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Posted by admin on Feb-3-2009
4/02/20
By THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
Bangkok Post
Negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia over Preah Vihear have stumbled over the spelling of the name of the famed ancient temple.
A Thai official said yesterday officials of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission were trying to find a way around the problem so border negotiations could proceed.
Vasin Teeravechyan, who chairs the commission, said a solution acceptable to the two countries would be found.
Thailand insists on using “the Temple of Phra Viharn-Preah Vihear” on documents used in the negotiations. Cambodian officials strongly object, saying Preah Vihear is internationally accepted.
Mr Vasin, who is a retired Foreign Ministry official, said the name proposed by Thailand was very common in international negotiations on the issue.
The Temple of Phra Viharn-Preah Vihear has been approved by parliament for the framework negotiations with Cambodia. Thailand will use it in documents to be signed with Cambodia.
The meeting will be concluded today.
The two countries have been unable to settle on a plan to reduce troops in the disputed area which covers 4.6 square kilometres between Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear.
Mr Vasin refused further comment on the issue. But earlier he said Cambodia had told the meeting it had no soldiers stationed in the area.
The Cambodia delegation is led by Senior Minister Var Kim Hong.
Despite the disagreement over the name of the temple, the two countries will set up another team to survey the borderline for demarcation between Nam Yuen district in Ubon Ratchathani and Phu Sing district in Si Sa Ket, which is 195km long.
Thailand and Cambodia have already formed a survey team to study the disputed area near the ancient temple which was the scene of a military clash last year.
A plan to reduce the number of soldiers near the disputed area is expected to be included in talks when Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan visits Phnom Penh on Friday.
Archive for May, 2009
May
21
Posted by admin
Deum Ampil newspaper
Translated by Khmerization
The Thai Army Chief, Gen. Anupong Paochinda (pictured), has travelled to Sombok Khum frontline located near Preah Vihear temple to meet with Cambodian military leaders on Thursday 20th May.
Sources from Preah Vihear told Deum Ampil that Gen. Anupong met Gen. Chea Dara, Cambodia’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and Gen. Srey Doek, Cambodian commander of the Preah Vihear precinct, at Sombok Khmum frontline at 9 am on 20th May. The details of the talks have not been revealed.
The same sources said that Gen. Anupong had only been allowed to visit Sombok Khmum and his request to visit Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda had been turned down.
Gen. Anupong is the only Thai military leader who has acknowledged the destruction of a Cambodian market by Thai forces. He said that the compensation claim lodged by the Cambodian government can be “settled”.
Gen. Anupong is the first Thai military leader to visit to Sombok Khmum frontline since border conflict erupted in the middle of last year.
May
15
Posted by admin
By: BangkokPost.com
Published: 15/05/2009 at 10:50 AM
Army chief Anupong Paojinda is confident that Thailand can negotiate with Cambodia over its demand for about 75 million baht compensation for damage caused to a market during the violent border clashes last month.
Gen Anupong said he believed the demand originates from the private sector, not from the Cambodian government.
He said the Thai and Cambodian officers commanding troops on the border can work together, and this would allow the issue to be settled.
The Cambodian Foreign Ministry has demanded US$2,150,000 on behalf of 319 Cambodian families it says lost their livelihood when 264 stalls in the border market were completely destroyed.
The clashes on April 3 took place on disputed ground near the ancient Preah Vihear temple. Three Thai soldiers were killed and a Cambodian market next to the temple ruins was burned down when hit by Thai rockets.
Thailand has previously insisted the Cambodian vendors were in Thai territory.
May
15
Posted by admin
The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Sam Rith
Friday, 15 May 2009
Government seeks to keep two issues separate
CAMBODIAN officials said Thursday that a row over compensation for damages inflicted during border clashes with Thailand last month should not be part of the larger negotiations on the disputed territory between the two countries.
“We are just demanding compensation from the Thais for damage caused to the property of Cambodian citizens,” Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said, referring to a US$2.1 million claim made by the government on Monday for the destruction of 264 market stalls near Preah Vihear temple during the fighting.
Talks over the border have lurched along with no clear resolution in sight, as both sides wrangle over a few square kilometres of ground amid a massive military buildup on both sides of the frontier.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong told the Post Wednesday that Cambodia’s patience would eventually run out, but Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was quoted by the Bangkok-based daily newspaper The Nation on the same day as rejecting Cambodia’s demands for money.
“We have to understand it was a military clash, and there are rules of engagement for the fighting. We have already made clear the buildings are in Thai territory,” Kasit said.
Koy Kuong declined to comment on Kasit’s remarks Thursday, saying that Cambodian officials were still waiting for an official response. “It is their right to refuse our demand, but we want to know what reasons they have,” he said.
Phay Siphan disputed Kasit’s assertion that the damaged buildings were in Thai territory.
“They have no reason to say that the area is in Thai territory, because the International Court of Justice already judged that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, and the market is part of the temple.”
May
14
Posted by admin
The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Cheang Sokha
Thursday, 14 May 2009′
Cambodia, Thailand each demand compensation for damages
Photo by: Tracey Shelton
A Cambodian soldier stands at the site of a market that burned during the most recent flare-up of fighting at Preah Vihear.
Government officials warned Wednesday that while Cambodia continues to seek a peaceful resolution to its border dispute with Thailand, its patience will run out, as both sides demand compensation over the latest bout of fighting.
