July 13, 2008
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Thailand has not lost anything but gained a lot of benefits from the deal with Cambodia over the World Heritage listing of Preah Vihear Temple.
The Foreign Ministry said it managed to make Cambodia accept for the first time that there is an unresolved disputed area surrounding the Hindu temple.
Phnom Penh always referred to the Frenchmade map to indicate its boundary in the area. That's the reason why Cambodia initially claimed 4.6 square kilometres over the area for the Preah Vihear buffer zone in its proposal.
Thailand also claimed sovereignty over the area in accordance with its own map.
As Cambodia agreed to revise the graphic plan of the property for World Heritage listing, it meant Cambodia recognised that the area was an "overlapping area", said Deputy Director of East Asia Affairs Pisanu Suvanajata.
Legally speaking, such recognition would benefit Thailand in future negotiations with Cambodia over the boundary demarcation, he said.
The deal with Cambodia to list the Hindu temple has caused political difficulties for Samak Sundaravej's government as senators, the opposiฌtion Democrat Party and street protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) accuse the Cabinet of losing territory over the temple and the surrounding area.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia since it is situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia. The Cabinet under the leadership of dictator Sarit Thanarat agreed to relinquish some 250,000 square metres of territory where the temple sits to Cambodia.
The senators, opposition and the PAD interpreted the ICJ's ruling difฌferently, saying that only the ruins belong to Cambodia but the soil on which the temple sits belongs to Thailand.
Allowing Cambodia to list the temple means loss of sovereignty. The Constitution Court, at the request of some senators, ruled the joint communique signed by former foreign minister Noppadon and Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok Anh to support Cambodia's application was a treaty which might cause a change to Thai sovereignty.
The communique was ruled unconstitutional and Noppadon was forced to quit.
It was the first time domestic political sensitivity over the temple had been acknowledged by the World Heritage Committee since the body consistently insisted listing had nothing to do with sovereignty.
Documents from Thailand earlier to support the application were withdrawn during a meeting of the committee in Quebec last week, according to the head of Thailand's world heritage committee Pongpol Adireksarn.
Pisanu said to gain the attention of the World Heritage Committee over the area around Preah Vihear, Thailand intended to apply for an archaeological site downhill as an adjoining nomination to the listed site. He said the Hindu temple of Phnom Roung in Buri Ram could also be proposed.
This is the result of the Quebec meeting being of benefit to Thailand.
Another benefit of the Quebec meeting, said Pisanu, was the right to join the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) which is a policymaking body for the safeguarding and development of Preah Vihear.
The World Heritage Committee asked Cambodia to invite Thailand to be a member of ICC together with not more than seven other internaฌtional partners.
There was wide misunderstanding among academics that the ICC would become a body to run the overlapping area.
In fact, the overlapping area had already been excluded and the World Heritage Committee's decision made clear in its 14th paragraph that the ICC would cover only the listed "property", according to the Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesman Thani Thongphakdi, who attended the Quebec meeting.
Joining the ICC would be a gain, rather than loss, since Thai repreฌsentatives would have the right to run Preah Vihear and the chance to voice Thai concerns, if any, to protect the country's national interest.
"It's good to have our ears, eyes and mouths there," ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said.
The Foreign Ministry said it managed to make Cambodia accept for the first time that there is an unresolved disputed area surrounding the Hindu temple.
Phnom Penh always referred to the Frenchmade map to indicate its boundary in the area. That's the reason why Cambodia initially claimed 4.6 square kilometres over the area for the Preah Vihear buffer zone in its proposal.
Thailand also claimed sovereignty over the area in accordance with its own map.
As Cambodia agreed to revise the graphic plan of the property for World Heritage listing, it meant Cambodia recognised that the area was an "overlapping area", said Deputy Director of East Asia Affairs Pisanu Suvanajata.
Legally speaking, such recognition would benefit Thailand in future negotiations with Cambodia over the boundary demarcation, he said.
The deal with Cambodia to list the Hindu temple has caused political difficulties for Samak Sundaravej's government as senators, the opposiฌtion Democrat Party and street protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) accuse the Cabinet of losing territory over the temple and the surrounding area.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia since it is situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia. The Cabinet under the leadership of dictator Sarit Thanarat agreed to relinquish some 250,000 square metres of territory where the temple sits to Cambodia.
The senators, opposition and the PAD interpreted the ICJ's ruling difฌferently, saying that only the ruins belong to Cambodia but the soil on which the temple sits belongs to Thailand.
