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Noppadon Pattama was optimistic yesterday he would be cleared of criminal and impeachment charges relating to the wrongful signing of the Cambodian-Thai joint communique on Preah Vihear temple last year.

"So many past indictments by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) have been dismissed by the courts," he said.

The NACC ruled on Tuesday to prosecute him and former prime minister Samak Sundaravej on suspicion of a lapse of duty, under Article 157 of the Criminal Code. They were accused of pushing through the controversial joint communique which was subsequently rejected and voided by the Constitution Court as well as the Central Administrative Court.

Noppadon - who was foreign minister at the time - insisted the NACC was prejudiced by relying heavily on evidence supplied by his opponents and those in the anti-Thaksin camp.

The joint communique was not a treaty, as claimed by opponents. It was a first document in which Cambodia duly recognised the existence of the disputed area surrounding the temple, he said, denying the allegation about sanctioning the Cambodian claim to the Thai territory.

He said he was prepared to fight the legal battle in the Supreme Court and the impeachment proceedings in the Senate.

Noppadon said ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra gave him the moral support to clear his name. Samak, who is in hospital for cancer treatment, also gave him encouragement through an aide, he added.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the government would allow justice to run its course without interfering in the matter.

In his message posted on Twitter, Thaksin said the NACC had gone overboard in trying to fault Noppadon.

As part of the indictments, the NACC cited evidence from the National Security Council on the intentions of Noppadon and Samak relating to the joint communique. Based on the evidence, it concluded the two wanted to help Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen boost his popularity ahead of the polls.

The NACC expressed shock and dismay the two were willing to risk Thai territorial integrity for the political gain of a foreign leader.

Reacting to the evidence obtained by the NACC, NSC secretary general Thawil Pliensri said he remained sceptical Samak had actually instructed Noppadon to help Hun Sen.

"The story is beyond belief and I never heard Samak tell Noppadon to act in such manner," Thawil said, insisting he was at the NSC meeting on the temple issue.

He admitted, however, there was no taped record of what transpired between Samak and Noppadon.

Thawil's predecessor Lt General Surapol Phuenaiyaka was the key witness in the NACC inquiry.

Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan said the NACC had been unfair in indicting Noppadon and Samak.

The two were not responsible for losing the Thai territory to Cambodia but Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his fellow Democrats were, Jatuporn claimed.

He insisted the two had tried to safeguard the Thai borders while Abhisit neglected to defend the disputed area in spite of a road constructed by Cambodia 250 metres inside Thai soil.

Refuses to take issue to Asean or UN Security Council

The dispute with Cambodia over land near the Preah Vihear temple must be solved bilaterally by the joint boundary commission, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (pictured) said yesterday - rejecting any move to raise the issue at international forums.

The Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) has been negotiating boundary demarcation in the area.

"We refer to the memorandum of understanding signed in 2000 not to make any changes before completion of the boundary demarcation," he said.

"The best way [for now] is to prevent clashes along the border."

The disputed area near the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear has been a source of conflict between Thailand and Cambodia for a long time. It heated up when the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which has ties to the government, rallied in Si Sa Ket on September 19. The PAD mob demanded that Cambodians be removed from the disputed area.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen hit back on Monday, warned that troops would "shoot to kill" any trespassers who entered land he deemed Cambodian territory.

Some 4.6 square kilometres near the Preah Vihear temple is claimed by both countries. The JBC demarcation process requires approval by the Thai Parliament.

Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed to raise the issue with Asean and the United Nations Security Council if the dispute was not settled soon.

Abhisit said the issue could be resolved at a bilateral level and not be put to Asean.

"We are very cautious about the Cambodian move to raise the issue to international level," he said.

Defence Ministry Permanent Secretary General Apichart Penkitti said the two countries should resolve the dispute peacefully. "If the military takes action, it could be worse. The best solution is negotiation," he said.

"Of course, we don't want to lose the territory but force cannot solve the problem. As both sides claim the same area, we must sit and talk," the general said.

Meanwhile, the House committee on foreign affairs yesterday urged tolerance over the border dispute, saying the issue should not be used by people who want to sour ties with Cambodia.

The panel said it opposed any use of violence and called for the government to engage in talks with Phnom Penh to avoid armed conflict, according to spokesman Danuporn Punnakanta, an MP from the opposition Pheu Thai Party.

Deputy panel spokesman, Democrat MP Ratchada Thanadirek, said bilateral talks on border demarcation had made much progress, but more work was needed in the long term, possibly over the next decade.

She called on the government not to respond negatively to aggressive comments from the Cambodian prime minister, saying it would worsen the dispute.

The Nation

Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama on Wednesday lashed out at the National Anti-Corruption Commission for finding against him in connection with the Preah Vihear temple communique dispute, saying the decision was unfair.

The NACC on Tuesday ruled that former prime minister Samak Sundaravej and Mr Noppadon were to be held responsible for a cabinet resolution on June 17 last year to allow the then foreign minister to sign a joint communique backing Cambodia's bid to register Preah Vihear as a world heritage site without receiving prior approval from parliament as required by Article 190 of the constitution. The communique was signed on June 18

The two were also found to have violated Article 157 of the Criminal Code.

Mr Noppadon said the NACC's ruling was wrong in law and unfair to him and Mr Samak and was based on evidence supplied by political opponents of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

He insisted that the joint communique was not a treaty, but was only a political statement intended to protect territorial sovereignty. It was the only document in which Cambodia admitted the existence of overlapping border areas, he added.

The document had been carefully considered and agreed to by both Foreign Ministry officials, armed forces commanders at a National Security Council meeting, and the cabinet, said Mr Noppadon.

Although in fact many people were to be held responsible for the signing of the communique, the NACC opted to take legal action against only him and Mr Samak.

Mr Noppadon said he was ready to fight in court to prove his innocence and hoped to receive justice from the courts and the Senate.

The former foreign minister said he talked over this matter with Thaksin on the telephone and the fugitive former prime minister gave him moral support and talked to Mr Samak via his personal secretary.

Bangkok Post

BANGKOK, Sept 29 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday insisted that Thailand was ready to assert its rights after his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier ordered his troops to shoot any intruders from Thailand who stepped on Cambodian soil.

The Thai premier said that raising the issue to an international level was Mr Hun Sen's style.

"When he (Mr Hun Sen) was interviewed by foreign media, he always expressed this attitude," said Mr Abhisit. "It is his style in making headlines."

Mr Abhisit, however, assured that Thailand was always ready for negotiations, but "at the same time, we are ready to assert our rights."

Despite the ongoing tension on the border, the Thai premier expressed confidence that his Cambodian counterpart will attend the 15th ASEAN Summit and other related summits at the Thai seaside resort Hua Hin, scheduled for October 23-25.

