Preah Vihear should be left out of politics

Monday October 27, 2008
Letters to The Bangkok Post
POST BAG

Re: ''Betrayal at the border'' (Bangkok Post, Oct 25). I defy both Thais and Cambodians to stop cattily pointing the finger and instead get to the root of the ongoing military quagmire and boundary dispute between the two countries.

The question should be: ''How could Cambodia ever plant new mines 'deep inside' Thai territory?'' And, most importantly, ''How could the three Thai ultra-nationalists trespass right under the nose of the Thai authorities on July 15 and why did Bangkok take the needless, unprecedented step of deploying troops in response to the lawful detention of the three intruders in lieu of a diplomatic request for their release?''

There are three plausible scenarios. First, either the trio jumped the barbed wire fence of their own free will or in deference to the PAD - a long-time thorn in Thaksin Sinawatra and his successors' side. In this case, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has no role in the three-month-long conflict.

Second, Hun Sen may have countenanced his former counterpart Samak Sundaravej and incumbent premier Somchai Wongsawat using armed confrontation for mutual benefit, with Hun Sen gaining the edge ahead of the July parliamentary election and the two Thai embattled PMs diverting the PAD's attention in the midst of alarming political turbulence - as assumed by some analysts. The assumption, however, has proved illogical. For one thing, the stand-off escalated into a tragic skirmish just two weeks ago - almost three months after Hun Sen won by a landslide. For another, the self-proclaimed People's Alliance for Democracy has plunged Thailand into chaos through its undemocratic anti-government rallies since 2005 - long before the Preah Vihear temple officially became a world landmark.

Third, sparks were really flying following the unilateral inscription of the 11th century ruin. Samak, under impeachment pressure and so forth, wasted no time turning the public focus to an all-new issue: a so-called ''border row'' with Cambodia. He could have intentionally sent the three Thai extremists, knowing full well that they would be lawfully detained. And when they were arrested, he short-sightedly responded with soldier deployment, knowing precisely that Cambodia would rather bring the case to the ICJ in The Hague or the UNSC than risking a gun battle in the vicinity of its invaluable temple. Phnom Penh did just that. Realising the situation had got out of hand, Samak moved to trick Hun Sen into withdrawing the complaint and resuming further bilateral negotiations. What did Samak and Thailand have to lose?

In summary, Thailand has not only dragged Cambodia into its political mess but has also held the Preah Vihear temple hostage.

VUTH CHANSEREI PHUON
Phnom Penh

Thailand needs to show it is sincere

19th October 2008
Opinion by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

Letter to the editor,
Bangkok Post
webmaster@bangkokpost.co.th

"The peaceful resolutions to the present conflict is possible only if Thailand abide by its commitments to a diplomatic and peaceful solution. If Thailand continues its military aggressions and encroachments, armed conflict is inevitable. Thailand must practise what it had preached to Cambodia, and that is stop sending troops into Cambodian territories and start withdrawing."

Dear Sir,

The article published in the Bangkok Post on Sunday October 19th, 2008 titled "Cambodia needs to show it is sincere", written by Thanida Tansubhapol is lopsided, one-sided and most importantly, ill-informed. It is Thailand, and not Cambodia, who needs to be sincere regarding the resolution of the Preah Vihear conflict.

While Cambodia has been very patient with the continued Thai encroachments and sincere all along in the negotiations, Thailand has been very deceitful. Thailand has steadfastly refused to withdraw its troops from the Cambodian territories during the many fruitless talks in the past. On the contrary, Thailand has chosen military solutions instead of diplomacy when it sent its troops to occupy the Preah Vihear areas on the 15th of July this year. Thailand has employed a macho-man and strong armed tactics to bully Cambodia over Ta Moan Thom and Ta Krabey temples, Phnom Trop and Veal Entry which culminated into a deadly fire-fight on the 15th of October. Where is Thailand's sincerity?

The lack of sincerity on the part of Thailand was evident in the fact that it has steadfastly refused to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories and Thailand's relentless attempts to block Cambodia's efforts to resolve the dispute through diplomacy, like through the UN Security Council and legal means, such as the International Court of Justice. Thailand, instead, has chosen to flex its military muscles, even during Mr. Sompong Amornvivat's talks with PM Hun Sen on the 13th, two days before the deadly fighting, Thailand had sent in their troops to cross the borderlines which resulted in Mr. Hun Sen issuing an ultimatum for Thai troops to be withdrawn. These kinds of military bullying and armed provocations have escalated into the fighting on the 15th. Again, where is Thailand's sincerity?

Cambodian should accept Malaysia's and Indonesia's offer of a mediation. Cambodia can show them the documents and maps from the 1904-1908 treaty. Cambodia can bring those Malaysian and Indonesian mediators to the sites of the conflicts and show them the 1904-1908 maps to locate whether they are locating inside Cambodia or inside Thailand. This is one way that Cambodia can prove to the world of Thai encroachments and Thai aggressions.

The key point in any peaceful resolutions to the conflict be would that Thailand allows diplomacy to run its course, whether bilateral, regional or international. For any diplomacy to run its course successfully, Thailand must first withdraw all its troops from the territories it has occupied and return the situation to normalcy, and that is the pre-15th of July 2008 status quo.

Thailand has vehemently opposed to the internalisation of the Khmer-Thai conflict because Thailand has no legal basis in which to fight for the ownership of the territories that they have claimed. Thailand has refused to negotiate based on the documents from the Khmer-Thai treaty of 1904-1908 because the territories that Thai troops have occupied are located inside Cambodia, according to the maps from the 1904-1908 treaty. If Thailand is sincere enough, it would have withdrawn its troops from the Cambodian territories, then set up a joint border commission with Cambodia to demarcate the borders, using the internationally-recognised documents of the 1904-1908 treaty between the two countries.

The peaceful resolutions to the present conflict is possible only if Thailand abide by its commitments to a diplomatic and peaceful solution. If Thailand continues its military aggressions and encroachments, armed conflict is inevitable. Thailand must practise what it had preached to Cambodia, and that is stop sending troops into Cambodian territories and start withdrawing. Then demarcations of the border can proceed by using the documents and maps from the internationally-recognised treaty of 1904-1908 signed between the two countries. If Thailand is sincere enough, this is the way to go and the border issues can be settled peacefully. The solution this way will bring about a long lasting and good neighbourly co-existence between the two countries. Military solutions, which currently employed by Thailand, can only lead to bloodshed and misery for the people of the two countries. Military occupations by Thai troops need to be stopped!