BangkokPost.com, Agencies
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Tuesday he and the government have agreed that Cambodia should go ahead and apply to have Preah Vihear temple made a UN World Heritage site - but not the surrounding land.
"Cambodia and Thailand are preparing to issue a joint communique, but first I have to inform the Thai people," Mr Samak said, immediately after he returned from a two-day official visit to Phnom Penh.
"Cambodia confirmed that they will propose only the temple site for World Heritage status, not the surrounding area," he told the media.
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said the communique would also stipulate that Thailand and Cambodia must jointly manage the area surrounding Preah Vihear.
Last year, the UN cultural unit Unesco decided to turn down the Cambodian application for the temple to get Heritage status, mostly because Thai officials were ambivalent.
The temple has been a sore spot in Cambodian-Thai relations for decades. In 1962, the two countries took their disputed ownership of Preah Vihear to the World Court, which decided the temple was owned by Cambodia.
Complicating the nationalist card is the problem that there is no easy access to the temple from Cambodia, because it sits atop a sheer cliff, and can be reached only through Thailand.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Tuesday he and the government have agreed that Cambodia should go ahead and apply to have Preah Vihear temple made a UN World Heritage site - but not the surrounding land.
"Cambodia and Thailand are preparing to issue a joint communique, but first I have to inform the Thai people," Mr Samak said, immediately after he returned from a two-day official visit to Phnom Penh.
"Cambodia confirmed that they will propose only the temple site for World Heritage status, not the surrounding area," he told the media.
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said the communique would also stipulate that Thailand and Cambodia must jointly manage the area surrounding Preah Vihear.
Last year, the UN cultural unit Unesco decided to turn down the Cambodian application for the temple to get Heritage status, mostly because Thai officials were ambivalent.
The temple has been a sore spot in Cambodian-Thai relations for decades. In 1962, the two countries took their disputed ownership of Preah Vihear to the World Court, which decided the temple was owned by Cambodia.
Complicating the nationalist card is the problem that there is no easy access to the temple from Cambodia, because it sits atop a sheer cliff, and can be reached only through Thailand.
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