ANALYSIS: PM Yingluck won't meet Thaksin on her carefully planned trip to Cambodia
Published: 13/09/2011
Bangkok Post
Separate visits to Phnom Penh by two members of the Shinawatra family underline close ties between Thailand and Cambodia in the post-Democrat-led government era.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother Thaksin are scheduled to be in the Cambodian capital only one day apart. Ms Yingluck's official visit is set for Thursday followed by Thaksin's turn the day after.
The Office of the Council of Ministers in Cambodia released a statement yesterday with the headline "Cambodia and Ms Yingluck's government: A positive outlook in the relations between the two countries".
Ties between Thailand and Cambodia turned sour when the Democrats were in power but showed signs of improvement after the Pheu Thai Party's election victory was greeted with jubilation by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
With Thaksin still facing a jail term for abuse of power over his former wife's Ratchadaphisek land deal, organisers of the two trips carefully arranged the schedules so that brother and sister would not see each other while they were in Phnom Penh.
Thaksin's close aide Noppadon Pattama said Thaksin, who will enter Cambodia on his Montenegro passport, had no plans to meet his sister because he did not want to make her feel uncomfortable.
A Pheu Thai source said Ms Yingluck would get herself into trouble if she spoke to Thaksin. She could be attacked by the opposition party and Thaksin's opponents for negligence of duty if she did not arrest him. The party will make sure Ms Yingluck leaves Phnom Penh before the plane carrying Thaksin touches down, the source said.
Hun Sen said Thaksin's visit is not related to attempts by the two countries to revive talks on oil and gas reserves in disputed waters in the Gulf of Thailand. "The Cambodian prime minister stressed that the responsibility for negotiating oil and gas deals and other issues with Cambodia rests with the Thai government, not Thaksin. So far no agreement has been reached on oil and gas deal talks between Cambodia and Thailand," the Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
Thaksin was an economic adviser to the Cambodian government before being pressured to give up the role during the Democrat-led government's tenure.
He will be in Cambodia until Sept 24. He will attend the Asian Economic Forum and make a speech to the conference on Saturday. He will meet Hun Sen and play golf with him on Sunday.
Pheu Thai MPs have planned a friendly football match with Cambodian officials at the Olympic Stadium on Sept 24.
The Pheu Thai source said the party had been having second thoughts about the match due to concerns that the game could be a target for the opposition. Yet Hun Sen insisted yesterday that the match was going ahead, Xinhua said.
Published: 13/09/2011
Bangkok Post
Separate visits to Phnom Penh by two members of the Shinawatra family underline close ties between Thailand and Cambodia in the post-Democrat-led government era.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother Thaksin are scheduled to be in the Cambodian capital only one day apart. Ms Yingluck's official visit is set for Thursday followed by Thaksin's turn the day after.
The Office of the Council of Ministers in Cambodia released a statement yesterday with the headline "Cambodia and Ms Yingluck's government: A positive outlook in the relations between the two countries".
Ties between Thailand and Cambodia turned sour when the Democrats were in power but showed signs of improvement after the Pheu Thai Party's election victory was greeted with jubilation by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
With Thaksin still facing a jail term for abuse of power over his former wife's Ratchadaphisek land deal, organisers of the two trips carefully arranged the schedules so that brother and sister would not see each other while they were in Phnom Penh.
Thaksin's close aide Noppadon Pattama said Thaksin, who will enter Cambodia on his Montenegro passport, had no plans to meet his sister because he did not want to make her feel uncomfortable.
A Pheu Thai source said Ms Yingluck would get herself into trouble if she spoke to Thaksin. She could be attacked by the opposition party and Thaksin's opponents for negligence of duty if she did not arrest him. The party will make sure Ms Yingluck leaves Phnom Penh before the plane carrying Thaksin touches down, the source said.
Hun Sen said Thaksin's visit is not related to attempts by the two countries to revive talks on oil and gas reserves in disputed waters in the Gulf of Thailand. "The Cambodian prime minister stressed that the responsibility for negotiating oil and gas deals and other issues with Cambodia rests with the Thai government, not Thaksin. So far no agreement has been reached on oil and gas deal talks between Cambodia and Thailand," the Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
Thaksin was an economic adviser to the Cambodian government before being pressured to give up the role during the Democrat-led government's tenure.
He will be in Cambodia until Sept 24. He will attend the Asian Economic Forum and make a speech to the conference on Saturday. He will meet Hun Sen and play golf with him on Sunday.
Pheu Thai MPs have planned a friendly football match with Cambodian officials at the Olympic Stadium on Sept 24.
The Pheu Thai source said the party had been having second thoughts about the match due to concerns that the game could be a target for the opposition. Yet Hun Sen insisted yesterday that the match was going ahead, Xinhua said.
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