The Associated Press
Published: July 24, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The Cambodian government said Thursday it will not back down from a demand that hundreds of Thai troops leave disputed land near a historic temple, contending that its Southeast Asian neighbor is trying to "permanently occupy" the site.
But Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith also insisted that his country's military will do everything it can to avoid a clash with Thai soldiers stationed a few hundred yards (meters) from the 11th century Preah Vihear temple near their border.
"We cannot soften our position because this is a violation of our territorial integrity," he told a news conference. "Thailand is trying to turn its aggression into a permanent occupation."
Military tensions between the two countries over 1.8 square miles (4.6 square kilometers) of land intensified earlier this month after UNESCO approved a Cambodian application to have the temple designated a World Heritage Site.
Thailand sent troops to the border July 15 after anti-government demonstrators attacked Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government for supporting Cambodia's application. They claim the temple's new status will undermine Thailand's claim to land around the temple. Cambodia followed suit with its own troop deployment.
Cambodia has since taken its complaint to the U.N. Security Council after talks on Monday with Thailand failed to solve the crisis. The Security Council is expected to take up the matter soon.
"We are worried by the situation and by the potential tension due to the situation raising around the temple," France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said Wednesday. "Everybody was in favor of discussing the situation."
Thailand wants the dispute solved bilaterally. On Wednesday the country's U.N. ambassador, Don Pramudwinai, accused Cambodia of bringing the quarrel before the Security Council because "the Cambodian target is not only Preah Vihear but the entire common border."
Cambodian says some 4,000 troops from both countries are massed in the area around Preah Vihear. Thailand says it has 400 troops in the area and that Cambodia has 1,700.
Don said Cambodia was trying to force Thailand to accept a French colonial map's demarcation of the border.
Thailand relies on a different map drawn up later with American technical assistance, but accepts a ruling by the International Court of Justice that awarded the disputed temple to Cambodia in 1962.
Published: July 24, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The Cambodian government said Thursday it will not back down from a demand that hundreds of Thai troops leave disputed land near a historic temple, contending that its Southeast Asian neighbor is trying to "permanently occupy" the site.
But Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith also insisted that his country's military will do everything it can to avoid a clash with Thai soldiers stationed a few hundred yards (meters) from the 11th century Preah Vihear temple near their border.
"We cannot soften our position because this is a violation of our territorial integrity," he told a news conference. "Thailand is trying to turn its aggression into a permanent occupation."
Military tensions between the two countries over 1.8 square miles (4.6 square kilometers) of land intensified earlier this month after UNESCO approved a Cambodian application to have the temple designated a World Heritage Site.
Thailand sent troops to the border July 15 after anti-government demonstrators attacked Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government for supporting Cambodia's application. They claim the temple's new status will undermine Thailand's claim to land around the temple. Cambodia followed suit with its own troop deployment.
Cambodia has since taken its complaint to the U.N. Security Council after talks on Monday with Thailand failed to solve the crisis. The Security Council is expected to take up the matter soon.
"We are worried by the situation and by the potential tension due to the situation raising around the temple," France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said Wednesday. "Everybody was in favor of discussing the situation."
Thailand wants the dispute solved bilaterally. On Wednesday the country's U.N. ambassador, Don Pramudwinai, accused Cambodia of bringing the quarrel before the Security Council because "the Cambodian target is not only Preah Vihear but the entire common border."
Cambodian says some 4,000 troops from both countries are massed in the area around Preah Vihear. Thailand says it has 400 troops in the area and that Cambodia has 1,700.
Don said Cambodia was trying to force Thailand to accept a French colonial map's demarcation of the border.
Thailand relies on a different map drawn up later with American technical assistance, but accepts a ruling by the International Court of Justice that awarded the disputed temple to Cambodia in 1962.
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