Cambodian gov't to take border dispute with Thailand to UN

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will again seek international arbitration in Cambodia's ongoing dispute with Thailand over contested border territory adjacent to Preah Vihear temple, national media reported Monday.

Hun Sen told his cabinet Friday that he plans to take the issue back to the UN Security Council and to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Hague, the Phnom Penh Post said.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, quoted Hun Sen as saying the council should prepare documentation and evidence in the likely event it needed to return to the Security Council, following delays in talks with the Thai government.

On July 22, Cambodia made an appeal to the UN Security Council during its military standoff with Thailand at the World Heritage-listed temple, but withdrew the complaint two days later after Thailand agreed to hold immediate talks on the issue. But discussions over a full troop withdrawal have stagnated, with the Thailand requesting a postponement due to political tensions in Bangkok.

The row erupted after Cambodia's arrest of three Thai nationalist protesters on July 15, whom authorities allege crossed illegally into Cambodia close to the disputed temple site.

Since then, Thailand and Cambodia have been building up their forces near the temple and tensions have escalated, spreading to other temple sites along the border.

Groups Push for Temple Solution, Protection

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 August 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Local agencies called for international intervention in the ongoing Preah Vihear crisis Friday, while requesting the government take emergency measures to secure other Cambodian temples all along the Thai border.

"We call on the international community, especially Asean and the United Nations, to continue to pay attention [to the issue] and take action to secure the area, in case the future meeting will not have a smooth result," said Sok Samoeun, director of the Cambodian Defenders Project.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong is expected to fly to Thailand to meet his counterpart Aug. 18 in an effort to resolve the crisis, which includes the build-up of thousands of armed troops, artillery and armor.

The Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers of Democratic Union, or CCAWDU, and two other local groups, including the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center and the rights group Adhoc, joined in the appeal.

"We think that if Thailand prolongs the issue, we propose to the Cambodian government to submit the file to the UN in order to end it very quickly," said Ath Thun, director of CCAWDU. "Legally we have the support of the law."

Chan Saveth, an Adhoc investigator, emphasized that if the UN agrees to resolve the problem, it will support Cambodia, "because we don't have many resources to work with."

Around 30 NGOs sent a letter to the UN in July, calling for the creation of a zone around Preah Vihear temple that would prohibit armed soldiers; they also requested the deployment of peacekeepers.

Cambodian military officials said Friday the border situation remained stable, with no withdrawal of troops from either side near Preah Vihear temple.

Cambodian media have reported that some troops have backed out of Ta Moan temple, in Oddar Meanchey province, though some remain. Cambodian patrols along the border have been followed by Thai forces, according to media reports.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the situation had improved and the government was now waiting for continued negotiations.

"We think that the bilateral [talks] are important now, and to go forward to the UN would be the last choice," Khieu Kanharith said.

Cambodia halted a request for intervention from the UN Security Council last month, pending bilateral talks.

Thai UN Ambassador reveals that Cambodia has not withdrawn request to UN on Phrea Vihear

August 6th, 2008
National News Bureau, Public Relations Department of Thailand

Thai Ambassador to the United Nations Don Pramadwinai revealed to the media that Cambodia’s request concerning Phrea Vihear National Park has not been completely revoked from the UN but has been postponed for the time being. The Thai UN Ambassador said that if Cambodia were to re-enter the issue for consideration by the UN, the process would be simplified as it is still an active agenda.

Further reports also indicated that Cambodia’s Minister of Defense has affirmed that the Ta Muean Thom Ruins are a part of Cambodia and have asked Thailand to remove their troops.

If only Thailand can practice what it professes to others ...

When Cambodia cries wolf

August 1, 2008
The Nation

Cambodia knows exactly when and where to hit Thailand to inflict the most pain on its neighbour to the east. Repeated attempts by Phnom Penh to raise the Preah Vihear dispute at the international level in forums such as the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement - which were subsequently withdrawn - shows a lack of sincerity and ill intentions. At a meeting in Singapore, Asean took the unprecedented step of discussing the temple dispute but without any progress.

It was out of Asean goodwill and the good office of the previous chair, Singapore, that both sides were able to discuss the problem against the backdrop of the Asean meeting.

When members have bilateral problems, especially over sensitive issues concerning sovereignty, they should resolve them in an amicable way without being aggressive or using strong diplomatic language.

In Singapore, the Cambodian delegation left its mark with strong words of condemnation for Thailand over the controversy. The Thai delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Banditkul, was calm and mature. Sahas did not respond to the Cambodian tirade. Several Asean members have expressed concerns over the rough way the Cambodian delegate dealt with the issue.

After the end of the Asean meeting, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo wrote a letter to his Cambodian counterpart, Hor Namhong, expressing concerns about the creditability of Asean as Cambodia has insisted that it would seek the intervention of the UN Security Council. Since both countries are members of Asean, any dispute between them should be settled bilaterally. Instead, Cambodia has tried to score points internationally by portraying the country as a victim of intimidation by a bigger and more prosperous neighbour. Asean wants all of its members to discuss and solve problems in the spirit of the grouping.

Cambodia's desire to internationalise the issue helps to show its true intention to tarnish Thailand's reputation. Of course, there is nothing Thailand can do at the moment as its domestic situation in recent years has been rather damning. Cambodia's approach would work if Thailand really were a bully. Look around, Thailand has been reduced to a small and non-significant player since 2001. Our reputation overseas has sunk to its lowest level ever. Instead of helping Thailand to settle the dispute amicably, those in Cambodia's upper echelon have instead decided that now is the best time to teach Thailand a lesson.

