Mon, July 7, 2008
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
It is likely that the World Heritage Committee will agree to list the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site following Thailand's failure to delay the decision, the head of the Thai delegation at the meeting in Quebec said Monday.
Pongpol Adireksarn, chairman of Thailand's World Heritage Committee, the committee agreed that the temple "represented a masterpiece of human creative genius" which is one of six criteria to judge its "outstanding universal value", said The temple might not have to pass all six qualifications because one criterion is enough, he said.
The final decision will be known tomorrow morning Bangkok time.
As Cambodia insisted on a sole application, in accordance with the International Court of Justice's ruling in 1962, the objection raised by Thailand was invalid, he said.
The committee acknowledged the Thai concerns about the temple's outstanding universal value and the Thai Administrative Court's injunction, but it cannot delay any more since the application has been pending for two years, he said.
Cambodia has been keen to convince the 21member committee since Phnom Penh officials took the members to see the site.
"We had some problems after the 2006 military coup, since many democratic countries such as the United States gave full support to Cambodia for political reasons," Pongpol said via telephone from Quebec.
Thailand and Cambodia locked horns over the proposal to list the temple as a World Heritage site after Phnom Penh declared ownership of a 4.6 square kilometre overlapping area claimed by both sides.
The dispute was settled when Cambodia agreed to list only its part of the temple in the application, but there was opposition and street protests in Thailand over the sovereignty issue.
The protesters asked the Administrative Court to overturn the Cabinet resolution - which endorsed a joint communiqué signed by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodia's deputy prime minister Sok An in support of the application - and the Constitution Court to rule if the communiqué is unconstitutional.
Pongpol said the listing of Preah Vihear has nothing to do with Thai sovereignty as Cambodia proposed only its own area, not the overlapping area.
"We did not lose any territory. The Foreign Ministry - both under the previous government and this government - has done a good job in protecting our sovereignty," Pongpol said.
Pongpol Adireksarn, chairman of Thailand's World Heritage Committee, the committee agreed that the temple "represented a masterpiece of human creative genius" which is one of six criteria to judge its "outstanding universal value", said The temple might not have to pass all six qualifications because one criterion is enough, he said.
The final decision will be known tomorrow morning Bangkok time.
As Cambodia insisted on a sole application, in accordance with the International Court of Justice's ruling in 1962, the objection raised by Thailand was invalid, he said.
The committee acknowledged the Thai concerns about the temple's outstanding universal value and the Thai Administrative Court's injunction, but it cannot delay any more since the application has been pending for two years, he said.
Cambodia has been keen to convince the 21member committee since Phnom Penh officials took the members to see the site.
"We had some problems after the 2006 military coup, since many democratic countries such as the United States gave full support to Cambodia for political reasons," Pongpol said via telephone from Quebec.
Thailand and Cambodia locked horns over the proposal to list the temple as a World Heritage site after Phnom Penh declared ownership of a 4.6 square kilometre overlapping area claimed by both sides.
The dispute was settled when Cambodia agreed to list only its part of the temple in the application, but there was opposition and street protests in Thailand over the sovereignty issue.
The protesters asked the Administrative Court to overturn the Cabinet resolution - which endorsed a joint communiqué signed by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodia's deputy prime minister Sok An in support of the application - and the Constitution Court to rule if the communiqué is unconstitutional.
Pongpol said the listing of Preah Vihear has nothing to do with Thai sovereignty as Cambodia proposed only its own area, not the overlapping area.
"We did not lose any territory. The Foreign Ministry - both under the previous government and this government - has done a good job in protecting our sovereignty," Pongpol said.
17 comments:
Supalak Ganjanakhundee, I respect and admire your writing. It is fair and balance. You are one of the best writer with the Nation.
Thank you and blessing to you.
KevinUSA
"Preah Vihear represented a masterpiese of Khmer ancestors' human creative genius"
That will Khmer in Issan Province, not the monkey in Cambodia.
correction: That will BE Khmer in Issan Province, not the monkey in Cambodia.
As a Cambodian people, I will never buy Thai products, I will never use Thai service or even visit Thai.
Thai is GREEDY to get Khmer Territory.
It's bee a long time that I stop buying Siam's product.
10:53 PM
Don't be jealous, for 10$ you can enjoy the masterpiece too.
Did I tell you that for me it's free?
You got no soul, 11:33. You stole our temple and make it impossible for us to see our temple with inflated fee. You are not going to get away with that you fake monkey.
3 Asian sites added to UNESCO's World Heritage List
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 23:45:00 07/07/2008
QUEBEC CITY -- (UPDATE) A Hindu temple from Cambodia, historic Malaysian towns and an agricultural site from Papua New Guinea were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List on Monday.
Honored were the 11th century Preah Vihear temple site, perched on a mountaintop on the Thai-Cambodia border, the cities of the Straits of Malacca: Melaka and George Town in Malaysia, and the Kuk Early Agricultural Site in Papua New Guinea, marking the country's first entry on the list
yes, agree, as a khmer person, i personal don't care who wrote the reports on preah vihear as long as it looks and sounds fair, reasonable and unbiased toward cambodia, the owner of the temple. in fact, i'm sure cambodia hails the justice given in favor of cambodia. and believe me, cambodia will do its best to help unesco to preserve and maintain our khmer ancestral temple like preah vihear and many others all over cambodia. in fact, this consideration for world heritage status will unite the people on both side of the borders actually, despite all the big commotion going on in thailand to protest against its listing or whatever. this is just a way of thailand looking down on cambodia and arrogant toward cambodia as they all think they all are better than the khmer people. really, it boils down to political issues and has nothing to do with the temple and its value or whatever. i'm glad unesco sees it differently from thailand as their claim is so illegal, to say the least. anyhow, god bless cambodia and all our beautiful khmer people.
There is no such thing as Genius in Cambodia. Everything was build by Khmer in Thailand.
No wonder those Khmer people can't speak Khmer anymore because they turned to the SIAM as their favorite buddy than us the real Khmer.
If you really want to be part of us Khmer, you need to break away or declare yourself an autonumous or rejoin the motherland we will be strong as the Angkor period.
Come on it is not too late!!!
Bravo to Cambodia, and sorry to Thai that not successed to stole our temple.. but what i dont understand is WHY tourist need to pay in Bath to visit this Preah Vihear temple? IT IS BELONG TO CAMBODIA. Riel currency is no value or what????? it's a shame to Cambodia sometime.authority should think about this...
No way, we don't have to break from Thailand to be Khmer. Just hand our temple back to us if you know what's good for you.
Okay go ahead and take it, no body stops you, ah psychopath 3;37AM.
Okay, we will.
OK go take it. Get you shopping cart and put it piece by piece and take it home, k?
You speak Khmer? Then kom plich reuss ach ah Thai Cong with you.
Okay, we'll do, but there aren't many Thaicong in Issan province to pick up after.
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