via Khmer NZ
Published: 9/08/2010
The nationwide-broadcast of Preah Vihear Temple discussion between the Abhisit government and the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) operatives on Sunday was merely a political show that benefited little to the polarization-torn nation.
Worse, it has discouraged those discreet technocrats and legal experts who have tried years after years to save the border issues distant from politicization by any government.
The PAD re-emergence has horrifyingly reminded the Thai public a prelude to the 2006 coup, a fall of the post-elected prime ministers, and the formation of coalition government under Abhisit leadership.
Meeting privately with PAD players at Ban Pitsanulok Friday, then a hyde-park-styled address to the PAD crowd at Dindaeng stadium on Saturday, and a Sunday televised discussion forum with the PAD speakers have puzzled the general mindful public why the same premier did not address the Red-Shirted crowds when they turned up in force for a change of guard of the country.
Upholding tightly to the long-lost territorial nostalgia, the well-educated, well-to-do line-ups decorating along the down-to-earth Chamlong Srimuang’s disciples has sparked a debate over the Hindu Temple dispute with neighbouring Cambodia again in light of the police on-going summoning of 80 PAD leaders on the Suvarnabhumi and Don Meuang airport sieges lawsuits.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has been made to deliver a face-saving strategy by lobbying the World Heritage Committee to defer any discussions on the temple.
Two years ago, Abhisit had attacked the Samak Sundaravej government over its support (failure to block—should be more precise) Cambodia to register Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site might undermine the future Thai stand when it comes to the controversial temple and surrounding areas.
Now that the temple has become a World Heritage Site and the Cambodians has submitted its management plan to Unesco, the Democrats have awkwardly found themselves more or less in the same situation as the Samak administration. On one hand, there is nothing Thailand could have done to change the fact that the temple belongs to Cambodia.
The best dream that the Democrats-led government could reach is to try to jointly file the Temple as World Heritage and defer any attachment of the Temple heritage issue from the territorial negotiations.
After all, the MoU is just a tool for a talks and it could be revoked as said in the agreement that each party just inform within a due date their intention to renounce the agreement.
But in revoking the deal, the thankless efforts of military and foreign affairs people in responsible for the border issue in trying to get the border controversy be dealt with non-political experts with the long-term view of forging cross-border peaceful co-existence, if not prosperity—gradually vanished.
Last Friday, Thai ambassadors and diplomats who are law experts were called in at the foreign ministry meeting to shed light on the temporary success led by Natural Resource and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti on the controversy.
There were certainly some lessons to learn from two-year in a row Suwit’s half truth to the Thai public. Last year, Suwit claimed after returning from Seville that he succeeded in deferring the list of the temple, even though the Khmer property has already been registered a year ago as the World Heritage.
Now, he did make a heroic act by deferring the discussions on the management plan but causing confusions as his signatures at the end of the agreed minute would be unconstitutional.
In fact, it’s not. It simply showed a non-discretion and un-thoroughness of the Thai delegation, led by Minister Suwit in tip-toeing for the immediate exit of this hot potato.
At the Christchurch meeting in 2007, the Thai delegation did not have to sign anything on the document after the discussion on the Preah Vihear. The best that diplomats usually do to acknowledge the talks are to sign initials.
Now that nationalism is flying on both sides of the conflict, with Cambodia is again speaking aloud that the big nation is bullying a poor neighbouring country with a boast of readiness to wage war.
This temporary exit and lop-sided appeasing strategy of the Abhisit government is boomeranging.
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