Thais protest against UNESCO temple listing [-The thieves claim they are robbed?]

Hundreds of Thai nationalists led by a leader of the "yellow shirt" movement, Chamlong Srimuang (not pictured), gather outside the UNESCO office in Bangkok July 27, 2010, to voice opposition to Cambodia's plan to administer Preah Vihear Temple, an ancient border temple and a World Heritage Site. Some Thais said the plan would compromise Thailand's claim to land in a disputed border territory with Cambodia. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang
Hundreds of Thai nationalists led by a leader of the "yellow shirt" movement, Chamlong Srimuang (not pictured), gather outside the UNESCO office in Bangkok July 27, 2010, to voice opposition to Cambodia's plan to administer Preah Vihear Temple, an ancient border temple and a World Heritage Site. Some Thais said the plan would compromise Thailand's claim to land in a disputed border territory with Cambodia. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

Tue, 27 Jul 2010
DPA

Bangkok - Protestors in Bangkok Tuesday defied emergency law to campaign against the listing of the Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia as a World Heritage site.

Chamlong Srimuang, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also known as yellow shirts, led some 700 followers to the UNESCO building to protest Cambodia's efforts to secure management control over temple despite an ongoing territorial dispute over land adjacent to the Hindu site.

The Preah Vihear demonstration brought traffic to a standstill on Sukhumvit Road, the main commuter artery between Bangkok's eastern suburbs and the inner city.

The protest was held in defiance of the government's emergency decree. It bans political gatherings of more than five people and allows authorities to make arrests without filing charges. The decree has been in place since anti-government protests in April.

More than 400 members of the red-shirt anti-government protestors, a movement opposed to the yellow shirts, who held protests in Bangkok between March and May, are currently in jail under the decree.

Police were not ordered to arrest Chamlong or his followers in front of the UNESCO building for violating the decree.

"We all know there are double standards in Thailand," said Police Senior Sergeant Kawiwong Yoryingyos, one of 300 officers sent to control the protest. In November 2008, the PAD led yellow-shirted followers to seize Bangkok's Don Muaeng and Suvarnabhumi airports.

Chamlong and other yellow-shirt leaders have yet to be fined or jailed for the incident, which sullied Thailand's reputation as a tourist destination and lost the country billions of dollars in income.

At the annual UNESCO meeting on heritage sites this week in Brazil, Cambodia is expected to win management control over the Preah Vehear temple and adjacent areas, a proposal Thailand is to oppose.

In July 2008, UNESCO named Preah Vehear a World Heritage Site, although Thailand first agreed to and then disputed the listing.

Then-foreign minister Noppodon Pattama, was forced to resign after he endorsed the listing in the face of widespread Thai opposition.

The 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, perched on a mountain range on the Thai-Cambodian border, has been the source of a sovereignty dispute between the two countries for decades.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but failed to pass judgement on land adjacent to the complex, giving rise to ongoing disputes between the two countries that led to border clashes in late 2008.

No love lost over ruins

Thursday June 26, 2008
Bangkok Post

The painful memory of Thailand losing sovereignty over the 10th century Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia as a result of the decision by the International Court of Justice in 1962, should have been buried with the passing years. But thanks to the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, this pain has been revived and is firing up the emotions of quite a few people, especially people of that generation who experienced the national trauma and shame of that great loss. At the centre of the controversy surrounding the ancient Hindu temple is not that the Thai people want to lay claim to the temple. The Thai people, just as every successive government since 1962, still respect the World Court's verdict which awarded the temple to Cambodia - although they are against the decision and reserve the legitimate right to challenge the verdict if new evidence emerges.

The real issue is all about the dubious way the government _ especially the prime minister and Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama - has been handling the Cambodian application for the listing of the stone ruins as a Unesco World Heritage site. Up until the Opposition's exposure in Parliament, the public was virtually kept in the dark about details of the negotiations between the two countries regarding Cambodia's application. Even last week's cabinet resolution pertaining to Thailand's ''active support'' of the Cambodian World Heritage listing bid was not made available to the public. It was later disclosed by Agriculture Minister Somsak Prissananantakul of the Chart Thai party that the prime minister had ordered some changes to the cabinet's resolution to ensure that overlapping areas were excluded from the temple to be listed by Cambodia.

