A Cambodian soldier stands in front of Preah Vihear temple earlier in July (Photo: Heng Chivoan).Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Written by Post Staff
The Phnom Penh Post
At least 30 Thai troops who illegally entered Cambodia near Preah Vihear temple Tuesday are being held by Cambodian military, officials said, in the latest flare-up over the disputed 11th-century Hindu monument.
The armed Thai rangers had crossed into Cambodia following the arrest earlier in the day of three Thai protesters who jumped a border checkpoint and made their way to the temple, which has been closed off to Thais since June, when an angry crowd massed on Thailand's side of the line to claim ownership of Preah Vihear.
The three protesters were released, but the soldiers will be held until the issue of their incursion is resolved, said Meas Saroeun, a military officer at Preah Vihear, adding that one of the Thai soldiers was airlifted back to Thailand after losing his leg to a landmine in Cambodian territory.
"The mine had been underground since the war" in the 1980s, he told the Post. Some 60 Thai soldiers remained fanned out on the Thai side of the border, he said.
Hun Saravuth, deputy military police commander for Preah Vihear province, said earlier in the day that the Thai soldiers had spread out in a forested area within the temple complex after occupying a Buddhist pagoda located on a mountainside underneath the temple.
"We do not know why they are here," he said.
Reinforcements from the Choam Kh'san district and border police have been rushed to the temple complex, said district governor Kao Long, but Cambodian officials have vowed to remain calm.
"The Cambodian side is cool and patient," said Hang Soth, director of the National Preah Vihear Authority.
"The top levels of government are trying to resolve the situation. We do not want to fight," he added.
Preah Vihear temple was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 7 despite a lingering dispute over ownership of the land surrounding the temple.
The designation sparked jubilant celebrations across Phnom Penh, culminating in an enormous fireworks display at Olympic Stadium Monday night that drew thousands of people.
But in Thailand, bruised nationalism remains unappeased, and the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is suffering from the fallout.
On July 10, Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama stepped down after the Constitutional Court ruled that he had acted illegally in signing an agreement supporting Cambodia’s bid to have Preah Vihear temple listed as a World Heritage Site without the permission of parliament.
His move had been approved by Samak’s cabinet, which the court also decided had violated the Thai Constitution in acting without parliamentary consent, a verdict that observers said could lead to a major cabinet reshuffle.
Thai nationalists have vowed to continue protesting over the temple, with some groups saying they would storm Preah Vihear.
"If Thai protesters continue to enter Cambodian territory, we will arrest them and send them back," said Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan.
"We would like Cambodia and Thailand to solve this diplomatically through their embassies," he told the Post on Tuesday.
But one villager at the temple said she was increasingly worried the dispute would turn ugly, especially after the landmine blast.
"We are concerned that the Thais came here to create trouble," she said.
While generally good in recent years, Cambodia's relations with Thailand nosedived in 2003 over another temple, the famed Angkor Wat, after false rumors spread that a Thai starlet had said the most important symbol of the Khmer empire's ancient power actually belonged to Thailand.
An enraged mob burned and looted the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh before destroying a number of Thai-owned businesses around the capital.
The armed Thai rangers had crossed into Cambodia following the arrest earlier in the day of three Thai protesters who jumped a border checkpoint and made their way to the temple, which has been closed off to Thais since June, when an angry crowd massed on Thailand's side of the line to claim ownership of Preah Vihear.
The three protesters were released, but the soldiers will be held until the issue of their incursion is resolved, said Meas Saroeun, a military officer at Preah Vihear, adding that one of the Thai soldiers was airlifted back to Thailand after losing his leg to a landmine in Cambodian territory.
"The mine had been underground since the war" in the 1980s, he told the Post. Some 60 Thai soldiers remained fanned out on the Thai side of the border, he said.
Hun Saravuth, deputy military police commander for Preah Vihear province, said earlier in the day that the Thai soldiers had spread out in a forested area within the temple complex after occupying a Buddhist pagoda located on a mountainside underneath the temple.
"We do not know why they are here," he said.
Reinforcements from the Choam Kh'san district and border police have been rushed to the temple complex, said district governor Kao Long, but Cambodian officials have vowed to remain calm.
"The Cambodian side is cool and patient," said Hang Soth, director of the National Preah Vihear Authority.
"The top levels of government are trying to resolve the situation. We do not want to fight," he added.
Preah Vihear temple was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 7 despite a lingering dispute over ownership of the land surrounding the temple.
The designation sparked jubilant celebrations across Phnom Penh, culminating in an enormous fireworks display at Olympic Stadium Monday night that drew thousands of people.
But in Thailand, bruised nationalism remains unappeased, and the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is suffering from the fallout.
On July 10, Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama stepped down after the Constitutional Court ruled that he had acted illegally in signing an agreement supporting Cambodia’s bid to have Preah Vihear temple listed as a World Heritage Site without the permission of parliament.
His move had been approved by Samak’s cabinet, which the court also decided had violated the Thai Constitution in acting without parliamentary consent, a verdict that observers said could lead to a major cabinet reshuffle.
Thai nationalists have vowed to continue protesting over the temple, with some groups saying they would storm Preah Vihear.
"If Thai protesters continue to enter Cambodian territory, we will arrest them and send them back," said Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan.
"We would like Cambodia and Thailand to solve this diplomatically through their embassies," he told the Post on Tuesday.
But one villager at the temple said she was increasingly worried the dispute would turn ugly, especially after the landmine blast.
"We are concerned that the Thais came here to create trouble," she said.
While generally good in recent years, Cambodia's relations with Thailand nosedived in 2003 over another temple, the famed Angkor Wat, after false rumors spread that a Thai starlet had said the most important symbol of the Khmer empire's ancient power actually belonged to Thailand.
An enraged mob burned and looted the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh before destroying a number of Thai-owned businesses around the capital.
32 comments:
Thai agression on Khmer soil will not be accepted and brought to justice! We need to lay more landmines on our border front to prevent more illegal incursions.
"If Thai protesters continue to enter Cambodian territory, we will arrest them and send them back," said Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan.
= There must be consequence for any Thaicong protesters who continue to violate Cambodian law! AH HUN SEN officials can't go forever rear rest them and send them back as if they are good citizen of the world! Stupid Cambodian officials can't afford to have the Thaicong to probe and to test them as if they are little children who want to play with cowboy with wooden gun! If the stupid Cambodian officials continue to have the open door policy and soon more Thaicong protesters will overwhelm them and it will be hard for any stupid Cambodian officials to stop them!
Listen up all you stupid Cambodian officials! I don't give a fuck if the Thaicong protesters are a monk or whatever! It is up to you as Cambodian officials to uphold Cambodian law and no criminal will be reward for breaking Cambodian law! Next time before you send any Thaicong protesters back home and they will have to stay in Cambodian jail for 6 months and do hard labor to discourage them from entering Cambodian illegally again!
Now all you stupid Cambodian officials go do the right thing and no more excuse!
You fool Khmers
The area that Thai troop entered is the overlapping area in dispute.
If you Khmers love to fool yourselves that it's in the land of Khmers, you are so fool to believe what is said in your newspaper.
PS. Khmers are shameless
You hold 3 Thais as hostages.
And it's in the dispute area,
not even on your own soil.
Khmer soldiers are illegally holding Thais and you think we won't do anything?
You idiot Thai, that is not a disputed land. It belongs to Cambodia.
Country of pimps and whores.
Since 1904 Cambodia has clear define boundary between Thailame and Cambodia! Now in 2008, the Thaicong news media began to use the words such "OVER OVERLAPPING","WHITE ZONE", AND "BUFFER ZONE" to confuse the world over!
All the Thaicong need to wake up because Cambodia will be another Kuwait because any Thaicong aggression will not be rewarded by international community!
The Thaicong think that they are the new Super Power in Southeast Asia because they owned more F-16 than any other countries in the region! The F-16s stand no chance against today air defense system!
12:56 AM
If you are so damn sure that there's no dispute area,such as "OVER OVERLAPPING","WHITE ZONE", AND "BUFFER ZONE"
SHOW ME THE DOCUMENT that you stated that both countries agreed on in 1904.
If BOTH COUNTRIES never had such agreement, but ONLY CAMBODIA said so, how the fuck you're saying THERE'S NO DISPUTE AREA!
If you are real man, show me the paper, agreed by both countries,ok?
If you cannot show such evidence, pls. go back and suck your mom's tits for such a big lie!!!!
I'm waiting for your evidence.
Are you man enough to show the real evidence? Or love to feel the comfort of your mom's?
To 1:07AM
You mother fucker want evidence! Why don't you mother fucker check the Cambodian map of 1904 and 1907!
You want me to do the fucken homework for you mother fucker! You want to be spoon fed with information like a little child mother fucker! Fuck you bitch! Hey! I don't have to fuck your mom because the Thaicong army gang rapes her already!
The world court ain't stupid like you Thaicong mother fucker and that is why they award Khmer Phrea Vihear temple to Cambodia base on the world map (not the Thaicong map)! It is the tradition of every Thaicong leaders to fight Cambodia over something that was decided base on International Law!
Case closed you Thiacong mother fucker and the comfort is all mine!
According to Thai historian Charnvit Kasetsiri of Thammasat University of Bangkok, Chulalongkuoy signed the 1904 treaty with France to prevent Siam from being colonized by Western Powers. It is the legal border between Thailand and Cambodia to this day. The world court awarded the temple and land to Cambodia in 1962.
you ingrate bastard. Living off the resources and heritage of Khmer civilization and today continues to be insolent and audacious. What a virulent creature without shame. A shat derechan (wild beast) hiding beneath the cloak of Buddhism. Agree to what? Don't you know Thailand acquiesced to the 1962 justice? You think an international court in 1962 was brought by Cambodian alone speaking by herself? Are you stupid?
A court decision has been made and that court decision held the authority of international stamp sealed on it. So you act today like Preah Vihear just got return back to Cambodia in 2008. How stupid.
Unfathomable ingrates! Your whole country can go and be ordain but your sin and the Kun you owe to Khmer people will never be finished. You ingrate barbarians.
This is the true definition of barbarians. People who come to steal other people's possessions and believe wholeheartedly and blindly that they deserve the rights.
Don't demand return of any land for Cambodia if you're not ready to accept the return of Thai sovereign to Khmer empire.
Byegone are bygones. So shut the fuck up and leave our land or face the consequences of the land mines.
if their foreign ministry deny the incursion, the the videa cambera and picture to use as evidence against the siem thieves.
1:07am
Calm down man. Just go to work. use your manner in this website and consider to other. No need to curse. Our mom has a beautiful superior and respect every mom. You sound don't make any sense.
Do not think that small country like Cambodia would be grabbed easily witough some lost from Thai side. If war provoke both side will lost. Thais do be crazy about you stupidity.
Haha...To all fellow Khmers..!
Do u know that a Thai thieves lost his leg because he steped into Khmer land illegally?
This is Karma..!!
Haha...To all fello Khmers..!
Pol Pot made your lives easier, didn't him? Is this Karma..!!
You mother fucker want evidence! Why don't you mother fucker check the Cambodian map of 1904 and 1907!
You mother fucker want evidence! Why don't you mother fucker check the "Thai" map before 1904 and 1907!
Yes Thailand is destroying itself. It is their Karma. We wait and see what happen in near future
To 2:02AM
Well! The reason I don't check the Thaicong map before 1904 and 1907 because then you have to check Cambodian map way before 1904 and 1907 when the whole Thailame was part of Khmer empire!ahahhahhah
The second reasons I don’t check the Thaicong map because the Thaicong map before 1904 and 1907 is not world map! The real world map is 1904 and 1907 drew by the the French so that explain why the world court recognized the world map instead of the Thaicong map in recognizing Cambodia is the sole ownership of Khmer Phrea Vihear temple!
So much for the Thaicong theory and logic! I never thought the Thaicong can so foolish!
Now, it's time to lay more landmines around the Preah Vihear.
This time take no hostages. Don't shoot to warn; shoot to kill.
We need to teach these Thai bastards a lesson.
We no longer can tolerate such behavior; we need to let these bastards know that we mean business.
The thais are using this conflict to topple their government
Cambodians are united while the thais are divided.
A coup detat and war with the muslims
is next. they will only destroy themseves with their blind jealousy.
DEAR ALL,
LET'S VOLUNTEER ALL KHMERS HERE IN CAMBODIA AND OVERSEA AND UNDER OUR CURRENT GOVERNMENT TO BE DEPLOYED AT PREAH VIHEAR AND DEFEND OUR COUNTRY AGAINST FOREIGN AGRESSION!!!
any feedback how to please post here.
To 8:30AM
To better protect Khmer Phrea Vihear temple is to construct Demilitarized Zones which include planting million of landmines and dig up man made bunker arm with heavy machine guns and missiles! The whole place will be guard 24-7 by night vision cameras by military personnel like the one in North Korea! In fact I really favor the North Korean style demilitarized zone for all Cambodian borders!
I don't believe in using too much man power! But I do believe in using landmines, using rocket launchers and missiles to reach hundred of miles away and I believe in using every square meter of Cambodian territory and turn it into a deadly air defense system populated with missiles and rockets and radar system!
I really resent the fact that AH HUN SEN government claimed to have a lot of military personnel but most of them are ghost soldiers to collect pension money! And the last time, I saw Cambodian military do their practice and they were in wooden boat! Ahhahhahhahahh It is such a shame!
I believe that Cambodia must have at least 100,000 standby military personnel on duty at any given time and they are well equipped and well trained to take on any enemy within Cambodian geography!
You see the god always stay with us. Thais are seriously punished if they countinuesly invat Cambodia territory. Today there is only one man lost their leg; tomorrow they will lose their nation. Ha ha ha. Let them come so that we will have a strong reason to close all our border. It is time of us to revenge back A SIAM....
12:33,
I agree! Have it like the US law.
First offense for illegal border crossing = 6 month jail sentence
Illegal re-entry = 3 years jail sentence.
Third illegal re-entry = 3 years plus banned for life.
Plus, what's the purpose of guarding our borders if one is not wiling to enforce it. A simple slap on the hand doesn't deter crimes. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT MY KHMER PEOPLE...... OUR BORDERS HAVE BEEN BREACHED! WE CALLED TO THE CAMBODIAN GOV'T TO HEIGHTENED AND BETTER PROTECTION FOR OUR BORDER NOW!
VOTE SRP TO ELIMINATE ALL CORRUPTIONS, LAND GRABBING, TREASONS AND PROTECTING ALL KHMER NATIONALIST FROM INTRUDERS.
Ah Nan Chao Siemssssssssssss must be stopped. They must not advance against the Khmer defenders. We will dance in hell with you ah Azzhole Nan Chao Siems hellish creatures!!!!! Back the f*ck up, ah hellish Siem creatures. Khmer land is never meant for you hellish creatures to encroach or rule over, you mather f*cker Siems.
9:14,
Since the Saddam Hun Sen gov't have the Youn soldiers standing by for the election...... I say we put them to work at the Preah Vihear temple! I mean, let's protect our national soveneignty first before our internal affairs! What do you think?
Khmer would live happily and peacefully forever if this world don't have 2 nations( Youn and Siam).
11:19 AM
There's no such thing as "peaceful" nation or world.
Conflict or war is the real drive (not drag) for the economy.
Conflict is good.
food for thoughts
what did khmers do in the past lives to have Pol Pot, is it Karma?
Khmers only destroy itself, even now as you can see.
Instead of wishfully thinking that 2 other nations (Youn&Siam) don't exist for the happiness of Khmers,
why don't let Youn & Siam be happy without Khmers.
Isn't it easier to get rid of Khmers, (1 nation)and make other 2 happy?
11:41 AM
It appears that you've picked up the line from the NPR radio, dumbass.
The Camboddian government must examine the rules of engagement.
The government should now allow these dispected-Thai troops enter our land at their will. We must do something, and the government must not stop the troops from engaging in the conflict.
Give us Koh Pors(snake island), we will send troops from Hanoi to help you to pull Thai troops back. hehehe
From Vietnamese commander
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