Several Asean members and dialogue partners have confided to the Foreign Ministry that they do not support Cambodia's efforts to push the temple dispute to the UN level. A member of the Security Council said that any internationalised issue would impact on Asean as a whole.

For the next 18 months, Thailand will serve as the chair of Asean. Cambodia's attitude will be crucial and should be closely scrutinised, as it will have far-reaching ramifications for the future of Asean.

If Cambodia continues to threaten to use the UN and Non-Aligned Movement forums, it would certainly hamper the effectiveness of the Thai chairmanship of Asean.

Talks 'will take time' [-Thailand threatens Cambodia not to bring the border dispute issue to the UNSC]

No easy solution to border row, says Tej

Monday July 28, 2008
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
Bangkok Post

Thailand is keen to keep the border conflict with Cambodia strictly a bilateral affair and hopes Phnom Penh brings no preconditions to today's talks on solving the dispute, says new Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag.

Cambodia, which was awarded sovereignty over nearby Preah Vihear temple in a 1962 World Court ruling, is threatening to take the issue to the United Nations Security Council.

Mr Tej, however, who leads Thai negotiators into today's meeting in Siem Reap, said that could complicate the issue.

"Attempts to bring the bilateral issue to broader frameworks at this stage could complicate the situation and, in turn, produce undesirable repercussions on good relations and goodwill," Mr Tej said.

A Foreign Ministry source said the dispute could take many months to settle, and Cambodia should not expect too much from today's meeting.

The dispute is mainly over 4.6sqkm of scrubland near the temple.

The talks come just one day after Mr Tej was sworn into the job.

He will meet his counterpart from Cambodia, Hor Namhong, as troops from both countries continue to face each other inside disputed territory at the border.

Mr Tej, who is also chairman of the Thai-Cambodian Friendship Association set up in 2003, has promised to try his best to unravel the issue.

"I accept that this problem is complicated but I believe in the basis of the long-standing relationship between the two countries.

"We can join hands to seek a way out of the problem," he said yesterday after a one-hour meeting with staff of the Foreign Ministry, who were preparing information for today's meeting.

Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama resigned this month following pressure over his handling of Cambodia's listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site, which sparked the latest conflict.

The government is worried that even after today's talks, Cambodia will try to drag the issue into a multilateral forum such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or the United Nations Security Council, as it attempted to do last week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said the government hopes Phnom Penh will be open-minded and come to the meeting without preconditions. Negotiations on such a sensitive issue need more time, not just one or two meetings, he said.

"The minister said he will try his best to talk to the Cambodian foreign minister," he said.

"It is his first task - we hope we can find a solution on some level, but this issue is sensitive and complex.

"We will definitely need more rounds of talks. The boundary is an important and complex issue and it needs time to solve, step by step and slowly," Mr Tharit said.

The bilateral talks are seen as an effective means to improve understanding between the two countries.

Nonetheless, Thailand will urge Cambodia to comply with the 2000 memorandum of understanding on the surveying and demarcation of the border, emphasising that neither side should cause damage to the environment in areas which have yet to be demarcated.

Since signing the MoU in 2000, Cambodia has allowed its civilians and soldiers into the disputed zone.

The Affair of Preah Vihear

July 24, 2008
Opinion by Kenneth T. So

I want to point out a few observations that I feel is very important to the central issue of the Preah Vihear temple. The following are my two immediate observations concerning the affair of the Preah Vihear temples:

1. The press keeps mentioning that Preah Vihear was an ancient Hindu temple instead of a Khmer temple. Preah Vihear is not a Hindu temple but a Khmer temple built under the reign of Yasovarman I, a Khmer king in the 9th century, dedicated to Shiva, one of the Hindu gods. When the press says that Preah Vihear is a Hindu temple, it deemphasizes Khmer ownership and legitimacy to the temple. In modern time, the war of words is very important.

2. Thailand kept insisting on using her own map to claim the disputed area around Preah Vihear instead of the French-Siamese Commissioned Map of 1907, where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based its judgment on to award Preah Vihear to Cambodia. The map was the product of the treaty signed by Thailand and French (Cambodia was under the French protectorate) in 1907. It is legal and binding. Thailand wants to use its own map that is not binding and not recognized by the International Court of Justice.

Cambodia is doing the right thing to seek help from the UN. Of course, Thailand does not want the UN to intervene because she knows that most likely the UN will side with Cambodia and would probably ask Thailand to withdraw from the disputed area.

Thailand is playing hard ball because she knows Cambodia is no match with her militarily. Cambodia has no choice but to ask the UN for help. With the UN help I don't think Thailand will dare to encroach further into our territory. If war were to erupt, Thailand would be condemned by the world and she will lose face. Additionally, the Muslims are now waiting for the right occasion to stir troubles again in the southern region of Thailand. I do not think Thailand can afford to have a war with Cambodia. Thailand may win in the short term but she will lose in the long run.

Thailand fears the UN because among the five permanent members, I believe Cambodia can count on France, China, and Russia to side with Cambodia. I am not quite sure about the US position, but I hope she sides with Cambodia. The UK may side with Thailand because of the long standing relationship with that country.

Kenneth So
Aryasatya (Sanskrit)
Chattari Ariyasachchani (Pali)
Chatuk Arey Sachak (Khmer)
The Four Noble Truths (English)

Thai UN Rep says Security Council to clarify situation by midnight

July 24th, 2008

Thai Permanent Representative to the United Nations Don Pramudwinai updated news from the United Nations, revealed that the UN Security Council has decided to meet again to discuss a Cambodian request to intervene in the ongoing border conflict at 9 PM local time today. The Representative stated that a clear answer should be issued at midnight tonight.

