Shinawatra stokes tensions by taking job with Cambodian government
Former Thai prime minister accepts role as economic adviser amid
diplomatic row between countries
*
Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been appointed as an economic adviser to the
Cambodian government. Photograph: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images
During his tenure as Thai prime minister, he was accused of corruption and
later convicted of allowing his wife to buy state land at a discount
price. In his sole season in charge of _Manchester City_
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchestercity) _the club recorded a loss
of nearly £30m_
(http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=5&ved=0CBoQFjAE&url=http://
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/15/manchester-city-losses-accounts-2007
-08&ei=-LfySvnEJd6rjAfE_tSfDg&usg=AFQjCNFY1LXU8ogWnHv1REGGK4T3ICvDCg&sig2=Gl
kGrp0DjVCBNKRDk2rQ8A) . But now Thaksin Shinawatra has a new job – as an
economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
_Cambodia_ (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/cambodia) announced that the
former Thai prime minister – who last year was sentenced in absentia to two
years' imprisonment in his home country – will serve as an adviser on
economic matters to both its government and prime minister, in a move that has
immediately raised tensions in _Thailand_
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/thailand) .
Thai officials said today that the country would recall its ambassador in
Cambodia and "review all of the agreements" between the two countries
following the announcement of Shinawatra's appointment yesterday.
State television in Cambodia confirmed last night that King Norodom
Sihamoni had officially approved Shinawatra to take up his new role. The
former
Manchester City chairman, who was _convicted of violating a conflict of
interest law in 2008_
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/23/thailand-prime-minister-protests)
, was ousted as Thai prime minister in 2006 in a
military coup. He has been living in self-imposed exile ever since.
Shinawatra is still a deeply divisive figure in Thailand, where officials
claim he is trying to undermine the current government to regain power. And
Chavanont Intarakomalsut, a secretary to the Thai foreign minister,
confirmed that the country would recall its ambassador from Cambodia "to
express
our dissatisfaction" with the appointment.
"We will also review all of the agreements between the two countries along
with any other cooperation with them," he said.
Cambodia's seeming adoption of Shinawatra represents the most severe
diplomatic action so far amid ongoing tensions with Thailand. The two countries
have been involved in a series of small but sometimes deadly skirmishes over
the demarcation of their border in recent months.
Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, angered his Thai counterpart,
Abhisit Vejjajiva, ahead of a summit meeting of Asian leaders in Thailand last
month by declaring that Shinawatra was welcome to take refuge in Cambodia.
_Thailand responded_
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/22/thailand-thaksin-shinawatra-cambodia)
by saying it would seek to extradite Shinawatra
if he went to Cambodia, who countered that such a request would be
rejected, as Shinwatra's prosecution and conviction had been politically
motivated.
His supporters in Thailand claim the country's political elite is ignoring
the fact Shinawatra was twice democratically elected because it feels its
own privileges are threatened.
The new Cambodian economic adviser, who purchased Manchester City for
£81.6m in 2007, made his fortune in telecommunications before entering
politics
in 1994. He was elected prime minister in 2001 and served for five years
before being deposed.
Shinawatra – whose wife, Pojaman, was sentenced in absentia to three years
in jail for tax fraud in 2008 – had his UK visa revoked in November last
year.
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