| Written by Kay Kimsong | |
| Friday, 30 May 2008 Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post at http://phnompenhpost.com | |
 KAY KIMSONG Var Kimhong: The border with Laos will be fully demarcated by the end of June. Var Kimhong, the chairman of the Government Border Committee, told reporters on May 17 the Cambodia-Laos border committee had inspected 86 percent of the markers along the 540-kilometer border and only a few issues remained to be finalized. A 14-member Laotian delegation will be in Phnom Penh from June 3 to 5 for talks on the border, said a senior official at the Laotian embassy, Kengchai Sixanonh. “The Cambodia-Laos joint border committee has been working very smoothly and I think the relationship will get better in the future,” Kengchai said. Kimhong meanwhile said work on demarcating the border with Vietnam had been accelerated under an additional treaty signed with Hanoi in 2005. He said the treaty increased from one to five the number of groups working on delineating the 1,270km border, which will have more than 350 granite markers. However, Kimhong said differences with Bangkok over the 805km border with Thailand remained a problem, and he referred to a reported incursion by armed Thai paramilitary rangers on May 16 during which some houses were damaged at Choam Sa Ngam, in Anlong Veng district of Oddar Meanchey province. Kimhong said he was “surprised” by the incursion because negotiations had been taking place with Bangkok on opening a border crossing at Choam Sa Ngam linking Oddar Meanchey with Thailand’s Si Sa Ket province. The governor of Anlong Veng district, Yin Phanna, said on May 19 the situation had “cooled down” after talks earlier that day between Cambodian officials, including members of the provincial border commission, and Thai army officers. “Negotiations were the only way to solve the issue,” Phanna said, adding that no Cambodian troops were deployed in the area where the incursion took place. Despite occasional incidents along the border with Thailand, Kimhong said Cambodia regarded the bilateral relationship as one of “eternal friendship.” “We are like brothers or friends who live near each other ... we don’t need to deploy any troops,” Kimhong said. The Cambodia-Thailand Joint Border Commission began its demarcation work in 2006 – three years after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to resolve border issues – and has focused its efforts on finding the 73 markers installed by a French-Siamese commission. “The search for border markers has no schedule or timeframe for completing the task; what is most important is that an agreement can be reached,” Kimhong said. Asked about the main obstacles to demarcating the Cambodia-Thai border, Kimhong said the legacies of colonialism and years of conflict meant that it was not a “normal” border. |
Saturday, 31 May 2008
A defining moment draws near
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
In the aftermath of the 2003 standoff, a constitutional amendment was approved requiring only a simple majority in parliament to form a government, rather than the two-thirds needed in previous polls, a move that has all but assured the CPP of ruling on its own after the July election.
Can't beleive that people now start talking about the danegerous of single party government when they had plenty time during their year in the national assembly to propose an alternative, appropriate and suitable amendment to ensure that party hold majority seats in the NA would not be able to abuse their power.
Don't people think that it kinda too late to talk now or propose any amendment to constitution [fact the election day is just around the corner and suggestion that CPP might win and govern by iself]
I couldn't agree with you more. While people are talking about the danger of a single party rule, the 50+1 formula has made it possible and will ensure the eternal rule of Hun Sen and the CPP. The 51+1 formula is a big mistake and Hun Sen will do everything to ensure that he will achieve that goal to reach 50+1. With this formula the CPP will win and will definitely govern by itself. No doubt about it.
Post a Comment