Cambodian anti-riot police stand guard at the Preah Vihear temple near the Thai border at Preah Vihear province on July 19. (TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty)July 23, 2008
By BENNY AVNI, Staff Reporter
New York Sun
UNITED NATIONS — Cambodia is calling for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting to prevent a war with Thailand over an ancient temple in a disputed border area.
The tensions between the two countries, which reached a boiling point yesterday, have been mounting since July 7, when the United Nations designated the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site.
With 4,000 Thai and Cambodian troops massed along the shared border near the temple, the Cambodian ambassador to the United Nations, Sea Kosal, said in a letter to the president of the Security Council that although his country offered "maximum" concessions during a recent high-level meeting with Thai officials, bilateral talks have failed.
Mr. Kosal called on the council to convene an "urgent" meeting "to prevent an escalating situation leading to imminent armed conflicts."
Thai officials have urged bilateral negotiations on the border dispute, as have fellow members of a regional group, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has sought to persuade Cambodia not to refer the dispute to the Security Council.
ASEAN members have struggled to deflect recent American attempts to raise the issue of Burma at the council, and they now are said to be concerned about possible council intervention in another regional flash point.
"The military standoff between the two countries has embarrassed their neighbors, who take pride that their organization" can resolve regional problems, an editorial yesterday in an Indonesian English-language newspaper, the Jakarta Times, said.
The current dispute arose out of a Cambodian request that the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization declare the Preah Vihear temple and the surrounding area a World Heritage Site. The Thai government at first supported the designation, but switched course after protesters said the move would undermine Thailand's claim to the area around the temple.
The tensions between the two countries, which reached a boiling point yesterday, have been mounting since July 7, when the United Nations designated the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site.
With 4,000 Thai and Cambodian troops massed along the shared border near the temple, the Cambodian ambassador to the United Nations, Sea Kosal, said in a letter to the president of the Security Council that although his country offered "maximum" concessions during a recent high-level meeting with Thai officials, bilateral talks have failed.
Mr. Kosal called on the council to convene an "urgent" meeting "to prevent an escalating situation leading to imminent armed conflicts."
Thai officials have urged bilateral negotiations on the border dispute, as have fellow members of a regional group, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has sought to persuade Cambodia not to refer the dispute to the Security Council.
ASEAN members have struggled to deflect recent American attempts to raise the issue of Burma at the council, and they now are said to be concerned about possible council intervention in another regional flash point.
"The military standoff between the two countries has embarrassed their neighbors, who take pride that their organization" can resolve regional problems, an editorial yesterday in an Indonesian English-language newspaper, the Jakarta Times, said.
The current dispute arose out of a Cambodian request that the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization declare the Preah Vihear temple and the surrounding area a World Heritage Site. The Thai government at first supported the designation, but switched course after protesters said the move would undermine Thailand's claim to the area around the temple.
9 comments:
ASEAN is a joke. It is a dictator's club. It can resolve nothing!
Time to go to war with Thai. I remembered 1979 thai soldiers poured Khmer Refugees into Dangrek mountain and landmines. We Cambodian should push them back to their motherland "Nan Chao" [Yunan] and stop recieve them into our land if Mongol over run them again. Take our land back, this is the opportunity and the only ONCE.
Long live Khmer!
Bravo!!!
Fucking ASEAN.... What is ASEAN mean?
Ass-hole in South East Asia Nation
ASEAN support Thai only. ASEAN dare not to touch Thailand.
UN is still the best for Cambodia while ASEAN can not handle the job.
Useless ASEAN...better shut it down and all joint with UN as a whole.
ASEAN is The Association of Southeast Asain Nation and Thai is a chairman. That is why the thieves are too arrogant. Everything from culture to the language stole from Khmers.
GOD DAMN THAIS
What? Chinese people stole Hindu culture? You must have pulled that one right out of your ass hole.
Why your guys want war.I know the answer," Because you are not the soldiers who are at the front line" Do you think most of the soldiers there want war.They all have families and beloved persons.
They may get fear and sad when thinking of death from war which eventually cause their depart eternally from their families and beloved persons.
It's unfair to push other people to war even they are the soldiers who are ready to die for their motherland,while stiil have chance to end the conflict by negotiation.
If both side melt down their own strong standing points and only think of the mutual benefits of both nation,negotiation would be fruitful. Therefore the best and easy solution is bilateral talk base on the said basis.
Hang the PAD, the neo-Nazis. God damn PAD.
Yes I think bilateral talk is best, return Si Saket to Khmers then we settle.
If the Khmer returns Si Saket, then where are they going to live, huh?
Not Khmers in Si Saket, is Thais who ruled over Si Saket. They live in the same place but Si Saket is Khmer Province. May be some of Khmers in Si Saket will be shipped to Sihanouk ville to drill the oil, and some take care the tourists when new Preah Vihear airport built.
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