Cambodia demands compensation from Thailand for losses caused by Thai troops in Preah Vihear

PHNOM PENH, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian government presents its complaints to Thailand on Monday, demanding compensation for the damage and losses caused by Thai troops' attack early April on its market located in front of the Temple of Preah Vihear.
"The attack with heavy weapons by Thai troops against Cambodian territory in the area close to the Temple of Preah Vihear on April 3 caused numerous damages and set a blaze the Cambodian market located in front of the temple," a note from Cambodian foreign ministry to Thailand foreign ministry said.

"A total number of 264 stands within this market were completely destroyed, causing great hardship and misery to 319 Cambodian families who have lost their livelihood," it said, adding that "the material loss incurred on these families amounts to 2,150,500 U.S. dollars."

"The Royal Government of Cambodia demands that the Royal Thai Government take full responsibility for these damages caused by Thai soldiers and to appropriately compensate the above losses," the ministry statement said.

The Preah Vihear temple became a World Heritage Site of UNESCO in July 2008. Although the International Court in Hague decided in 1962 that the temple and its surrounding area should belong to Cambodia, Thailand has been claiming its archeological value and sovereignty.

Both troops built up within the border area since July 2008, and brief military encounters in October 2008 and April 2009 have sparked concern of possible war between these two countries. Gunfire exchange during the armed clashes also led to bullet pits and other slight wound of the temple.

Preah Vihear villagers submit compensation claims to Thai embassy

Cambodian villagers sifting through the wreckage of their homes.

Reported by Khmerization

Cambodian villagers, whose homes were destroyed by Thai shells during armed clashes on 3rd April, through the Khmer Civilisation Foundation, had submitted their compensation claims to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, reports everyday.com.
Mr. Moeung Son, chairman of Khmer Civilisation Foundation, told reporters that he had submitted the compensation claims to the embassy on 23rd April for 261 families whose homes were destroyed by the Thai shells. He said: "If Thailand compensate them, our government does not need to spend money to help the victims, this is the first point. The second point is, what we want to see is our dignity and accountability of the Thai government in the respect of the sovereignty and the respect of human rights of a neighbouring country."

Mr. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said that the Cambodian government also in the process of preparing the documents to evaluate the damages to villagers' properties caused by the Thai soldiers.

Preah Vihear villagers submit compensation claims to Thai embassy

Cambodian villagers sifting through the wreckage of their homes.

Reported by Khmerization

Cambodian villagers, whose homes were destroyed by Thai shells during armed clashes on 3rd April, through the Khmer Civilisation Foundation, had submitted their compensation claims to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, reports everyday.com.
Mr. Moeung Son, chairman of Khmer Civilisation Foundation, told reporters that he had submitted the compensation claims to the embassy on 23rd April for 261 families whose homes were destroyed by the Thai shells. He said: "If Thailand compensate them, our government does not need to spend money to help the victims, this is the first point. The second point is, what we want to see is our dignity and accountability of the Thai government in the respect of the sovereignty and the respect of human rights of a neighbouring country."

Mr. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said that the Cambodian government also in the process of preparing the documents to evaluate the damages to villagers' properties caused by the Thai soldiers.

Preah Vihear damage significant

Heritage Police Chief Om Phirum examines damage to part of Preah Vihear temple he says was caused by last week's fighting. (Photo by: Thet Sambath)

Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Written by Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

Preah Vihear

Machine-gun fire left deep holes and chips in World Heritage site; complaint lodged with UNESCO.

AN INVESTIGATION by Heritage Police at Preah Vihear temple suggests that the damage sustained during Friday's fighting was more serious but less widespread, than that resulting from an outbreak of violence last October.
"We have found 66 stones at the temple that were damaged by the Thai soldiers' shooting," said Colonel Om Phirum, the chief of the Heritage Police, in an interview with the Post Monday. "They were damaged by the bullets of machine guns."

During fighting last October, debris from M79 grenades damaged the temple in 120 places, Om Phirum said, though he noted that the bullets from machine guns during the most recent clashes inflicted damage that was more severe, creating holes that were between 1 and 10 centimetres wide and 1 or 2 centimetres deep.

Om Phirum criticised Thai soldiers for shooting the temple, saying, "They do not respect world heritage, and they disdain the world."

The investigation was conducted on Sunday and Monday. Om Phirum said the Heritage Police submitted a report on damage to the temple to the Council of Ministers and a complaint to the UN cultural agency, which listed the temple as a World Heritage site last July. He said the Heritage Police sent a similar complaint to UNESCO following the outbreak of violence last October, which he said prompted the body to launch its own investigation into the damage.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An sent a letter Friday to UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura asking him to intervene. Calls and emails to UNESCO officials in Phnom Penh and Bangkok went unanswered Tuesday.

Preah Vihear damage significant

Heritage Police Chief Om Phirum examines damage to part of Preah Vihear temple he says was caused by last week's fighting. (Photo by: Thet Sambath)

Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Written by Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

Preah Vihear

Machine-gun fire left deep holes and chips in World Heritage site; complaint lodged with UNESCO.

AN INVESTIGATION by Heritage Police at Preah Vihear temple suggests that the damage sustained during Friday's fighting was more serious but less widespread, than that resulting from an outbreak of violence last October.
"We have found 66 stones at the temple that were damaged by the Thai soldiers' shooting," said Colonel Om Phirum, the chief of the Heritage Police, in an interview with the Post Monday. "They were damaged by the bullets of machine guns."

