Bangkok Post
EDITORIAL
The thousands of Thai villagers living in Si Sa Ket province near the Preah Vihear temple know there is a general election tomorrow in Cambodia. Few, though, care about which political party will win. The only outcome that excites them is that it might provide a chance for all the fuss to die down and allow them to be left in peace and able to get on with their lives.
Their hope is that with the polls out of the way, the ultra-nationalistic fervour so popular at election time will also fade away as the focus in Phnom Penh shifts to the traditional bickering over the make-up of the new administration. No more hiding in bunkers or huddling for protection in large concrete pipes in case a war of words suddenly turns hot. Instead, they look forward to a gradual racheting down of tension on both sides of the border with Monday's meeting in Siem Reap smoothing the way.
The temple area's resurgence as a political and military flashpoint was the last thing the long-suffering villagers of Kantharalak district wanted. It all brought back terrible memories of the civil war in Cambodia which saw the bloody rise to power of the Khmer Rouge in 1975 and then the Vietnamese invade the country three years later. Older villagers recall how this prompted a huge outpouring of refugees, many of whom scrambled up the escarpment and sought shelter. There were so many that thousands had to be forced back into Cambodia where they were caught in exchanges of gunfire amid driving rain or snared in minefields. The exact number of those who died will never be known.
What followed was a further two decades of guerrilla fighting, which made the temple a hazardous place to visit on the occasions it was open. With the arrival of a new millennium, Preah Vihear was expected to become an international tourist destination and a sacred place of peace. So peaceful, in fact, that a spat over the two-tier pricing applied to foreign and local visitors had been the only issue to surface in the months prior to the temple's recent closure. The days of political posturing and military stand-offs were supposed to be at an end.
Given some restraint from our own firebrands, there is every reason to believe that tomorrow's election in Cambodia will take the heat off. But it will not solve the problem of the disputed territory around the temple. That will take much time, goodwill and patience.
Equally noteworthy is the fact that the only casualty so far has been an unfortunate Thai army captain who lost his leg in a landmine explosion. Resolution of the dispute must set in motion the clearance of nearly 500sqkm of mines and unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the Preah Vihear region and the border.
There is speculation that tomorrow's elections might bring radical initiatives in their wake? That is unlikely because the political status quo is firmly rooted in conservatism and Cambodia remains relatively stable and economically sound. Mr Hun Sen has been prime minister since 1985 and voters are likely to return him to power once again. Sam Rainsy has been mired in the opposition for so long it is hard to imagine him posing any credible challenge, and Prince Norodom Ranariddh has been reduced to mounting a token campaign from a cramped condo in Kuala Lumpur.
Back at the border, Thai villagers are again practising evacuation and weapons drills and renovating old bomb shelters. But no more blood must be shed. The ruling by the World Court in 1962 is irreversible but the devil, as always, lies in the details. The most vital detail is the 4.6sqkm disputed area and resolving that issue in a fair and peaceful manner is a task that is long overdue.
Their hope is that with the polls out of the way, the ultra-nationalistic fervour so popular at election time will also fade away as the focus in Phnom Penh shifts to the traditional bickering over the make-up of the new administration. No more hiding in bunkers or huddling for protection in large concrete pipes in case a war of words suddenly turns hot. Instead, they look forward to a gradual racheting down of tension on both sides of the border with Monday's meeting in Siem Reap smoothing the way.
The temple area's resurgence as a political and military flashpoint was the last thing the long-suffering villagers of Kantharalak district wanted. It all brought back terrible memories of the civil war in Cambodia which saw the bloody rise to power of the Khmer Rouge in 1975 and then the Vietnamese invade the country three years later. Older villagers recall how this prompted a huge outpouring of refugees, many of whom scrambled up the escarpment and sought shelter. There were so many that thousands had to be forced back into Cambodia where they were caught in exchanges of gunfire amid driving rain or snared in minefields. The exact number of those who died will never be known.
What followed was a further two decades of guerrilla fighting, which made the temple a hazardous place to visit on the occasions it was open. With the arrival of a new millennium, Preah Vihear was expected to become an international tourist destination and a sacred place of peace. So peaceful, in fact, that a spat over the two-tier pricing applied to foreign and local visitors had been the only issue to surface in the months prior to the temple's recent closure. The days of political posturing and military stand-offs were supposed to be at an end.
Given some restraint from our own firebrands, there is every reason to believe that tomorrow's election in Cambodia will take the heat off. But it will not solve the problem of the disputed territory around the temple. That will take much time, goodwill and patience.
Equally noteworthy is the fact that the only casualty so far has been an unfortunate Thai army captain who lost his leg in a landmine explosion. Resolution of the dispute must set in motion the clearance of nearly 500sqkm of mines and unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the Preah Vihear region and the border.
There is speculation that tomorrow's elections might bring radical initiatives in their wake? That is unlikely because the political status quo is firmly rooted in conservatism and Cambodia remains relatively stable and economically sound. Mr Hun Sen has been prime minister since 1985 and voters are likely to return him to power once again. Sam Rainsy has been mired in the opposition for so long it is hard to imagine him posing any credible challenge, and Prince Norodom Ranariddh has been reduced to mounting a token campaign from a cramped condo in Kuala Lumpur.
Back at the border, Thai villagers are again practising evacuation and weapons drills and renovating old bomb shelters. But no more blood must be shed. The ruling by the World Court in 1962 is irreversible but the devil, as always, lies in the details. The most vital detail is the 4.6sqkm disputed area and resolving that issue in a fair and peaceful manner is a task that is long overdue.
1 comment:
On Monday July 28th 2008,
Samdech Preah Maha Decho Hun Sen will become the nation HERO and the Prime Minister. The CPP is the principle of the Cambodia, the master in politics, the strategist of the problems solving, the role model of all parties. The wins wins with none stop ruling party.
The security in the country is safe, the economy is growing, the stability is smooth and peaceful.
The investors is high, the development growing all over the country, The people happy of living in Cambodia.
The looser may go back home to where they come from with empty seats in the Assembly of ruling.
Samdech Preah Maha Decho Hun Sen is a Cambodian HERO the Sun Of Cambodia, the great grand sun of Hun Tein the King ruling Cambodia.
Cheyo!
The New Sun rising on the old Kingdom! Samdech Preah Bat Maha Decho Hun Sen Varman.
Down SRP, HRP, Func, Norodom and many others.... Chaos.
Post a Comment