The Permanent Representative however admitted that 1 of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council has shown disapproval towards a majority leaning to bilateral relations.

Source : National News Bureau, Public Relations Department of Thailand

Security Council mulls Thai-Cambodia emergency session

BANGKOK, July 25 (TNA) - The 15-member United Nations Security Council--the world's top body for responding to or preventing wars and likely military conflict-- has not yet opted to add the Thai-Cambodia emergency to its agenda as requested by Phnom Penh to defuse tensions along their border, according to the Thai envoy to the world body.

Thai Permanent Representative to the United Nations Don Pramudwinai said the Security Council was mulling over whether to address the tense military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand as the two neighbors mass more troops along their border.

Mr. Don said, after the meeting ran for one hour, that no decision had yet been made as to whether or when to meet as the membership could not agree upon the solution.

Ambassafor Don said the Security Council had to agree unanimously for the solution.

The request for the emergency meeting was made by Cambodia after it claimed that Thailand had deployed large numbers of troops along Thai-Cambodian border.

The dispute focuses on an area that both nations claim as their own, adjacent to Preah Vihear temple, an ancient Hindu edifice built at the height of the Khmer empire in the 11th century.

The World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, in a decision that Thailand was reluctant to accept. Nevertheless the only practical access for visitors from either country, or from abroad, is through Thailand.

On July 8, the temple was added to the World Heritage List maintained by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Cambodia said earlier that it hoped the UN would help broker a solution to the standoff, which has essentially existed since 1962 when Thailand was essentially forced to accept a decision. Thailand holds that the two sides can resolve the matter without an outside mediator.

Meanwhile, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Banditkul said Wednesday that three permanent members of UNSC and its two non-permanent members agreed Wednesday with Thailand that talks on the Thai-Cambodian border dispute should be held and settled through bilateral means.

Mr. Sahas, representing Thailand at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting in Singapore, said he had met with Russian, American and Chinese foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ASEAN ministerial meeting and briefed them on the dispute over the 4.6-square-kilometre area adjacent to the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

Russia, the US and China are permanent members of the UNSC and are dialogue partners of ASEAN.

Mr. Sahas said he had also discussed the issue with Indonesia and Vietnam, both non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, and both agreed with Thailand that the problem should be solved through talks between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

Bangkok has proposed that the dispute should be settled by means of bilateral talks but Phnom Penh wants the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting over the issue on Monday over Thailand's objections.

UN council to take up Thai-Cambodian dispute over territory surrounding ancient temple

Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS: With some 4,000 troops massed along the Thai-Cambodian border, United Nations Security Council members say they will try to stop the military standoff from escalating into war.

Diplomats said Wednesday they expect to call a special council session, probably next week, to deal with the latest dispute over land near the ancient temple of Preah Vihear. Cambodia appealed to the U.N. Security Council to intervene, warning that the two sides were at "an imminent state of war."

The conflict focuses on an area less than 2 square miles (5.2 square kilometers) around the temple, that both nations claim as their own. The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but its listing this month as a U.N. World Heritage Site stirred tensions anew.

"We are worried by the situation and by the potential tension due to the situation raising around the temple," French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said Wednesday. "Everybody was in favor of discussing the situation. When exactly? We do not yet."

Ripert said the 15-nation council "should meet as fast as possible" based on Cambodia's request.

"We are in charge of peace and security," he said. "So, if we can diffuse the tensions and if we can prevent any development that could be dramatic for the region and for peace and security, we will do it and we think we have to do it."

Thailand, whose troops killed Cambodian refugees there in 1979, sent troops to the border on July 15 after anti-government demonstrators attacked Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government for supporting Cambodia's application to UNESCO, the U.N. agency that designates World Heritage Sites. There are now 878 sites on the global list, which helps draw attention to efforts to conserve them.

They claim the temple's new status will undermine Thailand's claim to land around the temple. Cambodia responded with its own deployment. The carved stone temple and buildings from the first half of the 11th century were built by cliffs overlooking mountains.

As the dispute entered its second week Wednesday, Thailand accused Cambodia of eyeing even more of its land and leaflets appeared in the Cambodian capital calling for a boycott of Thai goods. Cambodian police were investigating the leaflets.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said he had no choice but to appeal to the United Nations after discussions with Thailand on Monday failed to produce a breakthrough in the crisis. He made a similar request to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but the region's key bloc urged the two countries to continue bilateral negotiations.

In a countermove Wednesday, Thailand's U.N. Ambassador Don Pramudwinai, said Cambodia was bringing the quarrel before the Security Council because "the Cambodian target is not only Preah Vihear but the entire common border." Don told Bangkok's Business Radio that Cambodia was trying to force Thailand to accept a French colonial map that favors Cambodia.

Thailand relies on a different map drawn up later with American technical assistance.

Pramudwinai also told the Security Council in a letter Monday that "the boundary line claimed by Cambodia has no legal status" from the 1962 ruling, because he said that case dealt only with "sovereignty" - the question of who owns the temple.

Cambodia's U.N. Ambassador Sea Kosal wrote the council last Friday that "this Thai military provocation is aimed at creating a de facto 'overlapping area' that legally does not exist on Cambodia soil."