During fighting last October, debris from M79 grenades damaged the temple in 120 places, Om Phirum said, though he noted that the bullets from machine guns during the most recent clashes inflicted damage that was more severe, creating holes that were between 1 and 10 centimetres wide and 1 or 2 centimetres deep.

Om Phirum criticised Thai soldiers for shooting the temple, saying, "They do not respect world heritage, and they disdain the world."

The investigation was conducted on Sunday and Monday. Om Phirum said the Heritage Police submitted a report on damage to the temple to the Council of Ministers and a complaint to the UN cultural agency, which listed the temple as a World Heritage site last July. He said the Heritage Police sent a similar complaint to UNESCO following the outbreak of violence last October, which he said prompted the body to launch its own investigation into the damage.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An sent a letter Friday to UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura asking him to intervene. Calls and emails to UNESCO officials in Phnom Penh and Bangkok went unanswered Tuesday.

Preah Vihear: two days of Cambodian-Thai talks, but no agreement over name

Preah Vihear or Phra Viharn? After a two-day meeting of the Joint Border Committee of Cambodia and Thailand (JBC) on April 6th and 7th, Cambodians and Thais did not manage to reach an agreement over that question, which, according to diplomats from both Kingdoms, is but the last stumbling block between Cambodia and Thailand with a view to solve peacefully a conflict which was revived due to an exchange of gunfire along the border they share.At the end of the second day of talks which finished at 7pm at the newly-inaugurated Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Var Kim Hong, the co-chairman of the Cambodian side of the Committee and his Thai counterpart Vasin Teeravechyan presented the result of the last three rounds of talks meant to put an end to the border dispute which started dividing both countries in July 2008 and went through a violent twist on Friday April 3rd as Thai and Cambodian soldiers faced each other near the Khmer temple of Preah Vihear.

Above all, these two days of negotiations allowed the validation of documents prepared during the first meeting: thus, the agreement reached in November 2008 at the special meeting in Siem Reap and the agreement obtained in Bangkok in February 2009 were revised and signed together with texts about the process of border delimitation, defined at the beginning of this week.

“This will allow us to start working”, particularly on the installation of border markers, Var Kim Hong declared at the end of the second day of the meeting. While Vasin Teeravechyan has not agreed to put forward any dates for the launching of those operations as he preferred talking about a “step by step” process, the Cambodian co-chairman declared for his part that a first group in charge of delimitations would be operational as from the month of May onwards and would be planting “posts at the gate of Chorm Sragnam (Oddar Meanchey), i.e. post number 1, all the way to the Ta Moane temple, i.e. post number 23”. In Zone number 6, where the Preah Vihear temple is located, “technical aspects still have to be solved”, the Cambodian co-chairman estimated. According to him, works for measurements and demining will start next July “at the latest”.

The content of these agreements, however, was not made public and one question is still unanswered and might continue to block progress in the delimitation works: that of the name of the temple, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since July 7th and which both parties are fighting over: Preah Vihear for Cambodians or Phra Viharn for Thais. “We suggested that the official name of Preah Vihear appear in bilateral documents, with a mention between brackets ‘Phra Viharn in Thai’. But the proposition has not yet been accepted by Thailand”, Var Kim Hong explained. He pointed out the fact that once an agreement is reached on that matter, all obstacles to a peaceful settlement will be gone.

For the Thai side, the fact that the Khmer name of Preah Vihear was the one chosen by UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee, which listed the temple, is not a good enough reason for Thailand to say no to the name of Phra Viharn. “This is just about the UNESCO and not about the Border Committee”, Vasin Teeravechyan declared briefly.

Questioned about the recent deployment of military forces along the border with Cambodia, the Thai co-chairman said he was “not aware” of it. On the Cambodian side, once again, there seemed to be more will to talk about the topic. Preap Tann, the governor for the Preah Vihear province and member of the Joint Border Committee of Cambodia and Thailand asserted that Thai military forces were currently deployed “about a kilometre away from the border”, thus confirming the deployment of additional military Thai troops and particularly, “of rocket launchers in front of the Preah Vihear temple”.

For Preah Vihear governor Preap Tann, there is nothing abnormal concerning the deployment of armed forces on both sides, even though negotiations are ongoing: “We have a two-sided situation here: on the one hand, Cambodia uses diplomacy, and on the other hand, we have to protect our territory”.

Cambodian spokesperson Phay Siphan also announced that a report was sent to the UNESCO to inform the organisation of the damage caused by Thai gunfire on the temple on April 3rd. “We are members of the UNESCO and our duty is to protect and preserve world heritage”, he said, hoping that a meeting would soon be called up by the UN organisation to mention those problems.

UNESCO director-general Koïchiro Matsuura has for that matter expressed his “deep concern” upon hearing about the revival of tensions between Thai and Cambodian soldiers near the Preah Vihear temple, “a masterpiece in Khmer architecture”, and “the exceptional and universal worth of which [...] transcends national borders”.

On Tuesday April 7th, Moeung Sonn, the president of the Khmer Civilisation Foundation (KCF) requested that Thailand pay compensation to the Cambodian victims of the April 3rd military coup which caused important damage on the Cambodian market of Prasat where about a hundred sheds went up in smoke. For Phay Siphan, the government “could think about” the request but he added that it would depend on the UNESCO to mention that point, since it concerns a protected area.

