Repeated objections over Preah Vihear a waste of time [-Abhisit still wants to reclaim PV temple]

June 25, 2009
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban will be wasting his time trying to mend bilateral rifts during his planned visit to Phnom Penh on Saturday, especially as the government continues objecting to Preah Vihear being given World Heritage status.

Suthep said he planned to tell Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that Thailand was not opposed to Cambodia itself, but had problems with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and World Heritage Committee.

It's difficult to understand what exactly the government plans to do, because the 11th-century Khmer site was given World Heritage status last July.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thailand had to raise objections because Unesco and the World Heritage panel violated their own regulations and the listing ignited conflicts.

However, Abhisit never clarified which regulations were violated and whether Thailand's objections would force the panel to change its decision. Actually, nobody expects any changes because the objections are nothing new - they were filed during the World Heritage Committee's 32nd session in Quebec last July.

Thailand's concerns were addressed a year ago, and even the joint communique between then-foreign minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy PM Sok An discarded them during the 32nd session. Thailand's desire to participate in the nomination of Preah Vihear temple and its surrounding area was recognised, recorded and publicised by the committee.

Despite these concerns, the World Heritage Committee went ahead and named the temple as a World Heritage site because it met one of the six criteria - it is an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture.

"It is very pure both in plan and in its decoration details," the committee said in its decision.

Thailand's arguments about its imperfections - such as the twin stupas being located in Thai territory - were not considered valid.

Natural Resource and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who attended the 33rd session in Spain this week, was unable to do much other than repeat the statement made by the Thai delegation a year ago.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, and Thailand has nothing to do with it.

Abhisit said he opposed World Heritage status for the site because it might affect Thailand's right to claim land in an "overlapping" 4.6 square kilometres adjacent to the temple and any chance to "re-claim" the temple.

However, his concerns make little sense because the Unesco World Heritage Convention's Article 11 clearly says that "the inclusion of a property [in the World Heritage list] situated in a territory, sovereignty or jurisdiction, which is claimed by more than one state, shall in no way prejudice the rights of the parties to the dispute".

Thailand will not lose the right to demarcate its border with Cambodia and, in fact, the joint boundary demarcation committee is already working on the matter. Now, it is up to Thailand whether or not to send a representative to sit on the International Coordination Committee (ICC) as mentioned in Article 14 of the World Heritage listing. The committee was originally due to convene in February, but it has been delayed because Thailand has yet to make a decision.

Sadly, Thailand's move to maintain its objection is nothing more than a plan to delay Cambodia's work, which has only resulted in added tension.

Abhisit should really explain what he wants from sticking to his stance, how it would benefit the country and what would happen if his deputy does manage to cool Hun Sen down.