The hush-hush manner in which the government rushed to sign the joint communique pledging Thailand's ''active support'' for the Cambodian bid to have the temple listed, has led to a suspicion that there might be some hidden agenda. Equally disturbing is the question of why the government caved in so easily to Cambodia's insistence that there not be a joint listing of the temple by the two countries. To sum up, the Samak government's handling of this lacks transparency.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva made a valid point during the censure debate on Tuesday that the government's endorsement of Cambodia's unilateral listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site could place Thailand at a disadvantage if, in the future, Phnom Penh contests Thailand's sovereignty over the contentious overlapping areas. He cited as an example the main reason for Thailand's loss in the World Court case over the temple, which was that Thai governments had never contested the French map drawn in 1907 which showed the temple inside Cambodian territory, until the case was raised in court.

The Preah Vihear temple is a sensitive and emotional issue for both countries. Therefore, it must not be over-politicised in a way which will hurt the good relations between the two sides. But as far as Thailand is concerned, the issue cannot be left for the government alone to handle, especially in light of the several unanswered questions. It is advisable that the government reconsider its position vis-a-vis Cambodia, even if it means a loss of face for the prime minister and the foreign minister. After all, national interest should come first.

Or the government can wait for a ruling from the Administrative Court today, in response to a petition seeking an injunction on the cabinet's resolution endorsing Cambodia's listing bid. And risk a crushing setback if the court rules in favour of the petitioners.

Security at Cambodian embassy in [Thai] capital tightened

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

(BangkokPost.com) - About 10 police officers were deployed at the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday, after opposition party grilled the government about Preah Vihear temple.

Police from Metropolitan Police Bureau are there to ensure safety, after Democrat party slammed the government for allegedly giving up Thailand's sovereignty when the cabinet endorsed Cambodia's map of the ancient temple and the joint statement over it.

Tightened security there are expected to remain until the censure debate is over.

So far, the situation in front of the embassy is normal. There are no protesters appearing there since the morning.

Thai PM on the current Thai protest over Preah Vihear: "It tarnishes Thai-Cambodian relations"

PM lashes out at Opposition party leader in censure debate

BANGKOK, June 24 (TNA) - Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej Tuesday expressed his frustration with Opposition Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva who had launched relentless barrages upon him during his two-hour censure debate at Parliament.

The premier said he considered Mr. Abhisit's verbal attacks ''far removed from reason,'' but that he had sufficient patience.

Addressing the House of Representatives, Mr. Samak said he had not anticipated such unrelenting spates of verbal attacks from the opposition leader, but maintained that he could stand up to the barrage of attacks launched against him during the censure debate.

"I have been insulted by this man in his forties on groundless charges. His claims were too harsh," said the 73-year-old premier.

Mr. Samak commented that it was not quite fair to his coalition government and to himself to come under stern criticism because he had just run the country for a four-months time so far. The Democrat Party should have shown more patience by allowing the government to perform instead of initiating a censure debate at this time.

Meanwhile, the premier cautioned that the Democrats' criticisms regarding the government's handling of the Preah Vihear controversy might affect the state relations between Thailand and Cambodia.

"I don't know why some people are blowing the case of Preah Vihear entirely out of proportion," Mr. Samak said. "It tarnishes Thai-Cambodian relations."

Mr. Samak said Thailand had lost the world-renowned ancient temple complex to Cambodia under a World Court ruling in 1962 and had peacefully co-existed for 45 years until the Democrats dug up the controversy lately.

Thailand had clearly insisted that Cambodia, which planned to register Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage with United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) next month, must not annex any piece of disputed land around Preah Vihear as part of the temple.

The resurrected international issue needed to be handled with the utmost care, and bilateral relationships between Thailand and Cambodia are to remain intact, the premier said.

Mr. Samak said that some Thai nationals currently living in Cambodia were so worried about the matter that they asked him whether or not it might lead to the evacuation of all Thais from the neighbouring country.

In other areas, the opposition lawmakers will question the other ministers regarding mismanagement and inefficiency.

The two-day debate will end with a no-confidence vote on Thursday.

Protests Shutter Preah Vihear Temple

Thai protesters holding banners and shouting (Photo: Thailand news media)

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 June 2008

As Thai protesters arrived on the northern border, Cambodian authorities on Monday closed the gates to Preah Vihear temple, whose application for Unesco World Heritage protection has brought border anxieties between the neighbors to the fore.

Thai opposition politicians and activists accuse Thailand's foreign minister of hastily allowing the Cambodians to forward the application to Unesco, and over the weekend a group of protesters were outside the temple, requesting permission to enter.

Cambodia then closed the temple to all visitors, pending further notification.

The temple will be reopened when "the situation becomes good and no one is causing any more problems," said Var Kimhong, chairman of the government's border committee.

