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.

[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.

PAD protest ends in bloodshed

Govt Declares Martial Law As Villagers, Police Clash With Pad; Yellow Shirts To Read Sovereignty Declaration

20/09/2009
KING-OUA LAOHONG
Bangkok Post

SI SA KET : Dozens of protesters, police and villagers were injured in fiery clashes near the border with Cambodia yesterday as a protest by the People's Alliance for Democracy spun out of control.

The government declared martial law as PAD supporters, in a protest over sovereignty, met unexpected resistance from hundreds of Si Sa Ket villagers who blocked their path.

The PAD was trying to march to a disputed border area close to Preah Vihear temple. Stick-wielding protesters clashed repeatedly with riot police and villagers who were trying to keep them out.

Nearby, soldiers set up barricades to stop the PAD reaching the border area disputed with Cambodia.

They reinforced the Khao Phra Viharn national park office in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket.

But the government was forced to declare martial law after protesters were able to break through barricades to reach the military-controlled area.

The clashes between PAD protesters and villagers left scores of people on both sides injured, including two people in a critical condition.

Sert Piewkhao, 26, a local villager, was shot in the neck while PAD supporter Promsak Ritkraikul, 44, was hit in the eye by slingshots.

To ease the crisis, the government agreed to let 76 PAD representatives read aloud a prepared statement today at Pha Mor E Daeng, which is close to the disputed area.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said giving the PAD its say could help restore peace. Anyone who broke the law at the gathering would be punished, he said.

The government's concession capped a day of drama which started when PAD member Veera Somkwamkid and Charoen Muphankhachorn led about 2,000 supporters on a protest to assert Thai sovereignty over disputed territory near Preah Vihear temple.

They planned to march to the temple entrance to protest against Cambodia's decision to build new houses in a nearby 4.6 square kilometre area not settled by the two countries. The World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962.

Accompanied by so-called PAD guards, the demonstrators arrived in the province in cars, buses and vans. They were stopped by hundreds of villagers at Ban Phumsarol in Kantharalak district.

The residents blockaded the road to the park near the temple. Crowd control riot police in full gear were on standby.

Residents opposed the PAD protest, fearing it would aggravate the border situation and harm their livelihood.

"They [PAD protesters] are here for just a couple of days. But we and the Cambodian people are here for life so we do not want any complications.

"The temple dispute has been going for years. Why protest now?" said Boonreum Khobutr, a village head.

Si Sa Ket governor Rapi Pongbuppakij and Si Sa Ket deputy police chief Amnuay Mahapol asked both sides to back off, but to no avail.

After hours of trading insults, clashes broke out about 1.20pm. Slingshots, wooden stakes, rocks and blades were used as weapons.

The PAD guards broke through the barricades, taking protesters to a forest fire control station where they were prepared to spend the night.

Mr Veera and Suranaree Task Force commander Maj-Gen Chavalit Choonhasarn held talks for two hours after which the protesters retreated to the Sisa Asoke Buddhist community, which is a branch of Santi Asoke with close affiliations to the PAD.

Speaking while the negotiations were underway, Second Army Region commander Lt Gen Wibulsak Neepal said the army could not guarantee the safety of protesters.

He had proposed to army commander Anupong Paojinda that a group of 20 PAD representatives be allowed to enter the restricted area to make a declaration.

"The army chief has agreed. The PAD demonstrators have to leave the area as soon as they finish reading their statement," he said.

PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang yesterday distanced all five PAD leaders from the Preah Vihear campaign.

"Mr Veera is leading the campaign so any talks should be conducted with him," he said after the clashes.

Earlier, Gen Anupong said he doubted the PAD's campaign to enter the restricted area would do any good to themselves or the country.

"They will put themselves in danger if they sneak into areas which are not yet clear of landmines. And if they are arrested, Cambodia will accuse us of encroachment," he said.

Video: Police and protesters clash [in Thailand]

Sunday, September 20, 2009
Al Jazeera

Thousands of troops were on the streets of Thailand as a day of rival political protests continued into the night.

In Bangkok, the capital, the "red shirts", as they are known, were marking three years since the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed.

While on the border with Cambodia, clashes broke out between nationalist protesters, known as the "Yellow Shirts", and police.

Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reports from Bangkok.

Clashes over Thai-Cambodia border

Preah Vihear has been scene of deadly clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops [EPA]

Saturday, September 19, 2009
Al Jazeera

Thai "Yellow Shirt" protesters have clashed with police and villagers at an ancient temple in territory at the centre of a dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

At least 15 people were injured in northeastern Sisaket province after members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) tried to march to the gates of the temple near land claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia, demanding the Thai government seize the disputed territory.

Protesters broke through barricades in attempts to reach the 11th century Preah Vihear temple near the border with Cambodia on Saturday.

Thai riot police used their shields to push back protesters armed with sticks who were trying to beat local villagers.

'Splinter group' blamed

Wayne Hay, Al Jazeera's correspondent in the region, said about 4,000 protesters had descended on the disputed border with Cambodia "to try to force some Cambodian villagers out of the area and back into Cambodia proper".

"There is a Thai police blockade that the PAD broke through with a bit of violence and also about four or five hundred villagers came out to try to stop the PAD from progressing," Hay said.

"There are also some skirmishes. We are hearing that there were several injuries as [protesters] went through that police blockade."

The PAD's leaders in Bangkok had distanced themselves from the protest, saying that a "splinter group" was behind it, Hay said.

Tear gas deployed

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the prime minister, said security forces were trying to persuade the protesters to back down, amid fears that their actions could spark further conflict with Cambodia.

