Fresh talks on border squabble

THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL

Thailand and Cambodia will hold border talks next week followed by a meeting of foreign ministers in a fresh attempt to resolve the land border dispute.

Tharit: Patience is essential

The Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) has been set for Monday and Tuesday in Siem Reap, and the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area surrounding Preah Vihear temple is high on the agenda, foreign affairs spokesman Tharit Charungwat said yesterday.

Mr Tharit said patience was needed. An agreement could not be expected overnight, despite the best intentions to resolve the problem through bilateral negotiations.

"I'm glad both sides have agreed to bilateral talks, but we all must exercise restraint because many rounds of talks can be expected," said Mr Tharit.

Field survey teams from both countries may be going to the borders during the talks, he added.

Both countries claim sovereignty over the disputed area. Thailand says it is in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket, but Cambodia insists it is part of its Preah Vihear province.

The JBC meeting comes after parliament last week approved a negotiation framework with Cambodia.

Vasin Teeravechyan, the retired Thai ambassador to South Korea, heads the Thai team to the JBC meeting. He yesterday attended the preparatory meeting at the Foreign Ministry.

The Cambodian side is led by Senior Minister Var Kim Hong.

Mr Tharit said Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong will meet on Nov 12 in Siem Reap after the JBC forum.

He said Cambodia may also raise other disputed areas, such as Ta Muean Thom and Ta Kwai temples, during the ministerial talks, as it had previously intended to at the last meeting in August.

Cambodia reports temple damage to UN

BANGKOK POST AND AFP

Cambodia has lodged a complaint with the United Nations accusing Thai troops of damaging the ancient Preah Vihear temple during a border shootout earlier this month, an official said yesterday. Phay Siphan, spokesman for Cambodia's Council of Ministers, said a staircase and a sculpture at the ruins were damaged by rocket fire.
A complaint was filed with the UN cultural body Unesco a few days after the firefight erupted on Oct 15 near Preah Vihear, a World Heritage Site at the centre of the long-running territorial dispute.
''Preah Vihear temple was intentionally damaged by Thai troops, because we found the remnants of grenades ... near the temple and there were no Cambodian soldiers stationed nearby,'' Phay Siphan said.
''The Preah Vihear authority has sent pictures of the damage to Unesco.''
The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denied Thai soldiers had damaged the 11th-century Khmer temple.
The Second Army, in charge of the northeastern region, insisted that no heavy weapons or rockets were used that day.
Phnom Penh's complaint to the UN agency comes as the two countries attempt to resolve the border row, which is centred on the disputed area between Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket province and Cambodia's Preah Vihear province.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat met Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen on Friday in Beijing while attending the Asia-Europe Summit.
Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat said the talks were amicable and quoted Hun Sen as saying the fighting on the border should not have occurred.
The Cambodian leader also supported attempts to prevent future clashes through bilateral talks and the need to urgently untangle the overlapping borders by the Joint Boundary Commission and maintain trade and investment ties.
The government will seek parliamentary approval tomorrow for border negotiations with Cambodia, he added.
Tensions between Cambodia and Thailand flared in July when Preah Vihear was awarded UN World Heritage status, rekindling long-simmering tensions over ownership of 4.6 sq km of land surrounding the temple.
Three Cambodian soldiers and one Thai soldier were killed in the clashes on Oct 15.
Preah Vihear, with its elegant carvings and crumbling stone staircases, is the most important example of ancient Khmer architecture outside Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple complex.
Although the World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, the most accessible entrance is in Kantharalak district

Thailand rejects Cambodian claims of damage to Preah Vihear

BORDER DISPUTE
By Supalak GanjanakhundeeThe NationPublished on October 28, 2008

Thailand yesterday dismissed Cambodian claims of damage to the World Heritage site of Preah Vihear Temple during the recent shoot-out, saying it was the other side that had dispatched troops with heavy weaponry at the temple and its vicinity.
"We're verifying the presence of Cambodian troops at the temple, because we understand that placing troops at a World Heritage site violates the World Heritage Convention," said Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Virasakdi Futrakul.
A military report indicated Cambodian troops had fired rockets from the temple onto the Thai side, he added.
Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said on Sunday that his government has lodged a complaint with the United Nations accusing Thai troops of damaging the ancient Preah Vihear Temple.
The complaint was filed with Unesco, the UN's cultural body, a few days after the firefight broke out on October 15 near Preah Vihear, he said.
A staircase and a sculpture of the mythical Naga creature were hit by rocket fire at the 11th-century Khmer ruins, he said.
However, Thai ambassador to Paris Thana Duangrat reported to the ministry that there was no record of a Cambodian complaint submitted to Unesco.
"We have evidence proving Cambodia fired the rockets from Preah Vihear Temple at Thai troops," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat.
The ministry has checked the facts with the Second Army Area, which confirmed that on October 15, Thai soldiers, fired upon by Cambodian troops in the vicinity of Pha Mor I Daeng, used only rifles in their defence, he said.
In accordance with strict orders, Thai troops have not used heavy firearms or rocket launchers near Wat Phra Viharn, as it is called in Thai, and never fired at the temple.
On the contrary, Cambodian soldiers opened fired on Thai soldiers positioned near the twin stupas in the vicinity of Pha Mor I Daeng with recoilless guns and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), Tharit said.
The rockets landed near the twin stupas, wounding two Thai soldiers. Some also landed in Preah Vihear National Park in the vicinity of Laan Chom Dao and the park's residences. The Thai side later found two RPGs fired by the Cambodian side that had landed but failed to explode and has kept both of them for evidence, he said.
Cambodia's latest move could make the border problem more complicated and difficult to resolve, he said.

US envoy urges Asean to take up temple issue

Phnom Penh (dpa) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations could play a key role in resolving an ongoing border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, outgoing US ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli said at a press conference Monday.

Mussomeli, who is ending a three-year mission, said the US favoured a bilateral solution between the two neighbours over disputed territory on the northern Cambodian border.

"Cambodia and Thailand are neighbours and they will stay with each other forever," he told reporters. "Thailand needs Cambodia and Cambodia needs Thailand.

"But if bilateral negotiations fail, if after every effort you cannot find a solution, it is time to consider the option of the United Nations Security Council."

He also said one step that had been overlooked in the negotiation process which could help ensure the dispute was solved within Asian parameters was the 10-member Asean, of which both sides are members.

"That is one thing Asean could do to make itself really effective," he said.

Tensions arose last month shortly after UNESCO declared the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, around 300 kilometres from the capital, a World Heritage site over Thai objections.

Thailand sent troops into what it says is disputed territory near the temple and Cambodia says is sovereign territory.

At the end of July, Cambodia made fresh claims that Thai troops had also moved into the Ta Moan temple complex, 150 kilometres west, but Thailand disputed that, saying it had held the area for years.

RELATIONS WITH CAMBODIA

New round of border demarcation talks starts today

The Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meets today in a new bid to end the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

It comes after both sides agreed to reduce the number of troops on each side of the border.

The Suranaree Task Force and the Cambodian government confirmed yesterday that the
number of Thai and Cambodian soldiers in the overlapping zone had been reduced in line with the agreement reached last Wednesday in Surin.

The two countries still had 10 soldiers each at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda near Preah Vihear temple and 45 more around the pagoda's compound for joint patrols, a source at the task force said.

The rest were spread out in the 4.6 square kilometres of land which had not been demarcated, the source said.

Thailand insists the area in dispute is in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket, while Cambodia argues that it is part of Preah Vihear province.

Both countries finished moving most of their troops from a nearby temple on Saturday, said the source.

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith and Hang Soth, the director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority, a Cambodian government agency managing the historic site, confirmed the troop pullout.

''The tension has eased considerably. There is no more confrontation,'' Mr Hang Soth said, calling the troop withdrawals a ''good process giving us hope'' about the new talks.

The reduction of troops came on the eve of the meeting between Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi.

The ministers will hold an informal meeting today followed by the official JBC meeting tomorrow.

The Foreign Ministry said Thailand's main agenda is to find a way to establish sovereignty of the disputed area.

Second Army chief Lt-Gen Sujit Sitthiprapa will join other Thai negotiators in the talks.

Despite the reduction of troops, the source at the task force said the army was not satisfied as another Thai demand had not been met.

Thailand proposed at the Surin meeting that Cambodia replace 1,200 soldiers on top of the temple with police as a gesture of goodwill.

The presence of the Cambodian soldiers at the temple put Thailand at a strategic disadvantage.

On July 28, the nations' foreign ministers agreed on a plan to withdraw their troops from the
disputed area near the temple.

The stand-off started on July 15 after the World Heritage Committee approved Cambodia's application to list the temple as a World Heritage site.

Both countries have long claimed the temple, but the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.

Anti-Thai protest set for Sunday in Cambodia

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.

Temple pullback

Tension along the Thai-Cambodian border began to ease on Saturday as troops from the two country began to pull out from disputed area around Preah Vihear temple, Cambodian officials said.

Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority, a government agency managing the historic site, said that troops started putting away from the temple on Friday and the move was continuing on Saturday.

The pullout is expected to be done before sunset on Saturday, according to Cambodian Lieutenant-Colonel Sar Thavy.

