Apinya Wipatayotin
Bangkok Post
Unesco's request that Thailand reverse its decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention can be complied with only if Preah Vihear's listing as a world heritage site is temporarily withdrawn, until there is a clear agreement on the demarcation of the border in the immediate area, caretaker Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti said on Friday.
Mr Suwit announced Thailand's withdrawal and then walked out of a World Heritage Convention (WHC) committee meeting in Paris last week.
The dispute centres on Cambodia's proposed management plan for the temple and the land immediately adjoining it. Bangkok and Phnom Penh both claim sovreignty over 4.6 square kilometres of borderland surrounding three sides of the old Hindu religious ruin, which sits on the end of a promontory.
This dispute needs to be solved first, at the root level, he said.
That means that Unesco should support all means that would bring the two countries together to complete the border's demarcation.
"Firstly, Unesco must be neutral, not take sides with either Thailand or Cambodia.
"We are ready to renew our membership on the condition that we will not lose a single inch of land to Cambodia," Mr Suwit said.
"Regarding with the border conflict, I think Unesco should delist Preah Vihear temple and allow the two countries to discuss demarcation of the land," Mr Suwit said.
The next government should set up a special team to deal with the Preah Vihear issue, otherwise it would have a high chance of being disadvantaged, as the issue is very sensitive and requires an expert team to take care of it, Mr Suwit said.
Mr Suwit, the Social Action Party leader, was speaking at a press conference.
He said it was called to clear up people’s doubts over his decision to withdraw Thailand from membership of Unesco's World Heritage Convention during the 35th session of Unesco’s General Conference in Paris last month.
There has been criticism that the withdrawal would deny Thailand the opportunity to defend its territory around Preah Vihear in the Unesco forum and that the decision was premature.
"At that minute, people who love the motherland would have done the same thing that I did," Mr Suwit declared.
"I don’t want to repeat the tragedy of 1962, which we lost our right to Preah Vihear temple. I don’t want to see any tears from Thai people," he said.
Mr Suwit decided to withdraw after the WHC failed to respond to Thailand’s request not to mention a sensitive part of a draft decision made by the WHC.
The Unesco director-general has asked that Bangkok reconsider the decision.
Before the walkout, the WHC suggested both Thailand and Cambodia agree to a draft decision over the ancient temple submitted for the World Heritage Committees' consideration. They failed to do so.
Finally, the WHC decided to prepare a draft decision for the two countries’ approval before further submissions were made.
The proposed draft includes the clause the WHC "acknowledges the good will of the parties and reaffirms the need to ensure, in accordance with the operational guidelines, the protection and conservation of the property from any damage".
Thailand would like to delete the paragraph, saying that it would lead to Thailand losing territory because the operational guidelines would allow the world heritage centre to go ahed with activities to protect and preserve the world heritage site, including sending expert teams to prepare the temple site and granting financial support.
"If we had agreed to the draft, it might be worse than the Preah Vihear temple management plan proposed by Cambodia," Mr Suwit said.
"Outsiders would be free to do anything on Thai territory under the protection of the World Heritage Convention," he added.
7 comments:
To Ahbisit: "If you have the heart of a son, you will write a formal letter to the WHC or else you're just a pussy!
what is this guy suwit talking about here? is he another siem pad thug working for ahbullshit who in turn works for the one eye yellow master sitting on that wheelchair! in case, siem thugs just woke up, the border lines with cambodia was demarcated since the international treaty of 1907, not the siem 2008 or late 1970s unilateral map, ok! go research on the international treaty map of 1907 and you will find it, ok! by the way, in case siem thugs did not know already, the international treaty map of 1907 was the official map and internationally recognized as the border lines between siem country and cambodia, ok, not that unilateral map of siem thugs, really! so stop making lame and illegal excuses, ok! unesco should remind these siem kids to go back and study the international treaty of 1907 as they failed history 101 big time, you know! as far as cambodia is concerned, the international treaty map of 1907 has legitimacy over the siem's unilateral map, ok! so, tell us which map siem problematic kids are using? again, better not use that siem's unilateral map to create the so-called dispute area, ok. i told you siem lost all along! stop playing siem childish game, here, ok!
Why we should care about Suwit and Thailand want to rejoin WHC or not? What we are caring is about managing our Preah Vihear Temple and the land around it within the border line agreed upon by Thailand and France in 1904 and 1907. Our management plan is cleared to go ahead. Suwit and Thailand can stay out of WHC for ever if they will! That doesn’t bother Cambodia at all. Actually we are happy that way. We are more keen to have plenty of tourists at the temple than anything else.
Suwit? What’s that? We are not interested in sewage or trash bullshit at all. Pleas keep sewage and all that bad smell off Cambodia!
suwit, the had made the right decision,
no need to come back to unesco.
it it good for thailand's king never smiled
It is the voice of manipulation: "temporarily withdrawn" then they work it to have permenantly withdrawn. This is Thai manipulation tactic. The best way is to not give them an inch. Once you give them an inch, they want an arm. Hun Sen is right to deflect the Thai aggression on our land/not Thai territory.
BREAKING NEWS
Armed forces put on standby
Published: 2/07/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has ordered all three of the country's armed forces to get ready for the implementation of the national defence plan, a military source says.
The armed forces are ready to protect Thai territory along the border with Cambodia, the source said yesterday.
The army is ready to implement its Kasat Suk (Warlord) and Phichit Suk (War Victory) plans. The Suranaree Task Force serves as the focal point of these two plans.
The navy's border defence forces in Chanthaburi and Trat have been deployed to the Thai-Cambodian border in the two provinces. Navy warships have been put on standby as well.
As for the air force, it has flown up fighter jets to patrol along the borders, while all other fighter jets have been told to be at the ready.
First Army commander Udomdej Sitabutr said the 2nd Infantry Regiment is well prepared to protect Thailand's territory in Prachin Buri and Sa Kaeo provinces as well although the current situation along the Thai-Cambodian border remains normal.
The military's move came a week after Thailand failed to settle an agreement on the consideration of the Preah Vihear temple's management plan at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris which resulted in Bangkok withdrawing from the World Heritage Convention.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti yesterday said Thailand could review its decision to quit the convention if Unesco agrees to temporarily remove the Preah Vihear temple from the World Heritage list.
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