Thailand 'to comply' with ICJ ruling on Preah Vihear (sic!)

July 9, 2011
The Nation

Thailand is willing to comply with the injunction or any provisional measures on the Preah Vihear case that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers on July 18, foreign minister's secretary Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said yesterday.

"But for the sake of justice, we hope the court rejects Cambodia's request," Chavanond said after meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on the matter.

Kasit will be present with a Thai delegation to hear the verdict at The Hague's Peace Palace, he said.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will also be present, spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday.

Phnom Penh has asked the court to clarify the scope and meaning of the 1962 ruling on Preah Vihear. As it awaits the interpretation, it has also asked the court to set provisional measures forcing Thailand to withdraw its troops, banning them from any military activities in the area or taking any action that could violate Cambodia's rights.

Thailand’s hard stance on UNESCO under scrutiny [-Thailand Foreign Ministry does back the withdrawal]

June 29, 2011
Boris Sullivan
Thailand Business News

Thailand announced its departure from the World Heritage Convention with‬ ‪immediate effect on Saturday, after the World Heritage Committee failed to heed its request seeking postponement of the Cambodias unilaterally-proposed Preah‬ Vihear Temple management plan, as Thailand fears that it may threaten national sovereignty.

Thailands Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, leading the Thai‬ delegation at the 35th session of the WHC meeting in Paris, earlier notified Mr Mounir‬ Bouchenaki, director-general of International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and‬ ‪Restoration of Cultural Property, who represents the director-general of United Nations‬ ‪Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO, that Thailand would leave the World‬ Heritage Convention and would also withdraw from the 21-member World Heritage Committee as the‬ body continues to ignore any negative consequences which may arise from the consideration of the temple management plan which he said overlooks sensitive issues which could adversely affect Thailands sovereignty and territory.‬

However, the withdrawal was not fully backed by the Foreign Ministry, a government source said.

Officials from the Foreign Ministry who attended the meeting together with Suwit in Paris were satisfied with their negotiations with the Cambodian delegation on the draft of the World Heritage Committee’s decision.

UNESCO chief regrets Thailand's decision to quit World Heritage Convention

BANGKOK, June 28 (MCOT online news) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova has sent a letter expressing her regret over Thailand's decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention.

Mr Abhisit, before the weekly cabinet meeting, showed reporters a letter from the UNESCO chief and said briefly that he would address a news conference on Thailand's stance after today's Cabinet meeting.

National Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, as head of the Thai delegation to the World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris, will report the issue to the Cabinet and agencies concerned will study the implication of the UNESCO agency's resolution on Cambodia's management plan for Preah Vihear after Thailand leaves the convention.

Abhisit: Next [Thai] govt to decide on WHC

28/06/2011
Bangkok Post

The next government will decide whether or not Thailand should rejoin the World Heritage Convention, caretaker Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Thailand announced its withdrawal from the WHC on Sunday night.

Mr Abhisit said he had received a letter from Unesco director-general Irina Bokova, who informed him that the World Heritage Convention had not considered Cambodia's proposed management plan for the Preah Vihear temple.

Govt urged to delist World Heritage site [- Thailand shooting itself in the foot]

June 28, 2011
By JANJIRA PONGRAI, PONGPHON SARNSAMAK
THE NATION

Academics yesterday called on the government to delist the country's five Unesco World Heritage Sites, saying the designation was just a meaningless tourism and travel symbol.

"It's a shame for Thailand if the government continues to use the World Heritage sign in front of the sites after its withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention," said Adul Wichiencharoen, a former member of the National World Heritage Committee.

The World Heritage Committee's process of considering the registration of a World Heritage Site is without academic principle, he said.

"The decision to designate a site as world heritage is based on benefits generated from tourism. We did not get any benefit from the designation of World Heritage Site," he said.

Abhisit takes the low road

28/06/2011
Bangkok Post

Editorial

The government's decision to walk away from the World Heritage Convention is troubling on several levels. The group is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, and Unesco has always been an unreliable arm of the UN. But the reason given by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to quit the WHC seems more of a technical problem than an outright threat to the nation. Indeed, Mr Abhisit's initial attempt to explain why Thailand is pulling all support from the convention is confusing and unconvincing.

