Envoy fails to end tension after soap star's 'insult'

City riots - Cambodia's diplomatic efforts find cool response in Thailand after violence in Phnom Penh targets ethnic minority

Sam Rainsy, leader of Cambodia's political opposition, flew to Thailand yesterday to try to explain the xenophobic riots that forced 700 Thais to flee the smouldering capital of Phnom Penh last week. But he ended up held in protective custody, then bundled on the next plane to Singapore.

Tensions are still running high between the two neighbouring countries. Cambodians are barred from entering Thailand, and vice versa. Glum gamblers are penned up near the frontier, making desultory bets on when Thais might be allowed to cross over to the Cambodian casinos.

Despite a grovelling apology from the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, plus a promise of £14m compensation for damage to the Thai embassy, three hotels and Thai-owned businesses in Phnom Penh on Wednesday night, the rift will take some time to heal. It did not help that one of the businesses firebombed was the mobile phone firm owned by the family of Thailand's Prime Minster, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Unlikely as it seems, the violence was triggered by an "insult" from the former ice skating champion Kob ­ otherwise Suwanan Konyig, 24, andnowThailand's hottest soap star ­ who was misquoted in the Khmer press as refusing to visit Cambodia until the temple of Angkor Wat was returned to Thailand.

Such apparent Thai arrogance sent Cambodian youths berserk. The ninth-century temple is a Khmer national treasure; it appears on the country's flag and on its currency. Centuries-old animosities have also been compounded by a resentment of Thailand's wealth and cultural dominance over Cambodia.

After Kob's alleged remark, Hun Sen had lashed out at the Thai celebrity, berating fans for displaying her posters instead of dignified photos of the monarch. He banned a broadcast of her TV show, and said the actress was "not worth as much as the grass that grows at Angkor Wat". It turned out her remark was fabricated, possibly by a cosmetics firm wanting to spark a boycott of the Miss Teen make-up that Kob advertises.

Yesterday, the editor of Rasmei Angkor, the paper which first ran the quote, was charged with inciting criminal violence and disseminating false information.

After the riots, there were retaliatory attacks in Bangkok in which Cambodians, allegedly, were killed. In fact, the counter-demonstrations were largely peaceful.

Analysts say the violence in Cambodia, on that scale, could not have happened without the consent of the Cambodian leader ­ police were seen to be slow in warning off the rioters, and the firefighters arrived late.

Since then, diplomatic ties have been downgraded and bilateral projects temporarily suspended.

But the Cambodian Foreign Minister, Hor Namhong, is due to visit Bangkok this week to mend fences. A government spokesman, Khieu Kanharith, admitted: "We did not expect this to go this far."