Bangkok, Parlez-vous Common Sense?

No offer to 'mediate', say French

February 12, 2011
By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation

A French offer to provide maps of the disputed border area between Thailand and Cambodia has been misrepresented by some Thai media outlets that claimed France had offered to "mediate" between the two countries.

Some columnists even attacked France for poking its nose where it wasn't wanted, leading the French Embassy to clarify the proposal.

"There never was any French offer of 'mediation' in the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, as some media reported," said Alain Gavillet, press attache at the French Embassy.

Yesterday, elements of the Thai media continued to misreport the news and even obtained reaction from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Some columnists wrote pieces attacking the French government for trying to interfere in Thai-Cambodia affairs.

"Pardon ... sorry but please do not poke your nose," wrote Post Today editor Nakarn Laohavilai in his column in the paper.

Parliament delays debate on border talks

August 18, 2010
The Nation

Thai nationalists and some senators want the government to revoke the 2000 MoU because they fear losing territory to Cambodia, as the document recognises a French map that suggests areas adjacent to Preah Vihear temple on the border belong to Cambodia.

Reports from recent Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) meetings were not considered by MPs in Parliament yesterday after pressure from a nationalist group protesting over the border dispute.

Parliamentary Speaker Chai Chidchob said he did not put the JBC reports on the agenda, despite saying the gathering of a nationalist group led by activist Veera Somkwamkid in front of Parliament was nonsense.

Yesterday's session only heard a proposal from a parliamentary committee to keep reports from the session on boundary demarcation secret.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said he had submitted agreed minutes from three JBC meetings on boundary talks held over the past two years, but he had no idea when they would be on the agenda for MPs to consider.

Article 190 of the Constitution requires the ministry to submit any negotiation framework, which could lead to changes of borders or territory, so they are approved by Parliament.

The JBC was set up in accordance with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Cambodia in 2000 to survey and demarcate the boundary line with officials from the neighbouring country.

Thai nationalists and some senators want the government to revoke the 2000 MoU because they fear losing territory to Cambodia, as the document recognises a French map that suggests areas adjacent to Preah Vihear temple on the border belong to Cambodia.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over the temple and adjacent territory after it was listed as a World Heritage site in 2008. Thailand fears the listing process may undermine its claim to disputed areas adjacent to the temple.

The last JBC meeting was in April last year and talks are only able to continue once the Thai Parliament has endorsed the agreed minutes from the three last meetings.

Veera told his supporters to disperse from their rally outside Parliament after a news report revealed consideration of the JBC documents had been delayed.

Thailand Continues Claims on Disputed Border

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 February 2010

Sean Pengse, a Cambodian border expert living in France, said the International Court in fact used the 1904-1908 map when deciding on Preah Vihear temple, thereby legitimizing Cambodia’s claims to the area.

While Bangkok continues to insist that a 4.6 kilometer stretch of land near Preah Vihear temple belongs to Thailand, Cambodian officials and border experts say the issue should be put to rest.

Phnom Penh claims the stretch of land, west of the 11th-Century temple, rightfully belongs to Cambodia, according to surveys and maps made in 1904 and 1908, when the country was under French protection. Thailand maintains that its own mapping of the area puts the strip of land under its possession.

The impasse over the area has stirred nationalistic sentiment on both sides, which have sent thousands of heavily armed troops to adjacent positions, leading to several skirmishes over the past 19 months and the deaths of at least eight soldiers.

Neither side has been able to diffuse the situation, while rhetoric between prime ministers Abhisit Vijjajiva of Thailand and Hun Sen of Cambodia has escalated in recent days, culminating in Hun Sen calling Abhisit “stupid” and “crazy” on Monday.

The Thai News Agency this week quoted Abhisit saying the Thai government will not give up the contested strip of land.

The news agency also reported that Thailand would petition Unesco to review a map submitted by Cambodia in 2008, when Preah Vihear temple was award World Heritage status under Cambodian ownership.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told VOA Khmer Tuesday such claims showed a misunderstanding of the law by Thai officials.

“Unesco does not have any jurisdiction to make a judgment over land at all,” he said.

Cambodian officials have said Thailand lobbied Unesco using its own map. Thailand may petition again, officials said, because representatives of the UN body, which protects cultural heritage, have changed.

Cambodia’s map was recognized by the International Court of Justice in 1962, when it ruled that Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia, Phay Siphan said.

However, Thai spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Tuesday that the 1962 decision did not include the 4.6 kilometers of land now claimed by both sides.

Sean Pengse, a Cambodian border expert living in France, said the International Court in fact used the 1904-1908 map when deciding on Preah Vihear temple, thereby legitimizing Cambodia’s claims to the area.

The Thai authorities “can do whatever, but the decision is legitimate and uses this French map,” he told VOA Khmer.

Cambodia failed a chance to resolve the matter when it did not immediately file a complaint with the UN Security Council when Thai troops occupied a pagoda in the disputed area in July 2008, sparking the standoff.

Panitan said Tuesday both sides remained committed to solving the problem bilaterally and asked that other countries not interfere. Thailand was pleased with Hun Sen’s commitment to bilateral talks, he added.

The problem will be solved ahead of a Unesco World Heritage meeting scheduled for later this year, he said.

The committee is scheduled to meet July 25 through Aug. 3 in Brasilia, Brazil. Cambodian officials say they will submit a plan for the conservation of Preah Vihear temple at the meeting.

Thailand rejects France’s 1904 Maps [-Cambodia should reject Thai occupation of Khmer provinces such as Nokoreach Seima, Chantabor, Kuckhan, etc...]

Thursday, October 30, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

An official from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Thailand will not recognize Cambodia’s use of the 1904 map drawn by France as the base map for delimiting the borders between Thailand and Cambodia. On Thursday, The Bangkok Post quoted Virachai Plasai, director-general of the Department of International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, as saying that Thailand will reject any attempt made by Cambodia to use the 904 French map as a basis for border delimitation. Virachai Plasai said that, according to this map, all the disputed Khmer temples are located inside Cambodia.