July 23, 2008
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Singapore
Cambodian delegates adamant on French map; seek UN, Asean help to end stand-off
Cambodia yesterday launched a diplomatic offensive against Thailand following the failure to resolve the week-long military stand-off at the disputed Preah Vihear Temple.
Gen Boonsrang Niumpradit, supreme commander of the Thai armed forces, meanwhile, said more Cambodian troops had been stationed at the border after both countries failed to reach an agreement on Monday.
Boonsrang, who led a Thai delegation to a consultation meeting with Cambodian counterparts, said Cambodia had been adamant on its position, particularly regarding the use of a French-drawn map demarcating the two countries' border.
As a result, the Cambodian side, led by Defence Minister Tea Banh, did not accept Thailand's conditions for resolution of the border dispute.
Thousands of Thai and Cambodian soldiers are currently on alert at the border.
As for Cambodia, its representatives yesterday asked Asean and the United Nations to convene special sessions to help resolve the "grave" border stand-off.
However, Thailand wanted to use bilateral mechanisms to try to end the row, saying it was too early to take the issue to regional or international levels.
Gen Boonsrang said a resolution to the conflict should be easier to reach after Cambodia holds its general election on Sunday (July 27).
In addition, he said both countries should consider sharing interests to end the dispute.
The Thai-Cambodian row was discussed over lunch yesterday by the 10-member Asean grouping in Singapore, where foreign ministers met on the sidelines of a ministerial conference.
Singapore's foreign minister George Yeo invited all ministers to the session after Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong proposed that an Asean Inter-Ministerial Group, made up of foreign ministers of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, should try to help end the Thai-Cambodian dispute.
The Singaporean minister also told his Cambodian counterpart it was too soon to ask the UN to deal with the issue.
Thailand's deputy prime minister Sahas Bunditkul, who led the Thai delegation here, only joined the lunch session on condition that it had no official agenda and that no records or documents of any kind would come out of the meeting.
Sahas insisted that the General Border Committee (GBC) of Thailand and Cambodia, and other bilateral talks, would fix the conflict.
"Asean has offered its facilities to Cambodia and Thailand, but only in the event that the two sides need further support to find a solution. For now, we feel it's premature," Sahas told reporters after the lunch. The situation was not as "grave" as painted by Cambodia, he said.
The Cambodian foreign minister earlier asked the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting next Monday to discuss measures to help resolve the conflict.
The Cambodian ambassador to the US also handed letters to the presidents of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly about Cambodia's request.
Cambodian spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Phnom Penh would also seek a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for boundary demarcation, but the Thai Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary Norachit Sinhaseni said this was unlikely.
The ICJ ruled in 1962 that the 11th-century Hindu temple was part of Cambodia, but it became an issue of conflict after the temple was listed as a World Heritage site despite a late objection from Thailand.
Cambodia yesterday launched a diplomatic offensive against Thailand following the failure to resolve the week-long military stand-off at the disputed Preah Vihear Temple.
Gen Boonsrang Niumpradit, supreme commander of the Thai armed forces, meanwhile, said more Cambodian troops had been stationed at the border after both countries failed to reach an agreement on Monday.
Boonsrang, who led a Thai delegation to a consultation meeting with Cambodian counterparts, said Cambodia had been adamant on its position, particularly regarding the use of a French-drawn map demarcating the two countries' border.
As a result, the Cambodian side, led by Defence Minister Tea Banh, did not accept Thailand's conditions for resolution of the border dispute.
Thousands of Thai and Cambodian soldiers are currently on alert at the border.
As for Cambodia, its representatives yesterday asked Asean and the United Nations to convene special sessions to help resolve the "grave" border stand-off.
However, Thailand wanted to use bilateral mechanisms to try to end the row, saying it was too early to take the issue to regional or international levels.
Gen Boonsrang said a resolution to the conflict should be easier to reach after Cambodia holds its general election on Sunday (July 27).
In addition, he said both countries should consider sharing interests to end the dispute.
The Thai-Cambodian row was discussed over lunch yesterday by the 10-member Asean grouping in Singapore, where foreign ministers met on the sidelines of a ministerial conference.
Singapore's foreign minister George Yeo invited all ministers to the session after Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong proposed that an Asean Inter-Ministerial Group, made up of foreign ministers of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, should try to help end the Thai-Cambodian dispute.
The Singaporean minister also told his Cambodian counterpart it was too soon to ask the UN to deal with the issue.
Thailand's deputy prime minister Sahas Bunditkul, who led the Thai delegation here, only joined the lunch session on condition that it had no official agenda and that no records or documents of any kind would come out of the meeting.
Sahas insisted that the General Border Committee (GBC) of Thailand and Cambodia, and other bilateral talks, would fix the conflict.
