New border talks Monday

Cambodia pulls its request for UN help

Friday July 25, 2008
BANGKOK POST AND AGENCIES

Cambodia has withdrawn its request for the United Nations Security Council to intervene in the border row with Thailand over the contested area near the Preah Vihear temple.

Phnom Penh's decision was announced after talks between Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Cambodian Premier Hun Sen yesterday.

The leaders agreed their foreign ministers should meet on Monday in Siem Reap in a new attempt to defuse the antagonism on the border between Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said.

The countries failed to reach any settlement at a top-level General Border Committee meeting in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district last Monday.

Both countries insisted on sovereignty over the 4.6-square-kilometre area of the overlapping zone.

Mr Hun Sen said his Foreign Ministry had advised the UN Security Council to ''temporarily postpone [consideration of the request] while awaiting results of the negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand''.

The Security Council confirmed that it had cancelled a meeting on the dispute over the Thai-Cambodian border at the request of Phnom Penh.

''We have cancelled the meeting pending the bilateral talks,'' Vietnam's ambassador Le Luong Minh told reporters in New York. Vietnam is holding the rotating council presidency for July.

Mr Samak promised that Thailand will have a new foreign minister in time to lead the negotiators to Siem Reap.

''It is my duty to settle this issue,'' the prime minister said.

The foreign affairs portfolio has been vacant since Noppadon Pattama resigned this month after the charter court ruled the joint communique he signed with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on Thai support for the temple being a World Heritage site should have been approved by parliament.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which has rejected a call from Cambodia for the 10-member grouping to help resolve the row with Thailand, did not want to see the issue go to the UN Security Council.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said that it was ''premature'' to take the Thai-Cambodian border dispute to the UN Security Council and urged more bilateral effort between the rivals.

''It should not have to go to the UN Security Council,'' said Mr Yeo, the outgoing Asean chairman. ''We should not let a small issue - that was a non-issue in the past - become a big issue.''

The Cambodian decision to withdraw the case from the Security Council came after diplomatic momentum appeared to swing in favour of Thailand's desire to use bilateral talks to end the feud.

Until yesterday, France was the only permanent member of the council which showed no enthusiasm for resolving the row through bilateral talks.

The other permanent members, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, favoured the Thai position, according to Thai ambassador to the UN, Don Pramudwinai.

''There is only one country opposing Thailand,'' Mr Don said yesterday without naming the country.

But talks yesterday in Singapore between Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Banditkul and French Deputy Foreign Minister Rama Yade indicated he was referring to France.

After the meeting, Mr Sahas said France believed the situation was tense, and the military stand-off worried Europeans because of their interest in the ancient Hindu temple.

Historical ties between France and its former colony, Cambodia, played a part in the French decision to back Cambodia, he said. France changed its mind after Thailand explained its stance.

Ms Yade is in Singapore for sideline meetings with Asean ministers.

Yesterday the Foreign Ministry quoted Mr Samak and army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda as saying there was no military build-up on the border, despite what Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith had told the media.

Cambodia, Thailand Agree to Border Talks

Cambodia's Information Minister Khieu Kanharith speaks to the media during a news conference in Phnom Penh July 24, 2008. Cambodia accused Thailand on Thursday of sending more troops to their joint border as a smoldering dispute over a 900-year-old temple showed no signs of easing. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 July 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Cambodia has agreed to postpone its complaint to the UN Security Council over a military border crisis, pending a bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Siem Reap Monday.

The agreement follows a phone conversation between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej Thursday and came as heavily armed troops on both sides were positioned at various points along the Thai-Cambodia border.

A government spokesman meanwhile called for both Cambodian and Thai troops to return as soon as possible to positions they held near Preah Vihear temple two weeks ago, to avoid an eruption of violence along the border.

"The stance of the Cambodian government is that we want both sides, Cambodia and Thailand, to return to the situation [as it was] before July 15, because if the troops from both sides stay together it is not good, and a problem will erupt," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told reporters in Phnom Penh. "If the situation is not returned to the way it was before July 15, there could be an explosion, and we wouldn't be able to avoid fighting each other."

As the crisis entered its ninth day, Thai and Cambodian troops had been deployed along the border near Anlong Veng and O'Smach districts, Oddar Meanchey province, Oddar Meanchey Governor Pich Sophin said.

An increasing number of Thai soldiers have been sent to areas on the border of Banteay Meanchey province, near Poipet, but the international crossing remains open, Banteay Meanchey Governor Ung Ouern said.

Officials say the build-up includes tanks, artillery and the arming of Thai villagers along the border. Up to 4,000 troops from both sides have been deployed.

Khieu Kanharith said Thursday Cambodia had 800 troops on the border, but Cambodian commanders say the number is closer to 1,500.

