Cambodian residents leave home amid military buildup at border area with Thailand

www.chinaview.cn

2008-07-23

PHNOM PENH, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Village people left their homes for relatives far away, as Cambodia and Thailand built up their military presence at the border area over bilateral land dispute, a village chief said Wednesday.

"People are afraid when they see the troops from both sides in their area near the Preah Vihear Temple. Thai troops are still deployed inside the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda (some 300 meters away from the temple) and its adjacent places," Bun Leng, chief of Preah Vihear Village in eponymous province, told Xinhua over phone.

"They fear armed confrontation," he added.

Military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand entered into the eighth day, as both governments dismissed any possibility of evacuation but instead submitted different versions of maps to prove their legal possession of the 4.6-square-kilometer land nearthe temple.

Thai troops were reportedly over 500 with tanks and artillery, while Cambodian some 1,000. However, Phay Siphan, spokesman of theCouncil of Ministers of Cambodia, refused to confirm the figures.

"Each side has at least about 100 troops inside the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda," he told Xinhua.

The general situation inside and in the vicinity of the pagoda is calm and both sides don't have weapons inside, as the governments have agreed not to cause violence and armed confrontation, he said.

"Cambodia can control the situation along its border and our troops are also deployed at other places to guarantee safety and security for our people," he added.

Bun Leng said that Khmer-speaking Thai troops dug military bunkers at their side and it looked like they wanted to fight withthe Cambodians.

Thai troops had clear strategies to block Cambodians from accessing the Preah Vihear Temple, because the pagoda stood on the way to it, he said.

Both troops haven't mobilized so far, but Cambodian soldiers started to send short messages to tell their friends and relatives to boycott Thai products, he added.

However, "people here need normal lives, so that they can make business with Thais near the border as they used to do," he said.

Cambodian tycoon Kith Meng, who runs TV channels and mobile phone service, arrived at the border Wednesday morning to donate food, raincoats and camp tents for Cambodian troops, he said.

Tuesday, officials from the Royal Palace of Cambodia also brought some food and materials for the people and troops, he added.

Earlier Wednesday, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) stated that it failed to mediate between the two ASEAN members, saying that it would adversely affect the regional organization.

The UN Security Council is reportedly to convene an urgent meeting Thursday to find peaceful solution to the ongoing stalemate.

As Thailand refused to evacuate the alleged Cambodian territory,the Cambodian government has written letters this week to ASEAN, UNESCO and UN Security Council to ask for help and justice.

On Monday, bilateral top-level talks in Thailand failed to reach any agreement to end the military face-off.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded the 11-century classic Khmer-style Preah Vihear Temple, together with the land it occupies, to Cambodia.

On July 7, the temple was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.

On July 15, three Thai protesters trespassed the border to reclaim the temple, but were immediately arrested.

Thai troops then came in to fetch them, thus triggering standoff with Cambodian soldiers there. Military force was then built up on daily basis until the current scale.

Editor: Bi Mingxin

‘The Rule of Murderers and Thieves’

Heng Sinith / AP
A Cambodian opposition leader has little hope that his country's upcoming election will be free or fair. Why he's fighting hard anyway.

Rainsy believes the West is losing its leverage in Cambodia

By Eric Pape
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Jul 23, 2008

Cambodia was once the grand international project. Before the upheavals of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans, the global community launched an ambitious plan to heal a ruined country through diplomacy, development and democracy. It's been an uneven road--littered with hundreds of bodies, questionable elections and billions of aid dollars.

The next milestone comes on July 27, the day Cambodians will take part in national polls to choose a prime minister for the third time since 1993, when the United Nations oversaw one of the biggest electoral projects in its history. Outside Cambodia, the world may be focusing on whether a war-crimes tribunal will finally bring some hint of justice for the 1.8 million victims of the Khmer Rouge nearly three decades after the regime fell, but inside the country voters have more pressing concerns: rising inflation, glaring corruption (including government-backed land seizures) and an ever-larger gap between the wealthy and the dirt-poor.

A dozen parties qualified to run parliamentary candidates, but two main contenders for the premiership stand out. The People's Party of incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen--a former communist and one-time low-level Khmer Rouge commander who remains an intimidating presence after more than two decades in power--holds 73 seats. The other is Sam Rainsy, a former finance minister who has long railed against corruption and was almost killed during a hit-squad attack during a 1997 protest. (A quick-moving bodyguard sacrificed his life by jumping in front of Rainsy; he was among the 13 confirmed dead.) Rainsy's party, which currently holds 24 parliamentary seats, appears likely to benefit from internal divisions in the royalist FUNCINPEC party, which currently holds 26 seats and is the junior partner in the current coalition government. But given Hun Sen's near absolute control of Cambodian television, radio, the courts and the electoral structures that validate elections, any meaningful decline in his power would amount to a stunning blow.

NEWSWEEK's Eric Pape spoke by cell phone with Cambodia's opposition leader about his third run against archrival Hun Sen, the "curse" of oil discoveries and the rise of Chinese influence. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: As with the last three elections, rights groups are reporting political murders of government opponents during this campaign…Sam Rainsy: [Last week] a journalist from the Khmer Conscience newspaper, Khim Sambo, and his 21-year-old son, were killed near the Olympic Market in Phnom Penh by a motorcycle hit squad. These are the sixth and seventh murders linked to politics in this campaign.

But [Hun Sen allies] also threaten villagers. "And if you vote for the opposition," they are told, "there could be civil war; your homes could be destroyed." They can lose their livelihoods, even their cows.

How is this campaign different from the last three?
There is less killing, less violence and more subtle tricks to disenfranchise. Many people's names are not on the voter rolls. All of the government's supporters will have the right to vote--and they have "ghost voters" to inflate those numbers--but many others will not be able to vote.

What do you expect to happen on Election Day?
The [ruling People's Party] will organize something very exceptional; otherwise their result will be very bad. So they threaten and buy off party agents [party appointees who help monitor the election], so that they turn a blind eye to cheating. This leads to another problem: there are a few hundred international observers for 15,000 polling and ballot-counting stations; how can they guarantee a fair election?

The final results depend on the degree of manipulation. If we can prevent, resist or overcome this, we will have more votes than last time. But in the end, if they use violence, manipulation and money to buy party agents and neutralize observers, they can proclaim any result that they want.

Is your campaigning causing you trouble in Cambodian courts?
There are lawsuits accusing me of insulting the country's leaders. I publicized a report by [environmental watchdog] Global Witness that was banned in Cambodia because it describes some leaders as "thieves." So I said: "Our leaders are thieves, according to Global Witness." I mentioned it, so I may be liable to five fines of up to 10 million riels [$2,410 each]. But people who steal from the country are thieves.

