A Move towards peace and Unity

Thailand is facing difficulty with Cambodia over the latter's decision to appoint former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as its economic adviser, with diplomatic relations beginning to weaken. What's worse is the powers that are to be are somewhat exploiting patriotism to stir up more conflict. 'Muse' asked you last week how we could steer the country through this difficult time. And what should the public, scholars and the authorities do to prevent further rifts, and ensure that the public does not fall victim to ultra-patriotism? Here are your answers!

Muse's PICK
"This is nothing new. The patriotism card has been used as a tool quite a few times in the past to stimulate people to help the country. But to create ultra-patriotism out of rumours or inaccurate information isn't right.

"First of all, everyone has to be informed correctly about what's going on. Accurate information must be accessible to all. The Sunday morning address by the prime minister on Channel 11 can also help answer some of the questions the public have. However, there must be people who disagree with the premier. "The ASTV by the yellow camp or PTV by the red camp are owned by private operators and cannot be controlled. The government, therefore, has to be more open-minded, act fast and create neutrality in the local media for everyone to be able to learn the real facts and not be brainwashed by mere rumours or made-up information. Most importantly, the government must not support the ultra-patriotism in any way.

"I'm not even sure if the current problem was only made up to negotiate with something or whether it's a real one. Border line is just a made up term; everyone in Cambodia and Thailand are still real neighbours."

PHITSANURAK PITATHASANG,

Mass communications lecturer

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"To steer the country through this difficult time of the Thai-Cambodia saga, I would like to share the incident when I attended the summit of an NGO meeting in the Philippines last week. There were delegates from many countries, including Thailand and Cambodia. At first the atmosphere was a bit uneasy due to the political situation. However, when the ice was broken, we were in better harmony to show that politics is not above our movement.

"From this I infer that if each citizen would do their own part in bringing unity and peace, then we would be able to overcome this awkward situation. Like the ocean that started with a drop of water, each voice can unite to bring synergy.

"As for the public, scholars and the authorities, I think everyone should be mindful of what they do - that it is genuinely for the Kingdom's interest rather than a personal one to prevent further rifts.

"However, it may be too late before we see the fruits of such political labour. So for the short-term, I would heed Gen Prem, the Senior Statesman's wisdom to pray 'Phrasayam Thevathiraj' to protect our precious Kingdom from the ill-intentioned force."

LUCY TAN-ATICHAT,

Retiree

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"Apart from the yellow camp, I don't see any ultra-patriotism in our society today. The general public is still going shopping at Siam Paragon, and go to cinemas in the city. However, such a current may draw more people to keep a closer watch on the political news since everything seems to be tied into it. A most recent case of the Thai engineer in Cambodia arrested for some non-sense allegation is the case. I guess if there's any ultra-patriotism in the country, there must be people protesting and submitting an open letter to the Cambodian embassy. Or in a worse case scenario, their embassy could be burned down the same way our embassy was a few years ago. Generally, I see it from the news that people at the Cambodia-Thai border are still working together as usual. And the Cambodian media never played up the issue about Thaksin being appointed as an adviser at all either."

SALMA SRIWANNAYOS,

Office worker


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"Overall, I personally don't think that Thais can become ultra-patriotic easily.

"Just imagine, a lot of people change the channel when there's any political news on. Moreover, the mass media has been providing plenty of entertainment, let alone ultra-patriot encouragement.

"But, of course, this current rift is a matter we all should deal with together. First, the government should do better to be a good leader with strong and proper policies so that citizens won't get too worried.

"And I really think the media should be more responsible in reporting unbiased and factual news, especially on TV.

"When ASTV represents the yellow shirts, D-Station speaks for the red shirts and Channel 11 is the voice of the government, then we need more alternatives. Though, I don't mind the channels. I believe that free TV can make the right patriot.

"When the government is strong and the media does a good job covering events, people won't be as selfish, or ultra-patriotic."

NUTTA SOOKSAWAT,

3rd year student Ramkhamhaeng University


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Next week: Despite being guaranteed the basic rights to religion and expression of faith by the constitution, it's undeniable that in the cosmopolitan city of Bangkok, some devout non-Buddhists, particularly Muslims, are denied basic rights to career and academic opportunities. Many schools still prohibit female Muslim students from wearing a hijab (a head covering worn in public by Muslim women) while a number of government units have a history of turning down Muslim applicants who refuse to take off their hijab during work for the sake of "conformity and uniformity". 'Muse' asks you that, in the age where religious, social and ethnic diversity is much cherished, how do you view the decision of some organisations who cite uniformity to justify their demands that workers to sacrifice religious practice? Do you think the authorities should work more to promote greater religious and cultural sensitivity and how? Send in your opinion along with your name, profession and contact address to muse@bangkokpost.co.th by November 25 to win a special prize.

Read more!

Khmer Rouge prison chief anxious as trial ends

Former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, the first high-ranking member of Cambodia's ousted regime to be tried for war crimes, is nervous as he prepares to take the stand for a final time at a U.N.-backed tribunal, his lawyer said Sunday.

Closing arguments are expected to start Monday with both sides wrapping up their cases by the end of the week. Kaing Guek Eav, who pleaded guilty, is expected to testify as soon as Wednesday and to be sentenced early next year.

The tribunal is seeking justice for an estimated 1.7 million people who died from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the ultra-communist group's policies while in power from 1975-79.

Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch (pronounced DOIK), commanded S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, where up to 16,000 people were tortured and then taken away to be killed. He is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Cambodia has no death penalty.
By JERRY HARMER Associated Press


Duch is the only accused Khmer Rouge leader to acknowledge responsibility for his actions. Four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders are in custody awaiting trial.

"He has said from the start 'I want to explain in front of the judges, in front of public opinion.' This will be the last moment when he can explain," said Francois Roux, Duch's lawyer. "So he's worried about what he's going to say and how he's going to say it."

Roux described his client as "nervous and anxious" about taking the stand for one last time and refused to detail what Duch would say. But he said that his client was hopeful the judges would take into consideration the fact he has admitted his guilt and apologized to his victims.

In earlier testimony, Duch accepted responsibility for his role in overseeing the prison and asked for forgiveness from victims' families. He also told the court that he was ready to accept heavy punishment for his actions.

He has denied personally killing or torturing the S-21 prisoners, and said he felt compelled by fear for his own life to follow the orders of senior Khmer Rouge leaders.

"At this moment it's very important to give credit to Duch for his guilty plea. Duch has recognized his responsibility," Roux said. "He has asked forgiveness from his victims."

The tribunal, which opened March 30, has featured testimony from nine expert witnesses, 17 witnesses on facts and seven character witnesses and 22 "civil parties" representing victims.

More than 23,000 people have observed the trial from the public gallery in the courtroom, tribunal officials said.

Roux said the fact that Duch cooperated with the court doesn't "erase" his crimes but it has gone a long ways to further the understanding of what happened.

"We have moved forward the understanding, the recollection," he said. "We have all moved forward in our understanding of the Cambodian tragedy."

Read more!

Thai official confirms Hun Sen's daughter to take over CATS

BANGKOK, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's daughter plans to hold shares in Cambodia Traffic Air Services (CATS) after the Cambodian government has temporarily taken over management of the firm, a Thai senior official confirmed Saturday.

Panitan Wattanayakorn, Thai acting government spokesman confirmed the news report that Hun Sen's daughter is planning to hold shares in CATS.

Having controlled CATS by the Cambodia government occurs after Siwarak Chothipong, a 31-year-old-Thai man, who worked as engineer at CATS, has been arrested from Nov. 11, according to the arrest warrant of prosecutor of Phnom Penh Municipality Court.

Cambodia has charged Siwarak of having had confidential information affecting Cambodia's national security, a senior Thai official said Wednesday.

According to a news report by the Khmer language newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea, Siwarak spied through copying the letters of flights of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Cambodia and Hun Sen from CATS which has duties to control all flights in country and he sent those reports to Thailand.

Siwarak has been detained in a prison in Phnom Penh since last week as the Thai government is now in the process of seeking a release for him.

Chawanon Intarakomalsut, Thai Foreign Minister's secretary said he expected that the process could be completed next week and the engineer's mother could probably visit her son next week.
He also said it would be difficult for any individual to take over the company, but his ministry would try to assist CATS. So far the company has not requested help.

Panithan said that he did not know whether the company could be protected as other companies registered in Cambodia, and it's up to the company to file a request for the Cambodian government to consider.

Thailand and Cambodia have downgraded their diplomatic relations due to conflict over an appointment of Thaksin as an economic advisor to Cambodia's government and Hun Sen on Nov. 4.

A day after the appointment of Thaksin, the Cambodian government announced recall of its ambassador to Thailand in a move to respond to the Thai government's recall of its ambassador to Cambodia.

Thaksin was ousted by the military coup in September 2006, in accusation of corruption, and has been kept in exile since then. He returned to Thailand in February 2008 to face corruption charges, but he later fled into exile again and was convicted in absentia. Read more!

