Cambodian officials rebut Thai claims of tardy P Vihear filing

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:04
Thai authorities say Kingdom has failed to offer a plan to guard and preserve disputed temple, but PVNA says plan was submitted months ago.

CAMBODIAN authorities say recent comments from high-ranking Thai officials regarding Preah Vihear temple are just plain wrong.

According to Thailand’s natural resources and environment minister, Cambodia was unable to submit a detailed plan for safeguarding Preah Vihear temple to the World Heritage Committee, a charge that the Preah Vihear National Authority (PVNA) denies.

Suwit Khunkitti, the Thai environment minister, claimed that Cambodia now has until February 2010 to send in its conservation plan, according to a report in the Thai daily The Nation.

The acting Thai government spokesman, Panitan Watanayagorn, called the delay a victory for Thailand that would give the country a chance to continue its campaign for joint control of the 11th-century temple, The Nation report stated.

But Hang Soth, the general director of the PVNA, says Cambodia submitted conservation plans to UNESCO on April 4.

“We don’t understand why Thai leaders have said Cambodia has until February next year to submit the plan,” he said, adding: “We have already submitted our projects…. Cambodians made the temple. Why can’t we conserve it?”

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign of Foreign Affairs, said the Thai statements are meant to cover up their failure at the UNESCO meeting in Spain, where they were unable to get their challenge to the Preah Vihear listing on the agenda.
“The Thai leaders’ comments are just to hide their failure to review the listing,” he said.

The director of UNESCO was unavailable to comment.

UNESCO meet raises the stakes on Preah Vihear

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 22:04 Thet Sambath
The favourable outcome for Cambodia in Spain could translate to more confrontation on the border, according to senior military officers.

THE meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Seville, Spain, ended Tuesday without discussing Thailand’s challenge to the committee’s July 2008 decision to list the disputed Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

But Cambodian military officials at the border say the committee’s decision not to review the case could further heighten tensions and prompt another armed clash, following armed confrontations in October 2008 and in April of this year.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said last month that a joint listing of Preah Vihear temple would better promote peace and tourism around the 11th-century temple complex, according to Thai media.

” More Thai troops, tanks and artillery have been sent to confront our troops. “

He pledged that Thailand would use the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee to challenge the inscription of the temple.

“I would like to see peace in the area and people from both sides benefit from a joint listing of this site,” Abhisit was quoted as saying.

But Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said that Thailand’s inability to get its objections onto the committee’s agenda was a “diplomatic failure”.

Yim Phim, the commander of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) Brigade 8 stationed in Preah Vihear province, said that although he welcomed the committee’s decision, he worries that Thai soldiers may be angry and start another border clash.

“We are on alert after the Thai failure to get it reviewed,” he said. “I am told that more Thai troops, tanks and artillery have been sent to confront our troops.”

Raising the stakes
Phorng Eung, a Cambodian soldier, said that Thailand has been evacuating villages near the Preah Vihear border, a sign Thailand could be planning something.

“Thai solders have asked their people to leave villages near the temple, but our villagers at Ko Muoy are doing business as usual,” he said.

“Because the Thais did not get their way, they are not happy and might do something at the border. We are on alert 24 hours a day.”

But Ros Heng, deputy governor of Chom Ksan district near the Preah Vihear temple, said that villagers in his district are preparing for the possibility of more conflict.

“Some of our people are digging trenches after we informed them in Ko Muoy and Sam Em villages near the front line to protect themselves from Thai shells,” Ros Heng said.

“We alerted out people to prevent an accident from happening. It is better to take action first,” he said.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, although the most accessible entrance to temple is in Thailand.

Hun Sen warns Thais against air incursions near disputed temple

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 22:03 vong Sokheng and Thet Sambath

PM also says that in the event of war, Thailand will need up to 50,000 troops to subdue 10,000 of the Kingdom’s own battle-hardened soldiers.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen sounded a belligerent note during informal talks with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon on Saturday, warning that if Thailand violates Cambodian airspace along the border Cambodia has the right to shoot down Thai aircraft, the premier said Tuesday.