Hun Sen recently said that he had stopped talking to the opposition because they only insult him. If Hun Sen doesn't talk to the opposition, I don't mind. As long as he doesn't kill the opposition.

Why is Hun Sen still prime minister after a quarter century?
He is clever and very gifted. He is a survivor, but survival means there is no vision. You eliminate or weaken opponents, but he is leading the country nowhere. This can't last forever. There is growing unemployment, accelerating inflation, ongoing land grabs, continuing poverty, the using-up of natural resources. There are economic crimes and impunity for violent crimes and assassinations. It is the rule of murderers and thieves.

How will the discovery of oil deposits affect Cambodia?
If things stay as they are, it will mean more problems and instability, more corruption and poverty. It will be a curse--unless there is more pressure for Cambodia to become a real democracy. Then these new resources could be used to develop the country and its human resources, to strengthen democracy. But if Hun Sen remains in power, we will go the way of Nigeria.

How has the international role in Cambodia evolved?
Hun Sen needs the recognition of the West, but he no longer needs its money. China brings money to Cambodia without taking an interest in human rights or democratic conditions. And it is lucrative for China here; they enjoy the natural resources. In different forms, China is probably the largest investor in Cambodia. You can see it even in education now. There are hundreds of Chinese schools, recently built, with funds from Chinese authorities. And more and more Chinese companies come in "under the table."

The West is losing its power here. And when we get oil revenues, Western countries' leverage will be even smaller. There are just a few more years now when Western countries can still press for change. After that, it will be impossible. So the will of the Cambodian people must be expressed properly now. If the West allows it to be distorted again, it is the worst service they could render to Cambodians.

Is it possible to have a free election in Cambodia?
No. You have to measure the degree of unfairness. The question is: how unfair and how unfree?

Can you campaign?
We don't have access to broadcast media, and we have to rely on word of mouth, and there are dangers, but we still try.

You accuse the government of cheating in each election; why do you keep running for office?
If we persevere we will reach our goal in time. Despite the problems, our vote increases in each election. And even the most powerful dictators make mistakes. Who predicted the fall of the Soviet Union and its disintegration? They were much more powerful than Cambodia's leaders.

There is a wave of change, in mentalities and expectations. People say: We've had nearly 30 years of Hun Sen. They say, "K'plo," "change, change, change." Hun Sen thinks he is a giant who can sit on a volcano and keep it down, but it could blow at any moment.

The United Nations Asserts that Cambodia Is among the Least Developed Countries

Posted on 24 July 2008

The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 570

“Developing the country nearly 30 years by borrowing money from foreign countries and by receiving hundreds of millions of dollars each year, by 2008, Cambodia is still a country among forty nine countries that have very little development. According to a statement of the UN Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD] on 18 July 2008, 49 countries were evaluated by the United Nations to be Least Developed Countries [The Least Developed Countries Report 2008, Growth, Poverty and the Terms of Development Partnership, full report: PDF, 197 pages, 1719Kb].

Among the 49 countries 10 countries are from Asia, 5 countries from the Pacific Ocean region, 1 country from the Caribbean, and 33 countries from Africa. Countries from Asia are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Maldives, Nepal, and Yemen. The evaluation of the UN about trade and development are based on three criteria:

the first criterion is ‘low income’ of citizens, based on the average national income per capita during three years [2002-2004], and countries were added to this list if the figure is less than US$750;

the second criterion, it based on ‘human assets’, [based on indicators of nutrition, health (child mortality rate), school enrollment, and adult literacy rate]; and the third criterion depends on the ‘economic vulnerability’ [based on indicators of natural shocks like instability of agricultural production; trade shocks like instability of exports of goods and services, exposure to shocks like strong dependency on agriculture, or merchandise export, or being affected by economic isolation].

“Cambodia has just waken up from war that had lasted many years, and receives about US$400 million to US$600 million every year. This does not cover loans from some countries, and national funds collected through taxes and through other means.

“Previously, the Economic Institute of Cambodia and the World Bank had estimated that Cambodia loses each year at least US$300 million to US$500 million by corruption. Also Mr. Joseph Mussomeli, US ambassador to Cambodia, has criticized corruption in Cambodia, claiming that the Cambodian government has no clear policies to fight corruption; just to speak about this word a lot may make it sound beautiful without any effect. Also, Transparency International found that Cambodia is among the countries in the world having most serious corruption problems [Global corruption Report 2008].

“Some economic observers and officials of civil society organizations agree with the data of UNCTAD, asserting that Cambodia is among the Least Developed Countries; this evaluation is in line with the real situation. It is true that the government led by Prime Minister Hun Sen owes much debt and received funds of hundreds of millions of dollars every year, but there is not much significant development. At present, 36% of Khmer citizens still live under the poverty line with Riel 4,000 [approx. US$0.98] per day, while many leaders and corrupt officials became millionaires and billionaires.

“Economic observers and officials of civil society organizations in Cambodia said that hundreds of millions of dollars that the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, vice-president of the Cambodian People’s Party, has received from foreign countries, and funds from the international community every year, are not spent to develop the country. A considerable part of that money has gone into the pockets of leaders and of corrupt officials which led to very little economic growth, and the benefits from that economic growth do not reach the poor, but it benefits corrupt officials who are partisans of powerful leaders. This creates an ever larger gap between the rich and the poor, and makes the nation to face a serious crisis.

“An official, who asked that his name not be mentioned, said that strong corruption in the Ministry of Commerce, managed by Cham Prasidh, is one reason making Cambodian commerce not to grow as in neighboring countries, and the country has little development. Just to register a company, an investor has to spend much money to corrupt officials close to Cham Prasidh.

Therefore, big foreign investors do not dare to come to invest in Cambodia, because they hate corruption. Another thing is that Cambodia has no anti-corruption law which meets international standards.

“Some independent observers noticed that corruption and bureaucracy occurring strongly in important state institutions of Cambodia makes Cambodia to develop little, although the country owes nearly US$4 billion and has received hundreds of millions of dollars from the international community. State institutions ruined by corruption and bureaucracy are the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the Customs and Excise Department, the Council for the Development of Cambodia, and the Department of Economic Police of the Ministry of Interior. As for the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Inspection, managed by Men Samon, a member of the Central Committee of the Cambodian People’s Party, does nothing to observe, prevent, and eliminate corruption.

