Thai deputy PM to seek releases of Thai activists from Cambodia

Sept 2, 2011

Bangkok (The Nation/ANN) - Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said Thursday that he would meet with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to seek ways to secure the release of Thai activists Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who were imprisoned for espionage in December.

He said his visit would come only after Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's first official visit to Cambodia, but no date had yet been fixed for her trip.

Veera and his aide Ratree were arrested by Cambodian authorities on December 29 near Sa Kaew's Ban Nong Chan while inspecting a disputed area on the border with five other activists, including Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth.

The five others were charged with trespassing and freed after a Cambodian court suspended their prison sentences.

Veera and Ratree were convicted of espionage and other offences on February 1 and sentenced to eight and six years' jail, respectively. Their requests for royal pardons were denied.

Yingluck's brother, former prime minister Thaksin, has close ties with Hun Sen, once serving as his personal economic adviser. That appointment led to a downgrading of ties between Thailand and Cambodia.

Chalerm said his son, Wan, was a friend of the deputy commander of Cambodia's navy, and he would try to use this connection to help secure the release of Veera and Ratree.

He claimed that the Cambodian prime minister watched whenever Chalerm delivered a speech or participated in a debate.

"After the policy debate I received a call from Hun Sen's secretary, saying the prime minister wanted to treat me to a meal," he said. "Believe me, such good relations under this government will bring good things to our country."

In a separate development, Yingluck yesterday instructed Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul to examine the deal reached with Cambodia by former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban over maritime resources in the overlapping claims area in the Gulf of Thailand, after the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority released a statement on the issue.

The statement from Phnom Penh on Tuesday said Suthep held two secret meetings with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in Hong Kong and Kunming, China, in 2009 and 2010, respectively, on the maritime deal.

Yingluck insisted that all negotiations with foreign countries should be conducted transparently, according to Government Spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng.