Cambodia is not a Province of Thailand

(Suvaṇṇabhūmi is just the Name of an Airport)

By Eisel Mazard
July, 2009

§1.

"Suvaṇṇabhūmi" is not just the name of an airport: it has been an important part of Thai propaganda for over 100 years. Today, the myth of "Suvaṇṇabhūmi" is used to claim that all of Cambodia, Laos and even Vietnam were formerly part of Thailand, but were later "lost" in a series of wars. This article presents a series of facts about the real history of Southeast Asia. The original text was written in simplified English, intended for translation.

Many Thai people alive today heard about "Suvaṇṇabhūmi" from their grandparents, so they assume this is a very old idea. Many Thai people grew up hearing propaganda that their ancient homeland was in Yunnan (a province in China, north of Laos) --but then the message changed. Sometimes the government tells them the ancient homeland is "here" in this ancient kingdom called "Suvaṇṇabhūmi", sometimes they say it is in Shan State (now part of Burma), sometimes in Southern China or even further north than China, in Mongolia. Sometimes the government tells them to hate the Burmese, sometimes the Chinese, sometimes Cambodians. They told their people to hate and fear Communists, but (at the same time) they supported the Khmer Rouge. The result is that Thai people are genuinely confused about their own history.

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Abhisit blames UNESCO for the worsening of the tensions between Thailand and Cambodia ... not because of Thai greed?

Abhisit hits back over dispute

Sep 29, 2009
AFP

BANGKOK - PRIME Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva hit out at his Cambodian counterpart on Tuesday for saying that Thai trespassers would be shot near a disputed temple on their border.

Cambodian premier Hun Sen said on Monday that he had ordered his troops to shoot anyone from neighbouring Thailand who crossed onto land around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

Mr Hun Sen's comments came a little over a week after Thai protesters rallied near the ancient temple, the site of clashes that have killed seven soldiers since tensions flared last year.

'Whenever he gives interviews to the foreign media he always has this attitude where he wants to make headlines,' Mr Abhisit told reporters of his opposite number.

He said Mr Hun Sen wanted to 'retaliate' for the Thai protests on September 19. But he insisted that Thailand still wanted to find a 'peaceful' solution to the dispute over the temple through a joint border commission set up by the two countries.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around Preah Vihear for decades, but tensions spilled over into violence last July when the temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status. The World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia.

Mr Abhisit said he had raised the issue with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the UN General Assembly in New York last week, saying that UNESCO had worsened tensions between Thailand and Cambodia.

He also sought to reassure protesters who rallied at the temple earlier this month and who accused the government of failing to defend its claims over the disputed 4.6 square kilometres of land around Preah Vihear.

'Thai people have nothing to worry about. We will assert our rights,' Mr Abhisit said.

Soldiers from Cambodia and Thailand continue to patrol the area, with the last gunbattle near the temple area in April leaving three people dead. The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Thai greed knows no bound: "Preah Vihear doesn't belong to us, but at least we have a miniature we can call our own"

The next best thing to being there

Thursday July 24, 2008
Bangkok Post

Preah Vihear temple is closed, but a miniature is on display nearby, writes Wassana Nanuam in Si Sa Ket

Preah Vihear temple is once again on Thai soil and is open to visitors - but unfortunately it's not the real thing.Visitors missing the chance to visit the 900-year-old temple just over the border in Cambodia can instead view a replica at the 23rd unit of paramilitary rangers based in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district. Cambodia decided earlier this month to close the temple due to rising tensions with Thailand over the 4.6-square-kilometre area surrounding the temple.

The area is claimed by both countries.

With no end to the dispute in sight, nobody knows when the temple will be reopened.

The Thai army also does not allow the public to go near the border there.

For tourists hoping to visit the ancient Hindu temple, the best bet for now is to visit the replica at the ranger compound.

Sgt-Maj 1st Class Santisuk Kaensuk acts as a ''tour guide'' for the replica, which was built in 1999, when Col Nirut Ketsiri was the unit commander.

