Hun Sen's sincerity is doubted by [Thai] military
30/04/2011
Bangkok Post and AFP
The government has voiced disappointment over the clashes at the Thai-Cambodian border which broke out only 10 hours after a ceasefire agreement was reached.
The fighting prompted a joint press conference between the army, the government and the Foreign Ministry.
"Thailand is very disappointed about the clashes that show Cambodia's insincerity despite the fact that the field troops of both sides had agreed to a ceasefire," said acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.
"The government insists on its stance that the ceasefire must be strictly observed before further talks are pursued. The prime minister has made it clear he is happy to hold a dialogue. But if the situation doesn't improve, a dialogue will not be as useful as it is supposed to," he said. Both sides agreed to a truce as of 12pm on Thursday after talks between the 2nd Army's Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakhon and Lt Gen Chea Mon, chief of the Cambodian 4th Region Army, at a casino at the Chong Jom-O Samet checkpoint in Surin's Kap Choeng district.
However around 9.30pm the same day, fighting with rifles and hand-grenades erupted and lasted for an hour. A second round of fighting reportedly took place at 2am yesterday and ended at 6am.
One Thai soldier was killed and four injured, increasing the total deaths on the Thai side to eight, including one civilian, after continuous clashes erupted on April 22.
Cambodia has reported that at least eight of its troops have been killed.
Gunfire was confirmed near Ta Kwai temple last night.
"Cambodian troops attacked first by firing rifles and throwing grenades at us," army commander Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said yesterday.
"We just responded to their attack with rifles but if it happens again we will have to retaliate further," he said, adding the talks on Thursday were not some sort of commitment.
Gen Prayuth revealed that Cambodian military commanders had made contact following the fighting and agreed to uncover why the agreed ceasefire had been broken.
The army chief said that Cambodia intends to use the border skirmishes to internationalise the border disputes.
He added that bilateral talks are the preferable way to resolve the border conflict, but noted that if a third party has to be involved there is nothing he can do about it.
"I'm not sure if [Cambodian prime minister] Hun Sen has sincerity, I don't know what he is thinking. We can't change him," said Gen Prayuth.
Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said there could be a communication breakdown among Cambodian troops.
"If we look on the bright side, it might be a communication problem because the commander in charge of the area where the fighting erupts is not Lt Gen Chea Mon," he said.
However, he added that a group of 10 military officers was dispatched early yesterday to discuss how to avoid further clashes.
Col Sansern insisted that further steps to negotiations were out of the question as long as the border fighting continued.
Second Army Region spokesman Prawit Hookaew said yesterday the incident was not an actual breach of the ceasefire agreement because the talks had been informal.
"It can't guarantee there will be no more fighting. They wanted field commanders to make contact immediately when any clash erupted to contain the situation," he said.
Meanwhile, Cambodia has accused Thai troops of initiating the fighting.
The resumption of hostilities so soon after a peace deal demonstrated the "pointlessness of bilateral negotiations", said the Cambodian government, which has continuously campaigned for a third party to be involved.
"Less than 12 hours [after the agreement] the Thai military again attacked, and fighting continued until the next morning," it said.
A Thai government source at the border noted that the Thai military might have talked to the wrong people.
Lt Gen Chea Mon does not have "real" power over the troops in the combat areas, said the source.
The areas where the border skirmishes have taken place for the past week are under the jurisdiction of deputy army commander Gen Chim Janpua, according to the source.
Local villagers in Ban Nong Danna on Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district said yesterday they heard the sound of sporadic gunfire throughout Thursday night. However they said there was no artillery shelling.
Chong Jom checkpoint in Surin's Kap Choeng district remained closed yesterday and trading was limited.
5 comments:
The International Court of Justice had ruled that Preah Vihear temple belong to Cambodia and the temple sits on Cambodian territory. The decision of the court was based on a map drawn by French, agreed by Thai and recognized by the International Community. The 4.6 square kilometers of land around the the ancient temple is also belong to Cambodian according to the above mentioned map.
Thais, stop your ambitious greed and stop using the Preah Vihear temple and the 4.6 square kilometers of land as pretext for your political gain and take your internal affairs somewhere else. Thais will not gain anything by going to war with Cambodia. Instead, many lives will be lost, beautiful infrastructures will be destroyed, economy will go down, hate between the two neighbors will be spread like cancer, etc. Thais' aggression toward a smaller and weaker country is unacceptable and being watched closely by the world community. Leave Cambodia alone.
evil siem is trying to flip flop thei situation by blaming cambodia for this border issue. let's no forget that it was siem thug that violated the icj verdict of 1962 that based on the internationally recognized map of 1907, not siem thus own map, ok!
if people keep on ignorant the map issue, then don't expect this problem to go away by itself without the international law, icj intervention, the UN involvement, etc, etc, really! it's not going to disappearing by itself without the international law and international intervention, especially the UN security council's intervention, etc, you know! seriously, i'm telling you, really!
