Sunday, April 24, 2011

Fighting at Ta Krabey temple still continue at 4:15 this afternoon and the tower of Ta Krabey temple had collapsed

Cambodian villagers fleeing Thai artillery shells

By Khmerization
Source: Kampuchea Thmey

Kampuchea Thmey reported that the fighting between Cambodian and Thai troops at Ta Krabey temple that started at 6 a.m this morning is still continuing at 4:15 p.m this afternoon. The report said that the fighting in the area at the moment only involved small arms and light rockets like B-40s and the Thai side had stopped shelling the temple with heavy rockets like 155 milimetres rockets that they have used earlier in this morning.

The newspaper reported that the fighting had restarted again after a group of Thai soldiers attempted to fight their way in to retrieve the bodies of 7 Thai soldiers killed during the fighting in the morning.

CEN reported that the fighting was caused by a group of 300 Thai soldiers who moved in to occupy a Cambodian cashew plantation at Chong Chorm village opposite O’Smach bordertown at 1:30 pm on Thursday 21st April. At 6 a.m in the early morning of Friday, they launched an attack on the Cambodian troops.

Koh Santepheap reported that the fighting had caused substantial damages to the temple, with the collapse of the tower of Ta Krabey temple after it was hit by a Thai artillery rocket.

CEN had also reported that 2 rounds of 155 milimetres Thai rockets had landed near Ta NekPagoda in Kork Svay village, Kork Morn commune of Banteay Ampil district in Oddar Meanchey province, 21 kilometres from the Cambodian-Thai border.


U.S. starts war games near Thai-Cambodian clash.


BANGKOK | Thousands of U.S. troops began military exercises with Bangkok’s military on Monday, while a bloody, four-day artillery duel between Thailand and Cambodia flared on their border and a decades-long Muslim insurgency smoldered out of control in the south.

Cobra Gold, which is scheduled to conclude Feb. 18, is one of the world’s biggest multinational, land-based maneuvers. It involves 11,220 people, including 7,200 U.S. service members.

U.S. and other foreign forces are using Thailand’s Vietnam War-era Utapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield in Chanthaburi province and other facilities, about 280 miles southwest of the fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border.

The U.S. Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, is deployed in Korat, about 180 miles west of the clashes.

U.S. boots are on the ground in this Buddhist, Southeast Asian ally, while a shooting feud between Thailand and Cambodia has killed at least seven people and wounded dozens more.

During the past four days, Thailand and Cambodia attacked each other’s jungle-based positions with artillery, mortars, rocket-fired grenades and other weapons, pausing on occasion before shooting again.

They fought for at least one hour Monday after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said, “We need the United Nations to send forces here and create a buffer zone to guarantee that there is no more fighting.”

Both sides then agreed to an unofficial cease-fire, but Thailand rejected U.N. intervention and insisted on direct talks with Cambodia.

Elsewhere in Thailand, the U.S. military’s 30th Cobra Gold planned several live-fire demonstrations and other assaults.

Thai Lt. Gen. Surapun Wongthai serves as exercise commander, with U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth Glueck Jr. as deputy commander, the Stars and Stripes newspaper reported.

Among the U.S. Marine units participating in Thailand are: Okinawa’s 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment acting as its ground combat element; Marine Wing Support Squadron 172; Marine Aircraft Group 36; and Combat Logistics Regiments 35 and Combat Logistics Regiment 3, it said.

The Sasebo, Japan-based USS Essex, USS Germantown and USS Denver are also involved.

Cobra Gold training exercises include troops from Japan, South Korea, Singapore and, for the first time, Malaysia.

An amphibious assault is scheduled for Thursday on Thailand’s southern Hat Yao coast. The cross-border fighting by Thailand and Cambodia was not expected to spill into areas used by Cobra Gold.

Each side repeatedly said the other country’s forces fired first after shells landed in Thailand and Cambodia, hitting villages, setting homes and shops on fire and forcing hundreds of people to flee.

