PAD rally will only complicate matters: [Thai] PM

PAD clash with local Thai villagers near Preah Vihear in 2009

August 6, 2010
The Nation
PREAH VIHEAR DISPUTE

If the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) held a rally on Saturday, it would only make the Preah Vihear temple issue more complicated, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

"Frankly speaking, the rally could make the situation more complicated, but if they really want to hold the demonstration, it should be done in accordance with the law," he said.

PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang has called for a demonstration in front of the prime minister's office on Saturday to demand the government revoke the memorandum of understanding on boundary demarcation signed with Cambodia in 2000.

The MoU, which recognises the Siam-French demarcation map, would allow Cambodia to claim Thai territory, Chamlong said.

"As Thai citizens, we have the duty to protect our sovereignty," he said.

With Bangkok still under a state of emergency, any public gathering of more than five people is prohibited. However, Abhisit declined to say if the emergency law would be enforced to block the PAD protest.

The PAD is a government ally, but it seems to have turned against Abhisit due to a difference in opinion over Preah Vihear. The nationalist group was against the Hindu temple getting World Heritage status, and demanded the government fight it too, as well as use force to exercise Thai sovereignty in the area adjacent to the temple.

The Preah Vihear, according to a ruling by the International Court of Justice in 1962, is on territory under sovereignty of Cambodia. Thailand says the court had only ruled on the ruins, not the surrounding area, which is Thai territory.

Abhisit, however, cannot cede to PAD's demands because the Democrat-led government under Chuan Leekpai had signed the 2000 MoU. Instead he is urging the PAD and other groups raising concern over the Preah Vihear issue to help the government come up with solutions.

Chamlong said he wanted to know if the government had a solid plan about what it should do in a year from now, when the World Heritage Committee considers Cambodia's temple management plan.

The Thai delegation managed to convince the panel to consider the management plan during its next session in 2011, but there are no clear ideas on what Thailand would do next.

Preah Vihear was made a World Heritage Site in 2008, obliging Cambodia to produce a management plan for the committee's consideration.

Even though the plan has been delayed by a year, Cambodia says it can still implement the plan. A statement from Phnom Penh said several jobs, such as the enlargement of the buffer zone to the south of the property, have been completed so far.

Meanwhile, despite the hot debate on the temple, the situation along the border province of Si Sa Ket remained calm. However, the situation might get heated as another PAD member Veera Somkwamkid is planning to take a group of protesters to the temple this weekend.

His plan is to disturb the peace of villagers in Ban Phum Srol for clashing with his group in 2008.

However, police and local authorities said yesterday they were ready to control the situation, adding that Ban Phum Srol residents were mostly Khmer natives and wanted no confrontation.

Meanwhile, Thippong Thipkesorn, sub-district police chief for Bung Malou, urged Veera to adjust his plan and seek opinions from local people.

Two faces of Thailand

Red Shirt protesters outside the Government House in Bangkok earlier this year

September 24, 2009
SocialistWorker.org

Giles Ji Ungpakorn is a Thai academic and dissident who was targeted by the government for the supposed crime of "lese majesty"--essentially, "disloyalty" to Thailand's head of state, King Bhumibol. To avoid censorship and a possible prison sentence of 15 years, he fled to Britain earlier this year. Here, he analyzes the latest developments in Thailand, three years after a military coup.

ON SEPTEMBER 19 of this year--the third anniversary of the military coup that wrecked Thai democracy--two demonstrations took place. They sum up the two faces of Thailand.

One demonstration, by tens of thousands of Red Shirts in Bangkok, was organized in order to continue the demand for full democracy. It was a peaceful and friendly demonstration. Yet the military-backed Democrat Party government, headed by Abhisit Vejjajiva, declared a state of emergency and lined up thousands of police and soldiers to deal with the demonstrators.

Previously, back in April, Abhisit had urged soldiers to fire on the Red Shirts. Two people were subsequently killed and 70 injured by government soldiers.

The other demonstration was organized by People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) fascist thugs. The PAD are the Yellow Shirt royalists. The aim of this demonstration was to attack Cambodian villagers living and working at the ancient Kao Prawiharn temple inside Cambodia.

Since last year, the PAD has been trying to cause a war with Cambodia by whipping up extreme nationalism. The temple was built by the ancient Khmers and clearly belongs to Cambodia, both from a legal and historical point of view. On September 19, the PAD went to the border armed, as usual, with guns, bombs and clubs. They attacked the police and then a group of local villagers who were opposed to them. Local villagers on both sides of the border have traditionally held joint religious ceremonies together at the temple on this day. This has not happened since the PAD forced the closure of the temple last year.

Teptai Senpong, personal spokesman for Prime Minister Abhisit, earlier stated that there was no reason to declare a state of emergency in the border area, "as the PAD were defending Thai national interests." The present foreign minister is a PAD supporter who took part in the illegal occupation of the international airports last December. He is famed for being rude about the Cambodian government.

Suriyasai Takasila, PAD spokesperson, said that the PAD leadership would not turn its back on Wira Somkwamkit, the PAD leader who headed the violent raid on the border. Naturally, the PAD riot and its extreme nationalism was supported by ASTV. The government will not prosecute the PAD and their leaders for their illegal violence. They never have. At the same time, numerous Red Shirts are in jail or face prosecution.

Just like when the PAD took over the airports, they cared little for the impact on local people's employment and livelihood. They cared little if the sons of poor farmers, conscripted into the Thai army, were to die in any pointless shoot out with their brothers in the Cambodian army.

The progressive, peaceful and democratic face of Thai society is the Red Shirts. The violent, fascist and authoritarian face is the face of the Yellow Shirt conservative royalists who control the state, the army, the monarchy, the government and the media. The one thing they do not control is the hearts and minds of most Thai citizens.