Mr Hun Sen's announcement came after yellow-shirt protesters of Thailand's Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rallied in the Thai province of Si Sa Ket near the disputed Preah Vihear border area with Cambodia and clashed with local police and residents there.

The PAD supporters’ gathering opposed Cambodia's plan to build new structures in the area near the ancient Preah Vihear temple disputed by Thailand and Cambodia.

Tensions between the two neighbouring countries flared after the United Nations cultural body UNESCO approved Cambodia's bid in July last year to list the 11th century temple as a world heritage site, while the question of sovereignty over the 4.6 square kilometres of surrounding land has never been clearly resolved, angering some Thais who continued to claim Thailand’s ownership of the site.

BANGKOK, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) voted 6:3 to find former prime minister Samak Sundaravej and former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama to have violated Article 157 of the Criminal Code for abuse of authority during the UNESCO-listing process of Preah Vihear temple.

The NACC found the two had violated the law since the then cabinet passed a resolution for Noppadon to sign the Thai-Cambodian communique to support the listing of Preah Vihear as a world heritage site with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), without the Thai parliament approval, Thai News Agency reported.

As Noppadon was the Thai foreign minister in the Samak-led Administration, on July 18 last year, he signed the joint communique with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An for the UNESCO listing of Preah Vihear temple.

The UNESCO, in July 2008, approved Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear Temple as the World Heritage Site, since then the temple and its adjacent area have become the sites of border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has criticised his Cambodian counterpart for saying Thai trespassers will be shot if they go near a disputed temple on the border.

Earlier Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had ordered his troops to shoot anyone from neighbouring Thailand who crosses onto land around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

"If they enter again, they will be shot," Hun Sen told officials.

"Troops, police and all armed forces must adhere to the order ... for invaders, shields are not used but bullets are used," the PM said in the speech at the opening ceremony for Cambodia's new Ministry of Tourism building.

Hun Sen's comments came a little over a week after Thai protesters rallied near the ancient temple, the site of clashes that have killed seven soldiers since tensions flared last year.

Mr Abhisit says Hun Sen wants to retaliate for the Thai protests on September the 19th.

He says Thailand still wants to find a peaceful solution to the dispute over the temple through a joint border commission set up by the two countries.

Claims attacked

Hun Sen has also lambasted Thailand's claim to the disputed land around the temple, inviting it to raise the issue at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting next month.

Cambodia and Thailand have been arguing over the land around the temple for decades, but tensions spilled over into violence last July when the temple was granted United Nations World Heritage status.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

BANGKOK - PRIME Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva hit out at his Cambodian counterpart on Tuesday for saying that Thai trespassers would be shot near a disputed temple on their border.

Cambodian premier Hun Sen said on Monday that he had ordered his troops to shoot anyone from neighbouring Thailand who crossed onto land around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

Mr Hun Sen's comments came a little over a week after Thai protesters rallied near the ancient temple, the site of clashes that have killed seven soldiers since tensions flared last year.

'Whenever he gives interviews to the foreign media he always has this attitude where he wants to make headlines,' Mr Abhisit told reporters of his opposite number.

He said Mr Hun Sen wanted to 'retaliate' for the Thai protests on September 19. But he insisted that Thailand still wanted to find a 'peaceful' solution to the dispute over the temple through a joint border commission set up by the two countries.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around Preah Vihear for decades, but tensions spilled over into violence last July when the temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status. The World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia.

Mr Abhisit said he had raised the issue with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the UN General Assembly in New York last week, saying that UNESCO had worsened tensions between Thailand and Cambodia.

He also sought to reassure protesters who rallied at the temple earlier this month and who accused the government of failing to defend its claims over the disputed 4.6 square kilometres of land around Preah Vihear.

'Thai people have nothing to worry about. We will assert our rights,' Mr Abhisit said.

Soldiers from Cambodia and Thailand continue to patrol the area, with the last gunbattle near the temple area in April leaving three people dead. The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Sep 29, 2009
AFP

BANGKOK, Sept 29 (TNA) - Thai Army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda declined to comment on news report on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's remarks regarding Thai-Cambodian border disputes, saying that the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission for the Demarcation of Land Boundary would be responsible for the talks to find solution on the border disputes.

International media, including the Associated Press (AP) and Agence France-Presse (AFP), on Monday quoted Mr Hun Sen as telling Cambodian officials that anyone from Thailand illegally intruding into Cambodian territory claimed by both countries will be shot.

The Cambodian leader also said that if Thai officials negotiating the border demarcation line present their own maps during bilateral talks, Cambodian officials ‘should tear them up or walk out.’

Gen Anupong said that all the border talks would be the responsibility of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission for the Demarcation of Land Boundaries.

He said Thailand and Cambodia had agreed earlier on the principle to use the talks to solve the problem not to use forces to end the disputes and the Thai government is still adhere to the principle.

"The Thai government has clearly showed that it will use dialogue as the channel to end the disputes. Local military personnel are maintaining good relations with Cambodian soldiers," he said, adding that no severe measures would be used.

If there was any trespassing by Cambodian soldiers, clear procedures had been set and Cambodian trespassers would be treated in accord with human rights standards.

Gen Anupong added that the Second Army Area had warned local residents in Thailand to take care when traveling in the disputed border areas, intrusions into Cambodian territory could happen and there are still landmines in the border zone which could endanger civilians.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said he was verifying the news report before making any comment and affirmed that Thailand would use peaceful mean to solve the problems.

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said with strong words that Cambodia and Thailand do not have overlapping land of 4.6 square km near 11th century Khmer Preah Vihear temple.

"That area is Cambodian soil," Hun Sen said at a opening ceremony of the new Tourism Ministry building in Phnom Penh downtown.

"Thailand is using their own map which was drawn unilaterally to take land from Cambodia such as 4.6 km square near Preah Vihear Temple," he said.

Hun Sen had said that Thai "yellow T-shirt" protesters rallied at the area near Preah Vihear temple to demand Cambodian troops and villagers to move out from the land of 4.6 square km near the temple. "They are extremists and have ambitions," he said.

Hun Sen warned that he has told his military commander that if the Thai "yellow T-shirt" protesters forced their way into the area, Cambodian troops could use force.

The Prime Minister also rejected the declaration by Thai leaders that the road Cambodia built to Preah Vihear temple is joint sharing for using. "This road was built on Cambodian soil and it did not have joint share with Thai side. I am so sorry for your comment," he said, adding "you have confused the matter of this street."

However, Hun Sen stressed that even though "we will not avoid to use force, our stance is still to deal with the issues with peaceful way, Cambodia does not need war."

