Little will change : Suthep

The Nation

Govt will stick to its stance if Hun Sen ignores the conditions: Suthep Thaugsuban, Deputy PM

We will wait until Thailand has a new administration before normal relations can be resumed, PM Hun Sen

Relations with Cambodia will not improve soon because Thailand is not yet ready to change its stance, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday.

"If the conditions are not changed, relations would remain the same for a period of time," he said.

Thailand has set as a prerequisite Cambodia removing fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from his position of adviser to the Cambodian government and extraditing him to Bangkok if the country wants ties to be normalised. Thaksin's appointment is seen as interference in domestic affairs and an insult to the Thai justice system.

However, Cambodia has refused to follow any of the conditions, with Prime Minister Hun Sen saying that he will wait until Thailand has a new administration before normal relations can be resumed.

Hun Sen: No ambassador, no aid accepted

Bangkok Post

The Cambodian government has said it will not accept any more financial assistance from Thailand unless Bangkok restores diplomatic relations to ambassadorial level.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya's secretary Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen had said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva should send the Thai ambassador, Prasas Prasavinitchai, back to Phnom Penh, or else Cambodia will not accept Thai financial aid.

Mr Prasas was recalled from Phnom Penh last month, and Cambodia retaliated by withdrawing its own senior envoy.

Mr Chavanond said two issues were still awaiting a solution - the appointment of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as adviser to the Cambodian government and to Mr Hun Sen, and Cambodia's interference in Thailand's internal affairs.

Former PM Thaksin holds a press conference with Cambodian PM Hun Sen in Phonom Penh on Wednesday

BANGKOK POST

Visitors to Cambodia face tighter controls

BANGKOK POST Gamblers and others crossing into Cambodia from Thailand are facing tighter controls as tensions between the two countries continue to rise.

Acting national police chief Pateep Tanprasert yesterday said he had told immigration officers on the border to be stricter in checking the papers of people crossing over.

Among those facing the tighter checks are Thai gamblers heading to casinos in Cambodia's Poi Pet township.

Tightened security was not affecting border trade yesterday.

Cambodian traders were still entering Chanthaburi to buy goods, although the price of Hom Mali rice bought by the Cambodians had risen from 18 baht a kilo to 25 baht.

Thai traders and fruit growers in Chanthaburi rallied yesterday in front of the provincial hall to call on the governor to take steps to protect them from a possible downturn in business as a result of the deterioration in relations between Thailand and Cambodia over Phnom Penh's appointment of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser.

It was also business as usual in Sa Kaeo, as Cambodians entered Aranyaprathet district to buy food and household items at the Rong Kluea border market.

But the number of Thai gamblers heading to Poi Pet opposite Aranyaprathet was down.

Sub Lt Charn Wongwaimethi, head of a ranger unit attached to the Sa Kaeo-based Burapa Task Force, said two Cambodian soldiers crossed the border to buy food at the Rong Kluea market.