Cambodian PM seeks Lebanon support for U.N.

June 17, 2011
The Daily Star (Lebanon)

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman received a letter from Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen seeking Lebanon’s support for Cambodia’s candidacy for nonpermanent member in the U.N. Security Council for 2013-2014.

The letter was handed to Sleiman by Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Ouch Burith, who visited Baabda Palace. Lebanon is currently a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

Asean Holding Urgent Meeting On Cambodia-Thai Conflict

JAKARTA, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- Asean Foreign Ministers are gathering in Jakarta for an Indonesia-facilitated urgent meeting on Tuesday to discuss possible solutions to the recent border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand over the disputed area surrounding the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, Indonesia's Antara news agency reported.

Asean Secretariat, in a written communication received by ANTARA on Monday evening, said the meeting in Jakarta will be held to response to the call on Asean by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), for the first time, to ensure an effective dialogue in search of a lasting solution to the border dispute between two member states.

"UNSC's open and official support for conciliation efforts to the Asean Chair is a sign that the United Nations has faith in Asean to help its Member States find amicable regional solutions to bilateral problems such as this," said Asean Secretary-General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan.

It was all talk with nothing being said

21/02/2011
Bangkok Post

There's no doubt that the real winner in the ''speech'' contest in New York last Monday was the host, the United Nations Security Council.

The council called a meeting at the UN headquarters to hear statements on the Thai-Cambodian border strife from Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong, who then simply walked out of the room.

The UN body carefully and intentionally made sure this ''contest'' ended with the Thai and Cambodian speakers being able to return home claiming a moral victory.

The public, both here and in Cambodia, should not get carried away with the claims made by Mr Kasit, Hor Namhong, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva or Cambodian leader Hun Sen. What they said was merely for domestic political consumption. No one wants to admit they were the loser; that would be a political disaster for both countries.

Sinatoons No. 18: ASEAN

Observers See Limited Role for Asean in Dispute

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Friday, 18 February 2011

“I see Asean not as a facilitator, but only as an organizer for us to meet.”

With the UN Security Council this week urging Asean mediation in the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, political observers are skeptical the regional body will be able to help.

Cambodia addressed the Security Council on Monday along with Thailand, and the international body urged a ceasefire and a multi-party solution.

That could be difficult, analysts say, especially because Thailand has maintained it wants two-way talks.

Asean foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Jakarta on Tuesday, and that could provide a useful venue, even if Asean cannot resolve the dispute, said Kem Sokha, head of the minority opposition Human Rights Party.

[Thai] PM keeps options open on ceasefire

February 18, 2011
The Nation

Abhisit non-committal on four-point draft proposed by Hun Sen; Cambodia 'ready to station Asean forces' on its soil if Thailand rejects proposal

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday expressed some reservations about a ceasefire agreement proposed by his Cambodian counterpart.

"It's too early to talk about the signing of the agreement," Abhisit said. "I've not yet seen the details."

Abhisit, so far, has said he would welcome bilateral talks with Cambodia and support from Asean. He was convinced that Asean would not interfere in the content of the issues discussed at the negotiating table.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said during a rare press conference yesterday that Cambodia would ask Thailand to sign a permanent ceasefire, witnessed by Asean foreign ministers or the Asean chairman, next Tuesday at the meeting of the grouping's foreign ministers in Jakarta.

"It will be better if the Asean chair can sign on the permanent ceasefire," Hun Sen was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency. According to Xinhua, he has put forward four points for a permanent ceasefire:

Thailand and Cambodia need a 'Jimmy Carter' mediator

February 18, 2011
By Pinn Siraprapasiri
Special to The Nation

"The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is that each is thinking more about what he intends to say than about what others are saying, and we never listen when we are eager to speak." Francois La Rochefoucauld.

This is probably why it is so difficult in a quarrel for people to realise there is usually common ground upon which they all can agree. The protracted border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is in part because of the eagerness of both sides to win this seemingly zero-sum game. The exchanges last week, unfortunately not in well-intended form between the governments of Thailand and Cambodia, were fatal and resulted in casualties and losses. France offered to help mediate. But our prime minister brushed off the offer.

The UN and Asean, under their charters, are required to offer good offices to member countries in conflict. A third-party intervention - either as facilitator, mediator or manipulator, depending on their interests, resources and relationship with the parties to conflict - is often sought when a dispute is protracted and complex, when the parties' own attempts have reached deadlock, when neither party seeks the use of force, and when both are ready to cooperate to break the stalemate.

While third-party intervention can be carried out by either independent individuals or official representatives of a government or organisation, the world usually looks to principal agents of global governance such as the UN, or to regional organisations such as Nato, the EU, or in this case Asean, to catapult the parties to conflict to a peaceful end.

