Cambodia says relations normal with post-coup Thailand

Oct 5, 2006, 14:24 GMT

Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday that relations had remained normal with post-coup Thailand and that Cambodia respected Thailand's right to solve its own internal problems without international interference.

In a speech broadcast on national radio, Hun Sen said provincial Cambodian authorities had reported business as usual with the Thai military and administrative offices since the September 19 military coup.

    'Recent events in Thailand have no impact on relations between Cambodia and Thailand,' said Hun Sen. 'Let the Thai people solve their own problems by the natural processes of Thai people.'

He also wished luck to Thailand's new military-backed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who was appointed by coup leaders last Sunday, replacing ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Hun Sen said the new Thai leadership had sent Cambodia a letter on September 29 explaining the reasons behind the coup and expressly reassured the Cambodian government that Thailand did not expect its own internal events to impact on Cambodia in any way.

As a precaution Cambodia has temporarily frozen troop movements close to Thailand to avoid 'misunderstandings' until after their western neighbour was more settled.

Hun Sen sent a warning to his own people, joking that when he visits Australia on October 8, similar events in Cambodia will not be tolerated.

'Do not try this when I am in Canberra. I will not let people do what they did to the former king. This is my message,' he said, referring to a coup against former king and then-prince Norodom Sihanouk by Lon Nol in 1970.

The coup overthrew Sihanouk while he was on an international visit, ending Sihanouk's reign as the country's prime minister and sending him into exile.

   Thaksin was in New York preparing to address the United Nations when he was ousted.