Preah Vihear, Cambodia
20 July 2008
The border standoff between Cambodia and Thailand remains tense ahead of high-level talks on Monday. A commander on the Cambodian side expressed doubts that the talks will lead to a resolution of the dispute over ownership of an ancient temple complex. Liam Cochrane reports from Preah Vihear temple, on the Cambodia-Thai border.
Thai and Cambodian soldiers sit side-by-side on the Cambodian road that leads to the disputed ruins of Preah Vihear temple.
Hundreds of Cambodian soldiers and military police patrolled the area around the temple, while Thai soldiers stayed close to the barbed wire that marks the jungle border, setting up small camps on the Cambodian side.
The two forces have faced off for several days, after three Thai protesters were detained for illegally crossing the closed border, prompting Thai forces to cross after them.
The 900-year-old Hindu temple was recently given World Heritage status, renewing a decades-old dispute over who owns the temple.
Brigadier Chea Keo is the deputy commander of the Cambodian Military Region. Sitting on a cliff overlooking Thailand, he said he had orders to be patient, but expressed doubts that talks Monday between the two countries' defense ministers would yield results.
He says, "We have little hope for the meeting tomorrow, because the Thai government sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen saying that the places occupied [by Thai soldiers] are Thai territory."
Brigadier Chea Keo said around 300 Thai troops remained around a modern temple just below the ancient ruins of Preah Vihear temple. He said a further 200 Thai soldiers occupied small camps along the Cambodian side of the border.
Cambodian officials would not say how many troops they had gathered in the area, but one soldier said 500 former Khmer Rouge fighters had been brought in from the northwest, and hundreds of military personnel were visible.
Thai and Cambodian soldiers sit side-by-side on the Cambodian road that leads to the disputed ruins of Preah Vihear temple.
Hundreds of Cambodian soldiers and military police patrolled the area around the temple, while Thai soldiers stayed close to the barbed wire that marks the jungle border, setting up small camps on the Cambodian side.
The two forces have faced off for several days, after three Thai protesters were detained for illegally crossing the closed border, prompting Thai forces to cross after them.
The 900-year-old Hindu temple was recently given World Heritage status, renewing a decades-old dispute over who owns the temple.
Brigadier Chea Keo is the deputy commander of the Cambodian Military Region. Sitting on a cliff overlooking Thailand, he said he had orders to be patient, but expressed doubts that talks Monday between the two countries' defense ministers would yield results.
He says, "We have little hope for the meeting tomorrow, because the Thai government sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen saying that the places occupied [by Thai soldiers] are Thai territory."
Brigadier Chea Keo said around 300 Thai troops remained around a modern temple just below the ancient ruins of Preah Vihear temple. He said a further 200 Thai soldiers occupied small camps along the Cambodian side of the border.
Cambodian officials would not say how many troops they had gathered in the area, but one soldier said 500 former Khmer Rouge fighters had been brought in from the northwest, and hundreds of military personnel were visible.
20 comments:
I would like to share my own opinion about the disputation between Thai and Cambodia. I have the pessimistic feeling for the meeting of the both country on monday next week in Sra Keo province. WHY? Because there are many reasons:
1) The General Anupong Padjinda, supreme commander of Thai Army said we must send more soldier to the disputed area to presure on Cambodia side for their negotiation.They don't have willing to deal this problem by fair and equality.
2) The prime minister of Thai, Samak Sundaravej said for replying letter to Mr. Hun Sen that The Sokha Kirisvarak Pagoda called ( Wat Pra Sat Preah Vihear) is locted in Thai sovereignty. But the real situation, it is in Cambodia sovereignty by legal of international law (ICJ decision 15 June 1962, The Franco-Siam treaties in 1904 and 1907, 46 years without proclaim this area belong to their country) and the historical area ( The Cambodian people have been living there too long year ago).
3) The representative of Thai for this meeting is Genaral Boonsang Niempradit. He is just a deputy chairman of Thai's GBC(General Border Committee) only, he does not have the power to decide their decision and ordre to the thai soldier. the main powerful is in the hand of General Anupong Padjinda, a supreme commander of Thai Army.
4) The most powerful man is General Anupong Padjinda, not Prime minister Samak Sundaravej. Samak is hasitated to decide because he faces many enemies such The General of Army group, politicians of opposite party, King Phomvibol Adulyadeth, Adhisit Vejjajiva, leader of PAD and so on.
