Jatuporn claims Kasit gave orders to spy

Cambodia has a taped conversation of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering the first secretary of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh to get former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight plan for the Thai government, Puea Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan said on Wednesday.

Mr Jatuporn said Cambodian authorities also had a tape of a conversation about the flight plan between the first secretary, Kamrob Palawatwichai, and Siwarak Chutiphong, the Thai engineer employed by Cambodia Air Traffic Services accused of spying for Thailand.

Mr Siwarak was arrested on Wednesday and accused of stealing Thaksin's flight plan. Mr Kamrob was expelled the following day.

Mr Jatuporn said if the tapes were made available to other countries they would lose trust in Thailand, because this amounted to Thailand interfering in Cambodia's internal affairs.

He called on Mr Kasit to clarify the matter.

The Puea Thai MP also said Thaksin had asked the Cambodian authorities to ensure fair treatment for Siwarak in court.

If the Cambodian court gave Mr Siwarak only a suspended sentence, Puea Thai chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh would go to Phnom Penh to bring him back from Cambodia,  Mr Jatuporn said.

Earlier in the day, Thaksin posted a message on Twitter saying that he had talked to Cambodian authorities about Mr Siwarak and the Cambodian government has promised him a fair trial.

"I've been in touch with them. They said they would investigate first and will treat him fairly," he said in his Thai-language posting.

Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin's legal adviser, said his boss would try his best to ensure Mr Siwarak gets humanitarian support.

Mr Noppadon said Thaksin had talked to Cambodian senior officials and asked them to ensure fair treatment for Mr Siwarak.

He believed Mr Siwarak's case would go court soon.

He said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva should stop accusing Thaksin of being the cause of Mr Siwarak's arrest. The problem was the inefficiency of the government's administration, he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said it would be good if Thaksin could use his personal friendship with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to get Mr Siwarak's release.

"The government has been trying every means to get [Mr Siwarak] free and would not lose face if the Cambodian government releases him because of Thaksin’s influence,” Mr Suthep said.

Citing a Cambodian radio station, a local Thai daily reported this morning that Cambodia had agreed to release the alleged Thai spy and had asked Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to fly to Cambodia to bring the man back.

However, Lt-Gen Chawengsak Thongsaluay, a close aide of the party chairman, said Gen Chavalit had not yet made a decision to fly to Cambodia as he needed time to verify the report.

Chavanont Intharakomalsut, secretary-general to the minister of foreign affairs, said Cambodia had pressed a charge of spying, accusing the Cambodia Air Traffic Services engineer of obtaining secret official information and being a threat to its security.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied the charge, insisting that the engineer has nothing to do with spying and that his action does not pose a threat to Cambodia’s security,” Mr Chavanont said.

Mr Suthep said the charge against Mr Siwarak was unjust because Thaksin's flight plans were not a state secret.