Thais rally after UNESCO postpones ruling on disputed temple

via Khmer NZ

Posted : Fri, 30 Jul 2010

By : dpa

Bangkok - Several hundred Thais demonstrated in Bangkok Friday in support of their country's territorial rights after the UN's World Heritage Committee postponed a decision on a disputed temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.

The committee, part of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), was scheduled to rule Thursday on a Cambodian management plan for an 11th century Hindu temple straddling the border that has been a bone of contention between the two neighbours for decades.

At a meeting in the Brazilian capital Brasilia, the 21-member committee decided to postpone the decision until next year's meeting in Bahrain, after accusations of procedural errors.

The temple, known as Preah Vihear in Thailand and Phra Viharn in Cambodia, belongs to Cambodia under a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice. But jurisdiction of 4.6 square kilometres of land adjacent to the temple is still in dispute.

Thai Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who is leading his delegation in Brazil, told the committee the Cambodian government had failed to follow proper procedures in submitting its management plan for the temple and adjacent land.

The committee therefore decided to postpone its decision. The delay "will allow Thailand more time for to discuss the issue and to find solutions," the minister was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva threatened to quit the World Heritage Committee if it approved the Cambodian plan.

The stone Hindu temple ruins were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site two years ago and Phnom Penh was required to submit a management plan to the committee.

Organizers of Friday's demonstration at UNESCO's Bangkok office, who held a larger rally there on Tuesday, said further rallies were planned in support of the Thai territorial claims.