Monday, November 11, 2013

Preah Vihear temple: Disputed land Cambodian, court rules

Preah Vihear temple: Disputed land Cambodian, court rules

BBC News | 11 Nov. 2013

A Cambodian Buddhist monk walking at the Preah Vihear temple, some 543 kilometers north of Phnom Penh, along the border with Thailand, This file photo taken on November 7, 2008 The 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple is a World Heritage site

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Cambodia should have sovereignty over disputed land around the Preah Vihear temple on the border with Thailand, the UN's highest court has ruled.

The International Court of Justice in the Hague said Thailand must withdraw any soldiers from the area.

The long-standing rift has previously led to clashes between the two nations, who both lay claim to the land.

A 1962 verdict by the court declared the temple to be Cambodian, but did not rule on the area around it.

Cambodia sought a clarification of the ruling two years ago, after fighting erupted. 

Delivering the judgement, Peter Tomka, president of the International Court of Justice, said the court had decided "that Cambodia had sovereignty over the whole territory of the promontory of Preah Vihear".

"In consequence, Thailand was under an obligation to withdraw from that territory the Thai military or police forces or other guards or keepers that were stationed there," he said.
Fears of violence
 
Both sides agreed to withdraw troops from the disputed area in December 2011. 

On Saturday, the chief of Cambodia's military forces on the Thailand border called an emergency meeting after Thai aircraft were seen flying low around disputed land near the temple. 

However, Cambodian regional commander General Srey Deuk told the BBC he expected no problems with the Thai military after Monday's verdict.

He said no troop reinforcements had been brought up to the temple.

But fears remain about possible violence in border villages, stirred up by nationalist groups.

One Thai nationalist group, the Thai Patriotic Network, has said it will reject any judgement from the ICJ, according to The Nation newspaper. The group has already petitioned the court to throw out the case.

The territory has been a point of contention for over a century. 

Map

The decision to award the temple to Cambodia in 1962 rankled Thailand, but the issue lay largely moribund due to Cambodia's civil war, which only ended in the 1990s.

It came to the forefront again when Cambodia applied for Unesco World Heritage status in 2008, which it won - angering Thai nationalists. Both sides began a build up of troops in the area.

The ICJ ruling is an interpretation of the 1962 judgement and cannot be appealed.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

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យើង នឹងស្នើរ អោយតុលាការ យកករណី ចោរ លួចសន្លឹកឆ្នោត ទៅឡាអេ និង សើររើរឿងឧក្រឹតកម្ម របស់ រដ្ឋាភិបាលអាយ៉ងយួនបរទេស
សូម ងាកមករកជំងឺពិតរប​ស់កម្ពុជា រឿងដីមួយដុំតូច(៤.៦ គីឡូម៉ែត្រការរ៉េ)នៅក្បែរប្រសាទ
វាមិនសំខាន់ទេ សំខាន់យួនមានបំណងលេបយក កម្ពុជានៅជំនាន់នេះ ដូចជា
កោះ ត្រល់ ជាដើម ។

Anonymous said...

Stop dreaming that Rainsy could do anything, this weak freak going to let you down, he led all his supporters to nowhere but corner with that smeung smath joke Demo. His supporters will be less and less as the last demo. all the youth already disappeared.