According to Mr Abhisit, the members of the World Heritage Committee, meeting in Paris, are determined to move ahead on a plan by Cambodia to manage the Preah Vihear temple. A few words in the draft version of the plan are troubling. The Cambodian-written submission says that the temple needs "restoration" and "repair". The prime minister says that these references might be construed to mean that Thailand had damaged Preah Vihear, maybe during the recent and deadly military battles in the southern area of Si Sa Ket. But Mr Abhisit's justification of a walkout over this possibility is as vague as the wording itself.

Thailand has no one to blame but itself [-Thailand was lying through its teeth]

Puangthong: We ‘should have known’

28/06/2011
Bangkok Post

"Even foreign media based in Cambodia also dislike Hun Sen, but they support Cambodia over the issue."

Chulalongkorn University political scientist Puangthong Pawakapan believes the decision to withdraw Thailand from the World Heritage Convention will cast a negative light on the country's image. The academic shares her opinions with AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK on the issue.

What's wrong with Thailand's foreign policy on the world stage?

We have to look at the overall problem. Thai and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over Preah Vihear since Cambodia managed to get the ancient temple listed as a World Heritage Site in 2008. Thailand's opposition has hurt its image. The country is viewed as losing a boxing match, but it and its fans refuse to accept the defeat.

Does a conflict over the 4.6-sq km disputed area (near Preah Vihear temple) not carry enough weight for the WHC to listen to Thailand?

The Abhisit government explained that the listing of the temple and its management plan has allegedly encroached on Thai soil. But the government failed to produce clear evidence showing the alleged encroachment.

Thailand Withdraws From World Heritage Convention Over Temple Dispute

Monday, 27 June 2011
Ron Corben, VOA | Bangkok

“I suspect Cambodia will have to come up with a bit of a delay on their part."

Thailand on Sunday withdrew from the World Heritage Convention as Cambodia prepared to present management plans for a 900-year-old temple to a meeting of the committee in Paris. The Thai government says its withdrawal is meant to protect the country's sovereignty; analysts say it further delays implementing a management plan for the historical site.

Thailand’s withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention and the World Heritage Committee came during a Paris meeting after an agreement was reached to place a proposed management plan for the site on the meeting’s agenda.

Thailand has disputed moves by Cambodia to present a management plan for the 900-year-old disputed temple on the Cambodia-Thailand border.

Thailand army accuses Cambodia of reinforcing troops at Surin border

Cambodia reinforces troops at Surin border: Army

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, June 27 (MCOT online news) - Cambodia has reinforced its troops at the border of Surin province following Thailand’s exit from the UN world heritage site body, but the Thai army is on high alert to protect sovereignty, Thailand’s army region 2 spokesman said on Monday.

Col Prawit Hookaew described the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border after Thailand withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention over the weekend as the agency’s secretariat decided to push ahead with consideration of Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple despite the unresolved border dispute.

The spokesman said that the withdrawal will benefit Thailand and any resolution made by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) will not be binding on the kingdom.

Prayuth geared to go to war with Cambodia over Thailand's loss at the WHC?

Army geared up on border

27/06/2011
Bangkok Post

National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha praised Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti's decison to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention and said he has ordered soldiers along the Thai-Cambodian border to be prepared.

Gen Prayuth said on Monday the army is overseeing security, monitoring intelligence activities and observing movements along the border in order to protect the country's sovereignty.

More troops and health personnel had been sent to villages near the border area to inform residents about the situation and avet any panic.

Thai FM holds urgent meeting to ponder next move [-Thailand didn't have a backup plan?]

June 27, 2011
Xinhua

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Sunday called an urgent meeting to consider the next move after Thailand withdrew from the World Heritage Convention in protest against the World Heritage Committee's decision to consider Cambodia's management plan of the Preah Vihear temple.

Representatives from Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Culture and Natural Resources and Environment attended the meeting.

