Court's temple ruling not helping anyone

September 6, 2010
Letter to The Nation

Regarding Guy Baker's letter on September 2 about Preah Vihear, I think the 1962 International Court of Justice decision is neither as ambiguous as Songdej Praditsmanont would have it, nor as cut and dried as Mr Baker suggests. Rather, it is limited in scope and, as such, not fully satisfactory to either side.

To start with, the court found in May 1961 that it had jurisdiction concerning the "Temple of Preah Vihear". The following year in June it found, by 9 votes to 3, that the temple was "situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia" and that Thailand was under an obligation to withdraw any forces stationed "at the Temple or in its vicinity on Cambodian territory". The court apparently did not see fit to define exactly what it meant by "vicinity" or, in relation to artefacts removed by the Thai authorities since 1954, "the Temple area".

Although not required to rule on the border, the court could hardly decide one thing without considering the other. It "therefore felt bound to pronounce in favour of the frontier indicated on the Annex 1 map" - the 1907 French map that ignored the watershed line - on the basis that Thailand, or Siam, had for many years "acquiesced" in that map's use.

However, it made no explicit order in this respect.

In short, it is the inconclusive nature of the ruling that has kept the issue alive up to the present. As it is, both parties to the dispute face an uphill struggle to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

Chris Jeffery
Bangkok

PAD Thai and Abishit could turn Thailand into an international laughing stock: The Nation

Nationalists risk making us a laughing stock

August 19, 2010
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

The ICJ judgement is final and without appeal. Many nationalists might not like the ruling but raising the old argument these days in an attempt to do away with the MoU is absolutely ridiculous.

Nationalists, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva amongst them, should stop their rhetoric that the Kingdom has never accepted the French-made, 1:200,000-scale Thailand-Cambodia border map, otherwise it could turn the country into an international laughing stock.

The map was a key piece of evidence used by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in reaching its ruling in 1962 that the Hindu Khmer temple of Preah Vihear was situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia.

The nationalists have demanded that Abhisit's government revoke the memorandum of understanding on boundary demarcation signed with Cambodia in 2000 on the grounds that the pact recognised a map that in their view Thailand had never accepted.

Abhisit said he also believed Thailand had never recognised the map, but he cannot revoke the MoU since it was signed by the then Democrat-led government of Chuan Leekpai. If it had been signed by ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra's government, like the 2001 maritime MoU with Cambodia, perhaps this government would not hesitate to scrap it.

Abhisit said the 2000 MoU recognised all other French-made maps with the exception of the one indicating the boundary line at the Dangrek mountain range, in which Preah Vihear Temple is situated.

He reasons, therefore, that his government will definitely not terminate the MoU.

The PM did the right thing but gave the wrong reason to justify it.

Like it or not, Thailand has already accepted all French-made maps, including the one for the Dangrek mountain that Cambodia annexed as evidence to back up its claim to sovereignty over Preah Vihear more than 50 years ago.

The ICJ reasoned in its ruling that it was the then Siamese government that had requested French officers in the Franco-Siam Mixed Commission on the boundary of Siam-French Indochina to produce the maps.

Thai lawyers in the court argued that the maps were not official products of the commission. The court, however, argued that "it was clear from the record that the maps were communicated to the Siamese government as purporting to represent the outcome of the work of delimitation; since there was no reaction on the part of the Siamese authorities, either then or for many years, they must be held to have acquiesced."

Moreover, the then interior minister Prince Damrong, who was keen on history and archaeology as well as boundary matters, thanked the French Embassy in Bangkok for the maps and requested more copies to send to provincial governors, including the then Khu Khan province, which took care of the border areas near Preah Vihear.

The argument over the map's inaccuracy was not deemed valid. The ICJ argued that "if the Siamese authorities accepted the Annex I map [of the Dangrek] without investigation, they could not now plead any error vitiating the reality of their consent".

It is true that the boundary line indicated in the map did not correspond with the watershed line. The 1904 Franco-Siam Treaty indicated that the watershed of the Dangrek range was the boundary line between Siam and French Indochina (Cambodia). But the ICJ in its ruling said the Siamese authorities and later Thailand had never intended to correct it despite many chances to do so.

The court assumed that the country "had accepted the frontier at Preah Vihear as it was drawn on the map, irrespective of its correspondence with the watershed line".

