Thaksin back in Phnom Penh

Thaksin Shinawatr just flew into Phnom Penh today again ... in line with a well-prepared script -- all intended to show how Hun Sen and Thaksin could upstage the Abhisit government at every turn.

Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong will be released tomorrow through a Royal pardon even before anyone from the Thai side had submitted a request for amnesty.

Thaksin is in Cambodia to get the credit and embarrass the Thai government. He is playing the "hero's role" to the hilt despite the fact that Sivarak had been arrested for having tried to "steal" a "classified" document about his flight plan into Cambodia in the first place.

Sivarak denied the charge in the court hearings but the court ruled that he was guilty -- and sentenced him to seven years in jail -- on grounds that Thaksin was an honorary Cambodia citizen and since his personal security could have been threatened by Sivarak's alleged action.

Sivarak is expected to publicly thank Thaksin when he is set free tomorrow for his help in obtaining his freedom. Hun Sen has even said that Sivarak could continue to work in Cambodia after his release.

Suddenly, Sivarak has been transformed from a "spy" into Hun Sen's "favourite."

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