By Ek Madra
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia must bury the hatchet in a dispute over a 900-year-old Hindu temple, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday, further easing fears the spat would escalate into military confrontation.
"We must not bring our countries to war just because of disputes on our border," Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla who won re-election last month, said in a live television broadcast. He has been prime minister for the past 23 years.
"We need to stay together as good neighbors for tens of thousands of years to come. We need to narrow our disputes and maximize bilateral cooperation, including trade," he said, striking a very different tone from the nationalist rhetoric of his campaign trail last month.
Both countries have sent hundreds of soldiers and artillery to lay claim to 1.8 square miles of scrub near the Preah Vihear temple, which sits on the jungle-clad escarpment that separates the two southeast Asian countries.
Talks between the countries' two foreign ministers the day after Cambodia's July 27 general election yielded vows to sort out the spat peacefully, but both sides have been reluctant to be the first to withdraw troops for fear of being painted as weak.
Hun Sen said he hoped another meeting between the two foreign ministers in Thailand on August 18 would help narrow the differences.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will also pay a courtesy call to Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Hun Sen said.
He also said Phnom Penh was ready to withdraw its troops, echoing a Thai cabinet decision on Tuesday to assign a regional military commander to discuss troop "re-deployment" to calm tensions.
The spat erupted last month when protest groups trying to overthrow the Thai government attacked Bangkok's backing of Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear as a U.N. World Heritage site.
Preah Vihear has been claimed by both sides for decades, but was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.
The row spread at the weekend to a second temple on the border although a military stand-off at the Ta Moan Thom site was averted when Thai troops pulled out late on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Nopporn Wong-Anan and Ed Cropley and Paul Tait)
"We must not bring our countries to war just because of disputes on our border," Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla who won re-election last month, said in a live television broadcast. He has been prime minister for the past 23 years.
"We need to stay together as good neighbors for tens of thousands of years to come. We need to narrow our disputes and maximize bilateral cooperation, including trade," he said, striking a very different tone from the nationalist rhetoric of his campaign trail last month.
Both countries have sent hundreds of soldiers and artillery to lay claim to 1.8 square miles of scrub near the Preah Vihear temple, which sits on the jungle-clad escarpment that separates the two southeast Asian countries.
Talks between the countries' two foreign ministers the day after Cambodia's July 27 general election yielded vows to sort out the spat peacefully, but both sides have been reluctant to be the first to withdraw troops for fear of being painted as weak.
Hun Sen said he hoped another meeting between the two foreign ministers in Thailand on August 18 would help narrow the differences.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will also pay a courtesy call to Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Hun Sen said.
He also said Phnom Penh was ready to withdraw its troops, echoing a Thai cabinet decision on Tuesday to assign a regional military commander to discuss troop "re-deployment" to calm tensions.
The spat erupted last month when protest groups trying to overthrow the Thai government attacked Bangkok's backing of Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear as a U.N. World Heritage site.
Preah Vihear has been claimed by both sides for decades, but was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.
The row spread at the weekend to a second temple on the border although a military stand-off at the Ta Moan Thom site was averted when Thai troops pulled out late on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Nopporn Wong-Anan and Ed Cropley and Paul Tait)
12 comments:
AH Sondhi Limthongkul doesn't know what the hell he is talking about when dealing with Cambodian leaders! It is so easy for him to entertain with such feel good concept about how the fucken Thaicong leaders can do this or do that without taking consideration into account such diplomacy, economic, and military consequence in the long term! He thinks that Cambodia as a nation exists by accident at the Thaicong leader’s mercy and the Thaicong leaders can do anything they want to Cambodia! It seems that he want the fucken Thaicong leaders to behave as if they were the World Super Power and for them invalidate the World Court decision and sending their army to invade Cambodia at will without fearing for condemnation from international community is ridiculous! What is more funny than this for him to call Cambodia as a “rogue nation” which usually reserve for the World Super Power leaders such as American leaders when referring to a country whose leader is supporting terrorism or pursuing nuclear technology or missile technology such as North Korea and Iran! Another funny thing about AH Sondhi Limthongkul theory and logic is that the World Super Powers will always support Thailand in any event if Thaicong leaders decide to invade Cambodia!
For an example, allow me to remind AH Sondhi Limthongkul one more times about the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan and Vietnam invasion of Cambodia and Iraq invasion of Kuwait! Since AH Sondhi Limthongkul is grown man and I don’t need to do the fucken homework for him to understand the outcome of the following invasion! In every country on Earth there is a need to balance the world power and for AH Sondhi Limthongkul to say that Thailame can come into Cambodia to unbalance the world power to claim the Thaicong victory in the new world order which is really looking down or underestimate the role of the World Super Powers such France, Great Britain, Russia, United States, and China!