Bangkok and Phnom Penh both claim to own the thin slivers of border land near the stone rubble of an 11th-century Hindu temple built by Cambodians when their Khmer kingdom stretched across much of present-day Thailand.

The cross-border fighting damaged the Preah Vihear temple, which was part of an ancient network of scattered Hindu shrines when Cambodia’s nearby Angkor Wat complex served as a center of political and spiritual power more than 900 years ago.

Preah Vihear also occupies a strategic military position because it is on a high cliff overlooking northern Cambodia’s flatlands 1,722 feet below, about 150 miles north of Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital.

If Thai forces can dominate Preah Vihear or its surrounding territory on Thailand’s eastern border, they would have a high-ground position against Cambodia, making both sides wary of each other’s military forces close to the Dangrek Mountains’ cliffside zone.

“Thailand is gravely concerned about the use the temple of [Preah Vihear] by Cambodia for military purposes,” Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wrote to the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has designated the temple as a World Heritage Site. Both countries want to profit from the growing number of tourists visiting the ruins and stopping at restaurants, shops, hotels and other facilities during their travels.

The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but a 2-square-mile area on the surrounding cliff is disputed as both countries point to different historical maps.

The office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York said on Sunday, “The secretary-general appeals to both sides to put in place an effective arrangement for cessation of hostilities, and to exercise maximum restraint.”

Bangkok’s internal political problems are also a wild card in the volatile mix, which could concern Cobra Gold.

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Thai army chief, announced in January that he “did not want to stage a coup” despite his role in a 2006 putsch.

Thailand’s military has staged more than 18 coups and attempted coups since the 1930s. The most recent, in September 2006, overthrew the popularly elected government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

In April and May, the army battled pro-democracy Red Shirts who blockaded Bangkok’s streets, resulting in 91 deaths — mostly civilians — amid protests against the coup and demands to restore Mr. Thaksin to power.

The Red Shirts did not oppose last year’s Cobra Gold. However, Sean Boonpracong, a Red Shirt spokesman at the time, warned, “If the United States ignores us, we would put forth more opposition to the next Cobra Gold exercise” in 2011.

“We have tens of millions of followers,” said Mr. Boonpracong, who later distanced himself from the Red Shirts after being detained briefly by the army last year.

In 2004, the poorly disciplined Thai army suffocated more than 78 minority Malay-Thai Muslim men after tying them up and laying them flat on top of one another in army trucks.

Each year, London-based Amnesty International and other human rights groups report allegations of extrajudicial killings and torture committed by the army in the south, along Thailand’s border with Muslim-majority Malaysia, where an unstoppable insurgency has left more than 4,000 people dead on all sides since 2004.


New fighting at border

thai_cambodia_fighting
Thai military trucks with soldiers are driven to the Thai-Cambodia border for reinforcement in this still image taken from video April 22, 2011 (Reuters/Reuters TV)

THAI and Cambodian soldiers fought with rocket-propelled grenades and guns on their contentious border on Friday in a dawn clash that left at least five troops dead in the first major flare-up since a shaky ceasefire in February.

Both sides evacuated villagers and accused each other of firing first in the thick jungle around Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, about 150 kilometres southwest of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which saw a deadly stand-off in February.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said the fighting broke out after Thai troops fired on their Cambodian counterparts around 6 AM on Friday near Ta Krabey temple, about 15 kilometres from Ta Moan temple in Oddar Meanchey province.

The government was still tallying the final damage on Friday, but preliminary reports said three Cambodian soldiers were killed, he added. Shelling and artillery fire were continuing intermittently as of Friday afternoon.

“We did not start this fight,” Phay Siphan said. “We cannot accept this act. It is not what Cambodia wants, and it affects our Ta Krabey temple.”

“They are trying to take advantage by fighting and encroaching on Cambodia. They have breached the principles of our agreement in Indonesia,” Phay Siphan added, referring to talks between the two sides following their clashes in February in which they agreed to accept Indonesian military observers to preserve the fragile ceasefire at the border.

