A demonstrator holds a banner with pictures of exiled former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during a rally outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok on October 27. (Photo: Reuters)Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR
IPS WRITER
BANGKOK — The relationship between Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand and Cambodia enters another uneasy stretch following a round of verbal salvoes fired before and during a just concluded regional summit, where much is made of strides in achieving unity.
The Thai media had also stepped into the fray to take on the comments made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that appeared to get under the skin of the Thai government, host of the 15th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which ran from Oct. 23-25.
On Tuesday, one Thai commentator described Hun Sen as a "big bully" for the remarks he made just before flying into Cha-am, the resort town south of Bangkok where the Asean summit was held, and soon after he landed.
"Hun Sen Shows Lack of Class and Tact," declared the headline of an editorial in a Sunday newspaper. It seethed with anger about the Cambodian leader's "provocative remarks."
Hun Sen, the region's longest-serving premier, upset the Thais by publicly throwing his weight behind Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai premier who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and now living in exile to avoid arrest after being found guilty of violating conflict of interest laws.
Cambodia will offer Thaksin a home, Hun Sen said, before arriving in Cha-am, and then added that Phnom Penh would not extradite the fugitive ex-Thai leader if Bangkok made a request. The increasingly authoritarian Cambodian leader also revealed a role he had for the like-minded Thaksin in the future Cambodia—as an economic advisor.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva shot back. "Don't allow anybody to use you as a pawn," he said at a press conference toward the end of the summit, where the outcome of the 10-member regional bloc was to have been the focus.
"If former prime minister Thaksin moves to Cambodia, it will have an effect on our relationship," said Kasit Piromya, Thai foreign minister, in another press conference.
Both Abhisit and Kasit belong to a coalition government that was formed last year with the backing of Thailand's powerful military. It followed a controversial court verdict that resulted in the collapse of a coalition government of Thaksin's allies, who were elected at a December 2007 poll, the first since the 2006 putsch.
Thaksin has been making desperate bids to return to Thailand or to live in a country closer to home than in the Middle East, where he often resides. But he has made little headway with the members of the 42-year-old Asean due to the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of a member country that binds this 10-member bloc.
Asean, which has just become a new rules-based unified entity, includes Brunei, Burma (or Myanmar), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, in addition to Thailand and Cambodia.
The war of words that overshadowed the Asean summit added a new twist to an already testy relationship between the two countries that share an 800-kilometre border, much of it being disputed and not clearly marked because Thais and Cambodia use different maps.
The most visible symbol of the underlying tension between the two Southeast Asian kingdoms is a 10th century Hindu temple, Preah Vihear, that sits atop a steep cliff on the Thai-Cambodian border.
The temple was claimed by the French colonists who ruled Cambodia using a disputed 1907 map. After the French left, the Thai troops took over the temple but handed it back to Phnom Penh following a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. Since then troops from both countries have faced each other along the heavily mined border.
Since July last year, Preah Vihear has become a flashpoint, stoked by deep-seated nationalism on both sides. It followed a ruling by the World Heritage Committee that month that recognized the temple as a world heritage site and concurred with the ICJ's ruling that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
Thai nationalists were enraged, prompting both Cambodian and Thailand to reinforce their military strength in the still contested land—some 4.6 square kilometers—surrounding the temple.
In April, the soldiers from both countries exchanged gunfire, leaving three people dead.
Over a month before the recent summit, Hun Sen had ordered Cambodian troops to fire if any Thais crossed the border illegally. Around the same time, in September, members of a right-wing conservative Thai political movement marched to the disputed site to flex their patriotic stripes.
Thailand was put on notice by Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong that Phnom Penh wanted the border dispute placed on the agenda of the 15th Asean summit. But Bangkok rejected the call, insisting that the dispute be addressed through bilateral negotiations than have this issue "internationalized or raised within the Asean framework."
This verbal tit-for-tat even drew Cambodia's envoy in Thailand to comment in the Bangkok Post newspaper on the eve of the summit. "No peace-loving nation on earth like Cambodia wants to make political gains by provoking armed conflict with its neighbors," wrote ambassador You Ay. "The recent tension between the two countries began with the yellow-shirt protesters from Thailand who wanted to enter our Preah Vihear temple."
The simmering tensions between the two Southeastern nations has not gone down well with the rest of Asean, given the bloc's habit of saying it does not need a regional dispute-settling mechanism because the region's leaders are committed to regional peace through local solutions.
Cambodia broke with this tradition last year when the Preah Vihear issue flared up. It reported the dispute to the United Nations Security Council without getting a nod from its Asean allies, prompting Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to warn of the regional bloc's credibility being at stake.
Thai officials are hoping that a quieter approach will help calm tensions between the two countries. "We want people along the border to live peacefully," said Kasit, the Thai foreign minister. "There is a need for civility to forge a relationship and build a relationship as much as possible."
The Thai media had also stepped into the fray to take on the comments made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that appeared to get under the skin of the Thai government, host of the 15th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which ran from Oct. 23-25.
