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Thailand Continues Claims on Disputed Border

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 February 2010

Sean Pengse, a Cambodian border expert living in France, said the International Court in fact used the 1904-1908 map when deciding on Preah Vihear temple, thereby legitimizing Cambodia’s claims to the area.

While Bangkok continues to insist that a 4.6 kilometer stretch of land near Preah Vihear temple belongs to Thailand, Cambodian officials and border experts say the issue should be put to rest.

Phnom Penh claims the stretch of land, west of the 11th-Century temple, rightfully belongs to Cambodia, according to surveys and maps made in 1904 and 1908, when the country was under French protection. Thailand maintains that its own mapping of the area puts the strip of land under its possession.

The impasse over the area has stirred nationalistic sentiment on both sides, which have sent thousands of heavily armed troops to adjacent positions, leading to several skirmishes over the past 19 months and the deaths of at least eight soldiers.

Neither side has been able to diffuse the situation, while rhetoric between prime ministers Abhisit Vijjajiva of Thailand and Hun Sen of Cambodia has escalated in recent days, culminating in Hun Sen calling Abhisit “stupid” and “crazy” on Monday.

The Thai News Agency this week quoted Abhisit saying the Thai government will not give up the contested strip of land.

The news agency also reported that Thailand would petition Unesco to review a map submitted by Cambodia in 2008, when Preah Vihear temple was award World Heritage status under Cambodian ownership.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told VOA Khmer Tuesday such claims showed a misunderstanding of the law by Thai officials.

“Unesco does not have any jurisdiction to make a judgment over land at all,” he said.

Cambodian officials have said Thailand lobbied Unesco using its own map. Thailand may petition again, officials said, because representatives of the UN body, which protects cultural heritage, have changed.

Cambodia’s map was recognized by the International Court of Justice in 1962, when it ruled that Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia, Phay Siphan said.

However, Thai spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Tuesday that the 1962 decision did not include the 4.6 kilometers of land now claimed by both sides.

Sean Pengse, a Cambodian border expert living in France, said the International Court in fact used the 1904-1908 map when deciding on Preah Vihear temple, thereby legitimizing Cambodia’s claims to the area.

The Thai authorities “can do whatever, but the decision is legitimate and uses this French map,” he told VOA Khmer.

Cambodia failed a chance to resolve the matter when it did not immediately file a complaint with the UN Security Council when Thai troops occupied a pagoda in the disputed area in July 2008, sparking the standoff.

Panitan said Tuesday both sides remained committed to solving the problem bilaterally and asked that other countries not interfere. Thailand was pleased with Hun Sen’s commitment to bilateral talks, he added.

The problem will be solved ahead of a Unesco World Heritage meeting scheduled for later this year, he said.

The committee is scheduled to meet July 25 through Aug. 3 in Brasilia, Brazil. Cambodian officials say they will submit a plan for the conservation of Preah Vihear temple at the meeting.

Thailand could propose Phnom Penh withdraw about 500 Cambodian villagers from the disputed area as a condition for a Thai military withdrawal

Govt protests to envoy

Cambodia sends more troops to temple area

Saturday July 19, 2008
ANUCHA CHAROENPO, WASSANA NANUAM and THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
Bangkok Post

In Si Sa Ket, a Thai intelligence source said about 2,000 Cambodian soldiers with heavy military equipment, including helicopters and personnel carriers, were stationed at Komui village close to the contested area yesterday ... They were elite soldiers sent in to counter the special forces which Thailand planned to send to the area.

Cambodian ambassador to Thailand Ung Sean was summoned to the Foreign Ministry yesterday to hear the government's protest over Cambodia's claim of ownership of the disputed zone near the Preah Vihear temple.

Bangkok's diplomatic manoeuvre came as Phnom Penh sent more troops to the area. The Thai army is likely to counter the move and match forces with Cambodia.

The ministry handed the ambassador a letter from Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, which insisted Thai soldiers were deployed on Thai soil, according to ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat.

On Thursday, the Cambodian prime minister wrote to Mr Samak demanding the withdrawal of Thai troops from Cambodian territory.

Mr Samak's letter said the government was concerned about the increasing border troop build-up by Cambodia, which would lead to a deteriorating situation.

Mr Samak argued that the area the Cambodian leader claimed in his letter was part of Cambodia was actually within Thailand.

"The establishment of the Cambodian community, including construction of a temple, houses and the stationing of Cambodian military personnel in the area is a continued violation of Thailand's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the letter said.

Thailand had protested against the intrusion of Cambodians into the area four times - in 2004, 2005, 2007 and last year, it said.

The two neighbours claim sovereignty over a 4.6-square-kilometre area at the border. Thailand claims it is part of Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket province, while Cambodia claims it is in its province of Preah Vihear.

Eight ambassadors to Thailand from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) were briefed by the ministry. They were handed copies of the letters from Mr Hun Sen and Mr Samak.

Mr Samak repeated Thailand's determination to resolve the problem in the area immediately adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple through peaceful means.

In Si Sa Ket, a Thai intelligence source said about 2,000 Cambodian soldiers with heavy military equipment, including helicopters and personnel carriers, were stationed at Komui village close to the contested area yesterday.

They were elite soldiers sent in to counter the special forces which Thailand planned to send to the area.

A Cambodian convoy of four heavy military trucks with mounted machine guns and two smaller trucks was seen travelling from the capital, Phnom Penh, to the border yesterday, according to Reuters. The soldiers were armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles.

"I am leading these men to reinforce our troops at Preah Vihear," Gen Yim Sanh said.

A Thai army source said Thailand planned to dispatch more soldiers to the disputed area to at least match the Cambodian forces.

Second Army commander Lt-Gen Sujit Sithiprapa vowed to keep Thai troops in the overlapping area until the General Border Committee (GBC) meets on Monday in Aranyaprathet district.

Lt-Gen Sujit denied reports that soldiers from the two countries nearly clashed on Thursday evening.

"I can confirm that Thai and Cambodian soldiers are staying together in the area without any conflicts or clashes," he said.

The GBC is chaired by the defence ministers of the two countries.

Supreme Commander Gen Boonsrang Niempradit will lead the Thai negotiators to meet their Cambodian counterparts led by Defence Minister Teah Banh.

Gen Boonsrang was assigned by Mr Samak, who is also defence minister, to attend the talks.

Army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda, air force leader ACM Chalit Pukpasuk, navy commander Adm Sathiraphan Keyanont, national police chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan and National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general Lt-Gen Surapol Puaenaiyaga met yesterday to assess the situation in Si Sa Ket ahead of the GBC meeting.

Gen Boonsrang indicated Thailand could propose Phnom Penh withdraw about 500 Cambodian villagers from the disputed area as a condition for a Thai military withdrawal.