“I told the Thai deputy prime minister and minister of defence frankly to be careful about not flying across the border into Cambodian territory,” Hun Sen told an audience of new graduates at the National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

“I am afraid that I won’t be able to control the shooting if the ground soldiers lose patience.”

Hun Sen said he also told Suthep and Prawit that, if full-blown hostilities break out between the two countries, Bangkok would need to mobilise between 30,000 and 50,000 soldiers to match 10,000 of the battle-hardened troops stationed at the disputed Preah Vihear temple. He said that Cambodia did not want confrontation, but that Thailand must not violate the the country’s territorial sovereignty.

“We are waiting to shoot because we are not invading [Thailand]. Cambodia is not showing muscle, but to defend the nation we will play it until the end,” Hun Sen said.

Meanwhile, the situation on the border remains tense, with officers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) saying they are ready to counter any Thai incursions.

“The situation at the front line is increasingly tense since I learned that Thai soldiers are scheduled for military exercises along the Thai-Cambodia border near Koh Kong province to Anses of Preah Vihear Temple on July 3,” said Seoun San, an RCAF captain based at Veal Sambokhmum.

“If the rockets launched from the military exercises fall into Cambodian territory, we will open the fight without discussions.”

Officials at the Thai embassy could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Tension rises near border CAMBODIA DEPLOYS COMMANDOS

The Bangkok Post
Published: 28/06/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Cambodia has reportedly deployed 500 commandos to guard the Preah Vihear temple and disputed border area even though Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban claimed success over the issue in his visit to Phnom Penh.

ON GUARD: Cambodian soldiers standing guard near the Preah Vihear temple.

The deployment of the corps from the 911 Para-Commando Battalion comes after Mr Suthep made a one-day visit to Phnom Penh yesterday in a bid to ease tension on the border.

The renewed tension follows Thailand’s decision to ask for a review of Cambodia’s unilateral listing of the Preah Vihear temple with Unesco.

The commandos have been put under the direct supervision of Lt Gen Him Bunhieng, a close aide of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who gave a warm welcome to Mr Suthep at his residence yesterday. Former Khmer Rouge soldiers have also been reportedly deployed at military bases along the border, said a source.

It is estimated that about 2,000 Cambodian soldiers are deployed in the disputed territories.

The source said there has been no reinforcement of troops or artillery on the Thai side, only routine troop rotations.

However, the source added that Thai troops have been put on 24-hour alert and are ready to carry out operations.

After returning to Thailand yesterday, Mr Suthep said both countries agreed to reduce the military stand-off near the temple.

“Prime Minister Hun Sen asked me to convey the message to Prime Minister Abhisit [Vejjajiva] and the Thai people that Cambodia will try to reduce tensions to facilitate economic cooperation between the two countries.

“We should let bygones be bygones, forget the nightmare of the past and look forward to a positive future for both countries,” he said.

Originally, Mr Suthep was to clarify Thailand’s opposition to the listing, but he had a change of plan after Mr Hun Sen refused to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, para rubber farmers are still allowed to enter Khao Phra Viharn National Park to look after their plantations, even though the park remains closed to tourists.

However, they have been asked to register and leave their identification cards with security forces and are allowed inside between 7am and 4pm.

Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama said he doubted Mr Suthep would get any results from the visit.

Citing Mr Hun Sen’s strong refusal to discuss the temple listing, he said Thailand’s decision to seek a review of the listing would be the last straw for Cambodia and steer the country to war.

He also noted that army commander Gen Anupong Paojinda must have felt uncomfortable with the government’s move, saying the general agreed with the controversial Thai-Cambodian joint statement on the listing endorsed by the Samak administration.

