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Cambodian high ranking officials on Friday rejected claims from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in Thailand that Thailand lost 4.6 square-kilometers to Cambodia. The Cambodian officials stressed that such a stance is not the official line of the Thai Government.“This claim is not Bangkok’s government’s stance and [they are] willing to solve with the Cambodian Government,” Koy Kuong, a spokesman of the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, told DAP News Cambodia on Friday.
“This protest is from only Thai nationalism group to claim Cambodia invaded Thailand,” Koy Kuong confirmed. “If the two governments have not solved the problems yet, they cannot claim it is the sovereignty belonging to Thailand.”
The Thais “often claim to be encroached upon and envied by Cambodia, but they base [claims] only on their own map, Koy Kuong added.
Va Kimhong, president of the Cambodian Border Committee could not be reached for comment on Friday. “Thailand should not say that they lost around 4.6 square kilometers of their land in accordance with an international ruling of June 15, 2009,” he has previously told DAP News Cambodia.

“Thailand cannot say as the area and the surroundings of the area do not belong to Cambodia. When they said they lost land, it is not based in reality or evidence.”
Va Kimhong showed disappointment over Thailand’s slow progress in fulfilling vows to demarcate the border.
The People’s Alliance for Democ- racy networks from 16 southern provinces held a public announcement urging the Government to investigate Thailand’s rights to 4.6 square kilometers in the vicinity of the Preah Vihear Temple, in order to prevent the country from losing the disputed land, according to Thai-Asean News Network on Friday.
PAD coordinator for southern networks, Soonthorn Rakrong, made an address on behalf of the PAD networks from the South, acknowledging their support of a group led by Weera Somkwamkid in investigating a so-called “disputed” 4.6 square-kilometer area along the Thai and Cambodia border.
The area is close to Cambodia’s Preah Vihear Temple.
“The group claims that evidence indicates that Thailand has obviously lost its ownership over the disputed area to Cambodia and that the Thai government remains inactive and appears to be supporting Cambodia’s actions,” the agency added.
The PAD has apparently called for the Thai Government to preserve the country’s sovereignty and revoke any contracts or agreements made between the two countries.
The PAD networks said that if the government still remained inactive about the issue, they would join forces with the public sector to reclaim the nation’s sovereignty. They will hold a gathering on September 9 in Nakhon Srithammarat province to “put a concrete plan into action.”
ASTV on August 18 broadcast a live talk show with Thai nationalists, two Thai academics and Prince Vanvichear Charonnoun. Those present wrongly insisted that over 4.6 square kilometers around Cambodia’s Preah Vihear Temple and nearby Danngrek Mountains had been lost to Cambodia.
Some attacked Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Patama, who they said ignored Thai sovereignty.
A Thai academic told the talk show that “The matter could not be solved as the name of Preah Vihear was not agreed jointly.”
Following Thai soldiers encroach- ment into Cambodian sovereignty in July 2008, Thailand asked Cambodia to also call the temple Phra Viharn—the Thai name for the ancient Cambodian sanctuary—in official documents but Cambodia refused.
Prince Vanvichear Charonnoun said that, “After the two countries agreement could not be solved, a compromise appeared asking to call this area as Phoumakdeu and Chorngtathoa as this area Cambodia strongly need to control. If Cambodia could not control this area, Cambodia could not request Preah Vihear Temple to be inscribed as a World Heritage Site.”
“We could believe and depended on Thai Foreign Ministry officials as they ignored and not focused on the nation’s benefits,” the prince added.
The Cambodian Government has often repeated its stance of not encro- aching upon Thai territory “even one millimeter,” though Cambodia has vowed to stand fast to protect its land area at Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple and it environs.
However, Thai assembly recently approved reporters of The Thai Boundary Committee over demarcation with Cambodia at Cambodia’s Preah Vihear.

The Cambodia-Thai border dispute looks like it could soon be resolved and return to the situation before July 15, 2008, as the Thai Parliament on Wednesday gave the nod to Cambodia-Thai border demarcation.
The Thai Parliament on Wednesday approved reports from the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Border Commission (JBC), a move that essentially gives the go-ahead to boundary demarcation at a disputed area around Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple, according to The Nation newspaper.
the Cambodian side of the JBC, on Wednesday told DAP News Cambodia he welcomed for the Thai approval. he said the move would help reduce tension around the Khmer temple of Preah Vihear, noting that the border demarcation in the area has stalled since 2006.
“We welcome the information that Thai parliament approved to demarcate Cambodia-Thai boundary,” said Koy Kuong. “It shows a positive sign for the two nation’s cooperation.”
The JBC met in November last year, and in February and April this year to set a framework for border demarcation and provisional arrangement at what the Thais claim is a “disputed area” near Cambodia’s ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Thailand and Cambodia have long been at loggerheads over areas adjacent to the temple since last year. The JBC was asked to set a provisional arrangement to jointly run the disputed area while the demarcation takes place.
The Cambodia-Thai borer standoff started on July 15, 2008 after the temple was declared a Cambodian UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some Thais mistakenly view the temple as Thai propery.
The tensions have has been eased following the recent exchange of official trips by high ranking officials. As the last a two-day official visit of supreme commander of Thai Royal army chief to Cambodia in August 24, 2009 was to joint agreed with Cambodian side’s development at the two nation borders.
Both the International Court and World Heritage Committee have agreed that Preah Vihear Temple is Cambodian territory, UNESCO inscribing the ancient sanctuary as a World Heritage Site. According to legal documents, Thailand has no right to illegally invade Cambodian land.

Source: By dap-news
Saturday, 05 September 2009