After tricking Hun Sen not to include the 4.6-sq.km. area as part of PV World Heritage site, Samak now claims this area as Thai territory

That's our territory; Thai PM

July 18, 2008
The Nation

In his reply to Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej insisted Friday that the areas where Thai troops are stationing are in Thai soil.

The area of Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda (known as Preah Vihear) as mentioned in the Cambodian Prime Minister's letter is within the Thai territory, Samak said in his letter.

Hun Sen wrote a letter to Samak Thursday, calling for Thailand to withdraw some 400 troops from 'disputed area' following the military stand off along side with a protest by a group of Thai people over the listing of the Preah Vihear as World Heritage Site.

Invading Thai troops are now inside Preah Vihear temple compound

A Thai army soldier stands inside a Cambodian Buddhist temple near the Preah Vihear temple, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, Wednesday, July 16, 2008. Cambodian officials said more Thai troops crossed into their country's territory Wednesday in the second day of alleged incursions amid tensions over disputed border land near the historic Preah Vihear temple. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian soldiers (L and 2nd R) hold radios as they stand guard over a group of soldiers from Thailand (background and R) in the Preah Vihear temple compound, 245km north of Phnom Penh, July 16, 2008. Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other over a disputed ancient temple. Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier this month, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, told Reuters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodian soldiers are deployed in the Preah Vihaer temple compound, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 16, 2008. Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other over a disputed ancient temple. Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier this month, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, told Reuters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodian Army soldiers walk as they guard near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, Wednesday, July 16, 2008. Cambodian officials said more Thai troops crossed into their country's territory Wednesday in the second day of alleged incursions amid tensions over disputed border land near a historic temple. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Cambodian soldiers are deployed in the Preah Vihaer temple compound, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 16, 2008. Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other over a disputed ancient temple. Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier this month, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, told Reuters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodian soldiers stand guard in Preah Vihear temple compound, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 16, 2008. Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other over a disputed ancient temple. Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier this month, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, told Reuters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A Cambodian soldier (R) takes a photo of Thai soldiers on his cellphone at the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda in the Preah Vihear temple compound near the Cambodian-Thai border, 245km (142 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 16, 2008. Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other over a disputed ancient temple. Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier this month, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, told Reuters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Thai soldiers rest in the Preah Vihear temple compound, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 16, 2008. Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other over a disputed ancient temple. Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier this month, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, told Reuters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A Cambodian man watches a soldier from Thailand (R) in the Preah Vihear temple compound 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 16, 2008. Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other over a disputed ancient temple. Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier this month, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, told Reuters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodia says it will meet Thais on border dispute

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
By SOPHENG CHEANG, Associated Press Writer
AP

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia - Cambodia and Thailand were working Wednesday to avert a clash over a temple site, even as soldiers from both countries faced off in "disputed border territory."

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Thai authorities had offered to meet to resolve the disagreement, a day after his government said about 170 Thai troops had crossed into Cambodia.

It is the latest incident in a long-standing conflict over competing claims to land surrounding the historic Preah Vihear temple. UNESCO declared the temple a World Heritage Site status last week, providing new fodder to the old debate.

The border between the two countries near the temple has never been demarcated.

Khieu Kanharith said a Thai senior official had called Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh to propose a meeting at the highest level to try to resolve the situation. He did not say who the Thai official was or what the terms of the negotiations were, but that the call was made on behalf of Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

Khieu Kanharith said Cambodia would not "use force unless attacked" and would seek the withdrawal of Thai troops at any meeting. "After that, we will talk about border problems," he said.

While Thai officials could not reached to confirm a meeting, Thai army commander Gen. Anupong Paojindasaid told reporters he has ordered the troops to refrain from using force and urged that the two countries resolve the issue peacefully.

"The problem has been there for a long time because there has been no demarcation of the border yet," he told reporters. "There should be talks between the two countries."

Thai officials have publicly denied that their troops crossed the border with Cambodia, saying the soldiers are in Thai territory to protect the country's sovereignty.

However, a senior Thai military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Wednesday that about 200 Thai troops were inside what he called "disputed border territory."

Khieu Kanharith said the number of Thai troops increased to about 200 Wednesday from some 170 on Tuesday night. He said Cambodia has about 380 troops in the area but insisted, "the situation is stable."

In the jungle on Preah Vihear mountain, Thai troops - armed with rifles and combat gears - sat in small groups. A few feet (meters) away, Cambodian troops were pacing back and forth. Some were carrying B-40 rocket launchers.

Cambodian troop reinforcements were also seen on the road Wednesday.

"I have received an order from our commander to back up our forces over there," Ouch Borith, an army captain, told The Associated Press at a village several miles (kilometers) from the Preah Vihear mountain. He did not elaborate on the numbers of soldiers to be deployed.

"We are trying as hard as we can to avoid a situation that could lead to fighting," said Maj. Gen. Sor Thavy, a Cambodian commander in Preah Vihear.

He said he has reached an agreement with a Thai commander there that both sides would not make any troop movement Wednesday night, but the situation was likely to extend into a third day.

Cambodian border guard unit commander Seng Vuthy said some of the 900 residents on the mountain where the temple is located have fled their homes because they consider it safer.

Preah Vihear temple, at the center of the border quarrel, was last week declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Both countries claim 1.8 square miles (4.6 square kilometers) of land around the temple, and Thai anti-government activists have recently revived nationalist sentiment over the issue. The activists and some government officials fear the temple's new status will jeopardize their country's claims to land adjacent to the site.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear and the land it occupies to Cambodia, a decision that still rankles many Thais even though the temple is culturally Cambodian, sharing the Hindu-influenced style of the more famous Angkor complex in northwestern Cambodia.
___
Associated Press writers Sutin Wannabovorn and Ambika Ahuja in Bangkok contributed to this report and Ker Munthit from Phnom Penh.

Thai treachery: Thai General Anupong Paojinda ordered 140 elite soldiers to the border to pressure Cambodia to the bargaining table

07-16-2008
PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AFP)

Thailand has boosted its military forces on disputed land at the Cambodian border, an army official said Wednesday, after two days of simmering tensions over an ancient Hindu temple.

Publicly, officials from both nations have called for talks to peacefully resolve the dispute over a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple that is home to a small Cambodian village.

But Thailand's army chief, General Anupong Paojinda, ordered 140 elite soldiers to the border to pressure Cambodia to the bargaining table, an army official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Thailand is angry that Cambodia has allowed its people to build a village in the disputed area, he said.

"The additional 140 troops will work in a temporary outpost to press Cambodian officials to bring the issue to Township Border Committee, so Thailand can push the Cambodian community out of the overlapping area," the official said.

More than 250 Thai forces and 380 Cambodian soldiers were already stationed around a Buddhist pagoda in the disputed territory, located on the slope of a mountain leading to the ruins of the ancient Khmer temple.

Thailand's air force chief Chalit Pukbhasuk told reporters that an F-16 fighter was conducting surveillance flights over the region.