Cambodian and Thai troops have confronted each other since July 15, 2008 at the areas near Khmer Preah Vihear temple after Cambodia registered the temple as the World Heritage Site in July 7, 2008.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Nation

The National Counter Corruption Commission is expected to make a decision on whether to indict members of the Samak Cabinet and permanent officials involved in endorsing the joint-communiqué to support Cambodia's listing Preah Vihear as a Word Heritage Site.

NCCC commissioner Klanarong Chantik said the NCCC would make the decision today because the investigation results into the case were completed.

Four high-ranking ministry officials have been accused in the case comprising Foreign Ministry permanent-secretary Veerasak Futrakul, Chirdchu Raktrabutr, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Krit Garnjana-goonchorn, Director-General of the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs.

Members of the Samak Cabinet who are defendants in this case include four former cabinet members in the Samak government, namely, deputy prime minister Sanan Kajornprasart, deputy finance minister Pradit Pataraprasit, natural resources and environment minister Suwit Khunkitti and ICT minister Ranongruk Suwanchawee.

The Constitution Court had earlier ruled that the Preah Vihear joint communique was endorsed by the Samak cabinet in violation of the Constitution.

Former foreign ministry deputy permanent secretary Suchinda Yongsunthorn said he believed the permanent officials were innocent as they honestly did their job with the believe that the communique would not cause Thailand to lose any land.

29-09-2009
The Nation (Thailand)

Hun Sen stressed that even though "we will not avoid to use force, our stance is still to deal with the issues with peaceful way, Cambodia does not need war."

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday (September 28) said with strong words that Cambodia and Thailand do not have overlapping land of 4.6 square km near 11th century Khmer Preah Vihear temple.

"That area is Cambodian soil," Hun Sen said at a opening ceremony of the new Tourism Ministry building in Phnom Penh downtown.

"Thailand is using their own map which was drawn unilaterally to take land from Cambodia such as 4.6 km square near Preah Vihear Temple," Xinhua quoted Hun Sen as saying.

Hun Sen had said that Thai "yellow T-shirt" protesters rallied at the area near Preah Vihear temple to demand Cambodian troops and villagers move out from the land of 4.6 square km near the temple. "They are extremists and have ambitions," he said.

State-run Xinhua said Hun Sen warned that he has told his military commander that if the Thai "yellow T-shirt" protesters forced their way into the area, Cambodian troops could use force.

He said he has ordered his troops to shoot anyone found illegally crossing a disputed border with Thailand.

His remarks came a little over a week after Thai protesters rallied at the site near the Preah Vihear temple, where seven soldiers were killed when tensions flared last year.

"If they enter again, they will be shot," Hun Sen told officials.

"Troops, police and all armed forces must adhere to the order ... for invaders, shields are not used but bullets are used," the said in the speech at the opening ceremony for Cambodia's new Ministry of Tourism building.

The Prime Minister also rejected the declaration by Thai leaders that the road Cambodia built to Preah Vihear temple is joint sharing for using. "This road was built on Cambodian soil and it did not have joint share with Thai side. I am so sorry for your comment," he said, adding "you have confused the matter of this street."

However, Hun Sen stressed that even though "we will not avoid to use force, our stance is still to deal with the issues with peaceful way, Cambodia does not need war."

Cambodian and Thai troops have confronted each other since July 15, 2008 at the areas near Khmer Preah Vihear temple after Cambodia registered the temple as the World Heritage Site in July 7, 2008.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Bangkok Post

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban plans to meet Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss the Thai-Cambodian border row after reports Mr Hun Sen has ordered his troops to shoot any trespassers in the disputed border area near Preah Vihear temple.

On Sept 19, yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters rallied near the ancient temple, demanding the Cambodian government remove its people from the disputed border area.

"I believe Prime Minister Hun Sen could misunderstand the situation and I am ready to talk with him," Mr Suthep, who is charged of security affairs, said on Tuesday.

Mr Suthep said he did not know the Cambodian premier announced that he will not attend the Asean summit, scheduled for next month in Thailand and will not talk with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

"I believe this has nothing to do with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and I have ordered the Second Region Army commander to keep a close watch on the border area and to prevent clashes between both sides," Mr Suthep said.

The border situation near Preah Vihear temple was still normal, he said.

"The Thai army is also ready to counter if armed Cambodian troops enter Thai territory," Second Army Region commander Lt Gen Wiboonsak Neephan said.

However, the two sides had been trying to negotiate and work together continuously to ease the tension.

PM's deputy secretary-general Panithan Wattanayakorn said the government hoped Cambodia will stick to peaceful means to resolve the border row.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Bangkok Post

Army chief Anupong Paojinda insisted on Tuesday that Thailand opts for peaceful means in solving border conflicts with Cambodia.

He spoke a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered his troops to shoot any trespassers along the disputed area and angrily blasted Bangkok's territorial claims.

Gen Anupong reiterated that Thailand will solve the conflict through dialogue at the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation of the Land Boundary.

Thai soldiers will carry on their duties on Thai soil, and there is no plan to using violent measures, he added.

He warned those living in the area to be careful if they have to cross the border.

Last weekend, People's Alliance for Democracy protesters rallied at the disputed border area near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple. Dozens of protesters, police and villagers were injured in clashes there after security forces tried to obstruct the PAD from reaching the border area.

The protest was aimed to assert Thai sovereignty over disputed territory near the ancient temple.

BANGKOK, Sept 22 (TNA) - Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is scheduled to rule on Tuesday on the previous government's resolution which supported Cambodia's listing of the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

The NACC decided last November to press charges against 44 persons including 28 Cabinet members in the Samak Sundaravej administration and state officials in connection with the signing of a joint communique with Cambodia without seeking parliamentary approval as required by the Constitution.

The joint communique was signed by Thailand’s then foreign minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on June 18, 2008.

The NACC decided last Tuesday to postpone the ruling to today.

NACC Commissioner Klanarong Chantik said last week that the NACC would consider the case on two separate issues: impeachment and criminal prosecution following the Constitutional Court's ruling that the joint communique was unconstitutional.

He said the anti-graft commission would tackle whether each of the 44 was intentionally involved in malfeasance that caused damage to the country.

The commission, he explained last week, finished investigating 12 persons, but the other 32 would be further scrutinised with the results to be disclosed on September 29.

Of the 28 accused ministers, four are members of the Abhisit government. They include Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pattaraprasit, Information and Communication Technology Minister Ranongrak Suwanchawee and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti.

The accused were charged with negligence of duty and violating Article 190 of the 2007 Constitution which imposes that any treaty affecting Thailand's society, economy and integrity of its borders must be approved by Parliament.

2009-09-28
Associated Press:

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that anyone from Thailand who illegally intrudes into Cambodian territory claimed by both countries will be shot.

He also said that if Thai officials seeking to negotiate the border demarcation line present their own maps during bilateral talks, Cambodian officials should tear them up or walk out.