Most Thais are waiting for the king to die. But that in itself will solve nothing, despite the fact that his son his universally hated and held in contempt. No real democracy can be built without dismissing the generals, the judges, the privy council, the royal family and the corrupt politicians.

Will the Red Shirts be up to this People's Revolution? Can it be an overwhelming movement of citizens in order to minimize bloodshed? These are the issues on many people's minds today.

Deputy PM calls for halt to jingoism

Suthep: Favours talks, not picketing

24/09/2009
Bangkok Post

Whipping up nationalist fervour over the Cambodian border issue is a risky game which could harm trade relations with our neighbour, says Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban.

Negotiations were the way to handle the dispute, not picketing, he said yesterday.

Mr Suthep was commenting on Saturday's clash between the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and Si Sa Ket residents near a disputed 4.6 square kilometre border area with Cambodia.

PAD held the protest in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket to pressure authorities to force Cambodians from the disputed area, which is near Preah Vihear temple.

The protesters confronted a group of residents who tried to stop them. A clash between PAD protesters and the villagers left scores of people on both sides injured.

Mr Suthep said the government had tried to solve the border problem through negotiation to prevent the dispute from escalating into a conflict between the countries.

People should not let their emotion drive them to stage protests over sovereignty, he said.

Demarcating the boundary with Cambodia could take as long as 10 years, as the two sides could not agree on who owns what.

PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey said the government would bring together Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and PAD co-leader Veera Somkhwamkid, who led the PAD protest on Saturday, to explain problems concerning Preah Vihear temple. They would appear together in a television broadcast after the prime minister returned from his overseas trip this weekend.

Natthawut Saikua, of the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), yesterday demanded Mr Abhisit clarify reports that Cambodia was building a road to Preah Vihear through the disputed area.

PAD's temple clash gained little but some internal kudos

September 23, 2009
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

The nationalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) failed to achieve any goals over the past weekend as its actions led to bloodshed among protesters and villagers in northeastern Si Sa Ket province.

At least five people on both sides were injured in the clash in Ban Phumsarol on Saturday. The bloody incident ended with a number of lawsuits filed by protesters, villagers and government officials against each other for criminal assault.

The PAD, led by activist Veera Somkwamkid, rallied near the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear to demand the Cambodian community move out from the disputed area claimed by Thailand and Cambodia.

Initially, the protesters threatened to remove the Cambodian community by themselves if the Thai government took no action.

The disputed area of 4.6 square kilometres adjacent to the Preah Vihear has been at the core of the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia for a long time and has yet to be demarcated.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding after 2000 to prohibit both sides from changing the status quo in the area. Cambodia has built a community, a Buddhist temple and security outposts in the disputed area, prompting diplomatic protests from Thai Foreign Ministry since 2004.

The PAD realised Thailand could lose sovereignty over the territory - shortly after making some bruising nationalist accusations against Samak Sundaravej's government.

The PAD accused Samak and his foreign minister Noppadon Pattama of losing the territory to Cambodia when his government signed a joint communique supporting Phnom Penh's listing of the Hindu temple as a world heritage site.

Finally, the World Heritage Committee granted the inscription to the Preah Vihear as proposed. The PAD launched a protest at the site and clashed with local residents in July last year, but failed to achieve anything - only sour relations between Thailand and Cambodia .

This year, its ally Democrat Party is in the power, but still the Preah Vihear maintains its world heritage status, and the Cambodian community and the Buddhist temple remain.

The PAD demanded the government under Abhisit Vejjajiva, who once shared the same dream, to kick Cambodia out of the area. However, the government realised the best solution was negotiation through diplomatic channels.

Many leaders of the PAD admitted demands to remove the Cambodian community by force are unrealistic and could- rather than solve the problem - create more troubles. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, a close associate of the PAD, explained many times he was working to solve the problem with Cambodia through the joint boundary committee. Diplomacy might take time, but it could guarantee Thailand not losing anything.

However the PAD has no unity. There are numerous rival factions, many competing for good positions in the New Politics Party. To be more precise, those playing around the Preah Vihear temple merely want to remind senior people in the PAD they have the potential to create trouble for those in power, so reward them with good positions in the new party, including some crucial roles.

Up to now, the Preah Vihear crusade benefits nobody as five leaders of the PAD did not approve the performance. The protest on Saturday and Sunday caused unnecessary damage and failed to remove the Cambodian community from the disputed area. It is too expensive to use blood to pave the way for reading a few statements at Pha Mor Ee Daeng, a cliff next to Phrea Vihear.

It also damaged legitimacy of the PAD, since the villagers who opposed the protest are normal people who cannot tolerate disturbance to their lives. Villagers in Ban Phumsarol are not manipulated by any political forces. They simply want the Preah Vihear to be open, enabling them to earn income from tourism and have routes to their farms.

Veera and all Preah Vihear crusaders need to answer questions from Veerayuth Duangkaeow, Sao Thong Chai sub-district chief. He asked: "What have you done for Ban Phumsarol? And what did you get from driving from elsewhere to read your statements on the cliff? And have you got the Preah Vihear back?"

Right-wing PAD must not resort to irredentism

23/09/2009
Thitinan Pongsudhirak
Bangkok Post

Irredentism (from Italian irredento, "unredeemed") is any position advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. (Source: Wikipedia)

By demonstrating over a land area adjoining the ancient Preah Vihear temple complex last week ahead of the third anniversary of Thailand's latest military coup on Sept 19, a faction of the royalist-nationalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) shrewdly stole the thunder that was supposed to belong to the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra red-shirted movement. Weeks of build-up to the red shirts' anti-coup anniversary protest were eclipsed by the yellow shirts' days of escalation from patriotism and nationalism to chauvinism and veiled irredentism.