The move ends a month-long standoff around an ancient border temple, where about 1,000 troops from Thailand and Cambodia have been facing off as the two countries claim the ownership of the temple.

Under the terms of an agreement reached between army officers on Wednesday, each side will leave just 10 soldiers at a Buddhist pagoda on the disputed territory, about 5 square kilometres of scrub that sits on a jungle-clad escarpment dividing the two countries.

PREAH VIHEAR TEMPLE ROW

Troop levels to be cut sharply

Thailand and Cambodia agreed yesterday to sharply reduce troop levels near the controversial Preah Vihear temple to ease tensions at the border.

The two countries will have only 10 soldiers each stationed at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda near the ruins and 45 more within around a one sq km area of the pagoda, a source said.

They will patrol the pagoda and its surroundings to ensure there are no violations of the deal, the source added.

The pagoda is located within the 4.6 sq km area which the two countries claim ownership of. Thailand and Cambodia have sent about 500-600 soldiers to the disputed zone between Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear after tensions rose early last month.

The agreement was reached in talks in Surin. Second Army commander Lt-Gen Suchit Sitthiprapa and Suranaree Task Force commander Maj-Gen Kanok Netrakawesana acted for Thailand. Deputy Defence Minister Gen Neang Paht and Fourth Army commander Lt-Gen Chea Mon represented Cambodia.

Thailand requested Cambodia to reduce its forces atop Preah Vihear to no more than 500 and replace soldiers with police as a gesture of goodwill, the source, who attended the meeting, said.

The two countries will leave the issue of the number of back-up forces inside their territory untouched.

Lt-Gen Suchit and Gen Neang Paht said after the meeting that the aim of the talks was to defuse the tensions over the Preah Vihear temple, avoid military confrontation and solve the thorny problem through a peaceful approach.

The reduction in troops would be a show of bilateral commitment and mutual trust, they added.

Lt-Gen Suchit said Thailand acted according to the Foreign Ministry's suggestion that troop numbers should be adjusted when necessary and they should be sufficient to defend Thai sovereignty.

After the morning talks, the Thai and Cambodian delegation heads visited Ta Moan Thom temple, a second disputed ancient site, in Phanom Dong Rak district in Surin in the afternoon.

Gen Neang Paht said Thailand and Cambodia agreed to open the border gate at 8am today when Thai people would be allowed to visit Ban Jan temple in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, around one kilometre away from the border.

The two countries agreed to cut troop numbers in a meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) in Siem Reap on July 28 in talks between Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong.

The next meeting is set for next Monday and Tuesday in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi.

The source said the forthcoming talks would focus on attempts to demarcate the border line near Preah Vihear.

Attempts to solve the border dispute were boosted after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said last Wednesday to resolve the issue peacefully through existing bilateral mechanisms.

THIA-CAMBODIAN TIES

Hun Sen says it's time to end row over Preah Vihear

REUTERS and BANGKOK POST

Hun Sen: Must stay as good neighbours

Thailand and Cambodia must bury the hatchet in their dispute over the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday, further easing fears the spat would escalate into military confrontation.

''We must not bring our countries to war just because of disputes on our border,'' Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla who won re-election last month, said in a live TV broadcast.

''We need to stay together as good neighbours for tens of thousands of years to come. We need to narrow our disputes and maximise bilateral cooperation, including trade,'' he said, striking a very different tone from the nationalist rhetoric of his campaign trail last month.

Both countries have sent soldiers and artillery to lay claim to 4.6 square kilometres of scrub near the temple, which sits on the jungle-clad escarpment that separates the two countries.

The disputed area is between Kanthadhralak district in Si Sa Ket and Preah Vihear, the Cambodian province.

Talks between the countries' two foreign ministers the day after Cambodia's July 27 general election yielded pledges to sort out the spat peacefully, but both sides have been reluctant to be the first to withdraw troops for fear of being painted as weak.

Hun Sen said he hoped another meeting between the two foreign ministers in Thailand on Aug 18 would help narrow the differences.

He referred to the meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will also pay a courtesy call on His Majesty the King, Hun Sen said.

He also said Phnom Penh was ready to withdraw its troops, echoing a Thai cabinet decision on Tuesday to assign a regional military commander to discuss troop ''redeployment'' to calm tensions.

The spat erupted last month when protest groups trying to overthrow the Thai government attacked Bangkok's backing of Cambodia's bid to list the Preah Vihear temple as a United Nations World Heritage site.

Preah Vihear has been claimed by both sides for decades, but was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.

The row spread at the weekend to Ta Moan Thom, a second ancient temple, on the border between Phanom Dong Rak district in Surin and Odday Meanchey in Cambodia.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat reaffirmed that the temple is on Thai soil and Cambodia mistook this as part of its territory due to a missing border marker.

Thailand protested to Cambodia on March 7 after seeing Cambodian tourist information claiming it was a group of ruins in Cambodia, he added. The information was based on a map made by Thailand and France, he added.

Border meeting

Phnom Penh - Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag will host his Cambodian counterpart Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in another effort to settle the potentially explosive border dispute, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday.

In a speech broadcast on state radio, Hun Sen said talks between Hor Namhong and Bunnag would be held in Hua Hin, where His Majesty the King of Thailand has a seaside palace.

"Hor Namhong will meet his Thai counterpart ... on Aug 18. Hor Namhong will then" have an audience with His Majesty, Hun Sen said at a rice farming ceremony in the southwestern province of Kampong Speu, 40 kilometres west of the capital.

Cambodia had earlier said no further talks on disputed territory around the World Heritage-listed border temple of Preah Vihear and the Ta Moan Thom temple would be held until a new government was formed, probably in September.

However, with Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party's efforts to form a coalition appearing to go more smoothly than after any previous election, talks had been moved forward.

Hun Sen said Cambodia sought to take the situation back to how it had been before July 15, when Thai troops moved into overlapping territory surrounding the temple, eight days after Preah Vihear was granted its World Heritage status by Unesco.

"At the pagoda we ask only Buddhist nuns, laymen and Buddhist monks stay - not troops from either side," Hun Sen said.

"I would like to respectfully inform the Thai king that if any other Cambodian except Hun Sen was prime minister, there would be war on the border since July 15 ... but not me."

"I would like to appeal to everybody to please, not expand the dispute but reduce it ... I am strong enough to lead a war. I was a soldier ... but the best resolution is not to fight. How many die?"

"Fighting is easy - it's ending the fight that is difficult," Hun Sen said. (dpa)

PREAH VIHEAR STANDOFF Tej (Thai FM): Let army negotiate redeployment

WASSANA NANUAM

Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag yesterday proposed the military be authorised to discuss with Cambodia the reduction in the number of soldiers deployed in the Preah Vihear standoff, said a source at Government House.
However, the source said Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told the cabinet meeting yesterday he preferred the term ''redeployment'' to partial withdrawal of troops.
The source added that troop reduction was proposed to ease tensions between the countries.
In his one-page report to the cabinet, Mr Tej also suggested that the troop readjustment be made before the third week of August, when the foreign affairs ministers of the two countries are to meet again to discuss the border dispute.
He said the Thai military should maintain as many soldiers as necessary to protect Thai sovereignty and to ease tensions at Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svara and the area around the Preah Vihear temple.
Mr Tej's report follows his meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong last week in Siem Reap.
The source said Mr Samak told the cabinet that care was needed in the wording used by Thailand in suggesting the troop readjustment, so as not to further aggravate the border dispute.
He also insisted that any readjustment of troops should be carried out simultaneously by both sides.
Meanwhile, army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda maintained yesterday that the Ta Moan Thom temple is located on Thai soil and Thai soldiers have been guarding the area for years.
He said the army has urged Cambodian authorities not to send troops into the area, as it would create tensions unnecessarily and disrupt ongoing border demarcation activities.
Gen Anupong said the situation at Ta Moan Thom was under control.
He declined to comment on speculation that Cambodia tried to further complicate border conflicts with Thailand in the wake of the Preah Vihear row.
''It is a sensitive matter. I am a security officer and not in a position to criticise. But we have been trying to prevent any confrontations and to promote understanding,'' he said.
The Ta Moan Thom temple came into the spotlight after Thailand barred Cambodian troops from visiting the area last weekend.
Army deputy spokeswoman Col Sirichan Nga-thong said the presence of Thai soldiers at Ta Moan Thom is routine and operations are limited to within accepted Thai territory.
She also said army activities in the area are carried out to protect Thai sovereignty and to sustain bilateral relations between the two countries.