“Independent observers noticed that also some important institutions and donor countries for Cambodia do not help Cambodia to eliminate corruption effectively. Clearly, Mr. Ian Porter and Ms. Nisha Agrawal, Country Director for Cambodia and [former] Cambodia Country Manager of the World Bank, seem to be sensitive about corruption, which absorbs even development funds of the World Bank. But even when corruption and bureaucracy in important state institutions of the Hun Sen’s government grew stronger, the World Bank provided more funds to Hun Sen’s government, although they knew that such funds do not provide advantages to Khmer poor citizens.

“Analysts said that in order for Cambodia to develop soon, the Khmer citizens countrywide have to defeat corrupt leaders, who destroy and steal from the nation, through the election on 27 July 2008. This means that Khmer citizens countrywide have to vote to dismiss the Cambodian People’s Party from power, because the government led by the Cambodian People’s Party for many terms does not improve the national economy and does not make citizens to live with a richer livelihood. The new leader, that Khmer citizens have to choose, is Mr. Sam Rainsy, the president of the opposition party who is an economic expert and who is willing to serve the citizens’ and to protect the nation’s interests.”

Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3519, 23.7.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:Wednesday, 23 July 2008

Minister to Meet UN Council Over Standoff

Cambodian soldiers sit on the steps of Preah Vihear temple Tuesday.

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 July 2008

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will travel to New York on Friday in hopes of meeting with the UN Security Council to resolve a continued military standoff with Thailand.

"We will report to the UN Security Council about the Preah Vihear crisis," he told VOA Khmer Wednesday.

A meeting with the 15 members of the Security Council could take place as early as Monday or Tuesday, Hor Namhong said.

Cambodia has pushed for Asean and Unesco intervention in the alleged incursion of Thai troops in the disputed border area of Banthey Meanchey province.

As many as 4,000 troops from both sides have amassed on the border since July 15, and officials have warned that the longer they remain, the more chance for violence.

"We hope that after the meeting, the UN will be able to find a good solution between both sides, Cambodia and Thailand," Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said.

"Cambodia has already won by diplomacy, the rule of law and politics," Hor Namhong said.

"The Thai act along the border at Preah Vihear was a cowardly act," he said. "If we did not have patience with the Thai act, it would have opened a war on the border."

Thais were teaching villagers military tactics and arming people along the border Wednesday, Hor Namhong said.

Thailand continued to move troops, tanks and artillery to the border, Hor Namhong said.

They had deployed troops 3 kilometers from Preah Vihear and 200 meters from the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, he said.

Thai Embassy officials declined to comment on any border activities Wednesday.

Defense Minister Tea Banh could not confirm the number of troops on both sides, but said Cambodia had enough soldiers to defend itself in case Thai soldiers "open fire."

Soldiers on both sides remained calm Wednesday, with no reports of arguments or gun-pointing, he said.

Low Funds Hurting Election Monitors

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 July 2008

Non-governmental observers are facing a shortage of money for Sunday's election, decreasing the number of eyes watching the polls and the counts and leaving the country's two main independent monitors concerned for the free and fair status of the process.

The Committee for Free and Fair Elections had received $600,000 in elections past, but this year they were given $200,000 from international donors.

The shortfall will make it hard for observers to properly monitor the election, Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said.

Comfrel in the past was able to put at least one observer at each station. Ballot stations in past elections went from 12,000 in 1998 to 13,000 in 2003.

"The ballot stations are increasing now, up to 15,000," he said. "But we've received less money, and we cannot deploy our staff or observers for each station to monitor irregularities, because we have only 10,000 observers.

"We expect that it would have an impact to monitor properly, but we will focus on the most important stations in the main provinces," he said.

Comfrel should receive more contributions, not less, he said, especially considering the rising cost of goods, including food and fuel, in Cambodia, Koul Panha said.

Stressing the importance of observers and acknowledging their lowered funding, Sok Samoeun, executive director of the Cambodia Defenders Project, said he had sent 25 volunteer observers to help Comfrel.

The Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia will field 7,000 observers on Sunday, along with 880 "special" observers who work throughout the final count.

Nicfec has funding for voter education and observation, but this year received only $30,000, which led to a cut in training of observers, executive director Hang Puthea said.

The decrease in funding will hurt the free and fair status of the election, Hang Puthea said.

"It is necessary that we have observers to ensure free and fair elections," he said. "If observers are decreasing, the quality of observation will also go down, and it affects free and fair elections.

The decrease in finances effectively causes a decrease in the number of observers, because we have the high price of fuel and the high price of goods, and so we have to reduce the amount of equipment."

In past elections, Nicfec observers wore hats and T-shirts to identify them, but this year, there are no hats, he said.

The National Election Committee estimates around 24,400 local observers from 67 organizations and 433 from 21 international missions, including observers from the US, EU, France and Japan.

NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said he was not concerned that a lower number of observers would have an effect on the status of the election.

In 1998 elections had 80,000 observers, he said, but some of them did not have quality training.

The decrease in the number of observers reflected improved preparations of the election, he said.

"Of course, observers are a mirror, an eye to reflect the voting process," Tep Nitha said.

Knowledge Among Voters Improving: Experts

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 July 2008

[Editor's note: In the weeks leading into national polls, VOA Khmer will explore a wide number of election issues. The "Election Issues 2008" series will air stories on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a related "Hello VOA" guest on Thursday. This is the second in a two-part series examining the role of voters.]

Even as voters worry over broken promises from campaign parties ahead of Sunday's election, experts say that the level of knowledge of voters on the election process is improving.

During the election campaign, 11 political parties sought to attract voters through various promises and by offering up recognizable candidates. As the monthlong campaign continued, some parties even sought to win voters by promising reformed internal party structure.

All of this points to a more sophisticated understanding of democracy, experts say.

Cambodian voters, who are now seeing their fourth national election, have an increasing understanding of the voting process as well as the campaign and the inner workings of political parties, said Hang Puthea, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia.

"This is the progress of the voters' ideas, who focus on the political platform, candidates and internal party structure, because the political platform and internal party structure is a main method to attract support from the people," he said.

In this election, parties have taken the time to inform people about their party structure and the election process, said Ly Sothearayuth, a senior program officer for the National Democratic Institute.

"So the people have understanding more and more about political parties, the election process and political structure than past elections," he said.

Ourn Sokhorn, 47, a farmer in O'Rieng Ouv District, Kampong Cham province, told VOA Khmer she and her family members had prepared identity cards and election cards for Sunday's vote.

The election was of "historical importance," she said, and would push for development, respect of law, anti-corruption, and the fight for social justice and non-violence.

Yan Oun, 58, a grocer in Kampong Cham town, said she hoped that her vote would bring her out of poverty and decrease the high price of goods as well as promising full rights and freedom to her.

