Thai-Cambodia standoff persists

Hundreds of Thai and Cambodian soldiers continue to be deployed around the temple [Reuters]

Friday, August 01, 2008
Al Jazeera

The standoff around the disputed Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia has shown no signs of easing.

Monks and government officials prayed at the ancient temple on Friday in the shadow of armed troops from both sides as the soldiers continued their standoff from just a few metres apart.

Thong Khon, the Cambodian tourism minister, said the 1,000 or so people had gathered "to pray to the souls of our ancestors asking for peace", referring to Khmer kings who built the temple from the 9th to 11th centuries.

"We also pray for success in our defence of our territory," he added.

Tej Bunnag, the Thai foreign minister, said on Thursday that his government did not have to move its troops because Cambodia had not shown any sign that it would withdraw its troops from the disputed area.

Since Cambodia had "not informed Thailand officially" when it would pull out its troops, it was not necessary for the Thai government to react, Tej said.

Cambodia and Thailand had agreed this week to pull back hundreds of troops from the disputed area to end the weeks-long standoff.

The agreement had come after 12 hours of talks between the foreign ministers from both countries, meeting in the northern Cambodian city of Siem Reap.

The move was to see the withdrawal of some 800 Cambodian and 400 Thai soldiers from the vicinity of Preah Vihear.

Disputed ownership

Cambodia and Thailand claim ownership to the territory surrounding the Khmer-era temple and the deployment of troops in the region had raised worries of a military confrontation.

Both sides had pledged to resolve the dispute "bilaterally and peacefully".

Hor Namhong, the Cambodian foreign minister, said they had "agreed to ask our governments to redeploy the troops" with details to be discussed later.

But neither side had set any firm deadline for the troop withdrawal from area around the temple, or a date for the next meeting.

During Monday's talks the two countries also proposed a series of steps to end the conflict including a scheme to remove landmines that litter the area so that the border can be properly demarcated.

Cambodian and Thai officials said the meeting was the first step in what is likely to be protracted negotiations to end a dispute that has simmered for decades.

A first round of talks in Bangkok failed last week after Thai and Cambodian defence ministers could not agree on which maps to use to demarcate the border.

Cambodia had sought help from the United Nations but suspended its request pending the outcome of talks with Thailand.

The current conflict focuses on an area about 5 sq km of scrubland surrounding the 11th century temple which was recently awarded World Heritage listing by Unesco, the UN cultural organisation.

Cambodia Pushes for Solution to Standoff

Villagers near Preah Vihear temple carry away goods donated by the Royal Palace Tuesday.

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

Cambodia continued diplomatic efforts to end a tense military build-up on the Thai border Tuesday, calling a meeting with around 50 diplomats in Phnom Penh and pushing the UN's cultural body for assistance.

Addressing a meeting of foreign ambassadors, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Tuesday that "Thailand, by using their own map, drawn by themselves very recently, [claimed] many parts of the border between the two countries."

"This [is] a very serious threat to our independence and territorial integrity," he said. "We have an obligation to resort to the UN Security Council."

At least 4,000 troops from both sides have amassed near the border at Preah Vihear temple, along with armored vehicles and artillery. The Royal Palace sent donations of foodstuffs and
tarpaulin shelters to villagers and soldiers near Preah Vihear Tuesday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday invoked Preah Vihear temple's minted Unesco World Heritage status in a bid to resolve what he called an "unwarranted act of aggression" by Thailand.

"As of 21 July 2008, the situation has escalated further due to the movement of Thai artillery and armored combat vehicles into the area and the continuing increase of heavily armed Thai soldiers inside and around the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda…near the Temple of Preah Vihear," Hun Sen wrote in a letter asking assistance of Unesco Director General Koichiro Matsuura.

The US, meanwhile, called on both sides "to act in a very restrained and responsible manner."

"What is clear is that both sides need to resolve this in a peaceful and legal manner, and so far they are doing so," US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli told reporters after the diplomatic meeting with Hor Namhong.

Thai and Cambodian commanders have said their soldiers are under control and the situation is stable, but Mussomeli called the build-up of troops along the border "very worrisome."

"We have suggested to both sides that the troops should not be augmented, that more troops are always a dangerous thing, that when you have that many young men with that many weapons in that close a proximity, there's always a danger of violence, and so it would be better for the troops to not be so close to each other," he said. "That just makes common sense."