Pullback approved (of Thai and Cambodian troops)

The cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a Thai military withdrawal from the front lines at Preah Vihear temple, as Cambodia demanded that Thai forces also pull back from Ta Moan Thom temple in Surin province.
The cabinet meeting only rubber-stamped an agreement between Cambodia and Thailand to pull back from their confrontation at the disputed area around Preah Vihear. It did not mention specific numbers or dates for the withdrawal.
Cambodia has demanded Thailand "go first" in stepping back at Preah Vihear, where even an accident could trigger military action by about 1,000 troops on each side. On Tuesday, it also demanded that Thai forces get away from the second temple, Ta Moan Thom, where there has been no change in military deployment in several years.
But the two countries did manage to agree in diplomatic discussions not to dispatch new troops into the area in order to ease tensions along the border.
Official Thai News Agency reported the agreement was reached following a closed-door, 30-minute meeting between Maj-Gen Kanok Netrakawesana, commander of Suranaree Task Force, and San Wanna, deputy governor of Cambodia's Uddor Meanchey province, at the Task Force headquarters in Kap Choeng border district of Surin province.
Government spokesman Wichainchot Sukchotrat said the cabinet had backed the joint withdrawal at Preah Vihear, but added that details would be discussed later by Cambodian and Thai military officials.
"The adjustment will be made in appropriate numbers in order to lower tension. Enough troops will be left to protect our sovereignty and integrity," he told a press conference.
After military officials agree on the details, the foreign ministers will meet on Aug 18 and 19 at Hua Hin, an army officer said. It was not clear there would be such a meeting, however. Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said on Monday there would be new talks with Thailand until a new government takes office in Phnom Penh following elections last month.
The Preah Vihear feud got even hotter on Sunday as Cambodian politicians stoked the increasingly nasty anti-Thai feelings in the country. They alleged Thai troops were occupying the second temple, 130 kilometres west of Preah Vihear and not involved in the original dispute.
Army commander Anupong Paojindasaid insisted on Tuesday that the temple and Thai troops are within "Thai territory."
Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, however, said the temple "is clearly under our sovereignty, and we have to demand it back."
"Our position is to try to talk to them (Thai troops) and get them to withdraw to where they came from," Cambodia's Tea Banh told reporters.
About 50 Cambodian soldiers have long been stationed near the Thai troops at Ta Moan Thom, with another 200 deployed about 300 metres from the temple site. The 13th century temple was built during the Khmer Empier as a rest stop for travellers between Angkor Wat and towns which today are in the Northeast region of Thailand.
Lt Gen Niphat Thonglek, chief of the Border Affairs Department, said Tuesday that Cambodian troops had long been allowed at Ta Moan Thom because they came in small groups and were unarmed.
"Over the weekend, about 40 to 50 of them came and they were armed, so the Thai troops did not allow them in," he said.

Troop redeployment near Preah Vihear to be done in 3rd week of August

Troop redeployment in the area near Preah Vihear would be finished in third week of this month before the second ministerial meeting with Cambodia on border stand off, government spokesman Wichianchot Sukchotrat said Tuesday.Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag reported an agreement he made with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong last week the cabinet meeting that both sides agreed to deploy troops from Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda area near the Preah Vihear to ease tension.Cambodia deployed more than 1000 troops at the area while Thailand has some 400 soldiers nearby.Both sides would maintain number of armed forces necessary for protection of respective national sovereignty, the spokesman said.The Nation

Troops to pull back from Preah Vihear

By Piyanart SrivaloWijit Chunhakijkhajorn
The NationPublished on August 6, 2008

Troops will be redeployed from the area near Preah Vihear by the third week of this month, before the second ministerial meeting with Cambodia on the border stand-off, government spokesman Wichianchot Sukchotrat said yesterday. But troops at Ta Muen Thom temple in Surin would remain, as the temple was believed to be on Thai territory, Army chief Anupong Paochinda said.

Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag told Cabinet yesterday he and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong agreed last week that both sides would move troops from the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda area near Preah Vihear to ease tension.
Cambodia has had more than 1,000 troops in the area while Thailand has some 400 soldiers nearby.
Both sides would maintain a number of personnel necessary for the protection of their respective national sovereignty, the spokesman said.
The two sides would discuss details and complete the redeployment by the third week of August, he said.
Meanwhile, the dispute over Ta Muen Thom temple in Surin province continues as both sides insist on sovereignty over the area.
A meeting yesterday between Suranaree Task Force Commander Kanok Nettaraka-waysana with Cambodia's Odor Meanchey deputy governor San Vanna failed to reach any agreement.
Cambodia's request to have its troops protect the area with Thai troops was rejected, an official said.
San Vanna said Cambodia would not deploy troops to the area in order to maintain peace and good relations with Thailand.
However, a military source said Cambodia's Fourth Army Region Deputy Commander Maj General Po Heng led some 100 troops to an area 2km from Ta Muen Thom temple.
Army chief Gen Anupong declined to comment on a report that Cambodia tried to send armed troops across the border with the intention of remaining there.
Thai troops were there to protect sovereignty as the temple was on Thai soil, he said.
"We have told our troops there not to use force or instigate any confrontation at the border," Anupong said.
The Thai side had repeatedly told Cambodians in the area to allow demarcation officials to do their jobs by not deploying troops there, the Army chief said.
Ownership of Prasat Ta Muen Thom is the latest border row following the Preah Vihear dispute.
Last week, armed Cambodian troops tried to cross the border at Surin to visit the temple, only to be turned back at the border.
Ta Muen Thom is part of the Thai-Cambodia border that has yet to be demarcated and agreed on by both countries.

Prasat Ta Muen Thom is in Thai soil: Army chief (Thai)

By The Nation

Thai troops have been stationing at Prasat Ta Muen Thom in Surin province for years, meaning it is in the Thai territory, Army Commander in Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda said Tuesday.
Our map clearly showed that it is in our soil, he said.
However he declined to comment a report that Cambodia tried to send its armed troops across the border to the place with an intention to station there.

"We have told our troops there not to use forces or instigate any confrontations at the border," the general said.
The Thai side has repeatedly told the Khmer side at the area to allow demarcation officials do there jobs by not deploy troops there, he said.
Ownership of Prasat Ta Muen Thom became the latest border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia following Preah Vihear Temple. Last week, armed Khmer troops tried to cross the border at Surin to visit the place, only to be rejected at the border.
The Thai-Cambodia border have not yet been demarcated.
.

Cambodia warned to 'back off'

Ta Moan Thom temple new border flashpoint

BANGKOK POST AND AGENCIES

Boonsrang: Foreign troops turned back

Supreme Commander Gen Boonsrang Niempradit yesterday told Cambodia to stay away from Ta Moan Thom after the 13th-century temple became the latest hot spot between the two countries.

The army has informed its Cambodian counterpart of the Thai position, Gen Boonsrang said, adding that if Cambodian soldiers come to the area, they will be pushed back.
Lt-Gen Niphat Thonglek, chief of the Border Affairs Department, said Cambodian troops would be barred from entering the area, as Thailand and Cambodia have not settled the dispute over land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.

A plan to reduce the number of Thai soldiers in the overlapping zone between Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket and Cambodia's Preah Vihear province will be tabled during a cabinet meeting today.

The agreement was reached in the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting in Siem Reap on July 28 by Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong. The two countries also agreed to hold more talks to settle the dispute.
But Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said further talks between their foreign ministers will not take place until Cambodia forms a new government in late September.
"There will be no more meetings until the new government is formed," he said in Phnom Penh.
The Ta Moan Thom temple was thrust into the spotlight on Sunday when Cambodia accused Thai troops of staying in the area it claimed to be part of Cambodian soil.
It is part of a group of the Ta Moan temples in the same area. Two other temples in the group are located on Thai soil, outside the disputed area.
The Cambodian complaint came after its soldiers were barred from visiting the temple on Saturday.
Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh said Cambodian soldiers and civilians were usually allowed to enter the Ta Moan Thom ruins for religious ceremonies, but over the weekend Thai soldiers blocked their way.
"They did not allow our troops to enter. That's why the dispute arose," he said. "Now we want the troops to stay where they are for a while."
Gen Tea Banh, confirming the Cambodian troops were still stationed nearby, said the two sides were "working on this issue".
After the weekend more border rangers from the Suranaree Task Force were mobilised to guard the temple and nearby historical sites.
A border ranger said there was no tension between Thai and Cambodian troops near the area, and discussions were conducted in a friendly manner.
Task force commander Maj-Gen Kanok Netrakawesana said Thai soldiers have been stationed around the temple for years.
The temple is in another location which has not been demarcated. Officials of the two countries had already surveyed the area to gather evidence for the JBC to decide where the borderline should be.
Cambodian Senior Minister Var Kimhong, who is in charge of border issues, said there was no legal doubt Ta Moan Thom was Cambodian. But Thailand is equally confident it is in Phanom Dong Rak district in Surin, opposite Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia.
Fine Arts Department chief Kriengkrai Sampatchalit insisted the department has long taken care of the temple as Thailand's national heritage, while Cambodia has never shown an interest in maintaining the site.
The department registered Ta Moan Thom as a national heritage site years ago. Phnom Penh has never opposed the registration, the official added.
Mr Kriengkrai said demarcation in the area by the Thai-Cambodian panel would settle the dispute.
Historian Thepmontri Limpapayom said Ta Moan Thom belonged to Thailand, and he believed the new dispute over the temple was a ploy by Phnom Penh to divert Thailand's attention from the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple.
Historian M.L. Walwipa Charoonroj of Thammasat University said academics had warned government agencies that the Ta Moan Thom temple could be the subject of a serious dispute.

