by Nophakhun Limsamarnphunnop
Bangkok Post
Cambodia should consider Joint inscription of Preah Vihear site
Unesco's World Heritage Committee is due to meet next week in Canada to consider Cambodia's proposal for inscription of the ancient Preah Vihear temple on the World Heritage list.
I believe that Unesco will not approve the Cambodian bid at this stage, despite the Thai Cabinet's recent endorsement of a joint communique between the two countries on this matter.
According to this joint communique - signed by Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Premier Sok An on June 18 - both countries agreed to five major points that were based on the results of a bilateral meeting on May 22.
First, Thailand explicitly supports the inscription, based on a map prepared by Cambodia, at the upcoming 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in Canada.
Second, Cambodia accepts the inscription without - at this stage - buffer zones on the northern and western areas of Preah Vihear temple.
Third, the map presented by Cambodia shall supersede the other maps and graphic references.
Fourth, pending the work of the Joint Commission for Land Boundary concerning western and northern areas of the temple, the two countries agree to prepare jointly the management plan of these areas for consideration by Unesco in 2010.
Fifth, the inscription of Preah Vihear shall be without prejudice to the rights of Thailand and Cambodia on demarcation works of the two countries.
All these points were debated fiercely in the Thai Parliament on June 22 and June 23, with opposition MPs accusing the government of conceding sovereignty to Cambodia.
In my opinion, Thailand's national interest was compromised at least as far as the negotiations over the temple were concerned.
As indicated by former foreign minister Nit Pibulsongkarm, the country's interest would be best protected if the foreign ministry insisted on a joint nomination together with Cambodia for Preah Vihear's inscription as a World Heritage site.
Second, Thailand should make it clear to Cambodia that it would oppose any unilateral attempt for Prear Vihear's inscription.
In the spirit of the founding of Unesco, it is highly unlikely that the UN body will go ahead with the inscription of the site should there be any opposition from a neighbouring country.
In the case of Preah Vihear, built around 1,100BC, Thailand's national interest would be compromised because the endorsement of Cambodia's single-country nomination would serve as a basis that bars any future attempt by Thailand to contest its sovereignty over the temple, which is situated just next to its border.
More importantly, the issue of the surrounding areas, currently in Thailand's territory, would be complicated and the integrity of Preah Vihear complex would be compromised, given that a number of elements of the temple such as a giant reservoir and the Naga staircase are situated in Thai territory.
Again, it would be best for both countries to jointly nominate the temple as the World Heritage site so as to avoid these territorial and management issues.
It would also be considered reasonable if the temple and its peripheral areas are turned into a joint-development area co-owned by Cambodia and Thailand.
Any monetary or other benefits derived from this joint effort could then be shared between the two nations in a fashion similar to the Joint Development Area between Thailand and Malaysia, covering oil and gas resources in the countries' territorial waters.
Bangkok Post
Cambodia should consider Joint inscription of Preah Vihear site
Unesco's World Heritage Committee is due to meet next week in Canada to consider Cambodia's proposal for inscription of the ancient Preah Vihear temple on the World Heritage list.
I believe that Unesco will not approve the Cambodian bid at this stage, despite the Thai Cabinet's recent endorsement of a joint communique between the two countries on this matter.
According to this joint communique - signed by Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Premier Sok An on June 18 - both countries agreed to five major points that were based on the results of a bilateral meeting on May 22.
First, Thailand explicitly supports the inscription, based on a map prepared by Cambodia, at the upcoming 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in Canada.
Second, Cambodia accepts the inscription without - at this stage - buffer zones on the northern and western areas of Preah Vihear temple.
Third, the map presented by Cambodia shall supersede the other maps and graphic references.
Fourth, pending the work of the Joint Commission for Land Boundary concerning western and northern areas of the temple, the two countries agree to prepare jointly the management plan of these areas for consideration by Unesco in 2010.
Fifth, the inscription of Preah Vihear shall be without prejudice to the rights of Thailand and Cambodia on demarcation works of the two countries.
All these points were debated fiercely in the Thai Parliament on June 22 and June 23, with opposition MPs accusing the government of conceding sovereignty to Cambodia.
In my opinion, Thailand's national interest was compromised at least as far as the negotiations over the temple were concerned.
