Sondhi is in hot water over Koh Kood claim
Caretaker Interior Minister Kongsak Wantana on Friday threatened legal action over government critic Sondhi Limthongkul's claim that Thailand would cede Koh Kood in Trat to Cambodia.
Sondhi alleged in an open letter that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra offered Cambodia half of Koh Kood Island in the Gulf of Thailand in exchange for a gas con¬cession. Kongsak promised an investigation and legal action if the claim proved false. He added groundless claims damaged the country. Meanwhile, the recipient of Sondhi's open letter, Supreme Commander General Ruengroj Mahasaranond, dismissed its contents. He insisted Koh Kood remained Thai territory. The Sondhi letter to Ruengroj accused Thaksin of making an agreement with Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen during an August 10 visit to Phnom Penh. Ruengroj had looked at Royal Thai Survey Department information that showed Koh Kood's sovereignty and he would furnish this to the news media. "I insist we have never given even one square inch of Thailand to anyone. The relationships between Thailand and its neigh¬bours are good. This issue is politics," he said. Survey department director Wichit Satharanond said Cambodia had never made a claim for Koh Kood and added its inhab¬itants were Thai people. The Nation
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