Mixed Outlooks Following Cambodian Trip to UN

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 17 February 2011

“I think Asean should change its character, I hope that Asean will change its policies.”

Analysts and political observers gave mixed reactions to Cambodia’s address to the UN Security Council on Monday, with some disappointed the international body had not done enough and others saying it gave proper attention to border fighting with Thailand this month.

The foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand each appeared before the Security Council in New York on Monday, in an effort to resolve a longstanding border dispute that culminated in violent clashes in early February.

After the session, the Security Council advised maximum restraint, urged both sides to agree to a permanent ceasefire and encouraged the venue of Asean for mediation.

Chheang Vannarith, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said the Security Council failed to fully resolved the dispute.

Abhisit and Hun Sen, get on the hotline now

February 17, 2011
By Suthichai Yoon
The Nation

This is probably one of the few cases of an international incident in which diplomats on both sides talk like warriors while their military colleagues hold "peace talks" in the disputed area.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) session on Monday on the Thai-Cambodian conflict proceeded more or less along the scripted scenario. It was no more than a long detour for the two parties concerned to return to Square One.

Neither side could claim victory. That was probably the whole idea behind the UNSC members' decision to invite the Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers to offer their versions of what has actually happened.

In the end, it must be a matter for the two sides to try to negotiate an agreement. And if Asean can serve as the facilitator, that would help. But first, a "permanent ceasefire" must be in place and the opposing parties must realise that no third party can effectively resolve the conflict for them.

The Thai prime minister has called them "border skirmishes" but his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen insists it's a "real war".

Cambodia turns to Asean

Hor Namhong: Thailand ignored UN

Thailand sticks to line of opposing outsiders

17/02/2011
Thanida Tansubhapol and Agencies
Bangkok Post

Thailand has rebuffed a plan by Cambodia to ask the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to send observers to monitor the shaky ceasefire along the border.

The move comes less than a week before foreign ministers from the Asean member countries meet in Jakarta where they will discuss the border spat.

There has also been an upturn in fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops at Phu Makhua mountain in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province, which is part of the area under dispute.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters in Phnom Penh yesterday on his return from the United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday night that Cambodia would lodge a request for Asean observers at the Jakarta meeting.

Thai and Cambodian forces in further border clash

February 16, 2011
By the CNN Wire Staff

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A Thai soldier is injured in Wednesday's military exchange, Thailand says
• The two countries are fighting over a temple
• The temple sits on a cliff in Cambodia, but the most accessible entrance is from Thailand
• Thailand believes the temple is in its territory

(CNN) -- Border skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia flared for a second day in an ongoing dispute over an ancient Hindu temple, a Thai military official said Wednesday.

There were several exchanges of gunfire overnight, according to Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd, a Thai military spokesman, who said the exchanges were brief.

Some hand grenades were thrown and one Thai soldier was injured, he said.

The Asian neighbors have been urged by the U.N. Security Council to end their dispute over Preah Vihear temple.

The council issued a statement on Monday, following a closed-door session on the conflict that included representatives from both sides and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Authorities should stop stirring the pot needlessly [-A reasonable proposal!]

February 16, 2011
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Thailand and Cambodia should not put too much of a spin for local consumption on the result of the United Nations Security Council meeting, because it could spark further conflict instead of reducing the tension.

In a press statement after the Valentine's Day meeting in New York, the UN Security Council's president, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, said: "Members of the Security Council further urged the parties to establish a permanent ceasefire, and implement it fully and resolve the situation peacefully through effective dialogue."

The UNSC held a meeting on Monday to listen to both sides on the situation at the border area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple.

Cambodia urged the UN to help ensure a "permanent ceasefire" at the disputed area by sending UN peacekeeping forces to create a buffer zone around the 900-year-old sandstone temple.

Thailand, on the other hand, insisted that a third party should not be involved in the conflict and that the two countries should settle it bilaterally.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rushed to say the UN statement was exactly what Thailand wanted, and tried to corner Cambodia into accepting the proposal to hold a meeting of joint boundary committee early next month.

Phnom Penh wants UNSC to 'remain engaged'

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Hor Namhong speaks to the media following his statement to the UN Security Council in New York on Monday.

16/02/2011
Bangkok Post

Published here are excerpts of the address Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong delivered to the United Nations Security Council on Feb 14, 2011.

In its artillery attacks against Cambodia, Thailand used sophisticated weapons including cluster bombs and many 105, 120, 130, 155 artillery shells, reaching as far as 20 kilometres inside Cambodian territory. Thailand's attacks since Feb 4 have caused much serious damage to Keo Sikha Kiri Savara Pagoda and Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage site, as well as six deaths and 71 injuries among Cambodian troops and people.

