‘I was betrayed first’: Cambodia’s Hun Sen exposes rift with former Thai leader Thaksin
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Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen speaking to soldiers along the Cambodia-Thailand border on June 26.
PHOTO: AFP
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BANGKOK – Cambodian Senate president Hun Sen went live on Facebook on June 27, just a day after warning that he would expose former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra
Speaking in Khmer, he delivered a combative message, claiming betrayal and threatening to reveal damaging information about the Shinawatra family.
“The time has come,” Mr Hun Sen said. “They have betrayed me. Today, I will speak on eight points.” He added that further details would be shared with diplomats scheduled to meet him later that day.
“If they want it today, I will expose the Thaksin family.”
The Cambodian strongman began with the leaked audio clip of a June 15 call he had with Thai
His second point was an accusation against Ms Paetongtarn, whom he said deceived him. “Paetongtarn said it was just part of the negotiation tactic. But clearly, you don’t know me at all,” he added.
He went on to criticise Mr Thaksin for failing to instil values in his children:
“On June 14, Thaksin attacked me online. Meanwhile, the Thai Prime Minister disrespects her own military and monarchy. I will reveal the truth today.
“You may insult your own army and monarch – but you cannot do the same to me. It won’t work.”
Defiant over audio recordings
Rejecting suggestions that his recording was illegal, Mr Hun Sen said: “There is no law preventing me from recording conversations. Why is the Thai Prime Minister afraid of a leaked audio clip?”
He closed his speech with defiance. “If you want to take it to the International Court of Justice, go ahead. I’m in Cambodia. File your 5,000 complaints – I don’t care.”
He continued his tirade against the Thai leadership, accusing Ms Paetongtarn of using a call centre crackdown
“As Thai Prime Minister, you shouldn’t behave this way,” he said. “You claimed you went to the border to tackle call centre scams, but you ordered the border closed
He added: “You closed the border under the guise of suppressing scams, when in fact your intention was aggression.
“I have always said that online fraud is far from over – we need cooperation to address it. So why are you using it to attack Cambodia?”
He asserted that Cambodia had exercised patience for the sake of bilateral ties, while suggesting that Thailand had been the one backing criminal groups operating along its borders with Myanmar and Laos. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
