Foreign Ministry denies Saudi downgrades relations with Thailand

[webfact]

Foreign Ministry denies Saudi downgrades relations with Thailand



BANGKOK: -- The Thai Foreign Ministry has denied a speculation that Saudi Arabia has downgraded its relations with Thailand by recalling its charge d’affairs back home.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mr Sek Wannamethee said Thursday Mr Abdalelah Alsheaiby, the Saudi Arabia’s charge d’affairs, was recalled for consulations and he had no idea whether the recall was permanent or just temporary.

Mr Sek insisted that relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia continue unchanged and the recall of Mr Abdalelah Alsheaiby did not constitute downgrading of relations between the two countries.

The Saudi envoy went back to Saudi Arabia in mid-July after the Criminal Court’s acquittal of all the defendants including Pol Lt-Gen Somkid Boonthanom in the enforced disappearance of Saudi businessman Mohammad al-Ruwaili 24 years ago.

A second secretary of the Saudi embassy has become the acting charge d’affairs during the absence of the charge d-affairs.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/foreign-ministry-denies-saudi-downgrades-relations-thailand/


-- Thai PBS 2014-08-22

[casindonet]

Well....would love to hear what the saudis have to say about it than. Only the saudis can say whether it is down graded or not.

[jaidam]

If this doesn't give Prayuth cause to reform the judiciary nothing will. It will be a challenge to "force" judges to make the correct legal decisions. IMO the only way this can happen is with draconian punishments for bent judges, something Blackadderesque? The law against criticizing judicial decisions must also be repealed immediately, if you make the judges feel above reproach, that is how they will behave. Stop it, now.

This case is one of the howling judgements handed down in recent years, another being the Thaksin asset concealment travesty of justice that led directly to over a decade of Thailand tearing itself apart over a propagandist that had no right to be PM in the 1st place.

Edited August 21, 2014 by jaidam

[siampolee]

The Saudis Gem Case.

Indeed a festering sore upon the skin of Thai Saudi relationships which has in the time this case has been running caused a lot of job opportunities to to have been missed by Thai workers and Thailand has lost a source of foreign income.

The whole affair is rank with deceit and corruption and those involved still will not or cannot tell the truth, innocents murdered in attempts to silence witnesses and culprits, senior police officers incarcerated but now released for their part in the matter.

There is going to be a long time frame before this matter vanishes if in fact it ever will

Now if those gems were to ''reappear and be returned '' possibly in a new cut form as opposed to the original cut form relationships may well improve.

However until such an event happens there would be more chance of opening a successful pork butchers shop in Mecca as opposed to an improvement in current Thai Saudi relationships.

See below a couple of links to the matter which indeed is a web of intrigue and lies.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/01/05/national/Some-missing-Saudi-gems-found-30145703.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Diamond_Affair

[Tatsujin]

The whole case was a big <deleted> you to Saudi . . .

[chooka]

Well....would love to hear what the saudis have to say about it than. Only the saudis can say whether it is down graded or not.

They said Australia hadn't downgraded relations also contrary to what Australia said. It is just propaganda being fed to the Thai public by the Junta to brainwash them into thinking the world is behind this coup.

[NongKhaiKid]

Why would anyone want to downgrade relations with LoS ?

PS. Where is the rest of the world ?

[doctorproc156]

If this doesn't give Prayuth cause to reform the judiciary nothing will. It will be a challenge to "force" judges to make the correct legal decisions. IMO the only way this can happen is with draconian punishments for bent judges, something Blackadderesque? The law against criticizing judicial decisions must also be repealed immediately, if you make the judges feel above reproach, that is how they will behave. Stop it, now.

This case is one of the howling judgements handed down in recent years, another being the Thaksin asset concealment travesty of justice that led directly to over a decade of Thailand tearing itself apart over a propagandist that had no right to be PM in the 1st place.

Don't you realize that Prayuth has extremely close ties and is loyal to the supposed person who has the Jewels? I really don't understand how you honestly believe Prayuth is going to bring any change to how things are done here, in fact they will be sliding back a few decades back to the old times of Sarit. Sure he may have cleaned up some side walks and taxi stands but the core is still very rotten.

[kotsak]

This is what comes to my mind when I hear about this case..

[Thailand]

The best one?

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

[Zonka]

Why would anyone want to downgrade relations with LoS ?

PS. Where is the rest of the world ?