Moreover, Siam failed to react when Prince Damrong, during his visit to Preah Vihear in 1930, received a welcome from the French Resident there. So the court concluded that Siam had accepted the boundary as it was detailed in the map.

The ICJ judgement is final and without appeal. Many nationalists might not like the ruling but raising the old argument these days in an attempt to do away with the MoU is absolutely ridiculous.

Cambodia Hints at Broader Solution for Border

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
19 February 2010

In a swing through the border areas earlier this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen raised for the first time the possibility of seeking international intervention to solve a dispute over contested areas, where multiple attempts at bilateral talks have failed.

“Cambodia has come to a point of being forced to go to the [International Court of Justice] in the Hague and to the UN Security Council,” Hun Sen told a gathering of soldiers on the border that was broadcast on national television.

Both sides are contesting a 4.6-meter strip of land near Preah Vihear temple. Cambodia claims the land under a map drawn up in the early 1900s and apparently agreed on in a 1962 World Court decision. Thailand uses a later map and claims the land for itself.

The only thing the two sides have been able to agree on is to reduce the number of troops that have built up since July 2008, when Preah Vihear temple was added to Unesco’s World Heritage protection list, under Cambodian jurisdiction, sparking nationalist fervor on both sides.

A Thai government spokesman told VOA Khmer last week that Bangkok remains committed to a bilateral solution.

“We have a bilateral agreement with Cambodia on border issues, so we hope that this will be handled by this [joint] border committee,” said the spokesman, Panitan Wattanayagorn, who declined to discuss the potential of an international solution.

Panitan said the border dispute would be resolved once relations between the two countries improve.

Diplomatic affairs have been strained by Cambodia’s hiring of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser, and Cambodian officials remain unconvinced.

“Thailand only expresses its intentions but does not have a real will to find a solution,” Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, said.

A number of agreements from meetings between the foreign ministers have failed to pass in Thai parliament, he said.

“It’s more than a year that provisional agreements, as well as minutes of border committee [meetings], have not been passed by their parliament,” Koy Kuong said. “In reality, Thailand always increases its military forces along the border.”

So far, soldiers on each side have engaged in several firefights, including heavy machine gun, mortar and rocket fire. At least eight soldiers have died, though in each case, the fighting has failed to escalate into broader warfare.

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Council of Ministers, said Thailand has violated agreements already in place between the two countries, and he put the blame on the country’s prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has been quoted in Thai media making claims to the contested strip of land west of Preah Vihear temple.

“The negligence and undermining by Abhisit towards the Cambodian nation on the border issue is very hard to tolerate,” Phay Siphan said.

Hun Sen’s willingness to consider an international solution was welcomed by Sean Pengse, a border advocate who now lives in France.

However, he warned, a resolution with the Security Council would need to be passed by a chamber where a number of countries have shared political interests with Thailand.

“Are we sure that we would win, or not?” he asked. “Because some countries strongly support Thailand.”

Neither is the Hague an ideal solution, he said. The World Court has already made a ruling on the 1962 dispute over Preah Vihear temple, citing in its decision a map that clearly delineates the border. Convincing Thailand to agree to go to the court again will be tough, he said.

A better plan would be to approach signatories of the 1991 Peace Accords, which protect the sovereignty of the Cambodian border, he said.

However, Cambodian officials say the accords do not apply to the current dispute. No official contacted by VOA Khmer would give a clear indication of what might actually be done with the UN.

Meanwhile, Hun Sen has continues to focus on the frontier. On Friday he ordered a reorganization of military and police on the border aimed at improving their living conditions and improving morale.

Cambodian Minister: Both sides show restraint as border standoff continues

PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Both Cambodian and Thailand have kept maximum restraint, as their troop deployment at the disputed Preah Vihear area rose to about 800 in the ninth day of bilateral military standoff, said a senior official here Thursday.

"The Cambodian government hasn't taken any measure to tell people to boycott Thai products and the Thai neither. People from both sides do their business as normal. The situation at the border area is calm. We are only confronted near the Preah Vihear Temple," said Cambodian government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith.

The current spat arose from the internal affairs of Thai politicians, as the extremists created the dispute and wanted to cash in on it to topple the current Thai government, he said.

