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.