Cambodia, Thailand: Preah Vihear dispute continues

Monday, July 20th, 2009
By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices

The ancient Temple of Preah Vihear rests on the Cambodian and Thai borders. Exactly which country can claim Preah Vihear has been a source of contention between the neighboring countries. Since the July 2008 inscription by UNESCO, there has been violence in the region between Cambodian and Thai soldiers.

The ancient Temple of Preah Vihear, which, according to UNESCO, dates back to the eleventh century and is dedicated to Shiva, rests on the Cambodian and Thai borders. Exactly which country can claim Preah Vihear has been a source of contention between the neighboring countries. In 1962, the International Court of Justice, acting on an application by the Cambodian government, ruled that the Temple is within Cambodian territory. In July 2008, UNESCO listed the Temple as a World Heritage Site, citing its “unique architectural complex.”

Photo below by paniek at Flickr.

Two boys sit in the Temple. Photo by paniek at Flickr.

Since the July 2008 inscription by UNESCO, there has been violence in the region between Cambodian and Thai soldiers. However, as The Mirror reports, various Cambodian government officials have denied that the UNESCO listing is the reason behind the violence. Thailand has urged that UNESCO re-list the Temple so that it would be jointly managed by Thailand and Cambodia. The Mirror notes:

Based on the relevant UNESCO documents, and referenced here point by point, we bring additional information related to the procedures of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and the listing of the Sacred Site of the Temple of Preah Vihear, which led to military confrontations, the loss of human life on both sides, and a sharp decline of tourism – all this has been reflected in different degrees in the Mirror during the last year.

Unfortunately, and to our surprise – in spite of the wide emotional concerns related to the Preah Vihear listing – the press in Cambodia has not reported much about the delicate and detailed legal and contractual arguments at the basis of the listing as a World Heritage Site, and the future obligations entered into by the Cambodian government.

But if the Cambodian press is failing to report on the implications of the listing, the Cambodian government is very much aware of the UNESCO designation. The Cambodian government recently recognized the one-year anniversary of UNESCO's listing with singing, dancing and speeches. Photos of the event are available on Monkgol's blog and at Khmerization.

Video of the festivities is available as well.

TVK Khmer News- 7 July 2009-2 Preah Vihear (UNESCO)
Uploaded by KampongSpeu. - Explore more music videos.

TVK Khmer News- 7 July 2009-2 Preah Vihear (UNESCO)
Uploaded by KampongSpeu.

The animosity between the two countries has manifested online as well, as Kounila Keo points out in her post entitled “I Love Khmer vs. I Love Thailand” about competing websites ilovethailand.org
and ilovekhmer.org.

Details are Sketchy, with comments from ThaRum, reports that the ilovethailand.org site is blocked in Cambodia, but it is unclear which side is censoring the site.

As hostilities continue, Sopheap Chak charges the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (”ASEAN”) for not fulfilling its duty to “promote regional peace and stability.” In an editorial published in UPI Asia, Chak writes that ASEAN's passivity in the Preah Vihear matter is unacceptable. Chak writes that “[i]t seems that ASEAN is simply irrelevant when it comes to member states’ security…[and that continued lack of action will mean] ASEAN cannot continue to be considered a crucial regional body.”

A great Khmer historian will publish a book on the history of Preah Vihear temple

The spectacular aerial view of Preah Vihear temple with the bird's eye view of Cambodia to the left.

Kampuchea Thmey newspaper
25th December, 2008
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

A commentary book about the history of Preah Vihear from the time of its construction to the present time, including the Thai invasion, will be published soon. The book was written by an academic working at the Royal Cambodian Academy.

Dr. Ros Chantrabot, the author of the book and vice-rector of the Royal Cambodian Academy, told Kampuchea Thmey that he plans to publish a book titled “Prasat Preah Vihear” (Preah Vihear Temple), which is a book on the history of Preah Vihear from the time of its construction until the present time.

He said that the book will be divided into three chapters. The first chapter will be about the history, the builder-kings, the stone inscriptions and the architectures. Chapter two will be about the court case in the International Court of Justice (1962) in The Hague which Cambodia won. The third chapter will be about the inscription of Preah Vihear temple in the world heritage list, including detailing about the Thai opposition of the inscription. It also details about the Thai invasion, starting on the 15th of July, 2008 onward.

Dr. Chatrabot said that the delay in the publication of the book is because he wants to wait to see if the present disputes with Thailand will change cause.

Dr. Chantrabot said that the book will be put to the government (Council of Ministers) for checking before publication. He said that this is because up until now there is no French historian has published any books on the history on Preah Vihear temple, only books about tourism guide that have been published.

Dr. Chatrabot said that the book has been personally researched and written by himself. The book will be 300 pages thick and 5000 copies will published in the first edition.

Mr. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, cannot be contacted for comments, but Dr. Chantrabot said that the publication of the book does not need government’s permission because it is the works of his personal research.

The Thai asked the Cambodian authority to evict the Cambodian people from the Preah Vihear areas

In mid June, 2008 a group of Thai nationalists staged a protest in front of the Preah Vihear temple asking the Thai army to evict the Cambodians from their village near the Preah Vihear temple. On the 15th of July, 2008, three Thai protesters jumped fence into Cambodian territories and were arrested by the Khmer border guards which culminated into the Thai invasion of the Preah Vihear areas where Thailand maintained their troops until today.

