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| Thanasak Patimapakorn |
Observers 'no longer needed' (sic!)
21/07/2012
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post
Indonesian observers may no longer be needed in the disputed land near Preah Vihear temple as the situation at the Thai-Cambodian border has stabilised, Supreme Commander Thanasak Patimapakorn said yesterday.
Gen Thanasak, who visited Indonesia on Monday and Tuesday, said he had told his Indonesian counterpart that Thailand and Cambodia had not been in conflict for almost two years now, so there is no longer a need for observers.
"Indonesia considers that if the two countries can talk, they will have no need to come in, and this is also the two nations' stance," Gen Thanasak said.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on July 18 last year ordered Thailand and Cambodia to withdraw their troops from the 17.3 sq km provisional demilitarised zone (PDZ) around Preah Vihear temple after Cambodia petitioned the ICJ to reinterpret its 1962 verdict granting Cambodia sovereignty over the temple and its 4.6 sq km surrounding area.