These observers have yet to arrive due to Thailand’s hesitance to grant them final approval.

Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat said Thai shells had landed more than 20 kilometres inside Cambodian territory. Ceasefire talks between the two sides had not yet begun as of yesterday afternoon, he added.

Thailand, claimed, meanwhile, that Cambodia had started the fight.

“Cambodia started attacking our temporary base with artillery fire and we responded to defend ourselves,” said Lt. General Thawatchai Samutsakorn of the Thai army.

“Tensions have eased for now, but both sides are holding position.”

Two Thai paramilitary rangers were killed and seven wounded, said Thai armyspokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong, claiming that fighting began after Cambodian troops altered a bunker in the area in violation of a ceasefire pact. The Bangkok Post, meanwhile, reported Friday afternoon that four Thai troops had been killed and eight wounded.

"When warned, Cambodian troops stepped closer and started firing," Sirichan said.

As a precaution, the Thai government evacuated about 7,500 villagers from the area. Cambodian authorities evacuated about 200 families, according to local officials.

The fighting is the most severe since three Thais and eight Cambodians were killed and dozens of people wounded over Feb. 4-7 in the bloodiest fighting in nearly two decades.

As part of a ceasefire deal, Thailand and Cambodia agreed on Feb. 22 to allow unarmed military observers from Indonesia to be posted along their border.

But that arrangement -- brokered by a meeting of Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Jakarta -- has yet to be put in place. Thailand's military said international observers were not required.

Chhay Mao, a major in the Cambodian army stationed at Preah Vihear temple, said the fighting had not spread to the ancient clifftop temple. “It is quiet at Preah Vihear now but we are ready at our side,” he said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country currently holds the chair of ASEAN, urged both sides to halt hostilities.

“I call for both sides to resolve their differences through peaceful means. The use of force has no place in relations among ASEAN member countries," he said, according to the Bangkok Post.

The Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement Friday saying that it supported the mediation efforts by Indonesia’s Natalegawa, who contacted both sides following the clashes.

“Indonesia, as ASEAN Chair, has been actively facilitating dialogue between the two countries to resolve their differences peacefully,” the statement read. “This is important for the long term relationship of Cambodia and Thailand, as well as in the broader interests of ASEAN.”

In a letter to the United Nations Security Council dated Friday, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong called the clashes "a fresh act of aggression" by Thailand.

“The most recent aggression against Cambodia also confirms the reason behind Thailand's insistence on resolving the conflict ‘bilaterally’, which is a pretext for using its larger and materially more sophisticated armed forces against Cambodia,” Hor Namhong wrote.

Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in a standoff since July 2008, when UNESCO enshrined Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site for Cambodia over Thai objections.

But the reasons behind this year's deadly skirmishes are murky.

Some analysts say hawkish Thai generals and their ultra-nationalist allies, who wear the Thai king's colour of yellow at protests, may be trying to create a crisis that would bring down Thailand's government or create a pretext to stage a coup and cancel elections expected in June or July.

Others say it may be a simple breakdown in communication at a time of strained relations.

ជនល្មោមសង្គ្រាមសៀម ជ័យយោ!ជ័យយោ!ជ័យយោ!ជ័យយោ!


Thail leader Write Novel of real war

Four Thai soldiers were killed and eight others wounded, one of them seriously, in a five-hour clash with Cambodian soldiers on the border in Phanom Dong Rak district of Surin province on Friday morning, deputy army spokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong said.

Col Sirichan said the fighting began about 6.30am on the border between the Ta Kwai and Ta Muen Thom temple ruins in Phanom Dong Rak.

Before the clash, a number of Cambodian soldiers were seen moving over a hill in violation of an earlier agreement that no armed troops either side would be allowed to trespass on the hill, she said. Cambodian tried to take the hill in violation of the agreement.

Thai soldiers asked them to pull back, but the Cambodians instead open fire at the Thai soldiers, Col Sirichan said.

