By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Published on July 4, 2008
Pact signed in May was subject to Cabinet approval, FM Noppadon says
A document signed in May by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and a Unesco assistant director after a meeting in Paris was not binding, Noppadon and Unesco's Bangkok director said yesterday.
Noppadon said it was a preliminary agreement that clearly stated it was "pending Cabinet approval".
"I needed to sign the paper [with the Cambodian minister] to make sure that what we agreed would not be changed by any party later," Noppadon told reporters.
"There was nothing in secret, nothing to hide and it is not binding," he added.
Yesterday's clarification followed Senator Priyanandana Rangsit's claim that Unesco Bangkok director Sheldon Shaeffer had stated in a letter to her that Noppadon had committed to support Cambodia's application to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site prior to seeking Cabinet approval.
"Such commitment to cooperate for management and protection of the temple of Preah Vihear was reiterated and formalised by the joint communique recently signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Vice Prime Minister of Cambodia on May 22, 2008," Shaeffer had said in a letter to the senator.
Noppadon summoned Shaeffer for clarification yesterday. Shaeffer told reporters after meeting the minister that his letter to the senator was inaccurate.
"What happened with the document signed on May 18 [actually, May 22] is a kind of 'informal' agreement, as I'm told, pending Cabinet confirmation that came on June 17. I'm told the final agreement was signed in both Phnom Penh and Bangkok on June 18," he said.
Shaeffer said he was aware of the Administrative Court's temporary injunction against Cabinet approval of the joint communique signed in June when he sent his letter to the senator.
"I don't think anything in my letter could be implied as a communication of what overrides the court," Shaeffer told reporters.
Shaeffer said he had written to Priyanandana after she sent him a list of Thais opposed to Cambodia's application.
He said his letter mainly tried to clarify relations between Unesco and the World Heritage Committee.
The committee is not a body of Unesco. The UN organisation acts as a technical secretariat but cannot make any decision on nomination of World Heritage sites, he said.
Asked if Cambodia could use the document signed in Paris to back up its application, Shaeffer said it was up to the Thai government's handling of the different documents - the initial one and the official one.
Noppadon said Phnom Penh could not cite the initial document to back its application because the latest official document has withdrawn Thailand's support.
The joint communique to support Cambodia's proposal became a political burden for the government when a group of 77 senators asked the Constitution Court to decide whether it contravened Article 190 of the charter, which requires all agreements with foreign countries regarding change in sovereignty to pass through Parliament before being signed.
The court has summoned Noppadon to testify today
The Nation
Published on July 4, 2008
Pact signed in May was subject to Cabinet approval, FM Noppadon says
A document signed in May by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and a Unesco assistant director after a meeting in Paris was not binding, Noppadon and Unesco's Bangkok director said yesterday.
Noppadon said it was a preliminary agreement that clearly stated it was "pending Cabinet approval".
"I needed to sign the paper [with the Cambodian minister] to make sure that what we agreed would not be changed by any party later," Noppadon told reporters.
"There was nothing in secret, nothing to hide and it is not binding," he added.
Yesterday's clarification followed Senator Priyanandana Rangsit's claim that Unesco Bangkok director Sheldon Shaeffer had stated in a letter to her that Noppadon had committed to support Cambodia's application to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site prior to seeking Cabinet approval.
"Such commitment to cooperate for management and protection of the temple of Preah Vihear was reiterated and formalised by the joint communique recently signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Vice Prime Minister of Cambodia on May 22, 2008," Shaeffer had said in a letter to the senator.
Noppadon summoned Shaeffer for clarification yesterday. Shaeffer told reporters after meeting the minister that his letter to the senator was inaccurate.
"What happened with the document signed on May 18 [actually, May 22] is a kind of 'informal' agreement, as I'm told, pending Cabinet confirmation that came on June 17. I'm told the final agreement was signed in both Phnom Penh and Bangkok on June 18," he said.
Shaeffer said he was aware of the Administrative Court's temporary injunction against Cabinet approval of the joint communique signed in June when he sent his letter to the senator.
"I don't think anything in my letter could be implied as a communication of what overrides the court," Shaeffer told reporters.
Shaeffer said he had written to Priyanandana after she sent him a list of Thais opposed to Cambodia's application.
He said his letter mainly tried to clarify relations between Unesco and the World Heritage Committee.
The committee is not a body of Unesco. The UN organisation acts as a technical secretariat but cannot make any decision on nomination of World Heritage sites, he said.
Asked if Cambodia could use the document signed in Paris to back up its application, Shaeffer said it was up to the Thai government's handling of the different documents - the initial one and the official one.
Noppadon said Phnom Penh could not cite the initial document to back its application because the latest official document has withdrawn Thailand's support.
The joint communique to support Cambodia's proposal became a political burden for the government when a group of 77 senators asked the Constitution Court to decide whether it contravened Article 190 of the charter, which requires all agreements with foreign countries regarding change in sovereignty to pass through Parliament before being signed.
The court has summoned Noppadon to testify today
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