Fugitive former leader creates discord

Thailand's Thaksin accepts position with Cambodia

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK -- Thailand's fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has spent much of the past three years roaming the globe, shopping for diamonds in Africa, golfing at Asian resorts -- and humiliating the government from a distance.

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Now, the deposed and divisive ex-leader is an economic adviser to the government of neighboring Cambodia, and that's too close for comfort for Thailand's current leadership.

The appointment last week by Cambodia's mercurial Prime Minister Hun Sen has jangled nerves in the Thai capital and entangled both countries in a diplomatic brawl that prompted Thailand first and then Cambodia to recall their ambassadors Thursday.

Hun Sen had soured already tense relations in October by offering Thaksin a home in Cambodia and vowing not to extradite him. The comments rattled Thailand, which has a nasty dispute with its neighbor over border territory that led to several small but deadly clashes over the past year and a half. Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup after being accused of massive corruption and now helps lead the opposition from abroad.

Analysts say Thaksin's latest move could be the launchpad for a political comeback.

"Thaksin is on a new offensive. This is a calculated campaign to undermine this government and to change governments," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political-science professor at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "He wants to retake what he sees as his legitimate right, which is to have another election that he believes he will win."

For the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Cambodia's action is a slap in the face it feels compelled to respond to. It called the appointment an "interference in Thailand's domestic affairs."