BANGKOK POST AND AGENCIES
Thailand and Cambodia will hold an urgent meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) on Monday to defuse the growing tension over the listing of the old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.
The decision comes as both countries are sending troop reinforcements to the sensitive border area.
Lt-Gen Sujit Sithiprapa, commander of the Second Army in charge of the northeastern region, has closed Khao Phra Viharn national park in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket and sealed access to the border in the area, banning visitors from seeing the temple ruins from the Thai side.
The road is now closed from the forestry district office, which is 8km from the borderline at Pha Mor E-Daeng.
The closure means members of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy will be unable to go to the border today as planned.
Si Sa Ket governor Sanee Jittakasem suggested they stage a protest in the district town instead.
About 900 Cambodians living on the mountain where the temple is located have fled their homes for a safer spot lower down, according to Cambodian border unit commander Seng Vuthy.
Three Thai protesters remained in the disputed area to meditate at Wat Phra Viharn, about 200m from the stone staircases leading to the temple. They were released on Tuesday after being detained, but refused to leave the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area.
The GBC, set up by the two countries to solve border issues, will meet for talks in Sa Kaeo province, the Foreign Ministry said.
The committee is co-chaired by the defence ministers of both countries. But it was unclear whether Defence Minister Samak Sundaravej and his Cambodian counterpart Gen Teah Banh will attend the talks or send representatives. The meeting was set for next month. The decision to bring it forward underlines the worry felt by both governments over the growing tension.
Thailand started reinforcing its troops yesterday after army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda ordered the First Special Warfare Unit to stand by at their base in Lop Buri province, and be ready for an airlift to the border in case of an emergency, an army source said.
Troops from the Artillery Regiment and the Third Infantry Division were already on their way to stations close to the border. The reinforcements from the three units would number about 800. Some 150 paramilitary rangers are already in the disputed area.
Air force chief ACM Chalit Phukpasuk assigned F-16 jets to patrol the border in Si Sa Ket yesterday and questioned the detention of three protesters by Cambodian soldiers in the overlapping zone.
''Ownership of the overlapping area is still open. As the boundary has not yet been established, does Cambodia have any right to arrest us if we enter the area?'' he said.
Pol Capt Soy Burin of the Cambodian border patrol unit said more Cambodian troops had been sent to guard the ruins.
Phnom Penh has 380 soldiers stationed at the temple, according to Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith.
Despite the presence of more troops at the border, Gen Anupong instructed soldiers to avoid a clash with Cambodian soldiers.
Lt-Gen Sujit insisted on the presence of Thai troops in the disputed area unless Cambodia moves its soldiers out.
''If Cambodia does not withdraw its soldiers, we won't either, because it is the overlapping area,'' he said.
Mr Khieu Kanharith backed off his assertion on Tuesday that Thai troops had been captured in Cambodia, saying it was a misunderstanding.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told the public to remain calm and not to ''inflame [the situation] or add fuel to the fire.''
The decision comes as both countries are sending troop reinforcements to the sensitive border area.
Lt-Gen Sujit Sithiprapa, commander of the Second Army in charge of the northeastern region, has closed Khao Phra Viharn national park in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket and sealed access to the border in the area, banning visitors from seeing the temple ruins from the Thai side.
The road is now closed from the forestry district office, which is 8km from the borderline at Pha Mor E-Daeng.
The closure means members of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy will be unable to go to the border today as planned.
Si Sa Ket governor Sanee Jittakasem suggested they stage a protest in the district town instead.
About 900 Cambodians living on the mountain where the temple is located have fled their homes for a safer spot lower down, according to Cambodian border unit commander Seng Vuthy.
Three Thai protesters remained in the disputed area to meditate at Wat Phra Viharn, about 200m from the stone staircases leading to the temple. They were released on Tuesday after being detained, but refused to leave the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area.
The GBC, set up by the two countries to solve border issues, will meet for talks in Sa Kaeo province, the Foreign Ministry said.
The committee is co-chaired by the defence ministers of both countries. But it was unclear whether Defence Minister Samak Sundaravej and his Cambodian counterpart Gen Teah Banh will attend the talks or send representatives. The meeting was set for next month. The decision to bring it forward underlines the worry felt by both governments over the growing tension.
Thailand started reinforcing its troops yesterday after army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda ordered the First Special Warfare Unit to stand by at their base in Lop Buri province, and be ready for an airlift to the border in case of an emergency, an army source said.
Troops from the Artillery Regiment and the Third Infantry Division were already on their way to stations close to the border. The reinforcements from the three units would number about 800. Some 150 paramilitary rangers are already in the disputed area.
