Toppled Thai leader Thaksin arrives in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Thailand's fugitive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived Tuesday in Cambodia following his appointment as economic adviser to its government, fueling tensions between the neighboring countries.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he would seek Thaksin's extradition to serve a jail term handed down by a Thai court last year and announced that his Cabinet had approved ending talks with Phnom Penh on overlapping offshore territorial claims.

Thaksin, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and disrespecting the country's constitutional monarchy, is denounced on an almost daily basis by Abhisit's government.

He stirred up further controversy Monday with an interview in which he made remarks that his critics construed as being insulting to the monarchy.

The toppled leader is scheduled to deliver a lecture Thursday to more than 300 economists while in Phnom Penh.

Thaksin flew into the Cambodian capital's military airport aboard a private plane. State television showed that he arrived with a party of less than 10 people and was driven into Phnom Penh under very tight security provided by bodyguards of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"I miss home so much. Tonight I will meet and have dinner with Hen Sen and his family," Thaksin commented on Twitter after his arrival. "I want to repeat that the Nation, Religion and Monarchy are always in my mind."

Thaksin's surprising appointment by Hun Sen has soured already poor relations between the two neighbors, which have had small but sometimes deadly skirmishes over their land border in the past year.

Thailand responded to the appointment by withdrawing its ambassador from Phnom Penh, and Cambodia retaliated in kind.

Abhisit said that if Cambodia did not extradite Thaksin, Thailand "will be ready with the proper response." He did not elaborate.

He said that since Thaksin was now serving as an economic adviser to Cambodia, the Cabinet had approved terminating a memorandum of understanding on the disputed maritime territory, which contains large oil and gas deposits. The cancellation must still be approved by Parliament.

Deputy Minister of the Council of Ministers Phay Siphan said Hun Sen would host a lunch Wednesday for Thaksin "because the two leaders are close friends." He said Thaksin would stay in Cambodia at least two to three days.

"He is coming to give a lecture only so I believe that he will not do anything related to political activity here," Phay Siphan told reporters.

Thaksin is living in exile, mostly in Dubai, to avoid a two-year prison sentence for violating a conflict of interest law. Thaksin served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006

Despite his self-imposed exile he remains at the center of a political fight between his supporters and those of the current government. His fight for power comes as Thailand considers what may happen when the reign of 81-year old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the country's constitutional monarch for 63 years, eventually comes to an end.

The king has been in the hospital for almost two months with a lung ailment.

In an extensive interview published Monday on the Web site of the Times of London, Thaksin spoke glowingly of the prospects for Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn once he succeeds his father. But he criticized the king's close advisers for interfering with politics.

Open discussion of the succession issue is delicate, in part because of strict laws that prohibit insulting the king and his family and make such criticism punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who was an anti-Thaksin activist before joining the government, said to reporters that Thaksin's interview remarks were offensive to the monarchy, and questioned his motive for making them. Other officials made similar criticisms.

Thaksin's supporters and opponents have repeatedly taken to the streets since his ouster to spar over who has the right to rule the country, sometimes sparking violence.

On a Web page he maintains, Thaksin said that The Times had distorted his comments, especially in its headline reading, "Ousted Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra calls for 'shining' new age after King's death."