In a rather weird day diplomatically, Cambodia arrsted a Thai for spying while some Thai politicians paid cordial visit to the neighbouring country as strained ties near breaking point
Cambodian police yesterday charged a Thai national with spying on fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra, worsening the already tense diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Siwarak Chothipong, 31, who has been working for the Cambodia Air Traffic Service (CATS) for more than seven years, was arrested and charged on Thursday with supplying details of Thaksin's flight schedule to the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodian officials said.
The information was allegedly sent via e-mail to Kamrob Palawatwichai, the first secretary of the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, a Cambodian source said. Cambodia ordered Kamrob's expulsion on Thursday.
Cambodian national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith told Agence-France Presse that authorities were investigating whether more people were involved.
The news agency also quoted Cambodian deputy national police chief Sok Phal as saying the spy allegations had prompted Phnom Penh to expel the Thai Embassy's first secretary on Thursday. The Thai Foreign Ministry retaliated hours later.
Thai officials said Siwarak could be jailed for more than 10 years if convicted on the charges of spying. As of yesterday, he was being held at the Prey Sor prison, about 17 kilometres outside Phonm Penh, where he awaits trial.
Neither officials from the embassy nor his family members have met him.
Speaking to reporters as he boarded a plane for Singapore with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to attend the Apec Summit, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya rejected the spying accusation as "malicious and false".
"Thaksin feels he must destroy Thailand and collaborate with Hun Sen," he said.
Thaksin, convicted by a Thai court on corruption charges, arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday to take up the role of economic adviser to Hun Sen.
Thailand responded by downgrading its diplomatic relations with Cambodia and recalling its ambassador to Phnom Penh. Cambodia reciprocated the moves the following day.
In Bangkok, pro-Thaksin politicians yesterday fingered the government in the spying case.
Noppadon Patama, a legal adviser to the ex-leader, said that he suspected certain government figures were behind the arrested man's acquisition of the flight schedule in question.
He said that it was suspicious why an engineer wanted a flight schedule, which was not related to his work. He called on the Thai government to investigate and clarify the issue.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party MP Jatuporn Promphan accused the government of interference with Cambodia's domestic affairs and a "severe
diplomatic gaffe" for allegedly seeking the flight schedule of Thaksin's private jet.
"This was a severe breach of diplomatic protocol, as Thaksin's jet is a private one. The Thai government interfered in the domestic affairs of Cambodia by seeking the flight schedule," Jatuporn said.
Watchai Vilailuck, president of the Thai telecom firm Samart, which owns 100 per cent of CATS, yesterday said the company had already coordinated with the Foreign Ministry to look into the matter after learning about the case on Thursday. Samart chief executive Charoenrath Vilailuck had flown to Cambodia to look into the matter.
He added that the case had nothing to do with the company as it had never been involved in the politics. There are only a few Thai executives working at CATS, while most employees are local people.
Watchai said that the flight schedule was general flight information and did not mention passengers' names. But as now the relations of the two countries were tense, it had become a sensitive issue. He added that CATS was continuing to operate as usual.
CATS won a 37-year concession from the Cambodian government to provide the air-traffic control service there.
Samart executive vice president Pairote Varophas said CATS had complied with all standard practice in terms of information and security. When asked if this would affect the company's image, Pairote said that it was hard to say but he did not think it would affect the CATS concession.
Bilateral ties plunged even further when the Hun Sen administration rejected Bangkok's formal extradition request for Thaksin before even considering it.
The spy row broke out as Hun Sen and Thaksin played a friendly game of golf at the luxury Angkor Golf Resort in Siem Reap, where Thaksin met about 50 MPs from the Pheu Thai Party.
Thailand has put all talks and bilateral assistance, including the Bt1.4-billion loan for a road project, on hold and has torn up a memorandum of understanding signed in 2001 by the Thaksin administration that called for joint exploration on overlapping territories in the Gulf of Thailand.
Foreign diplomats said they were concerned that the row would mar the Apec summit in Singapore, where Asean leaders, under the chairmanship of Abhisit, will hold a separate summit with US President Barack Obama.
