Thailand arrests Cambodian dissidents on the eve of Cambodian PM’s visit
On Thursday, Hun Manet will visit Thailand to talk with his Thai counterpart, Srettha Thavisin, focusing on bilateral relations and regional issues, including cross-border trade and the exodus of Cambodians persecuted by Hun Sen, father of the current PM.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will start a state visit to Thailand next Thursday with the focus on bilateral relations and regional issues.
Both heads of government and their governments are new to the job and need to consult each other to assess the regional situation, which has seen strong border tensions in places claimed by both countries.
The visit will also focus on cross-border trade, regional issues, and probably the exodus of many Cambodians persecuted at home under the autocratic rule of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was in power for nearly 40 years.
Since August 2023, Cambodia has been ruled by Hun Sen's son, Hun Manet. Unlike his father, the 46-year-old is more open and outward looking, but remains as intransigent as his father towards the country’s political opposition, de facto forced out of the Cambodian parliament, as well as dissidents, unable to organise because of mass arrests, expulsions, and targeted assassinations.
Anticipating the arrival of the foreign guest, Thai authorities took into custody two activists and a former political prisoner, who are among the many Cambodians who fled Hun Sen's repressive regime for the relative security of Thailand.
Twice jailed, Kung Raiya was taken into custody by police at the Bangkok flat where he had found refuge. Former political leader Loem Sokha and activist Phan Phana were arrested separately.
All three had had their refugee status in Thailand recognised by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is present in the kingdom even though it has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention. Phan Phana now fears repatriation.
The arrests were apparently prompted by the dissidents’ plan to stage a public protest during Hun Manet’s visit, an action that would have embarrassed Thai authorities, starting with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin who plans to hold wide-ranging talks with his Cambodian guest.
For Phan Phana, who spoke to Radio Free Asia's (RFA) Khmer-language service before his phone was seized, Hun Manet's Cambodian People's Party made the request for his arrest.
The last arrests of Cambodian pro-democracy activists in Thailand date back to 29 December, when ten activists attending a course on the Paris Peace Agreement in Bangkok were taken into custody, formally arrested for entering the country illegally even though the UNHCR had issued them identity cards.
Since then, three have been released, according to CamboJA News, a news platform run by the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association, while the other seven are still held at the Suan Phlu immigration detention centre in the capital.
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03/10/2022 14:52
24/07/2023 19:18
