RTA spokesman says CMAC chief distorted landmine evidence with selective photos
Thai army accuses CMAC chief of distorting landmine evidence with selective photos to deny Cambodia’s use of PMN-2 mines.
Royal Thai Army spokesman Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree on Sunday accused the chief of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) of distorting information in an attempt to discredit the Thai army and deny Cambodia’s use of landmines.
Winthai said CMAC director-general Heng Ratana selectively used photos provided by the RTA to claim that Cambodian troops had not deployed PMN-2 anti-personnel landmines against Thai soldiers.
CMAC’s claim
Ratana presented photos of PMN-2 landmines with safety pins still intact, arguing that the RTA had used the images to accuse Cambodia of laying the mines. He insisted that if the landmines had been planted, the safety pins would have been removed, otherwise they would not detonate when stepped on.
Thailand’s rebuttal
Winthai clarified that the PMN-2 landmines shown to foreign envoys on Saturday included both those with safety pins removed and others with pins intact. He explained that after Thai troops retook Phu Ma Kua, the RTA engineering corps searched the area where Cambodian forces had set up positions. They discovered an arsenal of PMN-2 landmines, including unused ones that had been kept at a base for future planting.
He stressed that both planted and unused landmines were put on display, but Ratana had selectively chosen photos of unused mines to mislead observers.
Envoys saw full evidence
Winthai said Ratana’s attempt to distort the facts would not succeed, as foreign envoys had already seen the full evidence in Si Sa Ket — including planted landmines without safety pins — during their visit on Saturday.
