New skirmishes on Thai-Cambodian border

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Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck as they travel past a check point near the Preah Vhear temple in Preah Vihear province, some 500km northwest of Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH: Sporadic clashes broke out on the tense Thai-Cambodian border on Saturday, both sides said, casting doubt on peace efforts as the countries' bloodiest conflict in decades stretched into a ninth day.

The latest hostilities at two ancient temples on the disputed jungle frontier erupted just hours after Cambodia announced a second truce agreement in as many days, although Bangkok denied knowledge of a new deal.

"Even though there is a recent ceasefire agreement... Thailand still breached it," Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters in Phnom Penh.

"There were exchange of firing last night and this morning," he said. "it shows that we cannot trust our counterpart."

Thai army sources also confirmed early morning clashes.

Thailand said on Friday's peace talks between commanders from both sides did not amount to a genuine breakthrough in a dispute that has left 16 people dead and displaced more than 85,000 civilians.

"We actually have talked at local officers' level which I hope will lead to a real ceasefire," said Thailand's government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.

Seven Thai troops and eight Cambodian soldiers have died since the clashes began on April 22, and Bangkok has said a Thai civilian has also been killed.

Hor Namhong returned Saturday from The Hague where he had submitted a request to the World Court to clarify a 1962 ruling about land around the ancient Preah Vihear temple -- an area that has inflamed tensions between the two neighbours.

"The request for the interpretation by the court is a way to resolve the problem peacefully," he said at Phnom Penh airport.

The court ruled more than four decades ago that the 900-year-old temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) surrounding area.

Thailand said it had hired legal advisors and would fight the case.

The stone structure has been the focus of border tensions since it was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008 and 10 people died in hostilities between the neighbours there in February.

The current unrest is centred around two other contested temple complexes 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Preah Vihear, although there was some fighting at the site itself on Tuesday.

The Thai-Cambodian frontier has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from years of war in Cambodia.

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Thai military: Deadly fighting resumes at Thai-Cambodian border

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30 April,CNN

Fighting raged on along the turbulent Thai-Cambodian border Friday, one day after a military source said local commanders from both sides had agreed to a cease-fire.

Thai military spokesman Col. Sansern Kawekumnerd said Friday that another Thai soldier died and four soldiers were injured in the fighting.

At least six Thai soldiers and one civilian have been killed in the clashes that started last week. Cambodia has said three of its troops have been killed in the fighting.

The cease-fire agreed upon Thursday was forged at the unit commander level but not at the higher levels of the militaries, a Thai military source said.

The source, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak publicly, had said if peace persisted, higher-ranking commanders might meet on Friday. The commanders would be Thailand’s 2nd Region commander, Lt. Gen Tawatchai Samutsakorn, and Lt. Gen. Chea Mon, Cambodia’s 5th Army Region commander.

Cambodia’s government spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Clashes between the two started April 22 as both sides accused each other of trying to seize ancient temples. Thailand calls the temples Ta Kwai and Ta Muen, while Cambodia calls them Ta Krabey and Ta Moan.

Much of the border between the two countries remains in dispute. Both sides claim the disputed temples are in their country. Indonesia has offered to provide observers to the border area and help both sides resolve the crisis diplomatically.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday. Indonesia holds the chair of the the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Natalegawa also said Thailand welcomes the deployment of an Indonesian observer team to the disputed area.

This idea was first agreed upon in an emergency meeting of ASEAN’s Foreign Ministers in February, also in Jakarta.

The observers have not been deployed, after Thailand later stated their presence was not needed. “I just want to reassure that Thailand will work very earnestly and in a very serious manner with Indonesia in the role of Indonesia as a great facilitator,” the Thai foreign minister said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged both nations to pursue “an effective and verifiable cease-fire.”

In February, fighting flared up along another disputed border area between the two nations, prompting the U.N. Security Council to issue a statement calling on both sides to implement a cease-fire.

Those clashes stemmed from a longstanding conflict related to the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

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'Red Power' editor Somyos arrested

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By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation on Sunday
Published on May 1, 2011

Red Power magazine editor Somyos Prueksakasemsuk was arrested yesterday afternoon for alleged lese majeste, after trying to leave the Kingdom on a fund-raising tour to Cambodia

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) arrested Somyos after being notified by border officers at Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaew province that Somyos was leading some 30 or so red shirts on a fund-raising tour for the magazine to Angkor Wat.

Somyos was charged last week with alleged lese majeste over an article in the February and March issue of the now-banned Voice of Thaksin magazine, which he published in February. He denied the charge and insisted yesterday that he was innocent.

"We're fighting for the right to be human," he said on the phone shortly after 5pm yesterday, while inside a DSI vehicle on the way from Sa Kaew back to Bangkok.

It was unclear at press time if Somyos would be granted bail or not, but a DSI officer told a local media outlet they were determined to detain him until Monday, when a court would decide whether he should be given bail or not.

Speaking on his mobile phone, Somyos said he was surprised by the incident. He said the timing of his arrest, coupled with other developments, such as the crackdown on many red-shirt community radio stations, a new wave of internet censorship, plus "harassment" of a red-shirt historian and lese majeste charges against 18 red-shirt leaders had all taken place at a "suspicious" time - just before the election.