The two nations have built up about 4,000 troops in the area, with both sides insisting they won't resort to force. The atmosphere remained calm Wednesday among Cambodian and Thai troops at the hilltop temple, despite the intense diplomatic rhetoric by the respective governments.

Troops from both sides "continued interacting cordially," said Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo, without elaborating.

The dispute has also shaken Thailand's domestic political scene. Its national anti-corruption commission has begun investigating the Thai prime minister and other top officials over accusations the government violated Thailand's constitution by not consulting its parliament before supporting Cambodia's application.
___
Associated Press writers Ker Munthit and Sopheng Cheang in Cambodia, Ambika Ahuja and Sutin Wannabovorn in Bangkok, Thailand, and Sumeth Panpetch along the Thai-Cambodian border contributed to this report.

Thailand lobbies for UN backing

Says border row must be resolved bilaterally

Thursday July 24, 2008
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL WASSANA NANUAM
Bangkok Post

Thailand lobbied members of the United Nations Security Council yesterday, seeking support for its position that the row with Cambodia over a disputed border area near Preah Vihear temple should be resolved through bilateral talks.

Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Bunditkul had separate meetings with the foreign ministers of China, Russia, the United States, Indonesia and Vietnam on the sidelines of the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Singapore.

All five countries agreed Thailand and Cambodia should solve the conflict through bilateral talks, the Foreign Ministry quoted Mr Sahas as saying.

China, Russia and the US are Asean's dialogue partners and permanent members of the Security Council. Indonesia and Vietnam are non-permanent members. Vietnam chairs the council until the end of the month.

Bangkok-based diplomats from 13 countries sitting on the UN Security Council met with foreign affairs permanent secretary Virasakdi Futrakul at the Foreign Ministry yesterday.

They were told the dispute over the 4.6 square kilometre area at the border, between Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district and Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, was a bilateral issue, the ministry said.

Only two Security Council members, Costa Rica and Burkina Faso, did not attend the meeting at the ministry. The two countries do not have embassies in Bangkok.

Thailand's meeting with the council members took place only hours before the council, sitting at the UN in New York, was scheduled to decide (early today Thai time) whether to put the border conflict on its agenda at the urging of Cambodia.

Thai ambassador to the UN Don Pramudwinai said from New York that he expected the council to accept the Cambodian request.

He said if the council agrees to consider the case, Thailand and Cambodia could be called to give information before council members on Monday.

The ambassador said Cambodia had tried to force Thailand to accept the 1904 map drawn by France in demarcating the area.

Thailand considers that map puts it at a disadvantage in any talks to settle the boundary with Cambodia near the temple because it does not use the watershed as the border line.

The General Border Committee (GBC), chaired by the two countries' defence ministers, is a key body for resolving border conflicts.

But talks between Supreme Commander Gen Boonsrang Niempradit and Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh on Monday in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province failed. Another meeting is plannedr next month.

However, Mr Virasakdi told the 13 diplomats at the ministry that at least Thailand and Cambodia had agreed in Sa Kaeo that their soldiers would not use force and remain peacefully in the overlapping area.

Gen Boonsrang strongly opposed Cambodia's move to bring the issue to the UN Security Council. Doing so could make it difficult for the two countries to solve the problem, he said before leaving for Indonesia.

''The best way to solve the problem is for it to be resolved by the two countries. Third parties should not step in until there is a deadlock,'' he said.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was optimistic about prospects for talks with Cambodia on the temple row after the election there set for Sunday.

Mr Samak said all moves made by Cambodia, including the remarks by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that Thai soldiers were on its territory, were geared towards the poll.

Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said in Singapore that the group wanted the two countries to ''find their own solution at the bilateral level'' and avoid any action that could trigger a full-blown confrontation.

UN Security Council mulls meet on Cambodian-Thai dispute

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The Security Council is mulling whether to take up the tense military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand as the two neighbors massed more troops along their border, Vietnam's UN ambassador said Wednesday.

"The council is considering the request (from Cambodia for a meeting)," Le Luong Minh, who chairs the 15-member body this month, told reporters.

But he said no decision had been made so far as to whether or when to meet.

More than 500 Thai troops and at least 1,000 Cambodian soldiers are squaring off over a small patch of land near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

Cambodian officials said Wednesday thousands more Thai troops were positioned along the border.

Cambodian cabinet spokesman Phay Siphan estimated about 4,000 Thai troops in total had gathered along the frontier in several areas -- not just near Preah Vihear.

France's UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said council members held a preliminary discussion late Wednesday but added that the issue would be revisited Thursday as some delegations had no instructions from their capitals on how to proceed.

"We are worried about the situation," he told reporters. "We think the council should meet as fast as possible" to deal seriously with this formal request from a member state.

Ripert said France backed a mediation by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which both Cambodia and Thailand are members.

But he made clear that the Security Council, as a guarantor of international peace and security, had "to assume its responsibility" to help reduce tension, given the risk of a deteriorating situation "with serious consequences".

Earlier Wednesday, Cambodia said that it hoped the UN would help broker a solution to the standoff after the countries failed to make any headway in two days of talks over the disputed land near Preah Vihear.

But Thailand insists the two sides should settle the matter without an outside mediator.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia. But the easiest entrance lies in Thailand.

Thailand and Cambodia both claim land near the temple, positioning their troops by a small Buddhist pagoda at the foot of the mountain leading to Preah Vihear.

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

On July 8, the temple was added to UN cultural body UNESCO's World Heritage List.

UN council to take up Cambodia-Thai dispute

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, July 23 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will hold a special meeting on a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand that has sparked fears of a military clash, France and Vietnam said on Wednesday.