Allowing Cambodia to list the temple means loss of sovereignty. The Constitution Court, at the request of some senators, ruled the joint communique signed by former foreign minister Noppadon and Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok Anh to support Cambodia's application was a treaty which might cause a change to Thai sovereignty.
The communique was ruled unconstitutional and Noppadon was forced to quit.
It was the first time domestic political sensitivity over the temple had been acknowledged by the World Heritage Committee since the body consistently insisted listing had nothing to do with sovereignty.
Documents from Thailand earlier to support the application were withdrawn during a meeting of the committee in Quebec last week, according to the head of Thailand's world heritage committee Pongpol Adireksarn.
Pisanu said to gain the attention of the World Heritage Committee over the area around Preah Vihear, Thailand intended to apply for an archaeological site downhill as an adjoining nomination to the listed site. He said the Hindu temple of Phnom Roung in Buri Ram could also be proposed.
This is the result of the Quebec meeting being of benefit to Thailand.
Another benefit of the Quebec meeting, said Pisanu, was the right to join the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) which is a policymaking body for the safeguarding and development of Preah Vihear.
The World Heritage Committee asked Cambodia to invite Thailand to be a member of ICC together with not more than seven other internaฌtional partners.
There was wide misunderstanding among academics that the ICC would become a body to run the overlapping area.
In fact, the overlapping area had already been excluded and the World Heritage Committee's decision made clear in its 14th paragraph that the ICC would cover only the listed "property", according to the Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesman Thani Thongphakdi, who attended the Quebec meeting.
Joining the ICC would be a gain, rather than loss, since Thai repreฌsentatives would have the right to run Preah Vihear and the chance to voice Thai concerns, if any, to protect the country's national interest.
"It's good to have our ears, eyes and mouths there," ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said.
19 comments:
Yeah, it's the so-called focking win-win resolution.
If Cambodia maintain stability in the Country and stay firm to claim not only the temple but also surrounding area, the probability to get both of them are high. Thailand is also afraid if Cambodia take the case to international court again.
However,let's appreciate the first step that Hun Sen's government manage to register the temple. Let's observe the next step on surrounding area. If Cambodia let Thailand take advantage on 4.6km2,this will be damn shit and it's Hun Sen's government who should be blamed in Cambodian History.
Long Live Cambodia!!
4.6 KM surrounding area is part of the Preah Viheah. If Preah Viheah belongs to Khmer Kingdom (Cambodia) then it has to go with it.
Hun Sen a strong man in Cambodia, and how can he cede 4.6KM surounding area of the Temple won by King Sihanouk at ICJ to Thailand?
Look who is a strong man or a shit cow? He cannot even protect what Cambodia has and won at the International Court, and who is kidding with?
The temple and the surrounding area on the mountain belong to Khmer People in Issan Province. The ugly and greedy monkey has no right to called them foreigner just to steal everything from them.
In the 1962 verdict there is no overlapping area.
So far the Siam is barking real loud but we don't see any problem with the verdict.
We don't see any disputed zone, because it's all our land.
Remember 1907, this is the map the Siam king and France draw together.
Oops!
Whatever map draw after this is not valid.
Because Cambodia to can draw a new map including Sisaket.
By the way if we refer to 1962 and 1907 all the time because their is no doubt that the land is our.
If you not happy go to ICJ and complaint.
Oh well! The Thaicong are succeeding in bluffing AH HUN SEN!
It is the nature of Cambodia leader especially AH HUN SEN to negotiate away what is left of Cambodia!
It seems that Cambodian people of today only live for AH HUN SEN and when AH HUN SEN die and they all will die with him!
As for AH HUN SEN and he is not afraid to live for himself if it means that he has to kill more Cambodian people to stay in power forever!
shaking my head!
Ah Siamese you can whine, yelling how much you could, but the justice will prevail. Shame on you!, every nation in the world knows without hesitation, who you are, when you becoming a nation!and how?. How can a culprits nation like you relentlessly castigating Khmer of encrouching your territory? while you're occupied Khmer's land. You must be a vicious crime intent; dn't be so prowd your suny day of gleaming is number. PL.K
Down to you Ah thieves!
1:11 AM
You should not see it that way, that try to make us admit thing that they wanted.
This is bluff for Cambodia to revise the 1962 decison and 1907 map.