Air force chief ACM Chalit Phukpasuk assigned F-16 jets to patrol the border in Si Sa Ket yesterday and questioned the detention of three protesters by Cambodian soldiers in the overlapping zone.
''Ownership of the overlapping area is still open. As the boundary has not yet been established, does Cambodia have any right to arrest us if we enter the area?'' he said.
Pol Capt Soy Burin of the Cambodian border patrol unit said more Cambodian troops had been sent to guard the ruins.
Phnom Penh has 380 soldiers stationed at the temple, according to Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith.
Despite the presence of more troops at the border, Gen Anupong instructed soldiers to avoid a clash with Cambodian soldiers.
Lt-Gen Sujit insisted on the presence of Thai troops in the disputed area unless Cambodia moves its soldiers out.
''If Cambodia does not withdraw its soldiers, we won't either, because it is the overlapping area,'' he said.
Mr Khieu Kanharith backed off his assertion on Tuesday that Thai troops had been captured in Cambodia, saying it was a misunderstanding.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told the public to remain calm and not to ''inflame [the situation] or add fuel to the fire.''
31 comments:
I'm happy that both countries exercise restrain.Cambodia need to catch up with Thai in term of military.She need Air Force,navy marine and the best Armed Forces comparable to the Israelis IDF, and perhaps NUKES.When that task are done then we can rest assure that our neighbors either yuon or Thai will think 100 time over before blindfully trying to occupy our land.If they dare,it mean hell for them.
maybe this is a good thing for cambodia, a blessing in disguise for cambodia to wake-up and see the world in a bigger picture. perhaps also a wake-up call for cambodia to spruce up its military strength in order to protect our sovereignty.
cambodia can always learn from have or have not.
thailand is very emotional in their dealing with cambodia, whereas cambodia is more pragmatic in our dealing with thailand. that said, i still think when it all comes down to international laws, if push comes to shove, cambodia is always prevailed over thailand. so, thailand better be careful on how they deal with cambodia because the whole world is watching, and thus, i don't think the world is going to tolerate thailand for disrespecting the icj verdict and for violating the international laws like that.
yes, the question is not about whether cambodia can fight back or not with thailand's unlawful incursion into preah vihear vicinity. it should be the question of international concern whether thailand is violating the icj verdict and violating cambodia rights to be a nation. in today's world, it's all about respecting the international laws as more and more countries of the world are intermingling and doing international business together, etc... it is a global cause, not just about whether thailand is militarily stronger than cambodia or whatever; it's about upholding the international laws and respecting a sovereigned nation like cambodia the rights to self-determination like in the case of the world heritage listing of the khmer-built preah vihear temple. when countries become affluent, borderlines are there, however, the international co-dependent of one another is more prevalent. this is why the world take the international laws and international diplomacy more and more seriously as we all headed toward the new millenium. a khmer analyst. god bless cambodia.
international borderlines are there only to demarcate the property of each nation on the face of the planet, however, when it comes to international business, i think it is borderless. that said, of course, each nation has to respect the etiquette and custom of each host country, take care not to violate any local laws and well and international. god bless cambodia.
The action taken by Ah Siamese is unaceptable, this, one of the ploy Ah Siamese wanted Mr. Hun Sen to share our land with them as I often said that( what is Khmer belonging Ah Siams wanted a share, what is Ah Siams belonging is solely Siamese proprety). They did sucessully to block us from registration and then They're doing again to get a share of 4.6km2 surounding Preah Vihear course yard. The thieves pressure is completly violation of Cambodian souvreignty but they're testing their Military suprimacy compared to Hun Sen Military, they might under estimated Khmer Forces. I believe it's merely of Siamese frostration. Watch out Mr. Hun Sen they really wanted to talk to you but don't forget! Pls using 1904 & 1907 Map. May Buddha bless Khmer all!.PL.K, Down to Ah Siamese!!!!!Down!!! I BAR!
No, the Thai is doing the right thing to protect the property of Khmer People in Issan province from the greedy monkeys in Cambodia.
Khmer adn laos people in issan said to give issan back to cambodia and laos.
Yeah, in your dream.
Khmer and laos say to tell all the tai ladybois to sodomize each other in order to protest the preah vihear issue. They want the rainbow flag waived in front of preah vihear.
Im glad i got your attention. I can be just as childish as you.
Yeah in ma good dream
Don't worry the ICJ will move your troop out of there.
They don't have to be excited like the Siam commanders.
By the Siam commanders, Rambo is just a movie.
Right now if there a war happening the Siam soldier will run away in disarray.
I saw I clash between the KR and the Siam during the war.
The Siam soldier abandon their position and ran away. You know why because the think that war is like in the movie.
I'm so sick of hearing Khmer Issan... Real Khmer don't speak Thai and don't live with Thai or take their side o.k. You are fucking confuss!! Real Khmer don't confuss with our identity and we are pure Khmer from Angkor era.