"I think they're all related to the current [political] situation," said Somyos, who was detained for a month without charge last year under the emergency decree.

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EDITORIAL: Suddenly, a Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire

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(Source: The Manilla Times)By The Manila Times, Philippines

April 29--Israeli leaders expectedly condemned the unity announced in Cairo, where the two Palestinian factions were holding talks. The Israelis' initial reaction was to say that Fatah-Hamas unification would harm chances for peace between them and the Palestinians. President Abbas, however, said unity in Palestine would pave the way for peace.

The announcement in Cairo said the Palestine Authority and the Hamas Islamists controlling Gaza have agreed to form a transitional government of the future Palestine state, ahead of elections to be held within a year.

Why did the sudden "outbreak of peace" come about? The Fatah and Hamas officials engaged in the Cairo negotiations both said it was a result of the freeze in peace talks between the Palestine Authority and Israel and the upheavals going on in the Arab countries.

President Abbas (quoted by Agence France-Presse) said on Thursday he hoped the unity agreement achieved between his Fatah party and Hamas would promote revival of negotiations with Israel. He said, "We hope that it will bring all the factions of the Palestinians to accept the Quartet conditions." The Quartet is the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia. One of its demands is that any Palestinian government must accept previous agreements, recognize Israel and renounce violence.

Of greater and immediate importance to us in the Philippines and our fellow members of the Association of Asian Nations (Asean) is the also "surprise" ceasefire agreement that Thailand and Cambodia made yesterday.

The two neighbors had been fighting on their common border for seven days. The clashes resulted in 15 deaths.

Until last Wednesday, it did not appear that the fierce fighting would soon stop, and it looked like the Thai-Cambodian conflict was surely going to get worse because talks that had previously been set to take place in Phnom Penh on Wednesday were called off at the last minute by Thailand's defense minister.

The armed forces of both countries have been shooting at each other since February, when their dispute about an ancient temple erupted in an actual war. There was a ceasefire but this ended last week when shooting began again.

Both Bangkok and Phnom Penh say it is the other's fault that war has broken out over two contested temples in the jungle between the two countries. This conflict has caused 75,000 civilians to be displaced. Scores of soldiers on both sides have been killed.

This episode in this decades-long war has been the bloodiest so far. Six Thai soldiers and a civilian and eight Cambodian soldiers were killed.

In February, the European Union foreign policy secretary echoed an earlier call from the United Nations Security Council for a permanent ceasefire.

And the American Ambassador to Thailand, Kristie Kinney (whose previous posting is the Philippines) on Thursday called on both countries to return to the negotiating table.

Asean leaders have also been appealing to Thailand and Cambodia to stop fighting.

The Thai-Cambodian border has never been fully demarcated. Part of the reason is because the jungles are littered with landmines left over from the years when Cambodia was ruled by the Communist Khmer Rouge (which was, of course, the enemy of democratic monarchy Thailand) at war with non-communists as well as with a faction of Cambodian communists supported by Vietnam.

On Tuesday, the fighting briefly spread to the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. This temple has been the focus of the conflict between the neighbors since the United Nations gave it UN World Heritage status in 2008.

The clashes that began last week were however centered not in Preah Vihear temple but in two other ancient temples that are 150 kilometers away to the east.

In late February, both countries agreed to let monitors from Indonesia observe the grounds near Preah Vihear. But the Thai military later withdrew its approval of the foreign observers' arrival.

In 1962, the World Court ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia. But Thailand, as Cambodia does, claims ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometer surrounding area.

Cambodia accuses Thailand of having used spy planes and poison gas in the recent fighting. Thailand denies this allegation.

It is not just the two countries' concern for territorial integrity that is causing the border war.

Domestic politics in both Thailand and Cambodia also appears to be a reason why clashes suddenly erupt. The Abhisit government in Thailand must not appear weak against Cambodia. And the ruling party in Cambodia has retained Prime Minister Abhisit's rival, ousted and exiled former Thai PM Thaksin, as an adviser.

This war is a test of Asean's effectiveness as an organization. Thailand does not want to internationalize the conflict and insists that there are enough bilateral mechanisms to solve the problem.

A major next step for Asean is to become a united economy. That is obviously put into question if war persists--if only a border one--between two members.

Asean is also seen as a region--just as China and East Asia and India and South Asia--in which global economic growth depends.

Asean must grow into a regional grouping that exercises a more effective say on the behavior of its members than it does now.

-----

To see more of The Manila Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.manilatimes.net.

The fate of Cambodia shocked the world when the radical communist Khmer Rouge under their leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975 after years of guerrilla warfare.

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Saturday, April 30, 2011

(Source: Belfast Telegraph)The fate of Cambodia shocked the world when the radical communist Khmer Rouge under their leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975 after years of guerrilla warfare.

An estimated 1.7m Cambodians died during the next three years, many from exhaustion or starvation. Others were tortured and executed.

Today, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world and relies heavily on aid. Foreign donors have urged the Government to clamp down on pervasive corruption.

Cambodia is burdened with the legacy of decades of conflict; unexploded munitions -- thought to be in the millions -- continue to kill and maim civilians, despite an ongoing demining drive.