Cambodia also wants the withdrawal of Thai troops from Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, because their presence there could lead to later claims to the territory by Thailand, Khieu Kanharith said.

Thai Embassy officials declined to comment Thursday.

Thailand maintains the pagoda was illegally built on Thai territory against agreements made between the two countries in border negotiations in 2000.

Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh made a brief visit to the disputed area Thursday.

After the visit, he concluded the situation was still peaceful, but he urged both sides to remain calm.

The Cambodian side will maintain sufficient troops on the border to protect Preah Vihear temple, he told VOA Khmer.

Cambodia, Thailand agree more temple talks

By Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Reuters) - Cambodia and Thailand will hold more talks on Monday aimed at resolving a smouldering border dispute over a 900-year-old temple, officials said on Thursday after their two leaders spoke on the phone.

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told reporters in Bangkok that his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, had agreed to withdraw a complaint to U.N. Security Council, but Cambodian officials denied this.

Hun Sen only agreed to delay its request for an emergency U.N. meeting on the spat that has sparked fears of a military clash, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.

"We have decided to postpone our complaint to the United Nations Security Council, but that does not mean we withdraw it," he told Reuters.

"We want to see how far Thailand goes with this process," he said after this week's talks in Thailand ended in failure.

In New York, Cambodia's U.N. Ambassador Sea Kosal sent a letter to Vietnamese Ambassador Le Luong Minh, the president of the U.N. Security Council this month, asking him to postpone a planned emergency council meeting on the dispute "pending the result of the meeting of the two foreign ministers."

The emergency council session was originally expected to take place next week.

The Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers will hold Monday's negotiations in the Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap, home of the famed Angkor Wat temples.

At the heart of the dispute is a 1.8 square mile (4.6 square km) stretch of scrubland around the Preah Vihear temple on a jungle-clad escarpment that forms a natural boundary between the southeast Asian countries.

The temple itself is claimed by both countries but was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.

OPPOSITION TO U.N. INVOLVEMENT

France and Vietnam had said on Wednesday the United Nations Security Council would hold a special meeting in response to a Cambodian request for it to take up the issue. But France said council members wanted ASEAN to mediate if possible, and for the two sides to continue bilateral negotiations.

Thailand said it had the support of China, Russia, the United States, Vietnam and Indonesia against the need for Security Council intervention.

Even if it avoids stepping into the imbroglio, it is not clear what the U.N. could do other than issue a statement telling Bangkok and Phnom Penh to sort out the kerfuffle.

The chairman of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Thursday there was no need to involve the U.N. in what should be a bilateral matter.

"It should not have to go to the U.N. Security Council," George Yeo, who is also Singapore's foreign minister, told reporters at an ASEAN meeting on Thursday.

"We should not let a small issue -- that was a non-issue in the past -- become a big issue."

Politics has played a key role in fuelling the fracas on both sides of the border.

Nationalism frequently rears its head in Cambodia, especially around election time, and there is a general election in the country on Sunday.

But analysts say domestic Thai politics are mainly to blame for the eruption of the dispute, which stems from Cambodia's successful bid to have the ruins listed as a World Heritage site, a source of pride for Cambodia but an outrage for many Thais.

Bangkok's initial support for the heritage listing was seized on by anti-government groups who whipped up a nationalist fervour in their attempt to unseat the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. His foreign minister resigned over the issue.

(Additional reporting by Sukree Sukplang from Khao Pra Viharn Preah Vihear temple, Nopporn Wong-Anan in Bangkok and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Alan Raybould and Alex Richardson)

UN Security Council cancels meeting at Cambodia's request

Jul 24, 2008
DPA

New York - The UN Security Council cancelled a meeting scheduled for Thursday on the dispute over the Thai-Cambodia border at the request of the Phnom Penh government while talks were being held by the two countries.

It was Cambodia that requested a debate by the 15-nation council. But the two countries' foreign ministers were trying to sort out their differences and Phnom Penh said the bilateral consultations had just started.

'We have cancelled the meeting pending the bilateral talks,' Vietnam's Ambassador Le Luong Minh told reporters. Vietnam is holding the rotating council presidency for July.

Council members said a meeting could still be held next week if needed.

Thailand and Cambodia were close to an armed conflict over a territorial dispute regarding the location of a Preah Vihear temple as both sides have stationed troops facing one another. But Asian nations have urged them to resolve the dispute without having to resort to the use of force.

More talks planned on temple row

Thursday, 24 July 2008
BBC News

Cambodia says it will hold off referring a territorial dispute with Thailand to the UN, after the two sides agreed to hold further talks.

Foreign ministers will meet in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap on Monday to discuss the row over Preah Vihear temple, both sides confirmed.

Hundreds of troops remained camped out near the 11th Century hill-top site on their mutual border.

Previous talks between the two sides have failed to resolve the dispute.

