Cambodia verdict shows Thailand's policy has misfired

Sivarak told Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday he had two phone conversations with the Thai Embassy's Third Secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai over the flight of fugitive former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

His mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom blamed the diplomat, who was later expelled from Cambodia, for causing Sivarak's difficulties. The mother burst into tears as her son was handcuffed in court. The young man, who was supposed to have a long career path at Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), became a jailed spy merely because somebody wanted to know the details of Thaksin's flight.

The engineer, 31, who has worked in Cambodia for nearly eight years, has only one hope to gain freedom and return home - a royal pardon from the Cambodian King.

It remains unclear why and for whom Sivarak needed to sacrifice his career and his future. Kamrob has not explained why he wanted to know Thaksin's flight information. Was it personal curiosity or the government's policy? Was such information necessary to national interest, or was it just to satisfy personal interest of a person in power?

The mother, Simarak, has asked a moral question that nobody can answer: why did her son have to take responsibility for a job he was not supposed to do?

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya have said the government can explain the situation, but did not say whether Kamrob and Sivarak's actions had any link with the moves to bring down Thaksin.

It's pretty obvious the government has put the Thaksin issue into the core of relations between Thailand and Cambodia, and is ready to employ all necessary means - even at the expense of national interest - to get him. But it is unclear why the government focuses only on Cambodia as Thaksin spends most of his time in the United Arab Emirates.

It is not a secret that Thaksin has a permanent residence in Dubai. Many Pheu Thai Party members and even an army officer, Kattiya Sawasdipol, have visited him from time to time. Everybody knows he is there but the government is unable to take any action against the UAE. And the UAE is not the only refuge. Thaksin is an honorary citizen of several countries, including Montenegro and Ecuador. The Thai government has paid no attention to those countries and their relations with him.

It chose Cambodia because the Thai leaders' mentality suggested that superior Thailand could do anything it liked with its neighbours, who mostly rely on Bangkok.

Unfortunately, the world has changed. Cambodia no longer depends on Thailand economically and politically. Bangkok is not in a position to force the government in Phnom Penh to do anything.

With Sivarak in Cambodia's custody, Thailand has run out of bargaining chips. The aim to have Hun Sen fire Thaksin from the position is impossible, not to mention his extradition from Cambodia. If Thaksin is a prerequisite for the normalisation of diplomatic relations, the two countries have little chance of resuming their good ties in the near future.

While relations cannot be improved, Thaksin and his Pheu Thai Party are likely to gain kudos as Simarak preferred their support in dealing with officials.

She might be right - that the government, which has sour relations with Cambodia - would never be able to help her son.