French Ambassador to the United Nations Jean-Maurice Ripert told reporters the council discussed a request by Cambodia to take up the issue, adding that council members would likely decide on Thursday on the date and format for the meeting.

"We are worried about the situation and the potential tension," said Ripert, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency until the end of the year.

"The Security Council should take its responsibility," he said. "We are in charge of peace and security, so if we can defuse the tension ... we will do it and we think we have to do it."

At the heart of the dispute is a 1.8-square-mile (4.6-square-km) area around the Preah Vihear temple on a jungle-clad escarpment on the Thai-Cambodian border, which forms a natural boundary and is claimed by both nations.

Ripert said the 15 council members would continue to support bilateral and regional efforts to defuse the crisis, including mediation by the Association of South East Asian Nations, if possible.

On Tuesday, ASEAN foreign ministers discussed the issue at a meeting in Singapore but failed to reach a consensus on whether the organization should get involved.

Vietnamese Ambassador Le Luong Minh, president of the Security Council this month, told reporters it was possible the special meeting would take place next week.

Ripert said it was important for the council to meet as soon as possible.

It was not clear what the council would do. One Western diplomat said some wanted the council to adopt a legally binding resolution urging the parties to resolve the dispute, while others thought a nonbinding statement would suffice.

A buildup of troops and heavy artillery on both sides of the border has worried neighboring countries and the United Nations, to which Cambodia has appealed for help.

While there have been no major incidents at the temple so far, Thai border villages that are home to some 4,000 people are braced for a possible conflict.

Analysts say Thai politics bear much of the blame for the dispute over the temple, which an international court awarded to Cambodia in 1962. The ruling still rankles many Thais.

Preah Vihear's listing as a World Heritage site this month inspired pride and joy in Cambodia, but triggered political uproar in Thailand.

Bangkok's initial support for the heritage listing has been used by anti-government groups to stoke nationalist passions in Thailand and fuel street protests against Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

(Additional reporting by Sukree Sukplang in Thailand; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Minister to Meet UN Council Over Standoff

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 July 2008

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will travel to New York on Friday in hopes of meeting with the UN Security Council to resolve a continued military standoff with Thailand.

"We will report to the UN Security Council about the Preah Vihear crisis," he told VOA Khmer Wednesday.

A meeting with the 15 members of the Security Council could take place as early as Monday or Tuesday, Hor Namhong said.

Cambodia has pushed for Asean and Unesco intervention in the alleged incursion of Thai troops in the disputed border area of Banteay Meanchey province.

As many as 4,000 troops from both sides have amassed on the border since July 15, and officials have warned that the longer they remain, the more chance for violence.

"We hope that after the meeting, the UN will be able to find a good solution between both sides, Cambodia and Thailand," Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said.

"Cambodia has already won by diplomacy, the rule of law and politics," Hor Namhong said.

"The Thai act along the border at Preah Vihear was a cowardly act," he said. "If we did not have patience with the Thai act, it would have opened a war on the border."

Thais were teaching villagers military tactics and arming people along the border Wednesday, Hor Namhong said.

Thailand continued to move troops, tanks and artillery to the border, Hor Namhong said.

They had deployed troops 3 kilometers from Preah Vihear and 200 meters from the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, he said.

Thai Embassy officials declined to comment on any border activities Wednesday.

Defense Minister Tea Banh could not confirm the number of troops on both sides, but said Cambodia had enough soldiers to defend itself in case Thai soldiers "open fire."

Soldiers on both sides remained calm Wednesday, with no reports of arguments or gun-pointing, he said.

Thailand can defend row with Cambodia in any venue [... why does Thailand resist Int

BANGKOK, July 23 (TNA) - Thailand's foreign ministry can defend the country's position regarding its dispute with Phnom Penh over the ancient mountaintop temple on every platform where Cambodia lodges complaints, spokesman Tharit Charungvat said Wednesday, announcing that the ministry will soon issue a white paper on the subject.

Thailand informed United Nations members of its stance on the dispute with Cambodia over the contested zone a few days ago through Bangkok's ambassador to the UN, Don Pramudwinai, and has discussed the issue with Security Council and other UN members "on a regular basis," Mr. Tharit said.

"Cambodia has fielded a strong lobby and so has Thailand. However, it is up to the UN Security Council whether to accept the issue (submitted by Cambodia) for consideration. Thailand has reiterated that the problem should be settled by the two countries," Mr. Tharit said.

If bilateral talks fail, then the issue should be forwarded for discussion at the regional level before being sent to the UN, he said.

Several countries have already objected to attempts by Cambodia to bring the issue for discussion among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations as they believed the problem could be settled by the two countries, Mr. Tharit said.

What Cambodia had done would negatively impact upon ASEAN, he said. Nevertheless, its complaint to international platforms would not disadvantage Thailand, he said.

Both Thailand and Cambodia are members of ASEAN, whose foreign ministers are now meeting in Singapore. All except Thailand, that is, where the position is currently vacant.

The regional body has rejected Cambodia's request that ASEAN intervene to help end the dispute, saying that Thailand and Cambodia should give the bilateral process a chance to end their spat over the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area.

The disputed land 4.6 square kilometres claimed both by Kanthalarak district in Thailand's Si Sa Ket province and Cambodia's Preah Vihear province. It is located near Preah Vihear temple, awarded a World Heritage site listing by UNESCO earlier this month.