Safe in U.S., genocide survivor still felt soldiers' presence

By Jessica Tumbull


The Cambodia where author Loung Ung grew up was full of beauty and normal activities, such as going to the movies with her family.

But it also was one where the little girl and her family got caught up in violent political upheaval that led to genocide.

Ung, a petite woman clad in a black T-shirt with "Peace Rocks" in red lettering, spoke at an assembly in the Plum School District Friday about her experience surviving the 1970s genocide in the Southeast Asian country.

Plum students read Ung's memoir, "First They Killed My Father," in class and invited Ung to speak. Ung has written two books about her experiences and is working on a third.

Ung, 39, of Cleveland, was born in 1970 in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, one of seven children. She was 8 when the Communist group called the Khmer Rouge began executing fellow Cambodians.

Between 1975 and 1979, about 1.7 million people — or 25 percent of the population — were killed.

"I didn't know about politics. I didn't know about genocide," Ung said. "But I did know that people, little by little, would disappear from the villages."

Her father was executed by Khmer Rouge soldiers. Several months later, worried that keeping the family together hurt their chances of survival, Ung's mother told the children to leave and separate.

Her mother's hard decision is the basis for her third book.

In 1980, Ung escaped with her older brother and his wife to a refugee camp in Thailand, then was sent to Vermont.

She talked about her adjustment to life in America after living through a war that was deeply ingrained in her mind.

"When I would be trying to learn geometry for a test, the soldiers were there looking over my shoulder," she said, describing the difficulty of erasing the traumatic images even once she was safe in America.

She now works as a peace activist, and even returns to Cambodia to aid survivors.

Her main message is that peace is not a given, but a choice that takes hard work.

"We need to take responsibility for others in the world who are less fortunate," Ung said.

Sophomore Adam Albright, 16, of Plum said he liked hearing directly from the author of a book he read in class.

He said her message of peace struck him because America is perceived as a stable country where citizens don't have to worry about peace.

"It's worth fighting for," he said. "It's ironic that you have to fight for peace."

Sophomore Ian Walla, 16, of Plum said he didn't know anything about Cambodia or its war until he read Ung's book.

"It was a really inspiring story," he said. "It makes you think about other places in the world."

He said Ung's message is important so people can learn from past mistakes. He said a saying by his history teacher summed up the importance of Ung's story.

"The reason we teach history is so we don't repeat it," Walla said.

Read more!

Malaria Shows Signs of Resisting Primary Drug Used to Fight It

By Nathan Seppa, Science News


WASHINGTON—Malaria that is resistant to the best available drug is more widespread in Southeast Asia than previously reported, new research shows. The worrisome finding poses a risk that travelers could carry this strain of the malaria parasite to other parts of the globe and unwittingly spread it, scientists reported November 19 at a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

The frontline drug in question is called artemisinin, the most potent medication currently in use against malaria. Signs of malarial resistance to artemisinin have surfaced over the past several years in Cambodia (SN: 11/22/08, p. 9). The new findings confirm that resistant malaria has now cropped up beyond a spot on the border of Thailand and Cambodia where it was initially detected. Now it has appeared in Vietnam and in two spots along the Burma border with Thailand and China.

“Things are changing. There’s no doubt the signs are concerning,” said Robert Newman, director of the Global Malaria Programme at the World Health Organization in Geneva. But he added that these signals are early and need further verification.

Patients in these areas take longer on average to overcome a malaria infection when given a standard combination of artemisinin and another antimalarial. This lag results from slower clearance of the malaria parasites from the blood, said WHO’s Pascal Ringwald, a medical officer who presented the update.

Patients who remain ill for longer stretches despite treatment need extra medication to recover from malaria and are also more likely to have severe or fatal cases, Ringwald said.

Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite that infects the blood. Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, anemia and a swollen spleen. Of the more than 350 million people who come down with malaria worldwide each year, up to 1 million die. Mosquitoes spread the parasite from person to person.

Malaria has a history of becoming resistant to drugs, and artemisinin now risks becoming the most recent addition to that list. The new reports are disheartening to doctors because artemisinin normally packs a considerable wallop. Although artemisinin is a short-acting drug that gets cleared from the body in a few hours, it makes the most of its time — driving down parasite levels dramatically.

Using artemisinin alone invites resistance. So the standard therapy teams it with one of the longer-acting drugs, which perform mop-up duty on the remaining parasites, said Christopher King, a physician and epidemiologist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

The new flashes of resistance may have arisen because combination treatment isn’t always available. And since artemisinin can be bought over the counter in many parts of Asia, people seeking relief don’t always follow the WHO guidelines of pairing artemisinin with another drug, King said.

Also, taking artemisinin for a fever that isn’t caused by malaria can allow resistant strains of the parasite to take hold, Newman said.

In the past, malaria’s resistance to other drugs has been linked to specific genetic changes in the parasite. The precise mechanism underlying resistance to artemisinin is still unsolved, King said.

Artemisinin is derived from extracts of the sweet wormwood bush. The bush’s leaves have been used as a folk remedy against fevers for roughly 2,000 years in Asia but fell out of use in the 20th century with the introduction of modern antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine.

During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh appealed to China for traditional remedies for soldiers who had malaria. Tea made from sweet wormwood leaves worked and ultimately became the basis for artemisinin drugs. It’s not clear whether parasites in Southeast Asia are the first to become resistant because they have had a long history with artemisinin, or if other factors are involved, Newman said. Read more!

Luxury Travel Group Promotes 3 Countries One Destination – Luxury Indochina Travel

One ancient Indochina and 3 new faces Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos today, Luxury Travel promote 3 countries, one destination. (www.LuxuryTravelVietnam.com)

These three fascinating countries have both their diverse cultures and beautiful landscapes. Each of them has been subjected to social, political and economic turmoil over the past decades and they are ready to open its doors to the world and show us their hidden treasures.

Discover Indochina right now in 21 days, Luxury Travel Company take you to discover the best of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Indochinese journey starts from either the colonial Hanoi or the bustling Saigon, Vietnam, they fly to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, Luang Phabang with it famous temples and King Palace on the bank of Mekong River.

http://www.luxurytravelvietnam.com/EN/Indochina_tours/indochina_revealed.htm

Travelers fly from Vientiane to Phnom Penh the colonial of the Kingdom of Cambodia where you will discover the Silver Pagoda and the majestic Royal Palace, Khmer Art Museum.

The Indochina loop should be not complete if you could not visit the ancient capital Seam Reap with the huge Angkor Wat complex of temples, pagodas, ancient walls that reflect a glory of former Khmer Empire.

“We also aim to appreciate the multitude of local cultural traditions-wandering the many colorful markets, street stalls, exploring the tranquil villages along the banks of the Mekong and gaining perspectives across a rural landscape that has yet be down into the 21st century” said Lee Thais, Marketing and Pr Executive of Luxury Travel Group Company.

Visit www.luxurytravelvietnam.com or www.LuxuryIndochinaTravel.Com Read more!

Thai-Cambodia JBC meeting next week

The Thai-Cambodia Joint Border Committee (JBC) will meet on Nov 27 at 28 at the Dusit Thani hotel in Pattaya, defence ministry spokesman Col Thanathip Saengsawang said on Friday.

“It will be a ministerial level defence meeting to discuss border security and military cooperation,” Col Thanathip said.

Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon would use his ties with Cambodian military leaders to help ease the current tension between the two countries.

The spokesman said that military relations between the two countries remain intact despite the diplomatic row between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

The Defence Ministry hopes to help settle the dispute between the two governments and at the same time to strengthen ties and trust on both sides, Col Thanathip said.

Read more!

Ecstasy factories destroyed in Cambodian rainforests

PHNOM PENH, Ten ecstasy laboratories operated by local drug cartels were destroyed Wednesday in one of Cambodia's most impenetrable and remote jungle areas in the country's southwest Cardamom Mountains, according to a statement released Friday by Wildlife Alliance.

The raid was carried out by an anti-drug task force led by Wildlife Alliance and in close cooperation with forest rangers from Cambodia's armed services and Ministry of Environment.

"At least 35 tons of safrole oil, a main ingredient used in the methamphetamine production of ecstasy, could have been used to make over five million ecstasy pills with a street value of over 100 million U.S. dollars," according to local officials.

Wildlife Alliance-sponsored ranger team from Cambodia's Ministry of Environment and managed by Fauna and Flora International, came across the ecstasy labs several months ago during a routine foot patrol through Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, 200 miles northwest of Phnom Penh.

Wildlife Alliance Technical Advisor and former French Legionnaire, Eduard Lefter, who planned the complex and dangerous raid with Cambodian Forest Rangers, commented on the operation, saying "The mission was very difficult to organize and the conditions extremely tough. The mountain terrain and dense forest made a helicopter insertion virtually impossible, so we went in by foot."

