FREEDOM

Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh

5/11/2009
Radio Australia

Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman.[AFP]

Thailand says Cambodia's appointment of fugitive former Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra as economic adviser may cause relations between the two countries to further deteriorate.

Mr Thaksin has been offered two jobs by Cambodia, in a move that is sure to annoy Bangkok.

Mr Thaksin, who is friends with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, has been appointed as an economics adviser to the government and as a personal adviser to Hun Sen.

The appointment, by royal decree, comes nearly two weeks after Hun Sen angered Thailand by offering a safe haven to Mr Thaksin.

The former PM was ousted in a coup in 2006 and faces a two-year jail term handed down by a Thai court.

Thailand says that if Mr Thaksin takes up the offer it would apply to extradite him.

But Phnom Penh says it would not extradite Mr Thaksin, since it believes the charges against him were politically motivated.

It remains unclear whether the fugitive former Thai prime minister will take up the job offer.