The date for the next meeting between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Cambodia, which will mark the next step in the negotiation process, has not been set yet.

Preah Vihear: two days of Cambodian-Thai talks, but no agreement over name

Preah Vihear or Phra Viharn? After a two-day meeting of the Joint Border Committee of Cambodia and Thailand (JBC) on April 6th and 7th, Cambodians and Thais did not manage to reach an agreement over that question, which, according to diplomats from both Kingdoms, is but the last stumbling block between Cambodia and Thailand with a view to solve peacefully a conflict which was revived due to an exchange of gunfire along the border they share.At the end of the second day of talks which finished at 7pm at the newly-inaugurated Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Var Kim Hong, the co-chairman of the Cambodian side of the Committee and his Thai counterpart Vasin Teeravechyan presented the result of the last three rounds of talks meant to put an end to the border dispute which started dividing both countries in July 2008 and went through a violent twist on Friday April 3rd as Thai and Cambodian soldiers faced each other near the Khmer temple of Preah Vihear.

Above all, these two days of negotiations allowed the validation of documents prepared during the first meeting: thus, the agreement reached in November 2008 at the special meeting in Siem Reap and the agreement obtained in Bangkok in February 2009 were revised and signed together with texts about the process of border delimitation, defined at the beginning of this week.

“This will allow us to start working”, particularly on the installation of border markers, Var Kim Hong declared at the end of the second day of the meeting. While Vasin Teeravechyan has not agreed to put forward any dates for the launching of those operations as he preferred talking about a “step by step” process, the Cambodian co-chairman declared for his part that a first group in charge of delimitations would be operational as from the month of May onwards and would be planting “posts at the gate of Chorm Sragnam (Oddar Meanchey), i.e. post number 1, all the way to the Ta Moane temple, i.e. post number 23”. In Zone number 6, where the Preah Vihear temple is located, “technical aspects still have to be solved”, the Cambodian co-chairman estimated. According to him, works for measurements and demining will start next July “at the latest”.

The content of these agreements, however, was not made public and one question is still unanswered and might continue to block progress in the delimitation works: that of the name of the temple, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since July 7th and which both parties are fighting over: Preah Vihear for Cambodians or Phra Viharn for Thais. “We suggested that the official name of Preah Vihear appear in bilateral documents, with a mention between brackets ‘Phra Viharn in Thai’. But the proposition has not yet been accepted by Thailand”, Var Kim Hong explained. He pointed out the fact that once an agreement is reached on that matter, all obstacles to a peaceful settlement will be gone.

For the Thai side, the fact that the Khmer name of Preah Vihear was the one chosen by UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee, which listed the temple, is not a good enough reason for Thailand to say no to the name of Phra Viharn. “This is just about the UNESCO and not about the Border Committee”, Vasin Teeravechyan declared briefly.

Questioned about the recent deployment of military forces along the border with Cambodia, the Thai co-chairman said he was “not aware” of it. On the Cambodian side, once again, there seemed to be more will to talk about the topic. Preap Tann, the governor for the Preah Vihear province and member of the Joint Border Committee of Cambodia and Thailand asserted that Thai military forces were currently deployed “about a kilometre away from the border”, thus confirming the deployment of additional military Thai troops and particularly, “of rocket launchers in front of the Preah Vihear temple”.

For Preah Vihear governor Preap Tann, there is nothing abnormal concerning the deployment of armed forces on both sides, even though negotiations are ongoing: “We have a two-sided situation here: on the one hand, Cambodia uses diplomacy, and on the other hand, we have to protect our territory”.

Cambodian spokesperson Phay Siphan also announced that a report was sent to the UNESCO to inform the organisation of the damage caused by Thai gunfire on the temple on April 3rd. “We are members of the UNESCO and our duty is to protect and preserve world heritage”, he said, hoping that a meeting would soon be called up by the UN organisation to mention those problems.

UNESCO director-general Koïchiro Matsuura has for that matter expressed his “deep concern” upon hearing about the revival of tensions between Thai and Cambodian soldiers near the Preah Vihear temple, “a masterpiece in Khmer architecture”, and “the exceptional and universal worth of which [...] transcends national borders”.

On Tuesday April 7th, Moeung Sonn, the president of the Khmer Civilisation Foundation (KCF) requested that Thailand pay compensation to the Cambodian victims of the April 3rd military coup which caused important damage on the Cambodian market of Prasat where about a hundred sheds went up in smoke. For Phay Siphan, the government “could think about” the request but he added that it would depend on the UNESCO to mention that point, since it concerns a protected area.

The date for the next meeting between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Cambodia, which will mark the next step in the negotiation process, has not been set yet.

Demarcation of border set for May: govt

Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Written by Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

AFTER two days of talks, the Thai-Cambodian Joint Border Commission (JBC) announced a new agreement to plant markers along the 805-km shared border in May in a move they say is independent of a recent eruption of fighting in Preah Vihear.

"Talking is talking, and fighting is fighting. It is separate," Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, told reporters during the talks.

He added, however, that following Friday's firefight, officials believed Thailand was moblising troops along the border, including tanks.

Cambodia's top border negotiator, Var Kimhong, said after the border talks finished late Tuesday that the technical work of the border commission would start in May, with the commission aiming to demarcate and post markers from Choam Srangam to Ta Moan temple, both of which are located in Oddar Meanchey province.