According to Lefter, the team spent 12 days in the jungle battling leeches and the resulting wound infections, as well as skirting landmines which made forward progress extremely difficult. By the end of the mission much of Lefter's ranger teams were suffering from dehydration from dwindling water supplies.

The teams also carried explosive ordnance in the form of landmines, provided by the Cambodian Military, to destroy the ecstasy labs and safrole distillation equipment.

Read more!

Thai, Cambodian military leaders to meet

BANGKOK, Thai and Cambodian military leaders will meet next week amid growing tensions over Phnom Penh's appointment of a fugitive former Thai premier as an adviser.

The Thai-Cambodia Joint Border Committee will have a two-day meeting starting Nov. 27 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Pattaya, according to a report in the Bangkok Post newspaper.

"It will be a ministerial level defense meeting to discuss border security and military cooperation," a Thai defense ministry spokesman said. Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon would use his ties with Cambodian military leaders to help ease the current tension between the two countries, the spokesman said.

The meeting is important because it could avoid spontaneous armed clashes by patrols in the Preah Vihear mountains, around 300 miles north of Bangkok. The two armies have been facing each other for months over a disputed area surrounding an 11th-century Hindu temple. The international court of justice ruled in 1962 that the temple was on Cambodian land. But the only access to the mountaintop building is on the Thai side, which Thai troops sealed off last summer.

A military clash is precisely what both countries, whose ambassadors were recalled this month over the Thaksin affair, are hoping to avoid.

But political tensions moved up a notch Thursday when Cambodian police and aviation experts took over the offices of the Thai-owned firm Cambodia Air Traffic Services. CATS is a subsidiary of Bangkok's Samart Corporation which has a 32-year contract to run air traffic control operations.

The Cambodian authorities now in charge of the services also banned the firm's nine Thai employees from entering the building.

The takeover comes after Cambodian police arrested a Thai national working at CATS on spy allegations. Siwarak Chotipong, 31, is being held in Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh. He is alleged to have passed on the flight schedule of the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his visit to Cambodia last week, according to a report in the newspaper Phnom Penh News.

The newspaper article quoted a representative for Cambodia's ruling Council of Ministers saying the takeover of CATS was "temporary" and done "to ensure national security and public safety." The financial operations of the company would not be affected.

Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser was covered widely in the country's media this month, including a television interview with Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thaksin. Hun has called Thaksin a friend of Cambodia.

Thailand has formerly requested the extradition of Thaksin, 60, who was ousted from power in a military coup in 2006. He returned in 2007 and the following year received a two-year jail sentence for conflict of interest in high-level business dealings. He fled the country, leaving an estimated $2 billion in frozen assets. He has since lived mostly in the United Kingdom.

Cambodia has refused to hand him over because, they say, his trial was political and not criminal, meaning they are not bound to extradite him under any bilateral treaty.

Analysts are saying that the issue of his return is, in fact, more political than just a case of evading prison. Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, 45, is a member of the Democrat Party and heads a large coalition government that fears Thaksin could pose a credible election threat if he returns to the country. Thaksin, as a former police officer, could call in favors among senior policemen and also some military leaders in any election, possibly next year.

Many of Thaksin's supporters are in the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship Party that has demonstrated for Thaksin to receive a royal pardon from the ailing but much revered Thai king.

For his part, Thaksin has reportedly used his Twitter site to vent his anger at the Abhisit government and his opponents within Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported.

"Everything you guys do is right, but whatever we do is wrong. So how can we live together? How long can peace last?" He went on to say he did not believe how long it would be before his supporters' "patience will snap," the article stated.

The Bangkok Post has also reported that Thailand's Foreign Ministry has lodged a complaint with the ambassador of Dubai. Ministry officials said Thaksin is using Dubai as a base for political activities Thailand's government.

The Cambodian Ministry of the Interior has also this week ordered its officials to encrypt as much as possible government information and sensitive documents that it is sending over the Internet. The government fear is that more data, such as happened with Thaksin's fight details, could be siphoned off by spies, the Phnom Penh News report said. Read more!

Cambodia pulls out of military sports meet

By The Nation


A sporting event between Thai and Cambodian military personnel scheduled over the weekend has been postponed indefinitely due to the growing tensions between the two countries.

The postponement was initiated by Cambodian authorities, without stating any reasons, said Prawat Ratthairom, a deputy provincial governor of Si Sa Ket, the venue of the event.

He said the provincial authorities were just informed of the postponement by the Thai military.

A series of sports competitions between Thailand's Second Army Area and Cambodia's Fourth Military Precinct, both of which are responsible for duties along each country's borders, were scheduled to be held today and tomorrow at Phumi Srol School in Cambodia's Kanthararak district.

Meanwhile, a Cambodian immigrant worker was axed to death by a Thai worker in a drunken brawl in Chon Buri's Sri Racha district over the detention of a Thai national by Cambodian authorities for alleged spying.

The victim, known only as Tiang, was allegedly attacked by Silchai Namnont, local police said, citing Kraisorn Namnont, the suspect's brother. The three men, all helpers in a local rubber plantation, were drinking late on Thursday and started quarrelling over the detention of the Thai in Cambodia and other diplomatic strains in ties between the two countries.

Nong Kham police said a hunt was on for Silchai but his brother, Kraisorn, was in custody. Police were still questioning him, as they were suspicious that he also took part in the murder.

In Sa Kaew, a goodwill cerฌemony was held by Thai and Cambodian military personnel in Aranyaprathet district yesterday. Highranking commanders of both sides met in the middle of the ThaiCambodia Friendship Bridge and exchanged souvenirs and handshakes in a photo opportunity.

LtGeneral Kanit Saphithak, commander of Thailand's First Army Area, and General Sok Phiab, a deputy chief of Cambodia's joint supreme command, were the highestranking officers from both sides participating in the ceremony. They met without prior appointment while making inspection visits at their local Army units, after local forces on both sides managed to get them to meet each other.

Aranyaprathet border checkpoint and Khlong Luek border town are still open to visits by Cambodians while Thai nationals still visit casinos across the border and Cambodian vendors still enter Thailand and do their businesses at Rong Klue market despite a drop in the number of Thai shoppers.

Read more!

Khmer killed after quarrel with Thai

CHON BURI : A Thai rubber tapper allegedly killed his Cambodian co-worker with an axe after a drinking session in which they had a heated argument over the two countries' diplomatic spat.

The Cambodian worker was identified as Diang, aged about 40. Police found his body lying on the floor in a room of an apartment run by Sri Maha Racha Co, the men's employer.

Blood covered the floor of room No.2, where he lived. A cut about five centimetres deep was found on his left cheek and another on his left shoulder, which was almost severed. Several empty liquor bottles were found in the room along with a bloodstained axe.

Kraisorn Namnont, a rubber tapper who lived next to the Cambodian worker, alerted Si Racha police about the killing about half past midnight on Friday.

He said the murderer was Sinchai Namnont, 44, his younger brother. They were from the northeastern province of Maha Sarakham.

He said Mr Sinchai, who lived with him in room No.1, had been drinking with Diang in Diang's room. They started arguing about the Cambodian authorities' arrest of a Thai engineer for alleged spying. Earlier, Cambodia named convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as its economic adviser.

Mr Kraisorn said he remembered hearing Mr Sinchai say it was not right for Cambodia to act in the way it had and Diang replying, "So, what can you do with my government?"

Shortly after that, Mr Sinchai rushed back to room No.1 to grab some of his clothes, then hurried out without saying anything about what had happened next door, said Mr Kraisorn.

After hearing Diang crying for help in pain, Mr Kraisorn decided to go to check on him but found him dead.

Police, however, said they were not convinced by Mr Kraisorn's testimony and suspected him of being involved in the murder of Diang in some way. Read more!

Vietnamese economy poses no threat to Thailand

Hanoi ensures existence of political stability and cheap labour

The Vietnamese economy poses no immediate threat to Thailand, which has healthy investments in that country, says the Thai ambassador in Hanoi.

Pisanu Chanvitan says Thailand's economy is still far more advanced than Vietnam's.

However, the ambassador told Thai Rath newspaper, Vietnam has certain advantages including political stability, thanks to its one-party rule and cheap labour.

Last year, Vietnam's economy grew 3%.

Mr Pisanu said that medical advances in Vietnam lag far behind Thailand. For difficult cases, well-to-do patients still travel to Thailand for treatment because Vietnam's health care expertise is lacking.

Nor was Thailand's status as the world's top rice exporter under threat from Vietnam.

Mr Pisanu said Vietnam exported about 5 million tonnes of rice last year while Thailand exported 8-9 million tonnes.

Thai rice is more expensive because of its higher quality especially the world famous Hom Mali, while Vietnam exports cheaper varieties.

Vietnam can face typhoons several times a year, causing extensive damage to rice fields.

Vietnam's rice cultivation area is similar to Thailand's, but Vietnam has a growing population. As its population grows, Vietnam will probably export less rice.