As indicated by former foreign minister Nit Pibulsongkarm, the country's interest would be best protected if the foreign ministry insisted on a joint nomination together with Cambodia for Preah Vihear's inscription as a World Heritage site.
Second, Thailand should make it clear to Cambodia that it would oppose any unilateral attempt for Prear Vihear's inscription.
In the spirit of the founding of Unesco, it is highly unlikely that the UN body will go ahead with the inscription of the site should there be any opposition from a neighbouring country.
In the case of Preah Vihear, built around 1,100BC, Thailand's national interest would be compromised because the endorsement of Cambodia's single-country nomination would serve as a basis that bars any future attempt by Thailand to contest its sovereignty over the temple, which is situated just next to its border.
More importantly, the issue of the surrounding areas, currently in Thailand's territory, would be complicated and the integrity of Preah Vihear complex would be compromised, given that a number of elements of the temple such as a giant reservoir and the Naga staircase are situated in Thai territory.
Again, it would be best for both countries to jointly nominate the temple as the World Heritage site so as to avoid these territorial and management issues.
It would also be considered reasonable if the temple and its peripheral areas are turned into a joint-development area co-owned by Cambodia and Thailand.
Any monetary or other benefits derived from this joint effort could then be shared between the two nations in a fashion similar to the Joint Development Area between Thailand and Malaysia, covering oil and gas resources in the countries' territorial waters.
13 comments:
I urge Siamland to kiss my but.
I really need to know what on earth the reason we need to joinly operate with thai ? there's no chance. not even a bit. why the fuck they do that? it means they don't respect us. You fucking have no chance Tai people.
No way, I protest against the joint management. Preah Vihear is under Cambodia's sovereignty
Well, you can't just have half of the khmer to develop the temple by themselves, especially the poorest one. The temple belongs to all Khmers and they all should have a decision in it. This is democratic society, not commie.
Well, if the poor khmers can manage Angkor Wat, they don't the richer khmers (well, the Thais) to manage the Preah Vihear temple. Angkor Wat belongs to all Khmers, but no richer khmers want to help.
remember, cambodia, the key word is "urge". so, they can urge all they want, icj rules forever; and who are these anonymous "writers" as they called themselves? another group of ah siem mee siem thugs, perhaps". thanks to icj, cambodia will prevail in this decision. plus, cambodia can always ask the icj to fine thailand for their contempt of court and for violating cambodia's sovereignty of the surrounding area of preah as evidence indicated that they unilaterally drew the borderline around preah vihear even after the icj's permanent and lawful order for them to respect the 1904 treaty of the borderline demarcation which the court had used in map of their decision for preah vihear. god bless cambodia.
Hey, this is not 1904. The French made map is not valid anymore because Indochina is no longer controlled by the infidel.
5;47am. Oh then we can become Khmer Empire again.
What do you mean again? The Khmer Empire didn't died. It just evolved a little. Now it has a few States, and Thailand is the capital.
Thaicong are a sore loser!
8:22
funny you better take a remedial history class of khmer .. Thailand is the Tai poeple , they're no Khmer. and let make it clear to all, Khmer is khmer . thai is thai! don't mess around you idiot!
5:47am, yeah right, in your dream world. if what you say makes any sense, of course not, then why any nation on the planet bother with treaties and laws, etc... why not kill each other off, why even have international boundaries all over the world. so much of a typical ignorant, siem thieves argument. yeah, and the icj and unesco will rule in your favor. not in this life time or any other life time!!! no wonder thailand lost the icj verdict in 1962 with such argument with the court. i dare siem thugs argue like that with the court of laws, and i can bet you everyone in the world going to laugh and feel sympathetic for you. what a pathetic loser!!! give it up, you can't have it!! god bless cambodia.
Ah 8:22, ah Nan Chao piece of dirt. Do you where Angkor Wat and Cambodia are? Angkor Wat and Cambodia are the HEARTLAND of the original Khmer origin. We are still here, you Nan Chao piece of shit. We are alive and we Khmer and we are still in the HEARTLAND that is today's known as Cambodia and Angkor Wat the former capital of the Khmer Empire is still inside the Khmer Heartland's territory. Conincidence? NOT at all. This means that Khmer people will branch out once again once we learn to love ourselves and our people. We just need to ensure that every Khmer people out there have the opportunity to realize their true human potentials.
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