"Which country does that disputed area belong to?" he said, expressing frustration at the standoff.

"Has Cambodia staged a de facto occupation of the area?"

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said that his country was ready to hold talks, but did not say whether Phnom Penh would discuss border demarcation.

"We are ready to meet, and after that we will decide what to discuss. What we want to discuss is the presence of the two forces," he told AFP.

In Bangkok, Anupong also urged talks.

"There should be negotiations between the two countries. The problem has been unaddressed for a long time because there has been no demarcation of the border yet," he told reporters.

The standoff began after three Thai protesters crossed a Cambodian military barricade to try to reach Preah Vihear. Cambodia arrested them, but returned them to Thailand later in the day.

But following the arrest, dozens of Thai soldiers arrived at the Buddhist pagoda in the village in the disputed zone.

Both sides have slowly increased their troop presence, though no violence has broken out.

One Thai soldier was injured when he stepped on a landmine in the disputed zone, possibly a remnant from the decades of war that once plagued the border.

The incident comes amid heightened political tensions in both countries after the UN cultural agency UNESCO awarded the temple World Heritage status earlier this month.

Cambodia is preparing for general elections on July 27, when Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to extend his decades-long grip on power.

He has portrayed the UN recognition of the ruins as a national triumph, organising huge public celebrations.

In Thailand, critics of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej -- already the target of street protests -- have stoked the temple controversy to fire up nationalist sentiment.

Samak's government had originally signed a deal supporting Cambodia's bid to make the ruins a World Heritage site, but a court overturned the pact, forcing the resignation of foreign minister Noppadon Pattama.

The parliamentary opposition is now mulling impeachment motions against the entire cabinet.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia. The exact border around the ruins remains in dispute, with the main compound lying inside Cambodia but the most accessible entrance at the foot of a mountain in Thailand.

Two nations, one god

The Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia, near the Thai border. Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images

The row over the Preah Vihear temple has been simmering for hundreds of years. World Heritage Status has brought it to the boil
Tuesday July 15, 2008
Tom Fawthrop
guardian.co.uk

Preah Vihear, a stunning temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, is perched on a Cambodian cliff-top straddling the Thai border. It was finally awarded World Heritage status this month, despite fierce protests from ardent Thai nationalists and the parliamentary opposition in Bangkok. Now, according to a Cambodian official, 40 Thai troops have crossed the border and entered the temple complex.

The temple's ornate structures date back to the eleventh century, but the site was occupied two hundred years earlier. Preah Vihear has become an explosive issue in domestic Thai politics. It has also exposed how narrow-minded nationalism can obstruct efforts at world conservation. Indeed, according to the Thai opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, the dispute over the temple's ownership is the "knockout punch" that could bring down the Thai government.

Unesco's World Heritage Committee should be congratulated for their refusal to bow down to frenzied claims that Thai sovereignty is being compromised. Much of the furore has focused on the 4.6 kms of disputed land surrounding the temple, which is claimed by Thailand. But the UN committee judged the Cambodian claim – pending since 2001 and repeatedly delayed by Thai objections - on its merits, and refused to cave in to the barrage of Thai petitions and political pressure. The foreign minister was forced to resign over his inept handling of the issue.

Cambodia and Thailand share much in common - culture, Buddhism and many traditions - but rivalry has led to centuries of distrust and simmering border disputes. Cambodians remember with pride that the temples of Angkor were the foundations of southeast Asia's greatest empire, the Khmer, which took in parts of what are today Laos, Thailand and Vietnam and Burma. Preah Vihear is now added to the legendary Angkor Wat at the heart of this Khmer civilisation.

The death blow to 400 years of Khmer rule was dealt by an invasion from Siam in 1431. Since the decline and fall of the great empire of Angkor during the 14th and 15th centuries, Cambodia has suffered a series of invasions and loss of temples and territory. The only victory achieved by the Khmer people during this long period of humiliation and retreat was won not on the battlefield but in the courts. In 1962, the International Court of Justice in The Hague made a landmark ruling that Preah Vihear – then under Thai military occupation - was a Khmer temple and part of Cambodia's heritage. The Thai dictatorship reluctantly complied with the judgment, removing Thai soldiers from the temple, while the ownership of the surrounding 4.6 kilometres was left unresolved.

During the last 46 years Thailand has shown little interest in helping to preserve the temple. Khmer Rouge forces seized it in 1993 under the noses of a Thai military base stationed nearby. Pol Pot's soldiers were not there to engage in archaeological pursuits, but to deny the Phnom Penh government control over a sacred and symbolic site as part of an insurgency backed by the Thai military. This policy of complicity with the Pol Pot forces led to further Khmer disgust with their more powerful neighbour.

The centuries of accumulated grievances felt by ordinary Cambodians erupted in 2001 when they burnt down the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. Even today, most Thais still have little or no idea why their embassy burnt down, much less why Cambodians feel that Thailand has engaged in cultural chauvinism. According to several Thai historians, Thai schools teach a very partisan version of events in which Cambodia's vast contributions to Thai culture and society are scarcely mentioned, much less acknowledged. Historian and author Professor Thongchai Winichakul recently said he believed the Preah Vihear World Heritage issue "has gone beyond technicalities. It is abused to arouse delusion that the temple belongs to Thailand and a desire to revive the claim. The purpose is to generate hatred in Thai politics."

Ultimately, World Heritage sites like Preah Vihear are supposed to transcend national squabbles and boost conservation efforts in both Thailand and Cambodia. But despite Thailand's rapid economic progress, this centuries-old vendetta drags on.

1st [Thai] army chief: No tension along Thai-Cambodian border

1st Thai-Cambodian border calm, army reports

Wednesday, July 2, 2008
TNA

First Army Region Commander Lt-Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha on Wednesday indicated that the controversial issue of the attempted registration of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site had not caused any tension on the shared border of Thailand and Cambodia.

He said the First Army Region oversees the common border and overlapping areas.

Officers from Gen Prayuth's region are in continued close contact with both Cambodian and Thai military units along the border. He said that the temple issue had not caused any border tension.

Residents on both sides of the border continued trading with each other as usual, he said, and were not paying much attention to the matter.

Gen Prayuth said the temple registration practically involved tourism, but the matter has become politicised and has caused some confusion. The Thai commander advised everyone to consider carefully what is right or wrong.

"We want our citizens to pay attention to the situation. Military personnel and civil servants assigned in the area will do their best to deal with the issue," he said. "We have shared affection for our country."

Gen. Prayuth said he had always instructed his subordinates to perform their duties to the utmost of their ability, particularly in protecting the borders and keeping the peace.

"In particular, a key mission of the military is to protect and maintain our land. We think there will be a good resolution of the situation," he said.