This clash lasted until about 11am.

The picture shows two Thai soldiers wounded from a military clash between Thailand and Cambodia along the disputed border on April 22, 2011. (Photo by Nopparat Kingkaew)

Four Thai soldiers were killed and eight others hurt, one of them seriously. The wounded were admitted to Surin and Phanom Dong Rak hospitals.

About 7,500 people in tambons Bak Dai and Ta Miang were evacuated from their villages. Four temporary evacuation centres - one in Prasat district and three others in Phanom Dong Rak district - were set up to take them, the spokeswoman said.

Surin governor Serm Chainarong went to Phanom Dong Rak district to oversee the evacuation. Food supplies and water were being rushed to the evacuation centres.

The 2nd Army ordered the closure of the Chong Chom-O Samed border crossing on the Thai-Cambodian border in tambon Dan in Surin’s Kap Choeng district for an indefinite period.

Supreme Commander Songkitti Jaggabatara put all Thai armed forces on high alert in the wake of this morning's clash.

Gen Songkitti issued the order via video teleconference to the army, navy and air force from the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet while inspecting the joint navy-air force exercise in the Gulf of Thailand.

He said he had ordered the armed forces commanders to be ready to implement their own contingency defence plans.

"If Cambodia attacks us with artillery, we will return with artillery fire. We have to protect our sovereignty," he said.

During the video conference, Gen Songkitti was briefed on the morning's clash by the commander of the 2nd Army.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thai troops were not the aggressors and did not start the fight.

Mr Abhisit said he had instructed officials to find out the cause of the clash and to ensure that villagers in the area were well cared for.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said his ministry had sent a letter protesting that Cambodian troops violated an agreement, instigating a violent clash along the border.

He said the ministry called on Cambodia not to violate Thai sovereignty and comply with a ceasefire agreement between the two countries, and to attend Joint Boundary Committee meetings and Regional Border Committee meetings.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)

The ministry had issued a statement explaining the situation to foreign countries, Mr Kasit said.

He said the ministry had also written a letter of explanation to other Asean countries, through Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, as current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The letter explained that Cambodian soldiers trespassed on a disputed hill near the Ta Kwai and Ta Muen Thom temple ruins in Phanom Dong Rak.

This was in violation of an agreement that no armed troops from either side would be allowed to trespass on the hill.

Mr Kasit said that after this morning's clash senior soldiers in Cambodia had telephoned him to negotiate for a ceasefire.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, the current chairman of Asean, called for the cessation of hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia.

Mr Natalegawa told the Bangkok Post that "Indonesia as chair of Asean strongly calls for the cessation of hostilities" which erupted on the border in Phanom Dong Rak.

"I call for both sides to resolve their differences through peaceful means. The use of force has no place in relations among Asean member countries," the Asean chairman said.

AFP reported that three Cambodian soldiers were killed. This could not be confirmed.

Cambodia accused Thai troops of entering 400 metres into its territory.

"The Thai troops marched directly towards Cambodian troop positions stationed at Cambodia's Ta Krabei temple and launched unprovoked attacks," said government spokesman Phay Siphan.

"This is yet another invasion by Thailand on Cambodia. We cannot accept this," AFP reported.


PM's last TV show May 1(Siem Leader Kbal Khouch)

The "Confidence in Thailand with PM Abhisit(Siem Leader Kbal Khouch)" television programme will be aired for the last time on May 1, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Sunday.

Mr Abhisit has since taking office as prime minister hosted the programme on Sundays from 9am-10am on Channel 11 of the Public Relations Department to address the national on the government's work.

Since the government plans to dissolve the House of Representatives in the first week of May to make way for a fresh election, he will appear on the programme for the last time on May 1.

About 190 media representatives who joined him in the programme will be invited to get together on May 1 in the last broadcast to talk about the government's performance during the past two years, he said.


