Cambodia asks for UN's help in Thai dispute

via Khmer NZ

Monday, August 9, 2010

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, centre left, and his wife Bun Rany, centre right, pray at the Preah Vihear Temple earlier this year. (Heng Sinith/Associated Press)

The Cambodian prime minister has called for international help to resolve a territorial dispute with Thailand regarding a historic temple.

The two countries each claim that a 4.6-square kilometre patch of land near the clifftop Preah Vihear Temple belongs to them. The Hindu monument, which dates back to the Khmer Empire in the 11th century, was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2008 after Cambodia applied for the status.

Prime Minister Hun Sen accused his Thai counterpart of threatening to use military force in the neighbours' rival claims over the site, which sits along a mountaintop.

"I would like to request that an international conference be set up to discuss the dispute at the Cambodia and Thailand border," Hun Sen said during a speech to civil servants. "I appeal to the United Nations … and all the signatories of the Paris Peace Accord to host the conference because the bilateral discussion is at an impasse now."

The letter added that Cambodia "reserves its legitimate rights to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in case of deliberate acts of aggression."

Bangkok is writing its own appeal to the UN, but did not immediately address Sen's letter Monday. Thailand's response will reportedly reiterate the country's desire for a peaceful resolution.

The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962. The country only became a democracy in 1991 when the Paris Peace Accord brought an end to decades of civil war.

The site has frequently been used to stir up nationalistic fervour on both sides of the border. There have been multiple small but sometimes deadly armed clashes along the border in recent years.

The issue heated up again last month when Cambodia submitted a management plan for the temple at the annual meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Commission. The UN cultural agency deferred its decision on the plan until next year's meeting.

Right-wing nationalists in Thailand staged a protest Saturday calling on Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government to more aggressively pursue Thai claims to the disputed land. Abhisit placated the protesters by assuring that Thailand would defend its national interests.