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138798
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 17:18
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http://m.oananews.org//node/138798
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Thai PM may discuss temple row with Cambodian counterpart at Brussels ASEM conference
BANGKOK, Aug 22 -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday he may have an opportunity to confer on the ancient Preah Vihear temple problem with his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen during the Asia-Europe (ASEM) Summit to be held in Brussels in October.
Mr Hun Sen earlier wrote to the United Nations and other international bodies, urging their intervention to help settle the dispute with Thailand over the border temple and nearby disputed territory claimed by both countries.
But Mr Abhisit on Sunday reiterated Thailand's view that the problem could be resolved by the two neighbouring countries themselves, without outside help, even from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Mr Abhisit said he may have a chance to discuss the problem during the ASEM summit without the involvement of any international organisation third country official.
Admitting that both the Thai and Cambodian governments are facing "pressures domestically", Mr Abhisit said he believed that the two neighbouring countries which are also ASEAN members want to avoid armed clashes and try to find a way out.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled the temple belongs to Cambodia, rejecting Thai claims. UNESCO named Preah Vihear temple a World Heritage site in 2008, after Cambodia applied for the status. Cambodia’s World Heritage bid reignited Thai resentment over the earlier ruling, and there have been small and sometimes deadly armed clashes in the area during the past few years.
Meanwhile, Rapee Phongbuphakij, governor of the northeastern border province of Surin, said negotiations will be held Monday with Cambodian authorities for the release of three Thais as soon as possible.
The three men, charged by Cambodia with spying, were arrested eight days ago by Cambodian police while gathering forest products along the border. All of them are natives of Surin.
Senior Thai officials have said the trio are not spies and that their arrest has nothing to do with the ongoing border dispute between the two nations.
Mr Rapee said he had talked by telephone to the three men now jailed in Siem Reap by telephone and the trio had asked for the Thai government’s assistance in gaining their release. They complained of hardships while in prison, said Mr Rapee, saying that he had ordered officials who would negotiate with the Cambodian officials to also give clothing and medicine for the three men. (MCOT online news)
Mr Hun Sen earlier wrote to the United Nations and other international bodies, urging their intervention to help settle the dispute with Thailand over the border temple and nearby disputed territory claimed by both countries.
But Mr Abhisit on Sunday reiterated Thailand's view that the problem could be resolved by the two neighbouring countries themselves, without outside help, even from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Mr Abhisit said he may have a chance to discuss the problem during the ASEM summit without the involvement of any international organisation third country official.
Admitting that both the Thai and Cambodian governments are facing "pressures domestically", Mr Abhisit said he believed that the two neighbouring countries which are also ASEAN members want to avoid armed clashes and try to find a way out.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled the temple belongs to Cambodia, rejecting Thai claims. UNESCO named Preah Vihear temple a World Heritage site in 2008, after Cambodia applied for the status. Cambodia’s World Heritage bid reignited Thai resentment over the earlier ruling, and there have been small and sometimes deadly armed clashes in the area during the past few years.
Meanwhile, Rapee Phongbuphakij, governor of the northeastern border province of Surin, said negotiations will be held Monday with Cambodian authorities for the release of three Thais as soon as possible.
The three men, charged by Cambodia with spying, were arrested eight days ago by Cambodian police while gathering forest products along the border. All of them are natives of Surin.
Senior Thai officials have said the trio are not spies and that their arrest has nothing to do with the ongoing border dispute between the two nations.
Mr Rapee said he had talked by telephone to the three men now jailed in Siem Reap by telephone and the trio had asked for the Thai government’s assistance in gaining their release. They complained of hardships while in prison, said Mr Rapee, saying that he had ordered officials who would negotiate with the Cambodian officials to also give clothing and medicine for the three men. (MCOT online news)
