Gov?t Denies Taking Over Thailand?s CATS

A myriad of news reports yesterday stated that the Cambodian government has taken over operations at the country?s Thai-operated air traffic control company and barred Thai employees from entering the office located opposite Phnom Penh International Airport.

Cambodian officials, however, said they had no knowledge of the alleged takeover or flatly denied any such actions were taken.

Reuters news agency reported that the Cambodian government has appointed a senior official from the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation as the temporary head of Cambodia Air Traffic Services. The story also claimed that Thai employees were not allowed to work at the office and cited its source of Samart Corp, CATS? parent company based in Thailand. Similar reports appeared in The Bangkok Post, The Nation and the Thai News Agency.

Kim San, director of air traffic at the aviation authority, said he was not aware of such a development, saying he had only heard of the changes at CATS through the news media.

?I do not know,? he said yesterday by telephone. ?I think if there is a change, there would have been an announcement.?

Another official at the authority, who wished to remain anonymous, denied the change in management at CATS.

?No, as my understanding, no appointment was made yet,? the employee said.

Talk of changes at the company come after a Thai employee of CATS, Siwarak Chutiphong, 31, was arrested on the evening of Nov 12 at his home in Chamkar Mon district for allegedly spying for Thailand. Police claim he passed along details of the flight plan of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Thai Embassy officials.

Security guards prevented reporters from entering CATS? offices near the airport yesterday and a receptionist answering the phone said her director was not available. A receptionist answering the telephone at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh said no one was in the office.

Koy Koung, spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Affairs Ministry, said he was not aware of the news reports regarding CATS and said the case of Mr Siwarak was now in the hands of the Cambodian court.

?I don?t know either, but I think it is not true,? he said of the Cambodian government taking over CATS.

The Bangkok Post cited Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya instructing Cambodia yesterday to comply with its investment laws and internal regulations if any action is taken against the company and its employees.
?As for Thailand, we?ll wait for reports from the Thai Embassy to Phnom Penh. We hope that we?ll receive factual information from Cambodia and the [Samart] company,? the Bangkok Post quoted Mr Kasit as saying.

?If the Cambodian action doest not follow the terms of the bilateral agreement between our two countries, we?ll have to find other ways to continue.?

Sourced = The Cambodia Daily