Thailand and Cambodia have announced that their respective Ambassadors will return to their posts soon, following the resignation of former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra from his position as Cambodia’s economic advisor.
The Thaksin appointment to the economic post last November was seen as highly controversial by the Thai government and led to the immediate recall of the Thai Ambassador from Phnom Penh and subsequently the reciprocal recall of the Cambodian Ambassador from Bangkok.
A spokesman for Thaksin Shinawatra said that he (Thaksin Shinawatra) had been unable to find the time necessary to fulfil the economic advisory role to Cambodia and had therefore resigned. He went on to deny that rumours circulating in Bangkok that, in fact, Thaksin had been forced to resign from the post by the Cambodian government.
Thailand Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, in welcoming the news of Thaksin’s departure from the post in Cambodia, said it would assist in ‘clearing the way to a restoration of normalcy’ between our two countries. Thailand’s relationships with Cambodia have been strained for some time; arising from the clashes between the nations over the disputed territory surrounding the Preah Vihear temple, during which a number of deaths have occurred and three Thai civilians have been imprisoned in Cambodia.
Tension has been further raised recently, following Thailand’s objection to the Cambodian management plan for the disputed area at last month’s World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil.
The most recent moves are seen as paving the way for discussions between Thailand and Cambodia on the edge of the up coming Asia – Europe meeting in Brussels in October.