Under the aegis of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the red shirts and their sit-ins at public gathering areas are a recurrent phenomenon. Their largest and most sustained street demonstration from late March to the Songkran riots has been instructive for them. They can protest all they want but they do not have the tipping point that comes with the right backing.

The red shirts have since acted with more restraint. As an evolving social movement, their numbers are wide but increasingly divided along the fault lines of Thaksin Shinawatra and the coup.

All reds are anti-coup. Yet there are many more non-reds who are also anti-coup and anti-post coup. Thaksin is thus a walking divisiveness in exile, even to the reds, and especially among anti-coup groups. The reds will now work on another build-up for their protest next month. Their disbandment around midnight last Saturday, early by their own standards, stood in deliberate contrast to what the yellows were doing near Preah Vihear temple.

Also a developing social movement, the PAD has become a leading agenda setter with quasi-veto power over political outcomes. They can prevent outcomes as well as determine them under certain circumstances. The drawn-out police chief appointment is a case in point.

Preah Vihear is an ongoing controversy. At issue is how far to reach back in history. Going back a century means righting the wrongs of French imperialist cartography that betrayed agreed watershed demarcation. Going back to 1962 means abiding by international law that awarded the temple to Cambodia. In the decades since, both Thais and Cambodians have roundly benefited from border trade and tourism. While Phnom Penh has registered the temple as a World Heritage Site, both the Thais and the Cambodians need to jointly develop the adjoining 4.6sqkm. The area is not much good to Thailand without the temple. Possession of the temple is equally not as useful without its land approach. And Bangkok would oppose unilateral registration of the contested land if it emerges.

While it has been detrimental to local livelihoods, the continuing stalemate over Preah Vihear and its landscape has fuelled the Thai political crisis. It was a hot potato for the two elected governments last year, and it will be a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government in the coming weeks.

What the PAD protesters have done near Preah Vihear bears a number of ramifications. In the short term, it diverted the spotlight from the reds. In the longer term, however, it may well turn off some of the rank-and-file yellows and the pro-Establishment non-yellows who are pro-coup and anti-Thaksin. This dilemma was reflected in the absence of the PAD's main leadership who did not join the protest in Si Sa Ket province. Instead, a second-tier leader spearheaded the march.

Thai-Cambodian relations will not benefit from the PAD's posturing. The bilateral relationship has deteriorated steadily since the torching of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh in early 2003. Historical tensions run deep on both sides. The bilateral spat and occasional armed skirmishes will cast a cloud over the upcoming Asean summit next month. It will also expose yet another dimension of Asean's structural impotence and operational inefficacy, notwithstanding the problematic Asean Charter. The Thai-Cambodian stand-off will thus have to be resolved bilaterally. Nationalist sentiments that verge on xenophobia, chauvinism and irredentism must be kept at bay.

At home, the Preah Vihear imbroglio is likely to be played for domestic gains. The PAD protests in Si Sa Ket were under the nose of the 2nd Infantry Division, whose units entered service in the dispersal and suppression of the red-shirted riots in Bangkok on April 13. That these units were uninvolved in preventing the yellows to go so far, suggests the PAD can simply get away with more than their arch-nemesis. They seem to have an enigmatic entitlement about them, an aura and attitude that they can always get their way.

The political capital from the PAD's Preah Vihear wrath may also be parlayed to determine domestic outcomes. With its locomotives all revved up and ready to rumble, the PAD can now turn to its domestic preferences. It can now bring even more pressure to bear on the Abhisit government to go its way, particularly on the appointment of the new police chief, concurrently stirring a royalist-nationalist tide for its New Politics Party ahead of the next polls.

The writer is Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University.

Don’t Turn Patriotism into Madness [in Thailand]

September 21st
From Post Today newspaper (Thailand)
Analysis
Translated and edited by Wacharapol Isaranont

The international dispute over the ownership of a 4.6-kilometer overlapping land adjacent to the ancient Preah Vihear Temple between Thailand and Cambodia has been a sensitive and longstanding issue that needs more than a truce to settle.

And while the tension is about to calm down after several deadly confrontations between Thai and Cambodian troops have seen both countries lose more than gain and efforts to peacefully resolve the issue through international political instrument are widely exercised, domestic movements to protest Cambodians encroaching on the unsettled area have reignited the flame of dispute.

During the past weekend, a group of the People's Alliance for Democracy supporters, led by Veera Somkwamkid, staged a protest at the Khao Phra Viharn national park in Si Sa Ket Province and called on the Thai government to forcefully drive Cambodian villagers and troops away from the disputed land.

The move may be motivated by patriotism with good intentions to protect the country’s sovereignty, but in the big picture it turned out to foil the plan to peacefully settle the issue by both the Thai and Cambodian governments. Besides, it created a reverse effect by leading to a rift among Thai people themselves, evidenced by a confrontation betwwen the yellow-shirt group and local villagers in Si Sa Ket Province.

Sadly, the PAD’s protest seems to infused with anger and foolhardy resistance to unknown facts behind the dispute, particularly the fact that the conflict took place as Thailand and Cambodia referred to different versions of maps when negotiating the border demarcation.

The yellow-shirt group should not let anger cloud their judgment about the cause of problem and the proper solution, for it could turn inspiring patriotism into uncontrollable madness, which are two sides of the same coin.

All parties must be sensible and look at the issue without distortion in their points of view. They must learn to equip themselves with correct information and to follow the progress of efforts by the government to dismantle the conflict.

Meanwhile, the government should promote transparency and provide the public with accurate accounts and developments of the situation, in order to prevent any dispute that could arise from lack of knowledge and misunderstanding.

So far, various agencies have worked on their own and kept information behind the door. In fact, such a longstanding issue as the Preah Vihear dispute needs collaboration from agencies with varying expertise including history, archaeology, politics and international laws. And all them must work in a unified manner in any efforts to protect the nation’s territorial rights.