Lake protest turns bloody

Police beat and arrested villagers including elderly women and children as young as 11 yesterday as they protested their impending eviction from land surrounding the capital’s Boeung Kak lake, an incident observers called a “new low” in the lakeside debacle.

The violence came one day after a meeting with government officials in which donors flagged110422_2 land rights and resettlement as among the Kingdom’s biggest development challenges.

About 100 villagers gathered yesterday morning in front of City Hall, calling for a moratorium on the filling of the lake and new talks on resettlement and compensation plans. More than 100 local and military police subsequently surrounded the gathering as the villagers blocked Monivong Boulevard in Daun Penh district.

Municipal Cabinet chief Koet Chhe and Daun Penh district governor Sok Sambath later appeared, urging the villagers to return home and rejected their requests for talks.

When the crowd refused to disperse, police dragged several villagers into a police van while beating others with electric batons.

“Police with shields and electric batons attacked us weak and unarmed women,” said Nhet Khun, 71, who was bleeding from the head following the protest.

“We do not know what to think, because the government does not help us and instead uses force to attack us.”

Among the 11 people arrested yesterday were two boys – Lim Sothearith, 11, and Hong Virakyuth, 12 – who clung to their mothers as they were dragged into the police van.

Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth said the group remained in custody at the city police station in Russei Keo district yesterday evening.

“The villagers who were arrested were told to sign a contract promising to stop protests that cause public disorder, and to stop using violence and arguing with the police,” he said, adding that the 11 would likely be released today. “We arrested them just to educate them. We will not bring them to court.”

Touch Naruth claimed villagers had thrown water bottles and stones at police yesterday, though villagers said they had only thrown water.

Rights groups say over 4,000 families, or roughly 20,000 people, will ultimately be displaced by the 133-hectare real estate development at Boeung Kak, a joint venture project between a Chinese firm and a company owned by ruling party senator Lao Meng Khin. Over 2,000 families have already left, despite persistent complaints about the meagre compensation options presented by the city and the developer.

Residents have been offered on-site relocation, the plans for which have yet to materialise, housing in Dangkor district and two million riel (US$495), or cash payments of $8,500, far below the market value of many homes in the community.

At least 10 villagers were injured during yesterday’s violence, including community representative Tep Vanny, who broke her thumb as she was being arrested when it was caught in the door of a police van.

Police later allowed an official from the United Nations human rights office to take her to receive medical treatment before returning her to custody.

Heng Mom, 54, said the police had been “cruel” and had treated the protesters “like criminals”.

“About five police officers beat and kicked me and tried to push me into their car,” she said, adding that she had been able to break free and avoid arrest.

At a meeting between donors and government officials in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, World Bank country manager Qimiao Fan cited the Boeung Kak dispute as an example of the weak land tenure security and unclear resettlement policies that plague the Kingdom.

“With rapid urbanisation, the resumption of fast economic growth and the increasing interest from investors in large-scale commercial farming, land issues will become only more challenging, as exemplified in the Boeung Kak Lake area,” he said.

The World Bank acknowledged last month, following an internal investigation, that a land titling programme it conducted in cooperation with the government from 2002 to 2009 had failed to offer titles at the lakeside, despite the legitimate claims of residents.

Since the Boeung Kak development was approved in 2007, lakeside villagers have staged numerous rallies in the city and have clashed with police on many occasions. Cambodian Centre for Human Rights president Ou Virak said yesterday’s violence, however, was “a new low” in the long-running saga.

“This is a shocking and entirely unjustifiable response to a peaceful protest by the disenfranchised lake residents,” he said in a statement yesterday. “The actions of the authorities today illustrate that the rights to freedom of assembly and expression of ordinary Cambodians [are] secondary to the business operations of the wealthy and well-connected.”

