Hatoyama hailed Washington's latest efforts to engage Myanmar as beneficial for the entire Mekong region.

President Barack Obama's administration has recently changed its policy on Myanmar, saying it would push for engagement with the military regime because sanctions on their own had failed to bear fruit.

The leaders at the summit agreed to hold talks every year.

The goal of the Mekong group is to boost development through cooperation.

Protecting people and assets the concern

Amid the rising tension after fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's appointment as an economic adviser to Cambodia, Thai businesses are highly concerned about the safety of their people and assets, but they say closing the borders should be a last resort.

Thais andCambodian tourists travel freely across the border at a checkpoint linking Trat province with Cambodia’s Koh Kong. Thai officials yesterday threatened to close the borders as a diplomatic row between the two countries continues to escalate. JAKKRIT WAEWKLAIHONG

Thailand's national energy flagship PTT has valuable assets in Cambodia and is monitoring developments closely. Should violence occur, it said its assets in the country would be protected by the Royal Thai Navy.

"So far we are in alarm mode since we have facilities worth billions of baht in Cambodia, even though they are located in areas far from conflict," said Kampong Kittitornkul, vice-president for international marketing.

PTT has a 50% market share from six service stations and three oil tank farms in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The rest of the market is held by France-based Total.

PTT's oil products stored in tanks include jet fuel, petrol, diesel, lubricant and fuel oil used in power plants. The oil tanks are located in Navy areas.

"The Thai business community has not seen any impact yet, but we have to be cautious," he said. "Our major concern is if the situation comes to the point of a border closure, whether our business can run as usual or not. We also need to prepare for immediate evacuation if riots break out.

"We hope the situation will not lead to violence as happened in 2003. So far, high-ranking officials in Cambodia are still attempting to calm down the local business community."

Logistics operators are wary a border closure will hurt not only trade with Cambodia but also within the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

Sealing border trade with Cambodia affects co-operation to integrate GMS logistics networks. Last month, a trial run trucking goods from the Thai border to Ho Chi Minh City via Cambodia took place successfully, said Yoo Chienuenyongpong, a counsellor to Thai Logistics Alliance Co.

Chemical product shipments to factories in southern Vietnam would be affected, said Mr Yoo, also the president of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand.

"We should not let politics cause problems for people who are not involved in the dispute," he said.

"Vietnam is more important to us than Cambodia in terms of business opportunity. Our counterparts in China are concerned about growing disputes between Thailand and Cambodia because it might further delay our regional economic integration."

Land transport takes two nights and three days to reach Ho Chi Minh City from the Thai border, compared with 10 days by sea from Laem Chabang Port to Sihanoukville in Cambodia.

Thanet Sorat, vice-president of logistics service provider V-Serve Group, said tens of local logistics companies operating at the border and with Vietnam would be affected.

"These logistics companies are the second group of casualties after local residents if the disputes intensify and lead to border closure," Mr Thanet said.

"I think the issue should not be blown up to become a national agenda item to minimise the damage for the sake of the people and the business sector."

The Commerce Ministry is calling on people and business operators of both nations not to panic, as Thai trade officials and commercial counsellors in Cambodia have not been recalled yet even though the two countries' ambassadors have left their posts.

Border trade represents up to 80% of trade between the countries worth at least 50 billion baht a year.

Traditionally, commercial ministers are not recalled as the recall of Thailand's ambassador to Cambodia is strong enough to show the kingdom's disapproval with Hun Sen's embrace of Mr Thaksin.

Sat, Nov 07, 2009

The Nation/Asia News Network

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The government is being urged to support Thai businesses that have a presence in Cambodia even though the latest tensions between the two countries have not yet affected them.

"Despite reports of no effects now, the situation could degenerate quickly. Aside from supportive measures, the government should try to end this conflict quickly through diplomatic means," Federation of Thai Industries official Thaworn Techakraisri said yesterday.

FTI chairman Santi Vilassakdanont also expressed concern about border trade, which constitutes 80 per cent of bilateral trade between the countries.

The two-way trade amounted to US$2.13 billion (S$2.98 billion) last year. Major Thai exports are sugar, fuel, pigs and cement. Major goods imported from Cambodia include cassava, maize and scrap aluminium.

