Preah Vihear set to reopen

February 9, 2009
The Nation

The 11th-century Preah Vihear Temple will reopen tomorrow after being closed for months.

Seni Jitkasem, governor of Si Sa Ket province, where the entrance to the hill-top Hindu temple is situated, said the decision to reopen was taken because the Thai-Cambodian border situation had returned to normal.

Cambodia last year unilaterally got the temple listed as as a Unesco World Heritage Site, even though access to the ancient site is on Thai soil.

Seni said Lt-General Wibulsak Neepan, the commander-in-chief of the second region army, had endorsed the reopening of Thailand's Phra Viharn national park.

Phra Viharn is the Thai name of the Hindu temple whose original name was Preah Vihear.

"The reopening would benefit local tourism and related businesses. Tomorrow, we would reopen the entrance to the temple unofficially to welcome Thai and foreign visitors ahead of Valentine's Day which falls on February 14.

"In the second stage, we will prepare for a grand opening ceremony around April this year. We'll turn the Phra Viharn or Pa Mor E-daeng national park into a major tourist attraction in northeastern Thailand. "Initially, we will allow only Thai vendors and businesses inside the park," he said.

The Preah Vihear Temple became a hot political issue last year between the two countries when former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama was accused of mishandling the sensitive bilateral issue regarding Cambodia's listing it as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Thai people urged Sisaket residents to demand the re-opening of the gate to Preah Vihear temple

The monks marching toward the gate of Preah Vihear temple.

Reaksmei Kampuchea newspaper
18th December, 2008
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

Because the gate to Preah Vihear temple has been closed for a few months which has caused disruptions to the livelihood of traders in Sisaket, the Thai foreign Ministry has organised a meeting to push for the quick re-opening of the Preah Vihear temple.

According to the reports by the Thai media on the 17th of December, the meeting took place in Sisaket province on the 16th of December. The meeting’s participants include Thai officials, Sisaket traders, experts as well as many Sisaket residents have expressed their concerns about the impacts on the livelihood of the local residents after the gate to Preah Vihear temple was closed after the Thai invasion of Preah Vihear areas on the 15th of July, 2008.

According to the above source, the Thai Foreign Ministry officials urged the Sisaket residents to push the new government for a quick re-opening of the Preah Vihear gate.

In the past, the Sisaket traders and tourist operators have urged the Thai government to help push for the quick re-opening of the Preah Vihear gate. They said that since the closure of the gate, their livelihood has been greatly impacted. Sisaket governor has also pushed for the re-opening of the Preah Vihear gate.

The same source said that the chairman of the Sisaket Development Coordination Committee has urged the Thai government to continue to maintain Thai troops in the Preah Vihear areas until the border disputes between Cambodia and Thailand have been resolved. Officials from Sisaket province said that Thailand must maintain Thai troops their until they are able to evict the Khmer people from the staircase of the Preah Vihear temple as they have demanded.

The officials from the Thai foreign Ministry said that they will convey the messages of the Sisaket people to the meeting of the Foreign Ministry and compile a report to submit to the new prime minister and the cabinet to make the decision.

On the same day, there were about 44 Buddhist monks holding a Dharmayietra march to the gate of the Preah Vihear temple. Among the 44 Buddhist monks, there were 8 foreign monks who have been canvassed to join the march.

Sisaket authority said that the Thai monks as well as the foreign monks have presented the image of the Buddha to the Thai troops based around the Preah Vihear areas.

After the Dharmayietra, those monks will travel to Bangkok to urge the Thai government to resolve the Preah Vihear issues.

Interim pact on settling border dispute

Informal ministerial talks prove fruitful

Wednesday August 20, 2008
ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
Bangkok Post

PHETCHABURI : Thailand and Cambodia yesterday agreed to an interim agreement to solve the row over the disputed border area surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.

The agreement was reached in the second round of informal talks between the Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers, Tej Bunnag and Hor Namhong, in Cha-am district.

The main thrust of the interim agreement is that the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) should be a key mechanism in resolving the problem, and for more troops to be withdrawn from the overlapping area between Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear.

It also pledges efforts to remove landmines in the area.

The interim agreement requires approval from both governments.

It will tabled for the cabinet next week, after which parliamentary approval will also be required, Mr Tej said.

After completing this process, the JBC is expected to hold talks in October with Manaspas Xuto, who is adviser to the foreign minister.

The JBC will identify the border area to be demarcated, with assistance from legal experts.

The two ministers did not go into detail as to how many more soldiers will be moved out of the disputed area.

This will be settled at a meeting of the Regional Border Committee on Aug 29 and 30 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The Thai delegrationwill be headed by Second Army commander Lt-Get Sujit Sitthiprapa and the Cambodian side by Deputy Defence Minister Gen Neang Phat and Gen Chea Mon, commander of the Cambodian Fourth Army Region.

Thailand and Cambodia completed the first troop reduction on Sunday.

Hor Namhong was optimistic about settling the problem with Thailand as the two countries showed political willingness to put an end to the row.

But he admitted settling the issue would take more time.

He promised to withdraw the complaint on the border dispute with Thailand from the United Nations Security Council soon and said Preah Vihear will be reopened for tourists after the situation returns to normal.

The Cambodian government decided not to complain to the UN agency after most council members and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) made clear their position that the border problem should be resolved through bilateral discussions.

The Cambodian minister was granted an audience with His Majesty the King for one hour at Klai Kangwon Palace in Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan.

A group of Dharmayatra led by Samarn Sri-ngam also rallied in front of the meeting venue, holding banners bearing slogans such as ''Kick out the Cambodians'' and ''Get back Preah Vihear'', which is called Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand.

The group also lodged a petition to the King via the Foreign Ministry.

It said the military reduction was unfair, as Cambodia still has about 500 soldiers around the eastern side of the Preah Vihear foothill, while Thailand has only about 300 military personnel on the western side.

The Thai side was seeking equal reduction from the Cambodian side, military sources said.