Police crackdown on protestors [instead of protecting Cambodia's border]

Riot police block demonstrators from then Confederation of Unions protesting against Thailand's deployment of troops at the disputed Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples located at then-Thai border, in Phnom Penh August 17, 2008.n and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from the disputed border area on Saturday,n army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centring on the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. REUTERS/Stringer

Monday, 18 August 2008
Touch Yuthea
The Mekong Times

“We gathered at our head office. [They] tore down the banners at the head office. This reflects the police’s weaknesses. Cambodians are demonstrating to demand that Thai troops pull out of Cambodian territory, but authorities cracked down [on us] instead. Police should have cooperated with workers and teachers” - Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers Association (CITA)

Phnom Penh authorities yesterday deployed riot police armed with batons, shields, and tear gas to crackdown on hundreds of people who had gathered for a trade union-led march against alleged Thai incursions near Preah Vihear temple.

The crackdown came as Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers are to meet today in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin in a bid to find a lasting solution to the lingering border dispute, which brought the two neighbors close to an armed clash, AP reported yesterday.

The new meeting follows two inconclusive rounds of talks.

On July 28, the two nations’ foreign ministers agreed on a plan to withdraw their troops from the disputed area near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple to reduce tensions.

Both countries completed moving most of their troops from the nearby Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda Saturday, said Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority, a government agency managing the historic site, according to AP.

“The tension has eased considerably. There is no more confrontation,” Hang Soth told AP Sunday, calling the troop withdrawals a “good process giving us hope” about the new talks.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith confirmed yesterday that there were only 20 soldiers – 10 Cambodian and 10 Thai – in the grounds of the pagoda.

Prime Minister and Defense Minister Samak Sundaravej and the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, General Anupong Paojinda, will visit Thai military officials stationed near Preah Vihear temple this morning, according to the Bangkok Post’s website.

General Anupong is expected to oversee the Thai soldiers’ operations along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Yesterday’s abortive protest in Phnom Penh, held at the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTU) headquarters, was held in protest against the presence of Thai soldiers on what Cambodia claims is its sovereign territory.

Phnom Penh authorities said the demonstrators did not receive official permission and, fearing anti-Thai riots similar to the 2003 troubles that saw the Thai embassy razed to the ground, officers moved in.

Demonstrators and human rights groups called the authorities’ actions a violation of human rights. Some protestors were injured though no concrete figures were available.

Many have cited today’s bilateral talks as another reason for the police crackdown.

Phnom Penh Police Chief Touch Naroth said no demonstration could force Thai forces to withdraw. “This riot, or demonstration, could cause disorder and bigger problems because in the past, illegal demonstrators burned down the Thai embassy, making the government pay tens of millions of dollars back to Thailand … They should travel to encourage soldiers at Preah Vihear temple. It is better. They should not demonstrate in the city center.”

But for some, the force had been applied in the wrong place.

“The crackdown by Phnom Penh authorities is very bad,” said Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA). “We gathered at our head office. [They] tore down the banners at the head office. This reflects the police’s weaknesses. Cambodians are demonstrating to demand that Thai troops pull out of Cambodian territory, but authorities cracked down [on us] instead. Police should have cooperated with workers and teachers.”

FTU President Chea Mony said if the authorities’ harsh response had been leveled at Thai troops, Thai soldiers will not encroach upon Cambodian territory. “I think the suppression showed the weakness of the authorities. For this dispute, we do not need to negotiate with Thailand because Thailand invaded Cambodia. We must file a complaint with the UN Security Council and UNESCO,” he said.

Hun Sen most likely has more police guarding the Thai embassy than the Ta Moan temple occupied by Thailand

Riot police walk near the Thai embassy asdeploys more security in the area after a demonstration organized by then Confederation of Unions protesting against Thailand's deployment of troops at the disputed Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples located at then-Thai border, in Phnom Penh August 17, 2008.n and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from the disputed border area on Saturday,n army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centring on the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Rong Chhun (C), president of then Independent Teachers Association, takes part in a demonstration organized by then Confederation of Unions protesting against Thailand's deployment of troops at the disputed Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples located at then-Thai border, in Phnom Penh August 17, 2008. Cambodian and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from the disputed border area on Saturday,n army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centring on the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. REUTERS/Stringer
Rong Chhun (L), president of then Independent Teachers Association, takes part in a demonstration organized by then Confederation of Unions protesting against Thailand's deployment of troops at the disputed Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples located at then-Thai border, in Phnom Penh August 17, 2008.n and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from the disputed border area on Saturday,n army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centring on the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. REUTERS/Stringer
Rong Chhun (C), president of then Independent Teachers Association, takes part in a demonstration organized by then Confederation of Unions protesting against Thailand's deployment of troops at the disputed Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples located at then-Thai border, in Phnom Penh August 17, 2008.n and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from the disputed border area on Saturday,n army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centring on the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. REUTERS/Stringer
Riot police block demonstrators from then Confederation of Unions protesting against Thailand's deployment of troops at the disputed Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples located at then-Thai border, in Phnom Penh August 17, 2008.n and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from the disputed border area on Saturday,n army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centring on the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. REUTERS/Stringer
Cambodian riot police officers bar protesters at the Confederation of Unions's office in Phnom Penh, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008, as they demand to pull back Thai troops from disputed territory around Preah Vihear temple, an ancient border temple.geared up Sunday for new talks with Thailand after both sides ceased a month-long armed confrontation by withdrawing most of their troops from disputed territory around the ancient border temple. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
AP Photo/Heng Sinith
AP Photo/Heng Sinith
AP Photo/Heng Sinith