Culture Minister Suwit Khunkitti, head of the Thai delegation negotiating with the World Heritage Committee in Paris, said on Saturday his delegation had informed the WHC that Thailand resigned as a member country to the convention.

UNESCO Director-General regrets the announcement of Thailand's intention to denounce the 1972 World Heritage Convention

Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/772

The Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova has expressed her deep regret following the declaration of the Thai Minister Suwit Khunkitti during the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee being held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 19 to 29 June 2011, on the intention of Thailand to denounce the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

Irina Bokova reiterated that "The World Heritage Convention of 1972 is not only the foremost international instrument for the preservation and protection of the world’s cultural and natural properties which have Outstanding Universal Value, but also widely recognized as an important and indispensable tool to develop and encourage international cooperation and dialogue”.

Contrary to widely circulated media reports, the World Heritage Committee did not discuss the Management Plan of the Temple of Preah Vihear nor did it request for any reports to be submitted on its state of conservation. Moreover, it needs to be clarified that UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre never pushed for a discussion of the Management Plan by the Committee.

The decision of the World Heritage Committee on the Temple of Preah Vihear World Heritage site in Cambodia only reaffirms the need to ensure the protection and conservation of the property from any damage. It further encourages the two countries to use the 1972 Convention as a tool to support conservation, sustainable development and dialogue.

[Thai] PM backs withdrawal from WHC

Preah Vihear draft has territorial implications

27/06/2011
Bangkok Post

A government source said last night Thailand now would not be able to apply to host next year's WHC meeting.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has defended the decision to withdraw Thailand from Unesco's World Heritage Convention, saying its approval of Cambodia's management plan for Preah Vihear temple would put the country at a disadvantage.

At a press conference yesterday, Mr Abhisit said a draft agreement on the management plan proposed by the convention, which sets the criteria for Unesco's list of the world's most important cultural and natural assets, contained some wording from the Cambodian version of the draft.

He said some sensitive words - "restoration" and "repair" - from the Phnom Penh version of the draft had been interpolated into the draft. Such wording could put Thailand at risk of losing territory, he said, because they could be interpreted as apportioning blame for damage to the temple.

Thailand has found the draft unacceptable, prompting it to withdraw from the WHC, Mr Abhisit said.

UNESCO regrets Thai decision to denounce World Heritage Convention

Source: UN News Centre

26 June 2011 – The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today voiced deep regret after Thailand announced it would denounce the global convention aimed at preserving humankind's most outstanding shared cultural and natural heritage.

A Thai Government minister said yesterday in Paris, where the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is currently meeting, that his country did not support the convention, the latest step in a row involving the Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage List site that was damaged during border clashes earlier this year between Thailand and Cambodia.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a press statement issued today that “the World Heritage Convention of 1972 is not only the foremost international instrument for the preservation and protection of the world's cultural and natural properties which have outstanding universal value, but also widely recognized as an important and indispensable tool to develop and encourage international cooperation and dialogue.”

Ms. Bokova said she hoped that Thailand would “carefully consider its future course of action” regarding the convention and “continue to be an active participant” in the discussion of world heritage issues.

Thailand Withdraws From World Heritage Convention in Temple Dispute With Cambodia

June 26, 2011
VOA News

Thailand has withdrawn from UNESCO's World Heritage convention because of a simmering dispute with Cambodia over a 900-year-old temple in a remote border area between the two countries.

Several military clashes at and near Preah Vihear temple since early February have left more than 20 people dead and displaced thousands of others.

Thailand says its withdrawal stems from what it calls a disappointing decision by the World Heritage governing body to place Cambodia's management plan for the temple on its agenda. Bangkok insists contested border demarcation issues be settled before any management plan is considered.

Repair, restoration? Thailand withdraws from World Heritage Convention

Jun 26, 2011
By Luc Citrinot, eTN

(Bangkok)- The issue around territories surrounding Preah Vihear temple, a magnificent ancient structure from the 11th-12th century, locate just at the demarcation line between Thailand and Cambodia, finally found an abrupt end on Saturday evening in Paris. Both Cambodia and Thailand have been opposed over the temple’s management since the monument has been inscribed into UNESCO world heritage list in 2008. The temple is on Cambodian territory but some of its access and a 4.6 km² parcel of land surrounding the temple’s compound are effectively located in Thailand. Since October 2008, regular clashes occurred between Cambodian and Thai military troops, with the most serious fighting taking place in February 2011. Some 28 people died during the conflict earlier this year.