So it mean this meeting on monday in Sra Keo is null value for the both country.
According these points, we put the question how to deal this tension? the answer:
The firstly, the both country must try to find the solution by faithful negotiation. if no solution the both country must complain to ASEAN, UN's security council, ICJ(international Court for Justice) and UN because the both country are a member of ASEAN and UN. So the both country must respect the UN rule and UN's decision. if the any country don't respect the UN's desicion, The UN must kick out that country from the UN's member like UN has done on Taiwan and then UN must the UN's force to disputed area such KFOR at Kosovo in Serbia, UN's force at Darfu in Sudan and Estern Timor and so on. UN must protect the small and weakness country by international Law. I think it is the time for Cambodia follow this way to prevent the civil people and soldier life of the both country and also protect our cambodian sovereignty.
I do hope the both nation will be glad to get this cool solution, they don't want to fight because of provoking of some small ultra-nationalist group. These small group don't represent the whole country. They are a just a small group who want to get power by using the extreme nationalist idea, they don't care the civil people, soldier life, economic in the both country and whole area.
They are the idiot people!!!
From Ramy, Chungnam University, South Korea.
Dear Cambodians,
Why don't we let our brave soldiers to smoke all these bastards Siams for the reason that they have encroached into our border? Why don't we bring this case to ICJ? Doesn't the WORLD BODY, UN, has anything to say about this case? Why don't we rely on UN based on legitmacy and justifaction that Ah Siams have entered our country like THIEVES OR BURGLAR? WHY DON'T WE JUST SMOKE THEM, ARREST THEM AND BRING THEM TO COURT?
Ghost Soldier!
Cambodia should call the UN assistance if the Siam does not withdraw all their troops, and if need go to the ICJ.
The Siam government want to buy up time to justify their position.
The ASEAN was nowhere around when the Siam invade Cambodia territory.
Now that the Siam must face the UN, suddenly the ASEAN appears.
This is Siam trickery to buy up time to justify their claim and looking for weaknesses. They have nothing to lose but we do.
This is a serious offense by the Siam, they broke International Law, so we need the UN assistance to force them to respect the Law.
HUN XEN has tried to take time until the election terminates and after he will sign officially the agreement he had done secretly with SAMAK
Down with HUN XEN and his family!
Down with the traitor!
Wake-up dear compatriots!
HunSen has sold our land for his own business!
Why should we negociate with the thieves.
It's really strange !
The Monkeys in Cambodia is hallucinating when they think the temple and surrounding area still belong to them.
Look around you closely, motherfuckers! Do you see any French soldiers in Cambodia?
Please watch this exceptional video!
Thai gay vs South-East Asia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZd8we-nS9U&NR=1
SOON AH GAY SIAM NORTH WILL THE SAME FATE THAT AH GAY SIAM SOUTH
Muslim insurgency stokes fear in southern Thailand
By Seth Mydans Published: February 25, 2007
PATTANI, Thailand: Some are already calling it war, a brutal Muslim separatist insurgency in southern Thailand that has taken as many as 2,000 lives in three years, with almost- daily bombings, drive-by shootings, arson and beheadings.
It is a conflict the government admits it is losing. A harsh crackdown and martial law in recent years seem only to have fueled the insurgency, generating fear and anger and undermining moderate Muslim voices.
A new policy of conciliation pursued by Thailand's junta since it took power in a coup five months ago has been met by increased violence, including a barrage of 28 coordinated bombings in the south that killed or injured about 60 people a week ago.
"The momentum of violence is now beyond the control of government policy," said Srisompob Jitpiromsri, a political scientist at Prince of Songkhla University here.
"The separatists can pick and choose the time and place of the violence without any effective resistance," he said. "They have the upper hand."
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The insurgents seem to be taking their war to a new stage, pitting local Buddhists against Muslims by attacking symbols of Buddhism — Thailand's dominant faith — with flamboyant brutality.
The two religions had coexisted through the years, although often in separate villages. Observers say this mutual tolerance is breaking down and there are fears of a sectarian conflict that could flare out of control.
"Buddhist monks have been hacked to death, clubbed to death, bombed and burned to death," said Sunai Phasuk, a political analyst with the Human Rights Watch monitoring group. "This has never happened before. This is a new aspect of violence in the south."