Thailand pray for UNESCO to delay Cambodia's application to list Preah Vihear Temple

Defer decision on temple bid

Wednesday July 02, 2008
Bangkok Post

It is hoped the Unesco World Heritage Committee (WHC) will see the wisdom in delaying any decision on Cambodia's application to list the temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site at the organisation's meeting this week in Quebec. In light of the ongoing dispute over the Thai Foreign Ministry's decision to sign a joint communique which basically endorsed Cambodia's unilateral proposal for the inscription, the WHC's course seems clear enough.

Article 3 of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in 1972, states: ''It is for each State Party to this Convention to identify and delineate the different properties [of either cultural or natural heritage] situated on its territory.'' This will be a difficult requirement for Cambodia to meet to the satisfaction of Thailand, which is also a party to the convention, since at the core of the issue is a longstanding dispute over the validity of the maps used by the World Court in 1962 to award the temple to Cambodia.

The WHC should weigh the possible consequences of approving the unilateral application from Cambodia. The issue has inflamed nationalistic sentiment in both countries but particularly in Thailand. If the application is awarded to Cambodia now, it is hard to imagine that tensions would not escalate at home and between the two countries. Villagers in Si Sa Ket province near the ancient Hindu temple continue to protest vigorously against its listing. Supreme Commander Gen Boonsrang Niempradit has ordered the Suranaree military task force which oversees the Thai-Cambodian border, to keep a close watch on the protests. On Monday, Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva submitted a letter to the Unesco office in Bangkok opposing the joint communique signed by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and approved by a cabinet resolution.

The move was concurrent with an urgent request by a group of senators to the Constitution Court to determine whether the joint communique on Preah Vihear violates the constitution. Last Saturday, the Administrative Court handed down a temporary injunction against the cabinet resolution.

Most people who have been following the story might well conclude that the time for Thailand to mount a vigorous defence of its claim to Preah Vihear and surrounding vicinity was back in 1962, when the country was under the dictatorship of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat. In this case a picture is worth more than a thousand words, however, and clearly shows why this issue will not go away. The demarcation line is a little curious to say the least. The temple sits in a corner of a level promontory of the Dangrek mountain range; the rest of the promontory is indisputably in Thailand.

As was pointed out in an article in yesterday's Post written by Jurgen Brauer, a visiting professor at Chulalongkorn University, ''many countries in the world have found that tensions over borders can sometimes be lessened by deliberate attempts to create 'fuzzy borders','' with regard to small areas of land. In other words, to establish territories that straddle political borders, commonly known as peace parks.

This would allow for the joint application by Thailand and Cambodia to the World Heritage Committee. Such a proposal would of course have to wait for a future meeting of the WHC, but the advantage is that a Preah Vihear World Heritage Site would then go a long way towards strengthening ties between the two countries, rather than threatening the peace as is the case now.

Temple row may cause rift between countries; Cambodia issues Preah Vihear warning

Are you still here?
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, right, greets Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej at the Parliament House canteen yesterday after the censure debate drew to a close. All seven cabinet members and Mr Samak survived the motion. — Pattanapong Hirunard

Saturday June 28, 2008
Agencies and Bangkok Post

Flaring nationalist sentiment in Thailand over the Preah Vihear temple issue threatens to harm ties between the neighbours, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong warned yesterday.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said the government is ready to reverse its decision to accept a revised border map if Thai people disagree.

The two countries have reached a deal, setting the map around the Preah Vihear temple, so Cambodia can apply to Unesco for a World Heritage listing.

But Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama has come under fire for agreeing to the deal, which became a key issue in the censure debate that ended on Thursday with the seven targetted ministers and Mr Samak winning votes of confidence.

''Politicians in Thailand should not exploit the Preah Vihear temple issue in their domestic struggles,'' Hor Namhong told reporters in Phnom Penh.

''This could damage the cooperation and friendship that exists between the two countries.''

Cambodia this week closed the temple after about 100 Thais, mostly from Si Sa Ket province, marched to the site to protest against the deal, which they say resulted in Thailand losing territory.

But Hor Namhong insisted: ''The drawing of the Preah Vihear map for listing as a World Heritage site does not affect the border at all. Thailand will not lose even one centimetre of land.''

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

He also denied an accusation by the anti-Thai government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that Thailand's backing of Cambodia's World Heritage bid is in return for business concessions for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

''This has nothing to do with that. These people used it as a pretext for their own political exploitation,'' the Cambodian foreign minister said.

Mr Samak appeared to have softened his stance on the issue following the censure debate.

He said the contents of the joint communique between Thailand and Cambodia could be reviewed if the Thai public disagreed with it.

In a bid to ease pressure over the temple issue, the Thai Foreign Ministry will issue a 61-page white paper, available at www.mfa.go.th, to clarify Thailand's role.

Krit Kraichitti, director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department, Anuson Chinvanno, director-general of the East Asia Affairs Department, and ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat yesterday held a press briefing.

They insisted the signing of the joint communique did not obligate Thailand and did not violate the constitution.

The Foreign Ministry also promised to do its best to protect the country's sovereignty and bilateral relations.

According to Mr Tharit, security was being stepped up at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, but the situation there otherwise remained normal.

A researcher yesterday submitted a petition to the Prime Minister's Office to oppose Cambodia's application.

The petition, signed by 33,000 people, was lodged by historian M.L. Walwipa Charoonroj, of Thammasat University's Thai Studies Institute.

M.L. Walwipa said the signatories objected to Phnom Penh's bid to list the ruins and rejected any obligations Thailand had made with Cambodia.

She said the objection was raised because border disputes between the two countries were not yet settled.

The petition was accepted by Jul layuth Hiranyawasit, permanent secretary of the PM's Office.

The Administrative Court yesterday finished examining the PAD's petition seeking suspension of the joint communique.

The court is expected to decide whether to accept the petition for a hearing on Monday.

The PAD has asked the court to nullify the cabinet resolution on June 17 to endorse Cambodia's map of the temple, which was feared to be used by Phnom Penh to contest Thailand's sovereignty over the contentious overlapping areas.

In Si Sa Ket, former charter drafter Sawet Tinkul yesterday filed a complaint with police against some 500 Cambodian villagers for alleged illegal entry and encroachment.

The Cambodian villagers were accused of building houses, shops and other structures in Phra Viharn (Preah Vihear) National Park's compound.

Police investigators accepted the complaint for review while noting the matter was sensitive and would be handled carefully.

Thai senators urge UNESCO to defer Preah Vihear listing ... Thailand wants joint nomination AGAIN based on unfounded allegations!

Senators urge Unesco to defer temple talks

Preah Vihear 'should be jointly proposed'

Wednesday June 25, 2008
ANCHALEE KONGRUT APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Bangkok Post

Senators asked the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation yesterday to defer consideration of the listing of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site. They want Unesco to wait for a joint nomination for the ancient temple's listing by Thailand and Cambodia.

