Bangkok POST REPORTERS
The Foreign Ministry will issue a White Paper to explain its handling of the Preah Vihear temple issue with Cambodia. Virasakdi Futrakul, the permanent secretary for foreign affairs, said the White Paper, which will be in Thai and English, is expected to be issued early next month. It will be distributed to the public once available.
He said the ministry had never changed the negotiating team, which was made up of legal experts in its dealings with Cambodia.
The team leader, Virachai Plasai, was removed as Treaties and Legal Affairs Department chief after Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama assumed office after the general election.
''The negotiating team is still the same team. The deputy negotiator during the Unesco-brokered meeting in France [last month] was Thai ambassador Thana Duangrattana, who was the former chief of Treaties and Legal Affairs. He knows the Preah Vihear temple issues well and the borderline,'' said Mr Virasakdi.
He said the Foreign Ministry was not the only agency involved in the talks with Cambodia. Other security agencies including the Royal Thai Army, the National Security Council (NSC) and the Royal Thai Survey Department also took part in the process.
''We worked like an iron fist in satin gloves. Part of the success must be credited to the military too because it worked in coordination with its Cambodian counterpart,'' said the permanent secretary. He said the government had done its best to protect Thai sovereignty under the framework of existing international laws.
For the 4.6-square-kilometre overlapping zone next to the temple, Mr Virasakdi said it would be demarcated in the future as it has been included in the working plan.
''Cambodia's registration of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site will not affect the borderline under the 1962 cabinet resolution and the overlapping areas will be the responsibility of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission to discuss further,'' he said.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday it will ask the World Heritage Committee to postpone its consideration of the Cambodian request.
Mr Virasakdi said the World Heritage Committee only listened to government representatives and the Senate committee might be wasting its time.
Preeyanantana Rangsit, a senate member, took Mr Noppodon to task in parliament for allegedly trying to rush through the temple deal with Cambodia.
In a query raised during an upper house meeting, M.R. Preeyanantana asked why the minister endorsed the Cambodian proposal in a rush and the ministry did not bargain with Phnom Penh to make Thailand a co-host of the proposal.
The senator said the Foreign Ministry had failed to keep the public informed about Preah Vihear as required under Article 109 of the constitution.
Article 109 requires the government to inform the public about any international agreement it is planning with another country as well as seeking approval from the parliament.
He said the ministry had never changed the negotiating team, which was made up of legal experts in its dealings with Cambodia.
The team leader, Virachai Plasai, was removed as Treaties and Legal Affairs Department chief after Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama assumed office after the general election.
''The negotiating team is still the same team. The deputy negotiator during the Unesco-brokered meeting in France [last month] was Thai ambassador Thana Duangrattana, who was the former chief of Treaties and Legal Affairs. He knows the Preah Vihear temple issues well and the borderline,'' said Mr Virasakdi.
He said the Foreign Ministry was not the only agency involved in the talks with Cambodia. Other security agencies including the Royal Thai Army, the National Security Council (NSC) and the Royal Thai Survey Department also took part in the process.
''We worked like an iron fist in satin gloves. Part of the success must be credited to the military too because it worked in coordination with its Cambodian counterpart,'' said the permanent secretary. He said the government had done its best to protect Thai sovereignty under the framework of existing international laws.
For the 4.6-square-kilometre overlapping zone next to the temple, Mr Virasakdi said it would be demarcated in the future as it has been included in the working plan.
''Cambodia's registration of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site will not affect the borderline under the 1962 cabinet resolution and the overlapping areas will be the responsibility of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission to discuss further,'' he said.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday it will ask the World Heritage Committee to postpone its consideration of the Cambodian request.
Mr Virasakdi said the World Heritage Committee only listened to government representatives and the Senate committee might be wasting its time.
Preeyanantana Rangsit, a senate member, took Mr Noppodon to task in parliament for allegedly trying to rush through the temple deal with Cambodia.
In a query raised during an upper house meeting, M.R. Preeyanantana asked why the minister endorsed the Cambodian proposal in a rush and the ministry did not bargain with Phnom Penh to make Thailand a co-host of the proposal.
The senator said the Foreign Ministry had failed to keep the public informed about Preah Vihear as required under Article 109 of the constitution.
Article 109 requires the government to inform the public about any international agreement it is planning with another country as well as seeking approval from the parliament.
6 comments:
why the white paper written in thai and english .what about cambodian bias
lets end this thing sooooon. I'm sick of it . sick of the thai and youn people to the gutz!!
Hi 11:49 am and 12:27 pm, Siam and Youn are the same they look down Khmer as delicous food for them, they never forget to get land our country.
No, Siam and Yuon only look down on Ah Criminal Khmer-Yuon.
cambodia, demand that their so-called white papers or military secret papers be translated into khmer as well because it deals with the thai criminal intention on preah vihear and cambodia has a need to know!
give it up, thailand, preah vihear is not yours and respect the 1907 treaty of laws and the 1962 court ruling that was justice for the old dispute. nothing new.
the thais are buying time, hoping that time elapsed or passed is a good time to say that the court ruling and the 1907 treaty is no longer good. what! they think, everything is just a joke to them; they have no respect for the lawful order that serves as justice for the world. if that is the case, i think the USA, china, etc... should come in and destroy thailand and take over as their own country. so there! get the point, this is why you have to respect the law, otherwise, any country can just invade another country all over the world without the international laws of justice. thailand has to respect the court ruling and the 1907 treaty that was made into laws; and law is law, no ifs or buts or excuses or disagreeing about it, period, case closed! get educated and educated your people about this, thailand!
The Khmer-Thai built the temple and they had lived there since day1. It is illegal for the French to rob them of their temple and the surrounding area.
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