To date, all business activities are continuing as usual.

Pongsak Viddayakorn, an executive adviser to Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS), said company executives were not concerned about the diplomatic rift possibly hurting healthcare operations in Cambodia.

BDMS operates Royal Angkor International Hospital in Seam Reap and Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre in Phnom Penh.

He said the hospitals are partially owned by Cambodian officials, and since the rift was not at the grass-roots level, the company's healthcare services should not be affected.

However, if the worst comes to the worst, the company is prepared to evacuate all physicians, nurses and medical staff to Thailand on Bangkok Airways.

BDMS founder and CEO Prasert Prasarttongosoth is also the founder of Bangkok Airways.

At present, BDMS still plans to add 100 beds to the present 50 in the Phnom Penh property. Pongsak said the economic environment played a bigger role in investment decisions than did diplomatic relations.

Meanwhile, a source at pharmaceutical manufacturer Thai Nakorn Pattana, owner of the Phokeethra Country Club in Seam Reap, said the hotel-sponsored Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open golf tournament would still take place from November 19-22 as planned.

The source said the tournament had the full backing of the Cambodian government and that the rift would not affect the company's new Bt2-billion hotel in Phnom Penh or its Bt400-million golf course.

Krung Thai Bank president Apisak Tantivorawong, while expecting a solution soon, reported no unusual movement at the bank's two Cambodian branches.

Na Bhengbhasang Krishnamra, vice president of Siam Commercial Bank - owner of the Cambodian Commercial bank - said it was business as usual yesterday at the Cambodian properties and that there were no signs of huge withdrawals.

The unit, which has a 10-per-cent share of the local lending market, deals mostly with Thais in Cambodia. With four branches throughout the country, the 18-year-old bank employs 60 Cambodians and has $100 million in assets.

Na Bhengbhasang said there was a contingency plan to evacuate all 11 Thai staff to Thailand if need be.

During a videoconference yesterday with commercial counsellors throughout Thailand, Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said the counsellors in Phnom Penh had not been recalled and urged all businessmen to remain calm.

He said some 40 Thai businessmen continued to operate normally in Cambodia but that a contingency plan was in place if needed.

"We're worried about the diplomatic trouble, but I want to emphasise that the commercial counsellors and other staff are working as usual," said Alongkorn. "We hope the prime minister will speak with Prime Minister Hun Sen in Tokyo [during the Greater Mekong Subregion meeting]."

The ministry is monitoring border trade in seven provinces. Alongkorn will lead a survey team to Sa Kaew province today.

Si Sa Ket province yesterday decided to delay next Wednesday's planned opening of Chong Sa-Ngam Market in Phu Sing district by at least six months, said the border-trade coordinator for the provincial chamber of commerce.

He said the delay was advised by Second Army Region commander Lt-General Wiwalit Jonsamphan and that the chamber had agreed for security reasons.

Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase expects a solution soon, given the long relationship between the two countries. Moreover, the conflict is only at the national level and both countries' citizens are acting in good faith with each other.

Export-Import Bank of Thailand chairman Narongchai Akrasanee said there should be no effect on trade, due to Cambodia's economic potential.

His bank has extended a Bt1.3-billion loan to finance road, railroad and other infrastructure projects in that country and another Bt1 billion to private companies involved in tourism and infrastructure-construction projects there.

Logistics operators have felt no impact from the diplomatic tussle, given that there are no land-transport links between the two countries.

Triple i Logistics Group CEO Tipp Dalal said problems would arise only if the conflict dragged on.

TNT Express Worldwide (TNT), which has a substantial land-transport on the Asia Road Network (ARN), yesterday said its business remained normal.

PM intensifies protest against Cambodia

Thailand may suspend a land boundary demarcation settlement in a further diplomatic strike against Cambodia.

Financial aid worth 1.4 billion baht for Cambodia's Route 48 is also under review.

Thailand yesterday revoked a memorandum of understanding on developing an overlapping border area which is rich in oil and gas in the Gulf of Thailand. The agreement between the two countries was reached in June 2001.

It was the latest protest against Cambodia's decision to appoint convicted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as its economic adviser.