The 11th century Khmer temple itself was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but the ruling did not address the disputed area, Mr. Tharit said earlier.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal team is studying the mandate and powers of the Court.

Mr. Don said Cambodia asked the UN Security Council to meet over the issue on July 28 despite Thailand's objection, but Bangkok is pondering further moves pending the body's response.

The council meets Thursday and will decide whether to act on the Cambodian petition, Mr. Don said.

Stressing that Thai-Cambodian relations remain warm, Mr. Tharit said the foreign ministry planned to issue a "white paper" to clarify the dispute.

War “Imminent” over a Disputed Cambodian Temple

24 July 2008
Sam Campbell
Asia Sentinel (Hong Kong)

Thailand and Cambodia rattle the war drums in an unlikely dispute over a Buddhist oasis of peace

Cambodia is appealing for the United Nations to intervene in the “volatile and tense” standoff over a disputed Buddhist temple on the Thailand-Cambodian border after Thailand refused to withdraw troops and rejected offers of mediation, Cambodian officials say.

The UN’s Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, is “closely following the situation” and is “concerned about the current escalation of tensions between the two countries, including the buildup of troops” according to an official UN statement. Ban called for restraint, urging a diplomatic solution.

Both sides have a considerable interest in fanning the flames of a long-running cultural dispute in a region where border disputes have been largely solved—unless political considerations reawaken them. Cambodia is in the throes of preparing for an election on Sunday, with otherwise disheartened opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen attacking him for his handling of the situation, not to mention his new emphasis on the Cambodian ownership of the 10th century temple, an architectural jewel.

In the meantime, in Bangkok, Thailand’s government, led by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, has been beleaguered for months by protesters demanding his ouster. Sovereignty of the Preah Vihear Temple has become a Thai hobbyhorse to power.

Addressing international diplomats, Cambodian VIPs and media Wednesday, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Cambodian attempts to avert the crisis – including urging the withdrawal of troops on both sides of the disputed area, relocating border residents and a market further inside Cambodian territory and to setting up an Asean ministerial group to help resolve the standoff – have all been rejected by Thailand.

“In spite of our maximum restraint, in spite of our spirit of compromise, we have not received a positive response from the other side,” he said. The appeal to the UN was a last resort, Hor Namhong stressed, adding that the situation leaves Cambodia with only two choices: accept Thai occupation of Cambodian territory or to appeal to the UN Security Council. As to the first option, “who can accept that?” he asked.

Thailand seems to be preparing for a fight, he continued, with “thousands of troops, tanks and artillery” massing close to the border. “In the face of an imminent state of war, and a very serious threat to our independence and territorial integrity, we had the obligation to resort to the UN Security Council,” the minister said, adding that a request for an urgent meeting had been submitted Monday. He hoped the Security Council would convene to discuss the temple, known as Preah Viheah, early next week.

The US Ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph Mussomeli, yesterday expressed similar sentiments. “We have suggested to both sides that troops not be augmented. When you have that many young men, with that many weapons, in that close proximity, there’s always a danger of violence,” he told reporters. “We remain hopeful that this thing will be resolved bilaterally. It would be better it this could be resolved in Asean.”

During his address, Hor, the foreign minister, repeatedly referred to Thailand’s obligations under international law and criticized their lack of officially endorsed maps. Cambodia is using maps agreed by the French government and Thailand (then known as Siam) in 1908 and subsequently endorsed by the International Court of Justice in 1962, he said, which that show the temple as being 700 meters inside Cambodian territory.

In contrast, “Thailand drew their own map,” he noted.

Official demarcation was further discussed by Pen Ngoeun, secretary of state for the Council of Ministers, at another press conference yesterday afternoon. Maps based on the 1908 French-Siamese agreement and the 1962 International Court of Justice ruling were passed out, the disputed temple shown clearly inside the Cambodian border with a red dot.

Thai King Chulalongkorn, also known as Rama V, signed off the 1908 agreement, noted Information Minister Khieu Kanharith. The Thais later reneged on the deal, he added, spurring then-King Norodom Sihanouk to bring the dispute before the International Court of Justice in 1962.

The situation at Preah Vihear remains tense.Cambodian soldiers stationed in the disputed area have orders to fire “in self-defense only,” Khieu Kanharith said. However, he warned that “Cambodia is a sovereign state and we need to defend our country.”

Preah Vihear Dominates Pre-Election as Cambodia Seeks UNSC Resolution

The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) is expected to do well in the cities and could improve its position among rural voters after heavy campaigning in the countryside. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is seen here campaigning in Takeo province (Photo: SRP)

23 Jul 2008
Luke Hunt
World Politics Review Exclusive

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Cambodian authorities have called for a special U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at resolving a border dispute with Thailand as a wave of nationalism sweeps the country ahead of national elections on Sunday.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Tuesday Cambodia's ambassador in New York had sought the request, as a troop build-up around a 900-year-old temple in this country's remote northwest continues. Reports Wednesday indicated that the Security Council would discuss the issue at a Thursday meeting.

"Thai troops with artilleries and tanks are building up along the border, constituting a very serious threat not only to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia but also to peace and stability in our region," Hor Namhong told a diplomatic and press briefing July 22.

Flanked by ambassadors and delegates from at least 15 countries, including the U.S., Britain, Australia and France, Hor Namhong warned Thai soldiers had positioned themselves among Khmers living on the Cambodian side of the border "thereby causing a volatile and tense situation" and security council intervention was necessary "to avoid armed confrontation."

