By Ek Madra
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia denied on Friday claims by a group trying to oust the Thai government that Bangkok had covertly ceded land near the disputed 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple on their joint border.
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said there was also no truth in the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) assertion that Thailand had backed Cambodia's bid to list the temple as a U.N. World Heritage Site in return for business concessions for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
"This has nothing to do with that. But these people used it as pretext for their own political exploitation," he told a news conference.
"Thailand did not lose any land -- not even a square centimeter or handprint," he said.
"They took up this issue for political purposes in their aims to topple the Thai government, which would hurt the cooperation and friendship with Cambodia."
Preah Vihear, built by Khmer kings in the 11th century at the start of the Angkorian period, sits on top of a jungle-clad escarpment that forms a natural boundary between Cambodia and Thailand and has been a source of tension for decades.
The site was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962 in a decision that rankles with most Thais.
The ruins were off-limits for much of the 1970s to the 1990s, while the temple and surrounding forest were occupied by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge.
Cambodia closed the temple again this week for fears a nationalist frenzy whipped up by the anti-Thaksin PAD and the opposition Democrat party during a no-confidence debate in parliament could turn into a major ruction.
Several dozen Thai activists with 40,000 signatures went to U.N. cultural agency offices and the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok calling for a delay in the listing until both countries had settled the dispute.
"We want to tell them that the people of Thailand disagree with what our stubborn government is doing," campaign leader Walwipha Charoonroj, who said she had received help from the PAD, told Reuters.
Fears of a major fallout over Preah Vihear are not fanciful, given that a nationalist mob torched the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh in 2003 over purported comments from a Thai soap star that Cambodia's Angkor Wat temples actually belonged to Thailand.
After the closure, Defence Minister Tea Banh denied a Thai newspaper report he was sending extra soldiers to the border, but said he was "watching the situation closely".
Tea Banh was quoted last month in Thai newspapers as saying Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, was looking to invest in a resort-style entertainment complex on the Cambodian island of Koh Kong.
(Additional reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan in Bangkok; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Jerry Norton)
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said there was also no truth in the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) assertion that Thailand had backed Cambodia's bid to list the temple as a U.N. World Heritage Site in return for business concessions for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
"This has nothing to do with that. But these people used it as pretext for their own political exploitation," he told a news conference.
"Thailand did not lose any land -- not even a square centimeter or handprint," he said.
"They took up this issue for political purposes in their aims to topple the Thai government, which would hurt the cooperation and friendship with Cambodia."
Preah Vihear, built by Khmer kings in the 11th century at the start of the Angkorian period, sits on top of a jungle-clad escarpment that forms a natural boundary between Cambodia and Thailand and has been a source of tension for decades.
The site was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962 in a decision that rankles with most Thais.
The ruins were off-limits for much of the 1970s to the 1990s, while the temple and surrounding forest were occupied by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge.
Cambodia closed the temple again this week for fears a nationalist frenzy whipped up by the anti-Thaksin PAD and the opposition Democrat party during a no-confidence debate in parliament could turn into a major ruction.
Several dozen Thai activists with 40,000 signatures went to U.N. cultural agency offices and the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok calling for a delay in the listing until both countries had settled the dispute.
"We want to tell them that the people of Thailand disagree with what our stubborn government is doing," campaign leader Walwipha Charoonroj, who said she had received help from the PAD, told Reuters.
Fears of a major fallout over Preah Vihear are not fanciful, given that a nationalist mob torched the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh in 2003 over purported comments from a Thai soap star that Cambodia's Angkor Wat temples actually belonged to Thailand.
After the closure, Defence Minister Tea Banh denied a Thai newspaper report he was sending extra soldiers to the border, but said he was "watching the situation closely".
Tea Banh was quoted last month in Thai newspapers as saying Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, was looking to invest in a resort-style entertainment complex on the Cambodian island of Koh Kong.
(Additional reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan in Bangkok; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Jerry Norton)
21 comments:
Shame on all the fire sparkers. Shit on you all.
remember in 2003 thailand said cambodia believed in rumor about a thai actress making wishful claim that angkor wat belongs to thailand; well, isn't this the same rumor that said mr. thaksin trade preah vihear for his business empire in cambodia. how stupid for thailand to claim like that. for one, preah vihear is not even theirs, and two, where is the evidence to link such accusation that his business deal was linked to preah vihear? so much of the pad thugs and their illegal gang members. no wonder cambodia hated them so much. i thought they would learn from the 2003 mistake, i guess they have not. god bless cambodia.
Thai Min Chol Kboun Youn Min chol Put. This is true from our old say.
Thailand needs to get real or otherwise Cambodia will not have good relationship with them for life.
We have a lot of countries to trade with. And we do not or will not accept Thai's products to be sold in Cambodia at all.
Plus Cambodian can live without them. We has been live without them for almost 30 years. It's just recently that we allow them to trade with us.
We have all Asian countries, without Thailand I'm sure that we will do fine.
HUN SEN needs to do better job in dealing with those Kapik Thai.
HUN SEN needs not to be strong only toward his own people.
HUN SEN needs to send the message to the Thai that is enough.
Preah Vihear is Khmer's belonging. And leave it alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What difference does it makes? Khmer loves to divide. At any rate, the Khmer in Thailand own the temple and the surrounding area. The French took it from them, but now, it must be returned to them because the French is no longer in Cambodia.
thai min chaul kborn,youn min chaul put.Now thai want to use Khmer living in thailand to work for them.Khmer are not stupid like before so stop dreaming.Preah Vihear is physically and lawfully belong to Cambodia.
