By SOPHENG CHEANG
PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian general said a border standoff between his soldiers and Thai troops came close to a shoot-out overnight as the confrontation over disputed territory surrounding an ancient temple entered its fourth day Friday.
The dispute is centered around Cambodia's 11th century Hindu temple Preah Vihear and came to a head last week when UNESCO approved Cambodia's application for World Heritage Site status for the site. Thai activists fear the new status will undermine Thailand's claim to nearby land.
Thai soldiers entered the surrounding area on Tuesday, staking out positions at a Buddhist temple compound nearby. However, some resident Cambodian monks remained and Cambodian soldiers have continued to visit them even after the Thais arrived.
A large group of Cambodian troops came to the compound Thursday planning to spend the night, and the two sides raised their rifles at each other when the Thais moved to evict them in an incident lasting about 10 minutes before the Cambodians departed, Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said.
"We exercised patience to prevent weapons from being fired," he said.
The standoff is the latest in a long-standing conflict over frontier territory that has never been fully demarcated. Both countries have agreed to hold defense minister talks next Monday in Thailand to avoid military action.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote a letter to Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Thursday saying that relations have been "worsening" since Thai troops "encroached on our territory" on Tuesday, and asked Samak to pull them back.
Both countries have massed troops in the area.
"The deteriorating situation is very bad for the relations between our two countries," Hun Sen wrote.
The Thai government sent troops to the area after anti-government demonstrators made an issue of the disputed territory near the temple, decrying the government's endorsement of Cambodia's UNESCO application.
To some extent, the demonstrators appear to be playing to nationalist sentiment to gain support for their larger goal of unseating Samak, whom they accuse of being a proxy for toppled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The border standoff began after three of the protesters crossed into Cambodia on Tuesday to visit the temple and were briefly detained.
Soon afterward, Thai troops deployed to the border. The Thai army has been tightlipped about reasons behind the troop movements.
The Thai Foreign Ministry has said the troops are ensuring that any protests there are done in an "orderly manner," and that the troops are protecting Thai sovereignty, though it was unclear how it has been threatened.
About 400 Thai troops are in the area, facing about twice as many Cambodians, Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Thursday.
Thursday night's incident, the first time the two sides pointed weapons at each other, occurred after 61 monks along with 13 nuns and lay people came to the Buddhist pagoda some 220 yards west of the Preah Vihear complex to celebrate the start of Buddhist Lent.
Chea Keo said about 50 Cambodian troops entered the pagoda hoping to stay the night to provide security for the monks and nuns, but the Thai soldiers moved to evict them, prompting the gun-pointing.
The only clashes so far have been between Thai protesters and Thai villagers who resent their lands becoming ground-zero for a political battle.
Samak has condemned the Thai protesters for "trying to ignite a conflict." But he has not said anything about why the troops moved to the border.
Associated Press writers Sutin Wannabovorn and Ambika Ahuja in Bangkok, and Ker Munthit in Phnom Penh contributed to this report.
The dispute is centered around Cambodia's 11th century Hindu temple Preah Vihear and came to a head last week when UNESCO approved Cambodia's application for World Heritage Site status for the site. Thai activists fear the new status will undermine Thailand's claim to nearby land.
Thai soldiers entered the surrounding area on Tuesday, staking out positions at a Buddhist temple compound nearby. However, some resident Cambodian monks remained and Cambodian soldiers have continued to visit them even after the Thais arrived.
A large group of Cambodian troops came to the compound Thursday planning to spend the night, and the two sides raised their rifles at each other when the Thais moved to evict them in an incident lasting about 10 minutes before the Cambodians departed, Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said.
"We exercised patience to prevent weapons from being fired," he said.
The standoff is the latest in a long-standing conflict over frontier territory that has never been fully demarcated. Both countries have agreed to hold defense minister talks next Monday in Thailand to avoid military action.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote a letter to Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Thursday saying that relations have been "worsening" since Thai troops "encroached on our territory" on Tuesday, and asked Samak to pull them back.
Both countries have massed troops in the area.
"The deteriorating situation is very bad for the relations between our two countries," Hun Sen wrote.
