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Cambodia ratchets up border row
Monday, October 13, 2008
Hun Sen: Withdraw troops or face conflict
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL, WASSANA NANUAMAND AGENCIES
Cambodia yesterday told Thailand to immediately withdraw troops from the disputed border area near the Preah Vihear temple or risk a "large-scale armed conflict".
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters in Phnom Penh that he had wa
rned Thailand's visiting Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat that without a quick pullout, Thai soldiers could face being fired upon by
Cambodian troops, in a further escalation of long-simmering tensions.
"If they cannot withdraw tonight, they must withdraw tomorrow," said Hun Sen.
"We have tried to be patient, but I told the Thai foreign minister today that the area is a life-and-death battle zone."
His comments came after talks with Mr Sompong in Phnom Penh.
Mr Sompong also met with his counterpart Hor Namhong in a bid to resolve the dispute over the area near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
The Cambodian foreign minister said yesterday's talks failed to end in agreement because his Thai opposite number "could not sign anything".
Hun Sen and Hor Namhong both told reporters that Cambodia could choose to take the border dispute before an international court if it was not resolved soon.
The comments made by the Cambodian prime minister and foreign minister surprised Mr Sompong and Thai officials, who were adamant that the meetings had not been a failure.
Mr Sompong said the tone during the meetings between the two countries had been different as the Cambodian leaders agreed that both sides had to be patient in resolving the border spat.
He said no Thai troop withdrawals would be made from the 4.6 sq km overlapping area between Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket and Preah Vihear province of Cambodia until the dispute over ownership is cleared through negotiations in the Joint Boundary Commission that was set up to demarcate the land border.
Thailand reiterated its ownership over the area, Mr Sompong said in Bangkok and rushed to report the talks to Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
Suranaree Task Force commander Maj-Gen Kanok Netrakavaesana will hold talks with his Cambodian counterpart tomorrow on the border issues and the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers will meet next Tuesday , according to Mr Sompong.
Cambodian Deputy Defence Minister Gen Neang Phat said more Cambodian troops were heading to the area after up to 500 Thai soldiers had tried to cross the border near an ancient Hindu temple that is claimed by both countries.
"We are building up our troops at the border in response to Thailand, but I cannot reveal the number," he told reporters.
Maj-Gen Srey Deok, who oversees the Cambodian military in the disputed area, said: "Thai troops have already entered the area. They are confronting our troops."
But Maj-Gen Kanok denied that more troops had been sent to the disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple.
Thailand and Cambodia have 10 soldiers each at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda near the Preah Vihear temple and 45 around the compound on joint patrol, according to the agreement between the two countries to ease border tension.
The two countries also have back-up troops near the border.
The number of soldiers there remained unchanged, Maj-Gen Kanok said.
Maj-Gen Kanok slammed Cambodia for distorting information and taking advantage of the political crisis in Thailand to launch an offensive move for its own political benefit.
The Suranaree chief, his patience wearing thin, called for a quick solution to the border spat and a clear direction to be provided by the government as it could become an armed conflict if it was left unsettled.
"I want the government to solve this problem and make it clear what to do. If it is left this way, nobody knows what is going to happen," he said.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia first flared in July after the Preah Vihear temple was awarded World Heritage status by the World Heritage Committee.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belongs to Cambodia, but the surrounding land remains in dispute.
Tensions escalated into a military confrontation in which up to 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops faced off for six weeks.
The two countries have swapped accusations of violating each other's territory in the dispute.
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Cambodia says Thai troops turned back from mine blast site
Phnom Penh - Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Monday that Thai troops had been turned back during an apparent attempted foray to view the area where two Thai soldiers were severely wounded by landmines just days earlier.
Hor Namhong said he had received word of the brief standoff during his several-hour-long meeting with his Thai counterpart Sompong Amornviwat in the capital which focused on resolving a simmering border dispute.
The area where the two Thai soldiers were wounded last week was Cambodian, Hor Namhong told reporters in a press conference after the meeting, and Cambodian troops had denied Thai troops access.
The blast site lies around 2 kilometres east of the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Hor Namhong said he had warned a general accompanying Sompong during the meeting that such advances into territory Cambodia maintains is sovereign and Thailand says is disputed placed additional strain on an already tense situation.
After the soldiers were injured, Thai media reports sourced to the Thai military accused Cambodia of planting new landmines to fortify its border since the beginning of the border dispute in July.
Cambodia has angrily denied the claims, saying Thai troops were warned the area was still only partially demined after its 30-year civil war, which ended barely a decade ago.//dpa
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Thai Border Talks Produce No Results
The foreign ministers of
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat in
The standoff between the two countries began in July over the inclusion of Preah Vihear temple, and observers warn that a protracted standoff could end in violence.
Hor Namhong said ahead of Monday’s meeting failure to reach an agreement on the border could lead to a round of Cambodian appeals among the international community.
Sompong was to take
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Thais Turned Back Near Ta Moan Temples
Cambodian soldiers turned back 20 Thai soldiers who had crossed into Cambodian territory in Oddar Meanchey province Wednesday, a military official said.
The Thai soldiers were found near a waterfall about 1.5 kilometers from the Ta Moan temple complex, which has become a second point of contention in an ongoing border dispute, said Col. Nak Vong, deputy commander of Regiment 42, which is stationed in the area.
The soldiers encountered each other at around 10 am, and no shots were fired. The encounter occurred following a brief gunfight at Preah Vihear temple on Friday and the injuries by landmine of two Thai soldiers on Phnom Trop, near Preah Vihear temple, on Monday.
Oddar Meanchey Governor Pich Sokhen said the encounter was a "simple problem," and many similar incidents had occurred since a build-up of troops began July 15.
Cambodia and Thailand have been unable to solve a military build-up that began following Preah Vihear temple's inscription on a Unesco World Heritage protection list July 7.
Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat are still expected to meet Oct. 13, despite a Thai political crisis that devolved into violence in Bangkok Tuesday.
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THE YEAR BEFORE ZERO
Sunday, October 12, 2008
In 1974 and 1975, a US ambassador battled Washington to support a negotiated solution to Cambodia's worsening conflict. Ambassador John Gunther Dean's document donation this April to the US National Archives paints a picture of failed diplomacy and holds lessons for today's statesmen. In this six-part series, VOA Khmer takes a detailed look at the final year of the Khmer Republic.
LISTEN to KHMER audio versions of any story below. First click on headline, then click on the speaker icon.
The Year Before Zero: Dean's Controlled Solution - Failure of Control
The Year Before Zero: Dean's Controlled Solution - Assessment on Arrival
The Year Before Zero: Dean’s Controlled Solution - ‘Internationalization’
The Year Before Zero: Dean's Controlled Solution - Mekong Convoy
The Year Before Zero: Dean's Controlled Solution - The Death of Throes of Diplomacy
The Year Before Zero: Dean’s Controlled Solution - Reflections on the Future
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