I watched a program on TV calls"digging for the truth" is a production of Hunter Ellis showing that there wasn't thailand at all in the past few hundred year.thailand'land now was belong to Cambodia,so where they can get Presh Vihear from,Maybe from stealing...
Bullshit Siameses....you will be sent to hell. You stole our territory from our Khmer Empire...
You are the slave-thiefs of China...don't dream to devide Khmer anymore.
You are Siam Ach Kry = You Siamesese eat bullshit.
Reaj
Koo khon Thai You 8:09Am is Pen BAR Thee Thee!Prah Viharn is pen khong Khmen.
I BEAR !
So 8:09AM, You are saying that the French is not Cambodia anymore and give the temple back to Thailand??
Whare the hell you learn this history and what school you have gone to? Don't tell me you get your Phd from the stupid shcool?
So, we can say this too, Khmer have the right to claim all those provinces from Thai back too!!
Ha! Ha! Ha! So there!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My freind, may i correct you one thing. The old sayinmg should say " Khmer min chol khboun, Youn min chol put, Sieme sotrut min chol chechov" the meaning is that Khmer never abandon rule, You never abandon trick and stupid Siamese never abandon enoying.
Listen up Ah Karmen-Yuon, the Chinese was in the region first. Just because they were out number it doesn't mean anything. In any case, Chinese people (Yuon or Thai) are not interested in Hundu's art, you morons. Khmer in the Khmer Empire can't live together, so they divide, and some of them used Lao as protectorate, some used Yuon as protectorate, and some used Thai, while yet other used French as protectorate. But now the French are history, and you have to return everything back to the rightful Khmer owner, if you are smart, alright?
Too bad Khmer SUrin in Tahiland have taken side with Thailand for Khao Phra VIharn Issue.
Too bad that Khmer can't stand each other since day1.
don't sign any trade agreement with A Siam at all, if sign trade agreement with A Siam like sign our land to A Siam, I hope our Khmer PM should be wake up and not to be hungry dollars, from Cambodian Victim in Australia
Nope, it is better to sign trade with the Khmer-Thai than Ah Khmer-Yuon criminals.
Yes sadly the French is not International Court. The French gone but Preah Vihear stays, and so is Kor Troll. The International Court ruled in favor of Youn for Koh Troll, and Preah Vihear for Cambodia. FIN/
To 11:23PM
What did you say? What court rules that Koh Tral in favor of the Vietcong? Yeh right!
For your information, the whole Southeast Asia countries were drawn up into a map by the British and the French colonial masters and there is nothing can change that!
HEY 10:42 AM,AH thai slave for life,wake up,ah kbot jeat,you said khmer in thailand used thailand as your protector,but we khmer think that your type of khmer in thailand are love to be treated as a slave and a second class citizen by the tai people.Don't you know that or you just simply too blind or too dump to see that.Don't you know your own history or the thai already brainwashed you aleady??you should be ashame to claim such thing.Because of your type of khmer that thai was be able to divide us apart.you had khmer body but full of thai brain.I believe that not even 10% of khmer in thailand has your stupid idea,otherwisw the whole si sa ket,burriram and surin which are mostly khmer will joint the demonstration in thailand.and don't call yourself khmer anymore,we don't want your type of khmer kbot jeat.
proud to be khmer for life,the master of the slave thai.
4:19AM. Yea I knew about the British: divided India to 2: one is Pakistan and 1 stays India. Divided Malaysia to 2: 1 is Singapore and 1 stays Malysia. Koh Troll was not under the British, but French. The International court ruled in favor of Youn for what reason I didn't know but it did. So it's history? How about Preah Vihear? The International court ruled in favor of Cambodia, it still is not history?
Oh Yeahhh..
People create laws, and they don't usually obey the laws. Look at King of Thailand who supported the coup d'etat againt Thaksin. It was not democracy and it violated the Thai Constitution. King of Thailand abused the laws, humm..amaze isn't?
You know when the killer sits on the throne and controls all army, too powerful, it is history for every Thai to do anything. It's history for the late King who was shot on the head by his young brother (current King), albeit every Thai knows that this current King killed his own brother for the throne.
But remember, nothing is permanent, there will be another ones come and things will not going to be the same. What comes around goes around./FIN
GOD SAME CAMBODIA
4:19AM. Yea I knew about the British: divided India to 2: one is Pakistan and 1 stays India. Divided Malaysia to 2: 1 is Singapore and 1 stays Malysia. Koh Troll was not under the British, but French. The International court ruled in favor of Youn for what reason I didn't know but it did. So it's history? How about Preah Vihear? The International court ruled in favor of Cambodia, it still is not history?
Oh Yeahhh..
People create laws, and they don't usually obey the laws. Look at King of Thailand who supported the coup d'etat againt Thaksin. It was not democracy and it violated the Thai Constitution. King of Thailand abused the laws, humm..amaze isn't?
You know when the killer sits on the throne and controls all army, too powerful, it is history for every Thai to do anything. It's history for the late King who was shot on the head by his young brother (current King), albeit every Thai knows that this current King killed his own brother for the throne.
But remember, nothing is permanent, there will be another ones come and things will not going to be the same. What comes around goes around./FIN
GOD SAVE CAMBODIA
They said King Phumibol never smiled. How can he smile if when the glass scattered during the assassination of his old brother, the late King, and a small piece of glass got into one of his eye?
He is blinded one eye and may be one of smiling nerve was dead, that's why he cannot smile.
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