Meanwhile, the minister insisted that Thai troops have violated Cambodian sovereignty and asked Thailand to go to the International Court of Justice again to clarify the possession of the land near the Preah Vihear Temple.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded the 11- century classic Khmer-style Preah Vihear Temple, together with the land it occupies, to Cambodia.

In addition, the minister said that Cambodia had asked the UN Security Council to have emergency meeting to help solve the border tension and Hor Nam Hong, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, will possibly go to UN to represent the relevant documents.

"Thai troops invaded Cambodia soil. They have to withdraw from Cambodia and make the status quo as prior to in July 15, 2008," he said.

The border between the two countries now runs 800 km with only 73 demarcation posts and the map was drawn and signed in 1904 and 1907 by France, as protectorate of Cambodia, together with Siam (now Thailand), he added.

Earlier Wednesday, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) stated that it failed to mediate between the two ASEAN members, saying that it would adversely affect the regional organization.

The UN Security Council is reportedly to convene an urgent meeting Thursday to find peaceful solution to the ongoing stalemate.

On Monday, bilateral top-level talks in Thailand failed to reach any agreement to end the military face-off.

On July 7, the temple was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.

On July 15, three Thai protesters trespassed the border to reclaim the temple, but were immediately arrested.

Thai troops then came in to fetch them, thus triggering standoff with Cambodian soldiers there. Military force was then built up on daily basis until the current scale.

Phnom Penh won't budge or Bangkok too set on its mistaken path?

P Penh won't budge

July 23, 2008
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Singapore

Cambodian delegates adamant on French map; seek UN, Asean help to end stand-off

Cambodia yesterday launched a diplomatic offensive against Thailand following the failure to resolve the week-long military stand-off at the disputed Preah Vihear Temple.

Gen Boonsrang Niumpradit, supreme commander of the Thai armed forces, meanwhile, said more Cambodian troops had been stationed at the border after both countries failed to reach an agreement on Monday.

Boonsrang, who led a Thai delegation to a consultation meeting with Cambodian counterparts, said Cambodia had been adamant on its position, particularly regarding the use of a French-drawn map demarcating the two countries' border.

As a result, the Cambodian side, led by Defence Minister Tea Banh, did not accept Thailand's conditions for resolution of the border dispute.

Thousands of Thai and Cambodian soldiers are currently on alert at the border.

As for Cambodia, its representatives yesterday asked Asean and the United Nations to convene special sessions to help resolve the "grave" border stand-off.

However, Thailand wanted to use bilateral mechanisms to try to end the row, saying it was too early to take the issue to regional or international levels.

Gen Boonsrang said a resolution to the conflict should be easier to reach after Cambodia holds its general election on Sunday (July 27).

In addition, he said both countries should consider sharing interests to end the dispute.

The Thai-Cambodian row was discussed over lunch yesterday by the 10-member Asean grouping in Singapore, where foreign ministers met on the sidelines of a ministerial conference.

Singapore's foreign minister George Yeo invited all ministers to the session after Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong proposed that an Asean Inter-Ministerial Group, made up of foreign ministers of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, should try to help end the Thai-Cambodian dispute.

The Singaporean minister also told his Cambodian counterpart it was too soon to ask the UN to deal with the issue.

Thailand's deputy prime minister Sahas Bunditkul, who led the Thai delegation here, only joined the lunch session on condition that it had no official agenda and that no records or documents of any kind would come out of the meeting.

Sahas insisted that the General Border Committee (GBC) of Thailand and Cambodia, and other bilateral talks, would fix the conflict.

"Asean has offered its facilities to Cambodia and Thailand, but only in the event that the two sides need further support to find a solution. For now, we feel it's premature," Sahas told reporters after the lunch. The situation was not as "grave" as painted by Cambodia, he said.

The Cambodian foreign minister earlier asked the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting next Monday to discuss measures to help resolve the conflict.

The Cambodian ambassador to the US also handed letters to the presidents of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly about Cambodia's request.

Cambodian spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Phnom Penh would also seek a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for boundary demarcation, but the Thai Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary Norachit Sinhaseni said this was unlikely.

The ICJ ruled in 1962 that the 11th-century Hindu temple was part of Cambodia, but it became an issue of conflict after the temple was listed as a World Heritage site despite a late objection from Thailand.