Red shirt leaders whereabouts still unknown
Khmer Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh (left) and Thai Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan (right) sign cooperative agreements on border-crossing regulations, labor cooperation, joint border patrols, landmine eradication, maritime safety enhancements and trade cooperation.
While Thai and Cambodian military officials pledged at last month’s General Border Committee meeting in Pattaya to work more closely on counter-terrorism, Khmer Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh had few answers regarding the location of one of Thailand’s most-wanted fugitives.
At a post-meeting press conference Oct. 30 at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Tea said that while many assume Arisman Pongruangrong, a leader of the red-shirt antigovernment movement, is hiding in Cambodia, he doesn’t know for certain. The defense minister also sidestepped touchy questions over whether red shirt rebels are undertaking weapons training in the Cambodian kingdom. Tea said only that it was a “delicate matter” and that he could not disclose any other information.
The quarterly border meeting otherwise covered routine matters, with Tea and Thai Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan signing cooperative agreements on six other topics, including border-crossing regulations, labor cooperation, joint border patrols, landmine eradication, maritime safety enhancements and trade cooperation.
Tea also used the occasion to seek medical treatment at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, which picked him up after his hurried appearance at the press conference.
