The stone remains of Preah Vihear, built nearly 1,000 years ago, are supposed to be a protected U.N. World Heritage site. Instead they are at the heart of a dangerous tug-of-war between Cambodia and Thailand.
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Wednesday, 02 March 2011
“I think a visit to Preah Vihear temple at this time will be very productive.”
A delegation of foreign military attaches is scheduled to visit Preah Vihear temple Thursday, military officials said.
Cambodia says the 11th-Century temple was damaged by Thai artillery in border clashes in February and has asked Unesco to assess the damage. Thai officials maintain Cambodia has troops close to the temple, putting it at risk to future damage.
The military delegation will include 19 representatives of foreign countries including the US, China and Japan and will last for two days, said Chhum Socheath, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.
The defense attaches will meet with Cambodian frontline commanders before touring as many areas along the border as possible, Chhum Socheath said. This will include strike sites where Cambodian officials say cluster munitions were used by Thai soldiers.
“They will see the reality, and from what they see they will have their own views,” he said. “I think a visit to Preah Vihear temple at this time will be very productive.”
Intense clashes between the two side Feb. 4 through Feb. 7 left at least 10 people dead and sent villagers fleeing for safety.
Both sides have since agreed to a ceasefire and a monitoring mission from Indonesia, the current head of Asean, but Thailand has said it does not condone a Unesco inspection of the temple while military tensions remain high.
Cambodian military officials on the border said they have been put on heightened alert for the military delegation’s visit.
1 comment:
Dear Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and H. E. Dr. Marty Natalegawat:
I would like to express my concern about Thailand-Cambodia’s clashes, which destroy no one but the lives of poor and innocent Khmer soldiers and villagers, including innocent people in bordering Thailand.
Thailand’s government refuses UN intervention, and warns the representative of Unesco not to assess the damages at Preah Vihear; but according to the Bangkok Post, dated February 11, 2011, “Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is calling on Unesco to help defuse the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia by delisting the Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site and scrapping a Cambodian management plan.”
If this statement is true, Prime Minister Vejjajiva is basically threatening that, if Preah Vihear and the “disputed” 4.6 square-kilometers of land are not handed over to Thailand, then it will continue to create chaos and hostility until it gets its way. It has the military might to do so. This is an example of a big country bullying a poor, defenseless country.
Whatever sparked this conflict, whether it’s the pressure by the PAD Thais, also known as the “Yellow Shirts” or a business discord between the Thai and the Cambodian fat cats, Khmer soldiers and people cannot and must not die over this feud.
Legally, Preah Vihear doesn’t belong to Thailand, and the 4.6 square-kilometers of land is included on the map that the International Court of Justice used to render its verdict in favor of its rightful owner, Cambodia, on June 15, 1962. Thailand’s government continues to create misunderstanding among its people and the world by claiming that the temple and the land belong to them. They don’t. Therefore, Thailand has no right to have its say in the delisting of Cambodia’s temple.
Khmer Empire once covered modern day Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. It has now decreased to the size of the state of Missouri, USA. Thailand’s history is stained with invasions, lootings, and annexations of neighboring countries (Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia).
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Khmer people faced their darkest history, military armies of Thailand raped, buried alive, and dumped Khmer refugees in the landmine-infested areas of Dangrek Mountain. The survivors looked to Preah Vihear for guidance when they trekked through the dangerous jungle to safety. Moreover, those who escaped to America had gone back to their birthplaces only to find their original lands now under the sovereignty of Thailand.
Khmer people have been very unfortunate to have weak leaders who only put themselves before their people and nation. Please don’t punish the small population of Khmers by allowing Thailand’s military force to wreak havoc on them.
Conquest is ancient history. That is why we have ASEAN, the EU, and the UN to promote brotherhood and maintain peace and prosperity among nations. Thailand is the original member or known as the founding father of ASEAN and it is touted as a civilized kingdom. Please appeal to Thailand to stop the aggression and help maintain social harmony in the area.
Khmer soldiers and people have suffered long enough. Please give them a chance to experience peace, development, and stability by curbing the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.
Thank you, His Excellencies.
Sincerely,
Sambath Meas
A refugee-camp survivor
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