ID :
163299
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 10:03
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/163299
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Indonesia to soon send observers to disputed Thai-Cambodian border
JAKARTA, Feb 23 (TNA) - Indonesia will soon send a team of unarmed observers to the disputed Thai-Cambodian border to observe a commitment by both sides to avoid further clashes, as resolved by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at its informal foreign ministers' meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday (Feb 22).
In a telephone interview from Jakarta with journalists at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok following the meeting, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said both Thailand and Cambodia had pledged that there would be no longer crossfire along the common border and agreed that the Indonesian observers would be welcomed at affected border areas of both sides near the ancient Preah Vihear Temple soon, 15 personnel each, to observe the commitment as stated in a UN Security Council resolution issued on February 14. Kasit acknowledged that mandate and role of the Indonesian observers are being discussed by both sides.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, in his capacity as the authority of the current ASEAN chair, revealed that the decision to send the Indonesian observers to the Thai-Cambodian border was made as requested by both Bangkok and Phnom Penh, confirming that the Indonesian observing team will be unarmed and will not be a peacekeeping force.
Marty noted that Bangkok and Phnom Penh have also called on Indonesia to play a vital role in facilitating bilateral talks between the two countries to resolve unsettled border issues, with the first round of the dialogues to be held in Indonesia on a date to be later publicly announced.
Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed his confidence that the pending Thai-Cambodian border problems will soon be relieved after the ASEAN foreign ministers' resolution, saying that Phnom Penh should, therefore, not to raise the Thai-Cambodian border issues at any UN stage again. (TNA)
In a telephone interview from Jakarta with journalists at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok following the meeting, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said both Thailand and Cambodia had pledged that there would be no longer crossfire along the common border and agreed that the Indonesian observers would be welcomed at affected border areas of both sides near the ancient Preah Vihear Temple soon, 15 personnel each, to observe the commitment as stated in a UN Security Council resolution issued on February 14. Kasit acknowledged that mandate and role of the Indonesian observers are being discussed by both sides.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, in his capacity as the authority of the current ASEAN chair, revealed that the decision to send the Indonesian observers to the Thai-Cambodian border was made as requested by both Bangkok and Phnom Penh, confirming that the Indonesian observing team will be unarmed and will not be a peacekeeping force.
Marty noted that Bangkok and Phnom Penh have also called on Indonesia to play a vital role in facilitating bilateral talks between the two countries to resolve unsettled border issues, with the first round of the dialogues to be held in Indonesia on a date to be later publicly announced.
Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed his confidence that the pending Thai-Cambodian border problems will soon be relieved after the ASEAN foreign ministers' resolution, saying that Phnom Penh should, therefore, not to raise the Thai-Cambodian border issues at any UN stage again. (TNA)
