By PIYANART SRIVALO,
SAMATCHA HOONSARA
THE NATION
Published on July 2, 2008
The government will respect the Central Administrative Court's injunction against the June 17 Cabinet resolution on the Preah Vihear temple, Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said yesterday.
"Following the injunction, the government will refrain from undertaking any activities authorised by the Cabinet resolution before the conclusion of the judicial review on the matter," he said.
The Foreign Ministry has suggested that Thailand surrendered its sovereignty over the temple and its surroundings in 1962 when the Cabinet agreed to follow the International Court of Justice's ruling handing the property to Cambodia.
A note from then foreign minister Thanat Khoman to the United Nations in 1962 expressed the Kingdom's disagreement with the decision and reserved the right, if any, in the future to resume its claims to the temple.
However the map annexed with Thanat's note to then UN secretary-general U Thant indicated that Thailand had "relinquished" part of territory handed together with the temple to Cambodia, said Krit Kraichitti, director of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department.
Somchai said immediate measures in response to the injunction included instructions for the Foreign Ministry to disseminate information about the Thai government's obligations under the court order.
This will be relayed to the Cambodian government, Unesco and the 21-member World Heritage Committee.
"The message of the Thai government is that enforcement of the Thai-Cambodian joint communiqu้ will be suspended until the completion of the judicial review," he said.
The Cabinet also instructed the Council of State to advise on what further needed to be done.
However, the government has not finalised its decision on whether to seek to stay the injunction, pending recommendations from legal advisers. Thailand will not send a delegation to the World Heritage session, starting tomorrow in Quebec, but the Thai ambassador to Canada will represent the country at the meeting.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej spoke to Thais in China during his official visit there and said he had also talked to Prime Minister Hun Sen by phone about the issue, which Samak said does not upset the bilateral relationship.
He also asked Hun Sen to take care of Thais and Thai businesses in Cambodia and he would do the same for Cambodian interests in Thailand.
House Speaker Chai Chidchob said he would today forward the opposition's motion relating to the Preah Vihear issue to the Constitution Court.
The Democrat Party has sought a legal interpretation on whether the communiqu้'s contents could classify it as a treaty, which would require parliamentary ratification.
The opposition contends that the government has violated Article 190 of the Constitution in order to avoid parliamentary scrutiny.
SAMATCHA HOONSARA
THE NATION
Published on July 2, 2008
The government will respect the Central Administrative Court's injunction against the June 17 Cabinet resolution on the Preah Vihear temple, Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said yesterday.
"Following the injunction, the government will refrain from undertaking any activities authorised by the Cabinet resolution before the conclusion of the judicial review on the matter," he said.
The Foreign Ministry has suggested that Thailand surrendered its sovereignty over the temple and its surroundings in 1962 when the Cabinet agreed to follow the International Court of Justice's ruling handing the property to Cambodia.
A note from then foreign minister Thanat Khoman to the United Nations in 1962 expressed the Kingdom's disagreement with the decision and reserved the right, if any, in the future to resume its claims to the temple.
However the map annexed with Thanat's note to then UN secretary-general U Thant indicated that Thailand had "relinquished" part of territory handed together with the temple to Cambodia, said Krit Kraichitti, director of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department.
Somchai said immediate measures in response to the injunction included instructions for the Foreign Ministry to disseminate information about the Thai government's obligations under the court order.
This will be relayed to the Cambodian government, Unesco and the 21-member World Heritage Committee.
"The message of the Thai government is that enforcement of the Thai-Cambodian joint communiqu้ will be suspended until the completion of the judicial review," he said.
The Cabinet also instructed the Council of State to advise on what further needed to be done.
However, the government has not finalised its decision on whether to seek to stay the injunction, pending recommendations from legal advisers. Thailand will not send a delegation to the World Heritage session, starting tomorrow in Quebec, but the Thai ambassador to Canada will represent the country at the meeting.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej spoke to Thais in China during his official visit there and said he had also talked to Prime Minister Hun Sen by phone about the issue, which Samak said does not upset the bilateral relationship.
He also asked Hun Sen to take care of Thais and Thai businesses in Cambodia and he would do the same for Cambodian interests in Thailand.
House Speaker Chai Chidchob said he would today forward the opposition's motion relating to the Preah Vihear issue to the Constitution Court.
The Democrat Party has sought a legal interpretation on whether the communiqu้'s contents could classify it as a treaty, which would require parliamentary ratification.
The opposition contends that the government has violated Article 190 of the Constitution in order to avoid parliamentary scrutiny.
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