Hey get your brain check up before calling yourself Khmer Issan..They don't act like you.
Khmer New York
There is the law that said;<< if you committed the crime,you do the time , and you will be punished>>, but the criminals committed crime anyway,that's why the self protection is a must ,i.e if you invade my house in the middle of the night you expect to be AK-47 right on your chest.Same thing in preah vihear case ,it seems that the Thai have no respect for the international law and our sovereignty as a nation in particular .They think they can violate our land anytime they feel like.Are they dare to invade CHINA ? NO ,but they did to the weak nation like Cambodia.So, Cambodia has to do something about it .She has to prepare herself for the eventuality or for the unforeseen future. Cambodia has to become a real democracy first ,and then prepare her Armed Forces to be the best fighting forces in the region to get RESPECT .Case and point,Israel of little than 4 millions people can defeat the ArabS of more than 100 millions people.
Israel had a similar story as Cambodia.In the old day ,their people like to fight among themselve and then almost the whole nation disappeared .When the modern democratic state of Israel was created in 1948 ,all the children of the jews diaspora returned home and they build a mighty country as it is now.
It is ridiculous Thais troops. You said thais have right to enter to dipute land but in the past why your back cate troup shot my people when they enter to this land? Please think again shit guy.
I would ask to Hun Sen to do more action not only the negotiation with Thai but also inform to all international body and international court to look after for this issue.
There is no reason that Thai increase the number of troops at the border and enter our pagoda, they conflict with the international court judgment.
HUN SEN, it is time to show us that you love our nationality and people. If you win with 4.6 Km2 of land surronding as ICJ in 1962, I am going to vote for you.
It's more ridiculous for the monkey to claim the temple belongs to them when they don't even live there.
7:53am! don't count on HUN SEN to do anything with either yuon or Thai.This tiger paper is best at intimidating the unarmed khmers with his bloodthirsty bodygards.He is a coward.The man is a five star general .I would not have that stars on my uniform if i scare to death of foreigners.
Siam don't waste your small brain capacity, just fire the first shot.
And we'll take care of your black clad clowns.
Is the blown leg still moving in the mine field, next to the dead monkey???
Khmer Issan were the slave of Khmer in Cambodia and now they become the slave of Thai and Chinese
07:31AM : TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU. THAI KNOW THE KHMER ROUGE COMBATIVE SPIRIT. THAILAND HAS A LOT OF AIRCRAFTS, SHIPS, ARMOURED VEHICLES, TROOPS, WEAPONS, ETC. BUT THEY FAIL TO CONTROL THEIR SOUTH REGION.
WILL THEY DARE TO ATTACK CAMBODIA?!!!!
THE ANSWER IS NO: THEY ARE TOO COWARDS FOR THAT. WHAT HAPPEN NOW IS JUST SHOW OFF. WE, KHMER, DON'T HAVE MUCH WEAPON BUT WE HAVE THE COURAGE AND HERITAGE OF BLOODY KHMER ANGKOR SPIRIRT WITH US. PLEASE COME, YOU WILL SEE..... MYANMAR, LAOS, MALAYS HATE THAI SO MUCH BECAUSE OF THEIR ARROGANCE. EVEN IF THEY INVADE US, ALL THE SURROUNDING COUNTRIES AROUND THAILAND WILL PROFIT TO KICK THEIR ASS !!! THAIS KATOEUY AND PROSTITUES ARE ONLY GOOD IN BARKING!!! THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT LIKE REAL SOLDIERS!!!!!!!!!!
LONG LIVE KHMER PEOPLE AND THE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA!!!!!
08:07 Better to be a monkey than a thai children of prostitute or katoeuy. Look the face of your royal , they look like trisomic. Thai is a land of prostitutes and katoeuy. All the tourists who go otherther is for the good blow job service provided by thai population. They just know how to suck, not how to fight. Look your failure in the south. You will never dare to fight real khmer people because you are too coward for that. Just start to run away before we take the katoeuy as you are and rape you with the dick of chimpanze, which has with the bonobo type, the biggest dick of the ape, beyond the gorilla, which despite its reputation as king of monkey the smallest dick of the apes. However, any apes'dick can fit with the ass or the mouth of thai suckers....
To my beloved Khmer soldiers and citizens. Please never use weapons (unless we are fired upon first) to solve such a problem because we will be in no way to win this war militarily. However, we will 100% be able to win this war diplomatically because the world is watching. We must be patient to win over this agressive Thai monster. I felt so pity when I saw the pictures of our Khmer troops whom were sent to guard our territory. I am so sad to see them not being equipped with proper weapons. However, I felt to proud to see their spirits that are always alive when it comes to protect our land and people. We Khmers must be united to protect our moterland. United We Stand, Devided We Fall.
