THE NATION July 17, 2012
Draft terms of reference (TOR) for the deployment of a team of Indonesians to observe the withdrawal of troops from around Preah Vihear Temple on the Thai-Cambodian border, as ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), will be discussed in Parliament next month in accordance with the Constitution, Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said.
Thailand and Cambodia agreed last week to "adjust" their troop levels in disputed areas adjacent to the 11th-century Hindu temple on Wednesday.
Both sides will pull some troops out and will put some border police in to guard the area. Defence ministers of both countries would inspect the troop redeployment in their respective territories tomorrow (Wednesday).
Surapong met with Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat and military commanders to discuss the matter yesterday at the Foreign Ministry.
On July 18 last year, the ICJ ordered Thailand and Cambodia to withdraw troops from a court-determined demilitarised zone near the temple. The court requested an Indonesian observer team to monitor the withdrawal.
Jakarta has drafted TOR for its observer team, spelling out its role in the areas on both the Thai and Cambodian sides. Phnom Penh agreed to the TOR last year, but Thailand has sat on them since the Abhisit government.
The Thai Defence Council is considering the TOR this week and the Defence Ministry will send them to the Council of State to check their legal status and the degree to which they are binding.
The Defence and Foreign ministries would jointly propose the TOR to the Cabinet for consideration, Surapong said. Cabinet was expected to submit the terms for Parliament to consider next month, in accordance with Article 190 of the charter, he said.
Thailand and Cambodia have a long-standing conflict over Preah Vihear temple. The ICJ ruled in 1962 that it is situated on territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia, but Bangkok argues that its vicinity belongs to Thailand.
Skirmishes have erupted along the border in the disputed areas near the temple many times.
Last year, Cambodia asked the court to interpret the original ICJ ruling. It ordered troops from both sides to withdraw and prohibited military activity in the areas pending its ruling on the disputed territory.
The court is due to call the next round of oral testimony - possibly the last - next April, Surapong said. But the ICJ has said it wants to see troops withdrawn and observers in the disputed areas by then, he said.
"Things will go smoothly as relations between Thailand and Cambodia are in good health," he said, "but we need to put it through Parliament to show transparency."
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