PM Abhisit is on the right track with his bravado in exercising démarche against Cambodia
Left: Thai PM Abhist Vejjajiva addressing Japanese busiessmen at Imperial Hotel in Tokyo Right: Cambodian PM Hun Sen seems reluctant to join other leaders of the five nations for a photo session at the Five Nations Mekong Basin Development Summit hosted by Japan in Tokyo today. From left: Cambodian PM Hun Sen, Laotian PM Bouasonne Bouphavanh Burmese PM General Thein Sein, Thai PM Abhisit, Fujio Mikarai from Japanese Board of Trade
The
announcement by Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, for the appointment of TS,
the most controversial ex-premier of Thailand and now a fugitive convict for
corruption while in office, as his private adviser and government economic
adviser for Hun Sen-led Cambodian People Party (CPP) government. The media
reported that PM Abhisit’s popularity soared three times (to 68.6% by ABAC poll)for
his decision to recall the Thai Ambassador to Cambodia from Phnom Penh yesterday
(Thur. Nov. 5th)as a diplomatic demarche. Cambodia also took
reciprocal action by recalling its ambassador toHun Sen, on his arrival at
Cha-Am resort town near Hua Hin in Prachuabkirikhan, an upper southern province
in Thailand, for the 15th Asean Summit, gave interview to international
media corps that he considered TS as his good friend and would provide TS a
safe haven in Cambodia. He also said that TS is a political victim and unfairly
treated by Thailand’s justice system. Thai media have taken Hun Sen remarks as interference in Thailand’s internal affairs. Hun
Sen’s praises for TS as political fighter in the same league with Burma’s Nobel
Peace Prize Award winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, became international brouhaha and drawn
a lot of hostile criticism from Burmese people and international journalists.
Some media interpreted Hun Sen’s praises for TS as comparing hell with heaven.
Hun
Sen revealed that the appointments were signed into a decree by Cambodian King
Norodom Sihamoni, on Oct. 27, two days after the closing of the Asean Summit.
Hun Sen moved very quickly in his face slapping action on Thailand. It can be
interpreted thatHun Sen considers the
current Thai government, with Khun Abhisit as the PM, his enemy No. 1. He has
breached diplomatic protocol and downgrading Thailand to a meaningless common-border
neighbour of Cambodia.
Undoubtedly,
Hun Sen’s verbal attack on Thailand’s justice system shows his disrespect for
Thailand’s imminent status as the current country head of Asean for 2009. Amazingly,
he launched his sudden verbal attack in a very serious manner as he did it
unceremoniously right away before proceeding to the meeting room as if he had
planned it in Phnom Penh before flying to attend the 15th Asean
Summit.
It’s unbelievable that Hun Sen, while on a
regional cooperation meeting as a Thai government guest, dared to speak about a
highly controversial political figure, convicted for his breach of Thai corruption
law and became a criminal fugitive. The meeting was a very significant joint international
economic development effort focusing on the whole region. Moreover, Hun Sen’s aggressive
criticism of Thailand’s justice system violated every rule book on foreign
policy. It can be viewed as his personal hostility against all Thai
institutions. Thai people should take Hun Sen’s remarks as a downright insult
to Thailand’s monarchy. This is because the Thai court system carries its work
under the name of this country’s monarch as stated in Thailand’s constitution.
Don’t forget that he has insulted Thailand’s military capability by saying
recently that a Cambodian soldier can take 3 Thai soldiers in any battle field
if armed conflict becomes real.
Why
not we seriously take the sum of his insulting remarks and respond to him in a
serious manner? If we do not defend our honour and respectability, what kind of
honour we still have? I have just heard
from a TV news programme that PM Abhisit is taking further action to consider revoking
Thai-Cambodian memorandum on joint economic development on 26, 000 sq.km overlapping
area in the Gulf of Thailand. There will also be review of other economic cooperation
projects between Thailand and Cambodia. Thailand’s economic aid for Cambodia
came in many forms. It looks like PM
Abhisit is on the right track in his exercising of diplomatic démarche against
Cambodia at a higher degree.
