Friday September 19, 2008
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
Bangkok Post
Although former prime minister Samak Sundaravej erred on various occasions during his seven months in office, his arch enemy the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has not always been in the right either, on some issues of national interest. Among them is the Preah Vihear temple issue.
The PAD persists in demanding that the government abide by the Constitution Court's ruling, which states that the joint communique of June 18 between Thailand and Cambodia - which supports the listing of the temple as a World Heritage site - is unconstitutional.
The PAD has refused to accept the fact that the joint communique lost its validity after the Central Administrative Court on June 27 ruled to withhold the effect of the joint communique.
On July 1, Noppadon Pattama, Thailand's foreign minister at the time, dispatched letters to Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and PM's Office Minister Sok An; Cambodian Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong, and Director-General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Koichiro Matsuura, asking them to disregard the joint communique of June 18, 2008.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the 21-member World Heritage Committee (WHC) and related organisations on July 2, during the meeting on world heritage sites held in Quebec, Canada.
Representatives of Cambodia, the WHC and Unesco informed the Thai representatives at the Quebec meeting that they would not quote the wording in the joint communique and would not use it as a basis in the proposal to nominate Preah Vihear temple for World Heritage status.
In addition, ICOMOS, an agency which prepared the report for the WHC meeting, withdrew its report which mentioned the joint communique between Thailand and Cambodia.
Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified that under the fifth point of the WHC's resolution in the Quebec meeting, it noted that the joint communique must be disregarded, following the decision of the Thai government to suspend the effect of the joint communique in comformity with the Thai Administrative Court's interim injunction on this issue.
The World Heritage Committee's resolution clearly demonstrates that the WHC has heeded the Thai Foreign Ministry's request to disregard the joint communique, according to the ministry's press release.
To make sure that the troublesome document remained invalid, Mr Noppadon's successor, Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag on Aug 25 sent a letter to his Cambodian counterpart Hor Nam Hong, reminding him of the court's ruling.
Besides the issue of the joint communique, the PAD has also misinformed the public about the WHC's resolution, which the PAD says allows for seven other international partners to manage the 10,000-rai conservation area adjacent to Preah Vihear temple, an area which belongs to Thailand.
In actual fact, the WHC's resolution asked Cambodia, in collaboration with Unesco, to convene an international coordinating committee (ICC) for the safeguarding and development of the nominated property no later than February 2009.
The WHC also requested Cambodia to invite Thailand and not more than seven other appropriate international partners to join in forming the ICC, to examine general policy matters relating to the safeguarding of the outstanding universal value of the property.
However, the property proposed for inscription has been downsized and comprises only the temple of Preah Vihear and not the wider promontory with its cliffs and caves.
This means that the ICC's work would not encroach on the overlapping area claimed by Thailand and Cambodia as well as other areas inside Thai territory, but would only concern the Preah Vihear temple.
Inviting Thailand to join the ICC would pave the way for the country to take part in examining the policy of Preah Vihear temple's conservation so that it would not affect Thailand's territorial sovereignty, the Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry has repeatedly informed the press and the public about the advantage Thailand would gain from joining the ICC.
Unfortunately, the PAD has continued to act as if it never heard anything from the ministry on this subject, and made use of the temple issue to attack the Samak government.
A similar attack against the new Somchai government is also likely.
The PAD persists in demanding that the government abide by the Constitution Court's ruling, which states that the joint communique of June 18 between Thailand and Cambodia - which supports the listing of the temple as a World Heritage site - is unconstitutional.
The PAD has refused to accept the fact that the joint communique lost its validity after the Central Administrative Court on June 27 ruled to withhold the effect of the joint communique.
On July 1, Noppadon Pattama, Thailand's foreign minister at the time, dispatched letters to Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and PM's Office Minister Sok An; Cambodian Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong, and Director-General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Koichiro Matsuura, asking them to disregard the joint communique of June 18, 2008.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the 21-member World Heritage Committee (WHC) and related organisations on July 2, during the meeting on world heritage sites held in Quebec, Canada.
Representatives of Cambodia, the WHC and Unesco informed the Thai representatives at the Quebec meeting that they would not quote the wording in the joint communique and would not use it as a basis in the proposal to nominate Preah Vihear temple for World Heritage status.
In addition, ICOMOS, an agency which prepared the report for the WHC meeting, withdrew its report which mentioned the joint communique between Thailand and Cambodia.
Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified that under the fifth point of the WHC's resolution in the Quebec meeting, it noted that the joint communique must be disregarded, following the decision of the Thai government to suspend the effect of the joint communique in comformity with the Thai Administrative Court's interim injunction on this issue.
The World Heritage Committee's resolution clearly demonstrates that the WHC has heeded the Thai Foreign Ministry's request to disregard the joint communique, according to the ministry's press release.
To make sure that the troublesome document remained invalid, Mr Noppadon's successor, Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag on Aug 25 sent a letter to his Cambodian counterpart Hor Nam Hong, reminding him of the court's ruling.
Besides the issue of the joint communique, the PAD has also misinformed the public about the WHC's resolution, which the PAD says allows for seven other international partners to manage the 10,000-rai conservation area adjacent to Preah Vihear temple, an area which belongs to Thailand.
In actual fact, the WHC's resolution asked Cambodia, in collaboration with Unesco, to convene an international coordinating committee (ICC) for the safeguarding and development of the nominated property no later than February 2009.
The WHC also requested Cambodia to invite Thailand and not more than seven other appropriate international partners to join in forming the ICC, to examine general policy matters relating to the safeguarding of the outstanding universal value of the property.
However, the property proposed for inscription has been downsized and comprises only the temple of Preah Vihear and not the wider promontory with its cliffs and caves.
This means that the ICC's work would not encroach on the overlapping area claimed by Thailand and Cambodia as well as other areas inside Thai territory, but would only concern the Preah Vihear temple.
Inviting Thailand to join the ICC would pave the way for the country to take part in examining the policy of Preah Vihear temple's conservation so that it would not affect Thailand's territorial sovereignty, the Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry has repeatedly informed the press and the public about the advantage Thailand would gain from joining the ICC.
Unfortunately, the PAD has continued to act as if it never heard anything from the ministry on this subject, and made use of the temple issue to attack the Samak government.
A similar attack against the new Somchai government is also likely.
2 comments:
The truth will set us free. We are praying for Thailand.
you know, the pad is the trouble-makers in thailand; they just don't know when to stop their clown show. thailand needs to question them and take control so the unruly pad can't murky up the otherwise clear water.
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