ABC Radio Australia
The United Nations' highest court has ordered Thailand and Cambodia to immediately withdraw their troops from the disputed border regions around the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Dr Panitan Wattanayagorn, spokesman for Thai Government
DR PANITAN: We welcome the court decision, in regards of asking the Cambodia troops to withdraw from what the court called the demilitarised zone, that's what we've been asking Cambodia to do all along.
LAM: But Bangkok did not want the International Court of Justice to proceed, to begin with, so is Thailand disappointed with this decision?
DR PANITAN: We are a good member of the United Nations. We will follow the good practice that we have been adopting since we became a member of the UN. But we also need to follow internal procedures, based on our Constitution. Rulings must also be worked out by the internal committees of Parliament, the Parliament that will come in the next few weeks.
LAM: Well, the Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya says that Bangkok will honour the ICJ ruling but will hold more talks with Phnom Penh over its claims - why was this not done before? What's changed since Indonesia's foreign minister Marty Natalegawa tried to act as mediator a few months back?
DR PANITAN: I think we er.. it is quite clear that in order to implement measures in the areas, Cambodia and Thailand need to sit down properly, using existing mechanisms. Today, we welcome that aspect. The implementation of the court ruling will require Cambodia to sit down with Thailand under a framework, in order to effectively create these measures.
LAM: So is Thailand happy to allow observers from the ten-nation ASEAN bloc, to the demilitarised zone, to effectively work as observers there. Is Thailand agreeable to this?
DR PANITAN: Well, once we agreed in principle already, to allow the observers to come to the designated areas in the beginning, but of course, due to differences in terms of technicalities, the observer team could not be in Thailand in the past, but today, we welcome that decision, in order to implement these measures. We will need to work closely with ASEAN.
Foreign minister Kasit Piromya has already despatched a deputy permanent secretary to talk with the Indonesian foreign minister in order to look into some of these measures, that could be implemented in the next few weeks.
LAM: Well, some 85,000 civilians, mainly Cambodians, fled the region, during the fighting back in April. Will Thailand and Thai authorities lend a hand to ensure that these civilians return to their homeland, back to Cambodian territory?
DR PANITAN: We have been helping people who have been affected by fighting in our neighbouring countries for the past few decades. That's when Thailand adopted a humanitarian aspect of policies concerning these people. We're also concerned about our own people, who've been affected by the troops who were stationed along the Thai-Cambodian borders. We welcome the withdrawal of the Cambodian troops in those areas, so that Thais could return to their homes peacefully also.
7 comments:
What about vietnam border issue, and millions of illegal youns?
this interview shows siem is ashamed by their own violation by now! well, it took the icj involvement to order siem to respect the law. we knew siem is full of shit all along!
Border with Vietnam will be a new story.
Viet is on a better position than Thai. Viet helped the Khmer people out of from Khmer Rouge regime and did not attack Cambodia by force, like the Thai did again our country Cambodia in the last 3 years and killed the Khmer people by forces.
The border with Vietnam will be the next resolution and will discuss on a bilateral option and not by forces or on the court decision.
Million of illegal Viets will also have to discuss. It is the problem of the immigration authority and Cambodian parliament.
As Khmer like you or me or other, we will not accept, that the Viets can live free or illegally in our country.
I do hope the border Thailand to be end by international court. But now we Khmers turn back your head to the border between Vietnam and Cambodia again. We must also looking for international coutz zhe same like Thailand, Could we do it ?????
When the verdict (UN) had called you to pull out, there are no condition to negotiate. I don't know this stupid Oxford educated Thai PM understand this!
Khmer Surin,
Maybe Thai respected the rules
of ICJ laws.Thai has been the UN
members so long.
But Vietnam is a real intruder
in Khmer land:
It took Koh Tral,sea water in
1979;it is encroaching along
Khmer-Vietnam border,deep into
Khmer land half mile,but Hun Sen
and Khmer people said nothings.
Hun Sen govt,Khmer citizens,and
I are idiot.
These Thais think they are so smart and so slick.
These Thai politicians are the worst kind of manipulating beasts in the world.
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