End of discussion (between Thailand and Cambodia)

Source: Bangkokpost.com


Phnom Penh - Talks between the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand are over for now - at least until Cambodia forms a new government, expected in late September, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Monday. Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niumpradit suggested Cambodia pull back its troops from a second disputed temple area.
"There will be no more meetings. Wait until the new government is formed," Kanharith said at a press conference for the visit of Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
Instead, discussions would be left to the border committees on both sides for now, he said. The tensions on the northern border auger badly for pending negotiations over disputed sea borders which hold potentially rich oil fields in the balance.
Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said on Monday that Phnom Penh is committed to avoiding a shooting conflict. "The situation along the border has not yet reached emergency state," he told reporters.
In Bangkok, official Thai News Agency reported that Gen Boonsrang had asked his Border Affairs Department to pass a message to Cambodian Defence Minster Tea Banh:
"We ask Cambodia to move their soldiers, who are near the Ta Muen Thom temple," he said. "I have not received the response yet."
Reports on Sunday that a second temple on the Thai- Cambodian border has been occupied by Thai troops has drawn an angry reaction from the public. Click here for earlier Bangkok Post report.
Gen Boonsrang said a small group of Cambodian soldiers advanced on Sunday or Monday towards the temple.
Ta Muen Thom ruin sits in the Thai border district of Phanom Dong Rak in the northeastern province of Surin, but Cambodia claims that the ruin is in Cambodia's northern Banteay Meanchey. The demarcation between the two countries has not yet been settled by the Thailand-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC).
Gen Boonsrang denied that Thailand had increased the number of troops stationed at Ta Muen Thom, and he declined to comment on ownership of the ruin.
"I don't want to answer other questions, otherwise it will escalate," he said.
Cambodia has said it will take the border dispute surrounding ancient temples the United Nations Security Council if bilateral talks fail.
Tensions flared on July 15 when Cambodia detained briefly three Thai protestors it said had strayed into Cambodian land after Preah Vihear temple was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site against Thai wishes. Thailand retaliated by sending in troops.
Sunday the dispute spread to Ta Muen Thom temple, hundreds of kilometres to the west, further straining relations.
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti prime minister had some poignant words for Cambodia Monday during his 3-day official visit, Kanharith said.
"He told us once Kuwait was invaded by Iraq but now it has an embassy in Iraq," Kanharith said, referring to the 1991 Gulf War.
"Kuwait wants to solve problems by peaceful means ... not fighting." (dpa)

Thailand nominates Prasat Ta Muen Thom as World Heritage site

Thailand has nominated Prasat Ta Muen Thom, which becomes the latest border dispute with Cambodia, to be listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, Fine Arts Department director general Kriengkrai Sampatchalit said Monday.
The Unesco is scheduled to consider the Thai nomination of the Prasat Ta Muen Thom and other Prasats in Surin, Buri Ram and Nakhon Ratchasima under "the Khmer Civilisation Route," in its meeting next year, he said.
"It is true that the Prasat is located just about 100 metres from the border in the Thai soil. The Fine Arts Department has found and registered as one our Thai ancient items since 1935, or about 73 years ago," he said.
The Thai side has since then renovated it and opened it for public long time ago, he said, adding the Cambodian government has acknowledged the renovation and all activities related to the place.
Kriengkrai also responded to a latest report last week that the Khmer troops tried to cross the border to visit the place, but the Thai army declined their attempt. The Khmer troops reportedly intended to station there.
He said Prasat Ta Muen Thom has usually welcomed all visitors but the Thai army stepped in to take care of the Khmer visit because they came in uniform and were armed with weapons.

Boonsang: land at Ta Moan Thom belongs to us (Thai General says)

(BangkokPost.com) - The Supreme Commander, Gen Boonsang Niampradit, said he handed a letter to the Cambodian authority, stating that the land at the 13th century Ta Moan Thom temple belongs to Thailand. Cambodia has accused Thai troops of occupying a second sacred temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.
Gen Boonsang said the Thai army and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have to discuss and work out the dispute involving the 11th century Preah Vihear temple. He said the army is providing relevant information for the Foreign Ministry for consideration before negotiating with the Cambodian counterpart.
The Supreme Commander said the decision to lessen or withdraw Thai soldiers from the ancient temples will have to be discussed, as the matter is sensitive, complex, and would affect the stability of both nations.
The Foreign Ministry can assess the situation better than the army, Gen Boonsang claimed.

New temple uproar (Thais continue invasion)

Phnom Penh - Reports that a second sacred temple on the Thai- Cambodian border has been occupied by Thai troops has drawn an angry reaction from the public, Cambodian media reported Sunday.
Cambodia starts squabble over second temple: Click here
Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag said no troops have moved into the area.
Ta Muen Thom temple, at the border of Surin province and Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey, has been manned by Thai troops for more than five years, the chairman of the government's border committee, Var Kimhong, told locally broadcast Radio France Internationale (RFI).
However the nation's largest selling newspaper, Rasmei Kampuchea, as well as the French-funded RFI and US-funded Radio Free Asia began running reports of its alleged occupation Sunday.
Kimhong said there was no legal doubt Ta Muen Thom was Cambodian.
Public outrage has grown steadily since areas around Preah Vihear temple, which Cambodia says are sovereign and Thailand says are disputed, were occupied by Thai troops on July 15, days after it was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site against Thai wishes.
At a press conference held just before national elections last month, Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith declined to answer a question on whether troop build-ups had also occurred on the Thai border with Banteay Meanchey.
The Cambodian government has tried to dampen the nationalist sentiment sweeping the country and urged the public to allow bilateral diplomacy to work, or, failing that, UN mediation.
In 2003 an angry mob torched the Thai embassy and several businesses over a false story a Thai actress had claimed the nation's icon, Angkor Wat temple, was Thai - a serious setback for trade and diplomatic relations.
Claims published in the Thai media accusing Cambodia's First Lady Bun Rany, wife of Prime Minister Hun Sen, of leading a black magic ritual when she hosted a Buddhist ceremony attended by more than 1,000 people at Preah Vihear Friday have not helped.
To be accused of sorcery is regarded as a terrible insult by Cambodians, who regularly kill those accused of it. (dpa)

Tension along Thai-Cambodian border continues

BangkokPost.com, agencies

Cambodian and Thailand Saturday increased their troops in the fifth day of a tense standoff on disputed land near Preah Vihear temple.
There are more than 500 Thai troops and over 1,000 Cambodian soldiers stationing in the area, according to AFP.
The mood among Cambodians reportedly became tense on Friday evening when Cambodian ambassador to Thailand Ung Sean was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to hear the Thai government's protest over Cambodia's claim of ownership of the disputed zone near the temple.
According to the ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat, the ministry handed the ambassador a letter from Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to his Cambodian counterpart HunSen, which insisted Thai soldiers were deployed on Thai soil.
Mr Samak's letter said the area the Cambodian leader claimed was part of Cambodia was actually within Thailand.
Brigadier Chea Keo, commander of Cambodian forces in the area, replied on Saturday: "On the map, it is our territory."

DEFUSING TENSION

By The NationPublished on July 19, 2008

Boonsarng to lead delegation

Supreme Commander General Boonsarng Niumpradit will on Monday take Thai delegates to an urgent meeting of the General Border Committee in Sa Kaew in the hope of defusing the provocative border confrontation with Cambodia.
Thai and Cambodian forces stationed across the border were reportedly "pointing guns" at each other.
In a bid to prevent further escalation, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who is also defence minister, yesterday appointed Boonsarng his representative in talks with his Cambodian counterpart.
Some 300 construction workers near the border returned to Thailand due to the conflict over the Preah Vihear Temple.
Lt-General Niphat Thonglek, chief of the Army's Border Affairs Department, said a decision on withdrawing troops from the border area would be made after pending issues were discussed at the border meeting.
"We'll meet on the basis of good bilateral relations and understanding," he said.
Boonsarng and his Cambodian counterpart, Defence Minister Tea Banh, know each other well, so Boonsarng's taking the place of Samak does not mean a downgrade, he said.
Suraphol Puanayakan, secretary-general of the National Security Council, said the two countries would use peaceful means to solve their problems.
Military sources said the standoff across the border was verging on a "shoot-out".
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sun wrote to Samak asking for some 400 Thai troops to be withdrawn from the area.
Cambodia has dispatched some 2,000 troops to strategic spots along the border, citing the need to beef up security for tourists, residents and traders. Their presence caused a drastic drop in cross-border trade.
The dispute revolves around the registration of Cambodia's Hindu temple as a World Heritage Site amid angry protests from some Thais who blame the government for failing to oppose Cambodia's listing application.
The People's Alliance for Democracy dispatched members to the temple to express disagreement with the World Heritage designation on the grounds that Thailand should have had the right to associate itself with the application.
Three PAD members stormed into the temple on Tuesday. Many protesters clashed with residents of Si Sa Ket's Kantaralak district, where the temple entrance is located, who had grown frustrated with the tense situation and loss of income after the temple was closed to tourists for several weeks after the protest began.
The 11th-century temple of Preah Vihear was ruled by the International Court of Justice in 1962 as belonging to Cambodia.-->

