Thai Injured in Border Mine Blast

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 April 2009

One Thai soldier was injured Thursday when he stepped on a landmine near a contested area of land on the border of Preah Vihear province, officials said.

The soldier, Chalong Mody, was injured near Veal Entry, or Eagle Field, Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told VOA Khmer. The field has been the site of several past skirmishes that led to the deaths of at least three Cambodian and one Thai soldier.

“After the Thai soldier stepped on the mine, another group of around 30 soldiers came to rescue him, firing into the air,” Phay Siphan said. “But the Cambodian side did not fire back.”

Cambodian and Thai soldiers are engaged in a protracted border dispute that began in July 2008, near Preah Vihear temple. Late last month, both sides had a tense stand-off, when the Thais reportedly entered Eagle Field and were then encircled by Cambodian soldiers.

Thailand has accused Cambodia of planting new mines along the border in the most recent dispute, but a top military official on Thursday denied this.

“I believe the mine was not newly planted,” Royal Cambodian Armed Forces commander Gen. Pol Saroeun told VOA Khmer by phone Thursday. “It’s just an old mine from the conflict between the Cambodian government and the Khmer Rouge.”

Var Kimhong, chairman of Cambodia’s joint border committee, chastised the Thai side for the incursion.

“The Thai side does not respect the law,” he told VOA Khmer. “We already have a memorandum of understanding, so why does the Thai side never respect Cambodian sovereignty? The Thai side should wait for us to install the border markers to show which is the Thai side and which is the Cambodian side.”

Thursday’s landmine incident comes after a new round of strained relations between the two neighbors.

Earlier this week, the Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong called on his Thai counterpart Kasit Piromya for allegedly calling Prime Minister Hun Sen a “playboy” in remarks to parliament last week.

On Thursday Kasit issued an apology for a “misunderstanding,” claiming that the Thai word “neak leng,” which in Khmer sounds like “playboy,” was in fact a Thai phrase for “lion-hearted,” or “magnanimous.”

Hun Sen wrote back, saying the Cambodians who had elected him prime minister would not feel “satisfied.”

Thai Soldier Hurt In Cambodian Border Mine Blast: Army

Thursday April 2nd, 2009

BANGKOK (AFP)--A Thai soldier lost a leg after stepping on a landmine in a disputed area along the border with Cambodia, where tensions remain high following a deadly clash last year, the military said.

The incident came two days after Cambodian premier Hun Sen warned Thailand that it would face fighting if its troops crossed their disputed frontier, and a week after an alleged trespass by about 100 soldiers.

"One Thai soldier was wounded after he stepped on a mine while patrolling this morning in the disputed area. He lost his left leg and is being treated in hospital," deputy Thai army spokesman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong said.

"The situation there so far is normal."

Cambodian troops said they were on "high alert" after the incident.

The incident happened when a group of Thai soldiers crossed into a contested zone near an ancient temple close to the site of last year's gunbattle, they added.

"Thai troops entered about 50 meters into our territory and one of them stepped on a landmine. They then fired shots into the air," Yeim Kheang, a Cambodian soldier posted at the border, told AFP by telephone.

"This makes us on high alert and ready to fight," he said.

"The situation is okay now, but if they enter just one or two meters into our land again, we will open fire. We already got the order from the top," he added.

Tensions over the long-disputed territory flared in July last year after the 11th century Preah Vihear temple was granted United Nations world heritage status. Soldiers clashed in the area in October, leaving four troops dead.

Subsequent talks between Cambodia and Thailand have not resolved the dispute.

Hun Sen said on Tuesday that Cambodian forces had been ordered to "fight" if Thai troops again crossed the border. Thailand denies that its troops went over the frontier last week.

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.

Preah Vihear claims one more Thai soldier's leg

Thailand: Soldier Loses Limb In Land Mine Blast

2009-04-02
AP

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: Thai and Cambodian military officials said a Thai soldier lost his leg after stepping on a land mine Thursday (2 April) but disagreed over which country he was in at the time, the latest flare-up in a tense border dispute.

The soldier was injured near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, which is on a cliff along the countries' ill-defined border and has been a source of conflict for decades.

Troops from both countries have been stationed at the border since July 2008, and two clashes near the temple last year sparked brief concerns of war.

According to Phnom Penh, the mine exploded after a group of Thai soldiers crossed into Cambodian territory. The blast prompted the soldiers to fire shots into the air and put Cambodian troops on alert, said Yim Kheang, a Cambodian soldier at the border.

"We have received an order from the commander that if Thai soldiers enter Cambodian territory (again), we have the right to open fire," he told The Associated Press.

