Khmer-Thai Border Disputes in Anlong Veng

Drawing: Vietnamese soldier is trying to encroach on Cambodian land. Photos: Gen. Ke Kimyan, chief of the army, inspecting his troops on Indepedence Day. These troops should be sent to guard our borders instead of stationing them in the cities where they are only there to protect Hun Sen's power.

Dear Readers,

Since the present regime came to power in 1979 Cambodia has seen its borders being violated and encroached by our two powerful neignbours, Vietnam and Thailand. What is so sad is that any border violations by our neighbours have met with silence from our national leaders, particularly the prime minister. On every border violation the task of facilitating and resolving that issue was tasked to the powerless local border guards who have neither the expertise nor the negotiating power in which to negotiate or to resolve the issue with the more expert, cunning and powerful negotiating teams of our neighbours. As always, our local border committee has lost in the negotiation.

Var Kim Hong, who is supposed to be in charge of all border issues always claimed that he hasn't yet received any information when asked by reporters. He should know every minute details of what happened to our borders. To say that he cannot comment on any border issue because he did not receive any information shows that he is not capable of handling border issues. If so he should resign or be sacked. Anything that happened to our borders he should be the first to know. If he does not know about what happened to our borders then it means that he has not done his job.

Cambodia has about 120,000 troops but these troops are not stationed along our borders to protect our borders. Instead they are mostly stationed in city areas for protecting Hun Sen's power from a possible coup d'etat. The job of protecting our borders are left to local authorities and policemen who have neither the expertise, the equipments nor the manpower to perform their jobs effectively.

I have a lot of sympathy with our local border authorities who has to face with the more expert, cunning and powerful authorities from our neighbouring countries. They have been intimidated, threatened and overpowered every time they went for a negotiation. All the national authorities such as Var Kim Hong and Hun Sen never utter a word of protest or show their faces in any border disputations. And as a result Cambodian land has been shrunk significantly by the day. Sad!!

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Radio Free Asia, 8th November 2007

By Sav Yuth

Translated by Khmerization

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Khmer border guards in the Dangrek Ranges who are guarding the Chorm Sa-Ngarm border pass in Anlong Veng, Banteay Meanchey province which borders Phu-Sing district in Thailand's Sisaket province have reported that the black-clad Thai soldiers had sent a letter to them asking them to stop the construction of a concrete fence on the Khmer side of the border. Those border guards have also claimed that recently those black-clad soldiers had crossed into Cambodian side of the border to prevent Khmer soldiers from constructing a border outpost.

Vice-chairman of the Khmer Border Committee in charge of relations with the Thai Border Committee, Major Touch Var, has said on Thursday morning of the 8th of November that the Thai Border Committee had sent a letter on the 6th of November asking the Khmer land owner to stop building a 60 metres concrete fence on his land which is located on the Cambodian side of the border.

And ten days before heavily armed Thai black-clad soldiers had crossed into the Cambodian side of the border to stop the Khmer soldiers from constructing a border outpost by claiming that the area is sitting on the border line which has not been clearly demarcated yet.

Major Touch Var has said that:" They have sent a letter to us two days ago requesting us to suspend the construction of a concrete fence on the eastern side of the casino which is located parallel to the demining site which was also prohibited by the Thai side. Earlier we have converted our border outpost from a tent building to a building with a corrugated iron roof but the Thai side have prevented us from doing so".

A Cambodian border officer who spoke on condition of anonimity has reacted with accusations that those Thai soldiers had intended to cause a border crisis by violating the maps agreed by both the Cambodian and Thai border committees.

This same anonimous officer said that:" The Cambodian and Thai border committees have agreed to use the 1907 maps with the 1,200 scales. Everyday the Thai has been using the 150 scales American maps which are produced/drawn once every 5 years which we did not agree with, even if they say that their land is deep inside Anlong Veng we couldn't careless".

However, this Thursday Radio Free Asia is unable to seek any comment from the Thai Border Committee or from any officials of the Thai embassy in Cambodia.

Mr. Var Kim Hong, chairman of the Cambodian Border Committee has commented that he has not yet received any information about this issue and therefore he is unable to comment about it. Mr. Var said that:" I cannot confirm about this issue because I have not yet received any information regarding this issue".

The Khmer border guards have said that in the last 3 months the border disputations had occured 4 times, with the Thai black-clad soldiers crossing into the Cambodian side to stop the deminer Halo Trust from clearing land mines in that area.

On 10th of October the Thai soldiers have crossed the border to prevent the building of a petrol station and 10 days ago the Thai black-clad soldiers have crossed the border to prevent the Khmer side from constructing a border outpost in the areas which the Khmer border guards claimed that the areas are located on the Khmer side of the border.//