Only now is the country beginning to put the mechanism in place to bring those responsible for the "killing fields" to justice. Cambodia and the UN have agreed to set up a tribunal to try the surviving leaders of the genocide years.

Renewed clashes this week on the Thai-Cambodian border have spread to a second location, increasing the danger that the fighting might develop into a full-scale conflict.

At least 12 soldiers have been killed in clashes between troops stationed on the disputed border, making this their most violent confrontation in 20 years.

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Wary truce at Thai-Cambodian border

Cambodian soldiers stand guard near the Cambodia-Thailand border in Oddar Meanchey province on April 28, 2011. Hopes of an imminent ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia faded on April 27, after Bangkok pulled out of talks with its neighbour and deadly border clashes entered a sixth day.Photograph by: Stringer, AFP/Getty Images

April 28, 2011
Agence France-Presse

SAMRONG, Cambodia - A fragile ceasefire halted the bloodiest clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in decades on Thursday, after seven days of fighting left 15 dead and around 75,000 civilians displaced.

Both sides remained cautious after local-level military negotiations produced an agreement to end hostilities around temple complexes deep in the jungle on their shared border.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the deal was a "good sign", but added that Cambodian troops in the area had been reinforced.

"We have to wait and see whether real peace has been achieved," he told reporters.

The country's powerful army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha said both sides would monitor the situation.

"If there is no clash before tomorrow morning the situation will be positively resolved," he said.

Cambodia, which was the first to announce a halt to fighting earlier Thursday, also struck a note of caution about the permanence of the agreement.

"The situation remains quiet for now," Cambodian field commander Suos Socheat told AFP.

"But our troops are still on alert because we don't trust them yet," he said.

The Cambodian defence ministry said in a statement that the commanders had agreed at the talks to reopen a border gate and "create a climate to allow civilians to return home".

Both countries have blamed each other for sparking the violence.

One Thai soldier died on Thursday morning, bringing the total number of the country's troops killed since the fighting began last Friday to six, while eight have died on the Cambodian side.

Bangkok has said a Thai civilian has also been killed.

Heavy weapons fire has also strayed towards villages around the frontier, causing an estimated 45,000 people in Thailand and 30,000 in Cambodia to flee their homes.

The neighbours traded accusations during the conflict, including Cambodian claims that Thailand used spy planes and poison gas — an allegation denied by Bangkok.

The countries had come under increasing international pressure to stop the violence.

Talks had previously been due to take place in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, but were called off at the last minute by Thailand's defence minister.

On Thursday Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was in Jakarta, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, for talks with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa. ASEAN had also urged the pair to reach a ceasefire.

The neighbours agreed to allow observers from Indonesia into the border area after a previous round of unrest in February. But the Thai military later said the monitors were not welcome and they were not deployed.

Following Thursday's meeting in Jakarta, Kasit said details of the mission had been provisionally agreed, with the caveat that Cambodian troops must withdraw from the disputed area first.

Asked how long the monitors would stay along both sides of the border, he said: "About six months, but I hope it will not have to be that long if peace returns."

The Thai-Cambodian border has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from years of war in Cambodia.

On Tuesday the fighting briefly spread to the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which has been the focus of strained relations between the neighbours since it was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre surrounding area.

In February, 10 people were killed near Preah Vihear, which is 150 kilometres east of the two ancient temple complexes at the centre of the latest clashes.

The border clash came at a sensitive political time for Thailand, with the country's premier preparing to dissolve the lower house of parliament for elections he has said will be held by early July.

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Prayuth: Ceasefire promise reached

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Published: 28/04/2011

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A ceasefire on the border is effectively underway after contacts on Thursday morning between Thai and Cambodian military commanders in the area where fighting has been occuring, national army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said.

A ceasefire on the border was effectively underway after contacts on Thursday morning between Thai and Cambodian military commanders in the area where fighting has been occuring, national army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said.

The army chief said this move followed a heavy exchange of fire near Chong Chom pass in Surin province this morning.

National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha

"Actually, a ceasefire has begun. Unit commanders of the two sides in the area had talks to end the fighting. Let's wait and see whether there will be more fighting this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow.

"If there is no more fighting, Lt-Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, the 2nd Army commander, will tomorrow (Friday) meet and hold talks with Lt-Gen Chea Mon, Cambodia's 5th Army Region commander," Gen Prayuth said.

The army chief said this after attending the funeral of soldiers killed in action in Surin.

"The 2nd Army chief and his Cambodian counterpart have been in contact," he added.

An informed source said on Thursday morning Cambodian deputy army chief Hun Manet and Lt-Gen Chea Mon sent their representatives to negotiate with Thai soldiers at Chong Chom pass in Surin for a ceasefire.

The source said the Cambodian force, commanded by Lt-Gen Hun Manet at O Samed opposite Chong Chom pass, suffered heavy casualties during a fierce exchange of fire this morning.

Gen Prayuth said the situation was likely to improve now the Cambodian side showed they wanted to talk, unlike in the past when they refused to do so.

The army chief said he was also concerned about the well-being of Thai villagers in the area, although most of them had been evacuated to safe havens.

"Let us hope that from now there will not be a single shot fired, but if they open fire we will return fire to stop them. We will not let any force intrude onto Thai territory," said Gen Prayuth.

