Hun Sen doesn't want to see the repeat of his past mistake in 2003 regarding the burning of Thai embassy in PPenh

All's quiet at Thai embassy in Cambodia

Phnom Penh (dpa) - The Cambodian government would not tolerate "anti-government elements" making Preah Vihear temple a political issue and would not permit a proposed march on the Thai embassy, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Thursday.

He was responding to an announcement by the little-known Society, Morality and National Culture Institute that it was lobbying for permission to stage a 3,000-strong rally around the Thai embassy.

The group's leader, Po Samnang, said the rally was aimed at showing Cambodian support for listing the 11th century Hindu border temple as a World Heritage site.

"These are anti-government groups, so we will treat it as a domestic Cambodian matter. Thailand tries to help Cambodia, so we should not confuse this issue," Kaharith said.

"We should stay calm, because whatever happens, it is not in dispute that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia."

He said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had spoken to his Thai counterpart Samak Sundaravej about the issue, and relations between the governments were very cordial.

Continued political strains in Thailand and five-yearly national elections scheduled for July 27 in Cambodia have made the issue a sensitive one on both sides of the border, and Kaharith blamed opposition elements for trying to inflame the issue.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An is currently in Canada arguing for the temple to be listed as a World Heritage Site. Some Thais have objected, saying it should be jointly managed.

In 2003 an angry mob destroyed the Thai embassy and businesses after a Thai actress was falsely rumoured to have claimed Angkor Wat temple was Thai. Cambodia has vowed that such violence will not be repeated.

Thai embassy fears another round of anti-Thai riots

Burning of Thai embassy in Phnom Penh in 2003

Fri, June 27, 2008
The Nation

Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh has asked the Cambodian government to explain to Khmers the complexity behind the dispute over the Preah Vihear Temple, a senior Thai diplomat said.

The move came after a growing number of Khmers expressed confusion over the heated discussions over the temple in the Thai Parliament and the Thai public.

"The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh wants the Khmer government to inform its people that the discussions have nothing to do with the mutual relationship," the source said.

The discussions started after the Thai government endorsed Cambodia's map of Phreah Vihear Temple which will be included in its bids to list the temple as Unesco's World Heritage Site.

Opposition bloc and some Thai sectors said the decision by the Samak government was an about face to the country's long standing position that said the country has the right to ask the world court to retry to the Preah Vihear case if and when new historical evidence surfaced to support Thailand's claim to the 10th century Hindu temple.

The Thai embassy is worried that the current misunderstanding may result in another round of anti-Thai riot, a repeat of a 2003 incident that ended in the embassy in Phnom Penh being burn to the ground along with Thai-own businesses in Phnom Penh .

The same source said Thai embassy in Cambodia is monitoring the situation in Phnom Penh closely amid the ongoing debate. On Thursday, Thai embassy staffs asked the Cambodian authorities why roads in front of the embassy were closed off. They asked if that was something was problematic.

They were informed that the roads were closed as Cambodia's People Party which has office opposite the embassy released a caravan to launch its election campaign.