"We will not drag this out, and we have arranged for a demining operation to clear the area before the [demarcation] teams move through,"
Var Kimhong said in a press conference after the talks wrapped up.

He added that a new working group would be posting markers in "priority areas" around the Preah Vihear temple, beginning in July.

The two-day meeting, which began Monday in Phnom Penh, was part of a process launched after an earlier clash in October in which four soldiers were killed. The last meeting of the Joint Commission, in Thailand, ended in February with the two neighbours failing to reach agreement on any of the key points.

"The meeting for these two days has been a success," said Vasin Teeravechyan, Thailand's co-chairman of the JBC. "We have started posting the markers, but more work needs to be done." He added that the Thai parliament will debate the issue soon and that foreign ministers from the two countries would meet to hammer out an agreement to allow solders currently stationed at Keo Sekha Kirisvara Pagoda in Preah Vihear to be withdrawn.

Demarcation of border set for May: govt

Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Written by Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

AFTER two days of talks, the Thai-Cambodian Joint Border Commission (JBC) announced a new agreement to plant markers along the 805-km shared border in May in a move they say is independent of a recent eruption of fighting in Preah Vihear.

"Talking is talking, and fighting is fighting. It is separate," Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, told reporters during the talks.

He added, however, that following Friday's firefight, officials believed Thailand was moblising troops along the border, including tanks.

Cambodia's top border negotiator, Var Kimhong, said after the border talks finished late Tuesday that the technical work of the border commission would start in May, with the commission aiming to demarcate and post markers from Choam Srangam to Ta Moan temple, both of which are located in Oddar Meanchey province.

"We will not drag this out, and we have arranged for a demining operation to clear the area before the [demarcation] teams move through,"
Var Kimhong said in a press conference after the talks wrapped up.

He added that a new working group would be posting markers in "priority areas" around the Preah Vihear temple, beginning in July.

The two-day meeting, which began Monday in Phnom Penh, was part of a process launched after an earlier clash in October in which four soldiers were killed. The last meeting of the Joint Commission, in Thailand, ended in February with the two neighbours failing to reach agreement on any of the key points.

"The meeting for these two days has been a success," said Vasin Teeravechyan, Thailand's co-chairman of the JBC. "We have started posting the markers, but more work needs to be done." He added that the Thai parliament will debate the issue soon and that foreign ministers from the two countries would meet to hammer out an agreement to allow solders currently stationed at Keo Sekha Kirisvara Pagoda in Preah Vihear to be withdrawn.

Thai and Cambodia JBC has progress on border disputes [... but no agreements were made]

April 8, 2009
The Nation

The Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) made a significant progress in the latest meeting on boundary settlement after border skirmish last week.
The meeting between April 6-7 in Phnom Penh was jointly chaired by Vasin Teeravechyan, advisor to the Foreign Ministry and his Cambodian counterpart Var Kim Hong.

An official said the meeting was able to settle the difference on the title of security unit in the disputed area which was adjacent to Preah Vihear temple.

They agreed to name it as "Temporary Military Monitoring Groups", an official said.

However, it remained no solution on the appellation of the Hindu temple on the cliff at the border of the two countries whether to call it Preah Vihear or Phra Viharn.

Despite of that, the JBC managed to sign three agreed minutes pending since the first special meeting in November in Siem Reap.

The agreed minutes of the JBC meeting in November, February and the latest meeting in April are important diplomatic documents required by internal legal procedure before the boundary demarcation to get started.

The Thai parliament needed to approve the documents before allocating budget for the demarcation and provisional arrangement at the area.

Border dispute at the area near Preah Vihear temple since last year sparked two clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops in October and last week which killed combined eight soldiers and injured nearly two dozens others.

The border conflict has barred tourists from visiting the site which was listed as a world heritage since July last year.

Thai and Cambodia JBC has progress on border disputes [... but no agreements were made]

April 8, 2009
The Nation

The Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) made a significant progress in the latest meeting on boundary settlement after border skirmish last week.
The meeting between April 6-7 in Phnom Penh was jointly chaired by Vasin Teeravechyan, advisor to the Foreign Ministry and his Cambodian counterpart Var Kim Hong.

An official said the meeting was able to settle the difference on the title of security unit in the disputed area which was adjacent to Preah Vihear temple.

They agreed to name it as "Temporary Military Monitoring Groups", an official said.

However, it remained no solution on the appellation of the Hindu temple on the cliff at the border of the two countries whether to call it Preah Vihear or Phra Viharn.

Despite of that, the JBC managed to sign three agreed minutes pending since the first special meeting in November in Siem Reap.

The agreed minutes of the JBC meeting in November, February and the latest meeting in April are important diplomatic documents required by internal legal procedure before the boundary demarcation to get started.

The Thai parliament needed to approve the documents before allocating budget for the demarcation and provisional arrangement at the area.

Border dispute at the area near Preah Vihear temple since last year sparked two clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops in October and last week which killed combined eight soldiers and injured nearly two dozens others.

The border conflict has barred tourists from visiting the site which was listed as a world heritage since July last year.

Thai, Cambodian leaders to meet after new battles

April 8, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodian and Thai negotiators have wrapped up two days of talks aimed at resolving a border dispute which last week flared into deadly gunbattles. They say they have made progress but there appears to be little substantive agreement between the two sides.

