ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (left) talks with supporters as Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra looks on Friday in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Mr. Thaksin has been named an economic adviser to Cambodia.PHNOM PENH, Cambodia | Thailand said Friday it would not be provoked into violence in its diplomatic tussle with Cambodia over fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, even as the ousted leader taunted the Bangkok government by meeting with political supporters in the neighboring country.
Mr. Thaksin's visit to Thailand's doorstep has highlighted his ability to command headlines in his homeland and destabilize its politics, even three years after he lost power and fled into exile.
Dozens of opposition politicians and other Thaksin supporters drove across the border into Cambodia to meet with the ousted leader, irritating Thailand's government, which considers him a convicted criminal and a threat to its power.
Mr. Thaksin's warm welcome in Cambodia has strained already uneasy bilateral relations.
On Thursday, Cambodia expelled a senior Thai diplomat and arrested a Thai employee of Cambodia Air Traffic Services - which manages flights in the country - for purportedly stealing Mr. Thaksin's flight schedule and giving it to the diplomat.
Mr. Thaksin, a former telecommunications billionaire, was ousted by a 2006 military coup. He fled Thailand last year to avoid imprisonment on a corruption charge and now spends most of his time in the Arab emirate of Dubai.
Mr. Thaksin "is using a helping hand from a neighboring country as a tool to overthrow the monarchy and the Thai government," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Friday in Bangkok.
Mr. Thaksin's political battle with the Thai government - which came to power this year after months of protests aimed at removing the former leader's allies from power - has bitterly divided his country.
He accuses Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of having taken control by undemocratic means. Mr. Thaksin remains hugely popular among the rural poor, who have staged frequent rallies calling for his return to power, but he is reviled by many in the educated urban elite.
Mr. Abhisit said Friday that Cambodia's expulsion of the Thai diplomat was intended to provoke a "violent response" from his government, but that he would respond peacefully.
By Benjamin Birnbaum - The Washington Times
The arrangement would see the victorious Liberal Party forge a coalition with the Christian Democratic Appeal, backed by the outside support of the anti-Islam Freedom Party. Published 5:48 p.m. July 30, 2010
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
With Congress gridlocked on an immigration bill, the Obama administration is considering using a back door to stop deporting many illegal immigrants - what a draft government memo said could be "a non-legislative version of amnesty." Published 8:39 p.m. July 29, 2010
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
A conservative satirist takes on the worlds of politics and entertainment in humorous pursuit of truth, justice, and all things America.