Who
is Hun Sen, actually? Let me quote his brief biography from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2008):
Hun Sen , 1952-, Cambodian
political leader, premier of Cambodia (1985-93, 1998-; second premier,
1993-98). A member of the Khmer Rouge
from 1970, he fled to Vietnam with Heng Samrin
and other Communists in 1977. When the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia, Hun
Sen returned, becoming foreign minister (1979-85) in Heng Samrin's
Vietnamese-backed, anti-Khmer Rouge, Communist government. In 1985, Hun Sen
became premier and soon was the most powerful member of the Cambodian
government. After the signing (1991) of a peace agreement with both the Khmer
Rouge and Norodom Sihanouk
's forces and then national elections in 1993, Hun Sen became co-premier with
royalist Prince Norodom Ranariddh. In 1997, after a period of tension in the
coalition, Hun Sen's forces moved against Ranariddh and his allies, and
Ranariddh fled the country. In disputed elections in 1998, Hun Sen's Cambodian
People's party won, and he became sole premier in coalition with Ranariddh's
party; after protracted negotiations, the coalition was renewed after the 2003
elections. He remained premier after the 2008 elections, when his party won in
a landslide.
I
would like to recommend new readers of this blog to read my previous entry posted
on Oct. 26 on the Politics Category of this Weblog entitled: Should Thailand exercise its démarche
against Hun Sen’s diplomatic faux pas at 15th Asean Summit venue in Cha-Am?
I have found an article published on Website
of the Guardian, one of UK leading newspapers and inserted it here below for this
blog readers’ information.
Shinawatra
stokes tensions by taking job with Cambodian government
Former Thai prime minister
accepts role as economic adviser amid diplomatic row between countries
Adam Gabbatt and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 November 2009
13.59 GMT
During
his tenure as Thai prime minister, he was accused of corruption and later
convicted of allowing his wife to buy state land at a discount price. In his
sole season in charge of Manchester
City the club recorded a loss of nearly
£30m. But now Thaksin Shinawatra has a new job – as an economic
adviser to the Cambodian government.
Cambodia announced that
the former Thai prime minister – who last year was sentenced in absentia to two
years' imprisonment in his home country – will serve as an adviser on economic
matters to both its government and prime minister, in a move that has
immediately raised tensions in Thailand.
Thai
officials said today that the country would recall its ambassador in Cambodia
and "review all of the agreements" between the two countries
following the announcement of Shinawatra's appointment yesterday.
State
television in Cambodia confirmed last night that King Norodom Sihamoni had
officially approved Shinawatra to take up his new role. The former Manchester
City chairman, who was convicted of violating a conflict of interest law in
2008, was ousted as Thai prime minister in 2006 in a military coup.
He has been living in self-imposed exile ever since.
Shinawatra
is still a deeply divisive figure in Thailand, where officials claim he is
trying to undermine the current government to regain power. And Chavanont
Intarakomalsut, a secretary to the Thai foreign minister, confirmed that the
country would recall its ambassador from Cambodia "to express our dissatisfaction"
with the appointment.
"We
will also review all of the agreements between the two countries along with any
other cooperation with them," he said.
Cambodia's
seeming adoption of Shinawatra represents the most severe diplomatic action so
far amid ongoing tensions with Thailand. The two countries have been involved
in a series of small but sometimes deadly skirmishes over the demarcation of
their border in recent months.
Hun
Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, angered his Thai counterpart, Abhisit
Vejjajiva, ahead of a summit meeting of Asian leaders in Thailand last month by
declaring that Shinawatra was welcome to take refuge in Cambodia. Thailand responded by saying it would seek to
extradite Shinawatra if he went to Cambodia, who countered that such a request
would be rejected, as Shinwatra's prosecution and conviction had been
politically motivated.
His
supporters in Thailand claim the country's political elite is ignoring the fact
Shinawatra was twice democratically elected because it feels its own privileges
are threatened.
The
new Cambodian economic adviser, who purchased Manchester City for £81.6m in 2007,
made his fortune in telecommunications before entering politics in 1994. He was
elected prime minister in 2001 and served for five years before being deposed.
Shinawatra had his UK visa revoked in November last year.
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