Three Thai troops were killed following clashes on Friday over disputed land around the ancient Preah Vihear temple - the deadliest fighting for six months. The World Court gave ownership of the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but tensions flared last July when it was awarded UN World Heritage status.

The latest skirmish comes just days before the countries' leaders meet face to face at the ASEAN summit in Thailand.

Presenter: Joanna McCarthy
Speaker: Professor David Chandler, research fellow in Cambodian history, Monash Asia Institute

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

McCARTHY: Professor Chandler, is it any surprise to you that this dispute has flared into violence once again?

CHANDLER: Oh not really, because there are a lot of trigger happy soldiers on both sides who feel that they are protecting their national heritage. The Thais feel this temple really belongs to them and the Cambodians think the temple belongs to them and they are not being restrained by their governments to any great extent, I don't think. And also as Ms Percy was saying earlier, that Thailand is a period of considerable instability at the moment. That means that probably people are not paying as much attention to this as they should at the central level.

McCARTHY: Well, these latest talks of course are part of the process that was started after last October's clashes, to try and demarcate the border once and for all, but is there the political will on both sides to resolve this issue?

CHANDLER: It doesn't seem like it, I mean it seems to me if you have political will on both sides, you could resolve it quite quickly. It's not that crucial an issue. But of course matters of national pride are very hard to pin, to keep under control, and this is a matter of national pride on both sides.

McCARTHY: There are key issues that remain unresolved here. Even the official spelling of the temple's name is in dispute. In your view, what are the major obstacles to an agreement?

CHANDLER: Well, I think the major obstacles are the fact that the Thais really don't accept the 1962 ruling that put the temple in Cambodian hands and if the temple is in Cambodian hands, then this World Heritage site thing is another sort of slap in the face for the Thais, who feel that this temple and this whole area belongs to them and would be a prosperous tourist site. I have visited the temple myself, it is very beautiful and there is a tension there between the two countries. I don't see that this is really very soluble, frankly.

McCARTHY: Well, this latest skirmish comes just days before the countries' two leaders are due to meet face-to-face at the ASEAN summit in Thailand. In the longer term, what's it going to mean for the relationship between the two countries?

CHANDLER: I have a feeling the two leaders might be able to iron something out, because they don't want to have this thing go on forever, either of them. Both of them are quite sensible in many ways on issues like this. So it is not in their interest for this thing to drag on, but again I am not sure whose going to have to blink first, if you like. I don't think they are going to go to the meeting blaming each other, but let's just see what happens.

Thai, Cambodian leaders to meet after new battles

April 8, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodian and Thai negotiators have wrapped up two days of talks aimed at resolving a border dispute which last week flared into deadly gunbattles. They say they have made progress but there appears to be little substantive agreement between the two sides.

Three Thai troops were killed following clashes on Friday over disputed land around the ancient Preah Vihear temple - the deadliest fighting for six months. The World Court gave ownership of the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but tensions flared last July when it was awarded UN World Heritage status.

The latest skirmish comes just days before the countries' leaders meet face to face at the ASEAN summit in Thailand.

Presenter: Joanna McCarthy
Speaker: Professor David Chandler, research fellow in Cambodian history, Monash Asia Institute

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

McCARTHY: Professor Chandler, is it any surprise to you that this dispute has flared into violence once again?

CHANDLER: Oh not really, because there are a lot of trigger happy soldiers on both sides who feel that they are protecting their national heritage. The Thais feel this temple really belongs to them and the Cambodians think the temple belongs to them and they are not being restrained by their governments to any great extent, I don't think. And also as Ms Percy was saying earlier, that Thailand is a period of considerable instability at the moment. That means that probably people are not paying as much attention to this as they should at the central level.

McCARTHY: Well, these latest talks of course are part of the process that was started after last October's clashes, to try and demarcate the border once and for all, but is there the political will on both sides to resolve this issue?

CHANDLER: It doesn't seem like it, I mean it seems to me if you have political will on both sides, you could resolve it quite quickly. It's not that crucial an issue. But of course matters of national pride are very hard to pin, to keep under control, and this is a matter of national pride on both sides.

McCARTHY: There are key issues that remain unresolved here. Even the official spelling of the temple's name is in dispute. In your view, what are the major obstacles to an agreement?

CHANDLER: Well, I think the major obstacles are the fact that the Thais really don't accept the 1962 ruling that put the temple in Cambodian hands and if the temple is in Cambodian hands, then this World Heritage site thing is another sort of slap in the face for the Thais, who feel that this temple and this whole area belongs to them and would be a prosperous tourist site. I have visited the temple myself, it is very beautiful and there is a tension there between the two countries. I don't see that this is really very soluble, frankly.

McCARTHY: Well, this latest skirmish comes just days before the countries' two leaders are due to meet face-to-face at the ASEAN summit in Thailand. In the longer term, what's it going to mean for the relationship between the two countries?

CHANDLER: I have a feeling the two leaders might be able to iron something out, because they don't want to have this thing go on forever, either of them. Both of them are quite sensible in many ways on issues like this. So it is not in their interest for this thing to drag on, but again I am not sure whose going to have to blink first, if you like. I don't think they are going to go to the meeting blaming each other, but let's just see what happens.