A Thai soldier was injured in a Thai-Cambodian border clash on April 28, 2011. (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)

The army chief admitted troops had been reinforced to the area following an assessment of the situation and intelligence operations to ascertain the movements of the other side.

Asked if it would be best if Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh could meet for talks, Gen Prayuth said he supports talks of all levels, ranging from commanders in the area to high-level commanders of the Defence Ministry.

Army Region 2 spokesman Prawit Hukaew said a Thai soldier was confirmed killed in the clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops on the border in Surin on Wednesday night.

The casualty, identified as Second Lt Uthai Muen-apai, was the sixth Thai soldier killed since the fighting began last Friday, Col Prawit said.

The spokesman said three Thai villagers suspected of spying on Thai soldiers and passing information to Cambodian forces were arrested today for interrogation.

He said the three were apprehended near Ban Don Nam Tan in tambon Bak Dai of Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district.

They are suspected of reporting the locations of targets by mobile phone to Cambodian soldiers for attack.

They were identified as Thanit Srisa-nga, of tambon Khok Klang, Sanit Pinkao, of Ban Nong Khanna, and Sermsuk Phochaiserm, of Ban Don Nam Tan.

Col Prawit said the three were still being questioned and it was not yet confirmed they were spying for Cambodia.

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Cambodia, Thailand agree to ceasefire after clashes

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A Thai army tank is unloaded onto a road near the Thai-Cambodia border in Surin province April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

Apr 28, 2011

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a cease-fire on Thursday after a week of clashes that killed at least 15 people, wounded scores and sent more than 60,000 into evacuation shelters in Southeast Asia's deadliest border dispute in years.

The agreement caps seven days of sporadic clashes with guns, heavy artillery and small-rocket fire that fanned nationalist passions in both countries, threatened to overshadow elections in Thailand and reinforced doubts over Southeast Asia's ambitions to form an E.U.-style community by 2015.

Cambodia's Defence Ministry said both sides agreed to keep troops in the area, hold regular meetings between field commanders and leave their long-festering territorial disputes to a Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary set up a decade ago.

They also agreed to open a border checkpoint near two disputed 12th-century Hindu temples at the heart of the fighting, although it was unclear when villagers would be allowed back to their remote, ravaged towns.

"We will abide by the cease-fire from now on and local commanders will meet regularly to avoid misunderstanding," Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said a decision on sending villagers home would be made soon.

"We hope that would ease tension and that both sides will respect this initial agreement," he said. "On our side of the border, the regional commander is expressing confidence peace will hold."

Cambodian Colonel Suos Sothea said Cambodia was in control of the Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples around which rival troops clashed repeatedly. "The situation is now quiet," he said. "The temples are completely controlled by Cambodia."

Thai military and government officials declined to acknowledge Cambodian control of the two stone-walled temples.

Thailand has insisted the ruins reside in its Surin province according to a 1947 map. Cambodia says they are in its Oddar Meanchey province.

Sovereignty over the ancient temples -- Preah Vihear, Ta Moan and Ta Krabey -- and the jungle of the Dangrek Mountains surrounding them has been in dispute since the withdrawal of the French from Cambodia in the 1950s.

Earlier, Thailand reinforced the area with tanks following a night of shelling that killed a Thai soldier and wounded seven. Eight Thai tanks had rumbled through deserted villages towards the front lines where troops on both sides were sealed off by heavily guarded roadblocks, about 7 km (4.3 miles) away.

The fighting killed at least eight Cambodian and six Thai soldiers, and one Thai civilian.

"I WANT TO GO HOME"

Analysts have expressed scepticism the conflict -- which first flared with February 4-7 clashes near Preah Vihear that killed 11 people -- is really about sovereignty and say it appears politically driven from both sides.

Others say hawkish generals were colluding with nationalists to create a crisis that could cancel elections in Thailand expected by July and sideline the opposition to preserve the royalist establishment's hold on power.

In Karb Cherng, a village on the Thai side of the border damaged by the shelling and mortar fire, houses were abandoned and small shops shuttered. Police and bomb squads patrolled the empty town for remnants of unexploded ordnance.

"Where do you hide when they are shelling all night. I want to go home and I want things to go back to normal," said Jarat Unanom, a 51-year-old farmer.

The clashes are a setback for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member bloc with plans to become a regional community by 2015, illustrating the limits to regional diplomacy after the Thai army rebuffed international monitors proposed by ASEAN foreign ministers in February.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was scheduled to meet Indonesian foreign minister and ASEAN chairman Marty Natalegawa on Thursday in Jakarta.

(Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Ambika Ahuja and Martin Petty in Bangkok; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Andrew Marshall)

Reuters

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FTI: Don’t close border crossings

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Published: 28/04/2011

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The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) does not agree with foreign minister’s proposal that Thailand should close all checkpoints on the Thai-Cambodian border, FTI chairman Payungsak Chartsutthipol said.

The proposal came after the clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops continued along the border in Surin province for the seventh day running. Border crossings in Surin have been closed.

“Closing all the border crossing points will only escalate the situation,” Mr Payungsak said on Thursday.