In a video link from Japan last night, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva hinted that his government might suspend negotiations under the Thai-Cambodia Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC).

Parliament is scheduled to consider endorsing the JBC framework on Monday. However, Mr Abhisit yesterday said: "It's not a priority at present."

The agreement on the disputed maritime boundary was reached under the Thaksin administration. The Democrat-led government believes Cambodia could gain an advantage in negotiations if Thaksin is advising it.

"Thaksin was directly involved in pushing for the government to sign the MoU, so the Thai government could not continue negotiating with Cambodia based on this MoU," said Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.

The unilateral termination of the MoU will take effect three months after Bangkok informs Phnom Penh.

Mr Kasit said the potential oil and natural gas reserves in the 26,000 square kilometre overlapping area could benefit both countries and negotiations would directly affect economic benefits and national security.

Mr Abhisit said the decision was aimed at protecting Thailand's interests and defending its judicial system.

The government did not trigger the dispute and it was up to Phnom Penh to consider what steps should be taken to ease tensions.

He had told the Foreign Ministry to prepare mechanisms for a downgrade of diplomatic ties with Cambodia.

"I think the government and Thai people are exercising patience and restraint," Mr Abhisit said.

"The issue must be dealt with at the bilateral level. But the problem was not created by us. It is up to Cambodia to consider how to proceed with it."

He was speaking after a reception lunch for leaders of the Mekong Subregion hosted by the Japanese chamber of commerce and industry and the confederation of Japanese businessmen in Tokyo.

Mr Abhisit and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen are among the Mekong Subregion leaders taking part in the summit with Japan, which ends today.

A Foreign Ministry source said Thaksin's decision to advise Cambodia has caused a fundamental change in circumstances which could justify Thailand revoking the MoU in question under the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

But Cambodia said that, under the MoU, neither country could renege on its pledges to develop the area.

"I don't see any articles or any sentences that allow either party to terminate the memorandum of understanding," Var Kimhong, the Cambodian government's top border negotiator, told AFP. "Both sides have to implement it until we find a solution to the overlapping claims area," he said.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, added the ministry would also review other agreements signed with Cambodia during the Thaksin administration.

It includes a Thai financial package to Cambodia for construction of the 153km Route 48 worth 1.4 billion baht linking Trat province with Koh Kong's Serei Ample district.

Meanwhile, Thaksin yesterday criticised the Democrat-led government's decision to downgrade diplomatic ties with Cambodia.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday ordered his troops to maintain peaceful relations with Thai soldiers on the other side of the border.

As a result, military leaders of the two countries have agreed not to reinforce their troops along the border, says Second Army commander Lt Gen Weewalit Chornsamrit.

Hun Sen's message was conveyed to him by Cambodia's deputy supreme commander Gen Chea Dara and 3rd supportive division commander Lt Gen Sarai Duek.

They met at the Khao Phra Viharn National Park tourist centre in Si Sa Ket province about 4pm yesterday.

After the meeting, Lt Gen Weewalit said the Cambodian delegation was ordered by Hun Sen to hold talks with the Second Army and to ask the Thai army to stay calm and continue to maintain good relations.

Hun Sen's message was that soldiers should sidestep any politically sensitive issues. Such matters could only be solved through diplomatic channels and not by the border authorities.

Cambodian leaders have made it clear they do not plan to send any reinforcements and have left it in the hands of Gen Chea Dara and Lt Gen Sarai Duek to decide what should be done to enhance security at the border, said the Second Army chief.

Neither is there any sign of 4,000 troops being rushed to the Preah Vihear temple as some media outlets have reported, he said.

He advised people along the border not to be too concerned by the current dispute as the local situation remained normal. He was reassured by the fact that the Cambodian officers who visited him were all high-ranking officers.

Meanwhile, joint chief of staff Gen Ratchakrit Kanchanawat said even after the recalling of their ambassadors, relations between the respective defence ministries remained sound and there would soon be negotiations to prevent the situation from getting out of control.

He said the government and the National Security Council would direct further actions and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva would discuss the issue with the council soon.

He does not expect Thai authorities to call for the evacuation of Thais from Cambodia as happened during events that led up to the burning of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh in 2003.

