Thaksin appointed as adviser of Cambodian PM
Former Thai PM appointed as adviser of Cambodian PM and government
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) — Former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was officially appointed as adviser of his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen and the Royal Government of Cambodia King Norodom Sihamoni, a statement of the Royal Government announced on Wednesday.
The King signed the Royal Decree of the appointment of Thaksin Shinawatra on Oct. 27. The appointment was made in accordance with the country’s constitutions and at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Hun Sen said, as he arrived in the beach resort of Hua Hin, Thailand, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on Oct. 23, that “Thaksin can stay in Cambodia as a guest of Cambodia. He can also be my adviser on the economy”.
The Cambodian leader repeated an earlier invitation to Thaksin to stay in Cambodia and rejected Thai claims that Phnom Penh would have to extradite the tycoon.
“Our concern is for humanitarian reasons, it is friends helping friends. The internal affairs of Thailand would be left for Thai people to resolve, I am not interfering,” said Hun Sen.
Thaksin was toppled from power in 2006 and he has been living in self-exile in foreign countries since then to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption.
Also, in the statement, Cambodia said it will not extradite Thaksin at a request from Thailand if he comes and stays in Cambodia. Meanwhile, it said that the Royal Government will continue its policy of having friendly relations with Thailand.
Ties between Cambodia and Thailand have been soured since June 2008 amid a border conflict over land surrounding an 11th century temple. But relations have cooled further since Hun Sen made his first invitation to Thaksin last month.
The Cambodian government said earlier that under treaties between the two nations it could reject a request for Thaksin’s extradition because it would be made on the grounds of “political offence.”
Thaksin, born in Thailand’s northern province Chiang Mai in 1949, became one of the richest people in Thailand by setting up telecommunications companies like Shin Corporation and Advanced Info Service before entering politics.
Thaksin entered politics by joining the Phalang Dharma Party (Power of Justice Party) in 1994, and once served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in two administrations.
CONFLICTS OVER THAKSIN
Cambodian government recalls its ambassador
The Cambodian government on Thursday evening announced to temporarily call back its Ambassador to Thailand, a move came shortly after Thai government’s recall of its ambassador to Cambodia.
The decision was announced at 8:30 pm local time by Sok An, minister of council of ministers, at a hastily arranged press conference.
“The move we took is a response to Thai’s recall of its Ambassador to Cambodia,” Sok An said.”That we appointed Thaksin as our government’s adviser is Cambodia’s internal affairs and conforms to international practice.”
Earlier Thursday, the Thai government decided to recall its Ambassador to Cambodia to protest against the appointment of the ousted former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatre as adviser of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the government.
The decision came one day after Cambodian government announced appointment of Thaksin as adviser of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his government. The appointment was signed by by Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni. Moreover, the Cambodian government repeated its refusal to extradite Thaksin if requested.
The Thai government said that it is ready to demand of revising bilateral agreements, which have been agreed by the two countries.
The Thai government’s movement is based on diplomatic principle, which does not intend to any violence to occur between the two neighboring countries, Thai Foreign Ministry said.
THAI-CAMBODIAN RELATIONS
Thailand recalls envoy from Cambodia, Phnom Penh retaliates in kind
Just as many had feared, the stormy relationship between Thailand and Cambodia was pushed to the edge yesterday when Bangkok responded to fugitive ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s appointment as the neighbouring country’s economic adviser by recalling its ambassador from Phnom Penh.
Cambodia’s retaliation – the planned recall of its ambassador here, You Aye, who Deputy Cambodian Prime Minister Sok An said would not return until Bangkok sends its own envoy back – ensured bilateral ties were at their worst level in years.
If Thaksin’s appointment was an unmistakable diplomatic provocation, recalling the Thai envoy was the strongest possible response yet – equivalent to a downgrade of relations between the countries.
Former foreign minister Tej Bunnag warned that the ambassadorial recalls meant a major channel of communications had been removed.
The Foreign Ministry recalled Prasas Prasasvinitchai, the ambassador to Phnom Penh, to Bangkok yesterday after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on Wednesday that Thaksin had been royally appointed as economic adviser and would not be extradited to Thailand.
These new developments add more problems to the ongoing process of boundary demarcation, and border conflicts at the area near the Preah Vihear Temple will become more difficult to resolve.
