Agence France-Presse
07/27/2008
PHNOM PENH--Saffron-robed monks, uniformed policemen, and university students in T-shirts all said they had one thing on their mind as they voted in Cambodia: the tense military standoff on the Thai border.
Soldiers from both countries began staking positions around an 11th century Khmer temple nearly two weeks ago, reviving a decades-old dispute over a small patch of land near the mountaintop ruins of Preah Vihear.
The conflict has fired up nationalist sentiment in Cambodia, where many people resent the slow loss of their territory over the centuries to their larger neighbors Thailand and Vietnam.
"The new government must solve the temple problem. I don't want to see that invasion...it hurts me," said 23-year-old university student Leng Sok Im at a polling station in the capital.
The border feud has overshadowed the election, which is expected to extend the reign of Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which has held power for decades.
With thousands of soldiers from both sides now facing off near Preah Vihear, the foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia are set to meet Monday in hopes of resolving the deal.
"Preah Vihear temple is the hot issue. The new government must be brave enough to solve the problem," said 27-year-old policeman Khieu Sopheap.
Throughout Cambodia, discussion of the temple standoff dominates. Some people have boycotted Thai goods, and many have donated money and food to the Cambodian soldiers and villagers at Preah Vihear.
As scores of voters lined up from dawn at polling stations in Phnom Penh, many said the territorial dispute was the most important issue in the election, and called for the new government to resolve the standoff as soon as possible.
"I will vote for those who could solve the issue of Preah Vihear temple immediately after they take power," said 56-year-old businessman Lam Chanvanda, said, standing in a long queue waiting to cast his vote in a schoolroom.
"Before I was never interested in the border issue, but now it is in my heart," he added.
Buddhist monks, whose superiors have permitted them to vote for the first time since they led mass street demonstrations against Hun Sen's 1998 election victory, said the threat from Thailand concerned them most.
"Preah Vihear temple is a controversial issue between the two countries which so far has no solution yet. I came to vote because I want the new government to solve that border problem," said 24-year-old monk Chan Phearun.
As voters left polling stations, their fingers purple with permanent ink used to mark their ballots, no one would say who they had voted for but many hinted they had chosen the ruling party.
"Today is a good opportunity for people to choose the right leaders," said Seng Chanthy, 51, as she left a polling place.
"I support the party that develops the country. I don't hope for a new leader," she said.
07/27/2008
PHNOM PENH--Saffron-robed monks, uniformed policemen, and university students in T-shirts all said they had one thing on their mind as they voted in Cambodia: the tense military standoff on the Thai border.
Soldiers from both countries began staking positions around an 11th century Khmer temple nearly two weeks ago, reviving a decades-old dispute over a small patch of land near the mountaintop ruins of Preah Vihear.
The conflict has fired up nationalist sentiment in Cambodia, where many people resent the slow loss of their territory over the centuries to their larger neighbors Thailand and Vietnam.
"The new government must solve the temple problem. I don't want to see that invasion...it hurts me," said 23-year-old university student Leng Sok Im at a polling station in the capital.
The border feud has overshadowed the election, which is expected to extend the reign of Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which has held power for decades.
With thousands of soldiers from both sides now facing off near Preah Vihear, the foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia are set to meet Monday in hopes of resolving the deal.
"Preah Vihear temple is the hot issue. The new government must be brave enough to solve the problem," said 27-year-old policeman Khieu Sopheap.
Throughout Cambodia, discussion of the temple standoff dominates. Some people have boycotted Thai goods, and many have donated money and food to the Cambodian soldiers and villagers at Preah Vihear.
As scores of voters lined up from dawn at polling stations in Phnom Penh, many said the territorial dispute was the most important issue in the election, and called for the new government to resolve the standoff as soon as possible.
"I will vote for those who could solve the issue of Preah Vihear temple immediately after they take power," said 56-year-old businessman Lam Chanvanda, said, standing in a long queue waiting to cast his vote in a schoolroom.
"Before I was never interested in the border issue, but now it is in my heart," he added.
Buddhist monks, whose superiors have permitted them to vote for the first time since they led mass street demonstrations against Hun Sen's 1998 election victory, said the threat from Thailand concerned them most.
"Preah Vihear temple is a controversial issue between the two countries which so far has no solution yet. I came to vote because I want the new government to solve that border problem," said 24-year-old monk Chan Phearun.
As voters left polling stations, their fingers purple with permanent ink used to mark their ballots, no one would say who they had voted for but many hinted they had chosen the ruling party.
"Today is a good opportunity for people to choose the right leaders," said Seng Chanthy, 51, as she left a polling place.
"I support the party that develops the country. I don't hope for a new leader," she said.
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