Cambodia's top border negotiator, Var Kimhong, speaks to reporters after bilateral talks on Monday. (Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG)Tuesday, 07 April 2009
Written by Sam Rith and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post
Cambodia's top border negotiator says before the talks that last week's violence occurred because ‘Thais did not respect international law'.
TALKS over disputed territory between Cambodia and Thailand opened Monday with the Kingdom's chief border official, Var Kimhong, blaming Thai soldiers for last week's clashes that marked the worst violence yet during a nearly nine-month standoff over land around Preah Vihear temple.
"The Thais have to understand international law," Var Kimhong said before the two days of discussions that, although scheduled before Friday's fighting, are likely to be dominated by the bloody shootout that left at least three Thai troops dead.
"I would like to say that the accident last week occurred because the Thais did not respect international law," Var Kimhong said, adding that one of the aims of the talks was to reach agreement on redeploying soldiers away from a pagoda near Preah Vihear temple that has been a flashpoint for conflict in the past.
"We have to resolve the border dispute soon in order to avoid another incident like the one that occurred last week," he said.
Heavy fighting broke out twice on Friday after RCAF troops said the Thai military crossed into Cambodia's Veal Antri, or Eagle Field, a section of the border where fighting also broke out last October.
Elsewhere on the Cambodian side of the border, a market burned to the ground after taking small arms and rocket fire, witnesses said.
The clashes also damaged the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July, just before Thai troops first occupied what Cambodia claims is its territory around the monument.
On the agenda
Var Kimhong said the agenda for this week's meeting of the Joint Border Commission had been set before Friday's clashes.
A draft agenda distributed before the meeting Monday showed that officials would discuss the minutes from the February commission meeting in Bangkok, plans for fact-finding missions to determine the condition and location of boundary markers and a "draft provisional agreement" to move soldiers away from the area near Preah Vihear temple.
TALKS over disputed territory between Cambodia and Thailand opened Monday with the Kingdom's chief border official, Var Kimhong, blaming Thai soldiers for last week's clashes that marked the worst violence yet during a nearly nine-month standoff over land around Preah Vihear temple.
"The Thais have to understand international law," Var Kimhong said before the two days of discussions that, although scheduled before Friday's fighting, are likely to be dominated by the bloody shootout that left at least three Thai troops dead.
"I would like to say that the accident last week occurred because the Thais did not respect international law," Var Kimhong said, adding that one of the aims of the talks was to reach agreement on redeploying soldiers away from a pagoda near Preah Vihear temple that has been a flashpoint for conflict in the past.
"We have to resolve the border dispute soon in order to avoid another incident like the one that occurred last week," he said.
Heavy fighting broke out twice on Friday after RCAF troops said the Thai military crossed into Cambodia's Veal Antri, or Eagle Field, a section of the border where fighting also broke out last October.
Elsewhere on the Cambodian side of the border, a market burned to the ground after taking small arms and rocket fire, witnesses said.
The clashes also damaged the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July, just before Thai troops first occupied what Cambodia claims is its territory around the monument.
On the agenda
Var Kimhong said the agenda for this week's meeting of the Joint Border Commission had been set before Friday's clashes.
A draft agenda distributed before the meeting Monday showed that officials would discuss the minutes from the February commission meeting in Bangkok, plans for fact-finding missions to determine the condition and location of boundary markers and a "draft provisional agreement" to move soldiers away from the area near Preah Vihear temple.
9 comments:
Motherfucker look Viet to me!
You can not go by the look man. He may be Chinese/Cambodia who love Khmer just like you and I. People that are borned in Srok Khmer and love Khmer is a true Khmer. Just because you have a dark complextion it doesn't mean that you are Khmer. Therefore, don't judge this man, because you and I don't know him unless you have proof.
I agreed with 9:55PM. Just look at Sihanouk. He's not Khmer 100%. He mixed with Chinese and Korean. He speaks Chinese/Korean languages and lives there also.
Hun Kwak, Chea Zim, and Heng Xam Rin are purely Khmers with Viet minds. They're the worst Khmers who sold the land and killed their own people for the Viet.
Anyway we need to get rid of all CPP members to get rid of Youn agents and Siem invasion. Enough is enough for 30 years plus.
Hun sen been in power for 30 years.
No anti currption law. No border issue is protected from thai or youn.
SHAME ON HIM
Thailand has been getting confused centuries, one day Thailand will claim USA belongs to Thailand, too.
9:55PM! are your name VARHOUSE? VARVIET? VAR KIM HOUNG? VARVER?
VARVIETMINH?
or AH Var see chek ah Var see noum?
But the fiture look Vietname than Youn!
3:25 AM ,
Everyone in Cambodia now are Viet, you are right..
Only you live in a foreign country is PURELY KHMER...
OK, so you can say that there are 14 million Viets now in Cambodia, 100% of total population..
And those 14 millions never love our country like you who are digging potatoes in the US or Aussie or sth..
And our 14 millions viets are fighting everyday to defend our identity, because we don't have US or Aussie Passport like you, ok?
Hope you understand, coz you are the only Khmer on earth now..
Fyi...Var Kimhong is Khmer mixed with chinese i think. I know a khmer family with that last name. So do not judge a person based on his given name.
Listen baffoon, dont judge people by they ways they look. Most of us Khmer are mixed anyway. Mostly chinese/Khmer mixed. Half of my family are khmers and half are khmer chinese borned in Cambodia. We love, respect and cherrish the country culture as much as any khmers. Eventhough my heritage are chinese, I consider myself Khmer. So enough of these racism nonsense.
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