""Samak: Thai troops are in Thai territory. "" But it is not True

Thai troops are in Thai territory : Thai PM

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

It is Cambodian troops who invade in our soil
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej insisted on Friday that the Thai troops can station at Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda because it is in the Thai soil.
In his reply letter to his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, Samak stressed that presence of the Cambodian troops at the area instead violated the Thai territory.
Samak reminded Hun Sen, "the establishment of the Cambodian community, including construction of a temple and houses, and the presence of the Cambodian military personnel in the area constitute a continued violation of Thai sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Hun Sen said in his letter sent to Samak on Thursday that Thai troops deployed to the pagoda's area should be immediately withdrawn as the area is in the Cambodian soil.
The Thai government has issued four written protests to the Cambodian side regarding this matter in 2004, 2005, 2007 and April 2008 respectively.
Meanwhile, the deployment by Cambodia of more than 1,000 troops, in addition to around 200 troops stationed there earlier, has caused the situation to deteriorate, Samak said in his letter.
Prime Minister Samak called on both sides to exercise restraint and hoped that the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission will accelerate its work to survey and demarcate the entire stretch of the Thai-Cambodian border so that similar problems would not arise in the future.
In addition, pending completion of the JBC's work in this area, the Thai side was ready to jointly explore with Cambodia possible interim measures, he said.
To avoid military action, Prime Minister Samak who is also the Defense Minister assigned Supreme Commander General Boonsarng Niumpradit to lead Thai delegation to a special session of General Border Committee (GBC) in Sa Kaew Monday.
Later on Friday, the Foreign Ministry invited the eight other ASEAN Ambassadors to the ministry and informed them of the situation between Thailand and Cambodia, which are Asean members.
They were also given copies of the letter dated July 17, 2008 from Hun Sen to Samak and the latter's note dated July 18,2008 to his Cambodian counterpart.
Other documents attached included the attached copies of the four Aide-Memoires which Thailand sent to protest Cambodia, and copies of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two countries on the Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary dated 4 June 2000.
The ministry has also circulated all of those documents to other foreign missions in Bangkok.
Meanwhile Thai Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Tharit Charungvat explained that the four protests by Thailand to Cambodia were made on the basis of Article 5 of the 2000 MOU, under which both sides agree not to carry out any work resulting in changes of environment of the frontier zone, pending the survey and demarcation of the common land boundary.
However, to date, no action whatsoever has been undertaken by Cambodia to address Thailand's concerns, protests and requests.
-->

Verdicts hammer govt (Thailand)

Former House speaker banned from politics for five years / Charter court rules against Preah Vihear communique / Democrats want impeachment of cabinet, PPP may be dissolvedPOST REPORTERS
Bangkokpost.com

The separate court rulings against Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and former House speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat yesterday dealt major blows to the government, which will now face fresh efforts to remove it from office. The pressure started earlier in the day with the Constitution Court's verdict on the June 18 joint communique with Cambodia on the World Heritage listing of Preah Vihear temple, signed by Mr Noppadon and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An. The court ruled that the document needed approval from parliament.
Hours later the Supreme Court's election division banned Mr Yongyuth of the People Power party (PPP) from politics for five years for election fraud. .
The Constitution Court's ruling not only prompted calls for Mr Noppadon to resign to show responsibility but also prompted a group of senators and MPs from the Democrat party to seek the impeachment of the entire cabinet.
Senator Khamnoon Sitthisamarn said a group of senators also are considering asking the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) to seek criminal action against the cabinet.
Mr Khamnoon said the government had failed to observe the charter and was subject to investigation under the Criminal Code for lapse of duty.
If the NCCC agrees, the case will be heard in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.
M.R. Priyanandana Rangsit, vice-chairwoman of the Senate committee for foreign affairs, urged the foreign minister to show responsibility by resigning from his post following the Constitution Court's ruling.
''Mr Noppadon has been working in a hush-hush manner and never let other stakeholders know what was going on,'' M.R. Priyanandana said in a telephone interview from Iran.
The Democrat party will also seek a separate impeachment of Mr Noppadon for breaching the constitution within days and it will probably include the entire cabinet, including Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
Democrat deputy leader Sathit Wongnongtoey said the party will have to study the Constitution Court's verdict before deciding whether or not to proceed against the government.
In the Yongyuth case, the Election Commission can also ask the Constitution Court to dissolve the PPP if it has evidence Mr Yongyuth's poll fraud was aimed at benefiting the party, of which he was a deputy leader at the time.
As pressure mounts, political analysts have warned the government against dissolving the House of Representatives to escape responsibility or the PPP's dissolution.
The House ordinary session will open on Aug 1, with the 2009 budget high on the agenda. The cabinet was informed about the House opening yesterday, said deputy government spokesman Nathawut Saikua.
Pakorn Priyakorn of the National Institute of Development Administration said in a statement that dissolving the House is not an option.
''There is talk about House dissolution. The prime minister must consider carefully. In Mr Yongyuth's case, the House of Representatives has done nothing wrong,'' he said.
Panithan Wattanayakorn of Chulalongkorn University's political science faculty called on Mr Noppadon to resign and the prime minister to apologise to the public.
He believed Mr Samak would not go for a House dissolution as it would be months before the two cases are finalised.
Nakharin Mektrairat, dean of Thammasat University's political science faculty, said the prime minister was unlikely to dissolve the House unless the PPP's coalition partners switched sides.
The prime minister avoided reporters yesterday but the coalition government appeared to be hanging together.
PM's Office Minister Chusak Sirinin said the government had no reason to resign because of the Constitution Court's ruling. The government had no intention of doing anything to damage the country, he said.
PPP spokesman Kudep Saikrajang said the government has the legitimacy to stay on and use the mandate given to it by voters to solve the country's problems.
''I do not believe that the prospect of party dissolution is an urgent matter that forces the government to stop working,'' he said.
The coalition parties downplayed speculation that the prime minister will opt for a House dissolution.
Chart Thai deputy leader Somsak Prisananantakul said the PPP still has several months to fight against party dissolution in court. He also said the expulsion of Mr Yongyuth would not affect the government's stability and it was considered a personal matter.
Puea Paendin party spokesman Chaiyos Jiramethakarn said the guilty verdict was not a reason to dissolve the House, but was a reason for the coalition government to remain strong and see the situation through.
Matchimathipataya party deputy leader Banyin Tangpakorn said the two court rulings did not warrant House dissolution. ''The government has no intention of violating the constitution.''

Temple listing 'a good day for Cambodia'

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodians living on the border near an 11th century Hindu temple newly listed as a World Heritage site danced with joy Tuesday, students waved national flags in the streets and a celebratory fireworks display was announced.
Preah Vihear, called Khao Phra Viharn by Thais, is sacred to both sides but was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court in The Hague in 1962. It became Cambodia's third UN World Heritage Site, after Angkor Wat temple complex and the country's national ballet.
"Of course we are overjoyed, the people on the border are dancing. It is a good day for Cambodia," the government official in charge of Preah Vihear, Hang Soth, said by telephone.
Thailand had called for a joint listing by the two nations, citing disputed border territory and the fact that some associated sites of the temple lie within Thai territory.
Cambodian media could not resist a subdued show of nationalism, with a live feed from the UN meeting in Quebec, Canada by private television network CTN at 3 am for Deputy Prime Minister Sok An to personally announce the news.
The ruling Cambodian People's Party network Apsara featured a picture of Prime Minister Hun Sen ringed by stars as it read the entire ruling by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) later in the morning.
But the government took pains not to fan nationalistic sparks too hard, and Hun Sen promptly stated that Thailand remained "a good neighbour."
Emotions run high between the neighbour countries over cultural heritage. In 2003, an angry mob burned the Thai embassy and several businesses after false rumours that a Thai actress had claimed the nation's icon, Angkor Wat, was Thai.
Hun Sen also reiterated that King Norodom Sihamoni had pursued the listing since his time as Cambodian ambassador to Unesco from the early 1990's until his accession to the throne in 2004, and insisted the issue was independent of local politics.
At a press conference in the capital, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong was jubilant.
"This is a victory of our Cambodian government," Hor Namhong said. "But much more important than this, this is the victory of Khmer civilisation."

Preah Vihear - Get over it (Preah Vihear Temple belongs to Cambodia and it is a World Heritage

Do people really want to be prisoners of the past? Whipping up this issue could easily result in chaos if not handled carefully and properly.