FTI chairman suggested that the government try to settle the border conflict in a positive way, by trying to peacefully restore the relationship with Cambodia. Most Thai people do not want the conflict to escalate, he added.

Mr Payungsak said the industrial sector was not worried too much about the fighting as it was occurring in a limited area and he believed Thailand and Cambodia would be able to avoid an escalation.

FTI deputy chairman Thanit Sorat, secretary-general of the Thai-Cambodian Business Council, said the impact of the fighting had so far been limited to border trade at Chong Chom and Chong Sangam border crossing points in Surin.

The border trade value there accounted for only seven per cent of the total, and that was not that much, he added.

He expected the trade along the Thai Cambodian border, including Aranyaprathet and Klong Luek checkpoints in Sa Kaeo and Klomng Yai checkpoint in Trat would substantially increase, to about 100 billion baht in 2011.

The border trade was valued at 79 billion baht last year, with Thailand benefitting the most with a 65 billion baht trade surplus.

Major products exported to Cambodia included finished oil, refined sugar, cement, fruits and food products. Thailand is the 15th largest investor in Cambodia, where the major investors are Taiwan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Malaysia, according to Mr Payungsak.

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34,000 Cambodians evacuated, 67 schools closed during Cambodian, Thai border clashes

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English.news.cn

2011-04-28

PHNOM PENH, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of Cambodian villagers evacuated from the latest rounds of armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops over border disputed areas since Friday last week has increased to 34,000 people, said a senior government official on Thursday.

As of Thursday morning, about 34,000 Cambodians have fled their homes for safe shelters following the bloodshed fightings between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border areas, Nhim Vanda, the first vice-president of the Cambodian National Committee for Disaster Management, told Xinhua by telephone on Thursday.

"Most of them are women, children and elderly people," he said. "Now clean water and sanitary facilities are posing a concern for them."

In addition, 67 schools, with about 1,600 students, have been closed, he added.

Cambodian and Thai troops have exchanged gunfire for seven straight days over the border areas at the 11th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple, which lie 150 kilometers west of Preah Vihear Temple.

The fighting has killed at least eight Cambodian and six Thai soldiers, and one Thai civilian, and several dozens injured.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 sq km of scrub next to the temple. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in deaths on both sides.

Editor: Xiong Tong

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Cambodian, Thai military commanders meet as border fighting enters 7th day

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English.news.cn

2011-04-28

SAMRONG, Cambodia, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian and Thai military commanders met here on Thursday morning in order to negotiate for ceasefire as the armed clashes between the two countries' troops over the border disputed areas entered the seventh straight day.

The meeting was held at 10:50 a.m. at O'smach border checkpoint between Cambodian Major General Chea Mon, the commander of Military Region 4 and Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakorn, the commander of Thai Army Region 2.

The talks are held as the gunfire exchanges between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border areas at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province entered the seventh straight day.

The fighting on Thursday began at 3:55 a.m. and ended at around 10:00 a.m.. The casualties on Thursday's clashes are not available yet.

But the last six days of clashes has killed eight Cambodian soldiers, five Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian, caused several dozens injured, and forced tens of thousands of the two countries' people flee home for safe shelters.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.

Editor: Xiong Tong

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US envoy encourages truce talks

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Published: 28/04/2011

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US ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney called on both Thailand and Cambodia to exercise patience and use peaceful means to end their border conflict, reports said.

US ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney (left) shakes hand with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House on April 28, 2011.

Speaking to reporters after paying a courtesy call to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House on Thursday morning, Mrs Kenney said the two countries must refrain from using force in settling the border dispute.

She also hoped that the mechanisms of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) could bring both countries back to the negotiating table.

Thailand and Cambodia were both long-time allies of the US and the US government wants to see the border conflict resolved as soon as possible, Mrs Kenney said.

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AKP - The Agence Kampuchea Press

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Cambodian PM Welcomes Negotiation with His Thai Counterpart

Phnom Penh, April 28, 2011 AKP – Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has announced to welcome and accept his Thai counterpart’s will to have a negotiation between both premiers.

But the negotiation must be held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit scheduled on May 7-8 in Indonesia in case the Indonesian observers have not yet arrived in Cambodia, Samdech Techo Hun Sen said at the Extraordinary Congress of Cambodian Women Association for Peace and Development held here yesterday at the Peace Palace.

We do not want the Cambodian-Thai border dispute to complicate or hinder the ASEAN Summit, but the issue can not now be solved at the foreign ministerial level, except at the top level, he added.

The last four negotiations between prime ministers of both countries since Thai encroachment on Cambodian territory at the area of Preah Vihear Temple on July 15, 2008 have helped improve the situation. But the situation at the border became worse early this year, especially when Thailand conducted a war of aggression against Cambodia from Feb. 4 to 7 and recently since Apr. 22.

“During these days of the fighting, Cambodia has exercised utmost restraint, we just used small weapons, not heavy weapons, but on Apr. 26, Cambodia began to use heavy weapons to defend our infantrymen,” said Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, stressing “Our patience is limited, but our use of heavy weapons is still in low level and small scale.”

According to Thai media, Thailand will accept the Indonesian observers only if Cambodia withdraws its troops from Preah Vihear Temple and Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda. “I would like to confirm Cambodia’s stance that Cambodia can not withdraw its troops from its own territory,” the Cambodian premier said.