Speaking at the opening of the Tourism Ministry's new office in the capital, Phnom Penh, he charged that Thailand's leaders wanted to base their territorial claims on maps they drew up themselves because they wanted to occupy Cambodia's land.

A long-running dispute over territory heated up in July 2008 when UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency, approved Cambodia's bid to have the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, located on the border, named a World Heritage Site. Thailand initially supported the bid but then reneged after the move sparked outrage and protests.

Both sides rushed troops to the border, which resulted in several small gun battles.

The World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but sovereignty over the surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.

Hun Sen said for negotiations, Cambodia would accept only maps drawn up jointly by Thailand and France in 1904 and accepted as official by Thailand at the time.

"Any map not recognized internationally that the Thais submit for negotiation, please tear it up and I will do so also if in front of the Thai prime minister if he presents such a map for talks," Hun Sen said.

Thai government officials were not immediately available to comment on the remarks.

The Cambodian leader also denounced a Thai nationalist group that recently tried to march to the border to present its claim concerning the 1.8 square miles (4.6 square kilometers) of disputed land near the temple.

Cambodian soldiers will use their weapons to protect the country's territory and will not allow such protesters to occupy Preah Vihear temple, he said.

"Whether civilians or military officers, whenever they enter illegally (into Cambodia territory), they will be shot," Hun Sen said.

The People's Alliance for Democracy blames current and past Thai governments for failing to protect national land and sovereignty. Several hundred of its members tried to force their way to the border on Sept. 19, triggering clashes with villagers and police that left at least 17 people injured.

The alliance is the same group that last year occupied the prime minister's offices in Bangkok for three months and seized the Thai capital's two airports for a week to try to bring down governments they opposed.

Phnom Penh: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said that he might skip a regional summit to be held in Thailand next month if a dispute over an ancient temple on the border between the two countries continues.

Hun Sen said he might send the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Thailand is set to host the 15th ASEAN summit on October 23-25 at the coastal town of Hua Hin.

Hun Sen, meanwhile, said he will never hold talks with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on the 4.6 square kilometre area near the temple as long as his counterpart uses a particular map drawn up by Thailand.

The Premier also alleged that the border dispute was caused by internal problems of Thailand.

Since the border issue erupted last year, many rounds of talks at different levels including defence and foreign ministerial levels have been held but a concrete agreement or solution has proved elusive. The overall territorial dispute stems partly from the use of different border maps.

Monday, September 28, 2009
Bureau Report

"Then the hardest problem to solve is the occupation of 4.6 square kilometres of land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple by Cambodian soldiers, monks and villagers. This is an embarrassing issue now that Phnom Penh is handing out concessions to foreign oil companies to engage in surveys and exploratory drilling in disputed maritime areas. ... The encroachment by Cambodia is blatant and will not stop there. There are other areas susceptible to Cambodian occupation by force." -sic!-

Tuesday September 29, 2009
Bangkok Post

Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered his troops on Monday to shoot any trespassers in a simmering border dispute with Thailand and angrily blasted the neighbouring nation's territorial claims.

His remarks came a little over a week after Thai protesters rallied at the disputed border area near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, the site of clashes that have killed seven soldiers since tensions flared last year.

"If they enter again, they will be shot," Mr Hun Sen told officials who applauded as he publicly ordered troops along the border to fire against civilian or military "invader enemies" who illegally enter Cambodia.

"Troops, police and all armed forces must adhere to the order... for invaders, shields are not used but bullets are used," Mr Hun Sen said in the speech at the opening ceremony for Cambodia's new Ministry of Tourism building.

Mr Hun Sen also lambasted Thailand's claim to the disputed 4.6 square kilometres of land around Preah Vihear, saying he may raise it at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meeting next month.

"This is a unilateral claim with the ambition of occupying Cambodian territory... If the Thai prime minister put the (unilaterally-drawn) map in front of me, I would tear it," Mr Hun Sen told the audience.

"Cambodia does not want war, but Cambodia deserves the right to destroy enemies in its territory," he said, adding that he would take the issue to the UN Security Council in the case of any aggressive action by Thailand.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around the Preah Vihear temple for decades, but tensions spilled over into violence last July when the temple was granted UN World Heritage status.

Although the World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, the most accessible entrance to the ancient Khmer temple with its crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings is in northeastern Thailand.

Soldiers from Cambodia and Thailand continue to patrol the area, with the last gunbattle near the temple area in April leaving three people dead. The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said there was no disputed land near Preah Vihear temple, contrary to Thai statements.

The temple is at the center of a longstanding military standoff and saw a number of Thai protesters amassed last week.

Though leaders have sought to solve the border dispute bilaterally, Hun Sen said he would raise the issue with Asean at a summit in October if Thai leaders continued to make public statements about the temple and nearby border.

On Thursday, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said roads leading to the temple from the Thai side had been made by the previous government, claiming, "even if there are roads in the border area, it does not mean that the land belongs to Cambodia."

On Sept. 20, around 5,000 Thai demonstrators gathered on the Thai side of the border, near the temple, as leaders of the protest claimed Cambodian civilians and soldiers had settled in disputed areas near the temple.

"I would like to request that Thai leaders stop using Preah Vihear temple in their internal political conflict," he said.

Claims by the Thai prime minister and others about 4.6 kilometers of land near the temple "are not acceptable," he said. Thailand was making unilateral claims using a unilateral map, he said. "Cambodia does not recognize the overlapping or disputed area."

Cambodia uses a map from French surveys in 1904 and 1909 and argues that a 1962 decision at the International Court of the Hague and other documents provide a claim to land near the temple.

"If the Thai prime minister brings a unilateral map to me, I will tear it up in front of [him]," Hun Sen said Monday. "If Thailand militarily invades Cambodia, we will complain to the United Nations Security Council."

Preah Vihear temple was put on a Unesco World Heritage protection list, under Cambodian ownership, in July 2008, sparking demonstrations in Bangkok and an immediate military build-up. Ensuing skirmishes along the border have killed at least seven soldiers.

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 September 2009

A wooden residence of King Norodom I located inside the royal palace in Phnom Penh built in 1866.

Source: Koh Santepheap newspaper
By Khmerization

The Phnom Penh Municipal Authority has announced that it will hold a public photo exhibition of the city from its inception in 1372 to present day.

The organisers said 136 photos, slides and drawings of the city, from its birth to present day, will be on public display at a newly-built exhibition hall at Wat Phnom in December.

In December, the city authority will also hold a very big celebration to celebrate the 575th birthday of the founding of Phnom Penh City.

