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9/11/2009
Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post

It was not until last week after a chain of events since Big Jiew [KI-Media note: Big Jiew is Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's nickname] made his much-hyped one-day working trip to Phnom Penh last month and brought with him a message from Hun Sen that I began to grasp the meaning of Pa Prem's [KI-Media note: Pa Prem is Prem Tinsulanonda's nickname] warning to Big Jiew. The Cambodian leader said he felt exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra whom he called his "eternal friend" was not fairly treated in Thailand and that he would set aside one of his luxury houses to accommodate the fugitive should he want to take refuge on Cambodian soil.

As a messenger, Big Jiew has done a good job in passing on Hun Sen's sentiments to the Thai government and the Thai people. Had Thaksin been with the retired general, who is now Puea Thai chairman, he might have given the latter a pat on the shoulder and whispered in his ear "Good job Phi (brother) Jiew".

But as a one-time prime minister of Thailand, Big Jiew should have foreseen the impact of such a message on the Thai side after he made it public. One might have been set to wondering whether Hun Sen would repeat the message and make a more provocative remark while attending the Asean summit in Hua Hin had Big Jiew not paved the way for him by disclosing the message to the media in the first place.

Since Big Jiew's mission in Cambodia, supposedly as part of his new "Peaceful South, Friendship with Neighbours" strategy, relations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh have been on a downward slide. They have hit a worst low since the 2003 torching of the Thai embassy and other Thai-owned properties in Phnom Penh by Cambodian mobs in a frenzied response to a false claim that a Thai actress said Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand.

As a gesture of protest against Phnom Penh's appointment of Thaksin as the government's economic adviser and its criticism of the Thai judiciary, the Foreign Ministry last Thursday recalled its ambassador from Cambodia and decided to review all legal obligations and deals, already in force or still pending, with Phnom Penh which immediately responded in kind by recalling its envoy from Bangkok.

The government's reaction is appropriate in accordance with international standard. It did not over-react or is acting childishly as Thaksin accuses. But honestly, I wonder who is more childish between someone who is protecting the honour of their country's judicial system against outside interference and another who knowingly approves such interference with total disregard for the national interest.

It is fortunate that the government did not take harsher measures such as slamming shut the border or discouraging Thais from visiting Cambodia despite calls by radical nationalists for stronger retaliatory measures. Still, more stringent measures are in store to be implemented if Phnom Penh continues with its provocative acts, such as allowing Thaksin to use its soil to sabotage the Thai government if the fugitive chooses to seek a safe haven there.

As pointed out bluntly by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Hun Sen must be able to distinguish between personal ties with Thaksin and relations with Thailand. Sadly for the time being, it appears that the Cambodian leader is blinded by his chummy-chummy relationship with the fugitive Thaksin. But the worst thing is that there is no-one in Cambodia who dares to warn Hun Sen without the risk of a backlash. Which reminds me of an old slogan by the late ultra-nationalist prime minister Field Marshal Pibulsonggram: "Follow the leader. the country will prosper".

Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor of Post Publishing Co Ltd.