Border tactics need review

The war of words between controversial activist Guntouch “Gun Jompalang” Pongpaiboonwet and Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit reflects the flaws in the army’s handling of the simmering border conflict with Cambodia.

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Mr Guntouch launched into a tirade against Ms Angkhana after the senator reprimanded the activist for playing “ghostly sounds” along the border with the intention of scaring Cambodian civilians in the area. The activist has been playing eerie sounds, as well as recordings of helicopter and jet engine noises, through speakers he took to Ban Nong Chan and Nong Ya Kaeo in Sa Kaeo since Friday.

The senator's protest followed Phnom Penh's decision to lodge a complaint with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) over the use of loudspeakers along the border, which it claims have affected many Cambodians living nearby, especially the sick, the elderly, children and people with disabilities. The complaint went as far as accusing Thailand of violating human rights principles by engaging in psychological torture.