By Piyaporn Wongruang

Bangkokpost.com

Even though Preah Vihear has joined the ranks of places listed as World Heritage sites, former Cambodian soldier Wan, 60, may not play his fiddle in exchange for money from tourists at the temple.
Due to fears of a Thai-mobilised rally against Cambodia's inscription of the temple on the World Heritage List, the border around the temple has been closed. No tourists are allowed until further notice. It is not difficult to imagine how tough the life of the ex-soldier could become. He only has one leg, his musical talents and Preah Vihear to rely on after the war in Cambodia some 30 years ago.
Uncle Wan is but one among the potential losers from this conflict at the moment. Many more are likely to follow his path as resentment among people in both countries has heightened to the point that some academics believe no side can afford to be seen as losing, now that the 11th-century Hindu temple has been listed as a new World Heritage site.
Since the Cambodian government first lodged its application for World Heritage status in 1991, people of the two countries have been drawn into a conflict they did not directly cause. Amid the increasingly politicised dispute, a boundary line which has never been clearly seen on the site has emerged as the crux of the problem caused by the past, unsettled border demarcation.
Historian Srisakra Vallibhotama believes that the site at the temple of Preah Vihear conformed to the ancient concept of using landmarks associated with spiritual belief as boundary marks. Considering the landscape, the promontory of Dangrek Range where Preah Vihear is located, clearly separates the Cambodian plain from the Korat plateau stretching down towards the Thai side.
Historical evidence suggests that the area had long been used as a sacred site before Preah Vihear was built on top of it around the early 11th century.
The ancient concept of organic boundary started shifting toward one that is more fixed - a line on a map - when Western imperialists arrived in the region and took over some parts of it, according to Surachart Bamrungsuk.
The political scientist and military expert at Chulalongkorn University added that the concept of a modern state and clear demarcation lines was a crucial tool for the Western powers to differentiate between states that came under their protection.
"What happened was that those imperial countries tended to have more power over other states in the region. The imbalance led to a forced acceptance of some disadvantages in demarcation, and Thailand, or Siam back then, was no different," said Dr Surachart.
The Preah Vihear case reflects the larger demarcation problem left over from the past. It is a common problem in several areas around the world, Dr Surachart said.
Even though some people keep referring to the fact that Thailand had reserved the right to revive the case regarding ownership of Preah Vihear temple (which it lost to Cambodia in 1962) should new evidence emerge, Dr Surachart cautioned that it is virtually impossible to try to claim lost territory back.
The country functions as a modern state at present. It is bound by international legal and diplomatic mores which it has to respect, or face the consequences.
These "consequences" can take the shape of sanctions, or even war. A war between neighbouring countries could be very painful as the conflict and suffering will be passed on from one generation to another. Such a rift cannot be healed in a short space of time, Dr Surachart said.
The academic views the court case concerning Preah Vihear as being over, especially after Thailand itself drew another boundary line in compliance with the watershed line which excludes the temple, following the 1962 ruling of the International Court of Justice.
Instead of letting emotions run high and clouding the issue, Dr Surachart called on both Thai and Cambodian people to exercise reason and find the wisdom required to get out of the conflict.
Whipping up this issue could easily result in chaos if not handled carefully and properly.
He reminded society that there are established diplomatic channels for countries with overlapping boundaries to explore to settle their disputes. The process can result in a re-drawing of the boundary line. In cases where a dispute cannot be settled, options are available for different ways of joint management. One of the concepts can be applied to the case of Preah Vihear, the surrounding area of which remains disputed as it is claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia.
"I have to emphasise here that the listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site will not affect any country's boundary as the World Heritage Convention clearly sets such a condition to prevent conflicts between concerned countries," said Dr Surachart.
In fact, the two countries have 15 more overlapping locations which need to be settled, and they need to move on with the work, he said.
"The question we have to ask ourselves really hard is whether we really want a war, and whether a war would really bring us back territory perceived as being lost," said Dr Surachart. "Do we still want to be 'a prisoner of the past'? Or do we want to help one another break the 'barrier' imposed by the past?"

Cambodia's Heritage, World's Heritage

Preah Vihear - Heritage lost
Bangkokpost.com

Cambodians celebrate but many Thais are unhappy with the World Heritage Committee's decision on the Preah Vihear temple.
By Piyaporn Wongruang
The controversial struggle to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site ended on Monday, with Unesco announcing that the Hindu temple's application had been accepted. The decision, by the World Heritage Committee (WHC), received a mixed reaction from Cambodians and Thais.
Impromptu celebrations coursed through Cambodia as people learned the news. But over the border, dissatisfaction among Thais is growing.
According to a Thai source who attended the meeting, Cambodia's proposal sailed through the consideration of the committee members.
The WHC chairwoman had proposed the draft resolution and asked the committee members to approve it without opening the floor to any debates, the source said.
Cambodia had underlined three key points in its bid to get Preah Vihear listed, but in the event the temple won over the committee with its first criterion-the representation of a masterpiece of human creative genius.
This prompted Thailand to express its opposition to the "unilateral inscription of Preah Vihear on only one criterion". Thailand is now also further challenging the integrity of the site, as well as the unsettled border line.
"We are very disappointed that our appeal for the joint nomination has been repeatedly denied, and now an exception has been made to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site on the basis of just one criterion," said a draft statement by the Thai World Heritage Committee.
"Without the proper buffer zones, and without the necessity cultural and natural landscapes on all sides, the temple has been denied the dignity and the integrity it deserves in being listed as a World Heritage site."
Standing on top of the high cliff on the Dangrek Range separating Thailand's lower Northeast and Cambodia, the temple has long been valued as an exceptional piece of work from the ancient world.
The temple, built in the early 11th century to worship the Hindu god Shiva, featured a succession of courtyards and key buildings including gopuras, stairways and pavements stretching in a north-south orientation.
This clearly reflects the Khmer aptitude for domesticating vast territories and adapting to the landscape, and it is these qualities which convinced the committee to accept the application under the first criterion.
According to the International Council of Monuments and Sites, an advisory body for the WHC, it was noted that "the full value of the temple of Preah Vihear is inextricably linked to the surrounding landscape and that the planning and orientation of the temple, facing north, is quite different from other Khmer temples."
The temple complex, however, was separated politically from its surrounding land in 1962, when the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple - but not all of its immediate surroundings - was situated on Cambodian soil.
Arguments about which country has sovereignty over the temple and its surroundings have continued ever since between Cambodia and Thailand.
Cambodia has sought World Heritage status for Preah Vihear since the early 1990s, but until this year's joint communique controversy, Thailand has never been involved in the development of the application.
Cambodia's original proposal included the overlapping area stretching beyond the stairways towards Thai soil, but Thailand protested.
Cambodia eventually removed the overlapping area from its proposal and won the WHC's approval.
Historian Srisakra Vallibhotama said listing Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site betrays a lack of understanding of the site's universal value.
Instead of securing the site as a treasure for enthusiasts of ancient civilisations, he said this listing could lead to confrontations.
"It is important to understand the site's universal value," said Mr Srisakra.
"And we should understand the boundary is not a geographical one, but rather a cultural one. Turning the area into a World Heritage site does not preserve the culture, it only preserves the physical structure in order to attract tourists."
The WHC, meanwhile, has clarified its stance on the border issue.
It says that under Article 11.3 of the Convention, the inscription of Preah Vihear has no implications for any ongoing negotiations concerning the boundary between the two countries, and this does not prejudice the rights of both governments to reach an amicable settlement.
The organisation has asked Cambodia to further define the perimeter of the buffer zone, complete the management plan for the property and its buffer zone, and convene an international coordinating committee for the safeguarding of the property, inviting Thailand and other "appropriate partners" as members, according to the office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in Bangkok.
"The WHC's decision encourages Cambodia and Thailand to work together for the safekeeping of the property," the agency said.

Cambodia's disputed Hindu temple joins heritage list

New York/Quebec - In one of the most controversial decisions of its eight-day meetings, UNESCO on Monday named a Hindu temple in Cambodia to the World Heritage list that has been under the cloud of a border dispute with Thailand for decades.Preah Vihear is a stunning clifftop temple dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva perched on the cliff that defines the Thai-Cambodian border.Cambodia sought designation for the millennium-old temple, but Thailand has challenged the move over a border spat dating to a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling.//DPA

Thai Internal Politics over Preah Vihear Temple

FM violates the constitution for signing the agreement with Cambodia over Preah Vihear Temple
The Nation

The Constitution Court ruled on Tuesday that the joint communique Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama signed with Cambodia violated the Constitution.
Noppadon should get the approval from the Parliament before signing, Paiboon Warahapaiboon, secretary general of the Consitution Court office.

Preah Vihear Temple Belongs to Cambodia

Disputed Preah Vihear listed as the world heritage
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

The World Heritage Committee agreed on Tuesday to list the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear as a world heritage site amid political pressure in Thailand mounting on the government over the failure to object.
"I did my job to express our objection, observation and reservation in the line with former foreign minister Thanat Khoman made following the decision of the International Court of Justice in 1962," said Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattana from Quebec."In addition to the unresolved border disputes of the areas surrounding the temple of Preah Vihear, Thailand cannot support the decision," he said in the session of the world heritage committee meeting.The minister needed to make such statement as the Constitution Court ruled the joint communiqu้ he signed with Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok An to support Phnom Penh's application is unconstitutional.Senators and the oppositions lodged the petition with the court due to their concern that listing the temple might overrule Thai sovereignty. Head of Thailand's world heritage committee Pongpol Adireksarn said Thai people should not be sad over Cambodia's success to list the site. "We also plan to list our part in the surrounding area of Preah Vihear in the future," he said.Military's Border Affairs Department Lt. General Niphat Thonglek who also joined the Thai delegation in Quebec said Thailand did not compete with Cambodia to list the temple but it was Cambodia who prepared itself for the world heritage committee's examination."As the site passed criteria set by the committee, it got approval. There is nothing to jeopardy relations between the two countries," he said.Military's Royal Thai Survey Department Col. Noppadon Chotsiri guaranteed that Cambodia did not take any of overlapping area claimed by both sides into its proposal."As examined by mapping technique, we found that Cambodia's graphic plan claimed nothing beyond the territory the Thai cabinet in 1962 has relinquished," he said.