Some remote areas in the south have become, in effect, no-go zones for the police or military, according to Francesca Lawe-Davies, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.
"It appears in the last year or so that insurgent groups are actually starting to control territory in a more conventional sense," she said.
Some Buddhist and Muslim villages have begun sealing themselves off from one another. People say that old friendships and patterns of cooperation are being undermined by mistrust.
In a report published last month, Zachary Abuza, the author of "Militant Islam in Southeast Asia," said that entire Buddhist communities have fled in a "de facto ethnic cleansing."
"The social fabric of the south has been irreparably damaged," he said.
In an effort to weaken central control, the insurgents also target Muslims who cooperate with the government. About half the victims in the conflict have been Muslim. These include not only village chiefs and suspected collaborators, but those who work in government offices, government-funded schools or even critical economic sectors like rubber tapping.
All of this adds up to war, said Srisompob. The military has flooded the region with up to 20,000 new troops, checkpoints have been set up along the roads and soldiers travel in convoys of armored vehicles.
"In the local communities in the red zones, it already is a war situation," Srisompob said. "It is different now from last year, from the last two years."
About 1.3 million ethnic-Malay Muslims form a majority in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, accounting for a tiny percentage of Thailand's overwhelmingly Buddhist population of 65 million.
The Muslims have complained of discrimination and attempts at forced assimilation since Thailand annexed the former Sultanate of Pattani a century ago. Armed insurgencies have risen and subsided over the past four decades, but the government may now be facing its most dangerous challenge.
"What is new about the current conflict is the level and degree of violence, the Islamist agenda of the insurgents, and their unprecedented degree of cooperation and coordination," Abuza said.
"The level of violence in Thailand's south has never been higher," he said. "Nor has it been more brutal."
He said there had been more than 24 beheadings in the past three years and as many as 60 attempted beheadings.
Human Rights Watch counted more than 6,000 violent incidents over the past three years. It said that more than 60 teachers and 10 students had been killed and 110 schools — the most visible signs of central government authority in many places — had been set ablaze.
The insurgency is all the more difficult to combat because it does not show its face. Unlike similar movements around the world, this one has not set out its demands or published a manifesto. It is a collection of violent groups without an identifiable central leadership.
If the Cambodia does not act quickly the Siam turn this nonchalant behavior of Cambodia into an alibi to
rededicate the land and then the Temple.
This will invalidate 1907 French-Thai Treaty, and will lose really big.
So call the UN assistance after the Monday meeting.
Don't wait.
How to settle Preah Vihear Dispute ?
No Problem with Preah Vihear issue-- we will win-win
Because-
1. We have much more Army Generals than Thailand has( we have a lot of Generals from 1 stars to 4 Top Gold stars
2. We have more Excellencies than Thailand has
3. We have more Samdachs, Oknha, Bandits (Phd.), Prime ministers (in 1995), Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Deputy Prime Ministers, provincial Governors.... that Thailand has/ or than other counties world wide...
4. We have a lot of Military equipment such as Military trucks which are used to Transport illegal Loggings and Military Vehicles used countrywide to anywhere such as to restaurants and Bars...... We have a lot of Guns/pistols which are used every day in the cities and county sides to fire on people in ladies affairs disputes.
5. We have much more Luxury Cars-Lexus Landcruisers with Army & Police Plate Numbers that represent Our Top Generals and Excellency countrywide.....
6. The best way to settle such a problem is to send some hundreds of Cambodian Generals to the Disputed Borders.....Thais will be afraid of our numerous Multi-Generals which increase from day to day.
7. But is the National Embarrassment that our Army (Royal Cambodian Armed Forces) have used a lot of forces to fight with Local unarmed-Cambodians in Land grabbling... so our Armed forces (Army, Police Economy Police, and military Police-PM) may be too weakened now...
8. It is a National Embarrassment that most of our Generals just attack in the Cities and with Local Cambodians in Land disputes, small Disputes in Night Clubs, Karaoke and any unnecessary Fire shots.
Note: when I saw the Cambodians army in Dispute with Thai Army ..It reminds me about the Royal Cambodian Army disputing with Unarmed People in Land Disputes in Cambodia; They can protect their land But for Preah Vihear how will it be going on....?