Vietnam's rulers like to talk about their plans for the economy, but sometimes these projects can be many years off.

Vietnam said it would put in a high-speed train, similar to the bullet train in Japan, running from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

The news excited Thai readers but most did not realise that work on the railway won't start until 2036, or nearly 30 years into the future.

In 1990, Vietnam began to open the country to foreign direct investment, creating special industrial zones and expanding the economic zone in Ho Chi Minh City.

Thailand is ranked 9th among foreign investors in Vietnam. Investment is concentrated in agri-business, cement, real estate, and motorcycle parts.

Mr Pisanu said Thailand exported more than 10,000 tonnes of fruit to Vietnam last year, including longan, mangosteen, durian and mango.

Food processing including canned fish is another bright prospect for Thai exporters. Several Thai canneries have set up operations in Vietnam and are doing good business.

Engineer is a

'political victim'

Sivarak Chutipong, 31, the Thai engineer arrested in Cambodia on a spying charge, is being used as a pawn in the diplomatic dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, argues a Matichon newspaper writer.

Sivarak worked for Cambodia Air Traffic Services, a subsidiary of Thailand's Samart Telecom.

He was arrested last week on a spying charge, after he allegedly transmitted the flight schedule of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodia's premier Hun Sen to Thailand.

The newspaper argues the engineer was a victim of the conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia concerning Hun Sen's appointment of Thaksin as economic adviser.

If Sivarak is found guilty by a Cambodian court, he could be jailed for 7-10 years and/or fined 50,000-250,000 baht.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Thaksin's flight schedule was not secret information and Thailand already knew Thaksin's likely flight movements.

Suthep argued that Cambodian authorities may have misunderstood the intention of the government, which never intended to inflict any harm.

Yet the Matichon writer was not satisfied with explanations offered by the Thai Foreign Ministry and Samart Telecom in defence of Sivarak.

The government, the writer said, should protect Sivarak's honour and tell international observers that Cambodia's allegations are trumped up.

Miscellany

Cambodia has expelled all Thai staff from Cambodia Air Traffic Services after a Thai engineer on staff was charged with spying.

Phnom Penh has filed national security charges of stealing classified information against engineer Sivarak Chutipong.

Cambodia has now ordered all Thai nationals working for CATS to leave the company and prohibited them from re-entering until the legal proceedings against Mr Sivarak are completed, Samart Corporation Plc president Watchai Wilailuck said.

CATS, a fully owned subsidiary of Bangkok-based Samart, holds a concession to run air traffic control services in Cambodia.

The firm employs nine Thai officials at Cambodian airport, in management or senior engineering positions. About 200 other staff are Cambodians.

Mr Watchai was told Cambodian authorities would send their own people to run the company.

"We need to follow Cambodia's order and are asking the Thai government to negotiate with Cambodia.

'We have nothing to do with their diplomatic dispute, but it is affecting our business," Mr Watchai said.

Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to an investment protection agreement, to protect each other's private businesses.

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Cambodia takes over Thailand-run company as row deepens

Cambodia has taken over the running of the country's Thai-owned air traffic control firm, in a deepening row between the two neighbouring countries.

Cambodia also barred all Thai employees from turning up for work and put a Cambodian national in temporary charge.

The move comes a day after a Thai engineer working for the firm in Phnom Penh was formally charged with spying.

It is said he passed on details of last week's flight to Cambodia by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Thaksin, who is wanted in Thailand to serve a jail sentence for corruption, spent five days in Cambodia in his new role as an economic adviser.

'Seizing firm'

On Thursday, the government in Phnom Penh appointed a senior Cambodian civil servant in temporary charge of Cambodia Air Traffic Services (Cats) - a Thai-owned and Thai-operated firm.

It also suspended all Thai nationals from performing their duties.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya urged Cambodia to respect bilateral deals, regulating the running of Cats.

"The ministry is waiting for reports from the Thai embassy and we will also have to get clarification from the Cambodian government. If it violates bilateral agreements, then we will find way to proceed," the minister told reporters.

"Cambodia is a market economy. Just seizing (a firm) would not seem right," he added.

Internal politics

Phnom Penh's move is said to be temporary pending the outcome of a legal case against a Thai engineer who works for the company, the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok reports.

Siwarak Chothipong, 31, a Cats employee, was on Wednesday charged with spying.

He is currently under arrest, accused of passing the flight details of Mr Thaksin to a Thai diplomat.

Mr Thaksin's presence across the border infuriated the Thai government, which claims he should have been extradited to serve a two-year jail term.

The former Thai prime minister was ousted in a coup in 2006, and subsequently found guilty in absentia on conflict of interest charges.

Local newspaper reports in Thailand suggest the current Thai government and Mr Thaksin are now competing to offer help to the detained engineer and his family, our correspondent says.

Rachel Harvey adds that this is an indication that the row is as much about the internal politics of Thailand as it is about cross-border rivalries. Read more!

U.N. says Cambodian troops to aid in Chad

N'DJAMENA, Chad, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The United Nations said Thursday 42 Cambodian troops have arrived in Chad to provide security and humanitarian help there and in the Central African Republic.

The United Nations said in a release that in addition to facilitating humanitarian aid in the African countries, the Cambodian troops will help protect civilians and help in the relocation of U.N. personnel and logistic assets.

The eastern portion of Chad is serving as a refuge for 160,000 displaced Chad residents and nearly 250,000 refugees from the Sudan's Darfur region,.

A number of refugees also fled armed conflict in Darfur in the northern part of the Central African Republic.

The United Nations has been helping the refugees since 2005.

The international organization said equipment difficulties encountered by some participating countries have left the U.N. mission operating at 53 percent of its authorized strength, or 2,750 troops. Read more!

Thailand and Cambodia are not enemies : Panitan

By The Nation


Thailand should re-establish diplomatic ties with Cambodia for the country's interest, it was agreed at yesterday's seminar on bilateral ties.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, the caretaker government spokesman, said that the current spat between the two countries was merely political. The two countries were no enemies and there should be no concern of a war between them, he added.

"The relationships in other aspects, including trade and investment, remain unchanged. At present, Thailand is Cambodia's seventh largest trading partner," he said.

He was speaking at a panel discussion on "Stop, pull in or open a battle: Thai-Cambodian ties amidst the Thai political conflict", which was organised at Chulalongkorn University.

Panitan, formerly a lecturer at the university, said the current conflict required cooperation from the two countries in order to solve it in a diplomatic way.

Former deputy prime minister Chaturon Chaisang said during the panel discussion that the new round of conflict was caused by "a severe wave of nationalism" in both countries.

"All the parties involved should find out a common solution in order to protect the country's interest," he said.

Chaturon, an ally of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, said the government's decision to cancel a bilateral agreement on maritime overlapping area with Cambodia would cause Thailand to lose rather than gain. He said it was a wrong strategy to freeze Thailand's aid to Cambodia.

Surachai Sirikrai, a political science lecturer at Thammasat University, agreed that Thailand should retain good ties with Cambodia at a time when East Asian is consolidating economically.

"But the problem is that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has interfered with Thailand's politics, which is against the rules of Asean," he said.

The academic said it appeared Hun Sen appointed Thaksin as his government's economic adviser intentionally to coincide with Cambodia's renewed border conflict with Thailand involving the listing of the Preah Vihear temple ruins as a Unesco World Heritage site.

General Waipoj Srinuan, former deputy permanent secretary of the Defence Ministry, told the seminar that Thailand should prevent the conflict with Cambodia from expanding and try to normalise the relationships with the neighbouring country.

He blamed Thailand's "weak foreign policies" for Cambodia's latest "attack" on the country's politics.

The retired general said that Cambodia, which has long been viewed as undeveloped, appeared to be trying to win acceptance from the world community.

He asked Thailand not to use developed countries' bullying tactic with Cambodia but instead should treat the neighbouring country with respect. "To bully them will cause the conflict to expand," he said. Read more!

PM: Cambodia, Jatuporn sharing info

The Cambodian government and opposition Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Prompan could be sharing information, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday.

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) core member Jatuporn earlier claimed that he had an audio tape of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering the Thai embassy's first secretary, Kamrob Palawatwichai, to find out Thaksin's flight schedule.

"I believe Mr Jatuporn and Cambodia have constantly been in contact. I hope the person behind this will regain a sense of conscience and won't trade off the country's interests to Cambodia," the prime minister said.

"If Thaksin crosses the border into Thailand through the Northeast, he must be face his punishment if the law is to be preserved."

He said the government had no intention of playing political games with the red-shirts, and he was confident the UDD's anti-government rallies would not turn violent.

"I believe the UDD's plan to topple the government by Dec 3 will not succeed, because people want peace," he said. "The government will evaluate the situation again before deciding whether to apply the Internal Security Act during the protests."
Read more!

