Saturday, June 21, 2008

In 1907 Siam requested France to draw up a border demarcation map, one century later, Thailand renege on its agreement

Get priorities right

THAI RATH noted that a chorus of opinion has criticised the government as being more concerned with solving its own political problems than with stemming the rising cost of living faced by the Thai people

Saturday June 21, 2008
KAMOL HENGKIETISAK
Bangkok Post

As had been expected, the government's performance for the past 4 months has received a thumbs down by eminent economists, especially the Commerce Ministry, which Prof Ammar Siamwalla, TDRI chairman, cited as having no policy on rice as the government flip-flopped constantly. One day it said it would help paddy farmers, the next day it said it would help consumers. One day it said it would sell blue-flag cheap packed rice, another day it said it would stop selling cheap rice, noted a Thai Rath editorial.

Former commerce minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula also criticised the ministry for interfering in the rice market and distorting the pricing mechanism, making the situation worse.

The TDRI chairman said the Samak Sundaravej government had no plan to solve the country's economic problems. However, Dr Ammar praised the Samak administration for not distorting the oil supply mechanism by using the oil fund to subsidise diesel, as was the case during the administration of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawattra.

The Thai Rath writer noted that Prof Ammar's evaluation of the Samak administration was in accord with opinions expressed by the media and the general public that criticised the government as being more concerned with solving its own political problems than with stemming the rising cost of living faced by the Thai people. This attitude was not unlike the Burmese junta, who insisted that Burmese citizens must vote in the referendum to accept the draft constitution even when millions of them were going hungry due to the devastation of Cyclone Nargis early last month.

According to a Ramkhamhaeng poll released on May 25, 2008, about 92.6% of the sampled population wanted the government to urgently tackle economic problems, while a tiny number, just 4.5%, believed that amending the constitution should be the government's priority. Sadly, the government did not pay heed to the poll results, said Thai Rath.

The writer then cited an Abac poll which found 87.8% of sampled people were dissatisfied with politicians' performance, 61.5% expressed concern that amending the constitution would lead to violence, and 38.6% recommended the government reshuffle the cabinet. The problem was, the leading candidate that people wanted ousted was none other than Samak Sundaravej, followed closely by Interior Minister Chalerm Yubamrung.

Thai Rath concluded by saying that since this reshuffle was obviously not going to happen, the alternative is for the government to prioritise its policies, especially on economics, which should be coordinated toward a definite goal, and not carried out haphazardly by various ministries as is the case now.

BMTA bus leasing controversy

Even though Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared that the government had done everything transparently during its 4 months in office, the opposition still insisted on filing a censure motion against certain cabinet ministers, especially Transport Minister Santi Promphat and Deputy Transport Minister Songsak Thongsri, for proposing that the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) lease 6,000 NGV buses from a private firm at a cost of 110 billion baht, to replace old diesel buses, noted a Thai Rath writer.

Some believe that the reported leasing cost is about one million baht per bus over the real cost and that politicians are pocketing the difference.

In fact, the prospect of leasing NGV buses from China once surfaced during the Surayud Chulanont government and generated some news, but the project was shelved. The writer noted that he had written an article cautioning the government at the time that the made-in-China buses would be of lower quality than the Euro II buses now in use by the BMTA.

Now that the leasing plan has come up again, he wanted to insist the bus specifications conform to international standards and the contract opened for general bidding in a transparent manner. It would not do if the government let the BMTA conclude the deal secretly with only one supplier.

In principle, the writer agreed that the government should act to solve the accumulated debt problems shouldered by the BMTA - 69 billion baht and ballooning toward 100 billion baht. Just paying the interest to service the debt is beyond the capability of the BMTA.

The writer noted that one of the main reasons the BMTA continues to amass ever bigger losses each year is that most buses run on diesel, which rises in cost practically every week. The fuel cost represents nearly 60% of the collected fares. But even if the government allowed periodic fare increases, said Thai Rath, the BMTA would still face losses as it is bloated with bureaucracy. At present, there are five staff for every bus, much higher than the ratio for private bus operators.

The plan to reduce personnel is to borrow 3.5 billion baht from the Finance Ministry to pay compensation for dismissed personnel. The BMTA would then return the principal to the ministry at the rate of about 500 million baht a year.

The selling of 3,100 diesel buses was expected to earn one billion baht, to be used as capital to lease 6,000 NGV buses, which will reduce fuel cost by 60%. As mentioned, the opposition Democrats are charging that the leasing fee is excessive. The condition that the government is most unlikely to agree with is for the Finance Ministry to take over the 69 billion baht in accumulated losses from the BMTA, concluded Thai Rath.

