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| Cambodian villagers forced to leave their village near the Thai border in Oddar Meanchey province on Wednesday. Photograph: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images |
Peace talks cancelled and prime ministers of both countries engage in war of words
Wednesday 27 April 2011
William Lloyd George
guardian.co.uk
At a surprise visit to Koke Klang temporary refugee camp – home to more than 3,000 villagers who have escaped the fighting – Thailand's prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, blamed Cambodia for the postponed meeting."We are ready to have talks with Cambodia, they said they wanted to, but then they continued to attack Thai troops so we had to cancel the meeting," he told refugees as they sat around on straw mats in the school-cum-camp.
Military reinforcements, including heavy artillery and trucks packed with soldiers, poured into the area along the Thai-Cambodia border as fighting between the two countries entered into its sixth day with neither side showing signs of backing down.
Shelling and mortar fire between the two sides has led to tens of thousands of refugees evacuating to border camps with at least one civilian and 13 soldiers reported killed in the firefight.
The conflict is the most serious fighting between the two nations in decades and stems from a demarcation carried out in the 1950s by an international court which left the 12th-century Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples and surrounding jungle areas in Cambodian territory.
Early on Wednesday morning mortar fire could be heard near the temples after fighting broke out at 5.15am and lasted nearly an hour. The fighting destroyed seven homes and injured more than 40 civilians.
"We are preparing for fighting in the early evening," Thai military spokesman Colonel Prawit Hookaew said from his busy makeshift headquarters. "This is the worst fighting we have had for a very long time."
In Thailand, heavy artillery and trucks packed with well-equipped soldiers could be seen travelling along empty highways towards the frontline. On the Cambodian side, truck-mounted rocket launchers are reportedly being deployed to the border.
In order to protect civilians from the mortar fire, more than 50,000 refugees on both sides of the border have been moved to camps away from the fighting. Cambodian military have reported villages being hit by mortar nearly 20km from the border.
Previous hope for an end to the fighting was lost when planned peace talks between Cambodia and Thailand were cancelled on Wednesday.
At a surprise visit to Koke Klang temporary refugee camp – home to more than 3,000 villagers who have escaped the fighting – Thailand's prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, blamed Cambodia for the postponed meeting.
"We are ready to have talks with Cambodia, they said they wanted to, but then they continued to attack Thai troops so we had to cancel the meeting," he told refugees as they sat around on straw mats in the school-cum-camp. "Thailand will not invade Cambodia but if they attack us then we are prepared to fight back in order to save the country."
Cambodia said on Tuesday it would refuse bilateral talks until the meeting of Asean countries in Jakarta in May and are seeking international mediation.
Making some of his first comments on the conflict, Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen said in a speech to a women's group on Wednesday that Abhisit was to blame. "The current Thai leader likes war, provokes war," he said. "Cambodia is a small, poor country and has fewer forces, but don't you forget that an ant can make an elephant not get any sleep," he said. "Cambodian's weaponry is not just slingshots."
Despite the official line of conflict over sovereignty, experts believe domestic politics in both countries are to blame for the conflict. The Thai army is said to be dragging on the conflict by rejecting Indonesian observers, in order to exert its power and retain relevance in Thai politics.
In Cambodia, some believe Hun Sen is attempting to wield nationalist sentiment to gain support for his son. It is also believed that he could be attempting to discredit Abhisit and therefore boost support for opposition parties in the forthcoming elections.
11 comments:
I am felt very sorry for all the Khmer people suffering and dying never ending under the Vietnamese controlled CPP government.
Khmer people that joined and supported Hun Sen are suffering and dying too because the Vietnamese took all the Cambodian businesses and land.
Hun Manet has no experience but Tea Banh has a lot of experiences cannot do anything to Thai either because Khmer can only killing Khmer, Khmer never won a war with foreigner after the Khmer Empire as fallen.
So don't ever expected Khmer to win a war or political talks with Thai. Thai never afraid of anything because Thai people are united and protecting their homeland like god.
All Khmer must understand that the Khmer-Thai war is simply ah Youn trick to turn away Khmer and the world attention from its strategy to swallow Cambodia. Have you seen while Youn prime minister come to meet Hun Sen to accelerate to finish installing the border posts, in the mean time, Preah Vihear clash happened? Each accuse each other whom the first start the fire. As the Khmer people, do you always believe that Thai started to fire first? Have you seen Thai start the first as what CPP government backed by Youn? Do you always believe CPP government what they told you? Is CPP a credible government? If they want to finish that war is very sample. They need simply to bring that case to the UN Security Council and insist them to result the case by the UN rather the ASEAN. The case come to ASEAN was the YOUN plan, it s happen because Ah Horn am Hong is a YOUN who manage the case accordingly to Ah Youn plan. If the case resulted by the UN Khmer will have advantage on everything accordingly to the peace accord agreement on October 23th 1991. That accord will result the same time the Youn encroachment on Khmer land. That is why, ah Youn and ah Hun Sen Gang always wishes that ASEAN result that case. You do remember that ah Hun Sen said that war will last many years, they know that in their plan is to create that war to turn Khmer attention away from what Ah You is swallowing Cambodia such as: Boeung Kak issue, Prey Lang, Border encroachment, Youn immigration, Oil drilling management, atrocity to Khmer people and so many more. This war is also to help Youn economics to export their good to Cambodia when Thai border is unstable. More and more I believe Khmer is on the brink of REVOLUTION which is the only way to save Cambodia.
អាយ៉ងក្បត់ជាតិ ហ៊ុន សែន ជាមេឃាតករឈាមត្រជាក់ ហើយក៏ជាមេគ្រោះថ្នាក់ធំជាងគេនៅក្នុងប្រទេសខ្មែរ
បើមិននាំគ្នាកំចាត់វាចោលទេ ប្រទេសខ្មែរគ្មានថ្ងៃបាន
សុខសាន្ត និងអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ប្រទេសជាតិ ឱ្យចម្រើនលូតលាស់
បានឡើយ។
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,
This mother fucker called Hun Sen regime will have no hesitage in kill Cambodian people such as K5, 1997 coup and so on....Hun SEn regime murdered thousands of khmer people by shooting in the head one by one in 1997 coup.
Thai F16 must bomb Hun Sen base not the border. If thai f16 bomb hun sen base, he will run to Vietnam as 1997 coup. Than UN, American, NATO...have cambodia get new fair election such Mr. Sam Rainsy to be PM of Cambodia but Mr Sam rainsy please don't copy Dr. Prince in courruption ok. Khmer suffer enogh khmer need great leader that truely love real khmer nation as American president love American people.
An ant?
Is he serious?
evil siem thugs caused a lot of suffering for khmer people! i hope god will punish ah evil siem for what they did to cambodia since ancient time.
Ms Rattana Keo = Fuck husband + Fuck boyfriend at the same time
She is going to fuck her father in law some time too. Her mother in law know it very well and love the rattana keo treesome cultures because the mother in law love treesome too.
Vietnam will insert B-21 rocket into ms rattana keo's vagina in order to please her sex life.
Hun Sen will insert another B-21 into ms rattana keo ass hole at the same time too
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