Don't let him get away with it

15/11/2009
Source: Bangkok Post

The government should expedite its decision whether to charge Thaksin Shinawatra for lese majeste following his recent interview with TimesOnline.

The case should not disappear from the limelight because Thaksin can't have any excuses for what he said.

It seems the former premier knew he could not avoid the consequences of this mistake, so he used Cambodian leader Hun Sen's hands to divert public attention and fuel the conflict between the Thai and Cambodian governments.

Tensions between the two countries escalated quickly after Thaksin set foot on Cambodian soil last Tuesday to take up his appointment as economic adviser, a day after his interview by TimesOnline appeared on the internet.

The government asked Cambodia to extradite him but its Foreign Ministry refused the request without studying the process. Worse, Phnom Penh decided to expel the Thai embassy's first secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai without reason and arrested a Thai engineer working for the Cambodian air traffic control centre on spy charges.

Cambodian police claimed Mr Kamrob ordered the engineer to steal Thak-sin's flight schedule for him. If one looks carefully into these developments, there is no reason for the Cambodian government's actions.

Both Hun Sen and Thaksin's behaviour has been injurious - they thought that creating a problem with the Thai government would be a win-win situation for them.

For Hun Sen, distracting the electorate via a conflict with Thailand will shift attention from the fact that he ceded some territory to Vietnam during recent demarcation negotiations.
For Thaksin, his interview with TimesOnline has hurt his supporters who are loyal to the monarchy.

He insisted he supports the monarchy, and attributed negative reaction to a poor headline. But in this writer's opinion his denial hardly helped much.

The government should stay calm at this moment to show its maturity and not fall into their trap. It is clear that Cambodia has tried to agitate Thailand to increase tensions which could then lead to clashes between the two countries along their border.

The closure of border checkpoints should be a last resort. Border officials should exercise the utmost caution and not let things deteriorate.

An escalation of tensions could annoy Cambodians, who are fond of Thai products. In 2003, a small riot took place when angry Cambodians burned down the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, in protest at alleged comments by a Thai actress about a temple.

It is believed the rumour originated with Hun Sen himself but fanned out of control.

The challenge for both sides is how to get relations back on a good footing. Thaksin left Cambodia yesterday, which could help ease tensions.