Thailand analysis: 'land of smiles' becomes land of lies

Thailand, sad to say, is in a terrible mess. With the very future of the monarchy at risk the stakes could not be higher. The country is deeply polarised with goodwill, moral authority and the truth itself in desperately short supply. Thailand could be heading for a very hard landing.

05 Apr 2009
By Thomas Bell in Bangkok
The Telegraph (UK)

One side is led by Thaksin Shinawatra. The former telecoms billionaire and deposed prime minister is a dubious champion of democracy. During his six years in power Mr Thaksin launched a "war on drugs" in which up to 2,000 alleged dealers were summarily executed by the police.
In government he was dogged by corruption allegations, apparently unable to distinguish his own business interests from those of the country. He was no friend of the free media, although censorship is worse now than it was in Thaksin's day.

On the other side is... who? Mr Thaksin has many vehement enemies among the middle and upper classes. It is difficult to tell how many because in Thailand opinion pollsters never ask the only question that really counts – who would you vote for?

They particularly object to Thaksin's alleged corruption and his government's challenge to Thailand's rigid social hierarchy. Qualms over the deadly "war on drugs", on the other hand, are mostly limited to hand-wringing foreign liberals.

These well-healed opponents control most major institutions. They also claim they are acting to "protect the king", and this is where it gets difficult.

Strict laws make any criticism of the monarchy punishable with up to 12 years in jail – in practice almost any discussion of the monarchy is prohibited. Last week a man, the breadwinner for his family, was jailed for 10 years for posting "insulting" pictures of the royal family online.

King Bhumibol, 81, is "above politics" and he is widely and sincerely loved. Many Thais credit him with steering their country's modern development and intervening to solve periodic crises. The country's official doctrine of "sufficiency economics" is the king's own invention.

When politicians claim to act in the king's name they often accuse their opponents of disloyalty, potentially punishable by 12 years in jail. That can make politics very hard to talk about. Bhumibol, for his part, has been mostly silent.

In 2006 Mr Thaksin was accused of disloyalty to the king and overthrown by a military coup. Nevertheless, with Thaksin in exile, voters returned his supporters to power in elections at the end of 2007.

Mr Thaksin's one great virtue as a democrat is that he and his supporters have won each of three elections so far this decade. He is popular because for the first time in Thai history he campaigned on policies aimed at the rural majority – and then delivered. He earned massive admiration for schemes such as affordable health care.

The pro-Thaksin government elected after the coup lasted less than a year. Protesters, some of them armed with golf clubs, bombs and guns, overran first Government House and then both Bangkok's airports, costing the economy untold millions. They wore the royal colour, yellow, and claimed they were acting to protect the king from Thaksin's alleged republicanism. The movement received the public endorsement of the queen.

The People's Alliance for Democracy, as the movement is misleadingly called, argued that democracy does not work in Thailand because the peasantry are too simple to vote. They want a "new politics" in which 70 per cent of parliament is appointed.

Last year's protests found widespread support among the conservative media which, in its rush to finish the Thaksinites for ever, abandoned factual reporting.

Thaksin denies that he is a republican, although some of his supporters undoubtedly are – or they are now.

At the end of last year a court dissolved the elected government and the army brass summoned political bosses to hoist a new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, to power. The leaders of the airport protests were never punished – one even became foreign minister.

Now Thaksin has dropped his bomb. In live video addresses to rallies around the country he identified two retired generals who are close advisers to the king and a small group of top judges as the conspirators who plotted his 2006 ousting and have allegedly been invisibly pulling Thailand's strings ever since.

The government is in a funk, panicking about how to block the transmissions. The army is said to be furious: Thaksin has broken the omerta and the government could not stop him. Commentators say he has gone too far and newspapers are openly demanding censorship to stop the revelations being heard.

Yet although the people Thaksin named have offered desultory denials, no one is seriously disputing the truth of his revelations. Apparently that it is not the point – in Thai politics the truth is not meant for public consumption.

Thailand aspires to be a serious country, a Western ally and a destination for tourists and investment, yet in the past few years the "land of smiles" has been more like the land of lies. A light cast on what takes place in the comfortable sitting rooms of power is long overdue.

Thailand analysis: 'land of smiles' becomes land of lies

Thailand, sad to say, is in a terrible mess. With the very future of the monarchy at risk the stakes could not be higher. The country is deeply polarised with goodwill, moral authority and the truth itself in desperately short supply. Thailand could be heading for a very hard landing.

05 Apr 2009
By Thomas Bell in Bangkok
The Telegraph (UK)

One side is led by Thaksin Shinawatra. The former telecoms billionaire and deposed prime minister is a dubious champion of democracy. During his six years in power Mr Thaksin launched a "war on drugs" in which up to 2,000 alleged dealers were summarily executed by the police.
In government he was dogged by corruption allegations, apparently unable to distinguish his own business interests from those of the country. He was no friend of the free media, although censorship is worse now than it was in Thaksin's day.

On the other side is... who? Mr Thaksin has many vehement enemies among the middle and upper classes. It is difficult to tell how many because in Thailand opinion pollsters never ask the only question that really counts – who would you vote for?

They particularly object to Thaksin's alleged corruption and his government's challenge to Thailand's rigid social hierarchy. Qualms over the deadly "war on drugs", on the other hand, are mostly limited to hand-wringing foreign liberals.

These well-healed opponents control most major institutions. They also claim they are acting to "protect the king", and this is where it gets difficult.