In the field of economic, AH Sondhi Limthongkul paint a very bad picture of how Cambodian people desperately depend on the fucken Thaicong for survival! I guess heforget that there are over 100 countries exist on planet Earth and Cambodia has far more choice to do business then he can realize. He even entertain the idea to put economic embargo against Cambodia by closing all airline flight into Cambodia and use their two ship and F-16 to cut off Cambodia from having access to the sea for international trade is even more crazy as if the Thaicong government has the capability to do so! If the fucken Thaicong leaders can’t even handle Muslim uprising in Southern Thailand and the fucken Thaicong government can’t even put economic embargo on the Muslim World and now they Thaicong government want to take on Cambodia! Well! If Cambodia can make economic friendship far away like Kuwaiti in the field of economic and certainly Cambodia can make economic friendship beyond that!
AH Sondhi Limthongkul said “Cambodia would be hopping mad, but we would not bother because Cambodia would not have the nerve to fight us.” That what all Thaicong leaders would like to say but Cambodia went through 30 years of war!
By the way, AH Sondhi Limthongkul wants the Thaicong leaders to remember his words and to follow his instruction to solve Khmer Phrea Vihear temple conflict and it will be disaster in the making for Thailame and not Cambodia! This is not the first time that the theory had been applied to Cambodia and the outcome was a disaster! As an example, United States President Richard Nixon has a theory that the whole Southeast Asia will fall under communism came to be known as “Domino theory” Cambodia prove the Domino theory all wrong and the communism was death and bury in Cambodia before it can spread to other part of Southeast Asia! As for the Thaicong leaders if they want to go all out and end up in hell and that is no problem for Cambodian leaders because Cambodia had been through tumultuous war, civil war, carpet bombing, economic embargo, huge population displacement, and genocide! And what is about to happen right now according to AH Sondhi Limthongkul wishful thinking is just a replay of Cambodian past! I just wish that AH Sondhi Limthongkul wishful thinking would come true and the Thaicong leaders would act on his crazy idea to prove the Thaicong invincibility in front of the world community because the Viet has the world fourth largest army in the world had entertain such crazy idea before and they are no longer in Cambodia and the fucken Thaicong will be no different and Cambodian people will once again prove it!
I would rather die fighting the fucken Thaicong than to be a Thaicong slave!
THE THAI TWISTED THESIS OF THEIR ORIGIN
There are some Thais in the academic, the press, and the media who fantasize in their justification of Preah Vihear belonging to Thailand by advancing a twisted thesis claiming that Khmer is not the same as Khorm (note: the Thai used to call Khmer as either Khamin or Khorm). They say that Khmer is Khamin, which is different from Khorm. Furthermore, they say that Khorms are the real inhabitants of what is now Thailand and they were the builders of Preah Vihear, Angkor, and all the ancient temples found in Cambodia and Thailand. They are saying that Khmers are not the descendents of the Angkor builders. Therefore, they try to justify by implication that Thai people are the true descendents of the Khorms, the original inhabitants of Thailand and builders of Preah Vihear and Angkor. The Thai people have such a twisted mind. Believing in this twisted thesis is like believing that a bullet firing from a gun can be curved around a corner. The Thais are not only satisfied to steal everything that are precious to Khmers and then claimed them to be their own, such as Preah Ko Preah Keo, Preah Khan Reach, Khmer classical dance and music, Khmer style boxing, and Khmer scripts “Aksor Moul” (the Thai called it sacred scripts instead of Khmer scripts), but now they try to even steal Khmer identity. They want to strip Khmer people bare of any ancestry.
OBSERVATIONS
A few important observations to the central issue of the Preah Vihear temple must be brought up to the attention of the world. The following are two immediate points of interest concerning the affair of the Preah Vihear temples:
The press keeps mentioning that Preah Vihear was an ancient Hindu temple instead of a Khmer temple. Preah Vihear is not a Hindu temple but a Khmer temple built under the reign of Yasovarman I, a Khmer king in the 9th century, dedicated to Shiva, one of the Hindu gods. When the press says that Preah Vihear is a Hindu temple, it deemphasizes Khmer ownership and legitimacy to the temple. In modern time, the war of words is very important. This clarification is very important and it must be emphasized at all time.
