ID :
11598
Sat, 07/05/2008 - 13:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/11598
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Thai FM leaves for UNESCO Quebec meeting; activists to protest at temple
BANGKOK, July 5 (TNA) -- Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama left here Saturday to attend a UNESCO meeting in Quebec City, Canada, on a Cambodian government plan to apply for international recognition of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.
Meanwhile, some 20 Thai-based activist groups threatened to hold a mass
demonstration at the entrance of the ancient Khmer temple on the
Thai-Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket province on Saturday.
Speaking to journalists before his departure, Mr. Noppadon said he would
official withdraw Thailand's endorsement of the planned action and request
the World Heritage Committee to postpone its consideration on listing
Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site during this session.
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, began its current session
on Wednesday and is due to complete its agenda next Thursday.
Press reports said the UNESCO committee will begin its consideration of
the temple issue in Quebec on Sunday.
In response to politicised nationalistic reactions in Bangkok to what had
earlier been understood by two Thai governments as being non-critical
issues, Mr. Noppadon is carrying the present government's decision to
suspend UNESCO action pending Thai court actions which have forced the
current government to reconsider its stance.
Mr. Noppadon said he would do whatever he could to defer consideration of
listing the temple by explaining to the committee the circumstances of an
injunction granted by Thailand's Administrative Court on June 28 barring
the Thai cabinet resolution endorsing the joint communiqué signed by Mr.
Noppadon and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on June 18.
In another development, Viwat Akarabutr, a coordinator for the Patriotic
E-San (Northeast) Network, said more than 20 activist groups would gather
early Saturday to rally at the entrance of the temple demanding the Thai
authorities to evict Cambodians who have homes and shops near the temple
but inside Thai territory.
Mr. Viwat said the activists would also ask the Thai police on
developments regarding their complaints lodged earlier about the alleged
encroachment by Cambodian nationals.
The temple was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice
in 1962 but access is by road from the Thai side of the border, and is
practically impossible from the Khmer side, as the temple sits on a high
rocky promontory overlooking cliffs and tangled jungle below.
The action is seen as a result of patriotic Thai academics, senators and
the opposition Democrat Party which have opposed the Cambodia's plan to
apply for the registration of the temple on the grounds that Thailand
might lose sovereignty over areas near the temple still disputed by the
two countries. (TNA)-E111
Meanwhile, some 20 Thai-based activist groups threatened to hold a mass
demonstration at the entrance of the ancient Khmer temple on the
Thai-Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket province on Saturday.
Speaking to journalists before his departure, Mr. Noppadon said he would
official withdraw Thailand's endorsement of the planned action and request
the World Heritage Committee to postpone its consideration on listing
Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site during this session.
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, began its current session
on Wednesday and is due to complete its agenda next Thursday.
Press reports said the UNESCO committee will begin its consideration of
the temple issue in Quebec on Sunday.
In response to politicised nationalistic reactions in Bangkok to what had
earlier been understood by two Thai governments as being non-critical
issues, Mr. Noppadon is carrying the present government's decision to
suspend UNESCO action pending Thai court actions which have forced the
current government to reconsider its stance.
Mr. Noppadon said he would do whatever he could to defer consideration of
listing the temple by explaining to the committee the circumstances of an
injunction granted by Thailand's Administrative Court on June 28 barring
the Thai cabinet resolution endorsing the joint communiqué signed by Mr.
Noppadon and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on June 18.
In another development, Viwat Akarabutr, a coordinator for the Patriotic
E-San (Northeast) Network, said more than 20 activist groups would gather
early Saturday to rally at the entrance of the temple demanding the Thai
authorities to evict Cambodians who have homes and shops near the temple
but inside Thai territory.
Mr. Viwat said the activists would also ask the Thai police on
developments regarding their complaints lodged earlier about the alleged
encroachment by Cambodian nationals.
The temple was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice
in 1962 but access is by road from the Thai side of the border, and is
practically impossible from the Khmer side, as the temple sits on a high
rocky promontory overlooking cliffs and tangled jungle below.
The action is seen as a result of patriotic Thai academics, senators and
the opposition Democrat Party which have opposed the Cambodia's plan to
apply for the registration of the temple on the grounds that Thailand
might lose sovereignty over areas near the temple still disputed by the
two countries. (TNA)-E111
