Thai troops accused of entering Cambodia in dispute over temple

THE INDEPENDENT
By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent
Wednesday, 16 July 2008

The controversy surrounding an 11th-century temple on the Cambodian border with Thailand has taken a new twist after the authorities in Phnom Penh alleged that up to 170 armed troops and civilians from Thailand had illegally entered its territory.

Cambodia's Information Minister, Khieu Kanharith, made the allegation yesterday, a week after the country celebrated the temple's designation by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site.

He said the troops and civilians had crossed the border close to the Preah Vihear temple and refused to pull back. The Thai authorities denied they had crossed into Cambodian territory and claimed that troops had gathered close to the border simply to protect the nation's "sovereign territory". They said at least one soldier was injured after accidentally triggering one of the landmines that litter the border between the two countries.

The incident is the latest flash-point in a long-running controversy between the two countries over the Hindu temple, which was built by the Khmer empire. As far back as 1962, an international court ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia but the two countries havequarrelled over the land surrounding the temple.

In 2001 Cambodia began seeking special status for the temple in the hope that such a designation would boost the number of tourists visiting the site. Thailand had long opposed the designation because it feared the ruling would also say that thedisputed territory along the border belonged to Cambodia.

But in May, Thailand's Prime Minister, Samak Sundaravej, announced that he was supporting the Cambodian application. His decision – taken without parliamentary approval – was seized on by his political opponents who have sought to drum up a nationalist outcry over his decision. Last month, Mr Samak survived a confidence vote brought by his opponents, who have accused him of acting as a proxy for the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Yesterday, Major-General Kanok Netakawesana, a Thai army field commander in the region, told reporters that his troops were on Thai soil close to the disputed area but they had not crossed into Cambodia. "We are not violating the territory of Cambodia," he told the Associated Press. "We have every right to deploy troops here to protect our sovereignty."

The deployment of the Thai troops followed the arrest by Cambodia of three Thai citizens for allegedly crossing the border earlier in the day. A Cambodian government official said all three were later released.

While the Khmer empire constructed many temple complexes – the most famous being that located at Angkor Wat – the buildings at Preah Vihear are said to enjoy perhaps the most stunning location, high on a cliff top. The temple has long been favoured as a defensive outpost; in 1975 government troops based there held off Khmer Rouge fighters for more than a month after the rest of the country fell. In 1998, when the last sizeable group of Khmer Rouge fighters agreed to surrender to the Cambodian government, Preah Vihear was the location of negotiations.