All this is to prevent Thai people from unnecessarily getting involved in fights, especially against their fellow countrymen.

Cambodians’ Reaction To PAD Temple Protest

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Dear Editors,

Many Cambodians around the globe were watching and had reason to be concerned about the PAD temple protest over the week-end. Although the protest took place on Thai soil, its ramification had spilled across the border, and could adversely affect the ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the border issue peacefully.

It is irresponsible and inherently dangerous for PAD to conduct a territorial protest in such a proximity to the border, where soldiers on both sides were on high alert and had been under a lot of stress over a prolonged period. Provocations, intentional or not, could have occurred and easily degenerated into hostility. Wars began that way in some part of the world.

For both nations, it is outrageous and unacceptable that the border situation can not be normalized because some leading PAD activists would risk a war in order to advance their own political agenda. These activists have no consideration for the hardship on the soldiers deployed at the border, and the financial losses incurred on the local residents.

While continuing to exercise restraint within a limit, Cambodians sincerely hope that the week-end protesters did not represent Thai mainstream, and that the voice of reason in the Land of Smiles will prevail so that the border issue can be settled amicably.

Davan Long
Montreal, Canada

Cambodian govt denies "crazy" PAD sovereignty claim

Government Denies Claims of Border Protest

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21 September 2009

The government on Sunday denied claims made by Thai protesters that Cambodians had encroached on Thai soil near the temple of Preah Vihear, where soldiers on both sides have amassed since July 2008.

About 30 Thai protesters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy were allowed access to the temple on Sunday morning, as 5,000 demonstrators gathered on the Thai side of the border. The government dismissed claims by the protest leaders as “crazy.”

Thailand and Cambodia both have troops amassed around a disputed 4.6 square kilometers of land near Preah Vihear temple, in a standoff that has simmered over into battles on several occasions, killing a total seven soldiers.

Agence France-Presse quoted protest leader Veera Somkwamkid as saying Cambodia had allowed soldiers and citizens to stay in the disputed area and urging Thailand to reclaim the area around the temple.

Chhum Socheath, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, told VOA Khmer Sunday from Preah Vihear temple, Sunday’s demands were “unacceptable.”

“The statement announced by the Thai yellow-shirt protesters is a very crazy stance,” he said. “We have a clear treaty, convention and borderline. So we rule out this problem.”

Koy Kong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the statements were baseless and unfair, and added that the protests came from only one political movement and would not therefore affect relations between the two governments.

The protesters had hoped to cross into Cambodia, which officials worried could further destabilize efforts to resolve the border crisis. However, Thai soldiers and police, as well as local villagers, prevented this.

“This shows the will of the Thai government, which has the intention of solving the border issue with Cambodia peacefully and within existing mechanisms,” he said.

PAD temple protest was blatant provocation

September 22, 2009
EDITORIAL
The Nation

The government must stop its ally from causing any more trouble at disputed border site

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) should have learnt a lesson after its clash with local residents over the weekend near the disputed temple of Preah Vihear on the Cambodian border. The PAD's protest at the site was wrong. It was no way to protect Thailand's national sovereignty.

Blood should not be spilled over this stupid demand to have sovereignty over the disputed territory. It remains unclear to which country the temple actually belongs. It is embarrassing to see Thai people fighting each other in this area, even though Thailand and Cambodia are at odds over the historical site.

The nationalist elements of the PAD made a silly and unnecessarily provocative move to protest at the Pha Mor Ee Daeng site on Saturday and Sunday, demanding the removal of a Cambodian community from the disputed area of 4.6 square kilometres.

The area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple is claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia. But the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 2000 to leave the site free from occupation until the boundary demarcation is finished and agreed upon.

It is true that Cambodia has built up a settlement, temple and military outpost in the disputed area since 2004. But the PAD should be well aware that the Thai Foreign Ministry has lodged a series of diplomatic protests over the Cambodian construction.

The Cambodian action might be regarded as a violation of the 2000 memorandum of understanding, but it is wrong for Thai people to try to remove the settlers from the area by force. We must be civilised in solving the problem by negotiation through the proper diplomatic channels.

Instead of helping to solve the problem, the PAD action has simply made the issue more complicated. The protest degenerated into clashes with local residents in Si Sa Ket's Kanthalalak district, who have lived there for generations.

Local residents in many sub-districts in the area around Preah Vihear and the Phra Viharn National Park view the PAD protesters as troublemakers. The PAD caused the closure of the temple.

Many Thai people in the area rely on the Preah Vihear temple for a number of reasons. Some are traders who rely on tourists who visit the World Heritage site; some need to travel through the area to get to their farms; some gather food and other items from the forests; others are relatives of people in the Cambodian community in the disputed area. Sovereignty over the boundary is meaningless for local people. They are able to get on with their daily lives even with the blurred boundary line.

The clash over the weekend between the local villagers and the PAD protesters, who mostly came from elsewhere, was not the first time that such trouble has flared, but the second. The history of conflict between the two groups began last year when the PAD protested to Cambodia over the World Heritage inscription proposal. The PAD protest forced the authorities in Cambodia to shut Preah Vihear to tourism. The military on both sides have set up security outposts throughout the area, blocking local residents from travelling freely.

It is understandable that local people blame the PAD for creating trouble. An angry mob attacked PAD protesters in July last year when the PAD rallied at the site shortly after the World Heritage Committee announced Preah Vihear's inscription as a heritage site. Many people were injured in the clashes and ugly pictures were televised as Thais used flagpoles to beat each other.

Unfortunately, the PAD has not learned a lesson from the bloodshed last year, and has simply repeated the same mistake this year. The thousands of PAD marchers clashed with the same group of villagers in almost exactly same place, Ban Phumsarol. At least five people on both sides were injured this time. The most serious case was an injury to a protester's right eye, and some villagers were reportedly shot at by unknown gunmen.

