By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Cambodian authorities on Friday dismissed claims by Thai Natural Resource and Environment minister Suwit Khunkitti that Cambodia failed to submit its plan for safeguarding and developing the Preah Vihear temple.
Hang Soth, General Director of the Preah Vihear National Authority said Cambodia has already submitted conservation plans to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) since April 4, this year.
Suwit who attended a meeting of World Heritage Committee in Spain said earlier that the committee has delayed its decision to list the Preah Vihear inscription since Cambodia has not yet completed its management plan.
"We don't understand why Thai leaders have said Cambodia has until next year to submit the plan," Hang Soth was quoted as saying by Phnom Penh Post as seen Friday on its website.
"We have already submitted our projects…Cambodians made the temple. Why can't we conserve it?," he said.
Cambodian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Koy Kuoung said the Thai statements were meant to cover up their failure at the Unesco meeting in Spain, where they were unable to get their challenge to the Preah Vihear listing on the agenda.
"The Thai leaders' comments are just to hide their failure to review the listing," he said.
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Spain on June 23-30 issued its decision 33COM 7B.74 as seen by The Nation has indeed mentioned that Cambodia has submitted its report for safeguard and development for the temple since April and the committee reviewed the report on April 24.
The committee made the request to the State Party (Cambodia) to submit to the World Heritage Center by February 1, 2010, a report on the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations by the committee in its decision 32COM 8B.102, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010.
In fact there is no extended scheduled as the time frame of February 2010 was mentioned in the previous decision in the 32nd session in Quebec paragraph 16 saying "further requests the State Party of Cambodia to submit to the World Heritage Centre by February 2010, for submission to the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010 a full management plan for the inscribed property, including a finalized map."
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