On Tuesday, one Thai commentator described Hun Sen as a "big bully" for the remarks he made just before flying into Cha-am, the resort town south of Bangkok where the Asean summit was held, and soon after he landed.
"Hun Sen Shows Lack of Class and Tact," declared the headline of an editorial in a Sunday newspaper. It seethed with anger about the Cambodian leader's "provocative remarks."
Hun Sen, the region's longest-serving premier, upset the Thais by publicly throwing his weight behind Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai premier who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and now living in exile to avoid arrest after being found guilty of violating conflict of interest laws.
Cambodia will offer Thaksin a home, Hun Sen said, before arriving in Cha-am, and then added that Phnom Penh would not extradite the fugitive ex-Thai leader if Bangkok made a request. The increasingly authoritarian Cambodian leader also revealed a role he had for the like-minded Thaksin in the future Cambodia—as an economic advisor.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva shot back. "Don't allow anybody to use you as a pawn," he said at a press conference toward the end of the summit, where the outcome of the 10-member regional bloc was to have been the focus.
"If former prime minister Thaksin moves to Cambodia, it will have an effect on our relationship," said Kasit Piromya, Thai foreign minister, in another press conference.
Both Abhisit and Kasit belong to a coalition government that was formed last year with the backing of Thailand's powerful military. It followed a controversial court verdict that resulted in the collapse of a coalition government of Thaksin's allies, who were elected at a December 2007 poll, the first since the 2006 putsch.
Thaksin has been making desperate bids to return to Thailand or to live in a country closer to home than in the Middle East, where he often resides. But he has made little headway with the members of the 42-year-old Asean due to the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of a member country that binds this 10-member bloc.
Asean, which has just become a new rules-based unified entity, includes Brunei, Burma (or Myanmar), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, in addition to Thailand and Cambodia.
The war of words that overshadowed the Asean summit added a new twist to an already testy relationship between the two countries that share an 800-kilometre border, much of it being disputed and not clearly marked because Thais and Cambodia use different maps.
The most visible symbol of the underlying tension between the two Southeast Asian kingdoms is a 10th century Hindu temple, Preah Vihear, that sits atop a steep cliff on the Thai-Cambodian border.
The temple was claimed by the French colonists who ruled Cambodia using a disputed 1907 map. After the French left, the Thai troops took over the temple but handed it back to Phnom Penh following a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. Since then troops from both countries have faced each other along the heavily mined border.
Since July last year, Preah Vihear has become a flashpoint, stoked by deep-seated nationalism on both sides. It followed a ruling by the World Heritage Committee that month that recognized the temple as a world heritage site and concurred with the ICJ's ruling that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
Thai nationalists were enraged, prompting both Cambodian and Thailand to reinforce their military strength in the still contested land—some 4.6 square kilometers—surrounding the temple.
In April, the soldiers from both countries exchanged gunfire, leaving three people dead.
Over a month before the recent summit, Hun Sen had ordered Cambodian troops to fire if any Thais crossed the border illegally. Around the same time, in September, members of a right-wing conservative Thai political movement marched to the disputed site to flex their patriotic stripes.
Thailand was put on notice by Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong that Phnom Penh wanted the border dispute placed on the agenda of the 15th Asean summit. But Bangkok rejected the call, insisting that the dispute be addressed through bilateral negotiations than have this issue "internationalized or raised within the Asean framework."
This verbal tit-for-tat even drew Cambodia's envoy in Thailand to comment in the Bangkok Post newspaper on the eve of the summit. "No peace-loving nation on earth like Cambodia wants to make political gains by provoking armed conflict with its neighbors," wrote ambassador You Ay. "The recent tension between the two countries began with the yellow-shirt protesters from Thailand who wanted to enter our Preah Vihear temple."
The simmering tensions between the two Southeastern nations has not gone down well with the rest of Asean, given the bloc's habit of saying it does not need a regional dispute-settling mechanism because the region's leaders are committed to regional peace through local solutions.
Cambodia broke with this tradition last year when the Preah Vihear issue flared up. It reported the dispute to the United Nations Security Council without getting a nod from its Asean allies, prompting Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to warn of the regional bloc's credibility being at stake.
Thai officials are hoping that a quieter approach will help calm tensions between the two countries. "We want people along the border to live peacefully," said Kasit, the Thai foreign minister. "There is a need for civility to forge a relationship and build a relationship as much as possible."
21 comments:
May Buddha bless all people to live in peace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqUAIuf-vOo&feature=related
Yes Preah Vihear is khmer but Thai said theirs.
Please correct your language "in the following statement "The temple was claimed by the French colonists who ruled Cambodia using a disputed 1907 map".It is not so since the siams signed the agreement back then. The term is better used with the unilaterally drawn (based on day dream) by the siams and yet cambodia has never agreed with. And that is why it has been torn by cambodian border negotiators, local and national.
siem told khmer they will attack on the 2th september! be alert
Cambodia Town
Long Beach, Ca
Preah Vihear Temple was forever belonged to Cambodia, we should thank Siam for their arrogant, for that reasons the world will acknowledge whom people built it.