Nobody is taking responsibility for the incident, as leaders of both sides have filed lawsuits for criminal damage against each other. Such actions will consequently create more conflict between the two groups of Thais.

The PAD leader of the demonstration, Veera Somkwamkid, says he will not give up national sovereignty over the disputed territory and will stay the course in the fight. The local residents are unlikely to throw the towel in either. The rift will go on.

The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has underestimated the level of conflict between the PAD and the villagers. It made no serious effort to prevent either the protest or the clashes. Minor injuries in Si Sa Ket might mean nothing to those in power who once agreed with this nationalist agenda - especially as a tactic against their political rivals - but people should not be scarified in this unnecessary conflict. Nobody will gain anything from such thoughtlessness.

Thailand will not benefit from this PAD protest over the boundary demarcation with Cambodia. The government must step in to stop any further provocation by its closest ally before the dispute degenerates into worse bloodshed.

Cambodian scholars ask Thai "Yellow Shirts" to respect international laws

(Photo: DAP)

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian historians and scholars have appealed to the Thai "Yellow Shirts" protesters to stop demanding the land of 4.6 square kilometers near the 11th-century Khmer Preah Vihear temple, the website of DAP News said on Monday.

"Those Thai protesters have confused the history and their demands are incorrect," IV Chan, a deputy chairman and historian of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) was quoted by DAP Cambodia news as saying.

"We also requested those Thai protesters to respect international border treaty between Siam ( Thailand) and French colony (representative of Cambodia) in 1904-1907 and the verdict of international court which claimed in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia."

"There is no overlapping area at the area and both countries have boundary line for over 100 years," he said.

Additionally, Kim Saron, a senior member of history and culture affairs department of RAC said that Cambodia and Thailand have already established the committee of Khmer-Thai culture and they have met each other for several times to write important documents of the two countries.

"Those Thai extremists have to know about their history and culture, and should also know the cultures and histories of neighboring countries like Cambodia," Kim added.

A group of Thai protesters from People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also called "Yellow Shirts," held a rally near Preah Vihear Temple at the weekend to protest the mishandling of Thai governments over the disputed border area with Cambodia, and planned to move into the are that is claimed by Thailand to hold the protest rally at the areas.

Cambodian and Thai armed forces have tightened security at border near the temple to prevent any rally protests.

The two neighboring countries share a nearly 800-kilometer-longcommon border and they have never fully demarcated their land border.

The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) approved Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear Temple as the World Heritage Site, in July 2008. Since then, the temple and its adjacent area have become the sites of border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.

PAD vows to uphold Thai sovereignty over disputed area [-The thieves are throwing a tantrum?]

September 21, 2009
The Nation

Yellow-shirt activist Veera Somkwamkid yesterday vowed to uphold Thai sovereignty over 4.6 square kilometres of terrain near Preah Vihear Temple claimed by Cambodia. Veera also threatened to take legal action against officials condoning the encroachment.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his government was trying to resolve border problems via the legal process and not force.

Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra said on Twitter that Preah Vihear actually does belong to Cambodia by a decision of the International Court of Justice.

He accused the government of favouritism for letting the yellow shirts, who clashed with local villagers in Si Sa Ket on Saturday, read out a statement reaffirming Thailand's dominion over the temple area.

Local villagers had tried to block access to the area by the yellow shirts.

To pacify the rival groups, authorities allowed Veera and about 30 yellow shirts to climb up to Pha Mor-I-Daeng, a cliff inside the Phra Wiharn National Park located in Kantharalak district opposite the temple, to read the declaration.

"We Thai patriots want to declare our intent to form a people's network to restore Thai sovereignty to the surrounding areas of Prasat Phra Wiharn," Veera said.

He pledged to pursue every legal means to reclaim Thai territory. He also warned officials that they would be penalised if they were caught involved in the territorial violations.

He went on to complain against the Cambodian government for allowing Cambodian villagers and soldiers to settle and build a road on Thai soil.

He called for an immediate withdrawal by Cambodia from Thai property. He urged the Thai military to take action under martial law to repel the transgression.

The five co-leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy have remained in close contact with Veera and the people's network over the temple issue, PAD spokesman Suriyasai Katasila said.

The PAD fully backed the attempts to protect Thai territorial integrity and was not back-pedalling from Veera as alleged, he said.

The scuffle between the villagers and yellow shirts was instigated by the authorities, he said, adding that the yellow shirts were not going on the warpath to recover land lost to neighbouring countries.

"We agree with the option for a negotiated settlement of the border dispute and do not want war, but the government must be clear about the timetable and guidelines for negotiations," he said.

Abhisit said police were trying to mediate between the rival groups but the running battle broke out because the barricades were inadequate.

He insisted that Thailand has not surrendered sovereignty over the disputed areas and that the two countries have already agreed to forge a peaceful settlement.

He said his government had no hidden agenda but just the desire to safeguard Thai territory.

He admitted, however, that several border issues were too sensitive to bring up in public, so interested parties should hold discreet discussions with the government in order to update themselves on the status.

Democrat MP Boonyod Sukthinthai said Veera and the PAD should soften their stance on the temple issue in order to avoid inflaming the stand-off.

"It looks like Thais are fighting Thais and becoming the laughing stock for Cambodians," he said.

PAD calls off Preah Vihear temple protest

Veera: Accusations against Cambodia.

Hard-liners vow to 'maintain the rage'

21/09/2009
KING-OUA LAOHONG and PRADIT RUANGDIT
Bangkok Post

The People's Alliance for Democracy has called off its protest to force Cambodians out of a disputed area near Preah Vihear temple, but is vowing to return should the government fail to ensure Thai sovereignty in the area.