Preah Vihear revisited

Recently the Samak Sundaravej administration agreed with the Cambodian government in its application to Unesco to declare Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site. The most contentious point is whether or not a part of the Preah Vihear site is located on Thai soil, noted a Matichon writer.

The reason the Cambodian government needed the Thai government's approval before submitting the application is that this is still very much disputed by some, as it has yet to be settled permanently by clear-cut demarcation line. If the Cambodian government submitted the application without consent from Thailand in July next month during the Unesco meeting in Canada, it is unlikely it would be successful.

The Preah Vihear issue became big news when Lt Gen Pitsanu Pujjakarn, former Defence Ministry spokesman, expressed publicly that the Defence Council was worried that Cambodia would encroach on Thai territory if Preah Vihear was declared a World Heritage Site, because both countries still claim parts of a buffer zone around the area.

Looking back, Preah Vihear is the last territory that Thailand ceded to a foreign country. From 1904 to 1908, France, as Cambodia's protector, concluded a few treaties with Siam. The treaty signed on 13 July 1904 stated that disputed territory shall use a mountain range as the demarcation criteria and that a joint border committee would be appointed to survey the disputed areas.

In 1907 Siam requested France to draw up a border demarcation map. France agreed and submitted one to Siam. The map included Preah Vihear on the Cambodian side. This map was later used by an independent Cambodia to claim sovereignty over the Preah Vihear temple when Cambodia took Thailand to the World Court at the Hague, Netherlands for an arbitration settlement in the early 1960s.

Thailand argued that the French map was not drawn by a joint border committee, and thus could not bind Thailand, and also said the map did not use the mountain range as demarcation criteria.

However the Thai border committee did not express opposition to the map in a timely manner during the committee meeting in Bangkok in 1909, and Thailand's own map by the Mapping Department also indicated clearly that Preah Vihear was in Cambodia's territory. During the reconciliation talk in Washington DC in 1947, Thailand did not raise any objections to the map.

For this reason, the World Court decided that the French map was legitimate and awarded Preah Vihear to Cambodia on June 15, 1962.

Now some wonder if history may be repeating itself with a renewed boundary dispute. When the Samak administration agreed to the Cambodian-drawn map outlining the Preah Vihear area for the Unesco World Heritage Site, some were questioning whether the site encroached on a 4.6 sq.km. area claimed by both countries. The Matichon writer wanted to remind Mr Samak to be careful before signing the agreement, and not allow Cambodia to claim any Thai territory under the pretext of being the protector of a World Heritage Site.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

what wrong to all AH CHHHCHORT SIAM ( E BAR SIAM )why they never leave KHMER a lone?( E BAR SIAM..)

Anonymous said...

Ah Siems accusing Khmer as "encroaching" in their territory????? Ah Siems have always been the land grabbing theives of the Khmer territory. So Ah Siems need to learn the facts. Look at all the way they transliterate the Khmer words into their language. This alone is evidence already. Ah Siems really need to stop claiming of Khmer territory is the fact to be told instead.

Anonymous said...

Does Siam know that they are in fact Khmer origional? Hello! The Angkorian Empire stretched across most part of The South East Asia and The Angkorian Empire are Khmer people!!! People fighted spliting up the country into pieces, but did the people actually leave the area? No way! they got their seven generations living in that area, leaving?!! ah! ah! their rear ends were clued to the ground. As time went by and all of those influences by the new rulers turning tham all into Ah Mok! and that how Siam are today. They are Ah Mok!!! know nothing! see nothing! hear nothing! All of their asses are dumb as a bat until today and they have the gut to fight tooth and nail with their Mother Land ( Khmer ). Shame on you Siam! You stupid.

Anonymous said...

Yeah! you dumb ass Mr. Thai ( chai or lice in Khmer). Even my cat knows better.

Anonymous said...

Most of Asian people, except Khmer should be better educated today. They should accept the truth and knowing where they were 1000 years or 4000 years ago.Cambodia should be the sacred shrine or The Meca of the South East. Thailand Vietnam, Loas, Burma, Malaysia, Brunei and the countries near by should know exactly that Cambodia is their roots. You are better today, because you got Angkorian blood in your vein before everybody else added something new into it.. So don't turn your back on her ( Cambodia ). It just isn't nice.

Anonymous said...

How can Khmer encroached on Khmer's land?

