EDITORIAL

Abhisit-Hun Sen negotiations must become a fixture

By The Nation

PMs should re-establish trust and continue to sincerely work for peace

Russia is angry and Burma is unpredictable. At least Thailand is having a reprieve at the eastern border. And what a timely break Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is having. Following his bilateral meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen on Wednesday, both countries' relationship appears to continue to thaw. In Abhisit's own words, it was "the most straightforward meeting I've ever had with the Cambodian leader". That's probably all we can ask of the two leaders - if you can't solve all your problems, at least be sincere toward each other about the problems.

Abhisit met Hun Sen on the sidelines of the 4th Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) Summit in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Wednesday. At the bilateral talks, both leaders agreed that they wanted to see no more border clashes or mutual conflicts, and that the ties between the two countries should never deteriorate again.

Nobody can heave a sigh of relief, though. The Preah Vihear Temple issue has only re-entered its "dormant" mode, thanks to the flood crisis in Thailand, with the postponement of the temple's "World Heritage" management issue to next year, as well as Phnom Penh's decision to distance itself from Thaksin Shinawatra. The controversy can erupt again any time, as the People's Alliance for Democracy remains hell-bent on not losing a square inch of Thai territory to the Cambodians in the World Heritage process.

Thaksin and Preah Vihear have dominated bilateral ties that have became stormy and fragile. Can Abhisit and Hun Sen change the unfavourable characteristics of the relationship after both of them have been central to major conflicts themselves? It's a major diplomatic challenge for both prime ministers. Mutual trust has been lacking, and re-establishing it will not be easy.

Abhisit doused some of the fire after the Department of Special Investigation dropped a major bilateral bombshell by claiming that some red-shirt militants were trained inside Cambodia. The Thai prime minister reportedly called a stop to such public allegations, and another explosive diplomatic storm was averted. And he has followed that up with a few gestures that culminated in the latest meeting with Hun Sen in Phnom Penh.

In an interview with the Phnom Penh Post, Abhisit hailed Hun Sen's experience as Asean's longest-serving political leader and said that since both of them understood complexities of bilateral issues, improvement of ties would go one step at a time. Easy issues will be tackled first, with implementation of good-will policies. Thai and Cambodian people by next month will enjoy free cross-border travel after both countries signed a free-visa agreement in Cambodia.

Regarding the most sensitive issue, the Preah Vihear Temple, Abhisit, in response to an observation that outsiders were perplexed that a tiny area of isolated land near an ancient temple had brought two Asean neighbours close to war, said both countries always tried to avoid clashes and would ensure violence would not occur in the future. All governments are always protective of any piece of territory, he said.

That Abhisit was saying that in Phnom Penh was a good start in itself, no matter what the content was. Just a few months ago, it seemed he and Hun Sen had burned all the bridges. Even today, the photos of both leaders shaking hands and smiling remained somewhat surreal. The next step both of them should take is to make the purported reconciliation look more real.

Sincerity and the least politicisation will be the key. Both men have been facing uneasy nationalistic sentiments at home. Sometimes nationalism stems from the bottom up, but sometimes it's the countries' political leaderships that stir up the sentiment for their own political interests. The latter case has to stop, and what Abhisit described as "straightforward talks" must continue.

-- The Nation 2010-11-22

O goody suppress facts that will help a lot.

Abhisit doused some of the fire after the Department of Special Investigation dropped a major bilateral bombshell by claiming that some red-shirt militants were trained inside Cambodia. The Thai prime minister reportedly called a stop to such public allegations, and another explosive diplomatic storm was averted.

Also as well as being avoided it was left to continue.