Cambodian PM writes to UNESCO, accuses Thailand of aggression

PHNOM PENH, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has written a letter to UNESCO, accusing Thailand of aggression by moving troops into disputed border territory, and warned that Thailand threatened peace in the region.

"Thai behavior gravely threatens peace and stability in the region" and Thailand is "defying all principles of international law," Hun Sen said in the letter addressed to Koichiro Matsuura, director general of UNESCO.

Thailand's "unwarranted aggression" violates international convention designed to protect World Heritage sites during times of conflict by stationing heavily armed soldiers near the Preah Vihear Temple, he said in the letter dated Monday and made public Tuesday.

"The encroachment by large number of Thai armed soldiers in an area adjacent to the temple, with the attendant risk of provoking conflict in and around a World Heritage Site, clearly qualities as a prohibited action and thus constitutes a violation of the World Heritage Convention," he said.

The government of Cambodia would like to request UNESCO assistance in resolving this matter and request it to take urgent actions for the protection of this World Heritage Site, he said, adding that the military standoff may ruin the site.

Currently, both sides stationed over a thousand troops at the border near the Preah Vihear Temple, which was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.

Monday, bilateral talks failed to produce any agreement to end the military standoff. Cambodia has asked UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to intervene and find peaceful solution for the week-long stalemate.

Last Tuesday, three Thai protesters trespassed the border to reclaim the temple, but were immediately arrested. Thai troops then came in to fetch them, thus triggering face-off with Cambodian soldiers there. Bilateral military build-up occurred dayby day. Currently, the troops there were widely estimated at thousands.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded the 11-century classic Khmer-style Preah Vihear Temple, together with the land it occupies, to Cambodia.

Thai standoff 'threatens peace' in region: Cambodian PM

"We have suggested that the troops should not stay close to each other. I'm not aware of what the solution will be, but it should be done in the ASEAN context," Mussomeli, US Ambassador to Cambodia

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodian premier Hun Sen on Tuesday accused Thailand of unwarranted aggression by moving troops into a patch of disputed territory, warning the action threatens peace in the region.

His comments in a letter to the UN cultural agency UNESCO came after two days of diplomacy failed to make any headway in resolving the weeklong military standoff centred on the ruins of a Hindu temple overlooking Cambodia's jungle.

The tensions began after UNESCO early this month awarded World Heritage status to the Preah Vihear temple, considered the finest example of ancient Khmer architecture after the famous Angkor Wat complex.

The UN recognition infuriated Thai nationalists, and now more than 500 Thai troops are facing off against at least 1,000 Cambodian soldiers over a tiny area of land near the temple.

"Thai behaviour gravely threatens peace and stability in the region," Hun Sen said in the letter, accusing Thailand of "defying all principles of international law."

Crisis talks among Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Singapore failed to make any headway, diplomats there said, one day after senior Cambodian and Thai defence officials ended eight hours of negotiations with no resolution.

The troops are deployed around a small Buddhist pagoda in about five square kilometres (two square miles) of disputed territory.

Cambodia's foreign ministry said Tuesday that "in order to avoid armed confrontation," the country would ask for "an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to find a solution to the problem."

"We need a third party to solve this problem," Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP.

Thailand however does not want foreign mediators involved in the dispute, said the head of the armed forces, General Boonsrang Niumpradit.

"The dispute should be discussed between the two countries," said Boonsrang, who led the talks with Cambodia on Monday. "Better that than elevating it to ASEAN or the UN."

However, foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held an unscheduled lunch meeting on the dispute during their annual talks in Singapore.

"Cambodia wants it resolved through ASEAN but the Thai side wants it resolved bilaterally," one diplomat told AFP.

When asked if any progress had been made towards a resolution he replied: "Nothing".

Despite Thai objections to regional involvement, the US ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph Mussomeli, told reporters that ASEAN should play a role in ending the dispute.

"We have suggested that the troops should not stay close to each other. I'm not aware of what the solution will be, but it should be done in the ASEAN context," Mussomeli said.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the 11th century Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. But the easiest entrance lies in Thailand, and a section of the surrounding land remains in dispute.

The situation boiled over after three Thai protesters were arrested last week for jumping a barbed-wire fence to reach the temple, prompting armed troops to head to the border.

Cambodian military officials said Tuesday they were not surprised that talks had failed to find a resolution.

"We expected this result weeks ago. We will try to be more patient," said Brigadier Chea Keo, commander of Cambodian forces in the area.

Both governments have ordered troops not to fire their weapons and pledged to find a peaceful solution. UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday expressed concern about escalating tension, calling for "restraint on both sides."