Now it is up to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to calmly speak to Prime Minister Hun Sen when they meet in Tokyo today and tomorrow at the Japan-Mekong Summit, Tej said.
“Bilateral ties should not be damaged by a single individual,” he added.
However, Chavanont Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said there were no plans for Abhisit to meet Hun Sen during the Tokyo summit.
“We will not call him but if he calls us, we might talk,” he said at a press conference. “So far we have nothing to say to him.”
Reflecting Bangkok’s “enough is enough” attitude, Chavanont said Thailand would not tolerate Hun Sen’s behaviour any longer because the government had already explained Thaksin’s legal status to him several times.
“Thaksin’s appointment is seen as an interference in Thailand’s domestic affairs and a failure to respect the Thai judicial system,” he said.
Downgrading bilateral relations is always an option for Thailand when it comes to responding to Cambodia. The Kingdom had previously downgraded ties in 2003 after an arson attack at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh – ironically while Thaksin was prime minister. But that was a brief estrangement because Thaksin was always on good terms with Hun Sen.
However, this Democrat-ruled government is different. It is not clear how long it will take to resume normal relations, because the Thai side is going to review all bilateral agreements and cooperation projects. Thailand has a number of ongoing projects with Cambodia in many areas, including transportation and energy.
Every time relations between the two nations get sour, Thai interests in Cambodia, notably in trade and investment, always get affected. The 2003 riots and the anti-Thai sentiment caused a lot of damage to Thai businesses in the country, and investors were only able to resume their businesses a few years ago.
Thailand currently has scores of investment projects worth billions of baht, but bilateral trade in the first half of this year showed a 25-per-cent contraction from the same period last year, though trade experts believed it would recover in the second half. Border trade was also expected to show signs of recovery if relations had not been jeopardised.
Besides, the situation could become worse if a party in Cambodia stoked anti-Thai sentiment, as happened in 2003.
The only way to maintain bilateral interests would be to mend relations as soon as possible. However, with Thaksin and Hun Sen now the best of friends, observers say things can go either way – better or worse.
Thailand threatened Friday to seal the border with Cambodia in a spiralling diplomatic row over Phnom Penh’s naming of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser.
The warning came a day after the two countries recalled their respective ambassadors due to the dispute over the appointment of Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption.
“If Cambodia still adopts a hard line and uncompromising attitude, then we must continue to downgrade relations and maybe seal off all border checkpoints,” Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said.
There were no reports of any incidents along the border so far and trading was going on as normal, Suthep said.
Thailand and Cambodia have fought a series of deadly skirmishes since July 2008 over disputed land that surrounds the ancient Preah Vihear temple on the border.
Thailand boosted security around the Cambodian Embassy after the Cambodian ambassador returned to Phnom Penh early Friday. There have been rallies in recent weeks around the building by anti-Thaksin protesters.
Suthep said Thailand expected Cambodia to reciprocate, adding: “Thaksin should ask Cambodian authorities to secure the Thai embassy and Thai interests in Cambodia,” he said.
In 2003 Cambodian protesters set fire to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, again after both countries recalled their ambassadors in a diplomatic row.
Suthep meanwhile said there were no plans for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to meet his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen when the pair attend a summit of Mekong River basin nations in Tokyo starting Friday.
There was no immediate comment from Phnom Penh.
The Cambodian government announced the appointment of Thaksin as economics adviser on state television late Wednesday, almost two weeks after Hun Sen first floated the idea at a summit of Asian leaders.
Twice-elected Thaksin remains a hugely influential figure in Thailand, which has been rocked by years of protests by his red-clad supporters and yellow-clad opponents, including rallies that shut down Bangkok’s airports last year.
Thailand will review agreements and cooperation projects with Cambodia after the government in Phnom Penh named fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra an economic adviser, threatening to fan tensions that have triggered border clashes.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva recalled the nation’s ambassador from Cambodia yesterday, prompting counterpart Hun Sen to follow suit. The two leaders have no plan to meet today or tomorrow in Tokyo, where they are attending a regional summit with Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Abhisit said today.
Thaksin’s appointment is an “interference in Thailand’s domestic affairs and failure to respect Thailand’s judicial system,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The move “hurts the feelings of most Thais,” Abhisit said yesterday.
Hun Sen sparked a diplomatic row last month by comparing Thaksin to Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s detained opposition leader. Hun Sen said he wouldn’t extradite Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup and living in exile after fleeing a two-year prison sentence for abuse of power.
