PARIS: Cambodia's self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has vowed to return to his home country, said he was prevented yesterday from checking in for a flight from Paris to Bangkok, a Reuters witness said.
Sam Rainsy told Reuters that Thai Airways had been asked to bar him from boarding but he would not be deterred from trying again.
"I am extremely shocked because the people need me in Cambodia," the arch-rival of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told journalists at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport shortly after an agent at the Thai Airways (THAI) counter turned him away.
However, a THAI employee says Rainsy was not allowed to board the flight from Paris to Bangkok because his booking was not valid.
The employee, who answered a call but declined to give his name, said a valid ticket had not been issued in Rainsy's name and the economy class section for yesterday's flight was full. He said a booking in Rainsy's name had been made for a flight tomorrow.
Sam Rainsy had vowed to return from exile in France to Cambodia tomorrow to lead a movement to force Hun Sen from office.
Sam Rainsy had posted a photo on his Facebook page of what he said was his ticket which showed he had a confirmed booking for yesterday's flight. The photo also showed his booking reference and ticket number, opening the possibility that it could have been changed online by a third party.
He told reporters at the airport that THAI "said they had received from very high up the instruction to not allow me to board".
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Wednesday that Rainsy would not be allowed to enter Thailand.
The founder of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), who has been in exile since 2015 to avoid serving a prison term on charges that he says are politically motivated, had hoped to return accompanied by a mass of followers.
They say they seek to spark a popular movement to oust Hun Sen.
"I don't give up. I will try to the last minute. I think no one should stand with Hun Sen -- he is a dictator," the 70-year-old politician, who maintains dual Cambodian and French citizenship, said.
Sam Rainsy on Wednesday tweeted a photo of his airline ticket from Paris to Bangkok, from where he hoped to travel to a Thai border crossing with Cambodia. Hun Sen has ordered airlines not to allow him to board flights to Phnom Penh.
Sam Rainsy said he planned to enter Cambodia via Poi Pet tomorrow which is Cambodia's Independence Day, celebrating freedom from French colonial rule. "I will depart from Paris on Nov 7. I will arrive in Bangkok on Friday Nov 8 to be ready to enter Cambodia on Saturday Nov 9," he tweeted.
The CNRP was dissolved by a court order in late 2017, allowing Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party to sweep a 2018 general election. Cambodian courts are widely considered to be under the influence of the government, which employs the law to harass its opponents.
Hun Sen's government has barred the opposition politicians' return, alerting airlines that they would be turned back, and also conveyed its position to neighbouring countries.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University and chairman of the security advisory committee for Gen Prayut, said that since Sam Rainsy is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by a Cambodian court, Thailand and other Asean member countries have to abide by international obligations.
If Sam Rainsy arrives in Thailand or other Asean countries, they must arrest and send him to Cambodia, Mr Panitan said, adding that Thailand, in particular, must not allow anyone to use the country as a base to instigate conflict with neighbouring countries.
Wanted posters of Sam Rainsy and his colleagues have been posted at all checkpoints along the Thai-Cambodian border.
The posters display photos of Sam Rainsy, Eng Chhai Eang, Mu Sochua, Ou Chanrith, Ho Vann, Long Ry, Men Sothavrin, Tioulong Saumura and Nuth Romdoul, according to the Khmer Times.
Lt Gen Srey Doek, commander of the Cambodian Armed Forces' Division 3, said the army is ready to arrest them.