PHNOM PENH (AFP)
CAMBODIAN premier Hun Sen (pictured) on Monday said the head of Southeast Asia's regional body was unsuitable for the job, accusing him of 'crazy work' for reportedly questioning a recent rocket drill.
Mr Hun Sen was responding to comments printed in local newspapers attributed to Surin Pitsuwan, the secretary-general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) and a citizen of Thailand, with which Cambodia has tense relations. 'I think that his excellency Surin Pitsuwan is not suitable as Asean secretary general,' Mr Hun Sen said during a speech on national radio, adding: 'If you are stupid, don't do it'.
Cambodian newspapers carried reports by Malaysia's Bernama news agency quoting Dr Surin as saying that 'Cambodia might have signaled as though the region was unstable' by firing rockets last week during a border dispute with Thailand.
But Mr Hun Sen said Cambodian troops were merely testing equipment when they fired some 200 rockets last Thursday at an airfield 180 kilometres from the Thai border. His speech to disabledCambodian military veterans in southern Kampot province went on to accuse Dr Surin of 'crazy work' interfering in Cambodian affairs.
The premier pointed out that leaders of other Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, showed no concerns about the test, and called for Surin to retract his statement or face a confrontation when leaders meet next month in Hanoi. 'If he doesn't make a correction I will attack this secretary general during the Asean meeting,' Mr Hun Sen said.
Addressing Dr Surin directly in the speech, he added: 'You must make a correction... The rockets did not hit your head.'
Mr Hun Sen was responding to comments printed in local newspapers attributed to Surin Pitsuwan, the secretary-general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) and a citizen of Thailand, with which Cambodia has tense relations. 'I think that his excellency Surin Pitsuwan is not suitable as Asean secretary general,' Mr Hun Sen said during a speech on national radio, adding: 'If you are stupid, don't do it'.
Cambodian newspapers carried reports by Malaysia's Bernama news agency quoting Dr Surin as saying that 'Cambodia might have signaled as though the region was unstable' by firing rockets last week during a border dispute with Thailand.
But Mr Hun Sen said Cambodian troops were merely testing equipment when they fired some 200 rockets last Thursday at an airfield 180 kilometres from the Thai border. His speech to disabledCambodian military veterans in southern Kampot province went on to accuse Dr Surin of 'crazy work' interfering in Cambodian affairs.
The premier pointed out that leaders of other Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, showed no concerns about the test, and called for Surin to retract his statement or face a confrontation when leaders meet next month in Hanoi. 'If he doesn't make a correction I will attack this secretary general during the Asean meeting,' Mr Hun Sen said.
Addressing Dr Surin directly in the speech, he added: 'You must make a correction... The rockets did not hit your head.'
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