via Khmer NZ
BANGKOK, Aug 22 - Negotiations for the release of three Thais recently arrested in Cambodia will be held Monday with Cambodian authorities, said Rapee Phongbuphakij, governor of the northeastern border province of Surin.
The three men, charged by Cambodia with spying, were arrested eight days ago by Cambodian police while they were gathering forest products along the border. All of them are natives of Surin.
Senior Thai officials have said the trio are not spies and that their arrest has nothing to do with the ongoing border dispute between the two nations.
Mr Rapee said he had talked by telephone to the three men now jailed in Siem Reap, and they had asked for the Thai government's assistance in gaining their release. They complained of hardships while in prison, the governor said, noting that he had ordered officials who would negotiate with the Cambodian officials to also give clothing and medicine to the detainees.
Meanwhile, Democrat Party spokesman, Buranat Samutarak, asked Thai residents of the border areas to refrain from movements along the Thai-Cambodian border, for the situation in which the two countries are locked remain tense.
He asked them to be confident that the Thai government was trying its best to help the detainees. But if another invasion was made, despite under the Thai sovereignty, it would be hard to guarantee the safety of Thais and the situation could become worse.
Spokesman of the opposition Puea Thai Party, Prompong Nopparit, said the party had sent a team to follow the trio case. He said the ongoing Thai-Cambodian problem will make the release of the three men more difficult, and criticised Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya for doing nothing regarding the issue. (MCOT online news)
No comments:
Post a Comment