Thaksin has engineered anti-government protests from abroad since he left the country, attacking Abhisit and preparing his allies for a fresh election. President Barack Obama, on his first trip to Asia, is scheduled to co-chair with Abhisit a Nov. 15 summit of Southeast Asian leaders that will include Hun Sen.
Thai-Cambodia Trade
Cambodia, Thailand’s 18th largest export market, imported more goods from its neighbor last year than any other country. Trade between the countries reached $2.13 billion in 2008, with Thai exports such as sugar, cement and oil accounting for 96 percent, according to Thailand’s Commerce Ministry. Two-way shipments this year have dropped 26 percent through September.
Siam Cement Pcl, Thailand’s biggest producer of the building material, imports raw materials for its cement plant in Cambodia. Khon Kaen Sugar Industry Pcl, Thailand’s biggest publicly traded miller, opened a plant in Cambodia this year.
Thai and Cambodian officials had set up committees to work on demarcating their 803-kilometer (499-mile) land and sea border. The two countries have yet to reconcile 10,422 square miles of disputed waters in the Gulf of Thailand that may contain oil and gas reserves.
‘Economic Skills’
Thaksin was appointed an adviser because of his “economic skills” and “close friendship” with Hun Sen, Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said by phone from Phnom Penh. Cambodia “fully complies” with the extradition treaty between the countries and won’t send Thaksin to Thailand because the charges are “political,” he said.
Hun Sen “does not want to provoke any adverse incident between the two countries,” Koy Kuong said. Cambodia would send its ambassador back to Bangkok provided Thailand reinstates its envoy first, he said.
A Twitter message posted on Thaksin’s Web site yesterday said the decision to recall the ambassador was “childish” and an “overreaction.” Thaksin lives in Dubai and travels frequently. His spokesman, Phongthep Thepkanjana, didn’t answer calls to his mobile phone.
Thailand last recalled its ambassador in 2003, when Cambodians burned down the embassy and attacked Thai businesses. Thaksin was Thailand’s prime minister at the time.
Deteriorating Relations
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since July 2008, when a Thai court ordered a pro-Thaksin government to withdraw support for Cambodia’s bid to list the Preah Vihear temple as a United Nations World Heritage site. The temple is near an area of land the two countries dispute. Gun battles near the site since then have killed at least six soldiers. The situation at the border now is “normal,” Koy Kuong said.
If Thaksin “were actually there and coordinating his people from a base, that would cause problems,” said Robert Broadfoot, managing director of Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. “I don’t think either Hun Sen or the Thais will allow this to spin out of control. Cambodia is just taking the opportunity to get back at what was really a Thai mistake” in objecting to the temple listing.
Thaksin or his allies have won Thailand’s past four elections since 2001. Since the coup, courts have disbanded two parties linked to him, including the winner of the 2007 election, a decision that allowed Abhisit to form a coalition government. The Thaksin-linked Puea Thai party remains the largest in parliament.
Thaksin, a billionaire-turned-politician, has claimed the judicial system is biased against him. His opponents say he’s corrupt and wants to upend Thailand’s monarchy.
Thailand on Friday threatened to revoke an agreement on joint petroleum exploration with Cambodia and close their common border to trade in an escalating diplomatic spat over fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, currently in Tokyo attending a regional summit, said he would ask a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to approve the revoking of a Thai-Cambodian memorandum of understanding (MOU) on joint oil and gas exploration in an overlapping continental shelf area that was signed in June 2001 when Thaksin was prime minister.
Cambodia on Thursday appointed Thaksin, a fugitive from Thai justice, as an economic advisor, prompting Thailand to recall its ambassador to Phnom Penh in response to the diplomatic slap in the face.
Thailand has also launched a review of all bilateral agreements with Cambodia, starting with the MOU.
The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the appointment of Thaksin as an economic advisor to the government of Cambodia would “directly affect negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia under the framework of this MOU” because Thaksin was directly involved in the negotiation process.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaunsuban, meanwhile, threatened to close the Thai-Cambodian border to trade if Cambodia continued to take an aggressive stance towards the government.
But Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan dismissed the threat late Friday and said closing the border would be “an over-reaction” that would hurt Thai businessmen more than it would hurt Cambodians living in the area.
