Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday dismissed a senior Thai official’s allegations linking Cambodian Muslims to the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network and violence in southern Thailand, while a Thai diplomat said his embassy had no evidence to substantiate the claims.
In a Bangkok Post report on Saturday, General Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, a close aide to Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, said Cambodians linked to JI had joined the radical Gurakan Mujahideen Islam Pattani insurgent group and infiltrated religious schools in southern Thailand.
Hun Sen called on Surayud to correct the general’s statements. “Cambodia is not a terrorist hiding place to attack Thailand…. Cambodian Chams are poor, but they don’t work for militants in southern Thailand,” Hun Sen said during a groundbreaking ceremony in Kandal province that was broadcast on radio. “The Thai spokesman should not have used that kind of language…. I cannot tolerate the accusation,” he added.
Hun Sen said Cambodia was prepared to engage constructively with Thailand on counter-terrorism, but accused Thai officials of scapegoating Cambodia because of their inability to cope with their own internal security problems.
“Thailand is wise enough to solve its problems, but they cannot drag in Cambodia…through groundless accusations,” he said. “They are weak themselves, but they have blamed other people,” he added. “If there is evidence, they should not disseminate it through the media—they should send the report to Cambodia.”
Hun Sen called on Cambodians to continue patronizing Thai businesses and assured Chams that the Cambodian government does not suspect them of being terrorists. “Cambodian Chams should not be worried that the government is suspicious of you. The government will stay with you.”
At Hun Sen’s request, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met Monday with Thai Embassy Charge d’Affaires Surasak Suparat to discuss the matter. Surasak Suparat said his embassy was still trying to check with Bangkok about the allegations, but said the embassy did not possess any proof to substantiate Wattanachai’s claims.
“We don’t have evidence that Cambodian Muslims did that. We have to check why the officer said that in the newspaper,” he told reporters outside the Foreign Ministry, adding that he would convey the Cambodian government’s response to Bangkok.
Hor Namhong said he had refrained from responding to the Thai general, who first alleged that Cambodian and Indonesian extremists were leading terrorist training camps in southern Thailand, but said the gravity of the most recent allegations compelled him to respond.