Housing Rights Task Force, meanwhile, called for an investigation of the violence and urged the government to “cease its intimidation campaign and begin an honest dialogue with the Boeung Kak lake residents”.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JAMES O’TOOLE


Kasit(Baby Politician): Thailand ready for talks

Kasit(Baby Politician/World Cheater): Thailand ready for talks

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya (Baby Politician/World Cheater)
on Sunday he expected to hold talks with Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong in four to five days over the ongoing border conflict.

Mr Kasit (Baby Politician/World Cheater) said this during a video conference on Sunday afternoon when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke to PM's Office Minister Ong-art Klampaiboon, governors or Surin and Buri Ram, 2nd Army commander Lt-Gen Thawatchai Sudsakhon and other officials in Surin province to follow the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Present with Mr Abhisit in Bangkok at the conference included Mr Kasit, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, and national police chief Wichean Potephosree.

Mr Kasit said he had talked to Hor Namhong on the telephone and they agreed to meet for talks in four to five days to discuss the problem.

The foreign minister also talked on the telephone to the Indonesian foreign minister, who is currently chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), who expressed concern over the situation.

Mr Kasit said he has expressed Thailand's willingness to negotiate with Cambodia and informed all concerned that the Thai military action had been limited to self-defence.

He has also informed the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and its member countries to understand the situation and to ensure them that Thailand wants to solve the problem through negotiations.

Mr Kasit (Baby Politician/World Cheater) called for the Cambodian leader to take the matter to the negotiation table.

My Idea, Monkey eat rice but when the rice owner come, the ugly money try to change the real by use rice paint on donkey mouth.


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Cambodia and Thailand clash over Preah Vihear temple on the disputed border

Cambodian villagers carry their belongings as they leave the area near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia

Cambodian villagers carry their belongings as they leave the area near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia


Cambodia and Thailand clash over Preah Vihear temple on the disputed border

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during a ceremony in Phnom Penh

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned that the fighting poses a threat to regional stability. He said the latest clash was sparked after Thai soldiers crossed the border in search of a slain comrade, and Cambodians opened fire to repel them. "We need the United Nations to send forces here and create a buffer zone to guarantee that there is no more fighting," Hun Sen said, adding that the situation kept deteriorating and the two sides were no longer listening to each other. Hun Sen sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Sunday calling for an emergency meeting to help end the fighting.


Cambodia and Thailand clash over Preah Vihear temple on the disputed border

Vihear temple on the disputed border

Cambodian soldiers rest at the Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province

Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a fourth straight day on Monday over a disputed border area surrounding a 900-year-old mountaintop temple. Several hours of shelling and machine gun fire subsided at around 11am (0400 GMT), creating an uneasy peace in the contested area around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple claimed by both Southeast Asian neighbours.

Cambodian soldiers rest at the Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province


Sunday, February 6, 2011

Cambodia on brink of war with Thailand

Cambodia has appealed for the United Nations Security Council to diffuse an "imminent state of war" on its border with Thailand.

Since last week the two countries have ranged hundreds of troops and artillery against one another.

At the centre of the dispute is the 900-year-old ruined temple of Preah Vihear, spectacularly perched on a frontier hilltop, and 1.8 sq miles of disputed jungle at its base.

In a letter to the UN, the Cambodian premier Hun Sen, said: "Thai behaviour gravely threatens peace and stability in the region."

He also accused Thailand of "defying all principles of international law".

On the Thai side of the border children were today performing air-raid drills at school.

If the situation escalates shells will fly overhead from the artillery batteries newly installed in fields down the road.

Preah Vihear is no stranger to conflict. In a strong defensive position it was one of the last places in Cambodia to fall to the genocidal Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, and they held out there until a peace deal only 10 years ago.

Besides gorgeously carved stones, the area is also scattered with land mines and bunkers.

Yet Mr Boonmee Buaton, headman of Pulaong village next to the temple, describes harmonious relations between the communities on either side.

"We're friends, we're neighbours, we've been doing business together for ever," he said.

Like many other observers, he blames radical Thai nationalists and anti-government protesters with ulterior motives for fermenting the crisis.