"I believe in the party that has a clear principle for democracy and the rule of law for the whole nation," said Bin Sokha, 53, a barber on the roadside in O'Rieng Ouv.

NEC Fines 20 Million Riel in Campaign Cases

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 July 2008

The National Election Committee on Wednesday ruled in favor of 11 cases filed against opposition leader Sam Rainsy by ruling Cambodian People's Party officials and in favor of two Sam Rainsy Party complaints.

CPP officials had accused Sam Rainsy of defaming and insulting the CPP's top leaders as "thieves of the nation" and a "blind driver."

The NEC fined Sam Rainsy a total of 10 million riel in all 11 cases, but denied a motion by CPP lawyer Ben Sonsamay for the removal of Sam Rainsy's parliamentary candidacy.

The NEC ruled in favor of SRP Kampot candidate Mu Sochua, fining CPP provincial official San Sman 5 million riel for using a military vehicle to campaign.

The NEC fined Thin Venneth, a CPP deputy village chief, 5 million riel, for the use of a state motorcycle for campaigning.

US Cambodians Urged to Join Politics

By Poch Reasey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
23 July 2008

Cambodian-Americans should be more involved in the US political process, to better understand it, a former ambassador said.

"Volunteer and do anything that the senior people ask you to do, from giving out pamphlets, fliers, to mailing information, to raising funds, to grass-root politics, going door to door," said Sichan Siv, a former Cambodian ambassador who volunteered for the political campaign of George Bush 20 years ago.

Cambodians and other Asian-Americans will not have their voices heard if they don't get involved, he said.

"You have to register to vote," he said. "You have to express your opinion. You have to write letters to your congressman and your senator telling them about your positions, because they listen to you."

"You are the voters," he said. "You are the boss of everybody else, including the president of the United States.”

Sichan Siv also urged voters going to Cambodia's polls on Sunday "to elect candidates that they strongly believe would help Cambodia, that are clean and competent and who would be able to bring Cambodia into the 21st century."

Sichan Siv spoke to VOA Khmer in July at a bookstore in Washington where he was promoting his new work, "Golden Bones: an Extraordinary Journey From Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America."

The book event attracted more than 60 people from friends and former colleagues to young people who wanted to meet the Ambassador in person.

Sophoan Holl, a Cambodian-American who came to the United States 24 years ago and now lives in Virginia, was among them.

"He's a very good role model for all Cambodians," she said of Sichan Siv. "They should have a dream, a desire like him…. Never give up. Especially for Cambodians who made it to the US.They have a lot of opportunities. The sky is the limit as far as what they wish to become."

Kirshore Thota, an Indian-American who is volunteering for the presidential campaign of Sen.

John McCain, said he was an admirer of Sichan Siv and wanted to meet the author and former ambassador in person.

"He has a great book about his struggles and how he came from nothing to becoming one of the top-ranking officials in the Bush administration as an ambassador," Thota said. "It's a very inspiring story. He's a great role model to have."

Congressman Worried for Unfair Election

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
23 July 2008

A US Congressman expressed concern for Cambodia's election, claiming the process has not been free and fair.

Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat in the House of Representatives for Maryland, told VOA Khmer this year's election process in Cambodia had been full of violence and inequality.

"The United States government does not view the election process as being free and fair," he said.

The outcome will not be legitimate without a fair process, he said. The process so far had been painted with "abuse" and "strong-arm tactics," he said.

US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said that the election process in Cambodia has been getting better since the election in 1993.

Most observers agree that the process has been smoother this time around, but parties have still complained of intimidation and violence, and the campaign period was marred by the murder of an opposition journalist earlier this month.

Van Hollen said he was very sorry for the death of Moneasekar Khmer reporter Khim Sambor and his son and called for Cambodian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Those who committed the crime, "who engaged in political violence like this," must be held accountable, he said.

US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Robert A. Sieple, said he hoped the election process in Cambodia will not be a cause violence or lead to the arrest of non-ruling party activists.

Om Yientang, a senior advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, told VOA Khmer recently the elections were improving in Cambodia and had been equal for all political parties.

Divergent Maps Hinder Standoff Solution

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
23 July 2008

Cambodia has called on Thailand to accept the use of an international map drawn in 1904 and 1907 to settle an ongoing dispute at the border near Preah Vihear temple.

Thailand was using a "unilateral" map in its negotiating position over a continued military standoff at the border, said Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers.

He compared Thailand to "fascist" regimes like Germany under Adolph Hitler, which "take military occupation according to the unilateral maps they draw."

At least 4,000 troops are amassed on the Thai border near Preah Vihear temple, and negotiations aimed as diffusing the situation broke down on Monday because the two sides could not agree on a map.

Thailand's chief negotiator, Gen. Boonsrang Niumpradit, has been quoted on Thai TV and news reports blaming Cambodia's adherence to its map for the breakdown.

"The problem was that we and Cambodia are using two different maps," he said recently on Thai TV. "Cambodia is using the French version while we used a US-drawn map, thus it's hard for us to reach agreement."

Journalists Discuss Forum Amid Standoff

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
23 July 2008

Cambodian and Thai journalists hope to meet at a forum for "justice and peace," seeking ways to accurately report the ongoing military standoff at Preah Vihear temple before it turns violent, Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said.

The forum, which would gather researchers, historians and journalists, could be held next week, though no firm date or venue has been set.

The forum would seek to find common ground in reporting the stand off before it turns to "bloody killing," Phay Siphan said.

Khieu Kola, board director of the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said he supported the initiative.

EU Observers Head for Provinces

By Seng Ratana, VOA Khmer
Original report from Pailin
23 July 2008

The European Union sent 130 election observers from 22 different countries across Cambodia Tuesday.

The EU observers will watch the opening of polling stations, the transmission of ballots and the vote count, said Elson Graham, deputy chief of the observer mission.

Graham​ said the main objectives of the election observers are to strengthen respect for human rights and the rule of law, to deter fraud , to enhance public confidence in the election process and to contribute to conflict resolution.

The EU will also follow complaints from political parties.

Sunday's election will utilize more than 15,000 polling stations. The National Election Committee has accepted 24,000 national observers and 400 international observers.

Hang Puthea, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said the number of observers was not enough.

Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said he would send his 10,000 observers to the provinces on Friday.

NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said the observers were playing an important role to ensure the election would be free and fair.

Cambodia, Thailand dispute ramps up

Radio Australia

Cambodia has accused Thailand of deploying thousands of troops along their common border, stepping up a week-long standoff over disputed territory.

Cambodian officials say more than 500 Thai troops are facing at least a thousand Cambodian soldiers near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

But they also say several thousand more Thai troops have been positioned at other points along the border.

