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STATEMENT The Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers rejects the accusation of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya published in the Nation and the ASTV Manager Online, respectively, on 14 February 2011, that Cambodia initiated the recent fighting near the Temple of Preah Vihear, and that the Temple was used as a base for the launching of attacks. The Thai Prime Minister’s accusation defies logic and common sense. Cambodia has not sought to change the situation on the border, which has been internationally recognised for a century, and particularly since the International Court of Justice’s ruling of 1962. It is Thailand that has sought to change this reality; lacking any legal basis for such a change, it has now sought to create one by a military means. Furthermore, Cambodia lacks the means to challenge Thailand militarily. Cambodia’s population is less than...

Thailand claimed that Cambodia attacked first when hostilities broke out 10 days ago at the Preah Vihear temple region. Thailand also claimed, via its premier, that Cambodia positioned troops at the world heritage of Preah Vihear. Facts or fiction? Thailand ’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) for 2010 at constant prices was estimated at $580.3 billion USD.  The population of Thailand in 2010 was estimated at 67,764 million. Land mass of 513,120 sq km. And armed forces, including paramilitary, as of 2008 at 665,000, including modern main battle tanks, F 16 fighter jets, and attack helicopters as well as naval units. Cambodia ’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity was USD29.5 billion. Cambodia had 14 million people. Land area: 181,035 sq kms and armed forces of approximately 100,000, a virtually non existent air force and naval units. Given the above,  would anyone of a sane and rational mind ever be...

Amb. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil 14 February 2011 – Voicing grave concern about the recent armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand, the Security Council today urged the South-East Asian neighbours to establish a permanent ceasefire following closed-door talks on the situation. “The members of the Security Council called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation,” Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil, which holds the monthly presidency of the 15-member body for February, said in a   statement   read out to the press after the meeting. “The members of the Security Council further urged the parties to establish a permanent ceasefire and to implement it fully and resolve the situation peacefully and through effective dialogue,” the statement added. Tensions first escalated between the two countries in July 2008 following the build-up of military forces near the Preah Vihear temple, which...

Address of His Excellency Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia At the Meeting of the United Nations Security Council New York, 14 February 2011 8   - Your Excellency President, -  Honorable Members of the United Nations Security Council, —       First of all, I would like to thank you all for giving me this opportunity to brief the Security Council on the war of aggression against Cambodia committed by Thailand on 4, 5, 6 and 7 February 2011 at many locations. These include the following areas which are well inside Cambodian territory:   the TEMPLE OF PREAH VIHEAR, ?   the KEO SIKHA KIRI SVARA pagoda and KHMUM area located just 300 meters and 500 meters respectively from the TEMPLE OF PREAH VIHEAR, ?   the regions of VEAL INTRY and PHNOM TRAP hill situated approximately 1,120 meters and 1,600 meters respectively from the border, T...

Security Council SC/10174 Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON CAMBODIA-THAILAND BORDER SITUATION The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti ( Brazil): The members of the Security Council were briefed by Under-Secretary-General B. Lynn Pascoe and by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, and Chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Marty Natalegawa, on the situation on the border between Cambodia and Thailand. The members of the Security Council also heard from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cambodia, Hor Namhong, and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Kasit Piromya. The members of the Security Council expressed their grave concern about the recent armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand. The members of t...