"Such incidents are unlikely to be repeated because that lesson should have taught Cambodia to have preventive measures in place. I don't believe the situation would deteriorate into a war," Gen Ratchakrit said.

However, a senior government source said the Thai military was ready to evacuate Thai nationals if needed.

"The air force will deploy C-130 aircraft which would be escorted by fighter jets to pick up the Thais in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap from secret meeting points," said the source.

The navy has raised the number of vessels patrolling disputed waters from three to five and increased the frequency of patrols.

Most Thais oppose Thaksin giving advice

The popularity of the Abhisit Vejjajiva government has soared after its diplomatic protest against Phnom Penh's appointment of convicted Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser, an opinion poll has found.

And most Thais have told another poll they don't want Thaksin to offer advice to Cambodia.

Up to 68.8% of 3,709 respondents in 21 provinces have thrown their support behind the government, a huge increase on the 23.3% who backed it in September, according to an Abac poll conducted by Assumption University, between Oct 25 and Thursday.

Also today: Land border deal faces axe

And see: Hun Sen tells border troops to remain calm

In northern provinces, including Thaksin's home town of Chiang Mai, and northeastern provinces, most people (64.6%) support the government.

In the Northeast, the opposition Puea Thai Party's stronghold, 53.1% support the government over the Cambodia issue. Thais believe Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen places his relationship with Thaksin over the importance of national ties with Thailand, said Abac Poll Research Centre director Noppadol Kannikar.

Phnom Penh appointed Thaksin an economic adviser on Nov 4.

In protest, Thailand recalled its ambassador to Phnom Penh on Thursday.

While some diplomats say Thailand over-reacted and that the row threatens Asean's stability, most Thais back the government's response.

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions found Thaksin guilty of a conflict of interest in the Ratchadaphisek land purchase case in 2003, but Cambodia argued the charges against Thaksin were politically motivated.

Thais, however, still trusted the judicial system, Mr Noppadol said.

"The dispute is good for the government's support."

Meanwhile, a Dusit poll, conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University over the last two days, found 69.2% of people sampled countrywide oppose Thaksin acting as adviser to Cambodia, which they believe could escalate tensions between the two countries.

Many people (33.12%) also wanted Mr Abhisit to review all agreements which Thailand had made with Cambodia, the poll says.

The New Politics Party, formerly the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy, denounced Mr Hun Sen's move.

It was an attempt to interfere in Thailand's internal affairs, which could also "ravage the verdict of a Thai court", said the party secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila.

The anti-Thaksin group of 40 senators said the government should take the opportunity to revoke a memorandum of understanding in 2001 and an agreement in 2003 on maritime borders with Cambodia, reached when the Thaksin administration was in power, and to warn Thai businessmen against investment in Cambodia.

The government says it is reviewing all agreements with Cambodia, including the maritime one.

BANGKOK – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations expressed concern Saturday over a worsening diplomatic feud between Cambodia and Thailand and urged the neighboring countries to exercise restraint.

Already tense relations between the two nations erupted this past week when Cambodia named fugitive Thai ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra its economic adviser. Thailand recalled its ambassador Thursday, and Cambodia followed suit.

The row stands to embarrass the 10-nation bloc and undermine its credibility at a summit of Asian and Pacific leaders in Singapore later this month, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said.

Surin expressed "concern over the escalation of tensions between Cambodia and Thailand (and) has appealed to both countries to exercise maximum restraint," an ASEAN statement said.

Surin took the unusual step of publicly asking ASEAN's foreign ministers to "assist the two (countries) to settle their bilateral dispute amicably and as soon as possible." ASEAN generally abides by a policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of its members.

The appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser to Cambodia's government, announced Wednesday, soured already poor relations between the two neighbors, which have had small but sometimes deadly skirmishes over their land border in the past year.

The diplomatic dispute is closely tied to an ongoing political struggle within Thailand, where Thaksin is at the center of a political crisis and street protests that have gripped the country since 2006.

BANGKOK — The head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged Thailand and Cambodia to show "maximum restraint" amid tensions over Phnom Penh's job offer to a fugitive former Thai premier.

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said the 10-country bloc should not be seen to be divided by the dispute ahead of a historic meeting with US President Barack Obama and regional leaders later this month.

Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday recalled their respective ambassadors after Cambodia appointed Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as Thailand's prime minister in a coup in 2006, as an economic adviser.

Thailand and Cambodia have fought a series deadly clashes on their border since July 2008 in a dispute over land around an ancient Cambodian temple that was granted UN World Heritage Status.

Surin expressed "concern over the escalation of tensions between Cambodia and Thailand, has appealed to both countries to exercise maximum restraint," said a statement issued by the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

He also urged foreign ministers from the bloc to help the two countries to "settle their bilateral dispute amicably and as soon as possible".

"We in ASEAN cannot afford to be seen as being so seriously divided prior to the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders Meeting and the historic ASEAN-US Leaders Meeting in Singapore this month," it quoted Surin as saying in a letter to regional foreign ministers.

Thailand has accused Cambodia of interfering in its internal affairs by appointing Thaksin, who is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption.

Cambodia says Thaksin was the victim of a politically motivated case.

During his time in power, Thaksin was close to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who first floated the idea of the adviser's job at an Asian summit in October.

The aircraft flew low, following the Mekong River west from Vietnam. Once over Cambodia, what we saw silenced all of us on board. There appeared to be nobody, no movement, not even an animal, as if the great population of Asia had stopped at the border.

Whole villages were empty. Chairs and beds, pots and mats lay in the street, a car on its side, a bent bicycle. Behind fallen power lines lay or sat a single human shadow; it did not move. From the paddies, lines of tall wild grass followed straight lines. Fertilized by the remains of thousands upon thousands of men, women and children, these marked common graves in a nation where as many as two million people, or more than a quarter of the population, were "missing."

At the liberation of the Nazi death camp in Belsen in 1945, The Times correspondent wrote: "It is my duty to describe something beyond the imagination of mankind." That was how I felt in 1979 when I entered Cambodia, a country sealed from the outside world for almost four years since "Year Zero."

Year Zero had begun shortly after sunrise on April 17, 1975 when Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge guerrillas entered the capital, Phnom Penh. They wore black and marched in single file along the wide boulevards. At one o’clock, they ordered the city abandoned. The sick and wounded were forced at gunpoint from their hospital beds; families were separated; the old and disabled fell beside the road. "Don’t take anything with you," the men in black ordered. "You will be coming back tomorrow."

Tomorrow never came. An age of slavery began. Anybody who owned cars and such "luxuries," anybody who lived in a city or town or had a modern skill, anybody who knew or worked with foreigners, was in grave danger; some were already under sentence of death. Out of the Royal Cambodian Ballet company of 500 dancers, perhaps 30 survived. Doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers were starved, or worked to death, or murdered.

For me, entering the silent, gray humidity of Phnom Penh was like walking into a city the size of Manchester in the wake of a nuclear cataclysm which had spared only the buildings. There was no power, no drinking water, no shops, no services of any kind. At the railway station trains stood empty at various stages of interrupted departure. Personal belongings and pieces of clothing fluttered on the platforms, as they fluttered on the mass graves beyond.

I walked along Monivong Avenue to the National Library which had been converted to pigsty, as a symbol, all its books burned. It was dreamlike. There was wasteland where the Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral had stood; it had been dismantled stone by stone. When the afternoon monsoon rains broke, the deserted streets were suddenly awash with money. With every downpour a worthless fortune of new and unused banknotes sluiced out of the Bank of Cambodia, which the Khmer Rouge had blown up as they fled.

Inside, a checkbook lay open on the counter. A pair of glasses rested on an open ledger. I slipped and fell on a floor brittle with coins.

For the first few hours I had no sense of even the remains of a population. The few human shapes I glimpsed seemed incoherent, and on catching sight of me, would flit into a doorway. A child ran into a wardrobe lying on its side which was his or her refuge. In a crumbling Esso filling station an old woman and three emaciated infants squatted around a pot containing a mixture of roots and leaves, which bubbled over a fire fueled with paper money: such grotesque irony: people in need of everything had money to burn.

At a primary school called Tuol Sleng, I walked through what had become the "interrogation unit" and the "torture and massacre unit." Beneath iron beds I found blood and tufts of hair still on the floor. "Speaking is absolutely forbidden," said a sign. "Before doing something, anything, the authorization of the warden must be obtained."

