Date: 30 January 2003

Thailand is evacuating about its 400 people from Cambodia following the anti-Thai protesters' attacks targeting the Thai embassy and Thai business.

The government will send an aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force to receive Thai envoys, diplomatic staff, and Thai people back home under the protection of a Thai commando group.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced also that Cambodian Ambassador to Thailand would also be called on, and would be sent back to Cambodia in a strong protest over the raid and destruction that Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh had to face from the violence. Simultaneously, the diplomatic relation would be temporarily downgraded from the ambassador level to the charge d'affaires level until the Cambodian Government could give the official explanation with appropriate actions to address the problem.

The violence comes after a Thai actress, Suwanan Kongying, allegedly said that Angkor Wat, Cambodia's top cultural icon, belonged to Thailand. She has denied making the comments.

The demonstration demanded a public apology from the popular actress while the Cambodian government called on the protesters to exercise restraint to prevent the further deterioration of the situation and diplomatic relation between the two neighboring countries.

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