Thai ambassador to Cambodia Prasas Prasasvinitchai: On a mission of amelioration11/09/2010
Bangkok Post
The Thai ambassador to Cambodia Prasas Prasasvinitchai has presented his credentials to the country's King Sihamoni, a vital procedure that formalises his diplomatic posting.
Mr Prasas was initially scheduled to meet the Cambodian king on Oct 18 but Prime Minister Hun Sen brought the date forward to yesterday.
Phnom Penh is Mr Prasas' first ambassadorial post and hopefully not his last because he still has nearly a decade to go before he is due to retire.
In the past, Mr Prasas was mistaken by many of his bureaucratic peers and members of the media for a palad amphoe (assistant district chief) or phuwa (governor) due to his appearance.
He was often seen wearing Thai-style shirts usually worn by local administrators and kept a low profile.
Because he had to travel upcountry often and held many meetings with military and provincial officials, it is perhaps understandable that he left his suits and neckties at home.
A law graduate of Thammasat University, he has been working at the Foreign Ministry's Department of the Treaty and Legal Affairs since 1977, dealing with lots of nitty gritty matters, mostly concerning border issues.
His straightforward and outspoken manner sometimes has not gone down well with certain politicians, diplomat colleagues and state officials. Yet, his sincerity and sound logic have also enabled him to beat some tough diplomatic challenges with neighbouring countries and helped him overcome problems with other ministries.
It took him a long time before he was appointed head of the division of border affairs in 2000. It has been observed that officials with a background in law tend to be left behind when promotions are handed out at the Foreign Ministry.
Mr Prasas is one of only a very few working diplomats who have been able to read neighbouring countries' political manoeuvrings over border affairs. He remembers all the significant chapters of past border treaties with France and Britain and is well acquainted with military and interior officials based at the border.
Before moving to Rangoon and assuming the second most important post at the embassy there, he was made deputy head of the Department of East Asian Affairs for a few years.
During his posting to Burma, Mr Prasas was also called to provide support for negotiators at the Christchurch talks of the World Heritage Committee in 2007, which discussed Cambodia's solo attempt to seek the heritage listing of the Preah Vihear temple.
The whole of last year was truly a rough one for Thai-Cambodian relations and the Thai ambassador's seat in Phnom Penh was vacant for nearly 10 months.
Soon after being appointed ambassador to Cambodia, Mr Prasas left Bangkok but in less than a month he was recalled. That was nine days after ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed a personal adviser to Hun Sen and economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
Now that the Thai and Cambodian ambassadors have got back to work, and with signs of eased tensions between the two sides, observers are keeping their fingers crossed as to how long the improved relations will last.
After all, the public hearing on the memorandum of understanding for the reconvening of the Joint Boundary Committee should be ready for Thai parliamentary scrutiny late next month.
If there are no further incidents to dampen bilateral ties, full normalisation of the troubled bilateral relations can then be expected.
If not, Mr Prasas will have to stand ready for yet another diplomatic storm.
Mr Prasas was initially scheduled to meet the Cambodian king on Oct 18 but Prime Minister Hun Sen brought the date forward to yesterday.
Phnom Penh is Mr Prasas' first ambassadorial post and hopefully not his last because he still has nearly a decade to go before he is due to retire.
In the past, Mr Prasas was mistaken by many of his bureaucratic peers and members of the media for a palad amphoe (assistant district chief) or phuwa (governor) due to his appearance.
He was often seen wearing Thai-style shirts usually worn by local administrators and kept a low profile.
Because he had to travel upcountry often and held many meetings with military and provincial officials, it is perhaps understandable that he left his suits and neckties at home.
A law graduate of Thammasat University, he has been working at the Foreign Ministry's Department of the Treaty and Legal Affairs since 1977, dealing with lots of nitty gritty matters, mostly concerning border issues.
His straightforward and outspoken manner sometimes has not gone down well with certain politicians, diplomat colleagues and state officials. Yet, his sincerity and sound logic have also enabled him to beat some tough diplomatic challenges with neighbouring countries and helped him overcome problems with other ministries.
It took him a long time before he was appointed head of the division of border affairs in 2000. It has been observed that officials with a background in law tend to be left behind when promotions are handed out at the Foreign Ministry.
Mr Prasas is one of only a very few working diplomats who have been able to read neighbouring countries' political manoeuvrings over border affairs. He remembers all the significant chapters of past border treaties with France and Britain and is well acquainted with military and interior officials based at the border.
Before moving to Rangoon and assuming the second most important post at the embassy there, he was made deputy head of the Department of East Asian Affairs for a few years.
During his posting to Burma, Mr Prasas was also called to provide support for negotiators at the Christchurch talks of the World Heritage Committee in 2007, which discussed Cambodia's solo attempt to seek the heritage listing of the Preah Vihear temple.
The whole of last year was truly a rough one for Thai-Cambodian relations and the Thai ambassador's seat in Phnom Penh was vacant for nearly 10 months.
Soon after being appointed ambassador to Cambodia, Mr Prasas left Bangkok but in less than a month he was recalled. That was nine days after ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed a personal adviser to Hun Sen and economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
Now that the Thai and Cambodian ambassadors have got back to work, and with signs of eased tensions between the two sides, observers are keeping their fingers crossed as to how long the improved relations will last.
After all, the public hearing on the memorandum of understanding for the reconvening of the Joint Boundary Committee should be ready for Thai parliamentary scrutiny late next month.
If there are no further incidents to dampen bilateral ties, full normalisation of the troubled bilateral relations can then be expected.
If not, Mr Prasas will have to stand ready for yet another diplomatic storm.
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