Thailand denies there's been any military build up.

Cambodian officials also say both sides have sent more troops and heavy weapons to a spot near the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng, where there is more disputed territory.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to discuss the issue tomorrow, Thursday.

thailand, cambodia

Pictures from Thai Villagers and Students at Baan Phum Salon village near the Preah Vihear temple complex

A Thai villager holds his gun during a weapon drill at Baan Dan village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 590 km (367 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

Village guard Mee Kaewsanga, 79, holds his gun during a weapon drill at Baan Dan village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 590 km (367 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

Thai villagers take part in a weapon drill at Baan Dan village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 590 km (367 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

Thai villagers take part in a weapon drill at Baan Dan village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 590 km (367 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

Thai students take part in an evacuation drill at Baan Phum Salon village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 570 km (354 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

Thai students take part in an evacuation drill at Baan Phum Salon village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 570 km (354 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

Thai demining officials renovate a bunker for villagers at Baan Phum Salon village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 570 km (354 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

Thai students play on bunkers at Baan Phum Salon village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 570 km (354 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

More Pictures from Preah Vihear temple

Cambodian soldiers sit at an entrance of Preah Vihear temple, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, on Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Thailand accused Cambodia of eyeing even more of its land and leaflets appeared in the Cambodian capital calling for a boycott of Thai goods, as a military standoff over disputed border territory entered a second week Wednesday.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian soldiers sit outside a Cambodian Buddhist temple occupied by Thai soldiers near Preah Vihear temple, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, on Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Thailand accused Cambodia of eyeing even more of its land and leaflets appear in the Cambodian capital calling for a boycott of Thai goods, as a military standoff over disputed border territory enters a second week.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian soldier carries a rocket launcher as he looks on outside a Cambodian Buddhist temple occupied by Thai soldiers, near Preah Vihear temple, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, on Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Thailand accused Cambodia of eyeing even more of its land and leaflets appear in the Cambodian capital calling for a boycott of Thai goods, as a military standoff over disputed border territory enters a second week.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian soldiers carrying B-40 rocket launcher walk outside a Buddhist pagoda occupied by Thai soldiers near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia asked the U.N. Security Council and its Southeast Asian neighbors Tuesday to intervene in resolving the military standoff over disputed border territory around the ancient temple, stepping up its rhetoric against Thailand.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian soldiers sit outside a Buddhist pagoda occupied by Thai soldiers near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia asked the U.N. Security Council and its Southeast Asian neighbors Tuesday to intervene in resolving the military standoff over disputed border territory around the ancient temple, stepping up its rhetoric against Thailand.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian soldiers relax outside a Buddhist pagoda occupied by Thai soldiers near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia asked the U.N. Security Council and its Southeast Asian neighbors Tuesday to intervene in resolving the military standoff over disputed border territory around the ancient temple, stepping up its rhetoric against Thailand.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Thai soldiers enter a Cambodian Buddhist pagoda which they have occupied near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia asked the U.N. Security Council and its Southeast Asian neighbors Tuesday to intervene in resolving the military standoff over disputed border territory around the ancient temple, stepping up its rhetoric against Thailand.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Thai soldiers relax near a Cambodian Buddhist pagoda which they have occupied near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia asked the U.N. Security Council and its Southeast Asian neighbors Tuesday to intervene in resolving the military standoff over disputed border territory around the ancient temple, stepping up its rhetoric against Thailand.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Thai soldiers patrol Preah Vihear national park along the Thai-Cambodian border July 22, 2008. Cambodia has asked the United Nations Security Council for an emergency meeting to resolve a military stand-off with Thailand over an ancient temple on their border.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

A Cambodian soldier, right, carries a B-40 rocket launcher as he walks past a Thai soldier outside a Buddhist pagoda occupied by Thai soldiers near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia asked the U.N. Security Council and its Southeast Asian neighbors Tuesday to intervene in resolving the military standoff over disputed border territory around the ancient temple, stepping up its rhetoric against Thailand.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian soldiers relax as they hold rocket launchers outside a Buddhist pagoda where Thai soldiers have occupied, near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to break a military stalemate with neighboring Thailand over disputed frontier territory around a historic temple.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian Buddhist monk makes a phone call from the top of Dang Reak mountain, site of the Preah Vihear temple compound, 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. Cambodia has asked the United Nations Security Council for an emergency meeting to resolve a military stand-off with Thailand over an ancient temple on their border.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A Cambodian Buddhist monks sits on the top of the Dang Reak mountain, site of the Preah Vihear temple compound, 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. Cambodia has asked the United Nations Security Council for an emergency meeting to resolve a military stand-off with Thailand over the ancient temple on their border.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian and Thai soldiers (black uniforms) are seen on a road close to the Preah Vihear temple in the Cambodian Preah Vihear province. The UN Security Council is expected to discuss a tense military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand this week as more troops amassed along the border, officials have said.(AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)

A Cambodian soldier relaxes near a rocket launcher outside a Buddhist pagoda where Thai soldiers have occupied, near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to break a military stalemate with neighboring Thailand over disputed frontier territory around a historic temple.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian soldiers pose for a photograph at Preah Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. Cambodia has asked the United Nations Security Council for an emergency meeting to resolve a military stand-off with Thailand over the ancient temple on their border.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Thailand can defend row with Cambodia in any venue

BANGKOK, July 23 (TNA) - Thailand's foreign ministry can defend the country's position regarding its dispute with Phnom Penh over the ancient mountaintop temple on every platform where Cambodia lodges complaints, spokesman Tharit Charungvat said Wednesday, announcing that the ministry will soon issue a white paper on the subject.

Thailand informed United Nations members of its stance on the dispute with Cambodia over the contested zone a few days ago through Bangkok's ambassador to the UN, Don Pramudwinai, and has discussed the issue with Security Council and other UN members "on a regular basis," Mr. Tharit said.

"Cambodia has fielded a strong lobby and so has Thailand. However, it is up to the UN Security Council whether to accept the issue (submitted by Cambodia) for consideration. Thailand has reiterated that the problem should be settled by the two countries," Mr. Tharit said.

If bilateral talks fail, then the issue should be forwarded for discussion at the regional level before being sent to the UN, he said.

Several countries have already objected to attempts by Cambodia to bring the issue for discussion among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations as they believed the problem could be settled by the two countries, Mr. Tharit said.

What Cambodia had done would negatively impact upon ASEAN, he said. Nevertheless, its complaint to international platforms would not disadvantage Thailand, he said. Both Thailand and Cambodia are members of ASEAN, whose foreign ministers are now meeting in Singapore.