After a while, one sound had a terrible syncopation: rising and falling day and night. Without milk and medicines, children were stricken with preventable disease like dysentery. It seemed that the very fabric of the society had begun to unravel. The first surveys revealed that many women had stopped menstruating.

What compounded this was the isolation imposed on Cambodia by the West because its liberators, the Vietnamese, had come from the wrong side of the cold war, having driven America out of their country in 1975. Cambodia had been the West’s dirty secret since President Richard Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger ordered a "secret bombing," extending the war in Vietnam into Cambodia in the early 1970s, killing hundreds of thousands of peasants. "If this doesn’t work," an aide heard Nixon say to Kissinger, "it’ll be your ass, Henry." It worked in handing Pol Pot his chance to seize power.

When I arrived in the aftermath, no Western aid had reached Cambodia. Only Oxfam defied the Foreign Office in London, which had lied that the Vietnamese were obstructing aid. In September 1979, a DC-8 jet took off from Luxembourg, filled with enough penicillin, vitamins and milk to restore some 70,000 children – all of it paid for by Daily Mirror readers who had responded to my reports and Eric Piper’s pictures in two historic issues of the paper which sold every copy.

Following on from the Mirror, on October 30, 1979, ITV broadcast Year Zero: the silent death of Cambodia, the documentary I made with the late David Munro. Forty sacks of post arrived at the ATV studios in Birmingham, with £1 million in the first few days. "This is for Cambodia," wrote an anonymous Bristol bus driver, enclosing his week’s wage. An elderly woman sent her pension for two months. A single parent sent her savings of £50. People expressed that unremitting sense of decency and community which is at the core of British society. Unsolicited, they gave more than £20 million. This helped rescue normal life in faraway country. It restored a clean water supply in Phnom Penh, stocked hospitals and schools, supported orphanages and reopened a desperately needed clothing factory.

Such an extraordinary public outpouring broke the US and British governments’ blockade of Cambodia. Incredibly, the Thatcher government had continued to support the defunct Pol Pot regime in the United Nations and even sent the SAS to train his exiled troops in camps in Thailand and Malaysia. Last March, the former SAS soldier Chris Ryan, now a best-selling author, lamented in a newspaper interview "when John Pilger, the foreign correspondent, discovered we were training the Khmer Rouge in the Far east [we] were sent home and I had to return the £10,000 we’d been given for food and accommodation."

Today, Pol Pot is dead and several of his elderly henchmen are on trial in a UN/Cambodian court for crimes against humanity. Henry Kissinger, whose bombing opened the door to the nightmare of Year Zero, is still at large. Cambodians remain desperately poor, dependent on an often seedy tourism and sweated labor.

For me, their resilience remains almost magical. In the years that followed their liberation, I never saw as many weddings or received as many wedding invitations. They became symbols of life and hope. And yet, only in Cambodia would a child ask an adult, as a twelve-year-old asked me, with fear crossing his face: "Are you a friend? Please say."

October 31, 2009

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand and Cambodia have descended into a loud political feud about Bangkok's 2006 coup, and Thailand's current threat to demand the extradition of its fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The rift between the two Buddhist-majority nations in the heart of Southeast Asia was expected to worsen if Mr. Thaksin accepts Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's surprise offer of a temporary house.

"There is an extradition process," warned Thailand's powerful Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Tuesday (October 27).

"The turmoil following Cambodian leader Hun Sen's remarks, about ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra being welcome in his country, has thrown the government into a spin," the Bangkok Post newspaper, which opposes Mr. Thaksin, reported on Tuesday (October 27).

Ratcheting up his rhetoric, Mr. Hun Sen compared Mr. Thaksin to Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has languished under house arrest in Rangoon for 14 years.

"Many people are talking about Mrs. Suu Kyi of Burma. Why can't I talk about the victim, Thaksin?" Mr. Hun Sen said on October 23.

"That cannot be regarded as interference by Cambodia into Thai internal affairs. Without the coup d'etat in 2006, such a thing would not have happened," Hun Sen said.

Soft-spoken Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lashed out Mr. Hun Sen's remarks.