Veera Somkwamkid, who led the protest in Si Sa Ket near the border with Cambodia, was allowed yesterday to read a protest statement at Pha Mor E Daeng inside Khao Phra Viharn National Park, which is close to the 4.6 square kilometres of disputed territory and stairway leading to the ruins of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.

The permission followed Saturday's clash between PAD supporters and Si Sa Ket residents which left many injured. The movement demanded in its statement that Cambodian soldiers and villagers leave the disputed zone.

"We do not accept the World Heritage Committee's decision to grant Cambodia the right to list the Preah Vihear temple as well as land around it as a World Heritage site," the statement said.

The statement was read out in the presence of 2nd Army Corps commander Wiwalit Chornsamrit.

Mr Veera accused the Cambodian government of allowing its people to build houses, roads and temples in the disputed area, and said the protesters were only exercising their constitutional right in their struggle to protect Thai sovereignty.

He also accused Thai authorities of mobilising villagers to confront the PAD protesters in a clash which left scores injured on both sides.

Mr Veera later said army chief Anupong Paojinda should use martial law as a tool to push back the Cambodians into their own territory. He said protesters would return if the government failed to do what had been demanded.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said the government was not turning a blind eye to the dispute and was using every possible channel to resolve the problem.

It had sought to nullify the joint statement a former government signed with Cambodia to back Phnom Penh's bid to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site, he said.

The prime minister said peaceful negotiations were being undertaken to achieve the ultimate goal of seeing Thailand and Cambodia withdraw their troops from the area.

He said Thailand had not lost an inch of territory to Cambodia.

Boonrerm Khobut, a village headman in tambon Phupha Mok in Kantharalak district, said villagers had warned the PAD not to return to renew its protest and stir up trouble between Thailand and Cambodia.

PAD coordinator Suriyasai Katasila said Chamlong Srimuang, a joint PAD leader, was misquoted in media reports as saying PAD leaders would distance themselves from Mr Veera after Saturday's protest turned nasty.

Although none of the PAD leaders sanctioned the Si Sa Ket protest, all five leaders backed calls to reclaim Thai sovereignty over the disputed area, Mr Suriyasai said.

If state officials had not coerced the villagers to turn against the PAD and mobilised them to confront the protesters, violence would not have broken out, he said.

The government should set a clear time frame for negotiations to settle the border dispute with Cambodia and the army needed to force Cambodians occupying the disputed area to move out, he said.

The PAD leaders will hold a meeting soon to discuss a plan to renew their struggle to reclaim Thai sovereignty over the area, Mr Suriyasai said.

Thai nationalists disperse

Army keeps tight lid on border protesters; 'red shirts' vow to hold further protests in Bangkok

Sep 21, 2009
By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent
Straits Times (Singapore)

BANGKOK - THAI nationalists who clashed on Saturday with locals and police near an ancient temple on the Cambodian border dispersed on Sunday, after making speeches in an event tightly controlled by the army.

The group from the royalist yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) said it had come to the border to fight for Thailand, and that it was the 'duty of every Thai'.

It brushed off resentment from locals, who were fearful that the activists would provoke a war with Cambodia, saying local villagers did not understand the issue.

And though the mood at the border was calm on Sunday - in contrast to the violent clashes a day earlier - there was every indication that the contentious Preah Vihear temple issue will continue to pose a challenge for the Thai government as domestic political players use it to inflame passions.

On Sunday, a group of 33 activists from the People's Rights and Liberty Protection Group, led by Mr Veera Somkwamkid, was taken by the army in a bus to a cliff called Mo I Daeng, from where the main structure of the Preah Vihear temple was visible on the next ridge. Journalists travelled in a separate bus.

From the cliff, the activists unfurled a white banner that said 'Get out of our land'. Some carried pictures of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and one held aloft a figure of a garuda, which is half-man and half-bird and carries the Hindu god Vishnu. It signifies the King's reign and is Thailand's official symbol.

The group is part of the PAD and while senior PAD leaders have distanced themselves from Mr Veera, he and others said on Sunday that they remained very much a part of the PAD. The PAD activists demanded that the military push out Cambodians from the disputed land, an area of about 485ha.

Citing a 1904 border demarcation, Mr Veera said: 'The PAD would like the Cambodian government to quickly move its people and soldiers out of this area, or else Thai people will have to do their duty in protecting the country's sovereignty.'

Asked whether he was conscious that his actions might ignite a war with Cambodia, Mr Veera replied that the war had already been started - by Cambodia.

Locals in the area remained deeply resentful of the PAD, and the military personnel at the site also appeared clearly unhappy with the turn of events on Saturday. Between 3,000 and 5,000 of the nationalists fought local Thai residents and police that day after trying to reach the temple. Dozens of people were injured.

Thai leader calls for peace after activists' clash

Thai villagers fall on the ground after clashing with protesters, left, as riot police officers try to save him during a protest against the occupation of land by Cambodian people in Sisaket province, northern Thailand Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. Violence broke out as a political group broke through police lines to march to a temple on the Cambodian border and demand the Thai government recover disputed territory. (AP Photo)

By GRANT PECK
AP

BANGKOK — Thailand's prime minister called for peace and reconciliation on Sunday, a day after a nationalist group provoked clashes with police and villagers during a march to the Cambodian border.

"We can express different opinions but please don't hurt each other. Don't hurt our own people," Abhisit Vejjajiva said.

At least 17 people were injured in northeastern Sisaket province when several hundred members of the People's Alliance for Democracy tried to march to a border area claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia to demand that the Thai government seize the territory. They clashed with police and with hundreds of local Thai villagers who oppose them.

Both the protesters and villagers were armed with sticks, slingshots and other homemade weapons.

The alliance also led demonstrations three years ago that helped spark a military coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for alleged corruption and disrespect for the country's monarch. After Thaksin's allies returned to power, it occupied the prime minister's office for three months last year and seized the capital's two airports for a week.