Hey, that is personal preference, and you can't used it as your stupid excuse to steal anything from anyone.
9:18AM: AGREE: therefore , Thailand must give beck their whole country to Cambodia. Thailand soil belong to khmer people. Just bankrupt your country and give back the land that thai stole from Myanmar, Malay and Cambodia.
Thai people must back to the mountains in south China where they come from.PERIOD
I actually fall in love with the Khmer Issan dude. Are you gay like most thais pretty boys? If so, we can hook up in Issan province (where the hell it is or it exists at all). I can bring the temple shape condom.
In the name of Cambodian and have been read all cambodian news and thai news, some of thai news are fake and tell the world alie.And not just a fake's news but most of comment in the thai's news website very very look down on cambodia contry and our cambodian too.
I think is time to clear it up i really want all the cambodain people to show our repect to our country don let that Siam do that to us again cos we are not unlimit people but we have limit about that too.
Love Cambodia and Cambodian so much.
Wish all the troop at Preah Vihear succes anything, we are here to cheer u up until the end of time.
Love
Cambodain
With my knees on the earth, tears dropping from my sun-like eyes and hands praying, I ignorantly and humbly beg the people who may concern to answer the follow questions:
1. Why can’t the government solve the problems of teachers consciously demanding money from students by all sorts of methods, which forces students to drop out of school? And why have quality exams been RARELY CONDUCTED? (Bribery, Students CHEATING etc)
2. Why can police traffic only punish and fine only low-class people rather than blood suckers of their own people who drive luxurious-too expensive cars on the streets? (Bribery for their police superior, ineffectiveness of law reinforcement etc)
3. Why when scandals related to briberies or crimes skeptically committed by high-ranking officers never investigated or results of interrogations never released or no one ever received state penalty for the crimes that benefit only a bunch or string of their family? (Instead THEY are promoted or just transfered to another post-so TRANSPAREN and such GOOD GOVERNANCE!BRAVO!)
4. Why corruption laws been drafted for so long and have never been passed as laws? (SORRY MR. I’M RUNNING BUSSINESS TO MAKE PROFIT NOT FOR GOVERNMENT OR BULLSHIT MY POOR PEOPLE!)
5. Why can’t the government wipe out the SO-WELL-KNOWN AND WIDESPREAD CORRUPTION OR BRIBERY FROM ITS SYSTEM?
IS IT WORKING TO SUPPORT-TO MAINTAIN THE COUNTRY SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OR JUST ITS BUNCH OR STRING OF FAMILY TO COME?
6. HAS THE GOVERNMENT EVER THOUGHT OF DEFENDING OR MAINTAINING THIS LONG-TIME-TORN APART COUNTRY TO LAST PROSPEROUSLY AFTER THEIR GENERATION? OR LEAVE A HEALTHY, WELL-DISCIPLINED AND READY-TO-COMPETE NATION AFTER THEIR REIGN?
I honestly and humbly beg you to answer not only for me but also for this POOR NATION!
GODD BLESSES CAMBODIA!
From SOM BAN TE ...
Dear 7:53AM Mr. Hun Sen is waiting for a right moment not for 4.6km2, it's Khmer belonging anyays but he is going to take the whole SI SAKET Province and beyond!. In this moment Hun Sen has to wait until Ah Siamese troops all get drunk and call their wives to pick them homes, because our braves Khmer soldiers did not afraid of its even agoosebum!. Their top airwar Comander has montioned about CF18 mapping the area in case of need; this is areal intermidation to Hun Sen GV't, but they're under estimate our Military strenght, anyways with Siamese Khmer will win, we have to be patient. BRAVO! MY BELOVE KHMER TROOPERS, THANKS FOR YOUR BRAVERY!!!. Ah thieves Siamerse must go down!
9:25, The Thai can't give back the land to Cambodia because there is no Khmer is in there, only fakes. But more importantly everyone want to stay independence from the fake and dangerous Khmers in Cambodia.
11:17 AM....
I am a Khmer living in Issan region and a Thai citizen. I do agree with those Khmers living Preah Vihear Province. I think Preah Vihear Temple belongs to people living in Preah Vihear province. No body else who does not live in Preah Vihear province has a rights on deciding the ownership of the temple. Keep in mind the Preah Vihear Province do exist. It is in northern region of Cambodia. But, Issan do not exist. Only the region does. But, mostly Loas people live there. We khmers are small numbers compare to others in the region. I hope this is clear to my brother who claims to be Khmer Issan in Issan province. You don't represent all the Khmers living here. So, stop using the name Issan.
Post a Comment