Their petition, with the signatures of almost 300 supporters, said such an important and disputed site should not be proposed for listing by Cambodia alone, as it borders both Thailand and Cambodia.

Phnom Penh closed the temple to visitors on Monday amid fears protests in Thailand over its listing would spread. Adjacent structures such as Sra Trao, or the ancient lake, two stupas, and ancient rocks and caves are all in Thailand.

Senator M.R. Priyanandana Rangsit urged Unesco to carefully examine all the information coming out of Cambodia, particularly details of the location of the related structures as they may not all be correct.

''People say that under the present proposal the listing of Preah Vihear may also absorb some Thai territory. But our group is looking beyond the border demarcation issue. We want to propose the best solution,'' said M.R. Priyanandana, deputy chair of the Senate committee on foreign affairs.

Sheldon Shaeffer, director of Unesco for the Asia-Pacific region, said he will send the petition to the organisation's head office in Paris.

Unesco's 21-member World Heritage Committee will begin a 10-day meeting in Quebec on July 2, with Preah Vihear on the agenda. Thailand and Cambodia will not be represented at the meeting.

Unesco adviser Richard Engelhardt said the questions raised by the senators about the integrity of the site were interesting.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is also opposed to the government move backing Cambodia's latest bid to have the temple registered as a World Heritage site. The PAD turned to the Administrative Court for a ruling on the matter yesterday.The court accepted its complaint and will start considering the case tomorrow.

The PAD asked the court to nullify the June 17 cabinet resolution endorsing the new map of the temple boundary and the Thai-Cambodian joint statement allowing Cambodia to propose the registration of Preah Vihear to Unesco.

Key PAD leader Suriyasai Katasila said the movement was not trying to discredit the government. It was only fighting for justice, he said.

Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said before yesterday's cabinet meeting the government was working with Cambodian authorities to reopen the temple as its closure was affecting tourism and cross-border trade.

Saman Sri-ngarm, who led a protest against the listing in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district, which adjoins the temple, reaffirmed his group would not end its rally until Cambodia withdraws its listing application.

Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear Authority, told the Associated Press yesterday that Cambodian authorities will consider reopening the entrance ''when the situation becomes normal and Thai demonstrators stop protesting in front of the temple.

''We decided to shut down the border entrance because we are afraid Thai demonstrators will reach the temple and cause problems for our people who live near the temple.'

In response to Thailand's change of mind, Cambodia should not recognize any Thai claim of portion of Preah Vihear located in the disputed zone

Cabinet agrees to rewrite resolution on Preah Vihear Temple

Tue, June 24, 2008
By Piyanart Srivalo
The Nation (Thailand)

Thai Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to change the wording in its resolution on Preah Vihear Temple they endorsed last week to tone down public criticism, a Cabinet source said.

The government is due today to be grilled by the opposition over their endorsement of Cambodia's bid to list the Preah Vihear Temple as Unesco World Heritage Site. Preah Vihear will be high on the agenda of today's no censure debate.

The source said in the Cabinet will change the wording in the resolution from "map" of the Preah Vihear territory to "diagram."

They also asked the foreign ministry to add into the Thai-Cambodia Joint Communique the exact size of the Preah Vihear Temple to drive in the point that the area proposed to Unesco is not part of the disputed territory.

The government of Samak Sundaravej consistently defended its decision to endorsed Cambodia's new map to Unesco over the temple's territory because it not cover the 4.6 square kilometre overlapping areas with Thailand.

Phnom Penh's former map sparked protest from Thailand as it included the overlapping areas. Therefore it re-submitted the map.

However Samak government's endorsement of the new map drew strong criticism from the public particularly protesters who lay siege the Government House.

The map was made public late last week by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, who claimed to have defended Thailand's sovereignty by preventing Cambodia from including the 4.6 square kilometre in the map to Unesco.

But in spite of revealing of the map, public protest continue amid a growing call for Noppadon's resignation.

Critics said the government should apply jointly with Cambodia because a significant portion of the Preah Vihear is situated on the Thai side of the border.

The proposal to rewrite the resolution was proposed by Agriculture Minister Somsak Prissanananthakul.

Somsak said on Tuesday the Cabinet would rewrite the Cabinet resolution over Preah Vihear to clearly state that the area that Cambodia is listing as a World Heritage site would not cover the overlapping area claimed by both sides.

"We must rewrite it to make it clear to prevent any problems in the future. We ask that the Cabinet resolution be rewritten and we will review it before it is printed,'' Somsak said.

The Hindu temple has been the subject of conflict between Thailand and Cambodia since last year when Bangkok opposed Phnom Penh's application to annex 4.6 square kilometres of overlapping area claimed by both sides. The dispute was settled after Cambodia agreed last month to accept that only the temple belonged to Cambodia.

Si Sa Ket people have been protesting since June 22 accusing the Cabinet of endorsing Cambodian sovereignty over the temple after Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama signed to support Cambodia's proposal to apply for it to become a world heritage site.

Where do you draw the line? [There were no overlapping zones before 1970]

Tuesday June 24, 2008
Bangkok Post

Demarcation of the Thai-Cambodian border remains a sensitive issue, write Piyaporn Wongruang and Thanida Tansubhapol

Although Thailand and Cambodia have worked to demarcate their boundaries for more than 100 years, they still have overlapping areas. For example, the disputed maritime area in the Gulf of Thailand alone covers about 26,000 square kilometres.

The latest problem involves the Preah Vihear temple, on the border between Si Sa Ket province in Thailand and Preah Vihear province in Cambodia.

In Cambodia, the affair has been linked to the country's election next month, as securing World Heritage status for the site could boost the government's popularity with voters.

In Thailand, the issue is being stoked by nationalism stirred up by current political conflicts in Thailand.

The dispute has been taken up by the People's Alliance for Democracy as part of its campaign to remove the government from office.

Attempts to define the border between Thailand and Cambodia began when France, which controlled the Indochina region of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, sought to map the area.

According to a report by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled on the dispute over Preah Vihear in 1962, France and Thailand entered an agreement to determine the border for the first time in 1904.

They decided to use the watershed to define the border and, three years later, the two countries signed a boundary delineation agreement. Finally, a series of 11 maps defining most of the border was completed.

But these efforts have periodically triggered arguments, with Preah Vihear being a major site of contention. According to the same ICJ report, the original map did not conform to the watershed line.

The map had marked Cambodia's boundary behind the promontory where Preah Vihear sits.

The court said the map was acknowledged by Thailand without any veto and was in use for several years before Cambodia eventually took the case to the court. That led to the ICJ ruling in favour of Cambodia on the sovereignty of the temple in 1962.

Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minster Sok An signed a joint statement on June 18 to allow Cambodia to apply for World Heritage status for the temple from Unesco. Given the border dispute, both countries must support a World Heritage bid.