Finally, Preah Vihear is listed as World Heritage

PREAH VIHEAR RUINSTemple listed as heritage site
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
Bangkokpost.com

The World Heritage Committee (WTC) meeting in Quebec, Canada, late last night approved Cambodia's application to list the 11th century Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.
It did not take into account the controversial joint communique between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, a Thai delegate to the meeting said before the decision was made.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama explained the Administrative Court's temporary injunction to the 21 WTC members, Pongpol Adireksan, chairman of the Thai World Heritage Committee, said.
Mr Pongpol is there as an observer.
The court issued an injunction against the cabinet's June 17 resolution, which gave approval for Mr Noppadon to sign a joint communique with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An the following day. Mr Noppadon's signature conveyed Thailand's support for Cambodia's bid to list the temple as a World Heritage site.
The WHC only considered the report of the International Council for Monuments and Sites as a basis for making the decision, Mr Pongpol said.
Bangkok was opposed to Phnom Penh's proposal, instead favouring a joint nomination of the site.
Thailand had been unable to convince the WHC to postpone the issue and wait for a joint nomination, or to defer it until the next meeting.
The WHC said the Preah Vihear issue had already been postponed once, at last year's gathering in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The meeting also inscribed the cities of the Straits of Malacca: Melaka and Georgetown in Malaysia, and the Kuk Early Agricultural Site in Papua New Guinea, AFP reported.
The WHC had sent its representatives to talk with the Thai and Cambodian delegates to clarify their positions.
Mr Pongpol said the temple listing would have no effect on the demarcation of the border between the two countries. It was specifically only the temple site.
Mr Pongpol said political problems in Thailand had affected the country's ability to lobby committee members.
''We are at a disadvantage. Cambodia regards Preah Vihear as a national issue and continued lobbying when Thailand was undergoing a coup,'' he said.

Cambodia to go alone in listing Preah Vihear

Going it alone

Written by Sambath Teth
Monday, 30 June 2008

AFPCambodia has vowed to go ahead with its UNESCO application despite Thai objections.Cambodia has vowed to press ahead with its bid for a UNESCO World Heritage listing for Preah Vihear temple despite a Thai court ruling that Bangkok cannot support the nomination for the ancient Hindu site."It's their internal problem," Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told the Post in a phone interview on June 30."[Preah Vihear] is our temple and we want it to receive world heritage listing," Siphan said."Preah Vihear belongs to us so we are not interested in this," he added, referring to an injunction issued by Thailand's Administrative Court on June 28.The injunction temporarily blocked the Thai government from supporting Cambodia's nomination to seek world heritage status for Preah Vihear at a UNESCO meeting in Quebec starting July 2.The injunction follows a joint communiqué endorsing the nomination that was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama on June 18.The injunction had been sought by a coalition of activist groups in Thailand, the People's Alliance for Democracy, which has been leading weeks of street protests in Bangkok against the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.Opposition parties criticized Samak over the communiqué during a no-confidence debate in the Thai parliament last week after the Preah Vihear issue had been raised at the street protests in Bangkok.Siphan expressed frustration at the role played by Thai opposition parties."The Cambodian government is working with the Thai government; we are not working with the Thai opposition," he said.Siphan downplayed the possibility of unrest in Cambodia over the stand taken by some Thai groups."Thai restaurants are full of Cambodian people," he said.Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong also expressed regret that some Thai parties and politicians were exploiting the Preah Vihear issue as part of their campaign against the Samak government."I am very sorry they are using Preah Vihear for their internal political purposes; this can affect the friendship and cooperation between our two countries," Namhong told a news conference on June 27.On June 22, the Cambodian government closed the border checkpoint at Preah Vihear, citing security concerns after a group of Thai activists gathered at a market near the main entrance to the temple, which is most easily accessed from the Thai side of the border. In response to the border closure, a ceremony was held at Preah Vihear on June 30 to offer food to the small Cambodian community living at the temple site and to pray for peace.The ceremony was sponsored by the Khmer Civilization Foundation, which on June 15 hosted a celebration in Phnom Penh to mark the 46th anniversary of the ruling by the International Court of Justice granting ownership of Preah Vihear to Cambodia.Foundation president Moeung Sonn said the donated food, including four tons of rice and 330 bottles of fish sauce, as well as soy sauce, salt and packaged noodles, had cost $4,000, including $1,000 of his own money.Sonn said he planned to take doctors with him on a return trip to Preah Vihear because some of the Cambodians there were ill and had requested medicine and medical treatment.

Senators bid to stop listing of Preah Vihear

By The Nation

Published on July 1, 2008

A group of 77 senators yesterday began the process to halt Thai support for Cambodia's application to list the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.
They submitted their demand via Senate President Prasobsuk Boondej to the Constitution Court, asking the court to nullify the joint communique signed with Cambodia to support the application.
The joint communique was deemed to be an agreement that could make changes to Thai sovereignty over the temple and surrounding area, Senator Rosana Tosittrakul said.
Such an agreement needed the approval of the Parliament, rather than the Cabinet, before any signature could be signed, she said.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple was situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia, but the Thai government announced its disagreement and reserved the right to review the case.
The current government's acceptance of Cambodia's new drawing to annex the site in its proposal might damage Thailand's inherent right reserved 46 years ago, Rosana said.
The senators' court move is the second legal effort to derail Thai acceptance of the listing bid after the People's Alliance for Democracy filed a case with the Administrative Court, which demanded the Cabinet's endorsement of the joint communique be dropped.
The Foreign Ministry has not yet given any response to the court's decision.
Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said the government would urge the Council of State, a legal adviser for the government, to consider the Administrative Court's decision before anything else.
Senator Somchai Savaengkarn said the ministry needed to get written confirmation of the court's decision before the joint communique could be terminated.
The opposition Democrat Party sent letters yesterday to 21 members of the world heritage committee through the Bangkok office of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), asking them to delay any decision on Preah Vihear.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said the best option would be for Cambodia and Thailand to jointly propose listing the temple.
The Unesco world heritage committee will make a final decision on Cambodia's unilateral application on the Preah Vihear at a meeting in Quebec between July 2-10.

Phnom Penh to go alone with Preah Vihear on the world heritage

Cambodia has vowed to push ahead its UNESCO application to list the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear as the world heritage despite Thai objections.
"It's their internal problem," Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan was quoted as saying by the Phnom Penh Post on Monday.
"[Preah Vihear] is our temple and we want it to receive world heritage listing," Siphan said.
The Administrative Court issued a contemporary order to block the Thai government's support to the Cambodia's proposal. The government has not yet informed the new position to Phnom Penh waiting for the Council of State to make recommendation how to follow the court's diction.

The Nation

Cabinet to resolve all issues relating to Preah Vihear Temple

Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Tuesday that the government will take prompt action after studying the injunction relating to Preah Vihear Temple."The government will do the right thing as this is a big and complex issue," he said.He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs might be instructed to inform the Cambodian authorities about the injunction imposed on the Thai government.

The Nation

Controversy over 11th century temple inflames Thai politics

By KER MUNTHIT,Associated Press Writer.

High on a Cambodian cliff, the Preah Vihear temple has weathered war and territorial disputes. Now it's at the center of a political tug-of-war in neighboring Thailand.
As it has over the centuries, the ancient temple is fueling nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border, and opposition supporters in the Thai parliament are raising it as a reason for why the prime minister should step down.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej last week endorsed Cambodia's bid to register the temple as a UNESCO World Heritage site _ enraging opposition lawmakers who say he is yielding national sovereignty to Cambodia.
Never mind that the International Court of Justice awarded the temple and the land it stands on to Cambodia in 1962 _ it remains an issue in both countries.
"The Preah Vihear temple is part of a wounded history of Thailand and Cambodia," said Charnvit Kasetsiri, a historian at Bangkok's Thammasat University. "It was used to stir up a nationalist movement during World War II, and again during the Cold War ... and is now threatening to inflame politics again."
The crumbling stone temple, which is a few hundred feet from Thailand's eastern border with Cambodia, is the centerpiece of a no-confidence motion against Samak. The opposition accuses the prime minister of policy mistakes and of being a proxy for deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra.
"Preah Vihear is the knockout punch" that could bring down Samak, opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told Parliament. However, Samak's ruling coalition has an overwhelming majority, and he was expected to easily survive Friday's vote.
The dispute comes shortly before the World Heritage Committee starts its annual meeting July 2 to consider bids for special status, which helps attract funds for preservation of a site as well as raising its tourism profile.
Thai senators sent a petition to UNESCO this week asking that consideration of Cambodia's request be deferred until both countries file a joint nomination for World Heritage status. UNESCO has not responded.
Anger is simmering on both sides of the border, particularly in Thailand.
"The Temple of Gloom," ran one banner headline in The Nation newspaper, under a photo taken in March of Samak shaking hands with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Samak insists his endorsement of Cambodia's bid has no effect on Thai sovereignty, saying the temple belongs to Cambodia and the Cambodians are entitled to seek its listing as a World Heritage site. A stretch of disputed territory around the temple was not included in the request to UNESCO, Samak told lawmakers.
Thai protesters have gathered near the hilltop site since Sunday, singing patriotic songs and shouting that the temple belongs to Thailand, said Hang Soth, director-general of Cambodia's Preah Vihear Authority.
As a result, Cambodia closed the border gate that leads from Thailand to the temple.
Preah Vihear, a Hindu-themed temple that reflects the beliefs of the kings who ruled what was then the Angkorean empire, is located on the top of a 525-meter (1,722-foot) cliff in the Dangrek Mountains, about 150 miles (245 kilometers) north of the Cambodian capital. Reaching it by road is easiest from the Thai side of the border.
"We are the owners of the temple, and it has nothing to do with Thailand," said Moeung Son, a Cambodian tour group operator and founder of the Khmer Civilization Foundation.
Last week, his group held a rally in Phnom Penh to support Cambodia's UNESCO bid and dispel what he called the "myth among some Thais who say that Preah Vihear temple is theirs."
Built between the 9th and 11th centuries, the stone temple is revered partly for having one of the most stunning locations of all the temples constructed during the Khmer empire _ the most famous of which is Angkor Wat.
As the Khmer empire, which once encompassed parts of Thailand and Vietnam, shrank to the size of present-day Cambodia and the country was plunged into civil war, the temple fell into disrepair. Steps, walls and pillars have collapsed.
Hun Sen has pledged "a serious commitment" to building a road to the temple "whatever the cost."
___
Associated Press Writers Jocelyn Gecker and Ambika Ahuja in Bangkok, Thailand contributed to this report.

