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| Kasit: Confident court will back Thailand |
18/07/2011
Thanida Tansubhapol, Wassana Nanuam & Sermpong Thongsamrit
Bangkok Post
Thailand will find out this afternoon whether it will be ordered to withdraw its troops from around Preah Vihear temple, as demanded by Cambodia in the International Court of Justice.
The ICJ will hold a public hearing at the Peace Palace in The Hague at 3pm Thailand time [KI-Media: it will be 3pm Phnom Penh time also], during which the president of the court, Judge Hisashi Owada, will read its deliberations on the issue.
The verdict will be based on the decision of the majority of its 15 judges.
Outgoing Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is heading the Thai legal team at the hearing, while the Cambodian team will be led by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
Mr Kasit said the Thai team felt excited ahead of the decision and the members were hopeful that the hearing would be favourable to Thailand, as it has prepared for many years to fight the case.
"Although I am not a lawyer, I believe our arguments are reasonable under legal principles and cover all issues raised in Cambodia's request," Mr Kasit said.
"I hope our arguments will be reasonable enough for the 15 judges."
Cambodia submitted its request to the ICJ on April 28 to interpret its 1962 ruling on the case concerning Preah Vihear.
The petition was accompanied by Phnom Penh's request for provisional measures that include an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Thai troops from areas around the temple, a ban on all Thai military activity in the area, and that Thailand refrain from any act which could interfere with Cambodian rights over the temple.
Two rounds of oral testimony on Cambodia's request for the provisional measures were held on May 30 and 31.
Thailand and Cambodia were later asked to send additional information about the situation and evacuees affected by the fighting at Ta Muen and Ta Kwai temples, which are near Preah Vihear, to the court on June 7.
Thai ambassador to the Hague Virachai Plasai and three foreign lawyers have been assigned to defend the Thai position.
A legal source said there were two criteria which the ICJ could consider when deciding provisional measures: to stop any further damage if it has already occurred; and to protect the temple from any damage that might occur.
During the oral testimony to the ICJ, Thailand argued that Bangkok and Phnom Penh had no conflict over the scope and meaning of the 1962 verdict.
Therefore, the court has no jurisdiction to interpret its three-point verdict to which Thailand had already complied since it was issued in 1962.
The three-point ruling included Thailand's acceptance that Preah Vihear temple is situated on Cambodian soil, an agreement to withdraw troops from the temple and to return antiques to Cambodia.
In principle, the court has no jurisdiction to consider the boundary issue, the source said.
Thailand and Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding in 2000 which also covered the boundary issue.
It is not necessary for Thailand to send a letter to oppose the court's jurisdiction in interpreting its previous verdict because Thailand has opposed it all along and this position has not changed.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said there are three possible scenarios in the ICJ's ruling.
The ICJ might endorse Cambodia's request and order Thailand to comply with it, or the court might see it is unnecessary to issue any provisional measure because the request is outside the court's jurisdiction.
Finally, it might order provisional measures different from those which Cambodia has requested.
The ICJ will explain its order, whichever scenario it goes for, he said.
Thailand continued to insist the boundary issue was not under the court's jurisdiction, he said.
The source said if the court considered it has no jurisdiction to issue the provisional measures, the issue will be put to rest immediately.
But if the court said it has jurisdiction and the situation now is not considered harmful to the temple, it could choose not to order any action.
Second Army commander Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakhon said he will wait for the government's instructions after the ICJ's ruling.
In Si Sa Ket province, a group in Kantharalak district put up a huge sign yesterday calling on all Thais to unite and to protect Thai sovereignty ahead of the ICJ's verdict today.
Thongkham Kanthawong, a villager from Phum Srol in Kantharalak district, said he disagreed with any troop withdrawal from the disputed area as the demarcation work there has not yet been completed.
Mr Thongkham said most of the residents in the village were still worried about the border situation.
7 comments:
the court may not have any jurisdiction to enforce the boundary issue; however, the court has the authority to rule by law the existing mechanism of the international treaty and international law which siem thugs had broken many time as if they have contempt of court. they kept pointing to the 1962 ruling saying the court did not rule on the existing boundary line. we all know that the official borderlines between cambodia and thailand had existed since 1907 treaty, so the court based their decision on that existing borderline, not siem unilateral map, you know! without mentioning of existing map of 1907, it is the court's duty to clarify and interpret the ruling so siem pad thugs cannot use illegal excuses again to exploit cambodia's preah vihear temple. also after this ruling, cambodia must ask that from now on, the official name of cambodia's preah vihear temple is "preah vihear temple", not prah viharn or whatever siem thugs want to call it, ok! it is a khmer built ancient temple, etc, thus, it should be in official khmer name. it's not like the way siem called khmer "khamen" or whatever, preah vihear temple is a special case and must be called "preah vihhear temple" from now on in thailand, so not to siem people confuse that it's their temple or whatever! the same should be asked of thailand to call cambodia as cambodia, not campuchia or whatever they want to call us. that's not our official name, you know! cambodia should educate the world about this through their respective embassies in phnom penh to call preah vihear temple as preah vihear, not prah viharn in siem accent, ok! cambodia should be addressed as cambodia, not campuchia or whatever, ok!
Shut up! Shut your stinking mouth Ah Kashit. You will lost your face following losing election. He looks a like a punk and radical.
why is this kashit guy still in office after the election lost?
Take notice of the eyes of a native of the Siam/Thai crook!!!!!!!!
This guy Kasit looks so demonic.
i listen to him on cnn, this asshole siem thugs is not even fit to be a diplomat for thailand. this guy sounds so racist and ignorant. he fits for siem pad thugs yellow shit people, you know!
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 30,000 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 30,000km2 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 30,000 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 30,000 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, President Ms. Rattana Keo,
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