Thailand kept insisting on using her own map to claim the disputed area around Preah Vihear instead of the French-Siamese Commissioned Map of 1907, where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based its judgment on to award Preah Vihear to Cambodia. The map was the product of the treaty signed by Thailand and French (Cambodia was under the French protectorate) in 1907. It is legal and binding. Thailand wants to use its own map that is not binding and not recognized by the International Court of Justice. Cambodia must not give in to the Thai insistence of using her own map to settle the dispute of Preah Vihear and its surrounding area.
CONCLUSION
Cambodia is doing the right thing to seek help from the United Nations (UN). It is not in the interest of Thailand to have the UN intervene in the affair of Preah Vihear, because she knows that Cambodia has more legitimacy and historical claim of Preah Vihear and its surrounding area than Thailand does. The UN will have to consider and abide by the 1962 judgment made by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the recent recognition by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that included Preah Vihear in the World Heritage List. If the UN were to side with Cambodia, then they would probably ask Thailand to withdraw from the disputed area.
Thailand is playing hardball because she knows Cambodia is no match with her militarily. Cambodia has no choice but to ask the UN for help. With the UN help Thailand will not dare to encroach further into Cambodia territory. If war were to erupt, Thailand would be condemned by the world and she will lose face. Additionally, the Muslims are now waiting for the right opportunity to stir troubles again in the southern region of Thailand if this latter decides to go to war with Cambodia. Thailand cannot afford to have war with Cambodia. Thailand may win in the short term but she will lose in the long run. Thailand fears the UN because among the five permanent members, Cambodia can count on France, China, and Russia to side with her. As to the US and the UK positions, nothing can be certain but if these two countries interpret the laws and historical facts properly, they should come to the conclusion that Thailand has no claim and basis over Preah Vihear and its surrounding area that she had ceded to Cambodia during the French-Siamese 1907 treaty.
The UN cannot ignore the ICJ judgment that recognized Preah Vihear belonging to Cambodia, because to do otherwise would bring chaos to the international rule of laws. There is no doubt, both based on the court of laws and historical facts, that the Temple of Preah Vihear is a Khmer heritage and belonging to Cambodia.
The Helpless People: What Cambodians Owe Their Nation and Heroes
Cambodians once again made shameful decisions on the 2008 general elections that will potentially lead to the end of Cambodian history and sovereignty
By: A. Christopher Windsor
London, 28th July, 2008
It was a shame when I read a news article about Cambodian general elections in 2008 and found out that the majority of Cambodians (who were able to vote) voted for a dictator once again. The difference that Cambodian voters made in the recent elections was that they provided almost two-third of the parliamentary seats to the corrupt and unpatriotic party, namely CPP.
What do these results show us? Simply, the more you educate them, the more irrational they become. One should never blame the lack of education for such destructive results of the 2008 elections. Recently, we have seen the improvement in education of human rights and democracy principles. For example, the public forums and human rights trainings conducted by Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and other organisations have been tremendously effective and have increased the understanding of human rights and democracy in Cambodia.
In addition to that, the outreach of internet has also helped Cambodians living in the city to better understand the outside world and see where the world has been up to. Globalization, on its positive side, has also provided more information to urban Cambodians about the other countries' economies and living standards, compared to which the Cambodian living standard is way below. These are all the advantages that urban Cambodians, namely Phnom Penh residents, have to exploit to make better decisions. Unexpectedly, these people with higher education and better understanding of the outside world made the worst decisions compared to other people across the country. As shown in the unofficial results, CPP has gained more supports in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia—where we would expect better outcomes.
Now let me ask, do you think that the lack of education really played a role in these destructive results? To me, it is obvious that the poor, uneducated countryside voters have stood up for and demanded democracy and change in their homeland more than do the educated Phnom Penh voters. It is also difficult to blame the uneducated for the fact that some of their votes were bought. After all, they are poor and they have the reason to sell their votes for money only to feed their family for one day and ignore the fact that their country will be forever in the dark future. But Phnom Penh voters cannot use the same excuse for the fact that they gave the opportunity to CPP to destroy their homeland.
Who to blame?
Yes, the elections were not transparent. Some votes were bought. Some voters were threatened. And, according to recent news reports, some voters' names were removed from the lists, resulting in an unusually low turnout. However, I would like you to pay attention to the number of votes that CPP received. Do you think CPP could get these many votes only by frauds? I do not think so. It is true that frauds existed in these elections, but without frauds, do you think the
opposition parties, namely HRP and SRP, could together win these élections? I do not think so. CPP would have won the majority seats but probably not as many.