The Siam opposition (backed by the Siam king) want to bring down the Samak government, and they need something to feed the people which is now: the land surrounding Preah Vihear.
So we should not fall in their trap.
They can bring down Samak's government no problem with us.
Thais can spin the way they want. Fact is that in the 1907 Treaty, Thailand has signed with France, the government of Siam has recognized the map demarcating the two country without any mention of "overlapping territory", what so ever. The decision by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 1962 confirmed the validity of the map drawn up by France with the help from Thailand. And Thailand said nothing more afterward. So the decision to list Cambodian Preah Vihear temple this year by UNESCO in Quebec City, Canada is a clear victory for Cambodians and recognition once more that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia without any mention of "overlapping territory" as claimed by Thailand. What is said in this article is nothing more than a spin to calm down the opponents to the Thai government in supporting the request by Cambodia to list the Preah Vihear temple as world heritage. The spin is clearly for domestic consumption without merit what so ever!!!
what, thailand think the icj and it world community are that dumb? even cambodia is not that dumb to see their trick here. that's why we kept saying go by the icj verdict only; nothing new isn't it? thinking about, for this same argument of thailand, it was the same reason cambodia, then under the administration of HRH father king sihanouk took thailand to icj and won. but, of course, the siem thieves said they disagree with the court's decision, so they unilaterally redrew the map of their own to show that the 4.6 km2 is "overlapping" and with that in mind that try again to have cambodia listed only the temple but not the so-called "overlapping area when in actuality, this very "overlapping" area is also included in the icj verdict to belong to cambodia. very clever thailand for thinking cambodia and the world cannot see or read the icj legal documents or something.
i suggest cambodia to only go by the icj verdict, nothing new and nothing least than that. if thailand refused to respect the siamese-franco treaty of 1904 to 1907 that spell out the present borderlines of many many countries in the world for that matter, then it is another issue to itself. then they should deal with france etc... but i'm sure the icj is going to think differently from thailand as well in regard to that issue. so, cambodia must be diligent with the icj verdict, really!!!! i will keep on saying this forever until it become boring for everyone. the icj verdict is the legality of that will close this case once and for all. please look into it carefully, cambodia.
and don't forget to mention the icj ruled in favor of cambodia's claim not only the historic temple, but the legality of the siamese-franco treaty of the 1904 - 1907 as well. so, don't forget to include this importanct piece of legitimate and factual information when mentioning or writing about preah vihear- the temple and the siamese-franco treaty of 1904 - 1907 was ruled in favor of cambodia's claim and will always be this way for cambodia.
the bottomline is thailand lost the icj verdict, cased closed and end of discussion. thailand lost, thailand lost, thailand lost for a million times. just remind them that everything they want to talk to cambodia about it. need we say more? if they say they disagree with the icj verdict, tell them to go tell that to the icj!!!
Everything around the temple belongs to Khmer People in Issan Province, and nothing in that area belongs to anyone in Cambodia.
is this article saying that we lost the territory to thais?
Their is no cleverness by the Siam at all. It just excuse to feed their people. If Cambodia did not enlist the temple they would say, this was because of the dispute zone.
So either way they will have the same excuse because the goal is to kill Samak's government and in the same process fool Cambodia.
But if Cambodia is playing their game then yes they are clever.
So Siamland is trying to save face in front of their people and hopefully trap Cambodia.
5:41 AM
Of course not, the Bangkok post is setting a trap.
They know quite well that it would be foolish for them to invalidate the 1962 ICJ verdict.
So they want Cambodia to do it for them.
So this is the purpose of the article.
Sorry Siamland but you have to do it yourself.
The temple belongs to Khmer People in Issan Province, and it must be returned to them immediately.
Hun Sen just wanted Cambodia to list Preah Vihear in the World Heritage before the election. Now Thailand thinks the 4.6km is theirs. But it's ok we still got all the facts and we will fight, but at least you know the HUN SEN government is willing to sacrifice nation icon heritage for his party to win the election.
The temple belongs to Khmer in Cambodia...and Pumipon handed the temple to Cambodia with his head bow down in accordance to icj of 1962
Tell Abhishit to come to the Hague and argue for the 4.6 km2 himself. See if they will agree to that.
His Excellency Sok An knows how to deal with these Siem idiots very well. It is not as easy as you think! The temple and the surrounding areas remain under Cambodia's sovereignty since June 15 1962!
Tell Pumipon to send his Siem delagation to ask His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk if you are still unclear!
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