Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet reacts during a signing ceremony and press conference at the Government House, in Bangkok, Thailand, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Three Cambodian activists arrested in Thailand will not be deported to their homeland and will be resettled elsewhere, a deputy police chief said on Wednesday, after human rights groups had raised concern about their fate if sent home.
The remarks came during a visit to Thailand of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, who thanked his counterpart for preventing "interference in Cambodian internal politics," from Thai soil.
International pressure has been building on Hun Manet to end the crackdown started by his father and predecessor, Hun Sen, the self-styled strongman who virtually wiped out domestic opposition to his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
The activists and their families are recognised as refugees by the United Nations and were arrested last week for immigration violations days before Hun Manet's visit.
The arrests follow a series of deportations from Thailand in the past few years of critics of the CPP, which has been in power for nearly four decades.
Thai deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn told Reuters the detainees would be sent to another country, but not back to Cambodia.
"Right now, the UNHCR is processing the resettlement to third country," he said of the U.N. refugee agency.
"We will definitely not be sending them or their families back to Cambodia."
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin at a joint press conference with Hun Manet said his country would not allow people to perpetrate "harmful activities" against neighbours.
Hun Manet expressed gratitude and said "this forms mutual respect and benefit between our two countries."
Thailand and Cambodia also pledged to strengthen cooperation to fight transnational crimes, especially cyber scam networks, many of which have operated from Cambodia, among other countries in Southeast Asia.
The Western-educated Hun Manet took power last year in a landmark succession from his father, whose nearly four-decade rule was characterised by rapid economic growth and development alongside a stifling of free speech and a long-running campaign to sideline opponents.
The CPP was virtually unopposed for a second successive election last year, with the only viable opposition parties dissolved or barred from running. Hundreds of rivals have been jailed or fled into exile.
Western countries are watching closely to see if Hun Manet, who has a British doctorate in economics and graduated from the prestigious U.S. West Point military academy, will pursue a more liberal agenda and reopen political space for an opposition, or stick to his father's authoritarian approach.
(Reporting by Martin Petty, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Neil Fullick)
