BANGKOK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Thai soldiers will not leave a disputed stretch of the border with Cambodia despite an ultimatum from Phnom Penh for them to withdraw by midday (0500 GMT) on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat said. "We are in our homeland. How can they expect us to leave our home?" he said in reply to a question from a reporter.
In a speech to an economic conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen repeated the deadline for Thai forces to pull back from the area near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, but did not say what consequences would follow.
"We will not let the Thais stand on our land," he said, adding that Cambodian soldiers, many of them battle-hardened Khmer Rouge veterans, were shouting at the Thai lines: "If you want to die, come over here."
Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said Bangkok would pull back its troops only as part of wider joint effort to agree on the various disputed parts of the border.
"We have no problem on troop withdrawal to avoid confrontation but we need a joint committee to meet and agree on how far we are going to pull back and how many troops will be withdrawn," he said before a weekly cabinet meeting.
Thai army chief Anupong Paochinda called a meeting with his staff. He was due to attend another meeting of security agencies chaired by Somchai later in the day.
Singapore called for both sides to show restraint.
"We urge both sides to contain emotions, exercise restraint and resolve the issue through negotiations without resorting to force," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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.
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.
(Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak and Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Ed Cropley and Alex Richardson)
In a speech to an economic conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen repeated the deadline for Thai forces to pull back from the area near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, but did not say what consequences would follow.
"We will not let the Thais stand on our land," he said, adding that Cambodian soldiers, many of them battle-hardened Khmer Rouge veterans, were shouting at the Thai lines: "If you want to die, come over here."
Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said Bangkok would pull back its troops only as part of wider joint effort to agree on the various disputed parts of the border.
"We have no problem on troop withdrawal to avoid confrontation but we need a joint committee to meet and agree on how far we are going to pull back and how many troops will be withdrawn," he said before a weekly cabinet meeting.
Thai army chief Anupong Paochinda called a meeting with his staff. He was due to attend another meeting of security agencies chaired by Somchai later in the day.
Singapore called for both sides to show restraint.
"We urge both sides to contain emotions, exercise restraint and resolve the issue through negotiations without resorting to force," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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.
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.
(Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak and Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Ed Cropley and Alex Richardson)
5 comments:
Thailand: forget about the minor clashes and skirmishes on the borders, instead, aim for the heart of the ruling party strong-hold fortress (Tuol Krasaing). Use your precision-GPS-guided missiles to obliterate this compound.
If you ass hole thai would not widraw your troop, ah jo dump din hun sen would.
12pm,
Get fucked you fucken pretender. You are a trator imposter. It is not teh first tiem you done this.
Yes, you dumb fucked Thai, withdraw your troops or our troops will invade Bangkok. The ruling party will teach Thai a difficult lesson.
Fuck you Thai!
CPP official
12:03pm,
You're the traitor to your sole, your nationality, your country because ah jo dump din put it for sale.
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