[Preah Vihear temple:] A closed case, except for some

September 2, 2010
GUY BAKER
BANGKOK
Opinion sent to The Nation

Please let me say that I once lived for about two years less than 10 kilometres from the Preah Vihear Temple, I visited it a number of times when it was open from the Thai side and I was surprised then, as I am now, that it does not legally belong to Thailand as it is almost inaccessible from Cambodia and it does "jut out" from Thailand like a Thai peninsula. All of that, however, is irrelevant.

Songdej Praditsmanont quoted the 1962 court decision in part: "The natural inference was that she [Thailand] had accepted the frontier at Preah Vihear as it was drawn on the map, irrespective of its correspondence with the watershed line" (Court never decided on disputed land, 11 Aug). That was the court's decision that Thailand had accepted the map and the border line on that map. Period. The word "irrespective" in the decision is, in this case, equivalent to "irrelevant," ie, the watershed issue was irrelevant in 1962 as it is irrelevant today. Songdej asserted that "the ambiguity regarding the surrounding territory was not judged, and that remains the case", but it was indeed judged when the court decided that Thailand, by 1962, had accepted the map and the border line on that map.

The "ambiguity" that exists is that which exists only in the minds of some Thais, and that is why the court decision was never challenged by Thailand, as there is no ambiguity and no case to be presented. This is a closed case except in the minds of some of those with closed minds and after a lapse of 48 years, without any new evidence to present, it could probably only be heard in a fantasy court.

Cambodia threatens Thailand with court over disputed temple

February 12, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia's Prime Minister says he may seek international abritration to settle a dispute with Thailand over land surrounding a temple on their shared border.

The Preah Vihear temple has been at the centre of an intensified conflict for since mid-2008, but could now drag in internet search engine Google and the International Court of Justice.

Presenter: David Chen
Speakers: Kuy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodia's Foreign Affairs Ministry; Thani Tongphakdi, spokesman for Thailand's ministry of foreign affairs; David Chandler, from Monash University

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

Overseas Khmer held a protest against Thailand in front of the International Court of Justice in The Hague

International Court of Justice building in The Hague, The Netherlands.

1st November, 2008
By Moeung Tum
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

On the 1st of November a numbers of overseas Khmer have held a peaceful protest in front of the International Court of Justice building in The Hague, The Netherlands, to demand this international institution stop Thailand from violating Khmer territorial integrity.

Mr. Kiri Sena, one of the seven members of the protest organising committee, told Radio Free Asia through telephone today that: “We held a protest on the 1st (of November) with the aim to stop Thailand from violating the Khmer people. At 11:30 AM to 12:10 midday, all the protesters will gather in front of the International Court of Justice building in The Hague. All protesters can express their opinions freely, but the organising committee has set a condition that won’t allow attacks/criticism on any particular groups that would lead to the disunity of the Khmer people, so as to draw the court’s attention to Thailand’s violations of the court’s 1962 verdict.”

Mr. Kiri Sena added that there are more protest plans on the day. He said: “At 12:30 PM, the protest will start with the following agenda: First, we make a short speech informing the protesters about the aims of the protest. Second, we sing our national anthem. Third, we stay in a minute of silence to pay respect to our three dead soldiers who were killed a few days ago (15th October). And fourth, we start chanting prayers in order to pacify those who violated us to change their mind. And lastly, we will hand in our complaints and petitions to the court and at the same time we will raise our placards and chant slogans until 1 PM after which we will march to the Thai embassy.”

Mr. Kiri Sena said that the petitions, which were signed by about 600 people from around the world, will be handed in to the court as well as to the Thai embassy in The Netherlands. He said: “When we reached the Thai embassy we will chant some slogans to demand that Thailand respect our territorial integrity and respect various treaties, respect the Paris Peace Accords of 23rd October, 1991. We will stay there for about 20 minutes after which we will hand in our petitions, like what we have done with the International Court, and after that our representative will go to the front gate of the embassy and ask them to receive the petitions.”

