ID :
11039
Sat, 06/28/2008 - 14:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/11039
The shortlink copeid
Administrative Court orders temporary halt to Thai role in Preah Vihear petition
Bangkok, June 28 (TNA) -- Thailand's Administrative Court early Saturday issued an injunction calling for a temporary halt in carrying out any further activities related to the Thai cabinet's endorsement of the Cambodian map of Preah Vihear and Thailand's participation in the proposed joint declaration to UNESCO to list the temple as a World Heritage Site.
The Court voted nine to three to temporarily suspend any Thai support in
the previously endorsed communiqué
by the two governments, signed at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on June 18.
However, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it will
appeal the order of the Administrative Court.
The nine judges who voted to suspend further activities on the ancient
temple reasoned that the demarcation line between the two neighbouring
countries, including around the temple precincts, was not yet completed
and
that nonetheless a map drawn by Cambodian government cartographers of the
temple also indicated areas surrounding it.
They said that the latest Cambodian map, approved by the Thai cabinet on
June 17, would as a matter of course be used by Cambodia to contest
Thailand's sovereignty over the overlapping claims contended by both
countries -- using the natural watershed as the common borderline.
The court's action was made following a petition by Thailand's democracy
activist movement, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which
appears dedicated to bringing down the government of Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej. The PAD urged the court to nullify the Thai cabinet resolution
of June 17 supporting and endorsing Cambodia's map of the ancient temple.
The activist group feared that the Thai cabinet endorsement would be used
by Cambodia to contest Thailand's sovereignty over a still-contended 4.6
square kilometre area around the ancient Hindu temple.
Thai academics and retired diplomats have said the joint communique that
Thailand endorsed with Cambodia on Preah Vihear legally binds Thailand to
support Cambodia and to allocate budget for joint management of the site.
The Administrative Court decided to make the decision out of concerns that
the nine PAD members, including two lawyers, who filed the petition on
Tuesday would be charged by the government in future.
The Phnom Penh government is preparing to propose Preah Vihear as the
World Heritage site during a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage
Committee scheduled to be held from July 2-10 in Quebec, Canada.
(TNA)-E111
The Court voted nine to three to temporarily suspend any Thai support in
the previously endorsed communiqué
by the two governments, signed at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on June 18.
However, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it will
appeal the order of the Administrative Court.
The nine judges who voted to suspend further activities on the ancient
temple reasoned that the demarcation line between the two neighbouring
countries, including around the temple precincts, was not yet completed
and
that nonetheless a map drawn by Cambodian government cartographers of the
temple also indicated areas surrounding it.
They said that the latest Cambodian map, approved by the Thai cabinet on
June 17, would as a matter of course be used by Cambodia to contest
Thailand's sovereignty over the overlapping claims contended by both
countries -- using the natural watershed as the common borderline.
The court's action was made following a petition by Thailand's democracy
activist movement, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which
appears dedicated to bringing down the government of Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej. The PAD urged the court to nullify the Thai cabinet resolution
of June 17 supporting and endorsing Cambodia's map of the ancient temple.
The activist group feared that the Thai cabinet endorsement would be used
by Cambodia to contest Thailand's sovereignty over a still-contended 4.6
square kilometre area around the ancient Hindu temple.
Thai academics and retired diplomats have said the joint communique that
Thailand endorsed with Cambodia on Preah Vihear legally binds Thailand to
support Cambodia and to allocate budget for joint management of the site.
The Administrative Court decided to make the decision out of concerns that
the nine PAD members, including two lawyers, who filed the petition on
Tuesday would be charged by the government in future.
The Phnom Penh government is preparing to propose Preah Vihear as the
World Heritage site during a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage
Committee scheduled to be held from July 2-10 in Quebec, Canada.
(TNA)-E111
