Journalists freed, official removed

Thu, 13 Feb 2003 | Source: AP

CAMBODIA: Two journalists charged with inciting anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh were freed on bail on Tuesday, while the governor of the Cambodian capital lost his job in an apparent fallout from the incident as the two neighbor countries scrambled to mend ties.

The Thai king has asked his government to consider mending relations with Cambodia, after receiving a letter of apology for the riots from Cambodia's monarch.

Prime Minister Hun Sen decided to remove Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara late Monday, according to government spokesman Khieu Kanharith.

Thai newspapers have suggested that their government believed Chea Sophara bore some responsibility for the Jan. 29 violence. He is to be appointed Cambodia's ambassador to Myanmar. --AP

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