Abhisit – Hun Sen 0:0

Headaches at Hua Hin’s Asean gathering. A Thaksin rift mars the Asean solidarity. The host, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, cancels a press conference mid-summit and no bilateral meeting with Cambodia. Well, ignoring the simple fact that he had been installed by a de facto judicial coup – a root of Thailand’s current problems – and that his power is not necessarily based on strictly democratic principles, the Thai premier had taken the freedom to lecture his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen about the dos and don’ts of democratic principles, regional solidarity and moral leadership.

The issue at stake is simple: Hun Sen thinks that not only his good “eternal friend” Thaksin Shinawatra is a victim of “unfair Thai politics.” Hun Sen sees himself as a victim of Thailand. Everybody in the world knows, we were recently reminded by his ambassador to Thailand, that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. And as the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Thaksin will always be welcome in Hun Sen’s Cambodia. An extradition treaty does not apply to the political offender Thaksin.

Because this here, Hun Sen seems to imply, is the false world of Thai politics where neither democratic principles nor brotherly solidarity nor moral leadership rule – and Hun Sen has lots of unfinished business with Thailand, just to mention the in the Khmer psyche still not forgotten quiet “humanitarian” alliance between Thailand and the Khmer Rouge. When Abhisit was enjoying cozy British life, Hun Sen was hardened by war. The then Vietnamese-backed, world’s youngest prime minister since fought many other silent wars with Thailand. The latest éclats are nothing out of the ordinary.

To complicate matters – as a reader wrote in an email – take the vastly different characters of the two men into account:

Abhisit was born soft with a silver spoon and tender years of education at Eton and Oxford. Hun Sen was educated by the Vietnamese generals who crushed the American military despite taking two million casualties and then Hun Sen went on to be the guy who organized the defeat of Pol Pot and the fanatically brutal Khmer Rouge. In the later political game, he also excelled against very violent opponents in a society totally on the edge, no softness, no silver spoons …

When it comes to a one-on-one mano-a-mano contest, who is going to win? Hun Sen or Abhisit? I don’t think the Democrats, Kasit or Abhisit, know what a hornets’ nest they have stir up in Cambodia or how vulnerable a disorganized, divided Thailand really is …

Within minutes of landing in Hua Hin, Hun Sen (Thaksin’s voice in Hua Hin) opens his mouth and starts to take revenge on Abhisit and his foreign minister for all the trouble they’ve been causing around the Hindu temple … he seems to be really good at that game and also thoroughly enjoying his immunity to speak his mind under the auspices of the Asean umbrella … it must be driving Abhisit and the Democrats completely crazy and I have a feeling Hun Sen’s going to keep it up …

… and Thaksin joined in:

Minutes after Abhisit concluded his statement criticizing Hun Sen’s provocative arrival in Hua Hin, Thaksin told Abhisit via Twitter to be more polite:

As the leader of Asean, Mr. Abhisit should act mannerly and try to provide warm hospitality for the country’s very important guests. The premier must also be concerned about international relationship.

And how Thaksin must have enjoyed Hun Sen likening him to Myanmar’s democracy figure and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Human Rights Watch Thailand presented us with this glorious quote:

Only two people in the world would liken Thaksin to Aung San Suu Kyi: Thaksin and Hun Sen.

That’s where Hun Sen lost his slight 0:1 advantage. And does any Asean leader truly respect ASSK? Losers on all sides.

The old Thai-Cambodian feud drags on and the sacrosanct Asean harmony has yet to be found.




If you still can’t get enough of the topic, here’s Abhisit’s presser on Hun Sen and Aung San Suu Kyi. Abhisit doesn’t look too happy, haunted by such un-Asean issues like human rights and unelected governments that have become so core-Asean. Senior statesman? Hmm:






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October 24, 2009 | Filed Under Culture & Arts, Politics 

Comments

12 Responses to “Abhisit – Hun Sen 0:0”

  1. Chris on October 24th, 2009 4.18 pm

    … very interesting video clip of Abhisit, squirming instead of his normal spinning, or if “spinning,” then spinning his wheels in a very deep and slippery patch of Cambodian mud … why was no one thinking a few chess moves ahead when they stirred up the Hindu temple mess and then allowed PAD to riot along the border a few weeks ago, at the very same moment that thousands of troops were totally controlling the Reds’ demonstration in Bangkok … in Cambodia, many people see the Hindu temple issue and the Thai arrogance as symbolic of a long list of grievances and grudges they bear against the “hegemonic” Thais in regard to their behavior towards Cambodia and Khmer ethnic people in Cambodia and also inside Thailand itself (aside from Newin that is!) …

  2. Hun Sen Vs Abhisit « Asian Correspondent on October 24th, 2009 7.38 pm

    [...] Bangkok has an interesting post on Abhisit vs Hun [...]

  3. BangkokDan on October 24th, 2009 8.18 pm

    I get emails from several sides thinking that it’s a clear 0:1, not a draw.

    Agree, until the moment Hun Sen mentioned Suu Kyi.

    A reader though wrote:

    The ASSK analogy was absurd but I think Hun Sen threw it out even though he was totally aware that it was absurd just to be super-provocative and to underline that both ASSK and Thaksin were elected leaders overthrown by military coups and therefore “political” victims. We all know that despite Abhisit constant “corruption/follow the rule of law/come back and serve his sentence” routine, that the coup did not replace a “corrupt” regime with an “uncorrupt” group of generals or later an “uncorrupt” group of Democrats backed by the “uncorrupt” Newin. So “corruption” was never really the actual issue, was it.