"The local people don't agree with the protesters coming here," he said. "It's only going to create a war. After they come here and mess everything up they are going to go home and we have to stay."

The crisis started last Tuesday when three protesters from Thailand were arrested in disputed territory by Cambodian soldiers.

They were quickly released, but the Thai army began pouring into the area and the deployment was matched by troops from the other side. In their tensest moments they have levelled their weapons at one another.

But the true source of the crisis, analysts say, is the determination of conservative opposition groups to exploit almost any cause to topple the Thai government elected just six months ago.

According to physical geography, Preah Vihear appears to be in Thailand, on Bangkok's side of the border and with access principally from Thailand.

Yet a 1908 map, drawn up by Cambodia's French colonialists, showed the area in Cambodia. In 1962 the International Court of Justice ruled that the map was valid.

Thailand reluctantly returned the temple to Cambodia. Yet it continued to occupy 1.8 square miles of adjoining territory that the 1908 map also shows in Cambodia.

Earlier this year, when Thailand supported Cambodia's application to list Preah Vihear as a UN World Heritage Site, the opposition cried foul.

They accused the government of somehow ceding territory, although the UN said the listing had no territorial implications.

Nevertheless, the foreign minister resigned over the affair and there are plans to impeach the entire cabinet.

Now Thai soldiers have even re-occupied the temple itself, rubbing shoulders there with Cambodian troops, according to a Thai officer of the edge of the zone, which has been closed to civilians.

Incongruously, a group of monks still lives there, receiving alms from both sides every morning, he said.

With the seemingly stronger legal case Cambodia is seeking international intervention, while Thailand prefers to address the matter "bilaterally".

Negotiations between the Thai army chief and Cambodian defence minister failed to make any progress on Monday.

At an army post of the edge of the exclusion zone, cluttered with radios and camouflage-wrapped log books, a Thai major told TheTelegraph that his soldiers are reluctant to fight. Many of them know their adversaries personally.

"We're all friends," he said. "We don't want to fight each other. It is just up to the governments to decide what the direction will be."


HE Hing Bunheang adding more of war weapon to TAMORN Mountain





Saturday, February 5, 2011

U.S. Urges Cambodia- Thailand to Exercise Restraint on Border Issue

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, FEB 01, 2011-Derek Mitchell, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense, Asian and Pacific security affairs on Monday urged Cambodia – Thailand to exercise restraints over border issues between the two countries and especially area near the 11th century Khmer Preah Vihear temple.

Derek told the media briefing at the US embassy in Phnom Penh after concluding his three- day visit here: “Actually, I raised the issues with Tea Banh (Cambodian defense minister) about the situation there and I asked the questions. It happened. While I am in Manila before coming here, I heard about the border issues (between the two countries)”. He replied the questions from the reporters.

“The US position I think is very quite consistence on this. We call for all both sides to exercise restraint to deal with peaceful manner. And lower tension over the situation… so that it is the most important thing and here is the Cambodian perspective.” He told the media.

“It is not a real specific topic or on the agenda during my visit but it is useful for us to be engaged…we have to talk, he said.

The tension of border issues between the two countries occurred again after Thai PM told Thai media that Cambodia has to move the flag and destroyed the pagoda nearby the temple. Cambodia rejected the comments and called that comment “unacceptable and insulting demand” because the flag and the pagoda near the temple are in Cambodia territory.

Cambodian and Thai Foreign Ministers have plan to meet on bilateral cooperation committee at Siem Reap Province, home of Angkor Wat temple on February 3-4 this year.


U.S. Urges Cambodia- Thailand to Exercise Restraint on Border Issue

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, FEB 01, 2011-Derek Mitchell, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense, Asian and Pacific security affairs on Monday urged Cambodia – Thailand to exercise restraints over border issues between the two countries and especially area near the 11th century Khmer Preah Vihear temple.

