It’s Time for UNSC to End the Never-Ending Thai Hostility against Cambodia over the Temple of Preah Vihear
It’s
Time for UNSC to End the Never-Ending Thai
Hostility
against Cambodia over the Temple of Preah Vihear
Notwithstanding the
verdict of the ICJ in 1962, Thai ruling classes have never given up their ambitions
to re-annex the Temple of Preah Vihear which was occupied by forces shortly
after the departure of French from Cambodia in 1953.
In the late 1950s,
facing their arrogant fait accompli and as a result of vehement protest from
Cambodia, they invited the latter to negotiate but at the same time they carried
out various forms of intimidation such as military manoeuvres next to the
border and violent demonstration in front of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in
Bangkok on 07 September 1958. As a matter of fact, it should be noted that
during this demonstration, organized in response to the call of General Praphat
Charusathien, Minister of Interior, the demonstrators held many banners which
read: “Thai will ask ICJ to give them
back the four provinces” (Battambang, Siemreap, Sisophon and Koh Kong), “ Preah Vihear is ours” (Bangkok World
of 08 Sept 1958).
Then, after the release
of ICJ verdict which was different from their high expectation to win this case
against Cambodia, Marshall Sarit Thanarat made a televised statement saying “the government had no choice but to accept
the ruling of the court”.
Later, on 04 January
1963, King Father Norodom Sihanouk, then Head of State, stated at Choam Ksan in
Preah Vihear province the following: “The
Thais have finally, after much prevarications and many delaying manoeuvres, evacuated
Preah Vihear. That has not unfortunately prevented them from making good the
loss by further expansionism: they have drawn a new frontier line, to our
disadvantage in the neighborhood of Preah Vihear itself. In particular, they
have laid barbed wire and set up military or police posts which in certain
places encroach to a considerable depth on our territory, thus scorning the judgment
of the ICJ” (ref: letter dated 23 April 1966 from Prince Norodom Kantol,
Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Royal Government of Cambodia to the President of UNSC).
This statement by King Father
was justified by Sondhi Limthongkul’s recent interviews on ASTV in which he
alleged that “the loss of Preah Vihear
was the fourteenth among the so-called Thailand’s Lost Territories”. Sondhi
went on to say that while withdrawing from the Temple, Thai military didn’t
take off the flag but up-rooted the flag- pole as a symbol that one day they
could reinstall there again.
Not so long after the
reoccupation of the Temple of Preah Vihear by Cambodia, Thai armed forces relaunched
from 14 to 22 April 1966 an open aggression against Cambodian positions next to
the Temple with heavy weaponry including F-105 fighter jets in an attempt to
reoccupy the Temple (ref: letter dated 17 May 1966 from H.E Huot Sambath,
Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the President of the UNSC-S/7305-18 May
1966).
Hence, last week aggression
by Thai armed forces against Cambodia at Preah Vihear is a repetition of the history
that follows the same pattern since 23 November 1940 when Thailand, being allied
with the Axis Powers, re-annexed Battambang, Sisophon, Siemreap including Preah
Vihear.
Now,
it is becoming clear enough that Thai ruling classes whose many elements of the
residual spillover of the old-cliché have never abandoned their expansionistic
policy towards Cambodia. Last week, Abhisit revealed that his government
opposed to the 1: 200.000 map. This means that Thailand opposes to the ICJ
verdict and is using instead military aggression to force Cambodia to comply
with its mysterious and unilateral map in the same way as did Hitler. It is
also beyond beliefs of everyone that “Thailand
argues that it owns the 4.6 squarre kilometres area and the land the stone ruins are standing on”. How bizarre it is! What
does it mean?
It means that their self-image of
superiority is directed not only towards Cambodia, but also towards ICJ including
judge Dean Acheson whose outstanding accomplishments have convinced former US
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to consider him “as the most historically respected Secretaries”. And as ICJ is part
of the UN bodies, this arrogant argument is seen as provocative also towards
international community as a whole. Similarly, they have hectored UNESCO’s
leadership and threatened to withdraw Thai membership over the inscription of
the Temple of Preah Vihear as World Heritage.
This time, their tactics remain exactly
the same as they did half a century ago: waging war of aggression with support
from on-going PAD protest which inflames ultra-nationalistic sentiment and
encourages heated rhetoric against Cambodia and its leadership while warning
any intervention of the third party to the negotiation including the UN. But,
in this new era, they cannot mislead the world body by their slanderous
campaign of intoxication against Cambodia, despite their dominant media.
For instance, following swift and
opportune diplomatic action of Samdech Techo HUN SEN in persuading UNSC to” convene an urgent meeting so as to stop
Thailand’s aggression”, the UNSC has taken on the issue as an urgent matter
and has decided to convene such a meeting today, 14 February 2011, with the participation
of ASEAN Chair, Dr.Marty Natalegawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia
despite the bitter disappointment of Abhisit.
We are not in a position to speculate
the outcome of the meeting but, we think that it’s about time UNSC issued a
final and definitive resolution to end this never-ending Thai hostility against
Cambodia which has been always the victim for more than half a century and also
to safeguard peace and stability in the region in line with the UN Charter and also
with that of ASEAN.
14 February 2011
Sandra Rodriguez
Phnom Penh