There were reports that Cambodia had attempted to register the temple as a World Heritage site without Thailand's approval in 1991, but a Foreign Ministry source insisted that the first attempt was made in 2006. At that time, the boundary included the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area which had not been demarcated.

Cambodia proposed it to the World Heritage Committee in 2006, but Thailand did not support the bid.

''Thailand categorically rejected it because the Cambodian side had used the old map [drawn in 1904 by France] which claimed the 4.6-square-kilometre area as part of its territory,'' the ministry source said.

Finally, Cambodia drew a new map excluding the area which has not been demarcated and this has been accepted by the Thai government.

But historian M.L. Walwipha Charoonroj, of Thammasat University's Thai Khadi Research Institute, said this agreement will not put an end to the issue.

''Thailand and Cambodia should work together to determine where the boundary line lies. This cannot be done by an administrative agency alone, as any such decision will be made with its nation's interests at heart,'' she said.

A high-level source working on the issue is concerned about the negative impact of the map on the temple.

As the temple is now being proposed separately from its surroundings, this devalues the site in archaeological terms, the source said.

But for the Foreign Ministry, the new map is seen as the best solution, as it covers only the temple, and not the overlapping zone. It means that Thailand does not lose any of its territory, the ministry said.

The demarcation in the new map also conforms to a Thai cabinet resolution in 1962 which ruled the watershed lines are the border line under international law, it added.

Protest to continue "until we get our Khao Phra Viharn back and expel Cambodian villagers who have encroached on the Thai border": Thai protest leader

Temple locked

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Bangkok Post Reporters

Cambodia closed the Preah Vihear ruins on Monday amid worries Thai protests over Phnom Penh's plan to propose the ancient temple for World Heritage listing will spill across the border - after it spilled into parliament and the courts.

The issue was a major point raised during yesterday's general debate by senators who attacked Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his government for supporting the Cambodian move.

Outside the parliament, opponents plan to ask the Administrative Court today to nullify the cabinet's endorsement of Cambodia's map of Preah Vihear and a joint declaration to be presented to Unesco.

Senator Kamnoon Sitthisamarn will lead protestors to petition the court.

M.R. Priyanandana Rangsit, deputy chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, will also hand a protest letter to the office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in Bangkok. The letter signed by 300 elite and socially recognised people calls on the UN agency not to accept the temple as a World Heritage site.

The government on June 17 approved the new map drawn by Cambodia, which defines the temple's boundary to be proposed to the World Heritage Committee during its meeting in Quebec starting on June 2, placing it inside Cambodia.

Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama also signed a joint statement with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, supporting the application, soon after Bangkok agreed to the map.

The closure of the temple came after Cambodian officials held talks to assess the situation.

About 200 Thai protesters gathered near the temple yesterday. Many of them had completed a 110-km walk protesting against Phnom Penh's move. The group began the "Dharma Walk" in Muang Si Sa Ket and arrived in Kantharalak district, which adjoins the temple, on Sunday.

Their demonstration near Preah Vihear added to the worries of Cambodian officials, who in recent weeks have seen growing protests in Thailand against the listing of the temple.

Cambodian officials said the temple, known as Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, will reopen to tourists when the protest rally ends.

Protest leader Saman Sri-ngam warned the protest would continue "until we get our Khao Phra Viharn back and expel Cambodian villagers who have encroached on the Thai border."

They sang the Thai national anthem and a patriotic song Rao Su (We Will Fight) during their rally. Some yelled at Cambodian villagers, demanding they leave the Thai border.

A group of monks, led by Phra Maha Boontueng, also joined the rally. They offered prayers in support of the protesters.

A Thai military source said the army had been informed of the closure of Preah Vihear, but had not contacted Phnom Penh on the issue.

The source said some officers agreed with the protest over the encroachment by Cambodians who built shops and other structures.

"The villagers well know that the area belongs to Thailand, but past governments have done nothing about it," the source said.

In the Senate debate, Phetchaburi Senator Sumol Sutawiriyawat roundly criticised the government over its handling of the Preah Vihear issue, including the failure to jointly propose the listing of the ancient temple as a World Heritage site with Cambodia.

In his defence, Mr Samak insisted Thailand will not lose any territory to Cambodia by approving the Cambodian map and the joint statement.

He stressed the temple is inside Cambodia, as a result of the International Court of Justice's ruling in 1962, and criticised those trying to stir up people to try and reclaim it.

Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda has reacted to the Preah Vihear issue in a short reply to a letter sent to him on Thursday calling on the government and civic groups to help protect Thai territory. It was handed to him by chief adviser to the Supreme Command Gen Pathompong Kesornsuk.

The letter said approval of the new map of Preah Vihear would lead to legal complications when Thailand and Cambodia hold talks on the overlapping areas along their border in the future.

In his reply on June 21 Gen Prem replied the move "is a way to return a favour to the nation".

In 1907 Siam requested France to draw up a border demarcation map, one century later, Thailand renege on its agreement

Get priorities right

THAI RATH noted that a chorus of opinion has criticised the government as being more concerned with solving its own political problems than with stemming the rising cost of living faced by the Thai people

Saturday June 21, 2008
KAMOL HENGKIETISAK
Bangkok Post

As had been expected, the government's performance for the past 4 months has received a thumbs down by eminent economists, especially the Commerce Ministry, which Prof Ammar Siamwalla, TDRI chairman, cited as having no policy on rice as the government flip-flopped constantly. One day it said it would help paddy farmers, the next day it said it would help consumers. One day it said it would sell blue-flag cheap packed rice, another day it said it would stop selling cheap rice, noted a Thai Rath editorial.

Former commerce minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula also criticised the ministry for interfering in the rice market and distorting the pricing mechanism, making the situation worse.

The TDRI chairman said the Samak Sundaravej government had no plan to solve the country's economic problems. However, Dr Ammar praised the Samak administration for not distorting the oil supply mechanism by using the oil fund to subsidise diesel, as was the case during the administration of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawattra.

The Thai Rath writer noted that Prof Ammar's evaluation of the Samak administration was in accord with opinions expressed by the media and the general public that criticised the government as being more concerned with solving its own political problems than with stemming the rising cost of living faced by the Thai people. This attitude was not unlike the Burmese junta, who insisted that Burmese citizens must vote in the referendum to accept the draft constitution even when millions of them were going hungry due to the devastation of Cyclone Nargis early last month.

According to a Ramkhamhaeng poll released on May 25, 2008, about 92.6% of the sampled population wanted the government to urgently tackle economic problems, while a tiny number, just 4.5%, believed that amending the constitution should be the government's priority. Sadly, the government did not pay heed to the poll results, said Thai Rath.

The writer then cited an Abac poll which found 87.8% of sampled people were dissatisfied with politicians' performance, 61.5% expressed concern that amending the constitution would lead to violence, and 38.6% recommended the government reshuffle the cabinet. The problem was, the leading candidate that people wanted ousted was none other than Samak Sundaravej, followed closely by Interior Minister Chalerm Yubamrung.

