UPDATE: Fighting on Cambodian border

4/02/2011
Bangkok Post

Two or three Thai soldiers were wounded in an exchange of fire with Cambodian troops on Friday afternoon on the Thai-Cambodian border, and artillery rounds landed on Thai soil well inside the frontier, an informed military source said.

The clash started about 3.20pm near the disputed 4.6 square kilometre area around the Preah Vihear temple.

Fighting was continuing, the source said. Heavy weapon rounds had landed on the Thai side of the border,

Lt-Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, 2nd Army commander, said it was Cambodian troops who started the fire.

Many artillery shells landed at Huay Thip village in tambon Rung of Si Sa Ket's Kanthararak district, north of the Preah Vihear temple and about 1km from Phu Makhua mountain, which is part of the disputed area.

Two or three Thai soldiers were reported wounded. Casualties on the Cambodian side were not known.

The border clash occurred not long after Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said in Siem Riep on Friday morning that Thailand and Cambodia have reached agreement not to blow up the dispute over the national flags put up in their disputed border area near Pheah Vihear temple.

The announcement followed talks between Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on the sidelines of Thai-Cambodia Joint Commission (JC) meeting on Friday.

Mr Kasit said afterwards they have agreed not to blow up the dispute over the flags and not to incite their people into hatred for each other.

In addition, the two countries would continue efforts to ease border tension by continuing demarcation negotiations through the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).

Thailand earlier demanded that Cambodia remove both the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda and the Cambodian flag flying over the pagoda gate, while reasserting that the pagoda is on Thai territory. Thai troops also erected the Thai national flag in the disputed area in response.

Mr Kasit said he would visit the two yellow-shirt Thai activists, Veera Somkwankid and Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who were sentenced by a Cambodian court to eight and six years in jail repectively for espionage, and discuss with them what further help can be provided by the government.

In a related development, the legal team of the Thai Patriots Network (TPN) will meet on Tuesday to discuss ways of helping Mr Veera and Ms Ratree then file an appeal on Feb 11 against the court verdict.

Chaiwat Sinsuwong, a TPN core member, said both Mr Veera and Ms Ratree were both insistent that they were not arrested on Cambodian soil, but the Foreign Ministry wanted them to accept the court's ruling that they were guilty as charged.

Karun Saingam, who is a member of the legal team, said the appeal would be submitted to the court on Feb 11 along with a bail request.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) should begin talks with the government to promote understanding, instead of only mounting attacks, concerning the Cambodian issues.

Mr Abhisit said if the government and the PAD could exchange opinions and help to each other, he believed it would be much easier to settle the ongoing disputes with Cambodia.

The prime minister said while the PAD was putting pressure on the government, Cambodia had sent a letter to the World Heritage Committee asking it not to allow Thailand host a World Heritage Committee meeting, because people in Thailand had called for the government to withdraw from the World Heritage Committee.

"If we join forces, it would be easier to for us to deal with Cambodia," Mr Abhisit said.

"Cambodia has taken the opportunity given by our internal discord to tell the World Heritage Committee that Thailand should not be allowed to host next year's meeting of the committee, reasoning that the Thai people want the government to withdraw from it.

"An abrupt withdrawal from the committee would not be good for our efforts to protect our interests," Mr Abhisit said.

The prime minister insisted it is necessary for the government to continue its membership of the World Heritage Committee. Thailand should not admit defeat or make an abrupt withdrawal from the committee, he added.

Mr Abhisit said the government's attempts to reach an understanding with the PAD were going in a favourable direction, but declined not to go in details.

On the PAD's planned rally on Saturday, the prime minister said everyone should bear in mind that if the situation developed in an unfavourable way it would not be good for the country.

He reaffirmed that the PAD protesters would not be allow to intrude into the Government House compound.

Pol Maj-Gen Wichai Sangprapai, commander of the Metropolian Police Division 1, said 17 companies of police will be assigned to control Saturday's planned mass rally by the PAD.

More checkpoints will be set up along routes leading to the protest site on Ratchadamnoen Nok avenue.

He had talked with PAD leaders, who said the protesters would not leave to site and move to somewhere else on Saturday.