By Tulsathit Taptim, Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation
What can Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva do to make both Cambodia and his highly charged nationalistic compatriots happy? Going on a special TV programme last night may have ended up offending both of them.
He walked a tightrope yesterday as he attempted to address, in front of a national audience, the issue of seven Thais arrested by Phnom Penh and the controversial "release" of five of them. Abhisit didn't want to make it sound too belligerent toward Cambodia but he also needed to pacify the increasingly restless yellow shirts, who are set to return to the streets tomorrow. The result was a TV speech that was somewhat ambiguous and pleased nobody.
He walked a tightrope yesterday as he attempted to address, in front of a national audience, the issue of seven Thais arrested by Phnom Penh and the controversial "release" of five of them. Abhisit didn't want to make it sound too belligerent toward Cambodia but he also needed to pacify the increasingly restless yellow shirts, who are set to return to the streets tomorrow. The result was a TV speech that was somewhat ambiguous and pleased nobody.
P Penh unlikely to be happy
Phnom Penh, still detaining two Thais, is unlikely to be happy with his adamant statement that the conviction of the five Thais, who were released thanks to court leniency, would change nothing as far as territorial disputes were concerned. The Cambodian court verdict on the five Thais only affected the five individuals and Abhisit said his government was preparing to tell Phnom Penh just that.
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