Senate president Hun Sen has enquired about the views of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, regarding the continued detention of 18 Cambodian soldiers who were captured by Thai forces on July 29, a day after the ceasefire took effect.
“The arrest of our soldiers occurred a few hours after the ceasefire. I thought that these brothers had already sacrificed for the nation. They [Thailand] are clearly using them as bargaining chips to exchange for this and that. Those soldiers truly understand this, their families also understand,” he said, as he addressed the annual national monastic assembly on November 17.
He questioned the implementation of international law worldwide and asked about the opinion of Vitit Muntarbhorn, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia.
“Muntarbhorn, who is the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for human rights, a Thai national, where is he now? Why hasn’t he said a word? He used to speak before, now I don’t hear him speak at all,” he said.
“In war, prisoners of war are often exchanged, but here, our soldiers were arrested on our land after the ceasefire and taken as hostages,” he added.
Hun Sen also sought understanding from his compatriots and the families of the 18 soldiers, whom he considers to have already made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation. He said Thailand’s suspension of the plan to return them on November 12 clearly shows that the soldiers were taken by Thailand to be tied to exchange conditions with other issues, and they will continue to use them as bartering chips in the future.
“Is there anywhere in the world where a nation can consider itself civilised, but take hostages as tools of negotiation? These are not prisoners of war. Our brothers were too naive; they [Thai soldiers] came and shook hands and asked for photos, and then pointed guns and arrested them,” he recalled, as he described their July 29 capture.
As of today, November 17, the 18 soldiers have been in the custody of Thailand’s Second Army Region for 111 days. US President Donald Trump previously announced that they would be released “immediately” after he witnessed the signing of a peace deal on October 26.
