Friday, 20 November 2009

Gov´t Prohibits Thai Workers at CATS


Friday, 20 November 2009 03:03 administrator

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya insisted on Thursday that everything must be in line with the law after the Cambodian Government banned Thai nationals from working at Cambodian Air Traffic Services (CATS), which is operated by Thailand’s Samart Corporation, according to the Bangkok Post.

However, the claims that the Cambodian Government has prohibited Thai nationals from working at CATS could not be confirmed with Cambodian Government officials.

Both Foreign Affairs and Work and Vocational Training Ministry officials said that this decision is not made by their ministries but rather by the Secretary of the Civil Air Agency.

Mao Has Vananal, secretary of state for the Civil Aviation, could not be reached on Thursday after DAP News Cambodia tried many times to contact him. The Bangkok Post’s report comes after a Thai man was arrested and charged with spying by stealing fugitive former Thai PM Thaksin Sinawatra´s flight schedules during his 4-day trip to Cambodia on November 10, 2009.

“As for Thailand, we’ll have to wait for reports from the Thai Embassy to Phnom Pehn. We hope that we’ll receive factual information from Cambodia and[Smart] company,” Bangkok Post quoted his saying. “If the orders do not follow the bilateral agreement of the two countries, we’ll have to find other ways to continue.”

Kasit said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had promised Siwarak’s mother that he will visit her detained son. He said the Government had to wait for Cambodia’s confirmation on the time of the meeting with the engineer, but the ministry had also hired a lawyer to discuss this problem with the company.

“There are no problems in the Thai-Cambodian relations,” he added.

Thai Justice Ministry planned to send its senior officials to visit Sivarak Chutopong next week. However, Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, told DAP News Cambodia that so far his ministry has yet to receive any formal letter, saying only that “We also got this from the news from Bangkok.”

Cambodian Government officials have already stated that Cambodia will not release an alleged Thai spy, Sivarak Chutipong, 31, despite the Thai Government’s appeals. The Cambodian Government said the case is being investigated by the Phnom Penh Court. The man could have passed Thaksin’s flight schedule to the first secretary at Thai embassy in Phnom Penh and forwardedit to army and Thai Government.

A day after Sivarak Chutipong’s arrest,the Thai Embassy first secretary was
expelled from Cambodia by Foreign Affair Ministry.

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