Tuesday, 1 December 2009

Army Chiefs Talk at Border


Tuesday, 01 December 2009 04:13 DAP-NEWS

Cambodian and Thai army chiefs stationed around Preah Vihear are speeding up talks to reduce tension as diplomatic ties continue to slip.

The two defense ministers recently agreed to convene a Joint Border Com-mittee meeting in Pattaya, Thailand to keep the peace.

Chea Dara, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) chief at Preah Vihear, told DAP News Cambodia on Saturday that on Saturday, “we have met at Phnom Trob, and on Sunday we will meet at Ta Thoav gate.”
“We speed up talks … to get better relations between the two countries,” Chea Dara added.

After a two-day meeting in the Thai resort town of Pattaya which ended Friday, the Thai and Cambodian defense ministers said they had agreed to reach peaceful solutions to solve new misunderstandings.
“Thai and Cambodian forces will support every mechanism to strengthen relations between the two countries,” Thai defense minister Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters, according to AFP.

Prawit said the meeting focused on issues around the poorly defined, heavily armed border and how to make people who live there live peacefully.

“Cambodia will not do anything that would affect the public in both countries. We will avoid any action that would lead to a conflict between the two countries,” Cambodian Defense Minister Gen Tea Banh told the news conference.

The diplomatic dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has been eased after the latter allowed the mum of jailed “Thai spy” to meet her son at Prey Sar prison, Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Samutrak said on Saturday, according to Bangkok Post.

The detained Thai engineer convicted by Cambodia Court of stealing fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra’s flight plans on Friday met his mother, Simaluck Na Nakhon, at Prey Sar Prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh for the first time since he was arrested by Cambodian authorities on November 12.

Simaluck Na Nakhon Panom met her son Sivarak for about 90 minutes, instead of the 60 minutes as normally allowed by the prison, Thai FM’s secretary Chawanont Indharakomarnsutr was quoted by Thai newspaper the Nation as saying. Chawanot said he talked to Simaluck on the phone after she met her son. He said the Cambodian prison arranged a room of the prison for the meeting of Simaluck and her son.

The Cambodian Government on Friday last week confirmed that Thai workers at Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) have not been fired, contrary to reports in the Thai press. Thai workers have been barred from entering technical rooms as this duty is responsibility of the Cambodian Government.

Buranat said the political movements by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra received no responded from the armed forces of the two countries.

He said Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh had on Friday clearly said that the legal trial case against the arrested Thai engineer, Sivarak Chutipong, had nothing to do with politics.

The Thai-Cambodia general border committee meeting in Pattaya concluded on Friday that only peaceful means should be used in settling border disputes between the two countries.

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