Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Despite protests, secret temple pact signed

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
TNA (Thailand)

Thailand and Cambodia on Wednesday signed a joint communique on the Preah Vihear temple, freeing the Phnom Penh government to apply for listing as a World Heritage Site without Thai dissent.

The Thai-Cambodian Joint Communique was signed behind closed doors, after which Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and other senior officials told journalists that the new map delineating the temple ruins, prepared by Cambodian authorities, as well as its application to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) to list Preah Vihear on the World Heritage List did "not affect each country's rights on surveying and demarcating the common border".

Both countries will jointly plan to manage overlapping areas in line with international standards and submit them to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for consideration by February 1, 2010, Mr Noppadon said.

Phnom Penh will propose Preah Vihear to be listed as a World Heritage Site at a meeting in Quebec between July 2-10.

Denying charges of conflict of interest by the opposition Democrat Party and the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy, Mr Noppadon said the new Cambodian map did "not violate even an inch of Thai territory" and there was no hidden agenda.

He denied that Thailand's approval of the new Cambodian map would help ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra invest in an oil project in Cambodian territorial waters. Admitting that Mr Thaksin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen are friends, he nevertheless said he did not know whether the latter would give any favours to Mr Thaksin.

Meanwhile, Lt-Gen. Dan Meechoo-arth, director of the Supreme Command's Royal Thai Survey Department, said his subordinates had surveyed the disputed area for the first time in the past few decades and by using innovative equipment, he could confirm that Cambodia did not encroach on Thai territory in its application for Preah Vihear to be listed as World Heritage site.

Veerasak Footrakul, permanent secretary for the Thai Foreign Ministry, said a tripartite committee would be appointed and discuss how to supervise the undemarcated 4.6-square kilometres.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

it's good that the thai authority wins over the so-called democratic party hardcore which is a bunch of thugs, if you ask me. sometimes, it will take someone higher in the position of authority to know right from wrong, and it's true anywhere in the world as well. if it's up to the common or ordinary people, the world wouldn't have peace at all, to say the least as no one seem to agree on a personal level.

anyway, that said, yes, the preah vihear temple is cambodia's, and the so-called overlapping areas of "4.6 km2" can be worked on further down the road, maybe to benefit both countries in the business area of the inevitable outcome of the listing of cambodia's preah vihear temple to unesco which will safeguard and protect this sacred ancient khmer sites for cambodians and the world to appreciate further the extend and power of the once mighty khmer empire that gone but not forgotten by cambodia and the whole wide world to enjoy.

again, that said, thailand must not let its ignorant people in the democratic party mix the two issues up to confuse themselves further, meaning the actual temple and the so-called "4.6 km2" area are two separate issues here as we speak. one was already settled by world court ruling and was permanent despite some ignorant thai still say they did not agree with the court. well, tough luck, ruling was permanent and should not have any more discussion of who owns it now; however the "4.6 km2 area" is a different story altogether as that is still in "dispute" with cambodia. maybe that dispute area can be worked out by both countries to jointly develop or something, depends on the diplomatic negotiation on it goes. but not the temple as cambodia not cannot negotiate about it. clear make to remind people that temple and land dispute are really two separate things here, don't mix the two things up, thus confuse your thai people more as cambodia or khmer people is very clear about it. good luck with your negotiation with cambodia on the land dispute issue. temple is out of the question; don't even try!