"Asean has offered its facilities to Cambodia and Thailand, but only in the event that the two sides need further support to find a solution. For now, we feel it's premature," Sahas told reporters after the lunch. The situation was not as "grave" as painted by Cambodia, he said.
The Cambodian foreign minister earlier asked the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting next Monday to discuss measures to help resolve the conflict.
The Cambodian ambassador to the US also handed letters to the presidents of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly about Cambodia's request.
Cambodian spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Phnom Penh would also seek a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for boundary demarcation, but the Thai Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary Norachit Sinhaseni said this was unlikely.
The ICJ ruled in 1962 that the 11th-century Hindu temple was part of Cambodia, but it became an issue of conflict after the temple was listed as a World Heritage site despite a late objection from Thailand.
14 comments:
Of course the Thai wanted to solve this bilaterally becuase they arrogantly believe that they can bully the Cambodian to their advantage.
Asean is useless.
It's about time that we stand firm. We should be flexible with our people and family, but strongly defend our territorial integrity based on internation law and standard. No one care more about us than we Khmer ourselves. It's good lesson that we need to be supportive of oner another.
United we stand and divided we die.
1- DO WE WAIT UNTIL EVERYBODY DIE IN THE FIELD.
2- THE SIMPLE WAY IS THAT THAI ARMY
NEED TO WITHDRAW FROM THE CAMBODIAN LAND EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE.
3- IF THEY RESPECT EACH OTHER LET THE INTERNATIONAL LAW MAKE A DECISION.
The temple and the land surrounding it belong to Cambodia. There's no sharing needed with the Thai. Leave us alone and let us manage our own affair. The thain will never share anything with us. They bomb the hell out of refugees, rape our women and kill our children when we try to fled for safety from the KR and the invading Vietcong forces. Now that Khmer are united, they wanted us to share what is our. Get the hell out and stay out and leave us alone if you cannot respect as equal human being and as a soverign nation. We don't need you and we bleed you if you want a war with us. You have not suffer like we have in recent memory. We don't want to put our people in that situation ever again, but we are united and will defend what is our with an iron will and dtermination.
We Thai, should take over the Khmer people and put them under our colony for ten of thousand of years rather than let them become vietnamese. We Thai should prepare all the fighting forces to invade the Khmer just as quick as the vietnam had invaded them, and took all the gooddy from them now rather than later. The Khmer are now rich enough to invade once more time. We Thai must do before the vietnam do it again. It's time to teach Khmer a lesson. Because the Khmer are bitting each other to death. We should strikes them now.
Bhumibunn Krisak
You're right 4:31am.
But vise versa. Ah Chor SIAM.
Krisak,
About time you stop talking like a robber's mentality. This is how and why the Khmer have come to hate us throughout history, because we invaded and looted them incessantly.
Waraporn
Former Thai Red Cross Worker at Khao I Dang refugee camp in the 1980s.
Now the Siamese shows its true color-the barbarian act. If the Viet colonized Cambodia and Lao the Thai will be next in their agenda. In the next 20 years Vietnam will become the sole/economic power in the region whereas the Thai will rapidly decline. The Thai people are arrogant and ignorance. Thai are most-hated in the region, and are not trustworthy nation (its history speaks for itself). Your ungraceful kingdom will vow to three masters, China, Burma, and Viet. Thailand will dissolve as a nation, nonetheless.
The monkeys must withdraw from Issan Province to avoid war in the region. They have nothing that belongs to them in the province. They don't live there, and no one even speaks Cambodia dialect in that area.
Get out, you hairy and stinky monkeys.
There is no sharing. If the Siam government want to share Sisaket with us no problem.
Don't worry if the UN is not doing anything, Cambodia must go to the ICJ. All these process must be done quickly.
We love to share Sisaket with you but we are divorce, remember? And in a divorce each side is entitle to some assets. You got your fare share of the assets. Why are you still trying to steal ours?
What the fuck are you talking about, still on crack???
What didn't you understand? When you are divorce from your spouse, not everything belong to you. Some assets will go to her, and some to you.
Dear My young Krisak,(Mr. 4:31)
Just a dram my youngest guy.
Thank
Achar Knoy
Dear My young Krisak,(Mr. 4:31)
Just a dram my youngest guy.
You should also think about souhern Thailand situation combined with you neighboring Burma....
Pls be calm do not make a small thing to the Largest one....
You are still young so you are unaware of Bloodshed which causes the great remort/regret...
Every thing on earth/unerverse is unstable change time by time as era by era, also the nature/environment... this is the so-called Law of Nature... Law of Conformity/unconformity.....
If you fbricate the bad thing it will effect to whole generation and generation....
Thank
Achar Knoy
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