Thai Rath concluded by saying that since this reshuffle was obviously not going to happen, the alternative is for the government to prioritise its policies, especially on economics, which should be coordinated toward a definite goal, and not carried out haphazardly by various ministries as is the case now.

BMTA bus leasing controversy

Even though Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared that the government had done everything transparently during its 4 months in office, the opposition still insisted on filing a censure motion against certain cabinet ministers, especially Transport Minister Santi Promphat and Deputy Transport Minister Songsak Thongsri, for proposing that the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) lease 6,000 NGV buses from a private firm at a cost of 110 billion baht, to replace old diesel buses, noted a Thai Rath writer.

Some believe that the reported leasing cost is about one million baht per bus over the real cost and that politicians are pocketing the difference.

In fact, the prospect of leasing NGV buses from China once surfaced during the Surayud Chulanont government and generated some news, but the project was shelved. The writer noted that he had written an article cautioning the government at the time that the made-in-China buses would be of lower quality than the Euro II buses now in use by the BMTA.

Now that the leasing plan has come up again, he wanted to insist the bus specifications conform to international standards and the contract opened for general bidding in a transparent manner. It would not do if the government let the BMTA conclude the deal secretly with only one supplier.

In principle, the writer agreed that the government should act to solve the accumulated debt problems shouldered by the BMTA - 69 billion baht and ballooning toward 100 billion baht. Just paying the interest to service the debt is beyond the capability of the BMTA.

The writer noted that one of the main reasons the BMTA continues to amass ever bigger losses each year is that most buses run on diesel, which rises in cost practically every week. The fuel cost represents nearly 60% of the collected fares. But even if the government allowed periodic fare increases, said Thai Rath, the BMTA would still face losses as it is bloated with bureaucracy. At present, there are five staff for every bus, much higher than the ratio for private bus operators.

The plan to reduce personnel is to borrow 3.5 billion baht from the Finance Ministry to pay compensation for dismissed personnel. The BMTA would then return the principal to the ministry at the rate of about 500 million baht a year.

The selling of 3,100 diesel buses was expected to earn one billion baht, to be used as capital to lease 6,000 NGV buses, which will reduce fuel cost by 60%. As mentioned, the opposition Democrats are charging that the leasing fee is excessive. The condition that the government is most unlikely to agree with is for the Finance Ministry to take over the 69 billion baht in accumulated losses from the BMTA, concluded Thai Rath.

Preah Vihear revisited

Recently the Samak Sundaravej administration agreed with the Cambodian government in its application to Unesco to declare Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site. The most contentious point is whether or not a part of the Preah Vihear site is located on Thai soil, noted a Matichon writer.

The reason the Cambodian government needed the Thai government's approval before submitting the application is that this is still very much disputed by some, as it has yet to be settled permanently by clear-cut demarcation line. If the Cambodian government submitted the application without consent from Thailand in July next month during the Unesco meeting in Canada, it is unlikely it would be successful.

The Preah Vihear issue became big news when Lt Gen Pitsanu Pujjakarn, former Defence Ministry spokesman, expressed publicly that the Defence Council was worried that Cambodia would encroach on Thai territory if Preah Vihear was declared a World Heritage Site, because both countries still claim parts of a buffer zone around the area.

Looking back, Preah Vihear is the last territory that Thailand ceded to a foreign country. From 1904 to 1908, France, as Cambodia's protector, concluded a few treaties with Siam. The treaty signed on 13 July 1904 stated that disputed territory shall use a mountain range as the demarcation criteria and that a joint border committee would be appointed to survey the disputed areas.

In 1907 Siam requested France to draw up a border demarcation map. France agreed and submitted one to Siam. The map included Preah Vihear on the Cambodian side. This map was later used by an independent Cambodia to claim sovereignty over the Preah Vihear temple when Cambodia took Thailand to the World Court at the Hague, Netherlands for an arbitration settlement in the early 1960s.

Thailand argued that the French map was not drawn by a joint border committee, and thus could not bind Thailand, and also said the map did not use the mountain range as demarcation criteria.

However the Thai border committee did not express opposition to the map in a timely manner during the committee meeting in Bangkok in 1909, and Thailand's own map by the Mapping Department also indicated clearly that Preah Vihear was in Cambodia's territory. During the reconciliation talk in Washington DC in 1947, Thailand did not raise any objections to the map.

For this reason, the World Court decided that the French map was legitimate and awarded Preah Vihear to Cambodia on June 15, 1962.

Now some wonder if history may be repeating itself with a renewed boundary dispute. When the Samak administration agreed to the Cambodian-drawn map outlining the Preah Vihear area for the Unesco World Heritage Site, some were questioning whether the site encroached on a 4.6 sq.km. area claimed by both countries. The Matichon writer wanted to remind Mr Samak to be careful before signing the agreement, and not allow Cambodia to claim any Thai territory under the pretext of being the protector of a World Heritage Site.

Preah Vihear White Paper to be issued: [Thai] Foreign Ministry moves to silence critics of deal

Saturday June 21, 2008
Bangkok POST REPORTERS

The Foreign Ministry will issue a White Paper to explain its handling of the Preah Vihear temple issue with Cambodia. Virasakdi Futrakul, the permanent secretary for foreign affairs, said the White Paper, which will be in Thai and English, is expected to be issued early next month. It will be distributed to the public once available.

He said the ministry had never changed the negotiating team, which was made up of legal experts in its dealings with Cambodia.

The team leader, Virachai Plasai, was removed as Treaties and Legal Affairs Department chief after Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama assumed office after the general election.

''The negotiating team is still the same team. The deputy negotiator during the Unesco-brokered meeting in France [last month] was Thai ambassador Thana Duangrattana, who was the former chief of Treaties and Legal Affairs. He knows the Preah Vihear temple issues well and the borderline,'' said Mr Virasakdi.

He said the Foreign Ministry was not the only agency involved in the talks with Cambodia. Other security agencies including the Royal Thai Army, the National Security Council (NSC) and the Royal Thai Survey Department also took part in the process.

''We worked like an iron fist in satin gloves. Part of the success must be credited to the military too because it worked in coordination with its Cambodian counterpart,'' said the permanent secretary. He said the government had done its best to protect Thai sovereignty under the framework of existing international laws.

For the 4.6-square-kilometre overlapping zone next to the temple, Mr Virasakdi said it would be demarcated in the future as it has been included in the working plan.

''Cambodia's registration of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site will not affect the borderline under the 1962 cabinet resolution and the overlapping areas will be the responsibility of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission to discuss further,'' he said.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday it will ask the World Heritage Committee to postpone its consideration of the Cambodian request.

Mr Virasakdi said the World Heritage Committee only listened to government representatives and the Senate committee might be wasting its time.