The effects of the Cambodian civil war were still being felt then and the Preah Vihear temple was still closed to the public. The area near the temple had been one of the fiercest battlegrounds between the Cambodian army and the Khmer Rouge.

Col Nirut started the miniature temple with help from his ranger colleagues.

They copied the ancient architecture from photographs taken before the temple sustained damage during the war in Cambodia.

It took them about one year to finish building the miniature, which measures one metre by three metres, Sgt-Maj Santisuk said.

The officer knows all the details of the real Preah Vihear temple by heart. Since 1989, he has guided more than 200 groups there.

He remembers all details and figures about the real ancient temple and the miniature.

''The real temple was built in 1436 with a 72-metre-long staircase with 162 steps,'' said Sgt-Maj Santisuk.

''I don't know when Cambodia will allow visitors to visit the temple again.

''Preah Vihear doesn't belong to us, but at least we have a miniature we can call our own.''

Thailand lost the court battle with Cambodia at the International Court of Justice in 1962. The court ruled that the temple was on Cambodian soil. The current row between the two neighbours erupted after Preah Vihear was listed as a World Heritage site by Unesco earlier this month.

Cambodia let Thailand occupy Khmer ancestors' land for a long time ... leading Thailand to believe that Thailand belong to them: Thai logic

PREAH VIHEAR: Thai villagers along border take up arms

Senate panel visits area near temple

Wednesday July 23, 2008
MONGKOL BANGPRAPA & WASSANA NANUAM
Bangkok Post

"In the past, Thailand had let Cambodia occupy the 4.6 sq km area for a long time leading Cambodia to believe it owned the land" -sic!-

SI SA KET : Residents of several border villages along the border with Cambodia in Si Sa Ket province have begun weapons training for self-defence because of the tense situation over the Preah Vihear temple row. Members of the Senate committee on foreign affairs, led by their deputy chairman M.R. Priyanandana Rangsit, were briefed on the villagers' self-defence training by Si Sa Ket governor Sanee Jittakasem before inspecting the border areas near the Preah Vihear temple ruins yesterday.

Mr Sanee told the committee members that local villagers and their Cambodian neighbours had continued to enjoy good relations since the conflict over the ruins erupted.

However, Thais in the border areas have asked to be trained to use weapons for self-defence.

Last month, Cambodia closed the Preah Vihear ruins following protests by groups of Thais over its listing of the temple as a World Heritage site.

The Si Sa Ket governor said he was seeking talks with his Cambodian counterpart in Preah Vihear province to reopen the checkpoint near the temple.

But Cambodian authorities turned down the gesture, saying any such talks would not be possible until the end of the year.

Mr Sanee insisted three Thai people detained by Cambodian soldiers after crossing into the overlapping zone had not intruded on Cambodian soil as the area they entered belonged to Thailand under a 1962 cabinet resolution.

The Thais, including a Buddhist monk, were later freed

He suggested they file a complaint with local police against the Cambodian troops.

He said there was some misunderstanding that the 4.6 sq km of land was the overlapping zone. Some demarcation posts were missing.

The Senate panel yesterday went to the border area in Kantharalak district and received a briefing from the 23rd Infantry Regiment.

They initially wanted to visit soldiers guarding the overlapping zone, but were allowed to travel only as far as the adjacent Pha Mor E-daeng cliff .

M.R. Priyanandana said a Senate committee should be set up to study the Preah Vihear temple row and the overlapping area.

In the past, Thailand had let Cambodia occupy the 4.6 sq km area for a long time leading Cambodia to believe it owned the land.

Now Thailand had lost 162 stairs at the temple entrance, she said.

Bangkok Senator Rosana Tositrakul said Thai troops must stay in the area to protect the country's sovereignty. Historian Srisak Walliphodom, who accompanied the Senate panel to the area, said Thailand should not send its representative to sit on the seven-nation committee to manage Preah Vihear as proposed by the World Heritage Committee. A role on the panel would put Thailand at a disadvantage.

Second Army commander Lt-Gen Sujit Sithiprapa said his troops would remain in the area until there were talks on demarcating the border.

He insisted Thai troops have not intruded on to Cambodian soil.