He further called on Indonesia, the current Chair of ASEAN, to send observers to the Cambodian side despite disagreement from Thailand.

Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers agreed in February to accept Indonesian observers to monitor and ensure a permanent ceasefire between the two countries. But later on, Thai military rejected the presence of Indonesian observers and insisted the issue be resolved bilaterally. –AKP

Article in Khmer by CHIM Nary

Article in English by SOKMOM Nimul

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Statement of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit over Thai Incessant Aggressions on Cambodian Territory

Phnom Penh, April 28, 2011 AKP – The following is the statement of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers about Thailand’s incessant attacks and invasions of Cambodia:

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National Defense Ministry Updates on Situation at Frontline

Phnom Penh, April 28, 2011 AKP – The Spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense has in a statement updated on the situation at the frontline.

The following is the full statement dated Wednesday:

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Cambodia proposes talks with Thailand in early May

Cambodian soldiers inspect a multi-rocket launcher near the Cambodian-Thai border in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, 26 April 2011. Border clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops after four days of fighting killed and injured soldiers on both sides and forced thousands of civilians to evacuate their villages near two disputed temples. Both sides blame the other for instigating the fighting. EPA/MAK REMISSA

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

via CAAI

Bangkok/Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen proposed on Wednesday that he and Thai Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva meet at a regional summit in early May to discuss their border conflict.

Six days of fighting between the two nations have left at least 13 soldiers and one Thai civilian dead, and about 60 people wounded on both sides.

Cambodia said the border was quiet Wednesday afternoon.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan said Hun Sen proposed the meeting at the Association of South-East Asian Nations' (ASEAN) summit in Jakarta, scheduled for May 7-8.

'It would be direct talks between (him and Abhisit),' he said.

There was no official response from Thailand concerning Hen Sun's proposal that the prime ministers talk at ASEAN, but Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thingphakdi suggested earlier Wednesday they would like to solve the conflict before the regional summit.

Earlier Wednesday, Phnom Penh condemned Bangkok's threat to use military action to force Cambodian troops from areas that Thailand considers in dispute.

Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said officials considered Thailand's decision 'tantamount to a declaration of war against Cambodia.'

A Thai government spokesman said Tuesday that the cabinet had passed a three-part resolution that focused on military retaliation against claimed Cambodian incursions, diplomatic efforts to arrange bilateral talks, and reviewing all cooperation with Cambodia.

Koy Kuong said the part relating to military action was an unacceptable threat.

On Wednesday, Thailand confirmed it had pulled out of ceasefire talks scheduled for Phnom Penh. Thai army spokesman Colonel Sansern Keowkamnerd said the decision was made after Cambodian media reported that Thailand had only agreed to the talks because it was losing.

But Cambodian spokesman Phay Siphan dismissed that as 'just a cover-up,' and said only one article on a Cambodian website had suggested Thailand was losing the border clashes.

'It was not a TV commentary or on the radio - just one website,' said Phay Siphan. 'And why should the Thai minister of defence mind that much about the media? He should not be affected by the media.'

Indonesia has tried to mediate, and proposed putting observers along the contested border. However that failed Monday when Thailand objected.

On Tuesday, a Thai government spokesman said Bangkok would agree to border monitors, provided Cambodia pulled its troops out of Preah Vihear temple, near another disputed border area. The temple was awarded to Cambodia by an international court in 1962.

Phay Siphan said Wednesday that condition was unacceptable.

'They cannot order us to pull out of our land. It is de jure and de facto Cambodia,' he said.

Each side has blamed the other for the fighting, which started on Friday along Cambodia's northwest border near two temples known as Ta Krabei and Ta Moan.

Cambodia said Wednesday that more than 31,000 of its citizens had fled the border region, while Thailand said a similar number of its civilians had been evacuated from their villages.

Thailand has blamed UNESCO for escalating the tensions with its decision in 2008 to list the 11th-century temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site, despite Thai claims that a 4.6-square-kilometre area near the temple is still the subject of a five-decade border demarcation dispute.

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ANALYSIS: Domestic issues drive Thai-Cambodian border clashes

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

via CAAI

By Mick Elmore and Robert Carmichael
Apr 27, 2011

Bangkok/Phnom Penh - In the absence of credible information on why Thai and Cambodian forces started fighting along a disputed stretch of the border last week, the rumour mills are working overtime, but the message seems aimed at domestic audiences.

Since Friday, at least 14 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in on-and-off clashes near several disputed temples.

One question is the timing. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva plans to dissolve parliament in early May and call an election, fuelling speculation that some political faction might try to gain from the conflict. Another is that the military wants to control the poll's outcome and the fighting is their way to be in charge. And those are just the least outlandish takes on the situation from Bangkok.

Lawmaker and political observer Kraisak Chohoven said he believes motives other than election considerations had to be behind the conflict. But as so often in recent years, Thai domestic politics muddy any examination of the border strife.

The close relationship between former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, for example, has been a thorn in the side of the current government in Bangkok.

Thaksin was toppled in a 2006 coup and lives in exile to avoid a Thai jail sentence for corruption. Last year, he served as an advisor to Hun Sen's government, which ignored Thai extradition requests.