Cambodia, Thailand to hold new border talks [-Hun Sen's police beating Cambodians for demonstrating against Thai thuggery]

BANGKOK, Aug 18 (TNA, Agencies) -- Only a few Thai and Cambodian troops remain near the disputed temple of Preah Vihear ahead of a meeting Tuesday of the two countries foreign ministers in Thailand's Phetchburi province southwest of Bangkok to seek a solution to a lingering border dispute over the ancient temple.

Thai Army chief General Anupong Paochinda is scheduled to inspect a Thai troop pullout from border points near the Preah Vihear temple in Thailand's northeastern province of Si Sa Ket Monday morning.

Prior to departing for Si Sa Ket, Gen. Anupong reaffirmed the troop pullout which both countries have carried out since Saturday was the result of cooperation and understanding between Thailand and Cambodia to avoid confrontation and tension.

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith confirmed Sunday that there were only 20 soldiers --10 Cambodian and 10 Thai -- in the compound of a pagoda located in a border area claimed by both countries, according to the Associated Press.

In Phnom Penh, at least three people were slightly injured on Sunday when Cambodian anti-riot police cracked down on about 50 anti-Thai protesters, mainly teachers and garment workers during a demonstration over the disputed Preah Vihear temple.

The demonstrators urged Thai troops to complete their withdrawal from the disputed temple.

Phnom Penh's police chief G. Touch Naruth said such a protest would never help reduce the tension between the two countries, according to a report by Reuters.

Tensions at the ancient temple escalated after the United Nations for Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) early last month named the temple as World Heritage site to Cambodia. The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that the temple belongs to Cambodia, but that the surrounding area remains in dispute between the two countries.

The troop withdrawal followed the first meeting of Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong held in the Cambodian province of Siem Reap on July 28.

Mass demo planned in Phnom Penh ahead of Preah Vihear meeting

August 16, 2008
By Supalak Ganjanakhunde
The Nation

Hundreds of Cambodians plan to protest in Phnom Penh tomorrow to demand the withdrawal of Thai troops from the disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple in an attempt to influence a ministerial meeting next week.

Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong will meet on Monday and Tuesday at the beach resort of Cha-am to follow up the redeployment of troops in the area, which was agreed at a meeting in Siem Reap last month.

Military commanders on the ground agreed this week to reduce the number of soldiers on both sides in the disputed area near Preah Vihear temple to only ten.

The Cambodian Confederation of Unions said it had asked Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Kep Chuktema for permission to hold a gathering of at least 300 people and then parade around the capital, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association, said the purpose of the demonstration was to bring Cambodians together to show their desire for the withdrawal of Thai forces and to urge the government to seek the intervention of the UN Security Council to resolve the dispute.

The military stand-off began on July 15 after Preah Vihear was made a world heritage site. Thailand feared a loss of territory after Cambodia built community housing, a road and a temple in the disputed temple periphery, over which both sides claim sovereignty.

Both countries called a meeting of the General Border Committee and a ministerial conference last month but have yet to find a way of ending the dispute.

Meanwhile Cambodia has raised questions on the presence of Thai troops at other temple ruins at Ta Muen Thom and Ta Muen Touch which, it claims, are on Cambodian territory.

Thailand's Foreign Ministry, however, wants next week's meeting to focus on the dispute over Preah Vihear.

Many issues related to Preah Vihear, including the establishment of a Cambodian community in the disputed area, need to be cleared up first, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat.

Anti-Thai protest set for Sunday in Cambodia

Saturday, August 16, 2008
Bangkok Post

Cambodian union members have been called out for an anti-Thailand protest in Phnom Penh on Sunday, and demand withdrawal of Thai troops from around the Preah Vihear temple.

The Phnom Penh Post said that the Cambodia Confederation of Unions expects hundreds of participants for the peaceful demonstration.

A letter informing the government of the protest "stated that at least 300 people would gather at the former National Assembly building and march through the city" on Sunday, the newspaper said.

Union leaders intend to demand the government press the UN Security Council to intervene in "an invasion by Thailand".

While nationalistic fervour over the controversial Cambodian temple and dispute grounds has eased in Thailand, anti-Thai protests and economic boycotts have increased in Cambodia.