The history of Phnom Penh is a bit patchy. Legend has it that in 1372, a nun named Penh went to a fetch a water from the Mekong River at the location of present day Wat Phnom. She found a dead Koki tree floating downstream. She brought the Koki log overland and found five statues of Buddha embedded inside the log. She then ordered the villagers to build a small hill to keep and honour those five statues and they called it Phnom Daun Penh (Mount Grandmother Penh). Since then the place has been abbreviated to Phnom Penh (Mount Penh) and the hill where the five Buddha statues were kept was called Wat Phnom (Temple Mount) until today.

Although Phnom Penh was founded in 1372, it has not become a royal capital until 1432 when King Ponhea Yat moved his capital from Toul Bassan in Kampong Cham to present day Phnom Penh. But in 1505, subsequent Khmer kings had abandoned Phnom Penh as their royal capital due to civil wars among royal pretenders.

Phnom Penh has again become Cambodia's royal capital in 1865 when King Norodom I ordered 10,000 of his subjects to move out of the old royal capital of Oudong into present day Phnom Penh.

The National Anti Corruption Commission is expected next Tuesday to complete its deliberation on the Preah Vihear impeachment proceedings against the Samak Sundaravej (pictured) government, NACC member Klanarong Chintik said on Tuesday.

The deliberation has already started but will take a week to complete since the proceedings will have to cover the individual involvement of each accused , Klanarong said.

"Today's deliberation has covered 12 of 44 accused ministers and officials and the NACC should be able to rule on the case by September 29," he said.

Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban, the Thai Deputy Prime Minister, has been pressured by the Thai ultra-nationalists to take action against Cambodia for building roads in the so-called "disputed zones". In response he said: "The roads were built during the previous government. And even if there are roads in the border area it does not mean that the land belongs to Cambodia".

Mr. Suthep's statement has prompted the Cambodian government to reply in a statement below:

A Thai court in Ubon province has sentenced 16 Cambodian loggers to 9 years and three months imprisonment for illegally logging in Thai territories.

The 16 loggers were arrested on 23rd July for logging on the Khmer-Thai borders at Choam Ksan district in Preah Vihear province. But they told the court that they never have any intention of crossing the borders, but because they have no map and navigation equipments they thought that the areas they were logging are located inside Khmer territories.

The court hearing on 23rd September in Ubon was attended by 4 Cambodian provincial officials and officials from the Cambodian Consulate in Ubon.

Sources said that these loggers did not act alone. They can manage to sneak into dangerous territories because they were hired and assisted by military officers who have been engaging in illegal logging in the areas.

The Cambodian prisoners were brought to court hands and legs chained and shackled together. Cambodian officials who attended the court session said they will appeal the court sentence. They also said that the Thai authorities have promised to release those Cambodian loggers, but so far they have not shown good on their promises.

Source: Koh Santepheap newspaper
Reported in English by Khmerization

The opposition leader rejected the clarification issued by the Press and Quick Reaction Unit (PQRU) of the Council of Ministers which was distributed on Wednesday. The PQRU clarification indicated that he used the forum organized by the Club of Thai Journalists in Bangkok to indicate that the Cambodian government leader, Mr. Hun Xen, was a former Khmer Rouge leader.

SRP leader Sam Rainsy, who returned from overseas in the evening of Tuesday, told The Phnom Penh Post on Thursday that he recognized that he held a press conference in Bangkok, and that he also raised the issue of a number of Cambodian government leaders who were former Khmer Rouge cadres who still maintain their old mentality. However, Sam Rainsy said that he did not name PM Hun Xen as it was indicated in the clarification issued by the Council of Ministers’ PQRU (Angkor Borey Note: This is a lesson for Hun Xen, or [it can be considered as] stuffing Hun Xen’s words back into his mouth for his rude and mocking speech against Mrs. Mu Sochua without pointing out her name in Kampot. Hun Xen’s tactics led to a dispute that reached the court recently).

Sam Rainsy said: “I said that a number of leaders in the current government were former Khmer Rouge, they were at least regional cadre leaders, and they still maintain their old mentality and they still use violence, repression to shut down all types of freedom. I was speaking in general terms, I did not name any individual at all.”

Sam Rainsy added that he is not concerned about any lawsuit due to the issues he raised, but he asked that the information should not inflated, nor should it be added to other issues that could lead to lawsuits.

Nevertheless, the PQRU clarification indicated that, under the Pol Pot regime, PM Hun Xen was a victim who fled the Khmer Rouge killing pursuit, and he joined other Khmer VIPs to form the 02 December front to help liberate the people from the killing field, this is contrary to the accusations made by opposition leader. (Angkor Borey Note: In order to clearly learn whether Hun Xen and a number of other leaders in the current regime were former savage and cruel Khmer Rouge who committed the killing of Cambodians or not, please read our article titled: “Mystery of the Khmer Rouge leaders who now hold the Samdach titles” published in Article No. 760, dated 20 May 2009 and authored by Mr. Cheat Hungsa. In addition to the translation of Mr. Thach Saren’s letter sent the Washington Post newspaper recounting the cruelty of the current CPP leaders (Hun Xen is included among them also) and how his family was subjected to this cruelty, Mr. Cheat Hungsa also quoted Hun Xen criticizing former PM Pen Sovann. This quote was excerpted from a RFA broadcast on 23 December 2008, the essence of Hun Xen’s speech is as follows: “There was a guy who claims to be the father of 02 December, the father of 07 January, he said that I was his foot soldier. This guy strutted around in Phnom Penh the other day, I looked at him saying that he was the father of 07 January, the father of 02 December. Since mid-1977, I was the biggest leader along the eastern shore of the Mekong River. I built up a lot of troops already. Therefore, there was nobody else bigger than me. This guy, from what I know, he was only a lieutenant in the Vietnamese army, and he considered himself as my chief, then he went on to shout on the fly hive or beehive radio station and such. So, I want to tell this fellow, please be considerate … if you lie, lie with modesty … give a decent lie … I don’t need to reveal his name … in Khmer, he is called the liar-in-chief” (sic). In this regard, we believe that Hun Xen forgot that he was a “former Khmer Rouge leader” also and he even forgot that he was a “Yuon puppet” as well. If Pen Sovann was “Yuon”, doesn’t that makes Hun Xen an “absolute Yuon lackey”?).

It should be noted that the publication of the PQRU clarification was made following the declaration made by Mr. Sam Rainsy at a forum organized by the Thai Club of Journalists (FCCT) in Bangkok last Tuesday. Sam Rainsy indicated that political activists and village chiefs were killed or jailed, and they were forced to hide themselves because they do not support the ruling party. He indicated also that these various problems take place because a large number of Cambodian leaders were former Khmer Rouge leaders. He told the Thai media network that: “They still adhere to the Khmer Rouge ideals, they do not tolerate critics, and they do whatever it take to destroy their enemies, either by killing them or silencing the critics.”