"I talked with [Cambodian] Prime Minister Hun Sen a while ago and we agreed that our foreign ministers will hold a meeting in Siem Reap on 28 July," Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told journalists.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen also told me that he will withdraw the issue from the United Nations," he said.

A new Thai foreign minister will be appointed for the talks, Mr Samak said. The previous one, Noppadon Pattama, was forced to resign over the issue.

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith confirmed his side would "postpone the complaint to the Security Council".

Backlash

The troop build-up at Preah Vihear began on 15 July.


Tensions driving the temple row
In pictures: Preah Vihear

An international court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962 but land surrounding it remains the subject of rival territorial claims.

A decision by Unesco earlier this month to list the temple as Cambodia's second World Heritage Site triggered a nationalist backlash from some groups in Thailand.

Thai troops moved into an area both sides claim more than a week ago, after Cambodian guards arrested three Thai protesters there.

Since then, both sides have increased their military presence. Several thousand troops are now reported to be in and around the temple area.

But so far the stand-off has remained peaceful and the atmosphere calm at the temple area.

Thai, Cambodian envoys set temple talks

SISAKET PROVINCE, Thailand (CNN) -- The foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia will meet Monday in an effort to resolve a week-long military standoff over an ancient border temple that sits on disputed land, Thailand's prime minister said Thursday.

The meeting will take place in Siem Reap, Cambodia one day after Cambodia's general election on Sunday, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told CNN.

An eight-hour meeting between Thai and Cambodian officials ended earlier this week with both sides agreeing on only one point: that troops each country has amassed at the site of the Preah Vihear temple will not fire on each other, the Thai News Agency reported.

The site of Monday's meeting is closer to the better-known Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.

For now, the countries are seeking regional intervention from their Southeast Asian neighbors.

Foreign ministers of the 10 countries that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are meeting in Singapore this week.

Sundaravej spoke to his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, on Thursday to arrange next week's high-level meeting. He said Hun agreed to stop pursuing the issue at the U.N. Security Council. Cambodia had sent a letter to the council to call attention to the standoff.

As a result, the Security Council postponed a meeting planned for next week on the tensions, the council's president, Vietnamese ambassador Le Luong Minh, said Thursday.

The dispute is over an 11th century temple to which Cambodia and Thailand both lay claim. It sits atop a cliff on Cambodian soil but has its most accessible entrance on the Thai side.

The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962. Thailand claims, however, that the 1.8 square mile (4.6 sq. km) area around it was never fully demarcated.

Thailand says the dispute arose from the fact that the Cambodian government used a map drawn during the French occupation of Cambodia -- a map that places the temple and surrounding area in Cambodian territory.

This month, the U.N. approved Cambodia's application to have the temple listed as a World Heritage Site -- places that have outstanding cultural value.

The decision reignited tensions, with some in Thailand fearing it would make it difficult for their country to lay claim to disputed land around the temple.

Opposition parties in Thailand used the issue to attack the government, which initially backed the heritage listing.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power since the mid-1980s, has portrayed the U.N. recognition as a national triumph in the run-up to the general elections.

The current flare-up began July 15, when Cambodian guards briefly detained three Thais who crossed into the area. Once they were let go, the three refused to leave the territory.

Cambodia claims Thailand sent troops to retrieve the trio and gradually built up their numbers. Thailand denies that, saying its troops are deployed in Thai territory.

Phnom Penh promises to withdraw complaint from UN

Thu, July 24, 2008
The Nation

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has agreed to withdraw his country's request for the UN to referee the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Thursday.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen promises me during today's telephone conversation that he will withdraw the request for the UN to help settle the border dispute.

We agree that both foreign ministers will meet in Siem Reap on July 28," Samak said.

Samak told reporters that therefore, he has to find new foreign minister before July 28.

The foreign minister job is vacant after former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama resigned as the Constitution Court ruled as unconstitutional an agreement on the Preah Vihear temple he signed with Cambodia in May.

The expected withdrawal came as the UN Security Council has delayed its decision whether to agree with Cambodia's proposal for the UN to help settle the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia near the Preah Vihear temple.

Thailand and Cambodia to hold bilateral talks on the 28, Cambodia to withdraw UNSC petition

PM wants to engage in bilateral talk on Preah Vihear

(BangkokPost.com) - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said he has talked to Cambodian counterpart, who told him that Cambodia will withdraw the petition it filed with the United Nations Security Council on Preah Vihear matter.

The decision would lead to a bilateral talk on Monday, he explained.

"I just talked to Hun Sen, and we agreed to hold a meeting at ministerial level at Siem Riep on July 28," Mr Samak told reporters.

Because the position of Foreign Minister in Thailand has been vacant after the resignation of Noppadon Pattama early this month, it is expected that the position will be filled before the scheduled meeting so Thailand would have a representative to engage in the talk.