SARITDET MARUKATAT
Bangkok Post
The joint statement by Thailand and Cambodia backing Phnom Penh's bid to put Preah Vihear temple on the World Heritage list did not need approval from parliament, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said yesterday. Mr Samak used his weekly national television address to explain the issue for the first time, saying the document attached to a map showing the boundary of the temple could be approved by the government.
''Article 190 cannot be applied to this,'' he said.
The article states any treaty or agreement affecting Thai boundaries and sovereignty must be passed through parliament.
Mr Samak said the decision to ask the World Heritage Committee, which is under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), to approve the temple for listing was ''Cambodia's business''.
Thailand only wanted to make sure the 4.6-square-kilometre area which both countries claim was excluded from the Cambodian plan, he added.
Some senators opposing the position had demanded the government get parliamentary approval for the statement, citing the consequences of the decision on future demarcation talks on the overlapping area between Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear.
Krit Kraichitti, the director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department, said the joint statement was not a treaty because it only demonstrated support for the Cambodian bid.
''Preah Vihear is under Cambodian sovereignty and on Cambodian soil,'' the Foreign Ministry official said.
The department has sole responsibility for all treaties and agreements affecting Thailand. Despite different opinions on the joint statement, it could not be defined as a document affecting Thailand's sovereignty and borderlines, he said.
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An signed the joint statement on Tuesday, soon after cabinet endorsement.
''The Thai support on this issue is Thailand's political will. It has nothing to do with the treaty,'' Mr Krit said.
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has used the Preah Vihear issue to attack the government.
Its leaders urged the prime minister to stop the move to register the temple by Cambodia, saying it should not be a unilateral effort by Phnom Penh. They criticised the prime minister for admitting that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
''Article 190 cannot be applied to this,'' he said.
The article states any treaty or agreement affecting Thai boundaries and sovereignty must be passed through parliament.
Mr Samak said the decision to ask the World Heritage Committee, which is under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), to approve the temple for listing was ''Cambodia's business''.
Thailand only wanted to make sure the 4.6-square-kilometre area which both countries claim was excluded from the Cambodian plan, he added.
Some senators opposing the position had demanded the government get parliamentary approval for the statement, citing the consequences of the decision on future demarcation talks on the overlapping area between Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear.
Krit Kraichitti, the director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department, said the joint statement was not a treaty because it only demonstrated support for the Cambodian bid.
''Preah Vihear is under Cambodian sovereignty and on Cambodian soil,'' the Foreign Ministry official said.
The department has sole responsibility for all treaties and agreements affecting Thailand. Despite different opinions on the joint statement, it could not be defined as a document affecting Thailand's sovereignty and borderlines, he said.
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An signed the joint statement on Tuesday, soon after cabinet endorsement.
''The Thai support on this issue is Thailand's political will. It has nothing to do with the treaty,'' Mr Krit said.
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has used the Preah Vihear issue to attack the government.
Its leaders urged the prime minister to stop the move to register the temple by Cambodia, saying it should not be a unilateral effort by Phnom Penh. They criticised the prime minister for admitting that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
7 comments:
PM Samak Sundaravej is correct. The executive branch of government needn't get any blessing from other branches just to allowed Cambodia to list the Khmer-Thai's Temple as world's heritage.
Preah Vihea is Khmer Temple and in Cambodian territory. There are still people want to confuse the issue by saying it is Khmer-Thai temple that is completely wrong.
Actually there are many other Khmer Temples that are located in Thailand at the moment.
That's what the French said, but we don't give a rat ass about the French.
You Siamese should listen to your MP SAMAK.P he's the first hand minister who is well aware of consequance, do not go by your leader (PAD) who is drivelling leader could cause more bad than god for the Siamthai interest just shummed him should not be take to account as parnership such insane leader.
listen to your authority, your prime minister. he is right and knows what the law is in regards to preah vihear. so stop your nonsense protest to further embarrass your country, pad thugs!
anyway, yes, mr. samak is hitting the nail right on the head when he said: it's "cambodia's business" to do with preah vihear and the map shown. even a khmer person like me can understand that. so there!
trust me, cambodia can see that the pad thugs are the one who is running thailand, not their elected gov't. so sad for thailand, maybe it's a sign of bad things to come for thailand's future as only time will tell.
indeed, this is the thai clever tactic to use pad (people's alliance for democracy) thugs in the name of democracy which backed by a special interest group and their military that what is really driving the direction of the thailand's gov't all along. now it is slowly revealed to cambodia and the world to see in plain, clear sight. very clever indeed. i hope the world will think differently from these pad thugs when it comes to doing the right thing, fairly and reasonably in the name of laws and orders as they seem like a bunch of lawless special interest groups that got together to steer thailand as they themselves see and want without regard to other people and nation like cambodia, for instance, not to mention they grossly violated the 1907 treaty and the 1962 court ruling on behalf of cambodia and our preah vihear temple. i hope unesco will uphold the law and factual evidence to evict them from meddling in cambodia's internal affairs to protect our temple. god bless cambodia.
Yes I agreed with you 2:06AM I hope uphold this law indeed.
May god bless Cambodia!
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