The Thai government sent troops to the area after anti-government demonstrators made an issue of the disputed territory near the temple, decrying the government's endorsement of Cambodia's UNESCO application.
To some extent, the demonstrators appear to be playing to nationalist sentiment to gain support for their larger goal of unseating Samak, whom they accuse of being a proxy for toppled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The border standoff began after three of the protesters crossed into Cambodia on Tuesday to visit the temple and were briefly detained.
Soon afterward, Thai troops deployed to the border. The Thai army has been tightlipped about reasons behind the troop movements.
The Thai Foreign Ministry has said the troops are ensuring that any protests there are done in an "orderly manner," and that the troops are protecting Thai sovereignty, though it was unclear how it has been threatened.
About 400 Thai troops are in the area, facing about twice as many Cambodians, Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Thursday.
Thursday night's incident, the first time the two sides pointed weapons at each other, occurred after 61 monks along with 13 nuns and lay people came to the Buddhist pagoda some 220 yards west of the Preah Vihear complex to celebrate the start of Buddhist Lent.
Chea Keo said about 50 Cambodian troops entered the pagoda hoping to stay the night to provide security for the monks and nuns, but the Thai soldiers moved to evict them, prompting the gun-pointing.
The only clashes so far have been between Thai protesters and Thai villagers who resent their lands becoming ground-zero for a political battle.
Samak has condemned the Thai protesters for "trying to ignite a conflict." But he has not said anything about why the troops moved to the border.
Associated Press writers Sutin Wannabovorn and Ambika Ahuja in Bangkok, and Ker Munthit in Phnom Penh contributed to this report.
9 comments:
Go back my Khmer soldiers. Go and protect our pagoda. They sleeping in our pagoda and harrassing our monks with the show of their weapons. We must go and guard our monks. Let the weapons be pointed and shoot if they shoot back but do not depart from your own temple when intruders come to evict you.
"....two sides raised their rifles at each other when the Thais moved to evict them in an incident lasting about 10 minutes before the Cambodians departed."
Finally Khmers lose face, shit. Why
departed? if wasr starts the one who will lose a lot is thai side.let them(thais) test the pain of losing relatives in war.
Don't think ASEAN can intervene to ease tension, they are bull-shit, only take action what concerning money to their countries. Look at Myanmar, they do nothing against Myanmar cruelty.
kill these thais motherfuckers man .what's up with that.they're in our land kill those thais baster
I don't see any Thai in the pictures above or below. They are all Khmers. Some of them married to Thai or Lao, and that is not a crime or an excuse for you to take their temple away from them.
You wouldn't shoot your own brothers and take his inheritance away just because he's married to an infidels, would you?
Thai government is shit, they sent only Thais of Khmer decent to fight their own Khmers. Fuck you mother fucker Thai ah Si buy kriem.
Thosr poor Thai soldiers have no ideas that Thai government is mafia son of bitch using poor people to die for them. Look at the economy, you bastards you destroy Thai economy.
don't do anthing stupid thailand.
I just bought a condo in bangkok.
We all should talk about providing enough support (food, supplies...) to our coutnryman who are at the frontline to take care of our motherland. Does anybody know any organization beside government organization, that we can donate funds that will go 100% to our countryman at the border??? Help them to stay strong. they are there risking their life and they need our support...
That is right. The dispute is worsen, and each day is getting darker for Cambodia until the Khmer in Issan province get their temple back.
3:51 PM
There is not such thing called Issan province. It is the north-eastern region in Thailand. Are you Khmer from Si Sa Ket province? If so, go and help stop the demonstrators near the border. Can you speak Khmer? Your province is the poorest province in Thailand. You need our temple to economically survive. I understand that is why you want the temple badly. Don't worry, even though the temple belong to us, we will share with you in terms of tourists money. But first you have to stop the stupid Thais from claiming that the temple belongs to them. Use your brain, if you have one, to make sense of things nowadays. Things that happens centuries ago are histories. If you really want to talk about history, half of Thailand belongs to Khmer Kings. If you don't realize this, your brain may be of a side of a penut, which is smaller than those of monkies guarding the temple.
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