Thaksin (R) shares a laugh with Hun Sen.
BANGKOK, Nov 11 (TNA) - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he regretted Cambodia’s rejection of Thailand's extradition request for convicted ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and would explore other options to return the self-exiled Thaksin to serve his sentence in Thailand.
The Cambodian government on Wednesday rejected a request from Thailand to arrest Mr Thaksin, who was sentenced by Thailand’s Supreme Court Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to a two-year prison term in absentia for having a conflict of interest in the Bangkok Ratchadaphisek land purchase case. He jumped bail and fled the country.
Mr Abhisit said the Cambodian government declined to follow international practice by rejecting Thailand's request for extradition even though the two countries had signed a treaty covering such action.
The Thai premier said he had given the Cambodian letter to the Office of the Attorney General to consider and explore other legal options to address the matter.
More measures were expected to be implemented to protest the Cambodian move, he said, adding that the government would review assistance and bilateral cooperation, but without measures that could affect the people-to-people relations of the two countries.
Mr Abhisit reiterated that Thailand has no policy to close the border but would implement more strict measures on Thai gamblers who crossed the border to gamble in casinos on Cambodian soil.
The government did not want to end the row by using the military action as it was unnecessary, he affirmed, adding that the kingdom also did not want to bring this diplomatic spat into a wider arena such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or ask a third country to mediate as it was a bilateral issue. He believed the problem could end through diplomatic mean.
He also believed the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Singapore in which Thailand and Cambodia will participate could run smoothly.
ASEAN and US will hold a summit on November 15 after the APEC meeting.
The ASEAN-US meeting will be co-chaired by Mr Abhisit and US President Barack Obama. Thailand serves as the ASEAN chair until the end of the year.
As the news reports that Mr Thaksin offered to mediate to mend the rift between Thailand and Cambodia, Mr Abhisit said Mr Thaksin had done everything to protect his own interests and had caused serious problems for Thailand. Therefore how could he become a mediator.
The Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted a statement from Cambodia's foreign affairs ministry which said that the request to detain Mr Thaksin for extradition would not be honored because the legal case against him was politically motivated, and therefore not covered by the two countries' extradition treaty.
The statement also noted that the request to detain Mr Thaksin for extradition would not be honoured because the legal case against him was politically motivated, and therefore was not covered by the countries' extradition treaty.
Mr Thaksin, ousted in bloodless coup in September 2006, stepped off his personal aircraft in Phnom Penh on Tuesday for a lecture to some 300 Khmer economists on Thursday as his first assignment after being appointed as economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
The Thai foreign ministry's Information Department Director-General Wimol Kidchob noted that Cambodia said briefly in the letter that it could not comply with Thailand's request because it was political issue, not a criminal offense.
Ms Wimol, as ministry spokeswoman, said the ministry's legal team will thoroughly examine the wording and reasons provided in the document in Cambodia's denial of the request before considering any further move.
In related development, Ms Wimol said that Thai Ambassador to London Kitti Wasinondh had written to editor James Harding of the Times informing that the Richard Lloyd Parry’s article on November 9 which included the interview of Mr Thaksin was contains points of misinformation and misunderstanding concerning the role of the Thai monarchy and status of Mr Thaksin.
The letter said the King is above politics and does not take sides.
The ambassador stated in the letter that Mr Thaksin is neither Thailand’s current opposition leader nor a leader in exile, but a person who is choosing to stay aboard to avoid a two-year jail term resulting from a finalised corruption case.
The ambassador also requested the Times to publish the letter. (TNA)
The Cambodian government on Wednesday rejected a request from Thailand to arrest Mr Thaksin, who was sentenced by Thailand’s Supreme Court Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to a two-year prison term in absentia for having a conflict of interest in the Bangkok Ratchadaphisek land purchase case. He jumped bail and fled the country.
Mr Abhisit said the Cambodian government declined to follow international practice by rejecting Thailand's request for extradition even though the two countries had signed a treaty covering such action.
The Thai premier said he had given the Cambodian letter to the Office of the Attorney General to consider and explore other legal options to address the matter.
More measures were expected to be implemented to protest the Cambodian move, he said, adding that the government would review assistance and bilateral cooperation, but without measures that could affect the people-to-people relations of the two countries.
Mr Abhisit reiterated that Thailand has no policy to close the border but would implement more strict measures on Thai gamblers who crossed the border to gamble in casinos on Cambodian soil.
The government did not want to end the row by using the military action as it was unnecessary, he affirmed, adding that the kingdom also did not want to bring this diplomatic spat into a wider arena such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or ask a third country to mediate as it was a bilateral issue. He believed the problem could end through diplomatic mean.
He also believed the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Singapore in which Thailand and Cambodia will participate could run smoothly.
ASEAN and US will hold a summit on November 15 after the APEC meeting.
The ASEAN-US meeting will be co-chaired by Mr Abhisit and US President Barack Obama. Thailand serves as the ASEAN chair until the end of the year.
As the news reports that Mr Thaksin offered to mediate to mend the rift between Thailand and Cambodia, Mr Abhisit said Mr Thaksin had done everything to protect his own interests and had caused serious problems for Thailand. Therefore how could he become a mediator.
The Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted a statement from Cambodia's foreign affairs ministry which said that the request to detain Mr Thaksin for extradition would not be honored because the legal case against him was politically motivated, and therefore not covered by the two countries' extradition treaty.
The statement also noted that the request to detain Mr Thaksin for extradition would not be honoured because the legal case against him was politically motivated, and therefore was not covered by the countries' extradition treaty.
Mr Thaksin, ousted in bloodless coup in September 2006, stepped off his personal aircraft in Phnom Penh on Tuesday for a lecture to some 300 Khmer economists on Thursday as his first assignment after being appointed as economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
The Thai foreign ministry's Information Department Director-General Wimol Kidchob noted that Cambodia said briefly in the letter that it could not comply with Thailand's request because it was political issue, not a criminal offense.
Ms Wimol, as ministry spokeswoman, said the ministry's legal team will thoroughly examine the wording and reasons provided in the document in Cambodia's denial of the request before considering any further move.
In related development, Ms Wimol said that Thai Ambassador to London Kitti Wasinondh had written to editor James Harding of the Times informing that the Richard Lloyd Parry’s article on November 9 which included the interview of Mr Thaksin was contains points of misinformation and misunderstanding concerning the role of the Thai monarchy and status of Mr Thaksin.
The letter said the King is above politics and does not take sides.
The ambassador stated in the letter that Mr Thaksin is neither Thailand’s current opposition leader nor a leader in exile, but a person who is choosing to stay aboard to avoid a two-year jail term resulting from a finalised corruption case.
The ambassador also requested the Times to publish the letter. (TNA)
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