Thai talks limited to troops: PM

Written by VONG SOKHENG AND THET SAMBATH
Friday, 26 June 2009

But Preah Vihear’s Heritage status is not on agenda, Hun Sen says.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Thursday announced plans to hold unofficial talks with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan on Saturday, but said they would be limited to discussions of Thai troop withdrawals.

“I will only welcome an explanation about the withdrawal of Thai soldiers out of Cambodia’s territory,” Hun Sen said in a speech at a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh, adding that the World Heritage status of Preah Vihear temple would not be on the agenda.

“I would like to reaffirm in principle Cambodia’s position not to accept an explanation by Suthep Thausuban over the Preah Vihear issue,” he said.

On Wednesday UNESCO rejected Thai demands to place the Preah Vihear issue on the agenda of the World Heritage Committee’s annual meeting in Seville, Spain.

Giovanni Boccardi, chief of UNESCO’s East Asia and Pacific Unit, said the Preah Vihear issue would not be raised because the meeting would “strictly” adhere to an agenda already in place.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Thai attempts to put the temple on the agenda one year after its World Heritage inscription were improper.

“Thailand’s aim was dismissed, but the Thais still continue, and we don’t know when they will stop,” he told reporters Thursday at the Foreign Ministry.

Hun Sen said Cambodia was willing to risk conflict over the issue and ordered soldiers at the border to protect the country against Thai incursions.

Srey Doek, commander of RCAF Division 3, said Thursday that the situation at the border was normal but that troops were on alert.

“We have raised Thai troop withdrawals with the Thai military commanders many times but have received no positive response,” he said.

Thai claim on temple dismissed

Written by SEBASTIAN STRANGIO AND THET SAMBATH
Thursday, 25 June 2009

Cambodian officials say UNESCO rejected Preah Vihear complaint.

UNESCO has refused to hear a complaint by Thailand over Preah Vihear temple’s listing as a World Heritage site at the annual meeting of its World Heritage Committee in Seville, Spain, Cambodian officials said Wednesday.

Last week, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced that Thailand would use the 33rd session of the committee to contest its July 2008 inscription of the temple.

“The Thais tried to put Preah Vihear on the agenda, but the World Heritage Committee won’t consider [it]. They are moving ahead with the main agenda,” Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Wednesday.

Local civil society groups applauded the committee’s move.

“It is good news that UNESCO has rejected the Thai government’s request. UNESCO doesn’t dare to violate Cambodian sovereignty by following the Thai PM’s request because Cambodia is backed by the 1962 [World Court] decision,” said Union leader Rong Chhun, a vocal critic of Thai moves over the temple.

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said that any other ruling would have undermined the committee’s own decision to inscribe Preah Vihear last year.

He added that Bangkok, pressured by domestic opinion, had actually created more problems for itself by forcing the issue. “I think the fact they [objected] unsuccessfully just undermines the credibility of their own position,” he said.

But following the decision, border troops say they remain on alert for any Thai incursions.

“We welcome the news that UNESCO has refused Thailand’s request for a discussion about Preah Vihear temple,” said Brigade 8 commander Yim Phim. “If [the Thais] … do not try any more moves into Cambodian territory, there will be no clashes.”

Officials open to talks ahead of Thai visit

Written by VONG SOKHENG AND THET SAMBATH
Wednesday, 24 June 2009

Cambodian officials said Tuesday they had yet to receive official notification of a visit this weekend by Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, reportedly to hold talks with Hun Sen on the growing dispute over Preah Vihear temple’s World Heritage listing, according to Thai media.

“We haven’t received an official letter from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs informing us about the visit,” Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said, adding that Cambodia welcomed any negotiations on the issue.

The Bangkok Post reported Tuesday that Suthep would arrive Saturday to clarify Thailand’s position on the temple, following Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s announcement last week that Bangkok would challenge the temple’s World Heritage status at this week’s UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Seville, Spain.

Abhisit’s announcement prompted Hun Sen to accuse Thailand of “infringing” on Cambodia’s sovereignty.

Union leader Rong Chhun, a vocal critic of Thailand’s moves on the frontier, said Tuesday that he has no plan to protest against Suthep’s proposed visit, but said the machinations of the Thai government showed it has no real intention of resolving the border standoff with Cambodia.

“I think that Thailand’s activity has clearly infringed on Cambodia’s sovereignty, and the visit of the Thai government is just to lobby and prolong the conflict, in order to bide their time and take our land,” he said.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said Tuesday that the 33rd Session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, which opened Monday, was yet to address Thai complaints about the inscription of Preah Vihear.

The temple was listed in July 2008, prompting an escalation of tensions between Cambodia and Thailand and a troop buildup along the border. Thailand has long sought the joint listing of the site.

Cambodian border troops remain on alert, reporting that Thailand brought up tanks, artillery and infantry to Phnom Trop, a few kilometres from Preah Vihear.

An RCAF officer stationed at the temple, who declined to be named, said the Thai action had forced Cambodia to bolster its own forces at the front.

“We held a tank exercise [Monday] at the hillside near the temple,” he said. “It is just an exercise. We want to show Thailand that we have everything ready for battle. If they dare to come into Cambodian territory, we will resist them.”

According to Thai media reports, Thai army chief General Anupong Paojinda made a visit to the Thai-Cambodia border near Preah Vihear temple Tuesday morning, following reports Cambodia had sent re-inforcements of troops, 130mm artillery pieces and T-54 tanks to the border.

Yim Phim, commander of Brigade 8, said he did not meet Anupong, but added that the Cambodians, in pulling up additional armed forces, were only reacting to Thai moves.

Kamrob Palawatwichai, first secretary of the Thai Embassy, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Thailand sends commando forces and 12 pieces of artillery to the disputed borders

Source: Khmer Sthapana newspaper
Reported in English by Khmerization
Thai soldiers are seen here trying to position their artillery guns.

Cambodian military officials said that Thailand continues to beef up its military strengths in the disputed zone, despite talks between Thai and military commanders on 23rd June, reports Khmer Sthapana.

According to Cambodian military, the Thai military had sent more than 3,000 troops, nearly 20 pieces of heavy artillery and many tanks to the disputed zone.

Gen. Srey Doek, Cambodian commander for the Preah Vihear region, said that Cambodian military had also strengthened its troop numbers, backed up by 130mm artillery pieces and T-54 tanks. He said Cambodia has no intention of violating Thailand’s sovereignty, but said that Cambodia is determined to defend its sovereignty.

Deum Ampil reported that Gen. Anupong Paojinda, the Thai Army Chief, told Thai media that he had ordered 12 artillery pieces and one batallion of special forces to be moved to the disputed zone. However, he said that the military reinforcements are just to defend Thailand’s sovereignty.

One unnamed Cambodian military officer said that the scenes and situations at the disputed borders are like a war zone.

Protecting Preah Vihear: soldiers, weapons and a World Heritage site

Written by Mark Roy and Thet Sambath
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

Temple Timeline

* 1904, 1907: Franco-Siamese treaties create an ambiguous frontier, leaving sovereignty of Preah Vihear in doubt
* 1954: Thai troops occupy Preah Vihear
* October 1959: Cambodia applies unilaterally to the International Court of Justice for a decision on the sovereignty of Preah Vihear and surroundings
* June 1962: The ICJ awards temple to Cambodia, but the surrounding land remains undesignated. Thai troops leave the temple site
* 1970s-1990s: Khmer Rouge occupy the site
* September 1993: The Constitution of Cambodia declares national and World Heritage sites neutral zones with no military activity
* 2001-2002: Thai military blocks access to Preah Vihear over water dispute
* July 2008: Preah Vihear temple receives World Heritage listing
* July 2008: Both sides move troops to the temple area
* October 2008: Troops exchange fire, leaving two Cambodian soldiers dead
* April 2009: Further military exchanges damage the temple
* June 2009: Thailand announces it will protest the World Heritage listing

INCE decades-old tensions over Preah Vihear erupted into violence last July, images of heavily armed Cambodian soldiers standing guard over the 11th-century ruins have been beamed across the globe.

