IOL.co.za
July 16 2008
By Nopporn Wong-Anan
Bangkok - Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other about a disputed ancient temple.
Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier in July, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, said.
"Please be calm and patient. We are talking with the senior people in Cambodia and we hope the situation will ease up in a few days," he said.
"We know what we are doing, but we can't discuss it here. Please wait."
Some 200 Thai soldiers and a similar number of Cambodian troops guarded their respective sides of the border a day after three Thai protesters were detained for several hours for illegally entering the temple grounds to plant a Thai flag.
"I just do not understand why they are still stationed there," local Cambodian military commander Chea Mon said after the three Thais were released on Tuesday.
"Everyone has weapons, but I don't think there will be violence. No one would stand around like this if we were going to shoot at each other," Chea Mon told Reuters by telephone.
The only casualty so far was a Thai paramilitary ranger who lost part of his leg after stepping on a landmine near the border, which is still littered with mines after decades of fighting around the temple.
Perched on top of a jungle-clad escarpment that forms a natural boundary between Cambodia and Thailand, Preah Vihear was off-limits for much of the 1970s to 1990s when it was a jungle outpost for Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrillas.
Built by Khmer kings in the 11th century, it has been a source of tension since the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Hindu temple belonged to Cambodia, a decision that still rankles Thais.
The latest tensions arose after Cambodia won an attempt to have the temple declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Bangkok's initial support for the listing has been used by anti-government groups to stoke nationalist fervour in Thailand and further protests against the government they are seeking to oust from power.
Groups opposed to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have accused the pro-Thaksin government of selling out Thailand's heritage in return for his business interests in Cambodia.
Phnom Penh and Thaksin have denied the charge, but the controversy forced Thailand's foreign minister to resign.
The political uproar in Thailand has raised fears the spat could turn into a major diplomatic ruction between the two southeast Asian nations.
Another Cambodian temple, Angkor Wat, lay at the heart of a 2003 dispute that resulted in a nationalist mob torching the Thai embassy and several Thai businesses in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
July 16 2008
By Nopporn Wong-Anan
Bangkok - Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops face each other about a disputed ancient temple.
Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier in July, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, said.
"Please be calm and patient. We are talking with the senior people in Cambodia and we hope the situation will ease up in a few days," he said.
"We know what we are doing, but we can't discuss it here. Please wait."
Some 200 Thai soldiers and a similar number of Cambodian troops guarded their respective sides of the border a day after three Thai protesters were detained for several hours for illegally entering the temple grounds to plant a Thai flag.
"I just do not understand why they are still stationed there," local Cambodian military commander Chea Mon said after the three Thais were released on Tuesday.
"Everyone has weapons, but I don't think there will be violence. No one would stand around like this if we were going to shoot at each other," Chea Mon told Reuters by telephone.
The only casualty so far was a Thai paramilitary ranger who lost part of his leg after stepping on a landmine near the border, which is still littered with mines after decades of fighting around the temple.
Perched on top of a jungle-clad escarpment that forms a natural boundary between Cambodia and Thailand, Preah Vihear was off-limits for much of the 1970s to 1990s when it was a jungle outpost for Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrillas.
Built by Khmer kings in the 11th century, it has been a source of tension since the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Hindu temple belonged to Cambodia, a decision that still rankles Thais.
The latest tensions arose after Cambodia won an attempt to have the temple declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Bangkok's initial support for the listing has been used by anti-government groups to stoke nationalist fervour in Thailand and further protests against the government they are seeking to oust from power.
Groups opposed to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have accused the pro-Thaksin government of selling out Thailand's heritage in return for his business interests in Cambodia.
Phnom Penh and Thaksin have denied the charge, but the controversy forced Thailand's foreign minister to resign.
The political uproar in Thailand has raised fears the spat could turn into a major diplomatic ruction between the two southeast Asian nations.
Another Cambodian temple, Angkor Wat, lay at the heart of a 2003 dispute that resulted in a nationalist mob torching the Thai embassy and several Thai businesses in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
No comments:
Post a Comment