Why do I think so? There are a lot of irrational voters out there who would always ruin the efforts of democracy lovers to pull this nation out of the current darkness. These voters tend to be those who live in the urban areas. They have better living standards and tend to forget that their living standards would be much higher if their country were developed. They have the option to migrate to another country when Cambodia is totally ruined. This group of Cambodian citizens also has acceptable levels of education. With these levels of education—which are not too low but not very high either—these people believe that they are so educated and that therefore they need not to listen to anyone. These people tend to believe that there is nothing beyond their knowledge. What is so sad is that their knowledge is so low.
The followings are what these people believe and why they are wrong:
Cambodia just got out of a huge civil war and it takes time for this country to recover. Why they are wrong: It has been almost 30 years—long enough for any economy to recover if its government is really working. Let us take Japan as an example. The country suffered from the destructive World War II, which was way more destructive than any civil wars Cambodia has ever suffered from. From the 1960s to the 1980s, not too long from the end of WWII, the overall of the Japanese real economic growth has been called a miracle. It did not take Japan longer 30 years to recover its economy and become the world's second biggest economy. We do not have that high expectation for Cambodia, but at least this nation should have shown some real improvement.
Cambodia has a growth rate of 11%; does it not mean Hun Sen government is doing a good job? Why they are wrong: Yes, CPP is doing a good job in bringing money to its elites' pockets. Yes, the growth rate is 11%, but the inflation rate has already hit 18%. What does this mean? Wake up, Cambodians. This means you are poorer. Even if you make twice as much as you did before, but if goods and services are three times more expensive, it means you are poorer. I am also sure that the 11% growth is distributed only among rich CPP members while the 18% inflation affects all Cambodians, including those who voted for CPP.
"I'm voting for a different reason this time - my choice is for a government that can protect Preah Vihear temple," 76 year-old Hok Hour in Phnom Penh's Chamkarmon district quoted in a Phnom Penh Post article. The old man, with not much brain, voted for CPP as he thought this party will protect the temple. Why they are wrong: First, let me ask, how could such an old person with life experience be so brainless? Can you not see that the Preah Vihear issue was a trick Hun Sen played to get votes from such brainless voters? You want a government that can protect Preah Vihear temple but not the Cambodia-Vietnam boarder? What would you do with Preah Vihear temple if the land you were living in was taken away from you? A democratic government would be able to protect not only Preah Vihear temple but all of Cambodian territory.
CPP has built roads, bridges and schools. Why they are wrong: If Cambodia had a better government, the number of roads, bridges and schools built would go up by not twice but 10 times at least. Cambodia accepts a large amount of foreign aid and money from loans. In the case of foreign aid, Cambodian citizens do not have to worry about paying back. In the case loans, however, they all have to pay back. So, watch out, Cambodians! Most of this money does not go to development, but it instead goes to the pockets of CPP members. While the benefits Cambodians receive from such loans are very minimal, they will have to pay back these loans in full amount—plus interest rates in some cases.
By making such shameful decisions, what do these voters owe their nation and hero?
What Cambodians owe their nation
Because of the lack of both social and economic development, Cambodia is potentially heading to the end of its history. As citizens, Cambodians have the legal and moral obligations to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately, as shown in the recent election results, most Cambodians chose not to. Instead, Cambodians chose to indirectly destroy the land that gave life to them. If anything bad happens to Cambodia in the future, we are to blame no one, but Cambodians.
The Vietnamese's fault? The Thais' fault? No. It is all Cambodians' fault. The Vietnamese and the Thais are not smart, but Cambodians are brainless. Cambodia is the only original nation of the Golden Land that is strong enough to survive from its neighbors' invasions. This nation protected itself from losing its sovereignty so that the current generation of Cambodia could live in its homeland peacefully. Unfortunately, the current Cambodians do not take into account the good this nation has offered them.
Only one day before I wrote this paper, Cambodians chose to take a convenient way to the destruction of their nation. They chose to ignore the great values their nation has always offered them. Surprisingly, these Buddhist Cambodians chose not to pay back what they owed their nation. Such an act is against Buddhist philosophy, which believes that you should always pay back what you owe. But who cares?—when the nation is destroyed, its religion will also be destroyed. Cambodians only took a shortcut to such destruction.