Derek told the media briefing at the US embassy in Phnom Penh after concluding his three- day visit here: “Actually, I raised the issues with Tea Banh (Cambodian defense minister) about the situation there and I asked the questions. It happened. While I am in Manila before coming here, I heard about the border issues (between the two countries)”. He replied the questions from the reporters.

“The US position I think is very quite consistence on this. We call for all both sides to exercise restraint to deal with peaceful manner. And lower tension over the situation… so that it is the most important thing and here is the Cambodian perspective.” He told the media.

“It is not a real specific topic or on the agenda during my visit but it is useful for us to be engaged…we have to talk, he said.

The tension of border issues between the two countries occurred again after Thai PM told Thai media that Cambodia has to move the flag and destroyed the pagoda nearby the temple. Cambodia rejected the comments and called that comment “unacceptable and insulting demand” because the flag and the pagoda near the temple are in Cambodia territory.

Cambodian and Thai Foreign Ministers have plan to meet on bilateral cooperation committee at Siem Reap Province, home of Angkor Wat temple on February 3-4 this year.


Two convicted Thais to Appeal Next Week: Lawyer

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 3 (Xinhua)-- Two convicted Thais, Veera Somkwamkid and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, will appeal next week, said a defense lawyer on Thursday.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday sentenced Veera Somkwamkid, Thailand Patriot Network core member, to 8 years in jail and fined 1.8 million riels (450 U.S. dollars) and Ms. Ratree Paiputana Paiboon, known as Veera's secretary, to 6 years in jail and fined 1.2 million riels (300 U.S. dollars).

Both Veera and Ratree denied the charges, claiming that their arrests on Dec. 29, 2010 by Cambodian troops were made on Thai territory.

"They will file a complaint to the Court of Appeal against the verdict of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court next week," said Pich Vicheka, one of the defense lawyers for the two on Thursday.

The two convicted Thais are among the seven Thais arrested on Dec. 29, 2010 by the Cambodian border protection troops for illegal entry into Cambodian territory in Banteay Meanchey province.

On Jan. 21, the other five were convicted by Phnom Penh Municipal Court to nine months in jail and fined 1 million riels ( 250 U.S. dollars) each for illegal entry and unlawful entry into the military base, but given a suspended sentence, so they were freed to return home since then.

The Cambodian-Thai border has never been fully demarcated. And the two sides have had border conflict just one week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple was registered as World Heritage Site in July 2008.

Since the conflict started, military standoff has been on and off along the two countries' border and several military clashes have already happened with recorded small causalities from both sides.


Cambodia-Thai troops exchange fire near ancient temple

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Clash between Cambodian and Thai troops near the 11th century temple was still on at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and the Cambodian troops have arrested 5-6 Thai troops, said military sources.

"Now, we have arrested 5-6 Thai troops and some raised hands to defect," said a soldier standby at the area of Preah Vihear temple. "Thai side has asked us to do negotiation."

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh told Xinhua through phone on Friday that "We have warned them not to enter our territory, but they still violated and entered, so we opened fire to defend our territory."

He added that heavy weapons including rockets, machine guns, mortars and artillery have been used in the exchange of fire.

"It's too early to report about the deaths and wounds in the clash," said Tea Banh.

The clash started at 3:15 p.m. on Friday afternoon as Thai bulldozers tried to clear the way at the border and enter Cambodia territory and Cambodian troops prevented them from moving into Cambodia at Beehive area in front of Preah Vihear temple, but they did not listen to, "so military clash happened to protect our territory," said the soldier.

The incident was the latest in a long-festering dispute over the cliff-top Preah Vihear temple.

The incident coincided with the visit of Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya in Cambodia to attend the 7th meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation.

The re-tension between Cambodia and Thailand over the border happened on Jan. 27 after Thailand asked Cambodia to remove a national flag over Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svarak pagoda near Preah Vihear temple, claiming that the pagoda is on the disputed area, but the Cambodian side rejected it.

Cambodia has the Preah Vihear temple enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had border conflict over the Thai claim of ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides. Enditem


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