All except Thailand, that is, where the position is currently vacant. The regional body has rejected Cambodia's request that ASEAN intervene to help end the dispute, saying that Thailand and Cambodia should give the bilateral process a chance to end their spat over the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area.

The disputed land 4.6 square kilometres claimed both by Kanthalarak district in Thailand's Si Sa Ket province and Cambodia's Preah Vihear province. It is located near Preah Vihear temple, awarded a World Heritage site listing by UNESCO earlier this month. The 11th century Khmer temple itself was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but the ruling did not address the disputed area, Mr. Tharit said earlier. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal team is studying the mandate and powers of the Court.

Mr. Don said Cambodia asked the UN Security Council to meet over the issue on July 28 despite Thailand's objection, but Bangkok is pondering further moves pending the body's response.

The council meets Thursday and will decide whether to act on the Cambodian petition, Mr. Don said.

Stressing that Thai-Cambodian relations remain warm, Mr. Tharit said the foreign ministry planned to issue a "white paper" to clarify the dispute. (TNA)

Adam’s in Huddersfield before his big Cambodian cycling challenge

Jul 23 2008
by Andrew Baldwin
Huddersfield Daily Examiner

‘Cycling in a hot tropical climate is unknown territory’

CYCLING through 300 miles of tough country is a hard task.

But that’s what Adam Kirby will attempt in November as part of a World Vision cycle challenge through Cambodia.

The event will raise money to provide clean drinking water for one of Cambodia’s poorest areas, Koh Andaet, hit hard under Pol Pot’s Communist regime.

Adam was born and brought up in Huddersfield but has been settled in New Zealand a while now.

He will be cycling in a country devastated by the murderous Pol Pot regime, whose rule brought the deaths of an estimated 1.5m people.

Adam says: “Rural communities in Cambodia are really struggling and need consistent help to overcome the problems of poverty and lack of resources.

“The cycle challenge will help one specific area by providing them with something we take for granted every time we turn on a tap.”

Adam has been back in Huddersfield for a reunion with mother Audrey and brother William, who both live in Netherton.

With him are wife Lalita, a New Zealander he met in Thailand, and son Christopher, 18.

Adam will be 50 on August 2 and had an early celebration at Durker Roods Hotel, Meltham.

He spent the first six months of his life at Almondbury before the family moved to Lindley, where he was brought up.

Schooling was at Oakes County Junior, Salendine Nook Secondary Modern and Greenhead College.

Dad Peter died 11 years ago and worked for ICI from 1940 to 1968

Adam gained a history degree at Lancaster University, living in Morecambe for a year during his studies.

“It was the year the West End pier was washed away in a storm,” he remembers. “There was water flowing everywhere.”

He trained as a teacher and worked with the Ockenden Venture in a project with Vietnamese refugees.

He was an administrator and English teacher and spent 18 months at a reception centre in Bridport, Dorset.

Two years in Thailand followed, working with refugees for South East Asia Outreach.

Adam came back to Huddersfield and spent four years as an English language teacher at Westborough High School, Dewsbury, in the 1980s.

After a further spell in Thailand he returned to England to train for the Baptist ministry at Oxford.

By the end of 1992 he was in New Zealand with his wife, who he married in 1989.

He now works as an English lecturer at the Manukau Institute of Technology in the southern part of the city of Auckland on North Island.

When World Vision asked if he was interested in the cycle challenge he thought: “Why not?”

Adam cycles the 11-mile round trip to work at the Manukau Institute of Technology to prepare for the challenge and will increase his training in the lead-up to the event.

“Cycling in a hot tropical climate is unknown territory,” he says.

Son Christopher was born in Oxford while Adam was doing his theology degree and is spending a year as a student at a Baptist college in New Zealand.

He plans to study law in Wellington and hopes to specialise in the area of human rights and poverty.

The family are over here to August 12 and will spend 10 days in Israel during their visit.

Adam sponsors a 12-year-old in Cambodia and is learning the Khmer language so he can talk to her.

He added: “My personal goal is to raise £4,000 through the cycle challenge and I am asking for sponsorship that will go towards the water project.”

He can be contacted by email at adam.kirby@manukau.ac.nz

Thai says Cambodia using 'guerrilla tactics' in temple dispute

International Herald Tribune
By Seth Mydans
Published: July 23, 2008

BANGKOK: The Thai ambassador to the United Nations accused Cambodia on Wednesday of employing diplomatic "guerrilla tactics" in a dispute over an ancient temple to try to redraw the countries' 800-kilometer border.

The ambassador, Don Pramudwinai, said the Cambodians were using a century-old map of the disputed temple, drawn up when Cambodia was a French colony, in a broader plan to gain more territory.

"Sometimes our sincere friendship has prompted us to overlook our neighbors' ultimate motive," the ambassador told a Thai radio station, speaking from New York, where Cambodia has asked the UN Security Council to help resolve the dispute.

"In this case they are using guerrilla tactics to ambush us," he said. About 4.6 square kilometers, or 1.8 square miles, of land around the temple form one of 16 sites along the border that involve overlapping territorial claims between the two nations.

Hundreds of Thai and Cambodian soldiers remained camped at the 900-year-old temple, perched high on an escarpment in the Dangrek Mountains, which form part of the border. On Tuesday, the Cambodian foreign minister, Hor Namhong, said international mediation was needed because the two nations were in an "imminent state of war."

Sovereignty over the 11th-century temple, Preah Vihear, has been in dispute since the withdrawal of the French in the 1950s. Although it is easily accessible only from the Thai side, the International Court of Justice awarded sovereignty over the temple to Cambodia in 1962.

Despite the ambassador's rhetorical escalation, the usually blunt-spoken Thai prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, played down the dispute on Wednesday, predicting tensions would ease after the general election in Cambodia on Sunday.

"After the elections they will soften their stance, and talks will be easier," he said. "Everything has been done for the July 27 poll, and I need to keep quiet so as not to discredit Prime Minister Hun Sen" of Cambodia.

The two sides met on Monday but failed to resolve the dispute, which began earlier this month when Unesco listed the temple as a World Heritage Site based on an application from Cambodia and using the map supplied by Cambodia.

Both nations were at a meeting Wednesday in Singapore of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where diplomats from neighboring nations urged them to find a peaceful solution.

But in both nations the continuing standoff was inflaming nationalist feelings that have flared into localized violence in the past. Opposition politicians in both countries are accusing their governments of being soft in their dealings over the temple.

Despite Samak's words, it is his own government that is under the greater stress from its opposition, for whom the temple is the latest issue in a long-running campaign that has already caused the resignation of a cabinet minister.

