5/04/2009
BANGKOK POST AND AGENCIES
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday a border clash with Thailand around the 900-year-old Preah Vihear Hindu temple would not escalate into a more serious conflict.
"I regard the fighting yesterday as an incident, not a war," Hun Sen said a day after Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged rifle and rocket fire near the temple.
Cambodia suffered two casualties and Thai authorities said two soldiers were killed and 10 wounded in the worst fighting since a military stand-off near the temple last year.
"I don't want to see these incidents repeated or fighting expand to other areas," Hun Sen told a group of disabled soldiers during a visit to the coastal province of Kampot in Cambodia.
Cambodian soldiers fired a short burst of bullets yesterday close to a base of Thai rangers near Pha Mor E-Daeng in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket. The Cambodian military said the fire was unintentional. However, a mortar shell landed near the same area later. There were no casualties reported.
Army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda said troops would refrain from armed retaliation against Cambodian soldiers as the Thai position was to settle all problems through negotiations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat called on Cambodia to stop firing all weapons into Thailand and said both sides should be patient in allowing negotiators to resolve the conflict.
Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn as it is known in Thailand, sits on an escarpment that forms the natural border between the two countries and has been a source of tension for generations.
The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, but the ruling did not determine the ownership of 4.6 square kilometre of scrub next to the ruins, leaving considerable scope for disagreement.
Thailand and Cambodia will meet at the Joint Boundary Commission tomorrow and Tuesday in Phnom Penh.
The meeting was planned long before the fresh conflict which started on Thursday when a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine followed by fatal clashes on Friday.
Singapore has urged Thailand and Cambodia to show restraint in a violent border dispute between the two neighbours that has claimed the lives of at least two soldiers.
"We are concerned about the recent developments at the border and we urge both parties to exercise utmost restraint in the broader interests of the region," the Singapore Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"We encourage both sides to continue to resolve their differences peacefully through further negotiations."
"I regard the fighting yesterday as an incident, not a war," Hun Sen said a day after Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged rifle and rocket fire near the temple.
Cambodia suffered two casualties and Thai authorities said two soldiers were killed and 10 wounded in the worst fighting since a military stand-off near the temple last year.
"I don't want to see these incidents repeated or fighting expand to other areas," Hun Sen told a group of disabled soldiers during a visit to the coastal province of Kampot in Cambodia.
Cambodian soldiers fired a short burst of bullets yesterday close to a base of Thai rangers near Pha Mor E-Daeng in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket. The Cambodian military said the fire was unintentional. However, a mortar shell landed near the same area later. There were no casualties reported.
Army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda said troops would refrain from armed retaliation against Cambodian soldiers as the Thai position was to settle all problems through negotiations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat called on Cambodia to stop firing all weapons into Thailand and said both sides should be patient in allowing negotiators to resolve the conflict.
Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn as it is known in Thailand, sits on an escarpment that forms the natural border between the two countries and has been a source of tension for generations.
The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, but the ruling did not determine the ownership of 4.6 square kilometre of scrub next to the ruins, leaving considerable scope for disagreement.
Thailand and Cambodia will meet at the Joint Boundary Commission tomorrow and Tuesday in Phnom Penh.
The meeting was planned long before the fresh conflict which started on Thursday when a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine followed by fatal clashes on Friday.
Singapore has urged Thailand and Cambodia to show restraint in a violent border dispute between the two neighbours that has claimed the lives of at least two soldiers.
"We are concerned about the recent developments at the border and we urge both parties to exercise utmost restraint in the broader interests of the region," the Singapore Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"We encourage both sides to continue to resolve their differences peacefully through further negotiations."
2 comments:
If the siams stay where they were, there would be no clashes. Khmer has full rights to use self-defense to guard our territory. Shoot more if they dare step in the banned area. This is what we have to do. It is not a war, but it is an act to guard our territory. All my khmer compatriots, already the time to guard what we have left, don't loose more. Thanks to the PM stance on this issue and to our khmer soldiers along the border.
Well, what do we expect from a dictator and a coward? He looks so tough, mean, strong, powerful, omnipotent, energetic, and superior to normal and unarmed Cambdoian civilians. With Thai's mighty forces, Hun Sen is nothing but a fucking coward - like a dog with tail between his leg due to fear. Hopefully, I can begin writing a book with a titile, "Hun Sen - Shameless Coward of Cambodia." Cambodia is doomed under this zany man. Anyone dares to honor this jerk is nothing but an idiot as well.
Joe - the Hun Sen's kicker
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