Phay Siphan added that Thailand should respect the contents of the agreement on oil and gas exploration.
“They should abide by their international obligations,” he said. “This kind of panicked [reaction] by the Thai government – they should hold [on to] their credibility.”
Thailand on Thursday said it had recalled its ambassador to Phnom Penh because the appointment of Thaksin as an economic advisor was deemed interference in its domestic affairs. The current Thai government regards ex-premier Thaksin as an archenemy, dedicated to overthrowing the administration and returning to power.
Cambodia has reciprocated by recalling its ambassador who returned to Phnom Penh Friday along with the three other senior diplomats from the embassy. Phay Siphan said Ambassador You Ay returned by road and was kept waiting for more than an hour at the border checkpoint, an action he described as “arrogant and uncivilized.”
He also criticized Thailand for reviewing all bilateral agreements and cooperation projects.
“I don’t think Thailand should do this, [because] the appointment of Excellency Thaksin is the internal affair of Cambodia,” he said Friday. “Cambodia has no intention to worsen the relationship.”
“The Cambodian government still [wants to] maintain good relations between the two kingdoms,” Koy Koung said. “It’s up to the Thai side. The Thai side sees this in a different way, but cooperation between the two sides should still go on.”
Earlier on Friday Kasit reportedly asked Cambodia to review its decision to appoint Thaksin, saying Phnom Penh needed to choose between personal interests and relations between the two countries.
Koy Koung dismissed that. “No, the government still holds to the decision of its appointment of Mr Thaksin,” he said.
The move to revoke the memorandum on joint oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Thailand was seen as direct retaliation against Hun Sen, who has trumpeted his personal friendship with Thaksin, a billionaire former telecommunications tycoon with past business dealings in Cambodia.
However, Koy Koung said the move would make little practical difference.
“So far the progress on the boundary issues is already stuck because of the internal procedures of Thailand,” he said. “It was very, very slow.”
Thaksin was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 before being toppled by a coup. He faces a two-year jail sentence in Thailand for abuse of power for allowing his billionaire wife in 2003 to successfully bid on a prime plot of Bangkok land in a government auction.
Thaksin has been living in self-imposed exile, mostly in Dubai, since August 2008 but continues to be a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government.
Thaksin was overthrown after he lost the backing of Thailand’s Bangkok-based middle class and political elite. He remains popular with the poor because of his populist economic policies.
Thailand is considering breaking off diplomatic relations with neighbouring Cambodia as a dispute heats up over Phnom Penh’s hiring of a fugitive former Thai premier.
After Cambodia made the announcement on Wednesday, the following day Thailand recalled its ambassador from Cambodia for consultations in Bangkok. Cambodia immediately followed suit.
As a further retaliation, Thailand’s Cabinet will be asked next week to junk a 2001 memorandum of understanding to end a sensitive maritime boundary dispute in the Gulf of Thailand, a report in the Bangkok Post newspaper said.
Resolution of the dispute is for the betterment of both countries as it would allow an ordered exploitation of suspected large amounts of natural gas and oil reserves on the ocean floor.
The memorandum was signed during the first Thai government of Thaksin Shinawatra who has since been sentenced to two years in jail over conflict of interest in business dealings.
Despite his chequered past, Cambodia made it official on state television this week that Thaksin — on the run from Thai authorities for three years after being ousted in a coup — had been appointed an economic adviser to the government.
He is also now a personal adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, further en-flaming relations between the two Asian nations and jeopardizing all negotiations over sea boundaries that could avoid resource wars.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has said it would not be in Thailand’s best interests to talk with Cambodia over the boundaries because of the Thaksin appointment. Thailand would explore other ways to end the maritime dispute under international law.
Deputy Thai Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Thailand will downgrade relations if Phnom Penh continues its uncompromising attitude. “If Cambodia continues to adopt this hard line, then we must continue to downgrade relations and maybe seal off all border checkpoints.”
The Thaksin appointment was not a total surprise to people in Thai political circles, and even expected by some.
It was mooted by Cambodian officials at a regional meeting of the Association of South-east Asian Nations in Thailand’s sea-side resort of Cha-am last month. After Cambodia went public over considering the appointment, Thailand said it hoped Cambodia would reconsider and downplayed the media coverage, saying that Cambodian comments would not be allowed to derail the conference.