These critics accuse the government of selling out Thai heritage to further business interests of the former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 but whose supporters now control the government.

The National Counter Corruption Commission has begun to investigate Samak and his cabinet over accusations that the government violated the Thai Constitution by supporting Cambodia's application for a World Heritage listing without consulting Parliament. In principle, the investigation could lead to the impeachment of the entire government.

Thaksin says he has nothing do with Preah Vihear dispute

July 23, 2008

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Wednesday that he had nothing to do with the dispute over the Thai-Cambodia dispute over borderline near the Preah Vihear temple.

"You should not drag me into this issue," Thaksin replied when reporters asked him if he would help Thailand negotiate with the Cambodian over the border dispute.

Thaksin was speaking to reporters at the royally-sponsored cremation of the mother of Army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda at the Somana Worawiharn Temple.

The Nation

Ambassador: UN to discuss Preah Vihear dispute Thur

(BangkokPost.com) - The United Nations Security Council will discuss military standoff between Thailand and Cambodia this week, Thai ambassador to the UN Don Pramudwinai said Wednesday.

His statement came after a week-long confrontation between troops of both countries near the Preah Vihear temple on the border.

"I have been informed that the U.N. has included Preah Vihear on the emergency agenda to be discussed at the Security Council meeting tomorrow (Thursday)," he said.

Boonsang calls on leaders to talk on Preah Vihear

(BangkokPost.com) - Supreme Commander Boonsang Niampradit called on leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to engage in a talk in order to solve conflicts over Preah Vihear matter.

Gen Boonsang, speaking before joining meeting in Indonesia, said he would use this opportunity to explain to the matter to leaders of this country.

Asked what Thailand should do if Cambodia raised the matter to the International Court, he replied that Thai leaders should be extra careful about this as there were lessons learned in the past.

He said Thailand has the right to decide whether to go to the court.

In 1962, the international court ruled that Thailand should hand the temple to Cambodia based on a map drawn in 1908.

UN Security Council to discuss Thai-Cambodia dispute

Cambodian Buddhist monks at Preah Vihear temple

Cambodian and Thai soldiers (black uniforms) near the temple

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AFP) — The UN Security Council is expected to discuss a tense military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand this week as more troops amassed along the border, officials said Wednesday.

Thailand's ambassador to the UN, Don Pramudwinai, said the Security Council on Thursday would discuss the border dispute that has troops from both countries facing off near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple .

"I have been informed that the UN has included Preah Vihear on the emergency agenda to be discussed at the Security Council meeting tomorrow," he told reporters in Bangkok.

More than 500 Thai troops and at least 1,000 Cambodian soldiers are squaring off over the small patch of land near the temple ruins, but Cambodian officials said Wednesday thousands more Thai troops were positioned along the border.

Cambodian cabinet spokesman Phay Siphan estimated about 4,000 Thai troops in total have gathered along the frontier in several areas -- not just near Preah Vihear.

"They just want to show off their muscle, but we don't care about that. We stick to a peaceful way to solve the problem," Phay Siphan told AFP.

Cambodia has sent heavy weapons to reinforce troops on its northern border in Anlong Veng, where there is also disputed territory, said a military official on condition of anonymity.

"There are more (Thai) troops now at Anlong Veng than there are here (at Preah Vihear). There are tanks and artillery," said the Cambodian colonel with close ties to Thai armed forces.

But Thailand denied it was reinforcing the frontier.

"Thailand has not been building up forces along the border," deputy army spokeswoman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong told AFP.

"We maintain the same amount of soldiers, and more than 400 soldiers were sent to the overlapping area."

Cambodia said Wednesday that it hoped the UN would help broker a solution to the standoff after the countries failed to make any headway in two days of talks over the disputed land near Preah Vihear, which legally belongs to Cambodia.

But Thailand insists the two sides should settle the matter without an outside mediator.

"The best solution to this problem is to solve it between the two countries -- to have a third party as a mediator may blow up the issue," said Wichianchot Sukchotrat, a government spokesman.

"I think we can handle it because we are the ones who know the problems best," he told reporters.

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Wednesday accused his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen of capitalising on nationalist sentiment ahead of Sunday's general election in Cambodia, saying talks would be "less intense" after the polls.

Hun Sen was widely tipped to cruise to victory even before the standoff broke out.

However in Thailand critics of Samak -- already the target of street protests -- have stoked controversies over Preah Vihear to fire up nationalist sentiment against him.

Thailand and Cambodia both claim land near the temple, positioning their troops by a small Buddhist pagoda at the foot of the mountain leading to Preah Vihear.

Cambodian and Thai soldiers gathered inside the pagoda compound did not carry weapons Wednesday, but troops in other parts of the disputed area remained armed as Thai soldiers dug a half-metre-deep trench.

The dispute erupted after three nationalist Thai protesters were arrested last week for jumping a barbed-wire fence to reach the temple, prompting armed troops to head to the border.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia. But the easiest entrance lies in Thailand.

A spat in 2003 over Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple -- the most significant symbol of the country's ancient Khmer empire -- sparked a night of riots in which Thailand's embassy and several Thai-owned businesses were burned and looted.

Thais living on Cambodia border brace for clashes

Thai villagers take part in a weapon drill at Baan Dan village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 590 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, July 23. Clashes seem imminent between the two southeast Asian nations.
Photograph by : Sukree Sukplang/Reuters

Sukree Sukplang , Reuters
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008

KHAO PRA VIHARN, Thailand - Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills on Wednesday, fearing a land dispute might escalate into violence after talks failed this week.

In villages near the disputed Preah Vihear temple, where hundreds of Thai and Cambodian troops faced off for a ninth day on Wednesday, workers dug holes for new bomb shelters.

They also renovated old bunkers dating back to the 1980s, when stray shells often landed during fighting between Khmer Rouge guerrillas and Cambodian government troops.

Thai schoolchildren take part in a weapon drill at Baan Phum Salon village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 570 kilometres northeast of Bangkok on July 23. Thais living along the border with Cambodia began the drills Wednesday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.
Photograph by : Sukree Sukplang/Reuters

"We have nowhere to move to and we don't want Cambodian infiltrators," 79-year-old guard Mee Kaewsanga told Reuters, cradling a five-year-old pump-action shotgun.

At the heart of the dispute is a 4.6-square-kilometer-area around the temple, which sits on a jungle-clad escarpment that forms a natural boundary and is claimed by both nations.

The build-up of troops and heavy artillery on both sides of the border has worried neighbouring countries and the United Nations, which Cambodia has appealed to for help.