“Our solution is very patient, but this is limited and one day when our patience is over, we will use another mechanism,” said Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On Monday the ministry sent a diplomatic note to Thailand demanding US$2.1 million in compensation for the destruction of a market near Preah Vihear temple that was destroyed when clashes broke out on April 3.
The government blames Thai rocket fire for the blaze, which destroyed 264 stalls.
Koy Kuong said the ministry has not yet received an official response from Thailand over its demands.
But a spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry told media on Tuesday that not only would Thailand refuse to pay, it would seek compensation from Cambodia over the deaths of three Thai soldiers.
“We have always clearly stated that area belongs to Thailand and that Cambodian soldiers illegally trespassed into our territory,” Tharit Charungvat told AFP on Tuesday.
“We are working on the amount of compensation that we are seeking from Cambodia too, as our soldiers died,” he added.
Koy Kuong downplayed the Thai spokesman’s remarks, saying, “We do not consider the comment of the Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman as the stance of the Thai government because we have sent an official diplomatic note and they have not responded yet.”
In its note to Bangkok, the government said the loss of the market was “causing great hardship and misery to 319 families who have lost their entire livelihood”.
It added, “The Royal Government of Cambodia demands that the Royal Thai government take full responsibility.”
Cambodia was awarded Preah Vihear temple in 1962, but Thailand is laying claim to 5 square kilometers next to it.
May
13
Posted by admin
By: THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL AND AFP
Bangkok Post
Published: 13/05/2009
Thailand has rejected a demand from Cambodia for US$2.15 million (75 million baht) in compensation for damage caused to a market in fatal border clashes last month.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat yesterday said the incident on April 3 took place on Thai soil where some Cambodians were staying illegally.
He said Thailand was lenient with them for the sake of good relations with Cambodia and for humanitarian reasons.
The ministry would send a letter to Phnom Penh soon to confirm Thailand’s position on the ownership of the disputed area.
Thailand was assessing the damage caused by the clashes and the ministry’s Legal and Treaties Affairs Department would consider whether to lodge a complaint with Phnom Penh, Mr Tharit said.
In a letter dated May 11, obtained by the Bangkok Post, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said: ”A total number of 264 stands within the market were completely destroyed, causing great hardship and misery for 319 Cambodian families who have lost their entire livelihood.
”The material loss incurred to these families amounts to US$2,150,000. The Royal Government of Cambodia demands that the Royal Thai Government take full responsibility for these damages caused by Thai soldiers and to appropriately compensate the above losses.”
The clashes took place in a 4.6 sq km area near the ancient Preah Vihear temple ruins claimed by both countries. Thailand insists it is part of Si Sa Ket’s Kantharalak district while Cambodia says it is in its Preah Vihear province.
In the clashes on April 3, three Thai soldiers were killed and a Cambodian market next to the temple ruins was burned down when Thai forces fired rockets over the border.
Troops from the two sides have been locked in a stand-off since last July.
after the cliff-top Hindu temple was granted World Heritage status.
May
12
Posted by admin
By: AFP and BangkokPost.com
Published: 12/05/2009 at 11:56 AM
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday rejecting Cambodia’s demand for more than US$2 million, or about 74 million baht, in compensation for damage caused by the clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops on the border last month.
Cambodian soldiers stand guard near Preah Vihear temple on the Cambodia-Thai border. Cambodia has demanded that Thailand pay more than two million dollars in compensation for damage caused by deadly border clashes last month, according to a diplomatic note.
Phnom Penh has reportedly demanded the compensation to cover losses incurred by Cambodian market vendors.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said the clashes between troops from the two countries on April 3 took place on Thai soil.Thai authorities allowed a group of Cambodian villagers to reside there even though it was illegal, Mr Tharit said.
The government decided to be lenient, and also took humanity and bilateral ties between the two countries into consideration, he said.
The spokesman insisted the government would continue to maintain order in the disputed area while abiding by international laws.
He said the Foreign Ministry will send a letter to Cambodia to reiterate the government’s stance on this issue.
The government had repeatedly told its neighbouring country that the area where the fighting occurred last month is within the Thai border, he said.
The Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs will look into ways of seeking compensation from the Cambodian government, he said.
Cambodia demanded Thailand pay $2.1 million in compensation for damage caused by the fighting on the border last month, according to a diplomatic note seen on Tuesday.
Seven Thai and Cambodian troops have been killed in recent months during sporadic outbursts of violence between the neighbouring countries on disputed land around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.
In the latest clashes on April 3, three Thai soldiers were killed and a Cambodian market next to the temple ruins was burned down when Thai forces fired rockets over the border.
“The attack with heavy weapons by Thai troops on Cambodian territory… caused much damage and set a Cambodian market ablaze,” a diplomatic note sent to Thailand on Monday said.
The material losses to 319 families who had lost their livelihoods when the fire destroyed their market stalls amounted to more than $2.1 million, it said.
“The Royal Government of Cambodia demands that the Royal Thai government take full responsibility for these damages caused by Thai soldiers and to appropriately compensate the above losses,” it said.
Troops from the two countries have been locked in a border standoff since last July, when Thailand was angered by the cliff-top temple being given United Nations World Heritage status.
Ownership of the temple was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 but the two countries are in dispute over five square kilometres of land around it that has yet to be officially demarcated.
