Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, center, accompanied by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, left, greets a Thai embassy official upon arrival at Phnom Penh International airport in 2006/(Chor Sokunthea / Reuters)Friday, Nov. 06, 2009
By Hannah Beech / Bangkok
The Time
The naming of an honorary economic advisor to a small Southeast Asian country doesn't usually make news. But Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's designation of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as his financial mentor on Wednesday has sparked an international ruckus, with both countries trading trans-border barbs and recalling their respective ambassadors.
Confused? Here's the background. After Thaksin was deposed in a 2006 bloodless military coup and sentenced in absentia to two years' imprisonment for a conflict of interest conviction — a verdict he disputes — the exiled billionaire tycoon maintained some friends in high places. One of those mates is Hun Sen, the quixotic Cambodian Prime Minister. The current Thai government is fiercely allergic to Thaksin — and Hun Sen's move last month to offer refuge to the controversial former leader drew strenuous criticism from Bangkok, both from government and local press circles.
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