He has also asked the 10-member regional bloc, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Cambodia and Thailand are both members, to help resolve the crisis, which has dominated the lead-up to the national poll.

Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) are widely expected to win Sunday's election outright on the back of a booming local economy and the rising tide of nationalism that followed UNESCO's July 7 decision to grant Preah Vihear temple on the disputed border with Thailand, a world heritage listing.

Bangkok had opposed the move and dispatched troops into the area on July 15. Phnom Penh countered, enlisting the help of retired Khmer Rouge soldiers, and a tense stand-off has ensued as politicians tried this week to negotiate a peaceful withdrawal.

But as far as Phnom Penh is concerned, international courts have long recognized Cambodian sovereignty over Preah Vihear.

Hor Namhong said Thailand had violated the international boundary between the two countries, which was established in 1908 between then Siam and France, the colonial rulers of Cambodia. This placed Preah Vihear 700 meters inside Cambodia.

That agreement was later challenged, with the International Court of Justice ruling in Cambodia's favor in 1962.

The U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli said while the U.N. Security Council would consider Phnom Penh's request, it would be preferable to see a bilateral resolution to the dispute negotiated between Cambodia and Thailand.

UNESCO's heritage recognition was successfully portrayed here as a government victory in international diplomacy. Thousands have turned out at rallies, marched, prayed and descended upon the ruins at Preah Vihear and this is expected to translate into extra votes for the CPP when the ballots are cast.

A constitutional amendment that allows a party to rule outright with 51 percent of the seats in parliament was also expected to provide the CPP with a lift.

Previously an unattainable two-thirds majority was required to effectively rule, and this often resulted in messy coalitions, political horse trading and bickering.

It took Hun Sen 12 months to forge a government after the 2003 poll.

Meanwhile, allegations of corruption and a sex scandal involving royalist party Funcinpec's former leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh have further damaged any chance the royalists had of improving on their miserable showing in the last election.

The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) is expected to do well in the cities and could improve its position among rural voters after heavy campaigning in the countryside.

But the SRP is up against the CPP's well-oiled logistics and organizational structure, which blankets this country and is riding high on the Preah Vihear issue, and an economic boom not seen since the Vietnam War tipped Cambodia into decades of civil conflict in the early 1970s.

The current economic good times are being attributed mainly to 10 years of relative peace and stability under the CPP, and many observers and opposition politicians fear Hun Sen could completely obliterate their ranks at the weekend poll.

The standoff over Preah Vihear has also distracted attention from an election campaign that has shown some familiar and violent patterns from the past.

"Unfortunately, Preah Vihear has all Cambodians worried and all the media's attention is focused on Preah Vihear," said Kek Galabru, president of the human rights group Licadho. "People aren't receiving all the information they need to make an informed decision because of Preah Vihear."

She said suspected electoral-related killings, vote buying, and politically inspired arrests had been reported, adding: "How can you have free and fair elections when a journalist is killed, one who wrote articles that were against the government."

Khim Sambo, a journalist who wrote for a pro-SRP newspaper, and his son were shot dead while riding their motorbike home on a busy Phnom Penh street on July 11.

However, determining what constitutes electoral-related violence is difficult in a country where guns are common amid a notorious culture of impunity and some observers fear elections have even become a time to settle old political scores with violence.

Despite this, election monitors mostly agreed this year's campaign was a vast improvement on previous efforts, the first of which was in 1993, when a U.N.-sponsored poll designed to restore Cambodian democracy after decades of war was plagued by violence.

The suspected electoral-related death toll stands at 13, almost half the reported killings in 2003.

"The numbers have decreased but there should not be one killing," Galabru told World Politics Review. "Only when there is not one killing can an election be seen as free."

Luke Hunt is a Hong Kong-based correspondent and a frequent World Politics Review contributor.

U.N. council to take up Cambodia-Thai dispute

Wed Jul 23, 2008
By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will hold a special meeting on a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand that has sparked fears of a military clash, diplomats said on Wednesday.

Several council diplomats said the meeting would most likely be held next week. Its format has yet to be determined and it was unclear what exactly the council could do.

"Perhaps we could urge the two sides to work out their differences amicably," one Western diplomat told Reuters.

The U.N. Security Council is the world's top body for issues related to international peace and security.

On Tuesday foreign ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Singapore failed to reach a consensus on whether ASEAN should get involved.

At the heart of the dispute is a 4.6 sq km (1.8 sq mile) area around the Preah Vihear temple on a jungle-clad escarpment on the Thai-Cambodian border, which forms a natural boundary and is claimed by both nations.

A build-up of troops and heavy artillery on both sides of the border has worried neighboring countries and the United Nations, which Cambodia has appealed to for help.

While there have been no major incidents at the temple so far, Thai border villages that are home to some 4,000 people are braced for a possible conflict.

Analysts say Thai politics bear much of the blame for the dispute over the temple, which an international court awarded to Cambodia in 1962. The ruling still rankles with many Thais.

Preah Vihear's listing as a World Heritage site this month inspired pride and joy in Cambodia, but triggered political uproar in Thailand.

Bangkok's initial support for the heritage listing has been used by anti-government groups to stoke nationalist passions in Thailand and fuel street protests against Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

(Additional reporting by Sukree Sukplang in Thailand; Editing by David Storey)

What does Bangkok has to hide from the UN Security Council?

Major powers agree to support Thai bilateral stance

SINGAPORE, July 23 (TNA) - Three permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and its two non-permanent members agreed Wednesday with Thailand that talks on the Thai-Cambodian border dispute should be held and settled through bilateral means, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Banditkul said Wednesday.

