Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are deliberating whether to wade into a bloody border conflict, after Cambodia asked that it order Thailand to withdraw troops from positions near an 11th century Hindu temple.
8 June 2011
By Jared Ferrie
International Justice Desk (RNW)
Public hearings were conducted May 30 and 31 in response to a request from Cambodia that the Court interpret a 1962 judgment that placed the Preah Vihear temple inside Cambodian territory. Although the judgment also supported a map demarcating the border, Thailand argues that the ICJ did not have jurisdiction to rule on the border.
A disputed 4.6 square kilometer section of land at the foot of the temple has become a flashpoint for military clashes, including those that claimed at least 10 lives in February.
Cambodia hopes an ICJ clarification will effectively demarcate the border. Thailand wants the Court to dismiss Cambodia’s application, arguing that it has complied with the 1962 ruling, which required it to withdraw its forces from the temple and Cambodian territory in the vicinity.
"The point is that it's unreasonable that the ICJ should grant an injunction as requested by Cambodia when Thailand had abided by the court's ruling issued in 1962,” Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the Bangkok Post the day before hearings began.
Thai officials have made that argument repeatedly, in public statements and in a February 5 letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The letter of 1966
But in its own letters to the UNSC, including one dating back to 1966, Cambodia has claimed that Thailand repeatedly violated the ruling, not only stationing troops nearby, but on one occasion invading the temple complex itself.
The April 23 1966 letter, which was provided to the International Justice Tribune by the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, describes an alleged sequence of clashes in and around the temple.
“On 3 April 1966 at about 7:30 p.m., a unit of Thai Armed Forces about 100 strong attacked and burned the Cambodian post held by nine guards appointed to watch over the temple of Preah Vihear,” wrote Norodom Kantol, who was Cambodia’s foreign minister.
“The aggressors captured five of these guards and occupied the temple.”
The letter goes on to claim that Cambodian troops took back the temple from the Thais who allegedly executed the five prisoners as they were withdrawing.
It also claims that the Thai military used the confrontation to expand into Cambodian territory. Quoting a statement made by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia’s head of state at the time, the letter claims:
“They have drawn a new frontier line, to our disadvantage, in the neighbourhood of Preah Vihear itself. In particular, they have laid barbed wire and set up military or police posts which in certain places encroach to a considerable depth on our territory, thus scorning the judgment of the International Court of Justice.”
Thailand has maintained that it accepted the section of the 1962 judgment that placed Preah Vihear within Cambodia. But both the section referring to the borderline, and Thailand’s interpretation of it, is less clear.
The ICJ's summary of 1962
In its summary of the 1962 judgment, the Court explained that various maps had been produced that demarcated the border according to the different designations of the watershed line at the foot of the hill upon which Preah Vihear stands. However, the Court found evidence that Thailand accepted a map it referred to as Annex I.
“The Court therefore felt bound to pronounce in favour of the frontier indicated on the Annex I map in the disputed area and it became unnecessary to consider whether the line as mapped did in fact correspond to the true watershed line,” said the summary.
Thus, the Court appears to have ruled already on the border demarcation issue. But the 1962 judgment also admits that the Thai government never officially endorsed the Annex I map. And over decades the issue has only become more opaque.
Cambodia says it wants a speedy decision by the ICJ in hopes that it will help resolve the border crisis. Authorities have warned of the potential for further clashes, as both countries continue to maintain a heavy military presence in the area.
The ICJ has not determined when it will decide whether or not to examine and interpret the 1962 judgment, saying only that the date “will be determined in due course.”
6 comments:
Thailand is the 'whore or the cancer' of the southeast asia for thousands of years. In world war 1 and II they help the white west to use their country as a base to attack all other asian nations. Thai has never been good to their neighbouring country. Knowing that Khmer has suffered enough from their civil war already, yet continue to take advantage of us on doing wickedness, it is so wrong! where are their morality???. we all are human being that need to be respected. The world map is the evident to show which part is khmer and which part is Thai, yet wanting to over rule the international law for their own benefit??? I am sure the UN will condemn thai and would say 'where are your eyes, can't you see in this world map?' who care about the 1962 agreement or not. The point is; whatever is drawn, that is it!. The world map is an official for all nations whether you like it or not.
At the end of the day, we belong to the land, the land doesn't belong to us. So, why fighting over what is not yours in the first place or if it is then let it go for it is already done in the world map, just accept as it is and make peace for god sack. After all we all need peace not war. Thai is yet to pay for what they have done to the southeast asian, but so far 50% of their nation has HIV, this is called 'karma' you can't get way really in the end.
In 1979-1985 Thai helped to kill thousand of Khmner-Viets by dumping us onto the mine-field including robbed, raped and killed us. Thai may think they can get away but when judgement day comes, i am sure they will pay for it. UN would not want to be part of the Thai dirty mind, i am sure they will find justice for the righteous one, Amen.
wisdom
"The point is that it's unreasonable that the ICJ should grant an injunction as requested by Cambodia when Thailand had abided by the court's ruling issued in 1962,” Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the Bangkok Post the day before hearings began."
"Thailand ...have provisional measures put in place by stressing its sincerity by fully and unconditionally cooperating with the court on the 1962 verdict,..."
=If Thailand claimed to be sincere and fully unconditionally cooperate with the court's verdict since 1962 and why Thailand has not turn over the looted relics and the statues from Preah Vihear temple back to the rightful owner Cambodia?
thailand did not abide by the law, they invaded and stationed troops near preah vihear and then shoot to destroy or damage preah vihear temple, the world heritage site, etc! there were overwhelming evident of thai or siem violated or defied or rankling with the icj ruling since 1962, you know! siem lie again to icj, i hope icj tell siem to get lost by now, really!
siem have contempt of court! oh, the court hate that, and there are overwhelming evident of siem's rankling and contempt of court, etc, you know! if you don't see that by now, you must be the dream team working for siem because how much did siem thugs pay you to represent them? we know that answer, really! if you're not so scare, why don't you encourage the court to proceed? why you wan to protest the court? you have something to hide? i think so, really!
i told you, siem thugs are scared or afraid of icj! siem are thieves, you know! if you can't see that by now, you must be from another planet or something, really!
siem is buying time, they think just because a treaty, a temple, etc was old, that they can just violate the law at a later date, etc! that's how siem thugs think, you know! well, statute of limitations, etc protect the case forever. siem has no chance, cambodia should demand siem give back all of our old khmer provinces back to cambodia, they stole from us during cambodia's dark ages era, etc, you know!
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