The photographs of battle-hardened Cambodian soldiers, often ex-Khmer Rouge, in dark green uniforms with well-used AK-47 rifles, sitting on the lichen-covered stones of the ancient Khmer sanctuary, have come to epitomise the conflict. Such images have prompted a frenzy of media attention from overseas, and a huge domestic fundraising drive to support the nation’s troops on the Kingdom’s new front line.

But allowing armed troops into the temple at Preah Vihear is a direct violation of the Kingdom’s Constitution, and the soldiers should leave immediately, according to one of the country’s most respected heritage conservationists.

“Preah Vihear should also be free of military presence,” said former president director general of the Apsara Authority, Vann Molyvann, in an interview with the Post earlier this month.

Too many archaeological sites, including Angkor Wat, have been destroyed or damaged in the past by military conflict, he said.

Legally, Vann Molyvann is in the right. Article 71 of Chapter VI of the Constitution of Cambodia, inscribed in 1993 under the auspices of the United Nations, states: “The perimeter of the national heritage sites, as well as heritage that has been classified as world heritage, shall be considered neutral zones where there shall be no military activity.”

Preah Vihear was formally listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in July 2008.
But Thai officials will ask UNESCO to reconsider its decision to inscribe Preah Vihear temple, as ownership of land surrounding the ruins is still in dispute, at a meeting of the world heritage body in Spain also attended by a Cambodian delegation.

For its part, the Cambodian military claims there is no troop presence within the actual perimeter of the World Heritage site.

“Our soldiers got out of the temple a long time ago,” Sao Socheat, deputy commander of Military Region 4, said Sunday. He explained that soldiers were not stationed within the World Heritage site, but based around its perimeter.

Colonel Om Phirom, chief of Heritage Police for Preah Vihear, agreed, telling the Post Monday there were no soldiers in the actual temple compound.

“Soldiers do not violate the World Heritage site,” Om Phirom said. “They left the temple site many months ago and they have stood 30 metres away from protection site.”

Om Phirom said the boundary for the World Heritage site was 30 metres from the edge of the temple’s stonework.

“They can’t dig a trench at the temple site because it is full of stone, and it is prohibited to do this,” Om Phirom said.

They can’t dig trench at the temple site because it is full of stone, and it is prohibited to do this.

However, it is a moot point whether the military is obeying the spirit, or even the letter of the law by digging in their trenches so close to a protected site.

Only last month, Cambodian soldiers were photographed on the temple steps armed with machine guns. A section of the temple was also being used at that time as a bunker to store munitions, including B-42 rockets.

Protecting heritage
Referring to Article 71, Vann Molyvann said its inclusion in the Kingdom’s Constitution had been “a specific decision made by Cambodia because of its experience” of war impacting national heritage.

He said Preah Vihear area should be demilitarised and placed under the control of the Ministry of Culture.

In a written response to the Post to questions on heritage law, Vann Molyvann pointed to how the Angkor site had been damaged after it was drawn into the Vietnam war in 1970 and taken over by guerrillas fighting in resistance to the Lon Nol regime.

“Angkor became a point of dispute between all military factions,” he wrote. “A shell hit the extremely fine bas-reliefs of the temple’s first-floor southern gallery. Several shells fell in a temple courtyard, provoking the collapse of the southern porch of the second-floor gallery.”

Between 1975 and 1979, Angkorian temples, spiritual havens since the dawn of Khmer history, were abandoned as such, Vann Molyvann wrote.

“Objects of religious worship were considered without value. Buddha statues from Angkor Wat’s ‘Gallery of a Thousand Buddhas’ were broken off their pedestals, decapitated and reduced to dust.”

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around Preah Vihear temple for decades, but tensions spilled over into violence last July following the UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Thailand has long argued that only a joint Thai-Cambodian World Heritage site is suitable for Preah Vihear. In Spain currently, the Thais are asking that the temple grounds be placed under joint Thai-Cambodian maintenance, arguing that most visitors approach the temple from the Thai side.

Everyone is responsible
“Ensuring the protection of a World Heritage site is the collective responsibility of the international community,” said UNESCO’s head-of-office in Phnom Penh, Teruo Jinnai, via email Sunday. However, overseeing a demilitarised Preah Vihear was “not our mandate”, he added.

Officials from the Ministry of Culture could not be contacted this week as they were in Spain for the UNESCO meeting.

However, Cambodia’s Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Sunday that Cambodian soldiers were in Preah Vihear to protect the site from the Thai military.

“Now it is one year since Thai soldiers have invaded Cambodian territory, and they do not withdraw from it,” Phay Siphan said.

“It is because of the Thai soldiers’ invasion into Cambodian territory that our soldiers have been there, to protect our heritage.”

However, it is questionable whether the presence of a military force will protect the heritage site or cause it more damage.

Following a brief military encounter in April, an exchange of gunfire left bullet pits in the temple, prompting UNESCO to study the damage and NGOs to call for compensation from the Thai government.

Cambodian delegates to maintain cool at World Heritage meet

Written by Thet Sambath
Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Thailand is threatening to challenge the listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site, but officials say they will not be drawn into a fight

DESPITE threats of a challenge from Thailand, officials say they will avoid discussing the tense border situation during a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee that began in Seville, Spain, on Monday.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told the Post that Deputy Prime Minister Sok An would seek to avoid conflict, instead telling attendees about the Kingdom’s plans for conserving and developing the 11th-century temple and the surrounding areas.

But he added that Cambodia “reserves the right to respond to questions from country members and defend itself against provocations from the Thai delegation on issues relating to Preah Vihear”.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced Wednesday that Bangkok would use the committee’s 33rd session to challenge the validity of its July 2008 decision to list Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

UNESCO OFFICIALS ARE WONDERING AT THE THAI PRIME MINISTER’S ATTITUDE.

The committee’s decision to inscribe the temple scuttled Thai hopes for a joint Thai-Cambodian submission to UNESCO and triggered a troop buildup and an escalation of tensions at the border.

Thai threats
Phay Siphan also quoted Sok An as saying that Abhisit had threatened UNESCO staff over the issue of Preah Vihear.
“Minister Sok An told me that [Abhisit] … said the [World Heritage] status is the source of the border dispute,” he said.

“UNESCO officials are wondering about the Thai prime minister’s attitude. He has no right to threaten them because they work for the UN.”

Bun Uy, a secretary of state at the Council of Ministers, said on Monday that the decision to award the status was made by UNESCO, and that as Cambodia had done nothing wrong, there was no reason to de-list the temple.

“Why does Thailand demand that UNESCO withdraw it?” Bun Uy asked. “What the Thai prime minister wants is just to show his party and supporters that he has tried to regain the temple.”

Cambodia was awarded Preah Vihear temple by the World Court in 1962, but possession of the border area around the temple was never settled. At least seven soldiers on both sides have died in clashes in the area in the past year.

The government has sent reinforcements to the contested area on the northern border with Thailand. Sem Sophally, a resident of Sa Em village near the temple, said Monday that he had seen numerous RCAF trucks carrying soldiers heading to Preah Vihear the previous day.

“I was told they were sent there to reinforce the front line in the event of armed clashes with Thai soldiers,” he said.

The army has constructed a number of military bases in villages near the temple, a source of national pride, over the past year. Srey Doek, the commander of RCAF Division 3, said Monday that the current situation is normal, but that his soldiers are on alert.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NETH PHEAKTRA