Grand News Asia

by Pancha Seila Here is my comment: A military putsch is a tradition and a way of political life in Thailand, as the military is NOT under the government, and His Majesty the King is the most powerful politician, "the owner of the horse;" and "the Prime Minister and his government constitute the jockey," so that the jockey simultaneously (1) must know how to mount the horse, which is the country or the people and (2) must be allowed to ride the horse by the owner. It cannot be one without the other. The military cannot change the jockey without the blessing of the owner. So far the PAD continued to have fun, sling-shooting the jockey, any jockey, from Takshin to Samak and now Somchai. After all Thailand has had past decade of economic prosperity to afford the traditional pass-time. Thai military, for the past six to eight months, has been a passive spectator vis-à-vis Thai politics, but an active aggressor against Cambodia, trampling the spirit of General Border Com...

The two countries claims jurisdiction on territory which had been demarcated as being under Cambodian sovereignty by an international treaty between Siam and the then French Indochina in 1904 and 1907. This fact was recognized in a number of subsequent treaties and conventions in the 1920's, 1930's and after the second World War. It is only after the independence of Cambodia in 1953 that Thai troops occupied what has been Cambodian territory particularly in the area of the sacred site of Preah Vihear. To resolve the situation Cambodia seized the International Court of Justice to arbitrate the conflict. In its judgment of June 1962, the Court ruled that the Temple and its surrounding areas were situated within Cambodian territory. It based its decision on the existence of a map it considered to be an integral part of the Treaty settlement between Indochina and Siam. This map clearly shows that the Temple and a 4.6 square kilometers area adjacent to it are Cambodian territory. Th...

On October 15, 2008 at 14:15 Thai troops started attacking the Cambodian troops at three different places deep inside the Cambodian territory: 1. At Prolean Intry (Eagle Field), approximately 1,120 meters South of the International boundary line between Cambodia and Thailand. 2. At the area of Phnom Troap, 1,600 meters South of the International boundary line between Cambodia and Thailand. 3. In the vicinity of Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, approximately 300 meters West of the temple of Preah Vihear and approximately 700 meters from the international boundary. ___________________________________________ At Preah Vihear area Latest News from PREAH VIHEAR area October 13, 2008 at 11:20 AM Thai military had requested for demining of the area of Pralean Entry ( Phnom Troap area), but the request has been denied by the Cambodian military. A military regional level meeting between Cambodia and Thailand is scheduled to be held after 15, October 2008. Changes ar...