Preeyanantana Rangsit, a senate member, took Mr Noppodon to task in parliament for allegedly trying to rush through the temple deal with Cambodia.

In a query raised during an upper house meeting, M.R. Preeyanantana asked why the minister endorsed the Cambodian proposal in a rush and the ministry did not bargain with Phnom Penh to make Thailand a co-host of the proposal.

The senator said the Foreign Ministry had failed to keep the public informed about Preah Vihear as required under Article 109 of the constitution.

Article 109 requires the government to inform the public about any international agreement it is planning with another country as well as seeking approval from the parliament.

Call to oppose Cambodia may lead to unnecessary rift

June 12, 2008
Comment & analysis
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation (Thailand)

Democrat Party deputy leader Alongkorn Pollabutr appeared to have misled some people and may be sparking unnecessary rifts with Cambodia when he suggested the government should remain opposed to Phnom Penh's move to list the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

If entertained, such a suggestion could mean a revision of an agreement that Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An sealed in Paris last month.

Thailand and Cambodia had locked horns since last year when Bangkok opposed a Cambodian proposal to list the temple as a Unesco (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) World Heritage site as Phnom Penh had annexed 4.6 square kilometres of overlapping area claimed by both sides.

After rounds of negotiation since the previous government, Cambodia finally agreed to propose listing only the temple that is clearly under its sovereignty.

The Cambodian authority had sent a new map of its annexation to Thailand for consideration and Bangkok was expected to find it satisfactory.

The Cabinet will endorse the map soon to enable Cambodia to submit its proposal to be listed as a protected site when the Unesco heritage committee meets in Canada next month.

The opposition Democrats blamed the government for mishandling the case.

Allowing Cambodia to list the temple means giving up Thai sovereignty over the Preah Vihear, they said.

Sompong Sucharitkul, former Thai ambassador to The Hague who said he was close to the case when the conflict was in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), wrote in an article that Thailand had never conceded that the temple belonged to Cambodia despite the court's ruling in 1962.

It was right that the Thai government at the time announced its disagreement to the ICJ's ruling in favour of Cambodia.

But such an announcement contradicted the action since the Cabinet on July 10, 1962, agreed to hand the temple to Cambodia.

Thai authorities then withdrew troops from the temple and removed Thai nationals out of the area.

Sompong's statement that the current government should not change its position and recognise Cambodian sovereignty over Preah Vihear could be somewhat misleading since it had de facto already changed its position and recognised Cambodia's sovereignty 46 years ago.

De jury, the ICJ's ruling in 1962 was deemed the final decision and there was no appeal procedure.

Thailand has the right to ask for a revision only if it finds some new evidence, but such rights lasted only 10 years after the ruling.

The foreign minister at the time was Thanat Khoman and he was also a former Democrat leader.

He reserved the right to refile the case if there is a new international law relating to the case in favour of Thailand. More than four decades on, no such new law had emerged.

The rush to discredit the government by ignoring and tinkering with historical fact to shore up nationalistic sentiment is not healthy for Thailand since such sentiment may lead to negative terms with that country and escalate into what could be a needless conflict. Any misunderstanding with Cambodia should be avoided around this time since Cambodia is to hold a general election next month.

If some Cambodian parties decide to pick on the issue of Preah Vihear to whip up anti-Thai sentiment for their own gains, it could cause a lot of trouble and perhaps strain cordial relations.

Thailand has already learned a valuable lesson that just a false statement over Khmer temples could lead to its embassy being gutted in January 2003.

The fire went beyond the embassy grounds, igniting an anti-Thai rampage that destroyed Thai properties and interests in that country, some of which cannot be compensated by money alone.

Diplomatically speaking, cooperation with Cambodia is certainly more sensible than pushing for a response.

Haleluia! Thailand almighty National Security Council is satisfied with the new border map showing Thailand's encroachment into Cambodia

PREAH VIHEAR TEMPLE: NSC satisfied with new map

Tuesday June 10, 2008
WASSANA NANUAM
Bangkok Post

The National Security Council (NSC) is satisfied with the new version of the border map of the Preah Vihear temple site re-drawn by Cambodia, but says a field survey is still needed to verify all the details.

Experts from the Royal Thai Survey Department will conduct a joint survey with Cambodian officials to make sure the new map does not include the overlapping areas, the source of the long-running dispute between the two countries since the International Court of Justice's ruling that the ancient temple belonged to Cambodia.

The NSC's decision was announced following its meeting yesterday. After the completion of the survey, the matter will be forwarded for cabinet consideration before Thailand replies to Cambodia whether it agrees with the new map, said Tharit Jarungwat, chief of the Department of Information under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The map was re-drawn and handed to Thailand last Thursday following an agreement between the two countries to do so during a Unesco-brokered meeting in Paris late last month.

If Thailand approves it, Cambodia will use the map in applying with Unesco _ the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation _ for registration of the temple as a World Heritage site early next month in Canada.

Supreme Commander Gen Boonsrang Niempradit said in most part the redrawn map by Cambodia was in line with what Thailand wanted, and the disagreements that still remained only involved some minute details.

''The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be handling the remaining problems [the disagreed part] so that relations between the two countries are not affected,'' Gen Boonsang said.

He expects the two countries to soon reach a deal on the issue.

But an agreement on the joint development and management of the area could be signed in future, he said.

Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama earlier said that according to the new map only the temple and 30 metres of its adjacent areas would be put up for listing.

Cambodia's previous proposal to Unesco also included the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre border between Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district and Preah Vihear province for listing.

Noppadon Pattama gloating after Hun Sen gave in to Thailand's demand

Noppadon hails Preah Vihear proposal

June 7, 2008
By Supalak G Khundee
The Nation (Thailand)

Cambodia's new annexe map for a proposal to list the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site does not claim 4.6 square kilometres of overlapping territory, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said yesterday.

Following an agreement between the two countries in Paris last month to list only the temple itself as a heritage site, Phnom Penh on Thursday sent the new map to Bangkok for consideration.

"I have seen the map, which makes clear that Cambodia no longer claims the overlapping downhill area as part of the temple for the World Heritage Site," Noppadon said in a press briefing.

However, the Supreme Command's Royal Thai Survey Department will use satellite imaging to verify the map and location on the ground, he added.

If there is no objection, the National Security Council and the Cabinet will endorse the map and respond to Phnom Penh within a week, enabling Cambodia to send its proposal to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation by the middle of this month. Unesco's World Heritage Committee will make a final decision on the proposal at a meeting in Canada in July.

Even though Cambodia won its claim to Preah Vihear in the International Court of Justice in 1962, its proposal to list the temple as a Unesco heritage site was opposed by Thailand because the map appended by Phnom Penh showed an area claimed by both countries as part of the temple site.

The agreement reached by Noppadon and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in Paris will end not only conflict with Cambodia, but also allegations made by street protesters that the foreign minister might cause Thailand to lose its territory.