Bangkok Post – Cambodian border provinces prepare for return of workers from Thailand

Thai PM says no plans to deport Cambodians amid dispute

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has ordered authorities in provinces adjoining Thailand to stand ready to take in workers returning home from Thailand.

Thailand, however, has no policy to send them back, despite the ongoing territorial dispute between the two nations. 

The Cambodian prime minister said in a Facebook post on Monday that seven provinces bordering Thailand had been instructed to prepare for workers choosing to leave Thailand.

“Assign the task to the ministry-related institutions and the capital authorities – seven provinces near the border to provide the necessary services and coordination to the Khmer workers who want to return to Cambodia,” he wrote.

The seven Cambodian provinces sharing the border with Thailand are:

• Banteay Meanchey
• Battambang
• Koh Kong
• Oddar Meanchey
• Pailin
• Pursat
• Preah Vihear

The Khmer Times reported on Monday that Prak Sokhonn, who doubles as deputy prime minister and foreign minister, was instructed to visit the Cambodian consulate in Thailand to facilitate documentation needed by returning Cambodian workers.

Cambodia has a consulate in Aranyaprathet district in Sa Kaeo province.

The order by Hun Manet followed the Joint Boundary Commission meeting that ended on Sunday with the two sides unable to settle their differences on how to settle their territorial current disputes.

It came one day after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra outlined Thai policy, which includes no plan to deport foreign workers.