Thursday, July 31, 2008

A gentlemanly invasion ["May the mosquitoes give them malaria so they all go home" - Cambodian prayer]

Thursday, July 31, 2008
By James Pringle
International Herald Tribune (Paris, France)

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia: The foxholes, minefields and straggling lines of muddy trenches with machine guns poking out make the scene near the 900-year-old Hindu temple here look more like an image from World War I than the latest flare-up of Indochinese conflict.

Still, this disputed no man's land could never be the site of spontaneous soccer matches between enemies like those on the Western front - there's room only for a game of ping-pong or perhaps badminton, if anyone felt inclined, which is unlikely.

The trenches manned by hundreds of Thai and Cambodian troops are from 3 to 25 yards apart. If shooting broke out on what the Thais wryly call the "samoraphum" or "battlefield" - a Sanskrit word also used in Khmer - there would be carnage. But today the mingling soldiers exchange cigarettes and snap images of one another with their mobile phone cameras, which they use to reassure their families at home.

Thailand and Cambodia both claim the 1.8 square miles of land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple, which has belonged to Cambodia since the International Court of Justice ruled in its favor in 1962, and the quarrel has raised nationalist heat in both countries. While both sides say they will refrain from hostilities, the propinquity of the forces spells real risk of mayhem if someone accidentally looses off a shot.

So far, there has been only one casualty - a Thai captain who lost a leg to a mine, probably planted in an earlier war against another invading army, Vietnam's. Historically, Cambodia has long been plagued by land-grabbing from neighbors east and west.

The soldiers here are armed with an eclectic mix of weapons. Thais have state-of-the-art American rifles; the Cambodians are using the stuff of past conflicts, especially Chinese-made B40 rocket-launchers from the Vietnam War era. The B40s were unstable then, so what are they like now?

It is the wet season, and the rains lash down, soaking everything. "We are living like worms," a Thai soldier says of life in his trench.

The Thai soldiers seem to go out of their way to be polite, almost as if they were embarrassed to have made an armed entry into Cambodian-held territory, whether or not it is disputed land. You could call it a gentlemanly invasion.

But the Cambodians have deployed former forces of the Khmer Rouge - war-hardened guerrillas who brought on the "Killing Fields" of the 1970s. They are now integrated into Cambodia's armed forces, even though their onetime leaders currently face trial at a war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh.

From Thailand, Preah Vihear is an easy drive along a tarred road. Although the border is now closed here, there is a small entry track that is kept open to bring in food prepared in Thailand for Thai troops.

On the Cambodian side, there's a gruelling 12-hour haul over unpaved roads from Phnom Penh, then a steep, almost vertical uphill climb of two-and-a-half miles to the temple, built on an outcrop 1,600 feet up in the Dangrek Mountains. The view over Cambodia is now one of deforested jungle, almost bereft of wildlife.

When they are asked which country the territory around the temple belongs to, the oh-so-polite Thai soldiers shrug and say: "I don't know," or "It's disputed," or "it overlaps." None of them said, "This is our land." Then they invite a visitor to join in an imported meal.

Asked how the stalemate will all end, one Thai veteran points toward heaven and says: "Only the higher-ups know."

The Thai soldiers seem to have an unspoken sense that they are pawns in a political game between the Thai government and its domestic opposition.

The Cambodians are more bitter: Many say that they have been invaded.

At a Buddhist pagoda - both Cambodians and Thais share the Theravada branch of the religion - the Cambodians pray for Thai defeat. "May the mosquitoes give them malaria so they all go home," one one asks.

Cambodian tourists come with food for their country's troops and pose in dramatic postures with loaded B40 rocket-launchers borrowed from the troops - even though an accidental discharge could ignite disaster.

The Cambodians don't seem to realize that they too are pawns to posturing politicians: Hun Sen, the Cambodian strongman, used the temple standoff to gain support in the election last Sunday in which he has already claimed a major victory.

This will be borne out if the Thai-Cambodian confrontation suddenly ends - possibly in compromise - after official confirmation of Hun Sen's victory. Otherwise, the confrontation will bog down in the cloying mud, with an ever-increasing risk of an escalation that no one wants.

James Pringle covered the Vietnam and Cambodian wars.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hun Sen should appoint a capable man on the Preah Vihear case, so he can focus the economy.

We have a country to rebuild.

Anonymous said...

Hun Sen Be prepared to lose one more eye.
Snipers are ready to do their jobs when you visit Preah Vihear!

Anonymous said...

Hun Sen should fire Ho Nam Hong And Va Kim Hong, and replace Mr. Sean Pengse the President of Bordero and Dr. Chak Sokhon president of Khmer Mchas Srok For foriegn Afair.

Khmer-Franco

Anonymous said...

Jame Pringle:

Thais uses State-of-Art US made weapons whereas Cambodian use antiquate weapons from cold war.

Man!!. I don't understand why United States put her tail down and ran cowardly away from Cambodia,VN, and Loa in 19775.

After using sophiticated weapons the world ever known, against the groups of IRAQi bandits,who use cold war old rusty weapons. now they try to run away from IRAQ after almost 4200 soldiers killed.

Tell me why people in US put the sign on their cars bumpers stickers said "this color won't run"

Anonymous said...

12:21,
Amen Brother!
Nothings wrong with friendly-fire from times to time.
Especially one for good cost..... not to mentioned, change the outcome of our country.

Anonymous said...

12:21,
Like Hun Sen father (Pol Pot) proverb:
"thook gar min khut, dhark gar min jumnain"
Let's use it on him!

Anonymous said...

Khun Thais understand that Strong man /Samdach Decho does not dare to use the Iron Fist with Khun Thais,,,, his Iron fist is only for Cambodians themselves......
Because when samdach Decho use Iron Fist Khun Thais will release all Secret info. he had done... to confront with 192/107/1904.2000/1993(Paris Agreements.... and his close friend Vietnam would not help him.. if helps Vietnam also loses...(Border Agreement-VN-Cam)....
Decho knows very well what his part has done with Khun Thais.. eand especially militry is too weak....morally and physically.....

Wichai Rungrat
Bangkok/Krung Thep Mohanokorn

Anonymous said...

2:43PM The american is too big to fighst with your stupid master Vietname! USA fight the communist and you see what happen to your granfather communist now, son of a dictator? next is the ditators!

USA not fight with Iraq you fool, USA fight with terririst and you see what happen to terrorist country now?

The collor that won't run that mean your father the blind dictator need to whach out, USA not forget about the past like the French! Every fucking thing is put down in the ordinator!!!! fool!