Thaksin in Cambodia

The fear many foreigners who are in Thailand on 15-day visas have is that the border to nearby Cambodia will close due to political tension surrounding the former Thai Prime Minister. He left Cambodia on November 15, but is free to return and is expected to establish a base there.

Mr. Thaksin is contemplating developing a portion of Cambodia near Trat and Koh Chang. Pattaya is the largest city closest to where Mr. Thaksin may settle in Cambodia and where he has a lot of support.

Much like Thailand as a whole, opinions in Pattaya differ widely when it comes to the latest development in the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra saga which has polarized many Thais who either love the man or want him in prison.

Mr. Thaksin has secured a post in neighboring Cambodia as an advisor to the Finance Minister. This comes three years after he was ousted as Prime Minister. He is wanted by the law here and will face prison term if he returns for a land transfer deemed illegal.

A diplomatic row has broken out between the Thai and the Cambodian governments over the divisive issue to the point that threats of closing the border were made by the current Prime Minister Abhisit.

Pattaya and Chonburi officials have made no secret of their devotion to the former Prime Minister who was duly-elected and ousted during a military coup in 2006.

One local Red shirt supporter said“We look forward to travelling to the border where we hope that Mr. Thaksin will able to hold a rally on the Cambodian side. Then we can gather on the Thai side and he can broadcast to us. It will be like he is in Thailand as we will be able to see him live, unlike the rallies since he has been gone where we have only seen him on large screens.”

Another said, “Some people in Pattaya blame the Red Shirts for hurting tourism because of the disturbances during the ASEAN meeting in April. These people have short memories. It was the Yellow Shirt supporters loyal to the current government who caused the most havoc and forced the closure of the airport. Tourists could not come to Pattaya during that time, people who had already booked and paid for tickets were stuck. Other tourists could not leave for two weeks and many lost jobs, missed weddings, couldn’t attend funerals of family members and had their lives totally disrupted. These people vowed never to return and would have also complained to people in their home countries who will also now never come to Thailand.”

Not all Pattaya residents are pleased of this latest development however and are opposed to Thaksin.

A foreigner living in Pattaya said, "We don't care about the political situation or about politics in general. We only care about the border with Cambodia being open so we can have a nearby place to do visa runs without getting stuck in Cambodia. If they close the border when we are in Cambodia it will be expensive to fly to a 3rd country to get back into Thailand."

One local travel agent said, “This is the last thing we need right now. Tourists are just starting to return in higher numbers. This high season is crucial to many businesses that have been struggling to stay trading over the past year. If we do not get at least a reasonable high season, this will be the final blow for many, and businesses will close and many will lose their jobs. People don’t want any dramas on their holidays. The idea for a holiday for most is to relax, if they think that this may be disrupted they will simply choose another location to visit. So we lose these tourists now and if they like the other destination they choose we might lose them forever. There are hundreds of holiday spots around the world to go to.”

A real estate agent who has been selling properties in Pattaya for over 12 years said, “This isn’t going to help to current depressed market. We have over a thousand sellers at the moment and few buyers. Developments are being delayed or cancelled. People are just waiting to see what happens with the world economy and the Thai political scene in particular. If Thaksin gets active again there will just be another political stalemate and the small signs of recovery that we are starting to see will just grind to a halt.”

Another real estate agent based in Koh Chang revealed, “Years ago when Thaksin first came to power a certain Thai man went around the island offering to buy land at prices that everyone was happy with and he gained a lot of respect from the locals. Shortly after the Thaksin government announced that Koh Chang was going to be promoted as a high end tourism island and land prices skyrocketed. It was then revealed that the buyer was friends with Thaksin. The locals respect for the buyer soon turned to anger as they believed that the buyer had been tipped off by his friend Thaksin and if they hadn’t sold their land they would now be off financially.”

Thaksin's private jet was denied a permit to fly over Thailand en route to Cambodia.The air force recieved the request and rejected it and Thaskin's plane was forced to take another route.