I hope the Siam Privy Royal Council, PAD, yellow shirts accept amnesty for Thaksin Shinwatra or keep killing each others.
New Phally
Stupid Thai, you always thinking we Khmer are so naïv did not know the game you play with us. The world had already knew the real Thai character and personality of Thai leaders from the last activity at the Bangkok airport.
Mr Hun Sen might lack of Class and Tact, but Mr. Abhisit might have lost of its. You, Thai sure remembered, how Mr. Abhisit come in to the power, by election or by the arbitrary coup ?
3:25 PM Thank you but Now it is 29 Oct 09 or Next year?? :)
The world court recognized the French-Siam map in 1907 and the whole world knew that France was the Cambodia protector.
Siam Kingdom was destroyed by the world peace keepers like Canadian, Australian, Dutch, British etc.. when Siam Kingdom committed war crime against humanity during WWII that Siam had to change its identity again once more to Thai Kingdom to forget its ugly past just like when the Mongol destroyed its Tai Kingdom in Nanchao 700 years ago.
next coming month sorry.
If Siem has nothing to hide, they should not fear of taking this dispute to the international stage. They want to continue the bilateral talk hoping to take advantage of Cambodia. Khmer's government should not let this drag on any longer knowing that Siem is just wanting to buy times.
Actually, Thailand do not want the ASEAN OR UN to get involved because they know they bully Cambodia their to get the most for themselves. Cambodia wants to world body to intervene because we think it is the only way we could find justice; and it is Cambodia that wants to live in peace among its neighbor. We have nothing to go against them. Please do not get mixed up with the real intention of the manipulative Thai politicians.
Whoever is holding that sign is an idiot. "Thaksin is Hun sen's friend but he is Thai's Prisoner." Thaksin isn't even in prison or jail. It should say he's a fugitive. Thais are dumb as usual.
Agree with you dude! Thais people are dumbfucken shitty Fags people in this world...
"...Asean, given the bloc's habit of saying it does not need a regional dispute-settling mechanism because the region's leaders are committed to regional peace through local solutions. Cambodia broke with this tradition last year when the Preah Vihear issue flared up."
= This is full of bullshit! AH MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR is speaking from his arse again! Tell me why did Thailand used their military to occupy Cambodian territory in the first place before any negotiation can take place? Is this Thailand tradition to send in the military before any negotiation can begin? Tell me even if Thailand want to negotiate and negotiation base on what or for what? Clearly base on International map these are Cambodian territory and the International court handed down the decision since 1962 confirming that it is Cambodian territory!
"Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to warn of the regional bloc's credibility being at stake."
=Tell me how is it that Cambodian leaders destroy ASEAN credibility? Did Cambodia invade Thailand? Cambodia was a victim of Thailand naked aggression and if ASEAN leaders don't want to listen to Cambodian complaint and Cambodian has an option take the issue with United Nations Security Council! Thailand belligerent behavior is unacceptable and it is destroying the whole ASEAN credibility!
"Thai officials are hoping that a quieter approach will help calm tensions between the two countries."
= Only a fucken thief who want to steal Cambodian territory want to be quiet! Cambodian don't need to be quiet!
Look at yourself good English Speaker!
To 2:48AM
Hey! I am looking and I am fine as man! How about you?
Can anyone tell me why Cambodian government have not already bring this issue to the international stage? What fear does Cambodian government have to get permission from the ASEAN or Thai to push this issue forward? Isn't that true that Cambodian have sufficient evidence regarding Preah Vihear verdict from the international court? Cambodian should not continue to allowing themself to be the Thai's victim. It is obvious that ASEAN don't want to get involved and Thai is just wanting to drag this as long as they can due to the political instability in their country. Cambodian should not allow Thai politician to use Preah Vihear as their political scape goat.
Cambodia Town
Long Beach, Ca
During 1962, international court has given a verdict that Preah Vihear Temple belonged to Cambodia, then Siam has broken their diplomacy with Cambodian, we should not worried about taking them to IJC again as long as they were arrogant.
New Phally
My question is why Cambodian government continue to agree with Siem request on bilateral talk knowing that it is going no where? It is like a home being burglerize and the home owner continue negotiate with the intruder instead of calling the police. This is what I don't understand.
5:14 AM,
the answer to your question is plain and simple. Because, Cambodia PM is STUPID. Is that clear enough for you?
The Prime Minister's from both side use the Preah Vihear issues as a bargaining chips. Rest assure that this issues will reignite when times called for re-elctions.
let go to North Korea and borrow the unuse nuclear bomb for the time being and see what belong to whom. The people belong the land or the land belongs to the people? Thai has biger land than Khmer but yet is being greedy wanting to get more from what is not their in the first place? shame on you Thai bad people and i know good Thai people won't accept your evil acts because what goes around will come around, so just want and see, probabely another suhnami hits you and your bad people who knows?. One word for you wicked people go to hell! USA
Post a Comment