The rest of the world is living in the present as opposed to Thailand that is 200 years behind!

[chotthee]

When you are at ZERO level, it is impossible to downgrade.

[worgeordie]

Not solving the gems scandal,or the deaths of several Saudis in

Bangkok,I don't think the relations have been very friendly since

those times,and could have gotten much lower.

regards Worgeordie

[wandasloan]

If this doesn't give Prayuth cause to reform the judiciary nothing will. It will be a challenge to "force" judges to make the correct legal decisions.

Then nothing will. The reason the Saudis recalled their charge d'affaires was specifically because Gen Prayuth appointed the brother of the leader of the alleged murder gang to his National Legislative Assembly. Since Gen Prayuth made that decision personally, then obviously by your quite reasonable post, "nothing will" give him cause to reform the judiciary.

It's not the only thing Gen Prayuth did that specifically infuriated the Saudis. Only Gen Prayuth knows if he took these actions on purpose to antagonise the Saudis, of course, or whether he simply was ignorant about it all what looking after the price of lottery tickets AND the deckchair business in Phuket - or whether he knew about it and simply didn't care. I can't think of any other motivation than those three.

What we *do* know is the fact that he did them, the Saudis were extremely angry and they recalled their senior diplomat because of them.

.

[SureNDT]

I'm in Dubai at the moment on a heavy-lift barge and it is going to Saudi for the next contract. They have just shipped in a load more Filipinos and Indian workers to replace the Thais as the Thais have been refused Saudi work visas.

[Thailand]

I'm in Dubai at the moment on a heavy-lift barge and it is going to Saudi for the next contract. They have just shipped in a load more Filipinos and Indian workers to replace the Thais as the Thais have been refused Saudi work visas.

I guess making friends and influencing people is off the agenda now as there are many boots securely under the various tables.

[laocowboy2]

Relations had already been downgraded - which is why there is no longer an ambassador. After this, any further downgrade will leave the cook in charge!

[Nobbie49]

Let's keep the relationship as low as possible. Who wants a bunch of arrogant Saudis in this country, not to mention 9/11? As far as Thai labour is concerned they should consider themselves lucky not to be employed by what must be the most abusive employers on the fact of this earth. Seen it with my own eyes when I worked there. Yep I took their money for 12 years which is about all they're good for.

[KED]

No country is without fault, and I don't condone the diamond thefts by multiple Thai groups; however, with the history of how the Saudis have treated the Filipino workers - I think the Thais are lucky they have poor relations with Saudi Arabia -

[SureNDT]

Let's keep the relationship as low as possible. Who wants a bunch of arrogant Saudis in this country, not to mention 9/11? As far as Thai labour is concerned they should consider themselves lucky not to be employed by what must be the most abusive employers on the fact of this earth. Seen it with my own eyes when I worked there. Yep I took their money for 12 years which is about all they're good for.

Problem is the majority don't work for Saudis they work for multinationals and can't go where the jobs are.

[Nobbie49]

Not so. ALL companies must be majority Saudi owned if not managed (gawd help the multimationals)

[bangrak]

'Foreign Ministry denies...' hasn't that old record been thrown out of the jukebox yet? Denying, lying, covering up? That's not 'diplomacy', it's the old same saving face trick! When I read it, I thought cousin Surapong was back in charge... Are the new brooms getting worn out already? There are still many stinking stables left to clean out though... Will it happen?

[SureNDT]

Not so. ALL companies must be majority Saudi owned if not managed (gawd help the multimationals)

This is a US company owned vessel registered in Panama going on contract to Saudi.

[SureNDT]

The Junta's bosses have all the jewels, of course it isn't going to improve relations!

[clockman]

The Saudis could make alot of trouble for Thailand. In the south. They do not forget. And have the means and will.!

[webfact]

Saudi Arabia Recalls Top Diplomat From Bangkok Over Court Ruling
By Khaosod English


Abdulelah Al-Sheaiby, the Saudi Arabian embassy’s Charge d’Affaires, was recalled from his post on 18 July.


Abdulsalam Alenazi, Saudia Arabia’s Head of Consular, will be the embassy's top official until the Charge d’Affaires returns, 22 August 2014.

BANGKOK — Diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand have suffered yet another setback with the Saudi Arabian government recalling the country’s top diplomat from its embassy in Bangkok.