Cambodian police yesterday charged a Thai national with spying on fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra, worsening the already tense diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Siwarak Chothipong, 31, who has been working for the Cambodia Air Traffic Service (CATS) for more than seven years, was arrested and charged on Thursday with supplying details of Thaksin's flight schedule to the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodian officials said.
The information was allegedly sent via e-mail to Kamrob Palawatwichai, the first secretary of the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, a Cambodian source said. Cambodia ordered Kamrob's expulsion on Thursday.
Cambodian national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith told Agence-France Presse that authorities were investigating whether more people were involved.
The news agency also quoted Cambodian deputy national police chief Sok Phal as saying the spy allegations had prompted Phnom Penh to expel the Thai Embassy's first secretary on Thursday. The Thai Foreign Ministry retaliated hours later.
Thai officials said Siwarak could be jailed for more than 10 years if convicted on the charges of spying. As of yesterday, he was being held at the Prey Sor prison, about 17 kilometres outside Phonm Penh, where he awaits trial.
Neither officials from the embassy nor his family members have met him.
Speaking to reporters as he boarded a plane for Singapore with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to attend the Apec Summit, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya rejected the spying accusation as "malicious and false".
"Thaksin feels he must destroy Thailand and collaborate with Hun Sen," he said.
Thaksin, convicted by a Thai court on corruption charges, arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday to take up the role of economic adviser to Hun Sen.
Thailand responded by downgrading its diplomatic relations with Cambodia and recalling its ambassador to Phnom Penh. Cambodia reciprocated the moves the following day.
In Bangkok, pro-Thaksin politicians yesterday fingered the government in the spying case.
Noppadon Patama, a legal adviser to the ex-leader, said that he suspected certain government figures were behind the arrested man's acquisition of the flight schedule in question.
He said that it was suspicious why an engineer wanted a flight schedule, which was not related to his work. He called on the Thai government to investigate and clarify the issue.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party MP Jatuporn Promphan accused the government of interference with Cambodia's domestic affairs and a "severe
diplomatic gaffe" for allegedly seeking the flight schedule of Thaksin's private jet.
"This was a severe breach of diplomatic protocol, as Thaksin's jet is a private one. The Thai government interfered in the domestic affairs of Cambodia by seeking the flight schedule," Jatuporn said.
Watchai Vilailuck, president of the Thai telecom firm Samart, which owns 100 per cent of CATS, yesterday said the company had already coordinated with the Foreign Ministry to look into the matter after learning about the case on Thursday. Samart chief executive Charoenrath Vilailuck had flown to Cambodia to look into the matter.
He added that the case had nothing to do with the company as it had never been involved in the politics. There are only a few Thai executives working at CATS, while most employees are local people.
Watchai said that the flight schedule was general flight information and did not mention passengers' names. But as now the relations of the two countries were tense, it had become a sensitive issue. He added that CATS was continuing to operate as usual.
CATS won a 37-year concession from the Cambodian government to provide the air-traffic control service there.
Samart executive vice president Pairote Varophas said CATS had complied with all standard practice in terms of information and security. When asked if this would affect the company's image, Pairote said that it was hard to say but he did not think it would affect the CATS concession.
Bilateral ties plunged even further when the Hun Sen administration rejected Bangkok's formal extradition request for Thaksin before even considering it.
The spy row broke out as Hun Sen and Thaksin played a friendly game of golf at the luxury Angkor Golf Resort in Siem Reap, where Thaksin met about 50 MPs from the Pheu Thai Party.
Thailand has put all talks and bilateral assistance, including the Bt1.4-billion loan for a road project, on hold and has torn up a memorandum of understanding signed in 2001 by the Thaksin administration that called for joint exploration on overlapping territories in the Gulf of Thailand.
Foreign diplomats said they were concerned that the row would mar the Apec summit in Singapore, where Asean leaders, under the chairmanship of Abhisit, will hold a separate summit with US President Barack Obama.
1 comment:
This is the victim of politic - I beleive. Pitifully, this case happened in the country where is not respect human right.
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