By Ek Madra
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen gave Thailand an ultimatum on Monday to withdraw troops from a disputed stretch of jungle-clad border within 24 hours or his forces would turn the area into a "death zone".
"Thai troops must withdraw from Cambodian land by tomorrow at the latest," Hun Sen told reporters after meeting Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat in Phnom Penh. "We will not allow them to occupy our land."
The Thai army denied any incursion by its soldiers near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which sits on the natural escarpment dividing the two nations and which has been a source of enmity for decades.
"Invasion? What invasion when the land is claimed by both sides?" army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told Reuters.
Tensions have been high since July when around 1,000 soldiers on both sides faced off only yards apart in trenches dug into a hillside that until 10 years ago was under the control of remnants of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot's guerrilla army.
The area is still littered with landmines, and two Thai soldiers lost legs earlier this month the day after a brief exchange of fire in which soldiers from both sides were wounded.
Cambodian Deputy Defence Minister General Neang Phat said more troops were heading to the area to oppose up to 500 Thai soldiers who had crossed the border.
"We are building up our troops at the border in response to Thailand but I cannot reveal the number," he told reporters.
Hun Sen said 84 Thai soldiers were "camping" on Cambodian soil about 30 metres (yards) away from his own forces.
At the heart of the dispute is 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub near the temple, which the International Court of Justice awarded to Cambodia in 1962, a ruling that has rankled many in Thailand ever since.
This year's flaring of the long-running argument started when protest groups seeking to overthrow the Thai government criticised Bangkok's backing of Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear as a U.N. World Heritage site.
"Thai troops must withdraw from Cambodian land by tomorrow at the latest," Hun Sen told reporters after meeting Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat in Phnom Penh. "We will not allow them to occupy our land."
The Thai army denied any incursion by its soldiers near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which sits on the natural escarpment dividing the two nations and which has been a source of enmity for decades.
"Invasion? What invasion when the land is claimed by both sides?" army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told Reuters.
Tensions have been high since July when around 1,000 soldiers on both sides faced off only yards apart in trenches dug into a hillside that until 10 years ago was under the control of remnants of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot's guerrilla army.
The area is still littered with landmines, and two Thai soldiers lost legs earlier this month the day after a brief exchange of fire in which soldiers from both sides were wounded.
Cambodian Deputy Defence Minister General Neang Phat said more troops were heading to the area to oppose up to 500 Thai soldiers who had crossed the border.
"We are building up our troops at the border in response to Thailand but I cannot reveal the number," he told reporters.
Hun Sen said 84 Thai soldiers were "camping" on Cambodian soil about 30 metres (yards) away from his own forces.
At the heart of the dispute is 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub near the temple, which the International Court of Justice awarded to Cambodia in 1962, a ruling that has rankled many in Thailand ever since.
This year's flaring of the long-running argument started when protest groups seeking to overthrow the Thai government criticised Bangkok's backing of Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear as a U.N. World Heritage site.
6 comments:
It is a good action. I really and really support. We must be strict or they will look down on us forever
Dear Hun Sen,
Great, great great great!! I like your words so much!!!! You are a real great leader of Cambodia!! Cambodians need a leader like you but don't forget that you also need to improve your political system!! I mean only corruption and injustice, nothing else!!!
Bad Thais in Khmer Land must be killed if they don't accept your words!! I and my friends in and out of Cambodia are ready be to your men to fight with Thailand!!!
I believe that the spirits of our great ancestors will come and stay with us again because they also don't want to lose any part of their land any more!! They were disappointed sometimes ago when we couldn't protect our land!! Now, we are ready to die for our nation, so, they are also ready to come!!! and Cambodians like me, my friends as well as all Cambodians are ready to donate our lives for nations, too!!
Go ahead, SamDach Tejo Hun Sen!!!
Koun Khmer
Mr. Hun Sen, I have never supported you. But now you are taking a right action. I now support you 100%.
May God bless you, Khmer troups and people.
Khmer California
The Prime Minister of Cambodia, Mr. Hun Sen, has been a very patient man. And he evidently has exhausted all technics to preserve the friendship between his country and his neighbor the Thailand.
Apparently, the Cambodia PM has run out his resources to maintain peace with Thailand as this neighbor relentlessly continues to flex the muscle and push forward its many troops into the Cambodian soil.
All the chaos and losses that will ensue in the days to come, if the fight erupts, the Thai government alone will be held accountable.
God bless Cambodia.
"Invasion? What invasion when the land is claimed by both sides?" army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told Reuters.
Sunsern Kaewkumnerd, you dont have the knowledge of the Khmer history and you're ignorant of the fact of the Siam origin. You've been taught a twisted history that molds your brain to reject what is the truth and what is not. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to try to rationalize and reason with a chucklehead like you.
Invasion? What invasion when the land is claimed by both sides?" army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told Reuters.
What's on earth that (Sunsern Kawekumnerd) mother fucker said?
Why thailand brought this-head-full-fo-shit to became an army spokesman?
He's lack of knowledge. Oh! Poor Siams. Let's fight them to get all the shit from their head out.
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