Hantu Laut
I got my 'Cambodian Daily' early this morning, sitting in a cafe close to where I stay.
The front page headline reads "Thaksin Arrives To Take Up Adviser Position."
Is Combodia cutting its nose to spite its face?
The Council of Ministers spokeman Phay Siphan said "As you understand Cambodia is open for everyone with no prejudice of background of politics.So we need everyone to help us get away from poverty."
Ha! Of all men, Thaksin?.Why not Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Lee Kuan Yew or even better Malaysian former wiz kid, the adorable Anwar Ibrahim?
Thailand vowed to seek his extradition.Thaksin is wanted in Thailand on corruption conviction where he could face two years prison sentence.The Cambodian government said the charges against Thaksin are politically motivated. In all honesty, the Cambodian government was right, they were politically motivated by the ruling elites and the upper-class in Thailand.
This former Thai Premier is a wiz kid of some kind, he can turned enemies to become friends.Ironically, the diplomatic discord over the temples issue between Thailand and Cambodia started during his time as premier.
The effect of the diplomatic rupture between the two countries are already being felt here.There are sudden drop of people crossing the border from Thailand into Cambodia.Yesterday, not a single vehicle crossed the border.
It is unlikely that Thailand would close the border crossing in retaliation of Cambodia's political wrangle.
The caffe latte at the Fresco tastes much better this morning in spite of the bad news.
Is money the roots of all evil? Well, that brings me back to one of Abba's famous songs.
"Money, Money, Money." Part of the lyric goes,
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
Aha-ahaaa
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It's a rich man's world
Thaksin has lots of it.
Wondering, which nation's passport he is using now?
Thaksin's New Family
11. November 2009 18:20
A somewhat bizarre (I don’t think that’s too strong a word here) and certainly provocative photo released by the Cambodian government today. Apparently it’s all happy families on the Cambodian side of the border. Thailand, meanwhile, issued an extradition request for former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, which Cambodiaapparently has already rejected.
There’s an interesting analysis here of the implications of this for the already rapidly deteriorating Cambodia-Thailand ties, which the writer says may be passing the point of no return:
‘Even before landing in Phnom Penh, Thaksin's future inThailand looked particularly grim after Times Online published an interview quoting him as calling for a reform in the institution of monarchy. Thaksin strongly denied having criticised the monarchy, but his defiant touchdown inCambodia is unlikely to help his political predicament.’
Source:The Diplomat