"I am asking the police and soldiers to negotiate with the PAD," he told reporters in Bangkok.

The temple, granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008, has been the scene of several deadly battles between Thai and Cambodian troops over the past year.

Cambodia said on Thursday it had deployed riot police with dogs, batons and tear gas at the temple.

Deaths in gunbattle

The Yellow Shirts have demanded that the government push Cambodian forces out of the disputed area around it.

The two countries have been at loggerheads for decades over Preah Vihear.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia.

But Thailand retains rights to enter the ancient Khmer temple, which has crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings.

A gunbattle in the temple area in April left three people dead while four people died in clashes in 2008.

17 injured in clash near Preah Vihear

September 20, 2009
THE NATION ON SUNDAY
SI SA KET

Seventeen people were injured yesterday as thousands of protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) clashed with local residents who live near Preah Vihear temple.

A protester from Chachoengsao, Phongsak Ritthichaikul, was hit in the right eye by a stone, while villager Prasert Piewkhao suffered facial injuries after being beaten up.

Teenagers armed with sticks and slingshots attacked the yellow shirts as they marched through their village to Preah Vihear.

Local villagers opposed the PAD protest, as they feared it could spark a war with Cambodia. The villagers have already suffered from the temple being closed, which has cost them income from the lack of tourists. Access to their farms has also been blocked by the military since last year.

The villagers were a similar mob to one that clashed with the PAD in July last year when yellow shirts rallied at the site to oppose the site being nominated for World Heritage listing.

However, thousands of PAD protesters led by Veera Somkwamkid managed to break the police and villagers' barricades in Si Sa Ket's Ban Phumsarol to reach the gate of Pha Mor Ee Daeng, next to Preah Vihear temple.

Veera said the villagers were misinformed about the PAD mission.

"We have come here to demand the removal of Cambodians from the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area," he told reporters after the clash.

The PAD just wanted to enter Pha Mor Ee Daeng to read out their statement. However, they would stay put if the Abhisit government made no clear proposals to evict the Cambodians, he warned.

Si Sa Ket provincial governor Rapee Phongpuphakit had lengthy negotiations with Veera but failed to get the protesters to leave the site.

PAD coordinator Suriyasai Katasila yesterday called on the government to ensure safety of the protesters and prevent future clashes with local residents.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, in Bangkok, said he did not understand the PAD's intent. "I don't understand what is the purpose behind their protest," he told reporters.

The government had tried to brief the Cambodian government about the PAD protest and begged Phnom Penh to understand the situation to prevent a military clash, he said.

Second Army Region Commander Wiboonsak Neeparn said the protesters would not be allowed to get into Preah Vihear and the disputed area.

The most they would be allowed to do was for some representatives to read a statement at Pha Mor Ee Daeng.

Thai protesters clash with police

Saturday, September 19, 2009
By Karen Percy in South East Asia and wires
ABC News (Australia)

Security forces in Thailand are facing off against two separate protest groups - one at the Cambodian border, the other in the capital Bangkok.

There have been reports of clashes between local villagers and protesters from the Peoples' Alliance for Democracy (PAD) near the site of a decades-old land dispute near the Preah Vihear temple at Thailand's north-eastern border.

At least 4,000 protesters from the same group which shut down Bangkok airports last year have gathered near the temple.

Television channels showed the yellow-clad protesters - the Yellow Shirts - armed with sticks trying to beat local villagers and Thai riot police, who pushed back with shields.

About 2,000 Thai police are backing up the military near the temple to stop the protesters getting through to the disputed land, which is littered with land mines.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said security forces were trying to persuade the protesters to back down, amid fears that their actions could spark further conflict with Cambodia.

"I am asking the police and soldiers to negotiate with the PAD," Mr Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok.

This is the second time they have caused trouble at the Thai-Cambodian border. Similar protests a year ago set off tensions between the two countries.

While the PAD supported the new Thai government when it came to power last year, it accuses Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of ceding territory at the temple site.

Meanwhile in Bangkok, red-shirted protesters - the Red Shirts - are demanding new elections be held.

They are marking the absence of their leader, the convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup three years ago.

About 5,000 security officers are alert on the city streets to ensure there is no trouble with protesters, who were also involved in street rioting in April.

"We came here today to mark the third anniversary of the coup, which has caused huge damage to the country," Red Shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan told the crowd, as a thunderstorm drenched the protest site.

"This will be a peaceful protest and will end by midnight if the government does not use violence."

Protesters clash with villagers, police near Preah Vihear temple

SI SA KET, Sept 19 (TNA) - People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) demonstrators clashed with police and residents in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket near the disputed Preah Vihear border area with Cambodia.

The scuffle lasted 10 minutes as villagers protested the presence of the yellow shirt PAD members there to oppose Cambodian building new structures in the area contested by Thailand and Cambodia near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

Both sides used catapults and sticks to hurt each other before Thai police on security in the area separated them. A number of villagers were reported injured in the clash.

Villagers living near the disputed border area opposed the protest by the ‘Yellow Shirt’ protesters as they believed it could impact Thailand’s cross-border trade economy and relations with Cambodia.

By 2 pm the PAD demonstrators broke through barricades and marched towards the 11th century temple at the centre of several clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers after it was awarded World Heritage Site status in July last year by the United Nations cultural body UNESCO, angering nationalists in Thailand who continue to claim ownership of the site.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told journalists in Bangkok that he had received reports on the clash between the PAD demonstrators and the villagers and that he had ordered officials in the area to negotiate with the PAD in order to end the rally as soon as possible.

An international news agency reported that the Cambodian government announced on Thursday that it had deployed riot police with dogs, batons and tear gas at the temple.