By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer Washington
06 January 2010
Cambodia has fallen into a “dictatorship” over a recent case involving the alleged destruction of Vietnamese border markers in Svay Rieng province, a border expert in France said Monday.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is facing criminal charges for incitement and destruction of property for allegedly leading villagers to uproot border markers in Chantrea district in October.
But Sean Pengse, president of the Cambodia Border Committee in France, said the border demarcation was illegal in the first place, as it had encroached on Cambodian farmers’ land.
Instead, he said, authorities laid down markers in the middle of fields.
“Such things as this are done only by communists and dictatorships,” he said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”
Cambodia law provides protection for people who have lived on a plot of land for more than five years, granting them ownership, he said.
Chantrea villagers say their land was being encroached on by the Vietnamese, which led to the October incident.
Sam Rainsy, who is now in France, has had his parliamentarian immunity suspended and is facing an arrest warrant for failing to appear at an arraignment in December.
Cambodia has been in negotiations over its porous borders for years, but alleged encroachment by neighboring countries remains a political lightning rod.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is facing criminal charges for incitement and destruction of property for allegedly leading villagers to uproot border markers in Chantrea district in October.
But Sean Pengse, president of the Cambodia Border Committee in France, said the border demarcation was illegal in the first place, as it had encroached on Cambodian farmers’ land.
Instead, he said, authorities laid down markers in the middle of fields.
“Such things as this are done only by communists and dictatorships,” he said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”
Cambodia law provides protection for people who have lived on a plot of land for more than five years, granting them ownership, he said.
Chantrea villagers say their land was being encroached on by the Vietnamese, which led to the October incident.
Sam Rainsy, who is now in France, has had his parliamentarian immunity suspended and is facing an arrest warrant for failing to appear at an arraignment in December.
Cambodia has been in negotiations over its porous borders for years, but alleged encroachment by neighboring countries remains a political lightning rod.
9 comments:
Paris Peace Accord of 1991!
No respect to this accord, No justice, NO peace.
Time will tell
I felt very sad to hear Mr Seang Pengse for his difficulty in speaking Khmer language and his reply to the removal of Mr Sam Rainsy immunity. My simple reply to that question is a Coup d'etat against democratic system. Mr Sam Ransy was elected as a leader of the Opposition party. His mandate is to protect Cambodian interest and his immunity is unremovable at any case and will last until next election.
Areakl Prey
IF ANYONE WANTS TO UNDERSTAND BORDER DEMARCATION PROBLEMS, HE OR SHE SHOULD READ "A L'ECOLE DES DIPLOMATES: LA PERTE ET LE RETOUR D'ANGKOR, I.E. "AT THE SCHOOL OF DIMPLOMATS: THE LOSS AND THE RETURN OF ANGKOR". THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN BY THE CHAIR OF THE FRENCH-SIAMESE BORDER DEMARCATION COMMISSION, COLONEL BERNARD. CAMBODIA IS INDEBTED TO HIM FOR THE RETURN OF SIEM REAP AND BATTAMBANG PROVINCES IN EXCHANGE FOR A SMALL SWATH OF TERRITORY, DAN-SAI.
BORDER IS NOT ONLY POLITICAL, BUT ALSO TECHNICAL. TO TRANSLATE FROM THE BORDER AGREEMENT TO DEMARCATION AND THEN TO MAPPING IS NOT EASY.
UNDER THE 1904 ACCORD, WHICH DEFINES THE BORDER BASED ON WATERSHED, PREAH VIHEAR TEMPLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOCATED ON THE THAI TERRITORY. BUT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO DEFINE A WATERSHED. A MEMBER OF THE BORDER COMMISSION, CAPITAINE OUM, WHEN BACK TO DANGREK MOUNTAIN AND PROPOSED A SOLUTION, WHICH RESULTED IN PREAH VIHEAR LOCATED IN CAMBODIAN TERRITORY ON THE 1908 MAP. THE MAP WAS SUBMITTED BY THE FRENCH TO PRINCE DAMRONG, INTERIOR MINISTER OF SIAM, AND PRINCE DEWAWONGSE, FOREIGN MINISTER. DAMRONG ASKED FOR MORE MAPS TO BE PRINTED TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO THEIR PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS. THIS PROVIDED THE ARGUMENT FOR THE 1962 PREAH VIHEAR CASE AGAINST THAILAND. ALSO PRINCE DAMRONG VISITED PREAH VIHAR IN THE 1930S GREETE BY FRENCH OFFICIALS AND GOVERNOR OF KAMPONG THOM. PRINCE DAMRONG DID NOT PROTESTED DURING THE VISIT, AS THE FRENCH FLAG FLEW OVER PREAH VIHEAR. THIS ENTERED INTO THE JURISDICTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AS A PRECEDENT. EVEN THOUGH SIAM DID NOT OFFICIALLY APPROVED THE MAP, THEIR ACQUIESCENCE AND ACCEPTANCE CAN BE DERIVED FROM THE CONDUCT OF THEIR OFFICIALS.
THE ABOVE TESTIFIES TO THE FACT THAT MR. SEAN PENGSE SHOULD PRESENTS THE WHOLE CASE, MAYBE A STUDY TO JUSTIFY THIS: HOW MUCH CAMBODIA HAS GAINED AND HAS LOST AS A RESULT OF THIS DEMARCATION. THAT WOULD REALLY HELP CAMBODIA. OTHERWISE, IT IS NOT SERIOUS.
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មួយជើងបាត់ទៅហើយ៕
when it comes to our border demarcation, we cannot afford to lose any more our ancestral lands to neighboring countries anymore, really! i suggest we fix it as soon as possible once and for all!
I am with you 9;42.
quote "the border demarcation was illegal in the first place, as it had encroached on Cambodian farmers’ land."
Is that mean Hor Num Hong Should be SACK for incompentency and a trator to Cambodia and it's people and Hun Sen should be dismist for his part in ignoring Territoral losted to Vietnam?
If i were the King i will have sack them both on the spot with no question ask.
If Hun Sen lost part of his property to his neighbour would be blame his daughter for spotting the his neighbour erecting a fence on their property?? can Hun Sen Answer this question....? it like the dumb DOGs made a mistake and the mouse get the Cain.... for seeing those mistake.....
Forget about the border map. We should go through by our ancestor temples. Any temple that was build by ancient khmers, that area of land will belong to Khmer period. Those bastards took a lot our land and now they want it more.
Both Thai and Viet are the modern colonizer.
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