Anonymous said...

This is because Khmer does not have a strong military power. Add to that the fact we have a corrupt dictator who care more about his pocket than the country. So our two neighbor can practically do whatever they want.
Of course they get whatever they want.

Everybody is focus on Preah Vihear, how about the Siam stealing 20km of land from Pailin.

These thing is going to last until their is no Cambodia anymore.

Anonymous said...

When it comes to border issue the CPP and the king supporter are not there to voice their opinions. How amazing! Common guys it's time tell us something what's the plan for this?
By the way giving more land to the Siam and the Vietcong is not a plan!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes you're right 10:00PM Ah Siam is not going anywhere because of the crony Cambodian's GV'T. Ah Siam has a big plan to invated our homeland and to help HUN SEN stay in POWER, since Cambodia felt Ah Siamese GV'T enrichment themselve to buy the militare hardware in and await for the right moment, then their action is to trick HUn SEN bullying Khmer waiting response from his reaction!..this is one of their cunning behavior.
God bless Kmer all!.. Down to Ah SiamTai!.. I BAR - MAIR- MAENG!..

Anonymous said...

both side ( siam and Yuon ) are knock us down but our soul stay strongly and firm to bare back with peace .25 years of Yuon controled cambodia about passed.according the source said
we all are waiting from King back home and what news and what step we move forward.
great people of khmer history and unity in khmer world.

Anonymous said...

the way i see it, thailand is buying time, hoping that time can erase any treaty and any lawful agreement. very clever, indeed. not so!!!!!!! says cambodia and the world lawful community. maybe in the dark ages they can do that, but in today's society where all people live by the rule of laws, that's not going to happen like that again, maybe in their dream only. but again, cambodia also have our dreams too, in fact a big dream that one day we regain back our precious khmer land back from the thieves who stole it in the first place and still thinking about doing it non-stop, even in the 2008 world. not!!!!

the law is the law and they will hear it again and again. they have to respect the court's ruling and the treaty that was made into law once and for all, and can not be reneged at will like thailand or the pad thugs think that they can just do it at their own liking and will. that is so illegal and nobody will listen to that kind of unlawful demand. god bless cambodia.

PS: if thailand kept on pushing this, i advice cambodia to take them to court again for the very last time for a permanent decision, and this time time they may lose more than what they are bargainig for as the cambodia and the world is so sick and tired of them harrassing and violation cambodia's sovereignty non-stop. tough already!

Anonymous said...

i think our politicians are keeping a low-profile right now as they are waiting to see decision from unesco, etc..., that said, it doesn't mean cambodia is blinded or didn't care about our sovereignty; we are just waiting as everything takes time to review, etc... please be patient, my khmer brothers and sisters, gov't cares about it, too, but we are very patient, unless the thai thugs! plus, we know really well that when push comes to shove, the international law of justice will prevail in favor of cambodia. just watch and see. thank you and god bless cambodia and our beautiful khmer people.

Anonymous said...

When we are smaller and weaker, off course Thailand (and Vietnam)wants to take abvantage of us Khmer. We started our decline in the last Angkor period (in the 14 th century), when we changed our religion from brahmanism to buddhism. Buddhism forbids the 4 kamas : sex, ambition, killing, and alcohol. These 4 Buddha teachings are our problems. In the 14th century to now, we need to increase our population, kill the expansionist ennemies (thai & Youn), and to have some ambition in protecting our belongings (our land).

Anonymous said...

good point, 2:27am, i think sometime our lenient buddhist religion which, believe it or not, has a strong influence on our khmer mentality and belief and our ways of dealing with the human being, the enemies, etc..., perhaps, it is ok to adjust or reform or even adopt or modify a little some aspect of the buddhist principles that required very strict guideline. this is good if there were only cambodia and khmer people on the planet, but look around, when the world is made up of so much races and religions, maybe khmer people need to find a middle path so that we don't lose out too much , especially if we allow others like the culprit thais and vietcongs, who seemed to always steal our land and our belonging since ancient times and still wanted or continues to do again and again as we speak. perhaps, it is an enlightenment or a wakening for khmer nation to rise up and adjust or adopt a suitable way to maintain and protect our khmer race and country like our ancestors did when they adopted from india, the arts, the religions, the political system, language, alphabet, etc..., they incorporated all of that ideas or concepts into khmer and, thus we see a great or strong influence from india, however with a strong khmer identity and uniqueness. and khmer people can do this again. sometimes, learning from our great, rich history is also good, not just foreign history, but our own as well.

i think the KR wanted to do just that but they either didn't know how to do it the right way or they were just overdo it, especially when they started the policy of killing and starving their own people, they failed totally. never kill you own people, instead, invest in your own country and people is always a good practice and philosophy to have.

so, perhaps, it is ok for cambodia to reform in our way of thinking and seeing the world just a little while still maintaining our khmer strong identity and uniqueness. this is a smart and clever way. may god bless the khmer people and cambodia to see and think clearly. thank you.