Spread of artemisinin resistance may hinder efforts to control malaria

As resistance to the antimalarial drug artemisinin increases, efforts to control malaria may be threatened, according to experts who spoke at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's 58th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Currently, the bulk of artemisinin resistance has been observed near the border between Cambodia and Thailand. But experts are warning that it could soon spread throughout Southeast Asia, hampering malaria control efforts in the region and elsewhere.

"Artemisinin combination therapies are the most rapidly and reliably effective treatments for malaria caused by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite, which is responsible for the vast majority of malaria-related illnesses and deaths," Pascal Ringwald, MD, director of antimalarial drug resistance surveillance at WHO, said. "The loss of artemisinin derivatives to resistance could have a devastating effect on health in tropical countries and would threaten current global efforts to eliminate malaria."

Ringwald said WHO officials first noticed evidence of artemisinin resistance in Cambodia and Thailand after receiving reports about increases in clearance times in patients with malaria treated with artemisinin combination therapies. "These drugs are designed to kill the parasites within 24 to 48 hours, but we are finding that it sometimes takes four or five days to kill them," Ringwald said. "In some studies, half of the parasites are not killed within 72 hours after the beginning of treatment, which indicates a growing resistance problem."

Ringwald added that artemisinin resistance is particularly problematic because there are few antimalarial drugs currently in development that could, if necessary, replace artemisinin in terms of effectiveness.

However, Ringwald also stressed that although artemisinin resistance is a growing concern and health officials are monitoring of the situation, the "vast majority" of patients with malaria throughout the world are still being treated and cured with artemisinin-based therapies.

Read more!

Cambodia strains ties even more

All Thai staff banned from air traffic office

Cambodia intensified the diplomatic spat with Thailand yesterday when authorities in Phnom Penh expelled all Thai officials from their offices at Cambodia Air Traffic Services.

The order by the Cambodian government came after Phnom Penh filed charges yesterday against Sivarak Chutipong, a Thai engineer working for CATS.

"Cambodia has charged him with stealing classified information affecting national security," said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, the secretary to the foreign minister.

The Cambodian government ordered Thai nationals working for CATS to immediately leave the company and prohibited them from re-entering until the legal proceedings against Mr Sivarak are completed, Samart Corporation Plc president Watchai Wilailuck said.

CATS, a fully owned subsidiary of Bangkok-based Samart, has been granted a 32-year air traffic control concession.

The firm employs nine Thai officials at the Cambodian airport, all of them either in management or senior engineering positions. About 200 other staff members are Cambodians.

Mr Watchai was told Cambodian authorities would send their own people to operate the company.

"We need to follow Cambodia's order and are asking the Thai government to help negotiate with the Cambodian government to solve the problem because it is affecting a private business which has nothing to do with the state dispute," Mr Watchai said.

Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to the Investment Protection Agreement to protect each other's private businesses.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the Foreign Ministry has been ordered to look into the problem of CATS.

Mr Sivarak was arrested on Nov 12 for allegedly obtaining confidential information about the flight details of convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and supplying it to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.

The Cambodian government also expelled the embassy's first secretary, Kamrob Palawatwichai and Thailand retaliated with the same measure.

The 31-year-old detainee and the Thai Foreign Ministry have denied the accusations.

Deputy ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said the ministry was helping to find Mr Sivarak a lawyer. Cambodian law requires his legal representative to be a Cambodian national.

"The Thai side still believes in Cambodia's judicial process and hopes Phnom Penh will be fair to Mr Sivarak," Mr Thani said.

Thaksin wrote in his Twitter page yesterday he had contacted Cambodian leaders to find ways to help the Thai engineer being detained at Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh.

"I've been in touch with them. They said they would investigate first and will treat him fairly," he said in his posting.

Mr Abhisit refused to comment on the assistance by Thaksin to help secure the release of the engineer and said the government's actions had been helping to improve the situation for Mr Sivarak.

But Mr Sivarak's mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, thanked Thaksin for his efforts to help secure the release of her son.

Deputy director-general of the Consular Affairs Department Madurapochana Ittarong was helping Mrs Simarak and Mr Sivarak's younger sister to obtain access to him in Phnom Penh.

Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh also offered to help in talks with the Cambodian government.

Mr Thani said Gen Chavalit's offer was welcome.

The latest conflict between the Thai and Cambodian governments started last month when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made Thaksin an economic adviser to himself and to his government. Thailand was offended when Hun Sen said Thaksin's corruption case was politically motivated and refused to hand him over to Bangkok.

The fugitive prime minister left the Cambodian capital for Dubai on Saturday.

Puea Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan yesterday claimed the Cambodian government had an audio clip of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering Mr Kamrob to seek the flight schedule of the ousted prime minister.

Read more!

Rare crocs found hiding in plain sight in Cambodia

By Michael Casey, Associated Press


BANGKOK — Conservationists searching for one of the world's most endangered crocodile species say they have found dozens of the reptiles lounging in plain sight — at a wildlife rescue center in Cambodia.

DNA taken from 69 crocodiles housed in the moats of the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center showed nearly 50% were Siamese crocodiles, which until recently were believed to have become extinct in the wild, researchers said Wednesday.

"For the first time in Cambodia, we have a captive population of animals that we know 100% are purebred Siamese crocodiles," said Adam Starr, who manages the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Program, a joint effort between the government and Fauna & Flora International. The Washington, D.C.-based conservation group Wildlife Alliance also took part.

Once common throughout Southeast Asia, the Siamese crocodile or crocodylus Siamensis is locally extinct in 99% of the areas it once roamed and is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Much of the wild population was wiped out by habitat loss and poaching.

Those left in the wild — thought to be less than 250, with nearly all in Cambodia and the rest in Indonesia and Vietnam — face the new threat of hydropower dams being built in two of their three known habitats in the country.

Starr said the discovery of the captive population would give conservationists new options for breeding and reintroducing the crocodiles into the wild, most likely in places not affected by the dams. He said up to 60 crocodiles a year could be released into areas where they once thrived.

DNA analysis, which was done at Thailand's Kasetsart University, is necessary because it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between Siamese crocodiles and the hybrid crocodile species that are also housed at the center.

Nhek Ratanapech, director of the wildlife center, said he was surprised to learn that so many of the crocodiles turned out to be pure Siamese.

"Before we conducted the DNA testing, we thought perhaps only three or four of them in the zoo were Siamese crocodiles," he said.

Siamese crocs are said to be a bit smaller at just under 10 feet (3.5 meters) than hybrids, and their snouts are shorter and wider.


Read more!

Thailand delays action on aid to Cambodia

By Pracha Hariraksapitak


BANGKOK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Thailand on Tuesday held back on further action against Cambodia -- which caused a diplomatic row by offering a job to fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- and welcomed the access it was given to a Thai accused of spying.

"There is still plenty of time to consider (cutting aid and loans). There is no need to hurry," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.

The latest row between the neigbouring countries flared when Thaksin went to Cambodia last week after its prime minister, Hun Sen, offered him a job as an economic adviser. The Cambodian government rejected Bangkok's request to extradite him.

The two countries recalled their ambassadors and Cambodia arrested a Thai engineer working for Cambodia Air Traffic Services, accusing him of sending Thaksin's flight schedule to a Thai diplomat, who was expelled by Phnom Penh.

The arrest caused further uproar in Thailand, especially as embassy officials were initially denied access to the engineer.

A visit was finally allowed on Tuesday.

"It is a positive move on Cambodia's part to allow our representative to visit him," Abhisit said. "This gives us hope. We will continue to seek legal counsel for now and we believe we will be informed of formal charges soon."

The Thai government says the information the engineer was accused of giving the diplomat was publicly available.

AID MAY BE HIT

Earlier, Panitan Wattanayagorn, deputy secretary-general to Abhisit, said the cabinet could discuss various measures to be taken against Cambodia, including freezing low-interest loans to build roads.

Last week Thailand said it would scrap a 2001 memorandum of understanding on energy development in the Gulf of Thailand.

The agreement was signed under Thaksin's administration, with the aim of finding a way for the two countries to jointly develop oil and gas resources in disputed waters, although little progress has been made.

Thaksin left Cambodia on Saturday.

He spends most of his time in Dubai, having returned to self-imposed exile last year ahead of a court judgment that found him guilty of violating a conflict of interest law while in office and sentenced him to two years in jail.

After winning two landslide elections, Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006. He remains at the heart of a bitter political struggle in Thailand which has at various stages over the past four years scared off tourists and dismayed investors. (For an analysis on Thaksin's strategy, click [ID:nBKK461030]) (Writing by Ambika Ahuja; Editing by Alan Raybould and Jerry Norton)

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Hun Sen seeks to 'internationalise' spat

Thailand's domestic turmoil has been further complicated by the political tempest that blew through Bangkok from Phnom Penh last week. For the first time, the protracted Thai political crisis is no longer wholly domestic but has direct foreign bearings from next door.