The Thaksin appointment also puts pressure on another, long-simmering boundary dispute, this one on land, about 300 miles north east of Bangkok. The military of both countries periodically face each other in the Preah Vihear mountains around an 11th century Hindu temple of the same name.
The international court of justice ruled in 1962 that the temple was on Cambodian land. But the only access to the mountaintop building is on the Thai side, which Thai troops sealed off last summer.
Media reports in July said around 2,000 troops from both sides were stationed across from each other on border patrol. Cross-border incidents occasionally flare up, such as in October 2008 when two Cambodian troops died and seven Thai troops were wounded in a gun battle lasting an hour.
Border clashes make neighbouring countries nervous of an outbreak of war that might send waves of refugees flooding into third-party territory. Singapore, also a member of ASEAN, has called on the two countries not to break off diplomatic relations.
The September 2006 coup sent Thaksin into exile, mainly in the United Kingdom, where the purported billionaire bought the Manchester City football club.
He returned to Thailand when his political allies won power in 2007. But his wife, Pojaman, was sentenced in 2008 to three years in jail for tax fraud, and soon after Thaksin, 60, received a two-year sentence. He fled before handing himself in, leaving an estimated $2 billion in frozen assets.
Thaksin’s eventual fate is important to Thailand’s government. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, 45, a member of the Democrat Party, heads a large coalition government that fears Thaksin could pose a credible election threat if he returns to the country.
Many of his supporters are in the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship Party that has demonstrated for a royal pardon by the ailing king.
Also, the main opposition party, the Puea Thai, is made up of colleagues from Thaksin’s own defunct party, Thai Rak Thai, which was banned in 2007 for violation of election laws. As a former police officer, the government fears that Thaksin could call in favours among senior policemen and also some military leaders in any election, possibly next year.
PM urges Thaksin to think about Thailand first
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Saturday urged convicted former ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to take Thailand’s interest into consideration rather than of another country.
Abhisit reiterated that the Thai government’s decision to downgrade diplomatic relations with its neighbour Cambodia is not considered severe.
Abhisit was attending the two-day Japan-Mekong summit in Tokyo which ended earlier Saturday.
The problem was not caused by Thailand, he said, adding that what the Cambodian government did affected the Thai judicial system directly.
Thaksin is also a Thai and he should have realised the impact, but he instead charged that the Thai government had caused the problem.
“In fact, Mr Thaksin should review his role of what he’s doing and think of the country’s interests as his priority and also to think on good relations with the country’s neighbours as well,” said Abhisit.
His remarks were made after Thaksin criticised the Thai government’s decision to downgrade diplomatic ties with Cambodia after the country appointed Thaksin as an economic adviser.
Both countries have recalled their ambassadors while Thailand considers revoking a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries on overlapping maritime boundaries in the Gulf of Thailand as the MoU would be affected by Thaksin’s appointment as economic advisor to the Cambodian government.
The MoU regarding the Area of their Overlapping Maritime Claims to the Continental Shelf, dated 18 June 2001 was signed by then-foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An during the Thaksin administration.
Thailand scraps maritime pact with Cambodia
Thailand yesterday (on November 6) terminated the memorandum of understanding on overlapping maritime areas with Cambodia that was signed during Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration in 2001.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was adopting a “wait-and-see” approach on the current conflict with the neighbouring country.
Speaking via telephone conference from Tokyo, Foreign Ministry Kasit Piromya said the circumstances surrounding the MoU had changed as Thaksin was now appointed an adviser to the Cambodian government.
“Thaksin knows the Thai position, so Thailand cannot negotiate with Cambodia based on this agreement,” he said.
Responding later by video conference to questions from reporters at Government House, Abhisit said: “It was not Thailand that had started it [the current dispute] – it was the Cambodians.
“Therefore, it is they who have to review their position. Right now, we are adopting a wait-and-see approach.”
When asked if he had spoken to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at an official dinner last night in Tokyo, Abhisit said his counterpart was seated at quite a distance from him and that there was a vase between them obstructing his view.
Thailand signed the MoU on the area of overlapping maritime claims in the continental shelf in 2001, but the two countries have not yet made progress on developing and sharing of benefit in the area, Kasit said.
The 26,000-square-kilometre area, with abundant natural gas, is regarded as being in Thailand’s national interest and everyone involved should participate in the development of the resource in accordance with the new Constitution, he said.