Map showing Thailand's encroachments on Cambodian lands around Preah Vihear temple.World Heritage listing row still needs settling
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
A top foreign affairs official will leave for Phnom Penh today for discussions on the controversial issue of Unesco World Heritage listing for the ancient Khmer temple of Preah Vihear. Foreign affairs permanent secretary Weerasak Futrakul will meet Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in the Cambodian capital.
Bangkok accepts Cambodia's sovereignty over Preah Vihear, which sits right on the border with Si Sa Ket province but can be easily accessed only through Thailand.
But they need to settle the dispute over ownership of 4.6 square kilometres of land adjoining the temple ruins.
Thailand has proposed that a joint management plan be drawn up for the overlapping areas until the border demarcation is completed, and that they jointly propose Preah Vihear to Unesco for listing. Cambodia has so far thrown cold water on the Thai proposal and will continue its solo push for the temple's registration with the UN body at a meeting in Canada in July.
The Preah Vihear dispute erupted in 2001 when Cambodia asked Unesco to put the ancient ruins, called Khao Phra Viharn in Thai, on the World Heritage List. Unesco last year postponed a decision on the listing pending an agreement between the two sides.
According to Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, Unesco special representative Francesco Caruso has cancelled a trip to Thailand and Cambodia during which he was to have separate talks with the two governments on the issue. The cancellation came after Cambodia suggested the two sides settle the issue between themselves.
The Preah Vihear dispute has at times strained relations between the two neighbours.
On April 10, the government handed an aide-memoire to Cambodian ambassador Ung Sean protesting the deployment of Cambodian troops near the temple. Phnom Penh countered by summoning Thai envoy Viraphand Vacharathit to deny the allegations.
A top foreign affairs official will leave for Phnom Penh today for discussions on the controversial issue of Unesco World Heritage listing for the ancient Khmer temple of Preah Vihear. Foreign affairs permanent secretary Weerasak Futrakul will meet Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in the Cambodian capital.
Bangkok accepts Cambodia's sovereignty over Preah Vihear, which sits right on the border with Si Sa Ket province but can be easily accessed only through Thailand.
But they need to settle the dispute over ownership of 4.6 square kilometres of land adjoining the temple ruins.
Thailand has proposed that a joint management plan be drawn up for the overlapping areas until the border demarcation is completed, and that they jointly propose Preah Vihear to Unesco for listing. Cambodia has so far thrown cold water on the Thai proposal and will continue its solo push for the temple's registration with the UN body at a meeting in Canada in July.
The Preah Vihear dispute erupted in 2001 when Cambodia asked Unesco to put the ancient ruins, called Khao Phra Viharn in Thai, on the World Heritage List. Unesco last year postponed a decision on the listing pending an agreement between the two sides.
According to Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, Unesco special representative Francesco Caruso has cancelled a trip to Thailand and Cambodia during which he was to have separate talks with the two governments on the issue. The cancellation came after Cambodia suggested the two sides settle the issue between themselves.
The Preah Vihear dispute has at times strained relations between the two neighbours.
On April 10, the government handed an aide-memoire to Cambodian ambassador Ung Sean protesting the deployment of Cambodian troops near the temple. Phnom Penh countered by summoning Thai envoy Viraphand Vacharathit to deny the allegations.
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