Thais petition UNESCO; court to hear temple dispute complaint

BANGKOK, June 24 (TNA) - Thailand's Central Administrative Court has set a hearing on Thursday to determine whether or not to issue an injunction as requested by a group of politicians and activists over the nullification of a cabinet decision concerning the disputed Preah Vihear temple, while another group led by senators petitioned the United Nations agency seeking postponement of the temple registration as a World Heritage site.

Thailand's cabinet on June 17 endorsed a new map -- as yet unseen by the Thai public -- of Preah Vihear that paves the way for neighbouring Cambodia to apply for the disputed temple to be listed as a World Heritage Site.

Cambodia will present the map as a key document to experts of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at a meeting in Canada next month.

A group of Thai politicians and activists represented by Sen. Kamnoon Sitthisaman and Suriyasai Katasila, coordinator of the People's Alliance for Democracy, petitioned the court on Tuesday asking it to nullify the June 17 cabinet decision and to invalidate the signing by Thai foreign minister Noppadon Pattama of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Communique of June 18.

Suwat Apaipak, a Thai lawyer, explained that the group petitioned the court for fear that Thailand might lose territory as a result of endorsement of the joint communique.

Recognising Cambodia's right to seek World Heritage site status for Phra Vihear is tantamount to affecting Thailand's border, according to Mr. Suwat.

Critics say the Samak administration bypassed Parliament when his government endorsed the joint communique, arguing that Thailand and Cambodia should apply jointly for World Heritage status for the site.

The foreign minister and the cabinet must testify Thursday, according to the court statement.

Meanwhile, about 300 senators, academics and national artists Tuesday petitioned the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to postpone its consideration of the Preah Vihear temple site.

Sen. Priyanandana Rangsit, deputy chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, presented a petition signed by 300 senators, academic and civil society representatives to UNESCO asking the UN agency to postpone its consideration of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site, arguing the plan should be proposed by both Thailand and Cambodia because the temple is a transboundary asset.

A 4.6 square kilometre area adjacent to the temple is in an overlapping zone where Thai and Khmer ownership has yet to be demarcated.

Dr. Sheldon Sheffer, Director of UNESCO Bangkok, Asia said he would forward the petition to the World Heritage Committee.

Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, commented that the process to select world heritage sites normally takes between three and ten years. Regarding the Preah Vihear case, the Cambodian government proposed the temple to the World Heritage site last year and the World Heritage Committee will meet between July 2-12 to discuss the issue.

Cambodia closes border access to controversial Hindu temple

Thai protesters standing in front of the gate to Preah Vihear (Photo: Thailand news media)

Jun 24, 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Border access to Preah Vihear temple has been closed indefinitely after the potential World Heritage Site was turned in to a political football in neighbouring Thailand, Cambodian authorities said Tuesday.

Cambodian authorities decided to close a Thai-Cambodian border crossing to the ancient Hindu temple on Monday after a rally of about 100 Thai protestors gathered at the site, said Preah Vihear Authority Director General Hang Soth.

'This is Thailand's problem, because those protestors were an anti-Thai government group,' Hang Soth said in a telephone interview. But he admitted that the issue was a sensitive one on both sides of the border.

'The border was closed because both governments don't want an explosion between our two peoples,' said Hang Soth.

Preah Vihear, a centuries-old Hindu temple perched on a 525-metre high cliff that defines the Thai-Cambodian border, has been a bone of contention for the two neighbouring countries for decades.

The temple, which may be designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO next month, prompted an ownership spat between Cambodia and Thailand that led to a suspension of diplomatic relations in 1958 and eventually ended up in The Hague for an international settlement in 1962. The court ruled in Cambodia's favour, but the loss of the temple remains a national wound for many Thais.

Preah Vihear became a contentious issue for the current Thai government after it approved a Cambodian proposal to submit the temple as a possible heritage site with UNESCO next month.

Last year Thailand opposed the temple's UNESCO listing on the grounds that the Cambodian map of the site included some disputed territories. Cambodia redrew the map last month, and the Thai cabinet approved the revised siting.

Thailand's opposition Democrat Party, which launched a no-confidence motion against the Thai cabinet on Tuesday, has criticized Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej for throwing the government's approval to the heritage listing without seeking parliament's approval.

Opposition politicians have accused the government of pushing the proposal through to win Cambodian business benefits for former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in September 2006 and has been banned from politics for five years.

Thaksin is seen as the behind-the-scenes backer of Samak and the People Power Party (PPP) which leads the current cabinet.

The Thai protestors dispersed peacefully at around 5:30 pm without intervention from border police on either side, according to witnesses.

