Rainsy to be barred from Thai stopover: PM
Hun Sen orders airlines not to bring him home
Thailand is unlikely to allow entry to Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday, after the self-exiled Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) chief said he planned to return home via Bangkok.
At a news conference, Gen Prayut referred to Thailand’s ties with Cambodia as a fellow member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping. “According to our commitment to Asean, we will not interfere in each other’s internal affairs, and we will not allow an anti-government person to use Thailand for activism,” Gen Prayut said. “I have ordered this, so he probably won’t get in,” he said.
Mr Rainsy yesterday tweeted a photo of his airline ticket from Paris to Bangkok, from where he would travel to a Thai border crossing with Cambodia. Hun Sen has ordered airlines not to allow him to board flights to Phnom Penh. Mr Rainsy said he planned to enter Cambodia via Poi Pet on Saturday which is Cambodia’s Independence Day, celebrating freedom from French colonial rule. “I will depart from Paris on Nov 7. I will arrive in Bangkok on Friday Nov 8 to be ready to enter Cambodia on Saturday Nov 9,” he tweeted.
Thailand last week turned away Mu Sochua, the CNRP’s vice-president, when she flew into Bangkok’s main international airport. Mu Sochua later flew to Indonesia, where the Cambodian embassy yesterday requested she be arrested after she attempted to hold a news conference.
Rainsy said yesterday he would return to face arrest amid a crackdown at home on members of his banned party and Malaysia’s detention of two party activists trying to return. The former finance minister has vowed to return to lead demonstrations against the one-party rule of long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whom he called “a brutal dictator”. “For those of you who know me, this may just be the last time you will see me alive as a free man,” Rainsy said in a video message posted on Twitter and YouTube.
However, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai yesterday denied Phnom Penh had raised the issue during the 35th Asean Summit which ended on Monday and asked other countries not to allow Rainsy’s aides from entering their territories. He insisted Cambodian leader Hun Sen did not bring up the the issue, but said he was not aware if it was discussed at sidelines meetings.
Hun Sen has accused the opposition of fomenting a coup, and his government has arrested at least 48 activists with Rainsy’s banned opposition party this year.