BANGKOK, July 3 (TNA) -- Thailand's Constitution Court has given Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama until early Friday to explain to it the joint communique he signed with Cambodia on behalf of the Thai government, allowing Cambodia to apply for Preah Vihear temple to be registered as a World Heritage site, Court secretary-general Paiboon Warahapaitoon said Thursday.
Mr. Paiboon said the foreign minister has until 9 am Friday to explain to the court the Thai cabinet's endorsement of the statement.
If Mr. Noppadon fails to appear, the Court will proceed and rule as to whether the signing of the document violates the constitution, Mr. Paiboon said.
The cabinet endorsed the Cambodian-drawn temple map on June 17, and on the following day approved the joint communique signed by Mr. Noppadon and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.
The order for Mr. Noppadon to explain himself to the Court followed the petitioning by 77 senators and 151 members of the House of Representatives to the Senate and House Speakers, respectively, urging the Constitution Court to rule as to whether the signing violates the constitution.
The petitions were submitted after the Administrative Court last Saturday issued an injunction against enforcement of the cabinet resolution.
Meanwhile, Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said he would not express his personal thoughts about the Cambodian government's move to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site during the World Heritage Committee meeting next week.
However, the "issue has created confusion among ASEAN members" and Thailand and Cambodia, he said, must find a speedy solution. Both countries are members of ASEAN.
Meanwhile, Gen. Khieu Sopheak, Cambodian interior ministry spokesman, told AFP that police had been put on guard after a report that thousands of Cambodians might protest at the Thai embassy over the Preah Vihear border dispute.
Security personnel were also mobilised to protect Thai-owned businesses in Phnom Penh, he said.
"We have deployed security forces to protect the Thai embassy because we fear that extremists could do something bad again to the embassy, like in 2003," AFP quoted Phnom Penh's police chief Touch Naruth as saying.
The then Thai embassy and a number of Thai-owned businesses were burned and looted in 2003 as a result of an unfounded report concerning Cambodia's Angkor Wat.
Mr. Paiboon said the foreign minister has until 9 am Friday to explain to the court the Thai cabinet's endorsement of the statement.
If Mr. Noppadon fails to appear, the Court will proceed and rule as to whether the signing of the document violates the constitution, Mr. Paiboon said.
The cabinet endorsed the Cambodian-drawn temple map on June 17, and on the following day approved the joint communique signed by Mr. Noppadon and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.
The order for Mr. Noppadon to explain himself to the Court followed the petitioning by 77 senators and 151 members of the House of Representatives to the Senate and House Speakers, respectively, urging the Constitution Court to rule as to whether the signing violates the constitution.
The petitions were submitted after the Administrative Court last Saturday issued an injunction against enforcement of the cabinet resolution.
Meanwhile, Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said he would not express his personal thoughts about the Cambodian government's move to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site during the World Heritage Committee meeting next week.
However, the "issue has created confusion among ASEAN members" and Thailand and Cambodia, he said, must find a speedy solution. Both countries are members of ASEAN.
Meanwhile, Gen. Khieu Sopheak, Cambodian interior ministry spokesman, told AFP that police had been put on guard after a report that thousands of Cambodians might protest at the Thai embassy over the Preah Vihear border dispute.
Security personnel were also mobilised to protect Thai-owned businesses in Phnom Penh, he said.
"We have deployed security forces to protect the Thai embassy because we fear that extremists could do something bad again to the embassy, like in 2003," AFP quoted Phnom Penh's police chief Touch Naruth as saying.
The then Thai embassy and a number of Thai-owned businesses were burned and looted in 2003 as a result of an unfounded report concerning Cambodia's Angkor Wat.
1 comment:
whatever, cambodia don't forget to use the icj verdict when dealing with unesco. that is the lawful rights of cambodia to list it, period. thailand should not even get in this picture in the first place because cambodia too can have our court override any current official signing with thailand on preah vihear and our court can enforce cambodia to suggest to unesco to use the icj verdict instead when push comes to shove. whatever thailand can do, remember cambodia as nation can do it as well.
that said, thailand movie in all of this is uniquely interesting to cambodia and perhaps the world as well.
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