Mr. Sahas, representing Thailand at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting in Singapore, said he had met with Russian, American and Chinese foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ASEAN ministerial meeting and briefed them on the dispute over the 4.6-square-kilometre area adjacent to the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

The 11th century mountaintop Khmer religious edifice designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site earlier this month.

Russia, the US and China are permanent members of the UN Security Council and are dialogue partners of ASEAN.

Mr. Sahas said he had also discussed the issue with Indonesia and Vietnam, both non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, and both agreed with Thailand that the problem should be solved through talks between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

Bangkok has proposed that the dispute should be settled by means of bilateral talks but Phnom Penh wants the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting over the issue on Monday over Thailand's objections.

Thai-Cambodian diplomacy 'has yet to be exhausted' [-Thailand starts its PR campaign ahead of the UNSC meeting]

Wed, July 23, 2008
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Singapore - At least three of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council agrees it is premature at this time for the body to discuss the row between Thailand and Cambodia over Preah Vihear Temple, Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Banditkul said Wednesday.

Sahas, who led the Thai delegation to an Asean meeting, discussed the issue on Wednesday with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Asean Ministerial Meeting.

Sahas met and discussed issues with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, on Tuesday after Phnom Penh asked the Security Council to convene a special session on the standoff.

"Three permanent members of the Security Council whom I have met with here said Cambodia had been in too much of a hurry in putting the issue before the UN. Thailand and Cambodia can resolve the problem bilaterally," Sahas told reporters.

Don Pramudwinai, Thailand's permanent representative to the UN, said the world body would include Cambodia's request in an emergency session today.

A formal discussion of the row may take place next week, he said.

"We expected this to happen, because it is in line with UN regulations. Now we are discussing the matter," Don said in a telephone call from New York.

The Security Council has 15 members. Its five permanent members are China, France, US, Russia and the UK. The other 10 are chosen on a rotational basis.

Vietnam and Indonesia are presently among the nonpermanent members.

Sahas also discussed the issue with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, whose country currently chairs the Security Council, and Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda.

Both agreed the row should not be put to the Security Council as long as bilateral mechanisms were available for resolving it, he said.

"I gave all of the ministers I've met here the facts of the matter, and I did not blame Cambodia for its move," he said. "Due to time limitations, I also handed them fact sheets about the situation and our position on it."

In Bangkok, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Thailand's diplomatic position would take a defensive stance until Cambodia finished its general election next Sunday.

"Let Cambodia carry on. We're not being harmed. I hope they'll calm down after the election. I will talk [to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen] later," he said.

UN ponders intervention in Thai-Cambodian temple dispute

Jul 23, 2008
DPA

Bangkok - The United Nations Security Council will decide this week whether or not it will hold an emergency session to discuss an escalating border spat between Thailand and Cambodia over an ancient Hindu temple, a senior Thai diplomat confirmed Wednesday.

On Monday Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, claiming he feared an 'imminent state of war,' appealed to the 15-member UN Security Council to intervene in the Thai-Cambodian dispute over conflicting claims to territory adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple, perched on a cliff that partly defines the two neighbouring countries' common border.

Thailand has informed the UN of its preference to resolve the dispute through bilateral talks, Thailand's Ambassador to the UN Don Pramudwinai confirmed in an interview with the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA).

The UN will decide on whether to hold an emergency session over the border row on Thursday, said Don. 'The council will call a meeting tomorrow (Thursday) and we will see to it whether or not the council will hold an emergency session upon Cambodia's request,' he told the TNA.

Cambodian Defence Minister Teah Banh and Thai Supreme Commander General Boonsrang Niempradit met at the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet on Monday in an attempt to defuse the temple dispute bilaterally but failed to find a solution to the legal obstacles involved.

The problem dates back to a map drawn up in 1908 by French cartographers to define the Thai-Cambodian border when Cambodia was still a French colony. Although the French insisted the border should be defined according to the watershed - where the rain water falls in opposite directions - along the Dongrak mountain range, in their map the ancient Preah Vihear, perched on the tip of a 525 metre high cliff that is a steep fall on the Cambodian side and a gradual slope on the Thai one, oddly ended up on the Cambodian side of the watershed.

Thailand's failure to officially object to the questionable map-making led to their losing the temple in 1962 when a dispute over the temple's ownership was settled in the Hague at the International Court of Justice.

The court ruling, while in Cambodia's favour, left the dispute over the actual border line open to further discussion.

Thailand still claims that a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land adjacent to the temple is still subject to this dispute.

The dispute over Preah Vihear flared up again earlier this month when Cambodia proposed listed the temple compound, minus the disputed 4.6 square kilometres around it, as a World Heritage Site at UNESCO.

The proposal was approved on July 7, despite Thai opposition.

To make matters more complex, the Thai government first backed the Cambodian proposal and then withdrew it once it became highly politicized by government opponents.

Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama was forced to resign over his handling of the issue.

The politically-charged issue turned into a military confrontation last week when three Thai protestors crossed into the disputed zone and were briefly detained, prompting Thailand to send 50 paramilitary troops in to the zone.

There are an estimated 2,000 troops now facing each other across the border around the temple, situated between Si Sa Khet and Phrea Vihear provinces, in Thailand and Cambodia, respectively, about 400 kilometres north-east of Bangkok.

The border spat comes at a sensitive time for both countries. Cambodia is heading for a general election on Sunday, and Thailand's coalition government is heading for a reshuffle if not an early retirement.