Cambodian-Thai dispute to be brought to int'l court, Hun Sen says

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 12 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Friday that a nearly two-month border dispute with Thailand will likely be to be brought to the International Court of justice in The Hague or once again be returned to the United Nations Security Council.

"We should be well-prepared and get documentation ready because it is unlikely that we can avoid the court, or, if it is worse, then we have to return to the U.N. Security Council," Hun Sen said at the opening of his weekly Cabinet meeting.

The premier said Cambodia has used "utmost restraint" in the face of "daring aggression" by Thai troops into Cambodian territory.

He added that incursions have been at many place along the some 800- kilometer border with Thailand.

Cambodia and Thailand were to discuss full troop withdrawals from a disputed border point last month, but the Thai side requested a postponement due to internal tension in Thailand.

Cambodia made an appeal to the U.N. Security Council on July 22 to meet urgently on Cambodia's military standoff with Thailand, but it withdrew its appeal two days later after Thailand had agreed to hold immediate talks on the issue.

The border dispute and military standoff stems from incidents almost two months ago when Cambodia detained three Thai ultranationalist activists who the authorities allege illegally crossed into Cambodia near the World Heritage-listed Preah Vihear Temple.

Since then, Thailand and Cambodia have been building up their forces near the temple and tensions have escalated.

On Aug. 16, several hundred troops from both sides who had been deployed to the area since July 15 were drawn back from immediate confrontation, but they remain close by.

But the military standoff has spread to at least three more points along the border.

The dispute appears difficult to resolve because the two sides use different maps of the border areas.

Thailand's Democrat party urged Thai gov't not to support Preah Vihear's listing as a World Heritage Site - When will the Thai stop their hegemony?

Preah Vihear was built by Khmer people
and it belongs to Khmer people!

Wat a controversy!

Monday, 09 June 2008
By Post Reporters Bangkok Post

The Democrat party has urged the government not to rush to support Cambodia's attempt to register Preah Vihear temple as a new World Heritage Site.

Democrat deputy leader Alongkorn Ponlaboot said on Sunday that the government should think carefully before backing the Cambodian effort.

He was speaking after Phnom Penh redrew the boundaries of the ancient temple site to convince the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) that it now deserved to be put on the World Heritage list. The old map, which was opposed by Thailand, included overlapping areas.

Mr Alongkorn said that by supporting Cambodia on the issue, Thailand would automatically lose its right to reclaim sovereignty over Preah Vihear in the future.

On June 15, 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled the ancient temple belonged to Cambodia. Mr Alongkorn said the ruling was unfair and not based on law.

The Treaty of Versailles stipulated later that the demarcation of the disputed areas was questionable, and that was why Thailand wrote to the United Nations secretary-general on July 3, 1962, saying it reserves the right to reclaim the ancient temple in the future, he said.

"The present government has no right to either sell or reclaim Thai sovereignty in this case. Next week, I hope, the National Security Council (NSC) and cabinet will review the issue. Otherwise, it would be a shame and tantamount to betraying the nation and selling Thai sovereignty to another country," Mr Alongkorn said.

He suspects vested interests are behind the move to support Cambodia on the listing.

Mr Alongkorn suggested the government oppose the listing and ask Unesco's World Heritage Committee to drop the issue from the agenda of its July 2-10 meeting in Quebec.

The new Cambodian map will be discussed at the NSC's weekly meeting today. If the NSC approves the map, cabinet is likely to endorse the map tomorrow.

Obituary: Brice Clagett, US Lawyer helping Cambodia win the Preah Vihear case in 1962

A devoted genealogist, Brice McAdoo Clagett bought a home built by his ancestors centuries ago. (Family Photo)

Brice Clagett; Specialized in International Disputes

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By Joe Holley
Washington Post Staff Writer

Brice McAdoo Clagett, 74, a Washington lawyer and historic preservationist, died April 8 of cardiac arrest at George Washington University Hospital.

