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Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - who has suspended diplomatic and commercial contacts with Cambodia and ordered the closure of the Thai border in response to the violence - accused an unnamed Cambodian politician of inciting anti-Thai sentiment ahead of this year's general elections in Cambodia. Bangkok newspapers described the remark as a "thinly veiled" reference to Mr Hun Sen.
The influential Nation newspaper yesterday blamed Mr Hun Sen for the worst violence to hit Phnom Penh since a coup in 1997 and accused him of failing to stop the rioting, which forced the emergency evacuation of more than 700 Thai nationals.
"Hun Sen compromised the dignity of his office when he resorted to the incitement of a mob mentality and appealed to the basest brand of nationalism," the newspaper said.
Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy backed claims that the ruling Cambodian People's Party had manipulated the unrest for political advantage. "If Phnom Penh wanted to prevent such violence, it could have done so. It is hard to see something degenerating so intensively without the complicity of the authorities," he said.
Phnom Penh-based diplomats and political analysts said the apparently systematic attacks on the embassy and other Thai properties - and the initial refusal of police and firefighters to help - reinforced suggestions of political manipulation.
Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh accused opposition elements of stirring the violence to discredit the government ahead of the elections and denied Mr Hun Sen had been responsible for the unrest.
The authorities claimed that another unsubstantiated rumour spread on Wednesday - that the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok had been attacked and a number of diplomats killed - had been the real trigger for the violence.
Among 147 people arrested on Thursday was the manager of a Phnom Penh radio station accused by officials of broadcasting false reports about the attack in Bangkok.
Mr Thaksin yesterday welcomed a formal diplomatic apology delivered by the Cambodian government and a promise to pay compensation for the destruction of the embassy.
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