While there have been no major incidents at the temple so far, Thai border villages that are home to some 4,000 people are braced for the worst.

Authorities have begun arming volunteers with shotguns and training villagers how to defend against potential invaders.

"We hope there won't be any violence, but we can't be complacent," Prasert Aramsriworapong, an official in the border town of Kantaralak, told Reuters.

In Bangkok, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said he believed tensions would ease after Sunday's general election in Cambodia.

"After the elections, they will soften their stance and talks will be easier," the pugnacious Thai leader said in Bangkok.

"Everything has been done for the July 27 poll and I need to keep quiet so as not to discredit Prime Minister Hun Sen."

The temple dispute has whipped up nationalist fervour in Phnom Penh, where leaflets and mobile phone text messages appeared on Wednesday calling for a boycott of Thai goods.

Politicians have also denounced the "Thai invaders" at campaign rallies, reviving memories of the anger whipped up over historical claims to Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple in 2003, when a mob torched the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.

But analysts say Thai politics are probably more to blame for the dispute over the temple, which an international court awarded to Cambodia in 1962. The ruling still rankles with many Thais.

Preah Vihear's listing as a World Heritage site this month inspired pride and joy in Cambodia, but triggered political uproar in Thailand.

Bangkok's initial support for the heritage listing has been used by anti-government groups to stoke nationalist passions in Thailand and fuel street protests against Samak.

Groups opposed to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a 2006 coup, accuse Samak's government of selling Thailand's heritage to support Thaksin's business interests in Cambodia.

Phnom Penh and Thaksin denied the charge, but the controversy forced Thailand's foreign minister to resign this month.

With files from Nopporn Wong-Anan

Temple row 'to ease after polls'

The number of soldiers from both sides at the site has increased in recent days

BBC News
Wednesday, 23 July 2008

A stand-off involving hundreds of troops at a border temple will ease after Cambodia's general election on Sunday, the Thai prime minister says.

Samak Sundaravej said his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen was using the row to win votes, but added that talks would be easier after the polls.

Troops from both sides are camped on disputed land near Preah Vihear temple.

On Wednesday Cambodia appealed to the UN to resolve the row, after no deal was reached at bilateral talks.

The stand-off erupted after Unesco listed the temple as a Cambodian World Heritage Site, reigniting nationalist tensions on both sides.

'Easier to talk'

Speaking in Bangkok, the Thai leader linked the row to Hun Sen's general election campaign.
"Let them play - they merely want a result for the election on 27 [July]," he told reporters.

Tensions would fall after the polls, he predicted.

"They (the Cambodians) will find it easier to talk ... After the elections, I will talk," he said.

Thai troops moved into an area both sides claim more than a week ago, after Cambodian guards arrested three Thai protesters there.

Since then, both sides have increased their military presence. Several thousand troops are now reported to be in and around the temple area.

The two sides held talks earlier in the week but failed to reach agreement.

The issue will now be discussed at the UN Security Council, Thailand's ambassador to the UN said.

"I have been informed that the UN has included Preah Vihear on the emergency agenda to be discussed at the Security Council meeting tomorrow," Don Pramudwinai told journalists.

Despite the diplomatic furore, the atmosphere at the temple remains calm, according to officials.

The International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear to Cambodia in 1962, but areas around it remain the subject of rival territorial claims.

In Thailand, opposition forces have used the Unesco listing to attack the government - which initially backed the UN move. Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama has resigned over the issue and Mr Samak has also faced calls to quit.

In Cambodia, the listing generated a wave of national pride - which, analysts say, will serve Prime Minister Hun Sen well in Sunday's polls.

Thailand, Cambodia Assure ASEAN of "Utmost Restraint" in Border Dispute

By: iStockAnalyst
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Text of report in English by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat website on 22 July

["Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo datelined Singapore, 22 July 2008"]

I held informal discussions on 22 July 2008 with ASEAN Foreign Ministers to discuss the latest developments in the Preah Vihear issue. Both Cambodia and Thailand reiterated that they were committed to a peaceful resolution of the issue and assured me that the General Border Commission would continue to meet, and that the next meeting would be held in the near future.

The ASEAN FMs had earlier offered ASEAN's facilities at the disposal of Cambodia and Thailand as they recognised the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. There was a proposal for an ASEAN Contact Group to help support the efforts of Thailand and Cambodia to find a peaceful resolution to the issue. The proposal found favour with a number of Foreign Ministers, but there was also a general view that the bilateral process should be allowed to continue, and there is still no consensus for the formation of such a group.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers remain seized by the issue, and I have requested Cambodia and Thailand to provide an update at the next Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in New York.

Thailand and Cambodia gave the assurance that they would exercise utmost restraint and resolve the issue amicably in the spirit of ASEAN solidarity and good neighbourliness. Both sides also reiterated that they would handle the situation in accordance with their ASEAN and international obligations.

Originally published by ASEAN Secretariat website, Jakarta, in English 22 Jul 08.

Story Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

CTN, Preah Vihear

More on Preah Vihear #1



More on Preah Vihear #2

Pictures from Preah Vihear Temple: 23 July 2008

Cambodian soldiers eat at the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda near the Preah Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A Cambodian villager carries food donated by the royal palace for soldiers and villagers at Preah Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A Cambodian worker arranges food donated by the royal palace for soldiers and villagers at Preah Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodian villagers carry food donated by the royal palace for soldiers and villagers at Preah Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodians on ox carts leave Dang Reak mountain, site of the Preah Vihear temple compound, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A Cambodian soldier walks past Preah Vihear temple, near the Thai border in the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear, July 22. ASEAN held crisis talks with member states Thailand and Cambodia but failed to defuse a military standoff which is threatening to escalate into an unprecedented test for the regional bloc.(AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

A Cambodian soldier sits at the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda near the Preah Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. Southeast Asian foreign ministers nudged Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday to resolve a stand-off over an ancient temple on their border before bullets start flying.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A Cambodian soldier sits at the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda near the Preah Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. Southeast Asian foreign ministers nudged Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday to resolve a stand-off over an ancient temple on their border before bullets start flying.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian soldiers stand guard in front of a Cambodian pagoda close to Preah Vihear temple. Thailand and Cambodia have built up forces at more points along their common border, stepping up a week-long standoff over disputed territory, Cambodian officials said Wednesday.(AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

Thai soldiers are seen near the Thai border with Cambodia. Thailand and Cambodia have built up forces at more points along their common border, stepping up a week-long standoff over disputed territory, Cambodian officials said Wednesday.(AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

A Thai soldier stands guard at Preah Vihear national park along the Thai-Cambodian border July 22, 2008.REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang