Wednesday, 23 July 2008

Cambodia requests UN help to resolve border dispute

A Cambodian Buddhist monk sits on the top of the Dang Reak mountain, site of the Preah Vihear temple compound. [Reuters]

Radio Australia

Cambodia is seeking help from the United Nations Security Council and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to end a tense border standoff with Thailand.

The focus of the nearly week-long crisis has been disputed land near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple on their joint border.

Hostilities between the two countries have escalated over the past two weeks ever since UNESCO accepted Cambodia's proposal to have the ruins at Preah Vihear added to the world heritage list.

Now an estimated 4,000 soldiers from both sides are in the area.

Our South East Asia correspondent, Karen Percy, says Cambodia's foreign minister, Hor Namhong, is pushing for the permanent members of the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to resolve the issue.

He has held talks with Phnom Penh-based ambassadors, while on Monday, lengthy talks between the countries' military leaders failed to make progress, although the two sides have agreed not to resort to violence.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that it belongs to Cambodia, but its most accessible entrance lies in Thailand and the exact border is in dispute.

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