Cambodians fear loss of sovereignty

Cambodians fear loss of sovereignty

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Published on June 27, 2008

A group of Cambodians have accused their government of losing rights to sovereignty over the area surrounding Preah Vihear in dealing with Thailand to try to get World Heritage status for the temple.
The group known as the Cambodia Watchdog Council International said in a statement that Phnom Penh was "tricked" into limiting its right to use only 30 metres from the ruined structure of the Preah Vihear to apply for a World Heritage listing.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 to put the Preah Vihear under Cambodia's sovereignty in accordance with the Siam-Franco treaty in 1904 and 1907 - as well as the French-made map.
"The map, which has been kept at The Hague, indicated clearly that the area [considered by Thailand as the overlapping area] belongs to Cambodia," the statement said.
"Taking only the temple and its limited foundation area is a loss of our territory to Thailand," it said.
"Thailand has never dared to put the case to the World Court for clarification of the boundary, but wanted to take over the temple and shut down our economic opportunities from tourism at the site," it said.
The group demanded the Cambodian government recall the new map and insisted it use the original one for the application.
The Bangkok office of Unesco has said it would forward the request, which was supported by more than 3,000 signatures by Thai people, to the Unesco head office in Paris.
The Thai Foreign Ministry is worried the fierce debate in Thailand, both in Parliament and street protests, could cause misunderstanding and hurt relations with Cambodia.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said the ministry had launched a white paper to answer all questions over the deal with Cambodia on the Preah Vihear. The paper can be downloaded from the ministry's website.
The negative reaction began after the opposition Democrat Party launched a censure motion against Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, accusing him of recognising Cambodia's sovereignty over the foundations of the temple.
The ICJ ruled that Cambodia had sovereignty over the temple but never ruled on the foundation area, according to opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Noppadon said the Cabinet in 1962 followed the ICJ's ruing and handed the ruined temple with 250,000 square metres of its foundations to Cambodia.
As long as Phnom Penh included only that part for World Heritage listing, it had nothing to do with Thai sovereignty, he said.

Thailand has nothing to lose

'Nothing lost' in deal

By Supalak GanjanakhundeeThe Nation
Published on June 26, 2008


Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama insists he maintained Thai sovereignty in dealing with Cambodia over the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.
The joint communiqu้ signed with Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on June 18 did not terminate reservations about the international court's ruling made by former foreign minister Thanat Khoman 46 years ago, he said.
"The inherent right, if it really exists, as reserved by former minister Thanat, has not changed. No single word in the joint statement mentioned that right and the reservations held," he told the Parliament.
Sovereignty over the Preah Vihear temple, ruled in favour of Cambodia by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962, was a hot topic of debate in the Parliament after the opposition Democrat Party accused the government of causing a loss of sovereignty when it supported Cambodia in a unilateral application for World Heritage status.
Actively supporting Cambodia's application to Unesco meant recognition of Cambodia's sovereignty over the temple area, said Democrat MP Sirichok Sopha. "The ICJ ruled only that the temple was under Cambodia's sovereignty and Thailand was obligated to hand the temple ruins to Cambodia, not the base on which the ruins sit," he said.
Opposition Leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said previous governments had not conceded Cambodian sovereignty over the base since the ruling.
Noppadon rejected the comment, saying the cabinet in July 1962, shortly after the ruling, agreed to hand the temple, together with one fourth square kilometres of territory for the base, to Cambodia.
Abhisit and Noppadon exchanged words during the Parliament session yesterday over interpretation of the Cabinet's resolution on July 11, 2006.
Noppadon said all concerned Thai agencies interpreted that the then government agreed to hand the temple together with the base area to Cambodia while Abhisit said the base remained under Thai sovereignty.
As long as Cambodia did not claim anything beyond the then-handed-over area, Thailand lost nothing beyond what it lost 46 years ago, Noppadon said.
Cambodia's new map which was used in the application was cross-checked against the L 7017 map used by the Thai military to determine the Thai boundary, he said.
The joint communiqu้ made clear the inclusion of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage list shall be "without" prejudice to the right of the two kingdoms on the demarcation work of the Joint Commission for Land Boundary, Noppadon said.
Moreover, Unesco's Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage's article 11 stated that: The inclusion of a property situated in a territory, sovereignty or jurisdiction over which is claimed by more than one State, shall in no way prejudice the rights of the parties to the dispute, he said. "We have three layers of legal protection over our sovereignty."

Commentary by Bangkok Post's Assistant Editor

Commentary: Nationalistic puppets

By Sanitsuda Ekachai

The PAD has chosen to speak the language which mainstream society understands. Nationalism and royal nationalism whip up the audience like magic.
Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor (Outlook), Bangkok Post.
Ultra-nationalism fans anger and hatred while strengthening the false sense of self - everything Buddhism frowns upon.
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) boasts of many people well-versed in Buddhism. Yet they have chosen to whip up ultra-nationalism through the Preah Vihear controversy to oust Thaksin Shinawatra's crony government. Why? Because it works like magic.
That does not speak well of the PAD, given its claim to be fighting for democracy. Nor of our society.
We must ask why our society routinely turns a deaf ear to the cries of injustice from the weak and the poor but never fails to dance to the tune of racist nationalism. The answer may also shed light on why we have failed miserably to redress inequality and to make democracy work.
Whether you agree with the PAD or not on the Preah Vihear issue, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is wrong to lambast street protests as undemocratic and illegal.
Admit it. Our parliamentary democracy has been reduced to a ballot box game governed by money politics. The bureaucracy has become an autocracy. The judicial process is too long and costly. The laws are written to serve the powers-that-be. Political decentralisation is in fact local mafia rule. The mainstream media favour state and business interests. What choice do people have but to take their causes to the streets?
How we respond to these causes, however, reflects what makes us tick and mirrors who we are. The rural poor's plight caused by misguided development that destroys the environment and the local way of life certainly does not make Bangkokians tick.
Remember when the city joggers complained against the rural folk who took to Bangkok streets for crowding their park and spoiling their morning exercises? Remember how they complained about the protesters' smell?
The result of the poor's protests are mostly empty promises. The authorities continue to drag their feet. The polluting businesses continue to destroy people's health and environment. They can get away with murder because there is a total lack of public moral outrage to pressure for change.
Knowing that justice and human rights talk will get their anti-Thaksin protest nowhere, the PAD has chosen to speak the language which mainstream society understands - nationalism and royal nationalism - accusing Mr Thaksin of undermining the monarchy and national sovereignty to strengthen his political and transnational business empires.
Grounded or not, the accusations effectively play on the deeply programmed messages in our heads. Brainwashed by our education system, we believe that we are the greatest race in the region, that we used to own much of the Southeast Asian peninsula, that our neighbouring countries are our enemies, and that our history is a series of efforts to save our land. It is why territorial issues never fail to trigger our killer instinct.
We need a different kind of history. Understanding the myriad factors that contribute to the rise and fall of ancient civilisations can help undo the nationalist trap. If we realise that geographical changes, new technologies, and the trading of products made by different peoples in the land were the growth engine of a civilisation, not a particular race, change is possible.
Had the Thai and Cambodian governments seen Preah Vihear in this context, they would have realised that a transboundary World Heritage site is a win-win solution to promote Southeast Asia's ancient civilisation and a sense of borderless humanity. Sadly, the World Heritage site is seen only as a symbol of face and a ticket to tourism money.
If we leave our ultra-nationalist history intact, Preah Vihear will remain a thorn in Thai-Cambodian relations. Politicians, both in Thailand and Cambodia, will readily play the nationalist card to get rid of political rivals, suppress dissent, divert public attention from their violations of human rights, and their failure to make justice and democracy a reality.
That is a high price to pay for being trapped in the frenzy of nationalism. We are paying a dear price now in the deep South. Restoring peace will remain difficult unless we tackle the false belief of superiority in our heads.