"Thai uses the same Trick as Cambodia uses in Land dispute with Local Khmer People-- as of when the empowered men deploy army to occupy people's land... ".
From Excellency Phd. Bandit, General 7 Diamond Stars, Oknha Achar Knoy
Cambodia must not let the crisis last. It must act quickly.
The Siam is using want to use the ASEAN to buy up time into their advantage (this will give them an alibi to justify their invasion and to claim the land).
If Cambodia call for the assistance of the UN, then their is nothing the Siam can do.
Because the election is next week, if the government don't call the UN assistance quickly, then the Siam make the crisis last.
Cambodia must call for the UN assistance after Monday meeting.
Excellent comment 9:33am,why don't i think of that ?.yep, in Cambodia and perhaps it's the only country in the world where gererals are outnumbered the troop.Perhaps since the conflict with Thailand started ,some of them may already thinking about early retirement or send their wives and children abroad already.
Cambodia needs the support of our Chinese and North Korean friends. It is a waste of time to negotiate with the Thai baboons. Cambodia should launch ballistic missiles to Downtown Bangkok. Without sending them a strong message, they will remain arrogant and ignorant.
I doubt anyone, anywhere on earth, friend or foe knows what is going on between Samak and Hun Sen.
Do you know what is politic?
Hun Sen needs to win the election and this is his game with the help from Samak. They're already made a deal. Hun Sen was afraid of losing to the most popular opposition leader Sam Rainsy.
It was not long ago Hun Sen asked Vietnamese for help to monitor the election but China warned them.
Now the CPP used Khmer's Preah Vihear issue which has nothing to do with Thailand who lost at ICJ. The 4.6KM is part of the Preah Vihear given back to Cambodia by ICJ, but Hun Sen and Samak made a fool on both sides.
Perhaps being a real nationalist is so foreign to these two Samak and Hun Sen's simpering snots, but you all need to get used to the politics when the election comes.
Maxwell
To All Khmer world-wide;
It is time we stand united for our lands and territories. It is time we stage protests at Thai embassies in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, European countries, Japan, etc to demand for the withdraw of Thai troops in Preah Vihear.
It is time now that we all Khmers come to protest of Thai's illegal occupation of Preah Vihear temple.
This is about our Khmer national territorial integrity.
10:00am! NO CAN DO
we ,the chinese and the north korea ,will not come to assist you.Do your own fight.Your country has more generals then our two country combine , so what the heck use them.
Now you want to play this political card? Ok so here's the scenario: Perhaps you know you will gain some part of the territory coz you have
know that based on the ICJ'S VERDICT AND THE FRANCO-A SIAM BASTARD-TREATY, YOU MORON STUPID THAIS WILL NVER HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE. Or coz you base your invasion on any treaties signed by FOOLISH AND CORRUPTED POEPLE IN CAMBODIA GOVERNMENT, SO THAT'S WHY YOU ARE SO SURE TO WIN THE CASE. OR YOU WILL RELEASE THE SECRET THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF CAM DOES NOT WANT THE PUBLIC TO HEAR AS FOR YOUR WINNING TOOLS? OR TO PROVE THAT SAMAK GOVERNMENT HAS MADE WRONG DECISION WITH THE PREAH VIHEAR TEMPLE AND TOPPLE THE GOVERNMENT?
Now WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY AH THAI CHKOUT?
KHMER EMPIRE
Shut the fuck up, you dumb monkey, and get your asses out of Issan Province. There is no French and there is no Franco shit in Indochina.
Dear all,
Let's not fighting with each other, khmer and khmer. This is the time that we should together as one. Let's focus on helping our troop who are protecting our land at the border around the country. We should ask ourselves, are we contributing enough to our heros who stand along the border to protect our motherland from all invaders... Are we doing enough to keep those hero healthy? are we providing enough food for them? Are we providing them enough weapons and moral and psychological support to face with invader's psychological warfare? Let's be as one... One khmer, one nation and one spirit!!!!
My brother and sister around the world:
I would like to suggest to all KHMER around the world to BOYCOTT Made in Thailand products, materials especially everyday's commodities that are made or produced in Thailand. If we can be together on this matter, we will partly win this war... The Siam will turn to fight each other once they start to lose their individual benefits... Let's use this strategy to help fight this war with our soldiers along Khmer Thai border.
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