Thaksin's supporters say Abhisit's government has no legitimacy because it was not elected, and hope to return to power.

The People's Alliance for Democracy, a nationalist movement, has vowed to topple Abhisit for his poor handling of the border crisis. In December, seven nationalists were arrested for illegally crossing into Cambodia. The tussle about their release further soured bilateral relations.

The Thai Foreign Ministry insists the current situation benefits no one in Thailand and accuses Cambodia of having kicked off the most recent spat.

The main conflict surrounding Preah Vihear, an 11th-century Hindu temple, goes back decades. A spat in 1958 prompted the suspension of diplomatic ties, but can be traced back to 1904 when France demarcated the border and put Preah Vihear inside its colonial territory.

Back then Thailand had more pressing concerns, such as not being colonized itself. But many Thais never accepted a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice that said the temple compound belonged to Cambodia.

Bangkok says UNESCO escalated the conflict in 2008 by designating Preah Vihear a world heritage site, over its objections.

In Cambodia, the opinion prevails that Thai domestic politics, currently 'very strained' with rumours of a coup seldom far from the surface, drive the conflict.

'Thailand's national elections are coming soon and the government would want to get the border issue in order before the election, because doing so would mean a likelier chance that the current government would win,' said Chhaya Hang, executive director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy, a non-governmental organization.

He said Cambodia, a much weaker player than Thailand, is looking to boost its image in the region and trying to show it can stand up to its more powerful neighbour.

On the domestic front, the ruling Cambodian People's Party regularly trumpets that it brought peace to the country after years of war.

With local elections due next year and a general election scheduled for 2013, Chhaya Hang said the border conflict has provided the government with the chance to show the electorate that it can defend the country.

But too strong a focus on the borders could backfire. Cambodia is currently demarcating its eastern border with Vietnam, and some farmers claimed to have lost their land in the process.

The risk for the ruling party is that accentuating the border issue could rebound when it is time to vote in 2013.

Indonesia, as the current chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), has failed to mediate between the neighbours.

Chhaya Hang said it was difficult to say whether that lack of leverage would damage the body, but suggests ASEAN should at least be able to employ a 'red card' should a member stand in the way of a solution.

'And if cancelling membership isn't (in the charter), then something for the agenda of the next ASEAN meeting could be: How much should we ASEAN members put up with this?'

With tensions high and rhetoric being ratcheted up over the past days, Chhaya Hang believes the situation remains dangerous.

'One can only hope it won't be more serious than at present because that will have a huge impact on people on both sides, and we don't want that,' he said.

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Thai-Cambodian Border Clashes Continue As Talks Stalled

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via CAAI

4/27/2011

(RTTNews) - Clashes between security forces along the Thai-Cambodia border continued on Wednesday, as Thailand's Defense Minister canceled his planned trip to Cambodia for ceasefire talks.

Thai Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Keowkamnerd told reporters that Thailand pulled out of the ceasefire talks with Cambodia in protest against comments in Cambodian media that the Thai government agreed to talks as it was losing the five-day-old border clash

Thai Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan was scheduled to meet his Cambodian counterpart in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to discuss ways to put an end to border skirmishes.

Thai, Cambodian border forces have been engaged in renewed clashes since Friday over the ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometer territory around the Preah Vihear temple.

Eight Cambodian and five Thai soldiers have been killed and more than 60 others wounded in exchange of fire and artillery at the disputed sites around the 11th-century Hindu temple. It forced tens of thousands of residents at the border to flee their homes. The fighting continued on Wednesday afternoon, reports said.

Reports quoting a Thai Army spokesman said a civilian was killed overnight in Thailand's border province of Buriram.

Cambodia said Army troops on both sides of the border exchanged shots early on Wednesday at two sites along the disputed border.

Cambodia and Thailand share an 800-kilometer land border. Their claims over the cliff-top Preah Vihear temple, which is on the Cambodian side of a vague boundary, has been a cause for a long-standing feud between the South East Asian neighbors.

Both sides built up military forces along the border when the shrine was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in July 2008, making it a regular flashpoint between the two nations.

by RTT Staff Writer

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Thai Defence Minister ready for truce talks: local reports

http://news.xinhuanet.com/

via CAAI

2011-04-27

BANGKOK, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon would be open to having talks on ceasefire with his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh after he returns from a visit to China, Bangkok Post online quoted his secretary as saying on Wednesday.

Gen. Noppadol Inthapanya said Gen. Prawit left for China on Wednesday morning for a visit at the invitation of the Chinese defence minister issued during his visit to Thailand several months ago.

The China trip had long been planned and could not be postponed, he said.

"In fact, Gen. Prawit did not have an appointment to meet Gen Tea Banh on Wednesday, May 27, when he was scheduled to leave for China. However, Gen. Prawit said that on his return from China on Saturday he would seek a meeting with Gen Tea Banh provided that the situation has returned to normal," Gen. Noppadol said.

Gen. Prawit earlier planned to hold talks with his Cambodian counterpart on Wednesday but it was later postponed.

