Abhisit And Hun Sen Take Further Steps To Defuse Tensions

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Abhisit and Hun Sen take further steps to defuse tensions

By THE NATION

Cambodia is ready to cooperate in locating Arisman Pongruangrong, the runaway red-shirt leader who is reported to have taken shelter in Siem Reap, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

Abhisit had a 15-minute chat with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Hanoi on Thursday. The leaders were discussing reports that Arisman, who faces arrest for his role in the April and May political crisis, is taking shelter in Siem Reap.

After the meeting, Abhisit told reporters that Hun Sen had promised to help locate the fugitive.

The Foreign Ministry has already revoked the passports of nine red-shirt leaders, including Arisman, at the request of the police.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) earlier revealed that many red-shirt fugitives were residing in Cambodia and were undergoing military training with the aim of assassinating key figures in Thailand. Phnom Penh had previously rejected DSI allegations that it was sheltering and providing military training for the red shirts.

However, Cambodia became more cooperative after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra quit as adviser to Hun Sen's government. So far, at least two red-shirt protesters, believed to have been involved in a bombing outside the Bhum Jai Thai Party headquarters, have been deported from Cambodia.

Another issue at the heart of the shaky Thailand-Cambodia relationship is the border dispute involving areas adjacent to Preah Vihear.

In the brief chat in Hanoi, Abhisit said he had wrapped up the border issue with Hun Sen and reminded him about Thailand's commitment to solve the problem peacefully in accordance with the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Under the MoU, the two countries would rely on the joint boundary committee (JBC) to solve the conflict. The panel's work on boundary demarcation has been put on hold since last year because Parliament has still not approved the minutes recording the previous three meetings.

Parliament was scheduled to look into the JBC issue on Tuesday, but the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Foreign Minister and the Cabinet accusing them of misconduct over the boundary arrangement and urging the Administrative Court to scrap the 2000 MoU.

The nationalist group is also threatening to hold a rally on Tuesday if Parliament decides to consider the JBC documents. The PAD said it would sue each and every MP who endorses the document.

Senate Speaker Prasobsook Boondech said no MPs could be sued for performing their normal duties, adding that the Parliament session would continue as planned despite the protest.

In a separate event, Cambodian Defence Minister General Tea Banh arrived in Pattaya yesterday for a two-day meeting of the General Border Committee with his counterpart General Prawit Wongsuwan. The GBC is a joint mechanism to take care of border security.

-- The Nation 2010-10-30