"There are few people in the world who believe Thaksin is similar to that of Mr. Suu Kyi," Mr. Abhisit said later that day.

"I hope Prime Minister Hun Sen will receive the right information and change his mind on the matter."

Cambodia's government spokesman Phay Siphan said on October 23: "Cambodia has a right to offer Thaksin to visit Cambodia, and we have no obligation to send him back to Thailand."

If "former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra wishes to travel to Cambodia anytime...the Cambodian prime minister is ready to prepare a residence for [his] stay in Cambodia," reported Cambodia's government-run TVK television on October 22, according to Agence- France Presse.

Mr. Thaksin has been an international fugitive, based mostly in Dubai, dodging a two-year prison sentence for a conflict of interest.

That conviction involved a Bangkok real estate deal -- for his now divorced wife -- which was arranged when he was prime minister.

Mr. Thaksin became prime minister in 2001 when most voters elected the billionaire telecommunications tycoon, hoping he would boost the economy and modernize Thailand.

Mr. Thaksin was removed in September 2006 by Thailand's U.S.- trained military in a bloodless coup when they used tanks, armored personnel carriers, Humvees and other weapons to seize power.

He has unsuccessfully tried to return to power with the help of allied politicians, and get back his two billion U.S. dollars worth of assets which the coup leaders froze.

International human rights groups, however, want Mr. Thaksin investigated for his role in the alleged extrajudicial murder of more than 2,000 people during his government's "war on drugs."

Mr. Thaksin remains politically active in self-exile.

He helps lead a mass movement of so-called "Red Shirts" who claim to represent Thailand's majority lower classes, especially in the countryside.

Together they demand an immediate election, expecting Mr. Thaksin's allies to win.

They are opposed by the "Yellow Shirts" who claim to support Thailand's urban middle class and constitutional monarchy.

Led by Sondhi Limthongkul, the Yellow Shirts blockaded Bangkok's international and domestic airports in November 2008 for eight days, stranding more than 300,000 people worldwide.

Their blockade helped weaken a government allied to Mr. Thaksin, and paved the way for Parliament to elect Mr. Abhisit.

Mr. Abhisit's fragile coalition government enjoys the military's support, and much of his personal security is handled by the military.

Thailand's wealthy elite have mostly thrown their weight behind Mr. Abhisit as well, and appear nervous about Mr. Thaksin and the Red Shirts plotting to destabilize Bangkok.

Cambodia's prime minister has thrown a wild card into this dangerous mix, apparently hoping to attract big investments by Mr. Thaksin and weaken Bangkok's strategy over a smoldering border dispute, according to some analysts.

"It is true that I would invite former Prime Minister Thaksin to visit Cambodia anytime, and to be my economic advisor," Mr. Hun Sen said on October 22.

Thailand and Cambodia are former war-time enemies -- and current investment partners -- so the stakes are high for all sides to quell their public sniping.

Occasional killings on both sides have continued in and around the ancient stone ruins of Preah Vihear, a Hindu temple on the Thai- Cambodian border.

That dispute dates back to the 1950s, and continued even after the International Court in the Hague, Netherlands, confirmed Cambodia's ownership in 1962.

The conflict flared again after the ruins were declared a World Heritage Site in July 2008 by the World Heritage Committee, based on Cambodia's proposal to cash in on its tourism potential.

Thailand and Cambodia have suffered much worse relations in the past.

After Richard Nixon became president of the United States in 1969, he used Thailand as one of several military staging areas for heavy aerial bombing raids against communists in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, until America's wars ended in 1975 -- one year after Nixon's presidency -- with the U.S. defeated in all three countries.

Washington and Bangkok later indirectly backed Cambodia's communist Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, when his jungle-based guerrillas were in a loose alliance with other Cambodian rebels fighting against Vietnam's 1979-1989 occupation of Cambodia.

Thai and Cambodian politicians have been fleeing to each other's country for the past 50 years, seeking sanctuary from coups, arrest warrants, and other threats.

In 1957, when Thai dictator Field Marshall Sarit Thanarat unleashed a military coup against Prime Minister Phibun Songkram, the toppled leader fled Thailand for Cambodia in his Ford Thunderbird car.

*************