In a flurry of seemingly orchestrated offensive manoeuvres, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has put the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on the back foot. Mr Hun Sen has achieved several objectives, whereas Mr Abhisit's government has yet to define what it wants out of the retaliatory spiral that has brought contemporary Thai-Cambodian relations to its nadir.

To be sure, Mr Hun Sen's deliberate provocation was designed and timed to rock the Abhisit government. It began with the Cambodian leader's invitation to. and warm reception of, Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's visit to Phnom Penh in mid-October. At that time, Mr Hun Sen expressed sympathy for convicted and exiled Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, hinting the latter could find refuge in Cambodia.

At the Asean Summit in Cha-am a week later, Mr Hun Sen's second move was to follow through with statements to the media indicating that Thaksin should be made an adviser to the Cambodian government.

The Cambodian strongman then returned to Phnom Penh to officially appoint Thaksin as government adviser on the economy.

The fourth move was to invite Mr Thaksin to give a talk last week. All of these moves took place just prior to the Apec leaders' meeting and the inaugural Asean-US summit, which Mr Abhisit was to preside over as Asean chair.

The Abhisit government was behind Mr Hun Sen's curve balls throughout. It should have sent clearer and louder signals that avoided unnecessary ridicule, insult, condescension and sarcasm.

Instead, Mr Abhisit's press conference in Cha-am warned Mr Hun Sen not to be used as a pawn by Thaksin. If the Cambodian ambassador failed to show up when summoned by the Thai government, clear signals should have been sounded as well.

By the time Mr Hun Sen appointed Thaksin, the Abhisit government went ballistic when it should have been measured and nuanced. It could have recalled the Thai ambassador for consultations before sending him back to Phnom Penh.

The intensity and rapidity of Bangkok's level of responses, including the revocation of a memorandum of understanding on overlapping claims in the Gulf of Thailand and suspension of aid and soft loans, made the Abhisit government appear flustered and blustered.

Moreover, it reflected the Abhisit government's misguided estimation of Thailand's leverage over Cambodia and betrays its own shortcomings, which were discussed in detail in Mr Hun Sen's long interview last week.

Indeed, Mr Hun Sen has not been nice but he may have had his reasons for not being nice to Mr Abhisit's government. And there appears little the Thai leader can do about it.

Unlike bygone years, new geopolitical realities now mean Bangkok is merely one among many in the pecking order of importance to Cambodia. China, Vietnam, Russia, Japan, and even South Korea have been instrumental players in Cambodia's economic development. The Thai government needs to accept Cambodia's status as an up-and-coming emerging economy after decades of war, conflict and tragedy, with more than its fair share of natural resources that beckons partners near and far, and relative political stability alongside democratic legitimacy to boot.

On the other hand, Mr Hun Sen has been pent up on a number of old scores, as his interview revealed. The Cambodian leader was miffed, of course, when Mr Abhisit appointed a foreign minister who publicly called him a gangster on a nationalist stage where Mr Hun Sen was a ping-pong ball. Mr Abhisit's misjudgement on his foreign minister choice, owing to his own miscalculation and/or pressure from his backers, doomed Thai-Cambodian relations from the outset.

Moreover, Mr Hun Sen viewed the Abhisit government's reneging on Cambodia's registration of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site as back-stabbing following Mr Abhisit's personal assurance that it could be discussed. The Abhisit government did little to rein in right-wing groups from demonstrating at Preah Vihear areas, some even demanding the return of the temple which belongs to Cambodia by international law.

The bilateral atmosphere was further poisoned by the Abhisit government's allowing Sam Rainsy, an opposition leader in Cambodian politics, to use a forum in Bangkok to attack Mr Hun Sen.

With the expulsion of a Thai diplomat and the arrest of a Thai engineer on spying charges, Mr Hun Sen has not flinched in the face of Thai retaliation. While he is settling old scores, Mr Hun Sen's persistence of harassment and taking sides in Thailand's deep-seated polarisation by allowing Thaksin to use Cambodia as a staging ground, would suggest that Phnom Penh is intent on carrying out this bilateral spat to its logical conclusion in regionalising and internationalising the Thai-Cambodian conflict.

Mr Hun Sen would have an edge not in bilateral dealings but in regional and international considerations, especially if the Abhisit government ratchets up retaliation and ends up with overreaction.

Mr Abhisit must now own up to his misjudgements.

A cabinet reshuffle is imperative. He should treat Mr Hun Sen with respect and appeal for Cambodia to stay out of Thai affairs like other countries, such as the United Kingdom and China, have done.

Most important, Mr Abhisit must come up with an overarching policy objective in order to locate and shape the political and diplomatic tools to achieve it. That objective should be to persuade Mr Hun Sen to not let Thaksin use Cambodian soil as his launch pad to battle his opponents. Read more!

Cambodia won't drop spy charges

Military tries personal appeal to free engineer

Thailand's hopes of a quick release for Sivarak Chutipong have been dashed.

Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh said the alleged spy will not be freed any time soon.

In a phone interview with the Bangkok Post, Gen Tea Banh said legal proceedings against the Thai engineer must be allowed to run their course.

Thai military chiefs, including Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, are using their communications channels with Gen Tea Banh to try and help the government secure the release of the Cambodia Air Traffic Services engineer who is being detained in Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison.

They hoped the general would convince Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to allow his release.
"I told them I am sorry but that it is not possible," Gen Tea Banh said. "Lawbreakers must face legal proceedings first. They must face investigations and will be taken to court. They cannot be let off scot-free.

"I don't know what to do. The law is there and Cambodia must stick to the law ... the judicial proceedings must be allowed to take their course. It's impossible to release him [Mr Sivarak] straight away."

Gen Tea Banh said Cambodian authorities had questioned Mr Sivarak and found allegations he illegally obtained information about fugitive former primer minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight schedule had grounds.

Mr Sivarak was arrested on Thursday for allegedly obtaining confidential information about Thaksin's flight details and supplying it to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.

The Cambodian government expelled the Thai embassy's first secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai in response.

Both Mr Sivarak and the Thai Foreign Ministry denied the allegations.

Mr Sivarak has not yet been formally charged, said Thani Thongphakdi, deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.

After blocking several attempts to meet the detained Thai, Cambodian authorities yesterday allowed Chalotorn Phaovibul - the highest ranking diplomat at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh - and two other staff to visit Mr Sivarak for 30 minutes.

"He is in good condition and good spirits. He is also being well taken care of by Cambodian authorities," the deputy spokesman quoted Mr Chalotorn as saying.

Mr Chalotorn has been in charge of the Thai embassy since ambassador Prasas Prasasvinitchai was recalled in protest over Phnom Penh's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser.

Mr Sivarak spoke with his mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, in Nakhon Ratchasima by phone after being given permission by prison authorities.

Mrs Simarak, who works at Nakhon Ratchasima Technical College, said she was happy to speak to her son for the first time since his arrest and to learn that he was safe.

She appealed to the government to quickly secure her son's release.

The deputy director-general of the Consular Affairs Department, Madurapochana Ittarong, yesterday visited Mrs Simarak in the northeastern province and offered to help her arrange a visit to see Mr Sivarak in Phnom Penh.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva applauded Cambodia's decision to allow Thai diplomats to visit Mr Sivarak in prison in accordance with international standards.

Mr Abhisit told Mrs Simarak the government would try its best to secure his release as soon as possible.

"The government hopes he will be released soon following proper legal procedures," Mr Abhisit said.

Thaksin said on thaksinlive.com, his internet channel, that he had contacted the Cambodian government and asked it to ensure the engineer receives a fair trial.

"If there is anything I can do to help, I'll do it even though it [the charge] is real," he said.

The recent deterioration in Thai-Cambodian relations started last month when Hun Sen appointed Thaksin as an economic adviser to his government. Tensions increased when Cambodia rejected Thai requests that Thaksin be extradited.

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Cambodian opposition leader stripped of immunity

Cambodia’s parliament stripped immunity from main opposition leader Sam Rainsy yesterday, clearing the way for charges against him for uprooting markings at the border with Vietnam.

“The National Assembly has lifted the parliamentary immunity of Sam Rainsy,” a statement from the legislative body said.

The statement went on to say Sam Rainsy, currently abroad, had committed acts of “uprooting border posts between Cambodia and Vietnam, and inciting [people] to commit criminal offences” in southeastern Svay Rieng Province.

The move permits court action against Sam Rainsy, who removed six markers at the border during a march in Svay Rieng last month, alleging that they were illegally placed by Vietnam.

Lawmakers from his eponymous Sam Rainsy Party boycotted yesterday’s closed parliamentary vote and held aloft a map of Cambodia as they marched through the streets of the capital, denouncing the decision as “political intimidation.”

The French-educated former finance minister is the main rival to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. He touts liberal democracy and human rights, while promising to raise wages and fight corruption.

Son Chhay, chief of the party’s members of parliament, called the decision a “threat or intimidation against the party leader … [with] political intention to shut up the opposition party.”
Vietnam condemned Sam Rainsy for uprooting the border posts, and asked Phnom Penh to protect the two countries’ sensitive demarcation process.

