November 20, 2009
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee,
Veena Chanreung
The Nation, Kom Chad Luek
The Thai-Cambodian diplomatic row grew more complicated yesterday when Phnom Penh Defence Minister Tea Banh strongly criticised a Thai red-shirt leader for "making up" a story about a secret tape involving the Thai foreign minister. Tea Banh and Cambodia's Foreign Ministry yesterday rejected the claim by Jatuporn Promphan that Cambodian officials had taped a phone conversation between Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and a diplomat in Phnom Penh over former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's flight plan.
"I think the one who made claims about the tape just did it for kicks [or] probably had a hidden agenda of drumming things up to the point of war between the two countries," Tea Banh told Kom Chad Luek in a telephone interview. "This could make Cambodia end up being a scapegoat."
He said the armed forces of both countries had been on good terms and were in constant communication, sharing information.
Cambodia's Foreign Ministry also flatly denied existence of any secret tape.
"The Foreign Ministry of Cambodia is not aware of the interception of a telephone conversation between the Thai minister and the diplomat. We don't do such things," Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong told The Nation in a telephone interview from Phnom Penh.
Jatuporn, an MP with the opposition Pheu Thai Party, claimed Cambodian authorities had recorded a phone conversation when Kasit ordered first secretary at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh Kamrob Palawatwichai to get details of Thaksin's flights.
Kasit challenged Jatuporn yesterday to make the audio recording public to prove the claim. "Is the job of opposition MPs tapping phones or serving Cambodia? If my voice is on a secret tape, I'm dying to hear it."
Jatuporn had dug in before the Cambodian denial. "Cambodia is waiting for a reaction from Thailand. I believe they will play it soon, so let's wait to hear it from there," he said yesterday. "Thai people and the world should know the truth."
Kasit insisted the conflict with Cambodia had erupted when Pheu Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh visited Phnom Penh last month and Cambodian premier Hun Sen later appointed Thaksin as his economic adviser.
However, Jatuporn's claims implied the high point of the conflict - the arrest of Thai engineer Siwarak Chotipong for alleged spying - stemmed from instructions from the Thai Foreign Ministry.
Siwarak, an engineer at Cambodia Air Traffic Service (CATS) was detained last week for obtaining details of Thaksin's flight plan and allegedly taking it to a Thai diplomat, who was subsequently expelled from Phnom Penh.
Siwarak is being detained in a Phnom Penh prison pending a trial, according to Cambodia's spokesman Koy Kuong, who said the Thai was being treated in accordance with Cambodian legal processes.
His trial will start soon, he said, but declined to give an exact date.
Cambodian authorities have taken temporary control of CATS, a subsidiary of the Thai company Samart Corp, barring Thai staff from doing their jobs.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday ordered the Foreign Ministry to seek ways to protect the Thai business concession.
Kasit said the aviation navigation business operated under Cambodian investment law and could not be nationalised easily.
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