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of the Ministers, immediately rejected the issues raised by Sam Rainsy and he claimed that Sam Rainsy’s accusations were baseless. (Angkor Borey Note: Prior to joining the CPP, Phay Siphan was a renown anti-communist. Following his expulsion from his senate seat by the CPP, this same Phay Siphan went around criticizing the CPP all over Long Beach. But now, when he is turning into the “handyman” spokesman for Sok An, even for the dirty laundry affairs of Svay Sitha, Phay Siphan would come out to act as the latter’s spokesman. This is how an opportunist behaves, he is very flexible and he willingly bends to the wind, he would bark against anyone so long as he has a chair to cling on to!).

Phay Siphan told The Phnom Penh Post: “Mr. Sam Rainsy fights the government, but he can walk freely in the country. However, the government never discriminates against him.” Phay Siphan indicated that, currently, in Cambodia, there is no repression on the freedom of expression as the opposition, such as Sam Rainsy, claimed.

Nevertheless, reports issued by national and international organizations showed that human rights violations in Cambodia perpetrated by powerful officials and rich businessmen still victimized a large number of weak people. (Angkor Borey Note: If Phay Siphan actually made this claim, it can only mean that all the NGOS, as well as the UN Human Rights officials, are all crazy … is it not?).

25 September 2009
The Phnom Penh Post
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
(Comments by Angkor Borey, the Voice of Cambodians Overseas)

Cambodian Government officials on Thursday strenuously denied shooting at a Thai helicopter that was flying into Cambodia territory in Pailin province on September 22.
The rumor, printed in the Khmer-language press, was that at 6 pm, a Thai helicopter flew illegally into Cambodia airspace in Pailin province without first requesting permission from the Cambodian military. Camb- odian soldiers fired warning shots and the helicopter returned to Thai territory.
The Thai helicopter was said to be on a reconnaissance mission to report back on Cambodian deployments at the border.  “We strongly reject the rumor saying that our soldiers shot down a Thai helicopter,” Pailin Governor Y Chhean told DAP News Cambodia on Thursday. Chhum Socheat, a Defense Ministry spokesman, also scotched the rumor, saying that “We today formally reject the rumor that our soldiers shot at a Thai helicopter in Pailin province.”
“We will investigate the source of this rumor further,” Chhum Socheat said.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation spokesman said he had no official information about the incident.
A story printed by several newspapers alleged that Cambodian soldiers fired about 10 shots at the Thai helicopter on September 22.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has publicly warned that any helicopters of bordering countries flying into Cambodia territory without first requesting permission would be fired upon.


Written by DAP NEWS   --   Friday, 25 September 2009 02:59

Bangkok Post
Published: 25/09/2009 at 12:00 AM

Your newspaper consistently refers to the Preah Vihear temple and surrounding area with the Cambodian word, instead of the Thai pronunciation of "Phra Viharn". Your choice of words is thus inevitably part of the conflict.

Unlike an English-language newspaper, the Thai press has no choice but to use the word ''Phra Viharn'' since that is the name we have been using since ancient times, no matter what the stance regarding the temple row may be.

As an English-language newspaper, however, Bangkok Post's reference to the temple and its surrounds as ''Preah Vihear'' could reflect on the country's position: it implies whether or not Thailand has conceded its stance to Cambodia with the adoption of the Khmer name.

KRITANAYA SAMABUDDHI

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Get US to sign FTA first

PM Abhisit might be playing softball in a hardball world by pursuing more action on pirated US items as a gesture of goodwill, while seeking progress on a Thai-US Free Trade Agreement.

PM Abhisit may rather consider telling the US he will not do a damned thing about pirated goods until an FTA is in place, as the current US administration is blatantly protectionist and notoriously anti-FTA in general, and if one side will not give, why should the other?

Additionally, there are a lot of people in the world who feel that the pirated goods crusade is nothing more than fraud perpetrated by US corporations who want to take all the profits in the world's entertainment markets and stamp out all competition.

GUY BAKER

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Driven to distraction

I've lived in Thailand for over five years and what angers me most - even more than the disillusioned supporters of the convict Thaksin - is children being driven in motor cars without restraints. Kids standing on the front seat with their hands on the dash board, with the driver oblivious to what can and will happen if they have an accident.

Brilliant politicians come up with miraculous ways to reduce road deaths and one of these is to restrict the sales of alcohol during Songkran, thus affecting tourism. Or they fine people for using mobile phones whilst driving. But not one has thought about the safety of the country's children.

Legislate for compulsory seat-belt use on children and a hefty fine for refusal. Not the normal 500/1,000 baht but starting at 5,000 with loss of licence for first offence and mandatory jail for the second.

BRIAN FORLONGE

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Empathy and money

Re: Charley Brown's letter to Post Bag last week. I must disagree with a couple of issues he raises. He talks about how the red shirts hate the yellow shirts and vice versa, and it seems that there is a colossal amount of animosity in the air.

We as farangs must be sensitive and exude empathy during this political crisis! Also, the economy is a major factor and I believe it is a catalyst! These are tough economic times for everyone.

We as the guests usually have the baht, while many Thais are really struggling to make ends meet. I've just come back from a three-day junket to Pattaya and even the bar girls there weren't smiling.

TOM MOON MULLINS

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All published correspondence is subject to editing at our discretion.

The government will explain the situation on the Thai-Cambodian border in a television broadcast after the foreign minister returns from the United Nations, acting Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Thursday.

He was responding to the the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship's (UDD) accusation the government of not taking any action over roads were being constructed on a disputed 4.6-square-kilometre territory near Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple.

"I'll invite Foreign Minister Kasit (Piromya) to explain the border situation to the public with me after he returns from the United Nations General Assembly in New York," Mr Suthep, who is in charge of security affairs, said.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had clear evidence to counter the red-shirts' accusation that the government was being passive.

"The red-clad leaders must be careful about raising this issue, because it could turn to hurt them in the end," he warned.

"The roads were built during the previous government. And even if there are roads in the border area it does not mean that the land belongs to Cambodia," he said.

Mr Suthep said Thai and Cambodian authorities should also meet to discuss the disputed maritime zone in the Gulf, where Phnom Penh has granted a concession to a French company to explore for petroleum in the area.

He said the two countries should discuss this so both could benefit from it, similar to the way Malaysia and Vietnam and discussed issues.

24/09/2009
BangkokPost.com

ON SEPTEMBER 19 of this year--the third anniversary of the military coup that wrecked Thai democracy--two demonstrations took place. They sum up the two faces of Thailand.

One demonstration, by tens of thousands of Red Shirts in Bangkok, was organized in order to continue the demand for full democracy. It was a peaceful and friendly demonstration. Yet the military-backed Democrat Party government, headed by Abhisit Vejjajiva, declared a state of emergency and lined up thousands of police and soldiers to deal with the demonstrators.