Abhisit, a Thaksin rival who took office after those demonstrations, sought to appease the protesters, saying Sunday that they should "be assured we are not losing out territory" and that the government was continuing to work on the issue.

"I'm sorry that police couldn't prevent the violence. They were really outnumbered and couldn't block the protesters," he said, adding that they were under strict instructions not to use force.

Police mostly carried only riot shields, making it difficult for them to fend off attacks by the alliance's marchers. Television footage showed alliance members thrusting staffs bearing the Thai flag.

The clashes were linked to a decades-old territorial dispute. The World Court in 1962 awarded control over the nearby 11th century Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia, but some surrounding land remains in dispute.

The People's Alliance for Democracy seized on the land issue last year to stir up nationalist sentiment and attract support, accusing the government of failing to defend Thailand's sovereignty.

Abhisit after the clashes told the army and police to negotiate with the protesters, who agreed to send a small group Sunday to a spot near the temple to make their statement. About 30 of the group's representatives, escorted by soldiers, carried an assortment of royal symbols to the area Sunday.

"We demand that the government and army press the intruders to move out. We are not making war but are protecting our sovereignty," protest leader Veera Somkwamkit said.

The Saturday confrontation came on the same day that about 20,000 pro-Thaksin demonstrators in Bangkok marked the third anniversary of the military coup, saying it set back the cause of democracy.

The protesters want Abhisit to step down, claiming he came to power illegitimately.

More than 6,000 police were on hand to prevent a repeat of rioting that killed at least two and injured hundreds in the last major anti-government protests in April. There was no violence.

Thaksin, who is in self-imposed exile, addressed the crowd by video.

"The whole world thought Thailand was already developed, or almost developed, but it has gone backward to dictatorship," he said.

PAD ends Phrea Vihear protest

20/09/2009
Bangkokpost.com

The People's Alliance for Democracy has ended its protest to force Cambodians out of the disputed area near the Phrea Vihear temple yet vowed to return if the government fails to resolve the matter.

Veera Somkwamkid who led the yellow-clad PAD protest in Si Sa Ket was allowed to read a protest statement at Pha Mor E Daeng inside Khao Phra Viharn National Park which is close to the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area and stairway leading into the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

The permission followed the Saturday clash between PAD protesters and Si Sa Ket residents near the natural park which has resulted in scores of injuries.

The group statement demands that the Cambodian soldiers and villagers evacuate the disputed 4.6 square kilometre dispute area.

"We do not accept the World Heritage Committee's decision to grant Cambodia the right to list the Preah Vihear temple as well as land around it as the part of World Heritage site,'' said the statement.

Second Army Corps commander Lt Gen Wiwalit Chornsamrit listened to the PAD's statement reading.

Mr Veera accused the Cambodian government of allowing its people to build houses, roads, and temples in the disputed area and said the PAD only exercised the constitutional rights of Thai people to fight to protect Thai sovereignty.

He also accused Thai authorities of mobilising villagers in the nearby community to clash with the PAD protestors on Saturday which has resulted in scores of injuries.

Mr Veera later told media that Army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda should use martial law as a tool to push back the Cambodians to return to their homeland.

He added the PAD protesters would came back to the area if the government fail to follow their demand.

Protesters read statements; PM expresses regret over clashes near temple

BANGKOK, Sept 20 (TNA) -- Representatives of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) read out two statements at Pha Mor E-Dang, close to the disputed area, claiming Thai sovereignty in the matter while Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday he is saddened over clashes between protesters and local residents near the disputed Thai-Cambodian border zone in Si Sa Ket.

Thirty protesters of the PAD Sunday read out two statements at Pha Mor E-Dang, close to the disputed area, asserting the demand that the disputed area around Preah Vihear temple belongs to Thailand.

Veera Somkwamkid, a leader of the PAD protesters, told a news conference that Thai Army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda should use martial law as a tool to push back the Cambodians to return to their homeland.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday he is saddened over clashes between protesters and local residents, and police who tried to end the discord near the disputed Thai-Cambodian border zone adjacent to the ancient temple of Preah Vihear which left many persons injured on Saturday.

In his weekly television and radio address, Mr. Abhisit said his government is not sitting idly over the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area and that negotiations continue with the Cambodian government which will lead to an eventual troop withdrawal from the area.

Several dozen PAD protesters and villagers living in Si Sa Ket province and police were injured in Saturday’s clash.

Emphasising that Thailand has not lost its sovereignty in the area, Mr. Abhisit said the border problem is being solved through negotiations and that Thailand would be impacted if clashes occurred and it would also affect relations with its neighbour as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Both Thailand and Cambodia are ASEAN members. Security officials permitted the demonstrators to read statement so that the situation could return to normal, said Mr. Abhisit, adding that the protesters should end their activities after reading them.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. Tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border, especially at the disputed area, have been seen after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) granted Cambodia’s application for Preah Vihear temple to be designated a World Heritage Site in July 2008.

PAD makes demands on Preah Vihear [-Dream on PAD!]

20/09/2009
BangkokPost.com

The yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) called on the Cambodian government to quickly move its villagers and troops out of the disputed border area around Preah Vihear temple.

About 300 Thai soldiers at Preah Vihear national park in Si Sa Ket province allowed 33 PAD protesters led by Veera Somkwamkid to enter the site on Sunday.

After arriving at Mo I Daeng cliff in the national park, PAD core member Veera announced that the ancient temple and the areas around it are within Thailand's territory in reference to the border demarcation in 1904.

"Now, the Cambodian people have encroached on our country. The PAD would like the Cambodian government to quickly move its people and soldiers out of this area, or else Thai people will have to do their duty in protecting the country's sovereignty," Mr Veera said.

The Suranaree Task Force commander, Maj Gen Chavalit Choonhasarn, and a group of army officials were present when Mr Veera read the PAD's statement.