Strict laws make any criticism of the monarchy punishable with up to 12 years in jail – in practice almost any discussion of the monarchy is prohibited. Last week a man, the breadwinner for his family, was jailed for 10 years for posting "insulting" pictures of the royal family online.

King Bhumibol, 81, is "above politics" and he is widely and sincerely loved. Many Thais credit him with steering their country's modern development and intervening to solve periodic crises. The country's official doctrine of "sufficiency economics" is the king's own invention.

When politicians claim to act in the king's name they often accuse their opponents of disloyalty, potentially punishable by 12 years in jail. That can make politics very hard to talk about. Bhumibol, for his part, has been mostly silent.

In 2006 Mr Thaksin was accused of disloyalty to the king and overthrown by a military coup. Nevertheless, with Thaksin in exile, voters returned his supporters to power in elections at the end of 2007.

Mr Thaksin's one great virtue as a democrat is that he and his supporters have won each of three elections so far this decade. He is popular because for the first time in Thai history he campaigned on policies aimed at the rural majority – and then delivered. He earned massive admiration for schemes such as affordable health care.

The pro-Thaksin government elected after the coup lasted less than a year. Protesters, some of them armed with golf clubs, bombs and guns, overran first Government House and then both Bangkok's airports, costing the economy untold millions. They wore the royal colour, yellow, and claimed they were acting to protect the king from Thaksin's alleged republicanism. The movement received the public endorsement of the queen.

The People's Alliance for Democracy, as the movement is misleadingly called, argued that democracy does not work in Thailand because the peasantry are too simple to vote. They want a "new politics" in which 70 per cent of parliament is appointed.

Last year's protests found widespread support among the conservative media which, in its rush to finish the Thaksinites for ever, abandoned factual reporting.

Thaksin denies that he is a republican, although some of his supporters undoubtedly are – or they are now.

At the end of last year a court dissolved the elected government and the army brass summoned political bosses to hoist a new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, to power. The leaders of the airport protests were never punished – one even became foreign minister.

Now Thaksin has dropped his bomb. In live video addresses to rallies around the country he identified two retired generals who are close advisers to the king and a small group of top judges as the conspirators who plotted his 2006 ousting and have allegedly been invisibly pulling Thailand's strings ever since.

The government is in a funk, panicking about how to block the transmissions. The army is said to be furious: Thaksin has broken the omerta and the government could not stop him. Commentators say he has gone too far and newspapers are openly demanding censorship to stop the revelations being heard.

Yet although the people Thaksin named have offered desultory denials, no one is seriously disputing the truth of his revelations. Apparently that it is not the point – in Thai politics the truth is not meant for public consumption.

Thailand aspires to be a serious country, a Western ally and a destination for tourists and investment, yet in the past few years the "land of smiles" has been more like the land of lies. A light cast on what takes place in the comfortable sitting rooms of power is long overdue.

Photos from Preah Vihear border: Damage to Preah Vihear and Cambodian village

Pockmarked holes on the temple rocks resulting from Thai troops shooting (All photos: Samnang, Koh Santepheap news)
257 Cambodian homes were burnt down to the ground from indiscriminate Thai rocket shelling


Evacuated villagers
Villagers evacuated to safety zone

Photos from Preah Vihear border: Damage to Preah Vihear and Cambodian village

Pockmarked holes on the temple rocks resulting from Thai troops shooting (All photos: Samnang, Koh Santepheap news)
257 Cambodian homes were burnt down to the ground from indiscriminate Thai rocket shelling


Evacuated villagers
Villagers evacuated to safety zone

Evacuated villagers from Preah Vihear region face shortage

Refugees evacuated from the fighting zone are asking for help because their homes were all destroyed from the clash (Photo: Uy Sophea, RFA)

06 April 2009
By Savyouth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

The short clash between Cambodian and Thai soldiers on 03 April led to more than 300 Cambodian war refugee families.

More than 300 Cambodian families living in the village at the foothill of Preah Vihear temple and who are now war refugees from the fighting zone, were temporarily evacuated to Sra’Em village, Kantuot commune, Choam Ksan district, Preah Vihear province. These families now face shortage of food, housing, clothing, and household cooking utensils because more than 250 of their homes were burnt down during the clash between Cambodian and Thai troops.

On Monday 06 April, a group of villagers who are now living in makeshift tents and in a market building said that their belongings and household utensils were all burnt down because of Thai troops rocket shelling.

Siv On, an elder man sitting underneath a tarp sheet, said that his home was burnt down, and his loss amounts to more than $10,000. “I lost my house and my belongings. The loss amounts to more than $10,000. We could not get anything out, we could only save ourselves and we thought that nothing will happen to our homes.”

Another villager said with tears streaking down her cheeks that her house was completely destroyed by the fire, and when she escaped from the fighting zone, she couldn’t get anything out at all, she was only able to escape with her children and the clothes on their back only: “I lost everything, I don’t even have a short for my children. I came to live here 10 years ago with my husband. They [Thai soldiers] fired [rockets] into houses in the market. I was lucky, if I did not run the trench on time, I would be filled with holes [from rocket shrapnels]. I am very hurt by the Siems [Thais], I don’t know who to tell this to, I can only beg Samdach Dekcho to help the villagers so they can continue their businesses.”

According to local authority, thousands of refugee people are facing difficulties, such as shortage of food, household utensils, clothes, lodging and they are also facing health problems.