What Cambodians owe their heroes
The spirits of patriotic kings, such as Jayavarman II and Jayavarman VII, deserve an explanation from Cambodians who voted for CPP. These kings sacrificed their lives and their happiness to build a nation known as the Khmer Empire, the greatest power in South East Asia from the early 12th century to the early 13th century. If we look at the current situation of Cambodia, their lives have been sacrificed for nothing. I am sure that when these kings gave their lives to serve this nation, they did not know that their people would one day give this nation to the hands of an unpatriotic leader, such as Hun Sen.
When the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, the Khmer Republic troops fought until the last drops of their blood to prevent communism from spreading into this historic capital city. The spirits of these troops also deserve an explanation from CPP voters. These troops fought against not only the Khmer Rouge but also the communist Vietnam. Today, their children and grandchildren have forgotten all of their efforts. This current generate has already given the power to a pro-Vietnamese government.
The worst is that this current generation has also ignored the recent hero who was imprisoned not too long ago. I need not to mention his name as we should all know who he is. This human rights activist decided not to leave his nation and Cambodians behind. He sacrificed his own wellbeing to protect freedom of speech for Cambodian citizens. And sure enough, these people have already forgotten him and his patriotic act. Someone told me that if you do not forget your people they will never forget you. This is apparently wrong in the case of Cambodian CCP voters.
How many people have been killed by the current government? Did they already forget monks and protestors who were attacked and killed by the government force in 1998? Did they not remember the FUNCINPEC troops who were killed during the 1997 coup? Some reporters and the former Labour Union leader Chea Vichea were killed, leaving sorrow for their families and friends. What did these people sacrifice for? It was all of Cambodians, wasn't it? Is that how Cambodians pay them back, by voting for the person who killed these heroes?
What do CPP voters owe these people?
Their lives.
To those who voted for CPP: You owe your nation and heroes. And you owe them big. Cambodians who voted for CPP are betrayers. They betrayed not only their nation and heroes, but also themselves. They will have to pay back and we will see this when the corrupt government takes their land away, cuts down trees and ruins the whole economy.
My last words: Who am I to tell you all of these? Well, I am no one. I am only a British economist who happens to have been to Cambodia many times (Cambodia is like my second home). I have once fallen in love with this country and its culture. Please excuse my language and any mistakes I might have made in this paper as I wrote it out of anger and disappointment.
Hun Sen, are you saying that I can come and hang out around your house with no problem with your guards?
I don't understand, what ta fuck is going on where? Did you just got fucked by one them Thais?
P.M HUN SEN is a peace loving leader.He should be nominated to receive a NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.
Prah viharn, Prasat Tamuan, Cham sagnam and Koh Kong Halek etc.. de jure and de facto belong to thailand because more percent of thais people have chance to visit the sites, and all modern infrastructure/raod are well connected from Thailand and mostly are constructed and developed by Thailand.
Kham do nothing with those prasats...letf them lonelyspare for long time.
Chatchai
To 10:40AM
Who is telling you Thaicong mother fucker to do anything on Cambodian soil and don't you Thaicong mother fucker know anything better to do thing not being told because Cambodian can build all modern infrastructure/road from Cambodia too to attract tourists!
This is the heart of the fucken Thaicong-Cambodian conflict and the fucken Thaicong think that they know too much more than Cambodian and they like to go ahead do thing to violate Cambodian sovereignty to gain economic over Cambodia and then they try to claim their righteousness!
Fuck you Thaicong mother fucker and if you are not asked to do anything and you Thaicong mother fucker need to stay on your side of the border and no thank for your shitty infrastructure and road! Your fucken Thaicong roads are no more than a new Thaicong borderline in disguise aiming to steal Cambodian land!
It is the nature of the Thaicong to lie, to cheat, and to steal!
Your Leaders produce nothing just land Grabbing within campuchia...Borrowing money from foreing donors.. building their vilas/ properties... leave your border areas quiet nothing developed just Grabbing land from your poor- unarmed country men......
so that thailand has to build roads for them in Grant and/or loans.... later on we'll take as our belongings...
Wichai
Go ahead and steal it and the bullets will be in your head!
Siem and Yuon will share half by half kampuchea
because you have the son-of-bitch PM. Ah Hun sen
Chatchai
Ngyuen'said: thais is stupid to grab prasat as xmer's heart ''''we viets grab only small pieces of rice fields......step by step.....
As respresenting yourself as the "Ownner of Prah Vihan" please use civilised language as ordinary educated people used to use
" Your language imlpies/reflexes your bahaviour, Culture.. and also your family's....and Your nation's as well.."
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