The army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, however, said that the reason behind the postponement was due to some Cambodia media reports saying Thailand admitted defeat as the country agreed on truce talks. Moreover, the defence minister would wait for a few days to see Phnom Penh's sincerity before he would re-schedule the meeting.

Gen Noppadol said that by holding talks with Gen. Tea Banh did not mean Thailand admitted defeat but the defence minister was firm about solving the problem through bilateral mechanisms.

Ceasefire talks was raised Tuesday evening after the border fighting between the two countries had continued for five straight days since April 22, leaving at least a dozen of soldiers and civilians on both sides dead. Some 27,000 Thais living along the border near clash zone were evacuated to makeshift camps while about 23,000 Cambodian were forced to flee their houses.

Editor: Zhang Xiang

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Thai soldiers wounded in latest clashes

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Published: April 27, 2011

BANGKOK, April 27 (UPI) -- Sporadic fighting continued for a fifth day on the disputed Thailand-Cambodia border, with 10 Thai soldiers wounded since the weekend.

Soldiers exchanged fire in a disputed area around the Preah Vihear temple and other areas along the border.

Thai army spokesman Col. Prawit Hookaew said the soldiers were wounded in a clash on the border in Surin province when Cambodian soldiers attacked Ta Kwai and Ta Muen Thom temple ruins at 3 a.m., but they were repulsed.

Sporadic small arms fire and some heavy artillery shells were exchanged throughout the day and into the evening, Prawit said. At one point Cambodian soldiers fired at a Thai air force F16 fighter that was flying along the border.

Prawit said Thai forces must be careful when exchanging fire with Cambodian soldiers dug in near the Preah Vihear temple because there are many civilians close Cambodian positions.

"I can assure you that we can protect our sovereignty with our border defense forces," Prawit told reporters.

"Negotiation is out of the question because every movement on the Cambodian side is commanded solely by (Cambodian Prime Minister) Hun Sen. Last night seven or eight artillery rounds were fired at us across the border and one of them landed (4-5 miles) inside Thai territory, near Phanom Dong Rak hospital," Prawit said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement Washington was "deeply concerned" by the reports of violence along the Thailand-Cambodia border.

"We strongly urge both sides to exercise restraint, refrain from provocative acts and immediately take all necessary steps to reduce tensions and avoid further conflict," she said.

One of the main areas in the dispute is less than 2 square miles around Preah, since 2008 a World Heritage Site. The temple is in the Dangrek Mountains 300 miles east of Bangkok on Cambodia's northern border.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple was on Cambodian land but the some access to the mountaintop structure passes through the Thai side, a route that Thai troops occasionally seal off.

Around 2,000 troops from both sides are stationed on border patrol. In one of the previous cross-border incidents, in October 2008, two Cambodian troops died and seven Thai troops were wounded in a gun battle lasting an hour.

Clinton's comments come after Association of South East Asian Nations Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan -- a former foreign minister of Thailand -- added his voice to that of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Pitsuwan appealed for both countries to show restraint and stop fighting that also claimed four lives last weekend.

"The world and ASEAN have been alarmed by the new outbreak of violent and fatal clashes along the Cambodian-Thai border," Pitsuwan said.

"I can only add my voice to that call for a peaceful solution to a long simmering tension between our two ASEAN member states. There is really no other alternative to a genuine dialogue between the two sides."

In February, Ban said he was "deeply concerned" about the latest fighting after several years of peace, even though both sides disputed the border in the mountainous region. He called on both sides to "exercise maximum restraint."

Thailand is reviewing its economic and political cooperation with Cambodia, ahead of meetings between Thai and Cambodian politicians at an ASEAN meeting in Indonesia next week. Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is to meet Thursday with ASEAN Chairman Marty Natalegawa.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva instructed all ministries to review all areas of their cooperation with Cambodia.

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Thai-Cambodia border clash kills 14

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Thai inteview on Preah Vihear issue with subtitle in Khmer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oBuA0lW7gA&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCJYFJAyP8Y&feature=related

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Border photos on the Cambodian side

Cambodian soldiers load rocket shells in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, April 26, 2011. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday ordered review of overall relations with Cambodia in the wake of border clashes between the two countries. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

Cambodian soldiers stand near a military vehicle in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, April 26, 2011. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday ordered review of overall relations with Cambodia in the wake of border clashes between the two countries. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

Cambodian soldiers assemble rocket shells in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, April 26, 2011. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday ordered review of overall relations with Cambodia in the wake of border clashes between the two countries. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

Cambodian soldiers assemble rocket shells in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, April 26, 2011.(Xinhua/Sovannara)

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Thailand and Cambodia Escalate Clashes Across Their Border

April 27, 2011
REUTERS

Thai and Cambodian troops fought with short-range rockets and guns near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple on Tuesday, opening a second front in a five-day confrontation that has killed 13 people in Southeast Asia’s bloodiest border dispute in years. A Thai official said that one Thai soldier was wounded. There were no reports of Cambodian casualties. Sovereignty over Preah Vihear and two other ancient, stone-walled Hindu temples about 90 miles west of it — Ta Moan and Ta Krabey — and the jungle of the Dangrek Mountains surrounding them has been in dispute since the French withdrew from Cambodia in the 1950s. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand said defense ministers from both sides might hold cease-fire talks on Wednesday.

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