On Monday morning, Sor Thavary, the deputy provincial governor for Preah Vihear, said the evacuated villagers lack everything, and he is calling on all humanitarian organizations to help provide for the villagers.

Sor Thavary said: “They lost everything in the fire. Any donations are very appreciated by them, if they can get tents that would be best.”

The authority indicated that the department of social affairs and the Preah Vihear Red Cross have distributed food, mosquito nets and plastic tents in an emergency, but the supplies cannot meet the needs of these war refugees yet.

These war refugees were evacuated by Cambodian troops to safer zones in the evening of 03 April, following the clash between Cambodian and Thai troops near Veal Entry, located close to the Preah Vihear temple.

Evacuated villagers from Preah Vihear region face shortage

Refugees evacuated from the fighting zone are asking for help because their homes were all destroyed from the clash (Photo: Uy Sophea, RFA)

06 April 2009
By Savyouth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

The short clash between Cambodian and Thai soldiers on 03 April led to more than 300 Cambodian war refugee families.

More than 300 Cambodian families living in the village at the foothill of Preah Vihear temple and who are now war refugees from the fighting zone, were temporarily evacuated to Sra’Em village, Kantuot commune, Choam Ksan district, Preah Vihear province. These families now face shortage of food, housing, clothing, and household cooking utensils because more than 250 of their homes were burnt down during the clash between Cambodian and Thai troops.

On Monday 06 April, a group of villagers who are now living in makeshift tents and in a market building said that their belongings and household utensils were all burnt down because of Thai troops rocket shelling.

Siv On, an elder man sitting underneath a tarp sheet, said that his home was burnt down, and his loss amounts to more than $10,000. “I lost my house and my belongings. The loss amounts to more than $10,000. We could not get anything out, we could only save ourselves and we thought that nothing will happen to our homes.”

Another villager said with tears streaking down her cheeks that her house was completely destroyed by the fire, and when she escaped from the fighting zone, she couldn’t get anything out at all, she was only able to escape with her children and the clothes on their back only: “I lost everything, I don’t even have a short for my children. I came to live here 10 years ago with my husband. They [Thai soldiers] fired [rockets] into houses in the market. I was lucky, if I did not run the trench on time, I would be filled with holes [from rocket shrapnels]. I am very hurt by the Siems [Thais], I don’t know who to tell this to, I can only beg Samdach Dekcho to help the villagers so they can continue their businesses.”

According to local authority, thousands of refugee people are facing difficulties, such as shortage of food, household utensils, clothes, lodging and they are also facing health problems.

On Monday morning, Sor Thavary, the deputy provincial governor for Preah Vihear, said the evacuated villagers lack everything, and he is calling on all humanitarian organizations to help provide for the villagers.

Sor Thavary said: “They lost everything in the fire. Any donations are very appreciated by them, if they can get tents that would be best.”

The authority indicated that the department of social affairs and the Preah Vihear Red Cross have distributed food, mosquito nets and plastic tents in an emergency, but the supplies cannot meet the needs of these war refugees yet.

These war refugees were evacuated by Cambodian troops to safer zones in the evening of 03 April, following the clash between Cambodian and Thai troops near Veal Entry, located close to the Preah Vihear temple.

[Thai] Army won't send more troops to temple area [... or so it claims]

Forces will be rotated, tensions ease after talks

7/04/2009
BANGKOK POST AND AFP

The army will not be deploying more troops in the disputed border area in and around the Preah Vihear temple despite the clashes last week with Cambodia, Second Army commander Wiboonsak Neepal says.

Lt Gen Wiboonsak yesterday said instead of pouring in reinforcements, the army would rotate its forces to bring in fresh legs.

The rotation is necessary if morale and confidence is to be boosted in the area which was the scene of last week's clashes.

Tensions look to have eased after talks on Sunday between Suranaree Task Force commander Kanok Netrakawesan and Maj Gen Srey Doek, head of Cambodia's military division 3.

The two generals arm wrestled after their talks to ease tensions between the two armies.

Maj Gen Kanok said the two countries had no plan to withdraw their troops from the area, so the possibility of future confrontation could never be ruled out.

Nothing could be taken for granted no matter how disciplined the soldiers, he said.

Two Thai troops and two Cambodians were killed in the fighting on Friday. Another 10 Thai troops were injured, one seriously. The clashes took place in a 4.6 sq km area claimed by the two sides.

Thailand claims the area is in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket, while Cambodia insists it is in Preah Vihear province.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon will hold talks with his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh aimed at preventing more clashes at the general border committee meeting in Siem Reap on April 27-28, an army source said.

The two neighbours have also started joint boundary commission talks in Phnom Penh aimed at resolving competing claims surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.

"The incidents that have happened show that the border issue needs to be resolved very quickly in order to avoid more incidents," Var Kim Hong told reporters before the talks.

Var Kim Hong co-chairs the committee with Thailand's Vasin Teravechyan.

The last meeting of the JBC ended in February with the two sides failing to reach an agreement on any of the key points, including the spelling of Preah Vihear in official documents.

Cambodia insists on using Preah Vihear while Thailand wants to refer to it as both Preah Vihear and Phra Viharn.

The World Court in 1962 gave ownership of the ruins of the Hindu temple to Cambodia, but tensions flared last July when the cliff-top structure was awarded United Nations World Heritage status.