Although a common Cambodian-Thai management would have been the most reasonable solution for the temple, attracting many tourists to the area, national agendas on both sides stirred up nationalist feelings. The approval by the World Heritage Convention secretariat of Cambodia’s management plan prompted Thailand’s reaction. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti announced to Thai media in Paris to withdraw from UNESCO World Heritage Convention. "They did not care about our sovereignty and territory," reported Thai newspapers citing Suwit Khunkitti’s reaction.

PAD supports Suwit's decision [to pull out of WHC]

26/06/2011
Bangkok Post

The People's Alliance for Democracy is full of praise for Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti to have decided to withdraw Thailand from the World Heritage Convention, PAD spokesman Panthep Puapongpan said on Sunday.

He said the decision was in line with the PAD's standpoint and proposal submitted earlier to the government.

After this, it was necessary for Thailand to act more decisively to protect its territorial sovereignty, he said.

Mr Panthep said the PAD would continue with its rally at the Makkhawan Rangsan and Chamai Maruchet bridges until the night of July 1 to follow up the World Heritage Committee's meeting, which is scheduled to end on June 29, and to campaign for electorate to tick the "no vote" box in the July 3 election.

Plodprasop questions Suwit's decision [-Suwit's mistaken gamble?]

26/06/2011
Bangkok Post

Thailand's withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention may require prior approval from parliament as doing so involves territory and national integrity, Pheu Thai Party deputy leader Plodprasop Surasawadee said on Sunday.

Mr Plodprasop was referring to Thailand's withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention after its secretariat to decided to advance Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple for consideration.

Thailand had tried unsuccessfully to push for postponement of the World Heritage Convention's consideration of the management plan for the Preah Vihear temple until the Thai-Cambodian boundary in dispute was clearly defined.

WORLD HERITAGE ROW A STRATEGIC BLUNDER [for THAI SORE LOSERS]: Bangkok Post

26/06/2011
Bangkok Post

Editorial

The announcement on Friday from Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti that Thailand might quit its membership of the Unesco World Heritage Convention over a draft agreement on issues regarding the management plan for Preah Vihear temple seems ill-considered to say the least. Aside from the fact that the threat seems childish at a glance, withdrawing from the world heritage body would be harmful to Thailand's national interests. The world heritage stamp brings visitors to the country and it also assures that the sites will be well maintained and guarded against neglect and possible exploitation. There are five official world heritage sites in Thailand and a dozen or more proposed sites.

The timing of the threat and the reasoning behind it are curious. The draft report was prepared by the World Heritage Centre because Thailand and Cambodia could not agree to the wording of reports drawn up separately. Mr Suwit, who is leading the Thai delegation at a meeting of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Paris, said Thailand would quit the convention merely if the report is forwarded for consideration to the WHC. That amounts to acknowledging defeat very early in the game. In explaining his actions Mr Suwit mystifyingly said that words in the draft like ''restoration'' and ''repair'' may be used in the future to refer to repairs of damages in attacks by Thai troops. He wants these words replaced with ''protection'' and ''conservation''.

Cambodia may insist on going ahead with talks

June 26, 2011
The Nation on Sunday

Suwit Khunkitti, head of the Thai delegation negotiating with the World Heritage Committee in Paris on management of Preah Vihear Temple, said yesterday it was highly possible Cambodia would oppose a proposal to defer the committee's meeting to a later date.

Suwit, the natural resources and environment minister, said the committee's meeting on the controversial issue could go ahead as scheduled today if there was no deal in the fifth round of prior talks with all the parties concerned.

Cambodia wants to press ahead with the World Heritage Committee's meeting on the management of 4.6-square-km space around the ancient Hindu temple.