Sam Rainsy has said he believed the border markers were erected unilaterally by Vietnamese authorities, and that villagers had removed similar posts in the area early this year.

Cambodia and Vietnam officially began demarcating their contentious border in September 2006, in a bid to end decades of territorial disputes.

The border row has sparked virulent anti-Vietnamese sentiment in Cambodia, fuelled by resentment of Vietnam’s expansion over the centuries.

The 1,270km border has remained essentially unmarked and vague since French colonial times, with stone markers and boundary flags having disappeared, while trees lining it were cut down.
Read more!

Carters help build Thai homes

Mr Carter and his wife, Rosalynn (both centre), are among 3,000 volunteers from 25 countries working with Habitat for Humanity this week to help build and repair homes along the Mekong River in Thailand, Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Laos. -- PHOTO: AP

CHIANG MAI (Thailand) - FORMER US President Jimmy Carter helped the housing charity that he champions, Habitat for Humanity, launch a campaign Monday to build homes for 50,000 families in the Mekong River region over the next five years.

Mr Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are among 3,000 volunteers from 25 countries working with Habitat for Humanity this week to help build and repair homes along the Mekong River in Thailand, Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Laos.

The homes in Cambodia are being built for families currently living in a garbage dump, the ones in Vietnam are for fishermen who now live on their boats, and the project in China involves construction of an apartment building in a part of Sichuan province devastated by a 2008 earthquake.

'In an area of the world where many people live in deplorable conditions, we have a chance to help families improve their housing,' said Mr Carter, wearing sneakers, jeans and a work shirt. He and his wife spent Monday helping build homes in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai province, where 82 will be constructed in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who celebrates his 82nd birthday next month.

Habitat for Humanity's Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Reckford said the Georgia-based non-profit group decided to scale up its activities in the Mekong region over the next five years because the needs were so great.

'This is an area that gets less attention than some other parts of the world,' Reckford said. 'But if you look at income levels, there are huge numbers of families living at terribly low levels at a dollar a day. There is a huge deficit of decent housing, so it starts with the need.' -- AP

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Govt told to treat Cambodia subtly

Experts warn a more mature stance needed on the issues

The government must exercise "more maturity" in the ongoing diplomatic row with Cambodia, starting with changing its current positions against the neighbouring country, diplomatic experts say.

International affairs and legal experts warned Thailand could risk losing international creditability and long-term economic prospects should the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration continue with its current strategies including the planned termination of a number of agreements with Cambodia.

"The government has failed to use other solutions, except retaliation moves,"Chulacheeb Chinwanno, vice rector of Thammasat University, told a seminar yesterday.

"A refrain from such premature retaliation, should it adopt it, could demonstrate its maturity in dealing with the issue."

The diplomatic spat between the two nations has worsened since last month after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as his personal and economic adviser.

The Thai government has imposed a number of retaliatory moves including recalling Thai ambassador to Cambodia Prasas Prasasvinitchai. It is also in the process of terminating a memorandum of understanding on an overlapping maritime area.

The document was signed in 2001 when Thaksin was prime minister.

The government defended its plan to terminate the agreement, which is still pending parliament approval.

But Chumphorn Pachusanond, an international law expert at Chulalongkorn University's law faculty, said such a decision would not be easy to apply and it would bring joint oil and gas exploration efforts in the Gulf of Thailand back to square one.

"I want the government to consider this more profoundly," he said.

The agreement is a binding treaty in which Thailand would be required to propose an alternative measure should it want the termination, he said.

"Why do we want to make a mess out of this MoU? The Thai government has no reason to fear its existence," he said.

Should both nations go ahead with the MoU, they will mutually benefit from the exploration of hydrocarbon resources, he said.

Puangthong Pawakapan, from the political science faculty at Chulalongkorn University, said a halt to exploration could obstruct both countries' efforts to gain energy security and further affect economic development on both sides.

The government's other move to scrap a 1.4-billion-baht soft loan for a road project linking Surin to Siem Reap is also shortsighted because Thailand would be disadvantaged.

She said the project would help Thai businesses to transport their products to Cambodia and Vietnam and increase trade volumes for Thai industries.

The government's termination of the loan is unlikely to affect Cambodia which will be able to easily seek another loan from other lenders such as China or Japan, she said.

Thailand had also sidestepped softer, preliminary diplomatic approaches and adopted far too aggressive ones.

Read more!

FM claims Thai 'spy' is isolated

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has dismissed a report that a high-level Thai diplomat had met Siwarak Chotphong - who is accused of spying - at a prison in Phnom Penh.

Mr Kasit denied a Thai diplomat was allowed to meet the Cambodia Air Traffic Services engineer who is being detained at Prey Sar prison.

Mr Kasit said he had checked the report with the Thai embassy in Cambodia and believed the meeting did not take place.

His statement countered Cambodian foreign ministry claims that a Thai embassy official was allowed to visit Mr Siwarak, who was arrested on Thursday on charges of supplying details of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight schedule to his country's embassy.

"Today, we agreed to allow [a Thai diplomat] to visit the man at 2pm in the prison where he is being temporarily detained," Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said.
Accompanying story: Siwarak's Mom: My son is not a spy

Mr Kasit confirmed that no visit was allowed by Phnom Penh despite requests through Cambodia's Foreign and Interior ministries and Corrections Department since the 31-year-old Thai was arrested.

"We are still waiting for a reply from Cambodia," he said, referring to Thai attempts to meet him.

A Foreign Ministry official said Chalotorn Phaovibul, the embassy's minister, informed the Cambodian government about the Thai request to meet Mr Siwarak at 2pm but he had not been given the green light from Phnom Penh.

The spy allegations prompted Phnom Penh to expel Kamrob Palawatwichai, the Thai embassy's first secretary, on Thursday and Thailand reciprocated hours later.

Mr Kamrob reported to the Thai Foreign Ministry yesterday and Mr Kasit insisted that the Thai diplomat was not a spy and did not collaborate with Mr Siwarak to obtain detailed flight plans of Thaksin's movements.

Thailand appears to be growing frustrated at the denial although Bangkok has insisted that it is international practice to visit those who are arrested and face charges.

Mr Kasit was trying to contact his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong, who is on the way to Italy, to get access to Mr Siwarak.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Mr Kasit and security officials planned to hold talks to find a way to help Mr Siwarak if Mr Siwarak is not released.

The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia started after Thaksin was appointed as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and a personal adviser to Cambodian Premier Hun Sen.

Thailand was also outraged after Hun Sen called Thaksin a victim of Thai politics and rejected Thai attempts to extradite him.

Thaksin left Cambodia for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, ending a contentious four-day visit that deepened a diplomatic storm between already bickering Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

Thailand yesterday stepped up calls for the UAE government to send the convicted former prime minister back to Thailand.

Panich Vikitsreth, an assistant to the foreign minister, supplied UAE ambassador to Thailand Mohammed Ali Ahmed Omran Al Shamsi with more information about Thaksin to back up the Thai attempt to seek cooperation from the Middle East country. The information included the interview by Thaksin in the London-based Times online edition. Read more!

Cambodian mobile customer base will grow to almost 6.23mn at the end of 2009

Cambodia and Laos Telecommunications Report Q4 2009 - a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com

http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Market-Report/cambodia-and-laos-telecommunications-report-q4-2009-166982.asp

The latest update on the telecoms markets in Cambodia and Laos includes new regulatory and operator data on the size of these two countries’ mobile subscriber, fixed-line and internet access markets at the end of March 2009. Based on the available data, we have made several revisions to our five-year growth forecasts for these markets.

Based on data published by Cambodia’s leading mobile operators
, the report calculates that the Cambodian mobile customer base grew by 15.5% in the first three months of 2009. By the end of March, Cambodia had almost 4.6mn mobile users, equivalent to a penetration rate of around 30%. In the first few months of 2009, Cambodia witnessed the launch of commercial services by three new mobile
network operators.

These were Vietnam’s Viettel, which launched commercial operations in February, Smart Mobile, which commenced GSM operations in March, and Sotelco, which launched services under the Beeline banner in May. Sotelco was acquired by Russian operator VimpelCom in July 2008 from Altimo at a cost of US$28mn for a 90% stake. VimpelCom has pledged around US$200mn to be spent in its Cambodian network in the first three to four years following its commercial launch.

The presence of nine mobile operators in Cambodia is thought to have significant implications for the development of the sector. Firstly, mobile subscriber growth appears to be accelerating as the level of competition increases. Indeed, early indications suggest that 2009 will see much stronger subscriber growth than in 2008. BMI now predicts that the Cambodian mobile customer base will grow to almost 6.23mn at the end of 2009. Our new forecast envisages growth of over 62% in 2009, dropping to 42.5% in 2010.

