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Thu, November 5, 2009
By Piyanart Srivalo
The Nation

Cambodia's appointment of convicted ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as its economic adviser is the country's internal affair but it should make a clear separation between its personal relationships and those of the country as a whole.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Thailand could not do anything about the appointment.

"It's Cambodia's internal affair. But if we have evidence that Thaksin is in Cambodia, we will surely ask the Cambodian government to extradite him," he said.

The Cambodian government has appointed Thaksin, who has been convicted in Thailand for abuse of power and corruption and sentenced to two years in jail, as an economic adviser to Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen and his government.

"We are well aware that it is the right of Cambodia to appoint Thaksin. But let me ask you this: what would PM Hun Sen say, if we were to appoint Cambodia's Opposition leader Sam Rainsy as our economic adviser," Suthep said.

He did not think Cambodia was ready to have problems with Thailand on the matter. "It is not worth having problems with your neighbouring country just because of a convicted runaway," he said.

If Cambodia refuses to follow the extradition treaty, the Thai government will look into the matter to see whether it violates the bilateral laws, he said.