    BangkokDan

  4. Ricefield Radio on October 24th, 2009 10.14 pm

    There is something that many forget. The Khmer and the Thai of the Northeast have a lot of traditional ties. They share the same music base, much history and they speak basically the same language. Thaksin’s close ties with the North and Northeast make it natural to have instant connections in Cambodia not just with it’s leader. Abhisit on the other hand has no connection with a lot of Thailand and is even seen by some as being a foreigner.

  5. Kaban on October 25th, 2009 10.19 am

    It was depends on where Hun Sen stood before the latest spat and where he is going now.

    By established diplomatic principles he is way out of line and is turning himself into a pariah, arrogant and uncivilized.

    By his own measurements he is doing well, and Abhisit is lagging far behind.

    Of course Abhisit will never stoop down to his level and threaten to tear up maps and shoot people and openly take sides in Cambodian domestic politics, but at some point he will have to recognize the pressure from offended Thais and do something about it.

    Hun Sen must be dealt with one way or another, though for the time being letting him destroy his international reputation is probably enough.

  6. Chris on October 25th, 2009 10.40 am

    Hi, Kaban: Whatever you might think of Hun Sen, good or bad or indifferent, he will be there long after Abhisit and Kasit are gone and forgotten in the dust bin of successive Thai governments. And the memory of Thailand’s role in propping up Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge killing machine for an extra five or so years will probably live on in the minds and hearts of Cambodians for many years to come …

    In regard to “established diplomatic principles,” what “principles” were applied when it came to the Thai Army supplying Pol Pot with weapons, money and a fortified compound/command post in Trat as what remained of his blood-soaked army killed, tortured and murdered more thousands of people in Cambodia … I don’t think that is a collective memory the Cambodians are going to forget anytime soon …

  7. Global Voices Online » Thailand, Cambodia rift evident in ASEAN conference on October 25th, 2009 8.10 pm

    [...] absolutelybangkok.com provides a backgrounder and update to the continuing rift between the top leaders of Thailand and Cambodia who are both attending the annual conference of Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Cancel this reply [...]

  8. Kaban on October 26th, 2009 8.07 am

    I’m pretty sure Hun Sen would outlast Abhisit or any other Thai government. Doesn’t change the fact that he is a tin pot dictator getting intoxicated with power.

    What I’m not sure is where Cambodian people come into this, and what kind of Cambodian people – those who adore or abhor him? Or those who post on Cambodian blogs and forums?

  9. BangkokDan on October 26th, 2009 8.34 am

    The Post has an editorial on Hun Sen’s overtures:

    Does Hun Sent Want to Play in Our Political Sandbox?

    Key quotes:

    The Cambodian prime minister’s attempt to liken Thaksin to Mrs Suu Kyi as both were victims of separate military coups in Thailand and Burma was simplistic and ignorant of the huge difference in characteristics and dedication to democracy between the two people, not to mention the political backgrounds leading to their overthrow.

    Hun Sen insisted his remarks about Thaksin did not constitute interference in Thailand’s domestic affairs. He was quoted to have said: “This is just moral support from me. As one million Thai people of the red shirt group support Thaksin, why can’t I, as a friend from afar, support Thaksin?”

    As a shrewd politician who has survived in Cambodian politics for decades while many of his arch-rivals have all lost out or faded into oblivion, I don’t think Hun Sen needs coaching.

    BangkokDan

  10. Chris on October 26th, 2009 10.53 am

    … while normally the comments underneath Bangkok Post articles can border on the inane, some of the comments underneath the Hun Sen/Thai sandbox piece are definitely worth a read.

    Just as every Thai schoolchild is taught about the supposed “lost territories” (to Cambodia which include Siem Reap amazingly enough, the historic center of Cambodia), so every Cambodian school child is taught about the “lost territories” to Thailand (which include much of Isan for instance which as we all know has many Hindu Khmer temples scattered about). Every Cambodia schoolchild is also taught the history of Thailand during World War II, when in alliance with Japan, Thailand seized large chunks of present day Cambodia, including Siem Reap, and declared these areas to be part of Thailand, only to return them under duress once Japan had surrendered.

    The history of Thailand-Cambodia relations goes back many hundreds of years and a lot of it is not very “pretty,” much less what might be called “beautiful,” including the shameful multi-year alliance between Thailand and its military with Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

  11. Oneditorial on October 26th, 2009 9.12 pm

    I wonder how many people in this world will compare Thaksin with Aung San Suu Kyi. It is like the person who made the statement is trying to compare a parasitic plant against a beautiful flower. You would have thought that somebody who has been leading his country for many years, with plenty of experiences, would be thoughtful enough to not let a fugitive who is taking refuge in Dubai drag him, just like a puppy, into his neighboring country’s politics. Then again, history says it all; it seems to me that the PM has been very pleased to let somebody pull the strings behind his back for many years. That is certainly quite an accomplishment.

  12. Thailand – Cambodia 0:3 on November 12th, 2009 8.29 am

    [...] remember the Abhisit – Hun Sen 0:0 post. I was very polite to Abhisit because he looked so nice in the Asean chairman suit. A month [...]

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