In neighbouring Laos, recent developments point to the possibility of an increasingly dynamic mobile market in the months ahead. As noted in our previous report, recent months saw the launch of commercial operations by Vietnam’s Viettel, which will operate in Laos under the Star Telecom brand as part of a joint venture with the Laotian government. Meanwhile, in September, it was announced that Russia’s VimpelCom had agreed to acquire a 78% stake in Millicom Lao from Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular. Although the completion of the acquisition will require regulatory approval, this is expected to be forthcoming before the end of the year. The report predicts that Laos’ active mobile subscriber base will surpass the 2mn subscriber mark by the end of 2009.

Cambodia and Laos respectively sit in 13th and 15th position in the latest set of business environment ratings for the Asia Pacific region. The two countries generally score below average for the Asia Pacific region. Nevertheless, they continue to perform better than regional neighbours Thailand and Vietnam. As a result of having a more competitive sector, Cambodia continues to have a higher score than Laos in the telecoms market category. . Read more!

At least 5 injured in blast in Thai rally

BANGKOK, At least five people were injured Sunday night when a bomb was thrown at the stage of an anti- Thaksin group's rally here, which was held to protest against the convicted former Thai prime minister's appointment by Cambodian government.

Although 1,500 policemen had been deployed around the city to maintain order during the rally by The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the blast occurred at around 9 p.m., when Sondhi Limthongkul, the PAD leader, was addressing the group's supporters.

Five people got wounded with a boy's leg severely injured, The Nation online quoted a witness as saying.

A man was reported to have been arrested after throwing the bomb.

By 8:30 p.m. local time, over 10,000 PAD supporters were rallying at Sanam Luang in the center of Bangkok after they officially staged their protest from 4 p.m. local time.

The PAD rally, which was participated by the supporters from both Bangkok and many provinces across the country, was held after Thailand and Cambodia have downgraded their diplomatic relations due to conflict over an appointment of Thaksin as an economic advisor to the Cambodian government and Hun Sen on Nov. 4.

The PAD supporters ranged from the general public, students, employees of state enterprises, war veteran members, non- governmental organizations, to taxi drivers.

The PAD protesters announced that they were united to show the world the Thai people's strength and to protect the country's dignity against Cambodia and Thaksin.

The purpose of this rally is that "we want to communicate to the world, Thais, and Cambodians, and to former Premier Thaksin and the Cambodian Prime Minister that what they are doing are not right, and the Thai people can not take this," Pibhob Dhongchai, one of the PAD core leaders, said at the rally.

Read more!

Thaksin opponents rally over Cambodia trip

BANGKOK - Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday attended a protest by Thailand's royalist "Yellow Shirt" movement against a visit to Cambodia by their arch-foe, fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Four people, including a child, were hurt when men on a motorbike threw a firecracker into the rally in central Bangkok, an organiser said.

Police said the event, attended by an estimated 20,000 people, carried on afterwards.

Criticism

The rally was held to express outrage at the neighbouring country's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and Phnom Penh's refusal to extradite him during his four-day trip there this week, the group said.

The yellow-clad People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) also criticised billionaire Thaksin for comments that he made in a newspaper interview calling for reform of institutions around Thailand's revered monarchy.

The PAD led mass protests against Thaksin before he was toppled in a 2006 coup, and blockaded Bangkok's airports in late 2008 to force his allies out of government.

"Our duty is to protect and preserve the country's honour and dignity and the monarchy. Cambodia violated the extradition treaty and allowed a convicted person to be its adviser," senior PAD leader Somsak Kosaisuk told AFP.

"This action harms our country's prestige. We will denounce both convicted Thaksin and (Cambodian Prime Minister) Hun Sen at the protest," Somsak said.

Controversial visit

Sondhi Limthongkul, the founder of the PAD, told reporters that four protesters were hurt "when two men on a motorcycle threw a firecracker", without giving details.

Police said they were investigating the incident at the Sanam Luang parade ground.

Sondhi survived a gun attack on his car in April, while previous rallies by the Yellow Shirts have been hit by grenade blasts.

Thaksin left Cambodia on Saturday for Dubai, where he has spent most of his time since fleeing Thailand in August 2008.

Thailand has also frozen 2.2 billion dollars of his assets.

His visit to Cambodia sparked a diplomatic crisis between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, with relations already tense after a series of deadly clashes in the past year over disputed land around a temple on the border.

Thaksin could lose public support?

The neighbours recalled their respective ambassadors and expelled the first secretaries of each other's embassies.

Cambodian police have also charged a Thai man with spying for the Thai embassy.

Thaksin's comments on the monarchy proved sensitive because 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- a major force for stability in the politically divided nation -- has been in hospital for the past two months.

The coalition government of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva -- which took power soon after the Yellow Shirt airport blockade -- has been rattled by the prospect of Thaksin using Cambodia as a base for a political comeback.

Thaksin, a telecommunications mogul, remains hugely influential in Thailand's political scene, which remains bitterly split between largely anti-Thaksin urbanites and his die-hard backers among the rural poor.

His so-called "Red Shirt" supporters have themselves staged several massive protests over the past year, including the disruption of a summit of Asian leaders and subsequent riots in April.

But analysts said that by siding with Cambodia he could lose public support.

"To identify yourself with Hun Sen is a terrible political mistake," said Bangkok-based political analyst Chris Baker, who has written a biography of Thaksin.

In September, Yellow Shirts calling for the Thai government to defend the country's sovereignty clashed with police and Thai villagers during a protest close to the Preah Vihear temple, leaving dozens of people injured. -- AFP Read more!

Thaksin opponents to rally in Thailand over Cambodia trip

BANGKOK: Thousands of members of Thailand's royalist "Yellow Shirt" protest movement are set to rally in Bangkok on Sunday against a visit by fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to neighbouring Cambodia.

The demonstrators said they were also gathering to express outrage at comments that billionaire Thaksin, who was ousted by the army in 2006, made in a newspaper interview about Thailand's widely revered king.

The yellow-clad People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) blockaded Bangkok's airports almost one year ago to force Thaksin's allies out of government, and also staged mass protests against him in the months before the coup.

Senior PAD leader Somsak Kosaisuk said the latest protest was about Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and Phnom Penh's refusal to extradite him when he visited the country this week.

"Our duty is to protect and preserve the country's honour and dignity and the monarchy. Cambodia violated the extradition treaty and allowed a convicted person to be its advisor," Somsak told AFP.

"This action harms our country's prestige. We will denounce both convicted Thaksin and (Cambodian Prime Minister) Hun Sen at the protest," he said.

Police estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 people would join the rally, which starts at 4:00 pm (0900 GMT) at the Sanam Luang parade ground in downtown Bangkok.

Deputy national police spokesman Piya Utayo said around 1,500 police officers would be deployed in the capital for the rally.

The strongly nationalist Yellow Shirts are also up in arms over comments made by Thaksin to British newspaper The Times, in which he called for reform of institutions around the monarchy.
The issue is sensitive because the widely revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81 - a major force for stability in the politically divided nation - has been in hospital for the past two months.

Thaksin's four-day visit to Cambodia has caused a diplomatic crisis between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, with relations already tense after a series of deadly clashes in the past year over a disputed temple on their border.

Thaksin left Cambodia on Saturday.
. Read more!

Thai PM: Diplomat standoff could end if Cambodia reviews its role

BANGKOK, Urging patriotic Thais to unite amid growing tensions with neighbouring Cambodia, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday that the ongoing problem between the two countries could end if the Cambodian government strictly follows international practice.

Mr. Abhisit, now attending the three-day 17th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Singapore ending later Sunday, said in his weekly address aired on television and radio that relations between the two countries were good until Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed fugitive, ousted former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as economic advisor to the Cambodian administration earlier this month.

Diplomatic ties between Cambodia and Thailand worsened after both countries recalled their ambassadors, expelled one another’s first secretaries and the Cambodian government arrested a Thai man it accused of spying on Mr Thaksin’s flight schedule, but Thailand has said that the accusation was groundless against the Thai citizen. The Thai government cancelled a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia on maritime agreement which included shared access to undersea mineral resources.

Mr. Abhisit said his government had a clear understanding that the diplomatic discord should not affect the livelihood and trade conducted between peoples of the two countries on the border and that the problem would have to be resolved by the two governments.

The Thai prime minister, currently chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), reaffirmed that the dispute would not affect cooperation among members of ASEAN and between the bloc and its dialogue partners.

“What we (Thailand) are doing follows norms and international practices and we want to urge Cambodia to do the same,” Mr. Abhisit emphasised.

“If the Cambodian government reviews its stance and does everything as it was before the ASEAN summit last month,” said the Thai premier, “I believe that with our cooperation and neighbourliness will run smoothly.”

The Thai premier also expressed regret that some groups of Thais ignited the problems.

“Now the most important thing is the solidarity of the Thai people, being patient (with others) and showing our sincerity that we want to be good neighbours by respecting rules,” said Mr Abhisit. (TNA) . Read more!