Previously, back in April, Abhisit had urged soldiers to fire on the Red Shirts. Two people were subsequently killed and 70 injured by government soldiers.

The other demonstration was organized by People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) fascist thugs. The PAD are the Yellow Shirt royalists. The aim of this demonstration was to attack Cambodian villagers living and working at the ancient Kao Prawiharn temple inside Cambodia.

Since last year, the PAD has been trying to cause a war with Cambodia by whipping up extreme nationalism. The temple was built by the ancient Khmers and clearly belongs to Cambodia, both from a legal and historical point of view. On September 19, the PAD went to the border armed, as usual, with guns, bombs and clubs. They attacked the police and then a group of local villagers who were opposed to them. Local villagers on both sides of the border have traditionally held joint religious ceremonies together at the temple on this day. This has not happened since the PAD forced the closure of the temple last year.

Teptai Senpong, personal spokesman for Prime Minister Abhisit, earlier stated that there was no reason to declare a state of emergency in the border area, "as the PAD were defending Thai national interests." The present foreign minister is a PAD supporter who took part in the illegal occupation of the international airports last December. He is famed for being rude about the Cambodian government.

Suriyasai Takasila, PAD spokesperson, said that the PAD leadership would not turn its back on Wira Somkwamkit, the PAD leader who headed the violent raid on the border. Naturally, the PAD riot and its extreme nationalism was supported by ASTV. The government will not prosecute the PAD and their leaders for their illegal violence. They never have. At the same time, numerous Red Shirts are in jail or face prosecution.

Just like when the PAD took over the airports, they cared little for the impact on local people's employment and livelihood. They cared little if the sons of poor farmers, conscripted into the Thai army, were to die in any pointless shoot out with their brothers in the Cambodian army.

The progressive, peaceful and democratic face of Thai society is the Red Shirts. The violent, fascist and authoritarian face is the face of the Yellow Shirt conservative royalists who control the state, the army, the monarchy, the government and the media. The one thing they do not control is the hearts and minds of most Thai citizens.

Most Thais are waiting for the king to die. But that in itself will solve nothing, despite the fact that his son his universally hated and held in contempt. No real democracy can be built without dismissing the generals, the judges, the privy council, the royal family and the corrupt politicians.

Will the Red Shirts be up to this People's Revolution? Can it be an overwhelming movement of citizens in order to minimize bloodshed? These are the issues on many people's minds today.

Phnom Penh - Cambodia plans to appeal a case in which lengthy sentences were handed down by a Thai court to a group of its nationals after they were convicted of logging and entering Thailand illegally, local media reported Thursday. The 16 men who are from adjacent provinces in north-west Cambodia were arrested on July 23 by Thai authorities. Fifteen of them were sentenced to nine years and three months each while the last was given six years and two months.

The Thai court in Ubon Ratchathani province has granted a one-month period to appeal.

The cabinet chief of Cambodia's Preah Vihear province told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that the sentences were "revenge" by Thailand for the unresolved border dispute between the two kingdoms while Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said government lawyers would appeal the convictions.

"Let our lawyers do their work until the end [of the legal process]; then we will use another measure," Koy Kuong told the newspaper.

Defence lawyers had pleaded that the men were not engaged in logging and had not realized they had crossed into Thai territory.

Much of the 800-kilometre-long common border between the two nations has not yet been demarcated. Tensions have been high for the past year with several soldiers on both sides killed and injured in skirmishes around the Preah Vihear temple, an 11th-century structure that sits on the border between the two kingdoms.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009
By Jurgen Schmidt
DPA

By demonstrating over a land area adjoining the ancient Preah Vihear temple complex last week ahead of the third anniversary of Thailand's latest military coup on Sept 19, a faction of the royalist-nationalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) shrewdly stole the thunder that was supposed to belong to the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra red-shirted movement. Weeks of build-up to the red shirts' anti-coup anniversary protest were eclipsed by the yellow shirts' days of escalation from patriotism and nationalism to chauvinism and veiled irredentism.

Under the aegis of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the red shirts and their sit-ins at public gathering areas are a recurrent phenomenon. Their largest and most sustained street demonstration from late March to the Songkran riots has been instructive for them. They can protest all they want but they do not have the tipping point that comes with the right backing.

The red shirts have since acted with more restraint. As an evolving social movement, their numbers are wide but increasingly divided along the fault lines of Thaksin Shinawatra and the coup.

All reds are anti-coup. Yet there are many more non-reds who are also anti-coup and anti-post coup. Thaksin is thus a walking divisiveness in exile, even to the reds, and especially among anti-coup groups. The reds will now work on another build-up for their protest next month. Their disbandment around midnight last Saturday, early by their own standards, stood in deliberate contrast to what the yellows were doing near Preah Vihear temple.

Also a developing social movement, the PAD has become a leading agenda setter with quasi-veto power over political outcomes. They can prevent outcomes as well as determine them under certain circumstances. The drawn-out police chief appointment is a case in point.

Preah Vihear is an ongoing controversy. At issue is how far to reach back in history. Going back a century means righting the wrongs of French imperialist cartography that betrayed agreed watershed demarcation. Going back to 1962 means abiding by international law that awarded the temple to Cambodia. In the decades since, both Thais and Cambodians have roundly benefited from border trade and tourism. While Phnom Penh has registered the temple as a World Heritage Site, both the Thais and the Cambodians need to jointly develop the adjoining 4.6sqkm. The area is not much good to Thailand without the temple. Possession of the temple is equally not as useful without its land approach. And Bangkok would oppose unilateral registration of the contested land if it emerges.

While it has been detrimental to local livelihoods, the continuing stalemate over Preah Vihear and its landscape has fuelled the Thai political crisis. It was a hot potato for the two elected governments last year, and it will be a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government in the coming weeks.

What the PAD protesters have done near Preah Vihear bears a number of ramifications. In the short term, it diverted the spotlight from the reds. In the longer term, however, it may well turn off some of the rank-and-file yellows and the pro-Establishment non-yellows who are pro-coup and anti-Thaksin. This dilemma was reflected in the absence of the PAD's main leadership who did not join the protest in Si Sa Ket province. Instead, a second-tier leader spearheaded the march.

Thai-Cambodian relations will not benefit from the PAD's posturing. The bilateral relationship has deteriorated steadily since the torching of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh in early 2003. Historical tensions run deep on both sides. The bilateral spat and occasional armed skirmishes will cast a cloud over the upcoming Asean summit next month. It will also expose yet another dimension of Asean's structural impotence and operational inefficacy, notwithstanding the problematic Asean Charter. The Thai-Cambodian stand-off will thus have to be resolved bilaterally. Nationalist sentiments that verge on xenophobia, chauvinism and irredentism must be kept at bay.