Var Kim Hong does recognize that Cambodia, if compared to the colonial Service Geographique de l’Indochine scale map 1/100,000 and the 1985 delimitation treaty, will loses 9,000 hectares; and compared to U.S Army Mapping Service scale map 1/50,000 with the 1985 Treaty, would lose about 7,900 hectares to Vietnam. This statement was confirmed by Var Kim Hong to Mr. Touch Bora Esq through a telephone conversation on 30 August 2002 at 4:30 p.m. (Sydney time), which Mr. Touch Bora Esq wrote in his letter dated on 9 September 2002 sent to Sam Dach Ta Noroudom Sihanouk concerning over border affairs.
In fact, the loss is absolutely more than the 1000 square kilometers stated by MP Sam Rainsy in his statement, if we add the size of the historical water of 30000 square kilometers awarded to Vietnam under the 1982 Agreement which has been into affect and now already become under the full control of Vietnam. And this would not be the last if the equidistance principle be used to delimit the maritime boundary, Cambodia will lose an additional area of sea and seabed measuring at least 860 square nautical miles from the Brevie Line to the north, analyzed by Mr. Touch Bora Esq or another 10000 square kilometers confirmed by Mr. Sean Pengse, the President of the Cambodian Border Committee Worldwide, which exclusively include another Koh Poula Wai to Vietnam added to the previous lost islands- Koh Tral (Dao Phu Quoc) and Koh Poulo Panjang (Dao Thu Chu).
This is why sVar Kim Hong said in front of Students´s Movement for Democracy (SMD), and Sam Dach Ta Norodom Sihanouk on 22 Janaury 2000 during our audience with him concerning the border resolution with Vietnam that; “If we want peace, we must sacrifice our flesh to the tiger.” The truth is discovered now that, “Sacrifice the flesh to tiger actually means cutting our land to the Viet.” This word was clearly spoken out from his mouth and there were Sam Dach Ta as witness and 31 members.
We must condemn this Var Kim Hong for his role in helping the traitorous regime of Hun Sen.
Smart Khmer Girl Ms. Rattana Keo,
Koh Tral Island must not be forgotten
By Ms. Rattana Keo
Why do Koh Tral Island, known in Vietnam as Phu Quoc, a sea and land area covering proximately over 10,000 km2 [Note: the actual land size of Koh Tral itself is 574 square kilometres (222 sq miles)] have been lost to Vietnam by whose treaty? Why don’t Cambodia government be transparent and explain to Cambodia army at front line and the whole nation about this? Why don't they include this into education system? Why?
Cambodian armies are fighting at front line for 4.6 km2 on the Thai border and what's about over 10,000km2 of Cambodia to Vietnam. Nobody dare to talk about it! Why? Cambodian armies you are decide the fate of your nation, Cambodian army as well as Cambodian people must rethink about this again and again. Is it fair?
Koh Tral Island, the sea and land area of over 10,000 square kilometres have been lost to Vietnam by the 1979 to 1985 treaties. The Cambodian army at front line as well as all Cambodian people must rethink again about these issues. Are Cambodian army fighting to protect the Cambodia Nation or protecting a very small group that own big lands, big properties or only protecting a small group but disguising as protecting the Khmer nation?
The Cambodian army at front lines suffer under rain, wind, bullets, bombs, lack of foods, lack of nutrition and their families have no health care assistance, no securities after they died but a very small group eat well, sleep well, sleep in first class hotel with air conditioning system with message from young girls, have first class medical care from oversea medical treatments, they are billionaires, millionaires who sell out the country to be rich and make the Cambodian people suffer everyday.
Who signed the treaty 1979-1985 that resulted in the loss over 10,000 km2 of Cambodia??? Why they are not being transparent and brave enough to inform all Cambodians and Cambodian army at front line about these issues? Why don't they include Koh Tral (Koh Tral size is bigger than the whole Phom Phen and bigger than Singapore [Note: Singapore's present land size is 704 km2 (271.8 sq mi)]) with heap of great natural resources, in the Cambodian education system?
Look at Hun Sen's families, relatives and friends- they are billionaires, millionaires. Where did they get the money from when we all just got out of war with empty hands [in 1979]? Hun Sen always say in his speeches that Cambodia had just risen up from the ashes of war, just got up from Year Zero with empty hands and how come they are billionaires, millionaires but 90% of innocent Cambodian people are so poor and struggling with their livelihood every day?
Smart Khmer girl Ms. Rattana Keo,
កុំភ័យខ្លាំងពេកលោកអ្នកដែលស្នេហាជាតិខ្មែរអើយ
នៅស្រុកអាគាំងមានខ្មែរមានយួនមានចិនមានសាសន៍ដ៏ទៃទៀតជាច្រើនពួកអាគាំងវាមិនខ្វាយខ្វល់ផង
ចុះលោកប៉ុន្មាននាក់នឹងអីក៏រវល់ម្លេះ?
បើចង់ដេញសាសន៍ដ៍ទៃចេញពីស្រុកខ្មែរសូមអញ្ជើញ
មកដេញខ្លួនឯងទៅ។ក្រែងលោកអន្តរជាតិគេយក
ពួកអ្នកឯងទៅដាក់គុកបានខ្លះ។ពួកអ្នកឯងពិតជា
រអើងជាតិសាសន៍ពិតប្រាកដមែនហើយ។
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