Even though there were two de facto agreements on a ceasefire, the current situation, however, remains extremely fragile. Fresh fighting may break out again at any time without forewarning, while heavily armed Thai soldiers, artillery and tanks have been positioned along the border, posing constant pressure on Cambodia.

The root cause leading to the present war of aggression by Thailand against Cambodia is as follows:

France and Siam signed the 1904 Convention and the 1907 Treaty to establish the Joint Commissions on the Delimitation of Frontiers between Indo-China and Siam. In the period between 1905 and 1908, the Franco-Siamese Commission, set up by the 1904 Convention, produced a set of 11 maps, all of which are of 1:200,000 scale, including the one called "Dangrek Map" that demarcates the area of Preah Vihear Temple.

UN Urges Ceasefire After Recent Thai-Cambodia Clashes

Press Release: United Nations

Security Council Urges Permanent Ceasefire After Recent Thai-Cambodia Clashes

New York, Feb 14 2011

Voicing grave concern about the recent armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand, the Security Council today urged the South-East Asian neighbours to establish a permanent ceasefire following closed-door talks on the situation.

“The members of the Security Council called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation,” Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil, which holds the monthly presidency of the 15-member body for February, said in a statement read out to the press after the meeting.

“The members of the Security Council further urged the parties to establish a permanent ceasefire and to implement it fully and resolve the situation peacefully and through effective dialogue,” the statement added.

Tensions first escalated between the two countries in July 2008 following the build-up of military forces near the Preah Vihear temple, which dates back to the 11th century and is located on the Cambodian side of the border. The Hindu temple was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that same month.

Abhisit urges Phnom Penh to listen to UN Security Council [-Abishit rubbing salt on an open wound?]

Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that Cambodia should listen and do what the UNSC has called for to settle the deadly border disputes with Thailand. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Feb 15, 2011
THE NATION/ANN

THAILAND - CAMBODIA should listen and do what the UN Security Council (UNSC) has called for to settle the deadly border disputes with Thailand, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday.

Mr Abhisit was speaking after UNSC hosted a closed door session, at the request of Cambodia, on Monday with foreign ministers of Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia, in an attempt to mediate the border clashes which erupted on Feb 1.

After the meeting, the UNSC called for a 'permanent ceasefire' between Thailand and Cambodia and called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation.

UN Security Council Urges Permanent Cambodia-Thailand Cease-Fire

Press Encounter: H.E. Mr. Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia. (Photo: Courtesy of United Nations)

Margaret Besheer, United Nations (Voice of America)
New York Tuesday, 15 February 2011

"The members of the Security Council called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation."

The U.N. Security Council is urging Cambodia and Thailand to resolve their ongoing border dispute and establish a permanent cease-fire. A recent flare up of the decades-old dispute has led to at least 10 deaths during clashes between soldiers from the two southeast Asian nations.

The foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand met behind closed doors with the 15-member council and Indonesia’s foreign minister as the chair of regional organization ASEAN.

After the meeting, council president for the month of February, Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, read a statement expressing the Security Council’s grave concern about the recent fighting in a remote area near a 900-year-old Khmer Hindu temple.

Som Niyeay Phorng - Op-Ed by Angkor Borei News

Click on the article in Khmer to zoom in

Kasit: [Thai] Government ready for ICJ [-Is that true or is that a bluff?]

15/02/2011
Bangkok Post

The government is ready to present its case in the Thai-Cambodian border dispute if Phnom Penh takes the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Tuesday.

Mr Kasit commented after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called on the two countries to establish a permanent ceasefire and settle their dispute themselves.

"Right now, all the problems rest with Cambodia and whether it will follow the UNSC's call. If not, other countries won't support Cambodia because it started first," the minister said.

[Thai] PM: Border tension will ease [-Abishit's face-saving propaganda?]

15/02/2011
Bangkok Post

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is confident the UN Security Council’s decision will push Cambodia to return to the negotiating table with Thailand over the border dispute and this will cool down the conflict.

Speaking before the weekly cabinet meeting, Mr Abhisit said on Tuesday that the UNSC wanted the two sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid any armed clashes.

It gave support to the Association of Southeast Asia Nations' (Asean) efforts to seek a settlement through negotiations.

‘’It’s clearly shown that the world community wants the border dispute to be solved through negotiations.

U.N. urges permanent cease-fire over Thai-Cambodian border dispute

February 14, 2011

(Kyodo) - The U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" Monday over recent armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces at the border between the countries and called on both sides to establish a "permanent" cease-fire.

The council members "called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation" and "further urged the parties to establish a permanent cease-fire," said a statement issued after the day's closed-door meeting convened at the request of Cambodia.

The members also urged the two countries to "resolve the situation peacefully and through effective dialogue," according to the statement.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and their Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa, who was invited in his capacity as chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, met with the 15-member council.