An attorney for more than four decades with the law firm of Covington and Burling, Mr. Clagett's specialties included public and private international law, foreign claims, international arbitration, international land and maritime boundaries, transportation and environmental law and Middle Eastern law.

In 1960, former secretary of state Dean Acheson, a partner in the firm, asked Mr. Clagett to serve as a juridical counselor with the Cambodian delegation to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The case was a boundary dispute between Cambodia and Thailand. Cambodia prevailed, and Acheson was made Prince of the Royal Order of Cambodia, while Mr. Clagett was made Commander of the Order.

In 1975, he argued before the Supreme Court in United States v. Maine on behalf of 11 of the 13 Atlantic coastal states that were challenging on constitutional grounds the alleged federal ownership of the Atlantic coastal shelf, which included oil-drilling rights.

Afterward, he received a letter from New Hampshire's deputy attorney general. "I have yet to make my maiden argument in the Supreme Court, and when I do I will think back to yours as a model," wrote David H. Souter, who is now a Supreme Court justice.

Mr. Clagett often appeared before the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, established to settle claims between Iran and American nationals after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He also represented numerous foreign governments in matters involving boundary disputes, natural resources, expropriation, war damages and treaty claims.

Born in the District, Mr. Clagett graduated from St. Albans School in 1950. He graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. He was on the Harvard Law Review and the Board of Editors and won a Rotary Fellowship to study for a year at the University of Allahabad, India.

Mr. Clagett joined Covington and Burling as an associate in 1958 and became a partner in 1967. He retired in 2002.

A lifelong advocate of historic and land preservation and environmental protection, he served as chairman of the Maryland Historical Trust from 1972 to 1978 and chairman of the Maryland Environmental Trust from 1985 to 1989. He also was a member of the Clagett Family Committee of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

In 1968, he and his first wife, Virginia Parker Clagett, bought Holly Hill, a house in Friendship that was built by Mr. Clagett's ancestors more than three centuries ago. He lavished great care on both the house and gardens.

Passionate about history and genealogy, he compiled a 1,200-page book about 20 generations of his family, including his maternal grandfather, William Gibbs McAdoo, secretary of the Treasury in the Wilson administration.

"I wasn't born when I was born, and I won't die when I will die," he said in 1975. "I am part of a continuum of the family."

His first marriage ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 20 years, Diana Sinkler Clagett of the District; and two children from his first marriage, John Brice de Treville Clagett of Friendship and Brooke Clagett of the District.

Preah Vihear temple part of Thailand: "Moronic" opinion from a reader of the Bangkok Post

Wednesday January 30, 2008
SONGDEJ PRADITSMANONT
Bangkok
Bangkok Post Postbag

As a Khmer architecture junkie, I find Dr Reiff's rationale somewhat presumptive in maintaining that since the Preah Vihear temple has Hindu elements, it therefore should belong to Cambodia (Postbag, Jan 29).

There are many temples along the royal road from Angkor Wat to Phimai (such as Surin, Prachin Buri and Buri Ram) that have Hindu elements and Khmer style of architecture, and yet, indisputably they belong to the modern Siam (Thailand).

Phnom Rung in Buri Ram, another potential World Heritage site with plenty of Khmer art, is definitely not claimable by Cambodia.

The judgement of the Court of Justice in The Hague on the territory of Preah Vihear temple was only a legalistic interpretation and, with due respect to the court, all the Thai governments since the ruling date have accepted the decision.

However, it is an indisputable fact that natural access to the Preah Vihear temple has to be made through Thai territory and hence physically it is difficult for visitors not to view the temple as being within Thai territory.

In theory, the temple may belong to Cambodia, but in practice, the temple is part of Thailand.

So it is rather ludicrous for Cambodia to ask the UN to recognise the temple as a World Heritage site without Thailand's participation.

Political Cartoon: Nom Benh-Hilton

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Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)