No threat yet to Thais in Cambodia

By The Nation
November 16, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The situation in Cambodia has not deteriorated to the point of warranting concern for the safety of Thai expatriates there, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban said yesterday.

He also vowed that the Thai citizen charged with spying in Phnom Penh would receive due justice as guaranteed by international law.

"If necessary, the government stands ready to provide confirmation that the flight plan is not classified information and that the flight in question was known before the arrest of the Thai air-traffic controller," he said.

The Foreign Ministry and the Thai company operating air-traffic control services at Phnom Penh International Airport will provide legal assistance to Siwarak Chothipong, accused of leaking the flight plan of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

"Even though the government is in no position to meddle with the Cambodian judicial process, the charge will likely be dropped in light of the evidence," he said.

Talks with Cambodia to mend fences at this juncture were unlikely to resolve any differences, he said.

The Cambodian government should take the welfare and benefits of the peoples of the two countries into consideration instead of acting on a whim to vent its displeas

ure at the Thai administration, he said.

The rumour of the arrest of another Thai spy, reportedly working in Siem Reap under Thailand's Armed Forces Security Centre, was unfounded, he said.

Thai citizens should remain calm and not act hastily to fall into the trap laid out by the Cambodian government, he said.

The future of Thai-Cambodian ties hinges on whether Cambodia would adjust its stance toward Thaksin, he said.

The Cambodian government appears to put more value in accommodating the fugitive rather than maintaining cordial relations with Thailand, he said.

The Foreign Ministry plans to lodge its strongest protest if Cambodian authorities file false and trumped-up charges against Siwarak, said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister.

Cambodian authorities dismissed the consular request from Thai charge d'affaires Chalothorn Phaovibul to visit Siwarak in his prison cell on grounds that it was the weekend, he said.

In a telephone interview from Phnom Penh, Chalothorn said Siwarak was detained at a Phnom Penh prison.

Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Smutharaks said CTN, a Cambodian television station, had aired a news commentary on Thai-Cambodian relations that made inappropriate references to the Thai monarchy.

He called on Thai authorities to file a complaint in order to prevent a repeat of such an offence, which might lead to the escalation of tensions.