At home, the Preah Vihear imbroglio is likely to be played for domestic gains. The PAD protests in Si Sa Ket were under the nose of the 2nd Infantry Division, whose units entered service in the dispersal and suppression of the red-shirted riots in Bangkok on April 13. That these units were uninvolved in preventing the yellows to go so far, suggests the PAD can simply get away with more than their arch-nemesis. They seem to have an enigmatic entitlement about them, an aura and attitude that they can always get their way.

The political capital from the PAD's Preah Vihear wrath may also be parlayed to determine domestic outcomes. With its locomotives all revved up and ready to rumble, the PAD can now turn to its domestic preferences. It can now bring even more pressure to bear on the Abhisit government to go its way, particularly on the appointment of the new police chief, concurrently stirring a royalist-nationalist tide for its New Politics Party ahead of the next polls.

The writer is Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University.

Bangkok Post
Writer: Thitinan Pongsudhirak
Published: 23/09/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Tuesday he was ready to return to Thailand to be prime minister if it is the people's wish for him to solve the country's problems. He also called for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve the House of Representatives to return power to the people.

Mr Thaksin said this through a video link to the seminar "Three years after the Sept 19 coup" organised by the 111 Thai Rak Thai Foundation. The foundation was set up by the 111 former executives of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai.

"Many people ask whether I want to return to be prime minister. If it is the people's wish, I would be ready to do so," said Mr Thaksin, adding he was grateful to the red shirts who had done considerably for him.

The former prime minister said before the Sept 19 coup he intended to withdraw from politics after completing his term in 2009. He said he planned to hold a big party for relatives and friends on July 26 this year to celebrate his birthday and to write a resignation letter at Government House, but the coup destroyed his plan.

He said the coup has created a few new rich who hold the rank of general. The people have got the dictatorial 2007 constitution and weak politics; the country has been indebted and more divided; the military has become stronger but the police weaker; the judicial system has apparently applied double standards, said Mr Thaksin.

Yongyuth Wichaidit, the Puea Thai leader, said the Sept 19 coup has caused the severest damage to the country. The people are living in the hope to see Mr Thaksin return, he added.


Writer: BangkokPost.com
Published: 22/09/2009 at 06:13 PM

The nationalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) failed to achieve any goals over the past weekend as its actions led to bloodshed among protesters and villagers in northeastern Si Sa Ket province.

At least five people on both sides were injured in the clash in Ban Phumsarol on Saturday. The bloody incident ended with a number of lawsuits filed by protesters, villagers and government officials against each other for criminal assault.

The PAD, led by activist Veera Somkwamkid, rallied near the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear to demand the Cambodian community move out from the disputed area claimed by Thailand and Cambodia.

Initially, the protesters threatened to remove the Cambodian community by themselves if the Thai government took no action.

The disputed area of 4.6 square kilometres adjacent to the Preah Vihear has been at the core of the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia for a long time and has yet to be demarcated.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding after 2000 to prohibit both sides from changing the status quo in the area. Cambodia has built a community, a Buddhist temple and security outposts in the disputed area, prompting diplomatic protests from Thai Foreign Ministry since 2004.

The PAD realised Thailand could lose sovereignty over the territory - shortly after making some bruising nationalist accusations against Samak Sundaravej's government.

The PAD accused Samak and his foreign minister Noppadon Pattama of losing the territory to Cambodia when his government signed a joint communique supporting Phnom Penh's listing of the Hindu temple as a world heritage site.

Finally, the World Heritage Committee granted the inscription to the Preah Vihear as proposed. The PAD launched a protest at the site and clashed with local residents in July last year, but failed to achieve anything - only sour relations between Thailand and Cambodia .

This year, its ally Democrat Party is in the power, but still the Preah Vihear maintains its world heritage status, and the Cambodian community and the Buddhist temple remain.

The PAD demanded the government under Abhisit Vejjajiva, who once shared the same dream, to kick Cambodia out of the area. However, the government realised the best solution was negotiation through diplomatic channels.

Many leaders of the PAD admitted demands to remove the Cambodian community by force are unrealistic and could- rather than solve the problem - create more troubles. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, a close associate of the PAD, explained many times he was working to solve the problem with Cambodia through the joint boundary committee. Diplomacy might take time, but it could guarantee Thailand not losing anything.

However the PAD has no unity. There are numerous rival factions, many competing for good positions in the New Politics Party. To be more precise, those playing around the Preah Vihear temple merely want to remind senior people in the PAD they have the potential to create trouble for those in power, so reward them with good positions in the new party, including some crucial roles.

Up to now, the Preah Vihear crusade benefits nobody as five leaders of the PAD did not approve the performance. The protest on Saturday and Sunday caused unnecessary damage and failed to remove the Cambodian community from the disputed area. It is too expensive to use blood to pave the way for reading a few statements at Pha Mor Ee Daeng, a cliff next to Phrea Vihear.

It also damaged legitimacy of the PAD, since the villagers who opposed the protest are normal people who cannot tolerate disturbance to their lives. Villagers in Ban Phumsarol are not manipulated by any political forces. They simply want the Preah Vihear to be open, enabling them to earn income from tourism and have routes to their farms.

Veera and all Preah Vihear crusaders need to answer questions from Veerayuth Duangkaeow, Sao Thong Chai sub-district chief. He asked: "What have you done for Ban Phumsarol? And what did you get from driving from elsewhere to read your statements on the cliff? And have you got the Preah Vihear back?"

The National Anti Corruption Commission is expected to complete its deliberation on the Preah Vihear impeachment case involving the Samak Sundaravej government by next Tuesday, NACC member Klanarong Chintik said yesterday.

The NACC had already started hearing the case but it would take a week to complete since the proceedings had to cover the individual involvement of each accused, Klanarong said.

"Today's deliberation has covered 12 of 44 accused ministers and officials and the NACC should be able to rule on the case by September 29," he said.

At the heart of the legal wrangling is whether the then prime minister Samak and his ministers intentionally bypassed Parliament when drafting the Cambodian-Thai memorandum of understanding related to Preah Vihear Temple dispute.

Under Article 190 of the Constitution, the government is obligated to seek approval from parliament on the framework to negotiate an international agreement when it has ramifications in regard to borders.

Based on the Constitution Court ruling last year, the government failed to comply with Article 190.

Klanarong said the NACC had to determine the involvement of each accused in order to apportion the wrongdoing involved by each of the accused.

After reviewing the wrongdoing committed by each, the next step was for the NACC to name those targetted for impeachment and those who will face criminal prosecution.

He denied speculation that the NACC might target former foreign minister Noppadon Patama to shoulder the blame alone, saying the deliberation had not even reach halfway to form any conclusion.