Everyday.com
18th November, 2008
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

The Social and Economic Advisory Council of Thailand has appealed to the Thai government to take firm actions against Cambodia which this council accused of allowing its citizens to live on Thai territories.

Mr.Suwanchai Saengsuk-iam, secretary of the Preah Vihear Task Force of the above council, has told a Thai newspaper that the Thai government must pressure the Cambodian government to evict the Cambodian people from the Thai territories immediately and unconditionally.

The evictions are aimed at those Cambodian citizens who set up stalls and shops along the road leading to the Preah Vihear temple and those Cambodians who live in the areas surrounding the Preah Vihear temple. This council has asked the Thai government to put further pressures on Cambodia to evict those Cambodian people who live in the areas they considered as “disputed”. This council wants Thailand to maintain troops in the Preah Vihear areas and it asked Thailand not to reduce the numbers of troops in the areas.

Please not that, the area where the Cambodian people set up stalls and shops to sell souvenirs near the staircase of the Preah Vihear temple is a Cambodian territory, so the above council’s ignorant claims and its request for Cambodia to evict Cambodians from the Khmer territory is shameless.

The Siem Reap Agreement: What does it mean?

Opinion by Khmerization
25th October 2008

“Cambodia has a lot to lose, because the agreement has given Thailand the de jure basis for a continued Thai occupation of the Cambodian territories. This agreement, if anything at all, has given Thailand, as the aggressor, a favourable publicity boost it needed to polish its already tarnished image in the eyes of the international community.”

At long last, both Cambodia and Thailand are talking seriously to resolve their border disputes because of the internationalisation of the issue and because of pressures from the leaders attending the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing. Both sides, in particular Thailand as the aggressed side, are under international pressures to resolve their differences peacefully and amicably. Both sides, especially Thailand, who as the instigator of the conflict, did not want their image tarnished in the eyes of the international community.

In Siem Reap, both sides have for the first time inked an agreement, after four months of rhetoric, military confrontations and many failed talks. But, what does this agreement mean? And does it amount to anything worthy of celebration?

In any agreement, there is always the pros and the cons. On the pro side, the agreement will provide a climate conducive to the easing of border and military tensions. It would be a prologue to the building of a foundation for the return to normalcy. It can be a basis which will pave the way for a larger, future and comprehensive border agreement. And from a military perspective, the agreement has eliminated mistrusts, boost confidence and building up trusts between the two warring and opposing armies stationing along the borders. In short, on the pro side, the agreement is a testament to the fact that Cambodia and Thailand can talk to each other instead of fighting each other.

All the pros notwithstanding, there are the cons. This agreement raises more questions than providing answers to the present Khmer-Thai conflict. It did not address the more pressing issue and the root cause of the current border spat: Thailand’s aggressions and Thai withdrawal from the Preah Vihear areas.

The agreement is only an agreement “to ease tensions to create peace and stability for the people of the two countries living along the border”. It is not an agreement to resolve the border disputes, which are the root cause of the conflict. The terms of the agreement are superficial, vague and has no substance. It did not include any clause or reference to the withdrawal of Thai troops from the Preah Vihear areas. And with both sides have staunchly vowed to maintain their frontline position and with the Thai side strongly insisting that the deployments of their troops are “inside Thai territory“, coupled with the terms of agreement subject to the approval from the Thai parliament, this agreement is nothing but meaningless.

The agreement should create the mechanisms for the resolution and the withdrawal of Thai occupation of the Preah Vihear areas. It should set conditions for a return to normalcy, that is the pre-15th of July 2008 status quo, before the Thai invasion of the Preah Vihear areas.

From a Cambodian perspective, one must view this agreement pessimistically. Any agreement without any conditions for the withdrawal of the Thai troops from the Preah Vihear, Ta Moan Thom and Ta Krabey temples would provide a de facto recognition of the Thai occupation of those areas and therefore, the Thai de jure ownership of those temples. And the agreement did not insert any clauses and mechanisms in which to prevent further and future Thai encroachments and as well as incursions.


Thailand has a lot to gain from this agreement because the agreement did not cover troop reductions, elimination of heavy weaponry at the border areas. But most importantly, it did not address the root cause of the conflict, which is the Thai occupation of the Preah Vihear, Ta Moan Thom and Ta Krabey temples. On the contrary, Cambodia has a lot to lose, because the agreement has given Thailand the de jure basis for a continued Thai occupation of the Cambodian territories. This agreement, if anything at all, has given Thailand, as the aggressor, a favourable publicity boost it needed to polish its already tarnished image in the eyes of the international community.

In short, this agreement works toward Thai advantages in two fronts. One, the Thai side has locked Cambodia into a commitment not use force to dislodge Thai troops from the Preah Vihear areas in the future. Two, that Thailand has succeeded in presenting its good guy image and hypnotising the international community into believing that Thailand has done everything within its power to resolve the disputes amicably and peacefully, while in fact the root cause of the conflict has not been addressed.

From a Cambodian point of view, this agreement will come to haunt Cambodia in the future. Because the agreement did set any conditions for Thai troop withdrawal from the Cambodian territories, Thailand will use it as a basis in which to launch its campaign to stake a legal ownership claim to the areas that they have occupied, that is to say the Preah Vihear areas, the Ta Moan Thom and the Ta Krabey temples. And so, this agreement is not a cause celebre for the Cambodian people.//