Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama greeting journalists at Suvarnabhumi airport before announcing his resignation at the airport on Thursday.Saturday July 12, 2008
The Bangkok Post
A THAI RATH writer said that what Thai society would like to see now is the government showing the proper spirit and admitting its grave mistakes
KAMOL HENGKIETISAK
Late on Monday, Unesco's World Heritage Committee (WHC) decided at its Quebec meeting to register Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site stemming from the unitary submission by Cambodia government. It was a total defeat of the Thai Foreign Ministry under the supervision of Noppadon Pattama, noted a Thai Rath writer.
The writer remarked that an official from the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had sent him a note stating that some previous criticisms put forward by the writer were based on erroneous information concerning the Preah Vihear issue.
On Tuesday the Constitution Court ruled that the joint communique signed by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, in which Thailand basically acceded to Cambodia's wish for the unitary listing, should have received Parliament's approval, under Article 190 of the 2007 Constitution. The writer wondered whether any officials of the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs would dare to voice an opinion against him now.
What is certain is that the Preah Vihear temple is now under the sole protection of Cambodia, with Thailand having no say in the matter. What's more, at present some Cambodian vendors have encroached on the disputed territory and set up shop, while the Thai army and security personnel have not taken any action to protect Thailand's territory.
Everything seems to fall favourably to the Cambodian side, with tacit support from the Thai government, as Thai officials seemed to be reluctant to lobby the WHC to reject Cambodia's listing, observed the Thai Rath writer. He added that the Thai people must keep a guarded eye on a rumoured casino complex to be built adjacent to Preah Vihear on the Cambodia side.
Suspicions against the government concerning the Preah Vihear issue would never have arisen if not for word that former PM Thaksin Shinawatra was investing big in Cambodia, as the belief is widespread that Mr Thaksin is pulling the strings of the government of Samak Sundaravej. It was inevitable that some people in Thailand are now alleging the Samak administration's whole-hearted support for Cambodia's unitary submission was in return for favourable investment treatment.
Now that the Constitution Court ruled that the joint communique should have been approved by parliament before it was signed, it is pretty clear that the government is 100% wrong on the Preah Vihear issue, unintentionally or not. What Thai society would like to see is the government showing the proper spirit and admitting its grave mistakes, especially Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama (note - Minister Noppadon resigned on Thursday).
Probably no one will ever know if there was a hidden agenda in endorsing Cambodia's unitary listing of Preah Vihear, remarked the editorialist, but both Mr Samak and Mr Noppadon bull-headedly pushed for cabinet approval of the communique even though they were warned by several legal experts and academics against doing so.
Now they have been ruled as being in the wrong by the Constitution Court, they should show responsibility, concluded Thai Rath.
House dissolution?
On the same day that the Constitution Court ruled that the joint communique between Thailand and Cambodia fell under Article 190 of the present constitution, the Supreme Court's Political Division also affirmed the red card issued by the Election Commission against Yongyuth Tiyapairat, deputy leader of People Power Party, noted another Thai Rath writer. The Supreme Court's ruling means that Mr Yongyuth would no longer be the PPP's list MP and will be barred from politics for five years.
What made the ruling significant is that Mr Yongyuth was the first deputy leader of the PPP and would have assumed the leadership had anything happened to PM Samak Sundaravej. Mr Yongyuth was at the core of the party. Therefore, the PPP is afraid that his guilty verdict will lead directly to the party's dissolution.
Chart Thai and Machima (government coalition partners) party executives were red-carded, and the EC is in the process of filing a case to dissolve the two parties for involvement in vote-buying, a grave offence.
Mr Yongyuth's case is very significant as he is the party's key man and very close to the party's "real boss", said Thai Rath.
The two court rulings should speed up political developments, leading at the least to a major cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Samak is facing a hard choice, said the writer. To continue governing is not easy as the party is under a cloud of suspicion and the government lacks credibility, while dissolving the House of Representatives and holding a general election under a new party banner might not return Mr Samak as prime minister, noted Thai Rath.
Rules must be respected
According to Pongpol Adireksarn, head of Thailand's World Heritage Committee, who participated in the WHC meeting in Quebec, Canada, there are six criteria for listing a World Heritage site. For its application on the Preah Vihear temple site, Cambodia cited criterion one concerning human ingenuity, criterion three concerning ancient civilisations and criterion four concerning historic buildings, noted a Matichon editorial.
The international WHC deemed that even if the temple met only one criteria it was eligible to be listed as a World Heritage site.
Matichon said the Thai people must accept that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia because of a 1962 ruling by the World Court at the Hague. The WHC listing followed established rules which should be respected, even though a certain section of Thai people may not feel good about the world body's decision.
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) may air their suspicions about the joint communique between Thailand and Cambodia on this issue in accordance with their democratic rights, said the writer. It was also within the rule of democracy when the opposition filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama over the Preah Vihear issue, and the same can be said of the petition to the Administrative Court against the government's acceptance of the joint communique.
When senators petitioned the Constitution Court to rule on whether the government violated the constitution in not submitting the joint communique for parliamentary approval it was also playing by the rules.
Even the latest attempt by the Democrat party to file a criminal suit against Mr Noppadon on the Preah Vihear issue is within the rules of democracy.
What is not within the rules is the PAD's attempt to rouse the Thai people to feel ill will towards Cambodia and to push Thailand to reject acceptance of the WHC's ruling by forcefully seizing Preah Vihear temple. By trying to incite bad feelings, destruction and the occupation of other people's property, the PAD is operating outside the legal system. Their wishes must not be carried out by the Thai people.
The Matichon editorial urged the Thai people to turn to the positives instead of resorting to violence and destruction. The Thai government should apply to list areas surrounding Preah Vihear temple on the Thai side, including the Phanom Dongrak mountain range and Preah Vihear national park as a World Heritage site as well. Meanwhile, the area must be developed to make it easy for tourists to visit the temple and the surrounding areas, and to appreciate Thailand's Isan culture. This path will avoid disastrous confrontation and foster peaceful coexistence and prosperity, concluded Matichon.
Miscellany
The 2007 constitution is a key factor in explaining the government's present political problems, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Wednesday.
Mr Samak particularly mentioned articles 190 and 237, saying that without these two provisions political strife could have been avoided.
Article 237 deals with the dissolution of political parties, while Article 190 covers parliament scrutiny of agreements deemed by the cabinet to have a wide-ranging impact on the country.
His comments came after the Constitution Court ruled against the government on the Preah Vihear communique and the Supreme Court's Political Division affirmed the EC's red card of Yongyuth Tiyapairat, both on Tuesday.
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