The PAD members later left the national park.

Thai 'Yellow Shirts' allowed near Cambodia temple [-Veera Somkwamkid needs a reality check!]

Sunday, September 20, 2009
AFP

BANGKOK — Thai authorities allowed "Yellow Shirt" protesters to gather near a disputed temple on the Cambodian border Sunday, a day after clashes with police and villagers left dozens injured.

Around 30 members of the movement which blockaded Bangkok's airports last year were granted access to the entrance of ancient Preah Vihear temple and read a statement urging the government to ensure Thai sovereignty in the area.

"The government and army should do everything under the law to regain the area around the temple for Thailand," protest leader Veera Somkwamkid said, reading from the statement in footage shown on local television.

Veera also attacked Cambodia for allowing its residents and soldiers to stay on the disputed five square kilometres (two square miles) around the 11th-century temple.

Around 5,000 Yellow Shirts fought with Thai residents and police on Saturday after trying to reach the temple.

The ruins were granted to Cambodia by the World Court in 1962 but tensions resumed when they gained UN world heritage status last year. At least seven people have died in skirmishes between Thai and Cambodian forces since then.

Saturday's violence took place as 26,000 rival "Red Shirts" rallied peacefully in Bangkok on the third anniversary of the coup that toppled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The royalist Yellow Shirts led street campaigns that helped oust Thaksin in 2006 and also pushed out a government of his allies in December last year, but have now grown angry with the current government.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who came to power on the back of the airport blockade, apologised for the temple incident.

"I am sorry that there was a clash and injuries to people," Abhisit said in his weekly television programme.

"The government is not ignoring this problem, we are working on it. What we are doing is not causing the country to lose territory or sovereignty."

Cambodian foreign affairs ministry spokesman Kuoy Kong said police from his country had been deployed at the temple.

"But we're not worried at all because the Thai government said they would handle it and prevent the protesters from entering the temple," Kuoy Kong said.

[Thai] PM thanks all parties for keeping peace at Saturday's rally

A Thai villager fights his way with a knife during clash with protesters, not seen, as riot police officers look on during a protest against the occupation of land by Cambodian people in Sisaket province, northern Thailand, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. Violence broke out as a political group broke through police lines to march to a temple on the Cambodian border and demand the Thai government recover disputed territory. Hospitals said 15 people were slightly injured.

BANGKOK, Sept 20 (TNA) - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday thanked all parties, demonstrators and security officials as well, that there was no violence during the Bangkok protest of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) on Saturday, but called for Thais not to engage in further physical violence against one another, after many were injured near Preah Vihear temple in a scuffle.

The prime minister thanked officials and demonstrators for maintaining order and for following the rules for staging a peaceful protest in his weekly TV programme, broadcast from a Modernine TV Channel Nine studio on Sunday.

Responding to the clash between the members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and local residents in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket, the prime minister said he did not want to see Thais harming Thais.

“The government is not ignoring the conflict. Expressing different opinions is acceptable,” he said, “but we are all Thais. Don’t hurt others and cooperate with officials.”

Security personnel were directed to prevent further clashes between any groups, he added.

Four people were severely injured in the clash between the PAD and local villagers. The PAD was marching to Pha Mor E Daeng near the disputed area at Preah Vihear temple to read aloud their statement. The PAD demanded that Cambodian soldiers and villagers remove themselves from the disputed area.

Up to 1,000 expected at border rally, PAD divided

19/09/2009
WASSANA NANUAM and APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Bangkok Post

Up to 1,000 protesters are expected to converge at the border with Cambodia near Preah Vihear temple for a protest asserting Thai sovereignty today.

The rally looks set to go ahead despite last-minute pleas by the government and army that protesters should stay at home and avoid causing trouble.

The People's Alliance for Democracy has called the gathering, but its leaders are divided over whether it should go ahead.

The rally to protest against Cambodia's decision to build new houses and bring in Cambodians to the disputed area is led by PAD member Veera Somkwamkid alone.

A source in the group said some of the five core leaders opposed the rally but did not want to show their opposition for fears that it would paint the PAD in a negative light.

PAD coordinator Suriyasai Katasila urged the government to make clear how it would deal with the increasing encroachment of Cambodians in the area unsettled by the two countries and called on the government to ensure safety for the demonstrators.

Army chief Anupong Paojinda said yesterday soldiers would stop the demonstrators from reaching the 4.6-square-kilometre area at the Khao Phra Viharn national park office in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket.

Gen Anupong said the army supported the government's policy of solving the land dispute with Cambodia through negotiations. It was worried the demonstration could affect the talks.

"Allowing them to enter the [disputed] area may cause misunderstandings and clashes between soldiers. Any arrests could also affect our attempts to find solutions," Gen Anupong said.

The army chief also expressed his concern about the safety of demonstrators, saying the disputed area had not been cleared of landmines.

Some people in Si Sa Ket also disagreed with the protest.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva asked the public to have faith in his government's attempts to solve the issue.

He said all ministries agreed that negotiations were the best way to protect Thai sovereignty in the disputed area. "It is of no use going there, as it poses risks," he said.

Mr Veera yesterday filed complaints with Kantharalak police seeking legal action against the Cambodians for having encroached on the disputed area.

He said the rally would continue until the government issued clear measures to expel the Cambodians.

Meanwhile, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department chief Kasemsun Chinnavaso dismissed a report that Khao Phra Viharn park chief Suwan Wattanapitakpong was punished for allowing more than 20 protesters to take over the park's office on Thursday.

They hoped to use it as the base of the rally today.

"I have not forced him to transfer. He made his own decision with no pressure. He has been working there for over nine years. He probably wanted to work in other areas," Mr Kasemsun said. "I approved his transfer request. I am also trying to find a new post for him."