Thai Maj. Gen. Tawatchai Samutsakorn disputed that account.

"The Thai troops were not in Cambodian territory," he told the AP, saying the wounded soldier was a 46-year old paramilitary trooper on a patrol near the border in Thailand's northeastern Sisaket province.

Stretches of the Thai-Cambodian border remain strewn with land mines from Cambodia's civil war in the 1970s.

Last week Cambodia accused some 100 Thai soldiers of entering Cambodia at the same location, and at one point said the two sides were getting ready to fight. Thailand insisted all was calm and the border had not been breached.

The two countries share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, much of which has never been clearly demarcated because the countries refer to different maps.

Thai soldier stepping on landmine in Preah Vihear did not die

Paramilitary ranger Wilai Arom, who lost his right leg when he stepped on a landmine, waits for an artificial limb at Phramongkutklao Hospital.

The Real Victim At Preah Vihear

Soldier waits to have artificial leg fitted after stepping on landmine at border

Sunday July 20, 2008
Story by APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Bangkok Post

Every night on Ratchadamnoen avenue the leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stand on their stage and demand the return of Preah Vihear temple to Thailand from Cambodia.

Near the border in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district, members of the Dharmayatra group have been staging their own protests and have been pushing for the eviction of Cambodian people living in the disputed area.

Both groups are targeting Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his cabinet members, who, according to the groups, must be ousted for mishandling the issue.

But the real victim of the dispute is soldier Wilai Arom.

The paramilitary ranger from unit 2301 is in Phramongkutklao Hospital waiting to have an artificial leg fitted.

He stepped on a landmine on Tuesday while on duty guarding the border at Phu Makheu, near the temple. He was rushed by helicopter to the hospital at the Sapasitprasong military camp in Warin Chamrap district in Ubon Ratchathani. The blast from the landmine was so strong his right leg was blown off.

The landmine blast caught the public's attention, but his case is gradually being forgotten as people return to day-to-day developments in the military stand-off between the two countries and attempts by both governments to ease tensions.

Despite his unfortunate accident, Mr Wilai is in good spirits.

While Thailand and Cambodia are rushing more troops to the area, he said he hopes there is a way to end the conflict quickly due to the close ties between people from the two countries and between their soldiers.

''Thai and Cambodian soldiers have very good relations because of the language. We speak Khmer and the language destroys all barriers,'' he said.

''We share food and cigarettes and play sports together. Many Cambodian soldiers used to come to shop at the Pha Mor E-Daeng market,'' he recalled of the days before relations became strained.

He is confident nothing can change the good relationships at local level and said all Cambodians and Thais living in the area were looking forward to the same thing.

''Local people in Cambodia and Thailand would like to see the situation return to normal as soon as possible. They want to get on with their lives and get back to normal,'' he said.

''I hope the leaders of the two countries urgently discuss the issue and come up with the best solution,'' he added.

The 48-year-old from Si Sa Ket has spent more than 20 years in the armed forces and his first mission was at Chong Bok pass in Ubon Ratchathani's Nam Yuen district.

On his last mission last Tuesday, the Thai-Cambodian border area was tense after three protesters from the Dharmayatra group _ Phra Khampheng, Vicharn Tabsorn and Chanikarn Kengnok _ went into the overlapping zone to stage a peaceful protest and were arrested by Cambodian soldiers. They were later released but decided to stay on and meditate until Friday, when they were joined by other members of their group at the border.

As protests against the government and demands for the return of the temple continue, Mr Wilai warned people not to become the ''victims of circumstance''.

''We are Buddhists so we should follow Lord Buddha's teaching of generosity. We must exercise consciousness to make better judgments during this sensitive situation, which requires strong understanding,'' he said.

The landmine explosion reminded the government of the dangers in the area.

''The incident has caused concern with Thai authorities as more landmines remain in the area, posing a danger to both civilians and military personnel,'' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The army has sent deminers into the area, it added.

Mr Wilai's wife Nittaya, who rushed to see him, along with their two sons and neighbours, at the hospital on Tuesday, said she and her family were not saddened by what happened as he was on duty and protecting the country's sovereignty.

Second Army chief Lt-Gen Sujit Sithiprapa promised Mr Wilai would not be without help as the army would support him and his family.

The PAD on Friday donated 100,000 baht. PAD spokesman Panthep Puapongpan praised Mr Wilai for his determination to protect the country.

Mr Wilai now plans to spend his retirement with his family in Si Sa Ket and will keep the money to help with the education of his daughter, who is studying at Rajabhat University in the northeastern province.