PS: i say, there are a certain thing we keep and a certain thing we should get rid of, especially if that certain thing is in the way of our own personal growth, happiness and if it is detrimental to our national interest, etc... it is good to have analytical skills and to think before we do something. god bless.

Anonymous said...

respect the 1907 treaty, thailand! whether you disagreed with it is irrelevant because everything has a statue of limitation, can't wait forever. the 1907 treaty was a lawful treaty between cambodia (under france then) and siam (thailand then). plus, the 1962 court saw the same thing and expect you people to respect the law. so, don't come back after almost a century to say that you did not agree or that france was a foreigner or whatever because the law is always the law and you are not above the law!

Anonymous said...

consider yourself lucky, thailand. if it weren't for france, cambodia would have regained all of our loss khmer provinces back already. so stop bitching about the fact that the treaty was signed by france and siam, then. stop pretending that you didn't know that france represents cambodia at that time? enough already! go on with your business and stop harrassing and violating cambodia's sovereignty! preah vihear is not yours!

Anonymous said...

There is no such as Siam requested France to draw up a border demarcation map, Mee Jkout (Socheata). Who in their right mind, on this planet, would ever does that?

Anonymous said...

no part of preah vihear is yours; all of it, including the 4.6 km2 belongs to cambodia. you siems are lucky that the french, then use the dongrek mountain chain as the boundary lines. if it's up to cambodia, our boundary is all of isan, trad, chanborei, etc..., not the dongrek mountain chain. so there! since when did cambodia give you the rights to our old khmer provinces? just because cambodia accepted you and allowed you to come and live on our ancestral lands didn't give you criminals the rights to say that those lands are yours. i'm sure, if it's world war three or something, cambodia will reclaim most if not all of our former territories back. nothing can last forever, watch!

Anonymous said...

Mayb,e but it's illegal for the French to make any decision here. This is not Europe, in case you don't know.

Anonymous said...

Khmer don't need billions of army to confront Thailand and Vietnam.Khmer need wisdom and time,
Khmer need UN and powerful country for support.
Thank you!!!!May God bless all.

Anonymous said...

That's what the Khmer-Thai, Khmer-Lao and Ah Khmer-Yuon used to say. The Khmer-Thai used to say, "We needed a Powerful Chinese (called Siem) to defend us from the Khmer in Cambodia", while Ah Khmer-Yuon used to say, "We needed a Power Chinese (called Yuon) do defend us from Khmer in Cambodia, and the same for Khmer-Lao, and that is how Cambodia becomes smaller and smaller over the centuries. Nothing has changed over the centuries to present days.

Anonymous said...

To 9:58am,

Did you just born a few days ago? " Your statement " May be, but it's illegal for the French to make any decision here. This is not Europe in case you don't know know" No! you the one that don't know anything around the 19th century! England attacked Burma and on her way to Thailand. France ruled most part of Asia. You Thai people will face the crocodile in the water and the tiger at top of the river bank or be dead if you're not becareful with France in the 19th century. Now tell us can you people affort to fight England ? and also with France right behind your rear end at the same time? Your King and your people's had all of you people's heads down on the floor begging France to keep Thailand be at peace. Remmeber? and who was the mother of Cambodia at that time??? You attack her mother, you're dead big boy! Anything else???!!! or just go and do your own research. You're too stupid. don't want to waste time with stupid people.

Anonymous said...

If Thai wants to claim Preah Vihear temple and surrounding area are belonging to them, why don't Khmer government claims back Khmer Surin and other Khmers who live in several provinces in Thailand back from Thai?

Those lands are belonging to Khmer since Khmer Angkor.

The Khmer government needs to claim back Kampuchea Krom Back from Hanoi too. But, with this Hun Sen government rule, we won't see that happen. We keep lost territory to Hanoi and Siem because we have the stupid Khmer leader and king.

Anonymous said...

Well, in democratic society, you'll need a referendum to claim anything. So when would you like to have some referendum to see what belongs to who?