The deputy governor of Preah Vihear province, Long Sovann, said the governor had closed the border after receiving orders from the Cambodian government but declined further comment.

Neither the governor nor government spokesman Khieu Kanharith were available for comment Tuesday.

The Khmer-language Koh Santepheap daily featured a front-page picture of the protestors Tuesday, showing them hoisting a yellow flag and a Thai national flag on Thai soil just 20 meters short of the border during the rally.

Some of the protestors also wore yellow shirts, a colour that has been adopted by the anti-Thaksin movement.

Like Koh Santepheap, the other two mass circulation Khmer-language dailies Rasmei Kampuchea and Kampuchea Thmey made it clear that Thai Prime Minister Samak had not approved of the protest.

Kampuchea Thmey blamed the rally on Thailand's People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), an anti-Thaksin coalition.

All three newspapers played down the incident and said that the issue of the border temple was not disputed by either the Cambodian or Thai governments.

Photos from Preah Vihear border

Thai protesters standing in front of the gate to Preah Vihear (Photo: Thailand news media)
Thai protesters holding banners and shouting (Photo: Thailand news media)
Cambodian temporary shelters in Prasat village (Photo: Vantha, Koh Santepheap news)

Cambodia shuts Thai border crossing to disputed temple

Thai tourists visit the Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodia has closed its border with Thailand at the disputed Preah Vihear temple after a group of Thai protesters rallied near the ruins, an official said Tuesday.

Senior Minister Var Kimhong, chairman of the Cambodian government's border committee, told AFP the border crossing was closed on Sunday evening when a group of Thai protesters rallied near the checkpoint.

"The reason is Thai protesters demonstrated near the gate to the temple and authorities feared that something could happen to visitors to Preah Vihear temple," Kimhong said, adding he did not know when the crossing would reopen.

The protesters rallied against a decision last week by Thailand's cabinet to give Cambodia the green light to apply for the Preah Vihear temple to be listed as a World Heritage Site.

The deal has sparked claims that Thailand would lose territory to Cambodia around the small but emotive site.

Cambodia's attempt last year to have the ancient Hindu site, perched on a mountaintop on the Thai-Cambodia border, listed by the UN's cultural body UNESCO failed, with rumours that Thailand had blocked the deal.

Cambodia began seeking World Heritage status for Preah Vihear nearly six years ago, but the temple has long plagued Thai-Cambodian relations.

Both countries have historically laid claim to the site, which sits on Cambodian soil but can only be easily accessed from Thailand.

Former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk took Thailand to the World Court in 1962 over the two countries' claim to Preah Vihear. The court ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia.

A spat in 2003 over Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple -- the most significant symbol of the country's ancient Khmer empire -- sparked a night of riots that saw Thailand's embassy and several Thai-owned businesses burned and looted.

46 years later, Thailand still claims that Preah Vihear is located in Thailand's Sisaket province

Protests over cabinet endorsement of cambodian temple site

June 18, 2008
The Nation (Thailand)

Residents of Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district where the Preah Vihear Hindu temple is located and street protesters in Bangkok yesterday decried the Cabinet's acceptance of Cambodia's new map of the temple for its World Heritage site application.

"We disagree with the government's endorsement. As long as the Cambodian community is not removed from the overlapping area, the government should not cooperate with the country on the matter," said Sanong Huaychan, chairman of Kantharalak community. Thailand and Cambodia have been in dispute since last year when Bangkok opposed an idea to list the temple as a World Heritage site with the annexation of 4.6 square kilometres of overlapping area claimed by both sides.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia but the ruling did not make the boundary clear.

The dispute was settled as Cambodia's new map did not include the undemarcated area, the Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said.

Navy commander Admiral Sathiraphan Keyanont said the military and the National Security Council were satisfied with the new drawing of the map.

"It's good, there's no problem with it. Cambodia claimed nothing beyond their right. Only the temple will be proposed as a World Heritage site," he said.

However, the presence of the Cambodian community in the overlapping area is another matter which happened years before this government, Noppadon said.

"The ministry has protested over the construction of a community in the overlapping area three or four times before I took office, but the people in Si Sa Ket don't need to worry as I will carry on the matter after the issue of the World Heritage site is settled," Noppadon told reporters.

The opposition Democrat Party distrusted the government and will submit a censure motion against Noppadon, who said he was ready to defend his position.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will today march to the Foreign Ministry to demand the minister clarify the agreement with Cambodia and show the new map.

They believed Noppadon made the deal with Phnom Penh in favour of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's business interests.