Abdulelah Al-Sheaiby, the Saudi Arabian embassy’s Charge d’Affaires, was recalled from his post on 18 July, four months after Thailand’s Criminal Court found five Thai police officers not guilty of abducting and murdering a Saudi businessman who went missing in Bangkok in 1990.

“The recall of the Charge d’Affaires came following the court ruling in March,” Abdulsalam Alenazi, Saudia Arabia’s Head of Consular, told Khaosod English this morning. Mr. Alenazi will be the embassy's top official until Mr. Al-Sheaiby returns.

“The recall came from the Saudi Arabian goverment's disappointment over the court ruling and the judge change,” Mr. Alenazi said. “They feel that there has been some influence and pressure at some level in the case.”

Judge Somsak Phonsuk, who had been presiding over the case for three years, was suddenly removed from his position in January 2014 two weeks before he was scheduled to finish writing a judgment. The verdict was then rewritten by the new judge who replaced Mr. Somsak.

Mr. Somsak later told Thai Rath newspaper that he believed he was unfairly removed from the position, but court officials insist that he was dismissed because of an unrelated disciplinary inquiry. Mr. Somsak also said that he was ready to convict the five police officers that his replacement judge ultimately found innocent.

The court ruling on March 31 was the latest development in the case of Mohammad Al-Ruwaili, a Saudi Arabian businessman who was allegedly abducted and murdered in Bangkok in 1990. In 1993, Saudi Arabia withdrew its Ambassador to Thailand and restricted travel between the two countries to condemn what Saudi officials perceived as Thailand's apathetic investigation into Mr. Al-Ruwaili’s disappearance.

Hopes of normalised relations were rekindled when a Thai court re-opened the case in 2011, but the last-minute change of judges disappointed the Saudi government, leading to the recall of the embassy’s Charge d’Affaires last month.

“Saudia Arabia is primarily interested in achieving justice,” Mr. Alenazi said. “The judge was removed two weeks before the verdict and the circumstances [of his removal] were very suspicious.”

According to Mr. Alenazi, there is no timeframe for Mr. Al-Sheaiby’s return, as it will depend on whether the Thai government proves to be serious about “bringing justice to the case.”

“Saudia Arabia is willing to work and cooperate with any government officials that are trying to remove this obstacle between Thai and Saudi relations,” Mr. Alenazi said.

“The two countries are very important to eachother,” Mr. Alenazi added, citing Saudi Arabia’s role as the third largest exporter of oil to Thailand. “If the current [Thai] government is trying to move the country forward, they will not stand in the way of resolving Thai and Saudi relations.”

A spokesperson of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sek Wannamethee, confirmed that Mr. Al-Sheaiby has left the country, but insisted that Thai-Saudi relations have not been downgraded.

In addition, while Mr. Alenazi said he clearly explained to MFA officials that the recall was a response to the court verdict, Mr. Sek told Khaosod that he did not believe the court ruling was related.

"It's just speculation," Mr. Sek said.

The suspected murder of Mr. Al-Ruwaili was only one incident in the notorious "Blue Diamond Affair," a series of scandals that rocked the Thai-Saudi relations in early 1990s, starting with the massive theft of jewels from a Saudi Arabian royal palace allegedly committed by a Thai gardener.

A spate of murders and abductions followed the theft. In 1989, three months after Mr. Al-Ruwaili went missing, three Saudi diplomats were gunned down in Bangkok. In 1994, the wife and son of a Thai gems dealer were abducted and later murdered in what appears to be a blotched attempt by a rogue police officers to determine the location of the stolen Saudi jewels.

Source: http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1408697108


-- Khaosod English 2014-08-22

[Jim walker]

The Thais all know there is only one country in the world so Saudi are foreigners and same as the rest of foreigners they can all go home we will manage alone don’t need any stupid foreigners because we are smart and can do everything alone.

[clockman]

Wait and see, Saudis do not forget.

[Mudcrab]

The Thais all know there is only one country in the world so Saudi are foreigners and same as the rest of foreigners they can all go home we will manage alone don’t need any stupid foreigners because we are smart and can do everything alone.

Thai and Saudi are interchangeable in your post. Though I think the Saudis might have a lower opinion of farangs than the Thai

[Prbkk]

Hardly surprising. They can see the return to favour of those forces responsible for the problem in the first place. The ham-fisted manner in which Abhisit and Suthep dealt with this when in govt was an international joke.