No peace at the temple

Scholars and historians are urging people on both sides of the border to take a calm and peaceful approach to the row that has erupted over the bid to get the ancient Preah Vihear temple listed as a World Heritage site

Piyaporn Wongruang

A Cambodian woman lays her eyes on the Preah Vihear temple. Academics have suggested that urgent steps be taken to settle the temple border dispute.

Pongpol Adireksarn, head of the Thai national world heritage committee meets a group of protesters rallying against Thailand's support of the Preah Vihear temple's listing during the World Heritage Committee's meeting in Quebec, Canada.

Cambodian soldiers stand guard in front of a gate on the Cambodian-Thai border in Preah Vihear province.

More and more Thai people have been gathering near the Cambodian border, trying to exert pressure over the proposed listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

In Bangkok, the issue has been heating up and has been picked up by critics of the government and the anti-government group the People's Alliance for Democracy, who have accused the administration of trying to exchange Thailand's support for the listing for future economic benefits in Cambodia for cronies of the Thai government.

And in the hearts of many Thais, there has been frustration and dissatisfaction, which has ignited fear and hatred towards their neighbour.

What will result from the success or failure of the Cambodian bid is a question several scholars have been trying to answer.

"The current situation is highly charged. What is most feared is not violence in Cambodia, but here, in Bangkok," said Surachart Bamrungsuk, a noted political scientist specialising in national security issues at Chulalongkorn University.

For Mr Surachart, who has studied national security issues for more than two decades, the issue of the Preah Vihear listing is challenging the mindset of Thai people as well as their neighbours over their unsettled boundaries.

The two countries have not settled on where the borderline should run near the temple.

The frontier with Cambodia is 798 kilometres long. And part of it involves the controversial overlapping territory, including the site around Preah Vihear with at least 4.6 square kilometres of disputed territory.

Originally, there were no borders or boundaries around Preah Vihear. According to some scholars, including noted historian Srisakra Vallibhotama, people in mainland Southeast Asia did not recognise territory based on boundary lines. They accepted symbols which mainly were landmarks relating to spiritual power, the scholar added, and Preah Vihear's location was believed to match this concept.

The ancient temple was built on top of a headland over a steep cliff, which separates the Cambodian plains from the the Korat plateau in Thailand. But the border agreed in 1904 and 1907 between France, which ruled Cambodia at the time, and Thailand, changed the perception of territory over the sanctuary. Preah Vihear was built and promoted as one of the highest value sacred places, being worshiped by several of the ancient Khmer kings.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites, which evaluated new listings for the World Heritage Committee, described Preah Vihear as "an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture. It is very 'pure' both in plan and in the details of its decoration", and the site of the temple and its environment today "represent a particularly significant example of the Khmer genius for adapting monuments to their environment".

The council's assessment reflects the temple's outstanding universal value, and it has thrown its weight behind listing it as a World Heritage site.

But the site was divided into separate territories in 1962 when the International Court of Justice handed down its verdict on the ownership of Preah Vihear.

The court's ruling stated that "the temple is situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia", while its surrounding area is still contested by Thailand and Cambodia, with different boundary lines drawn over it.

In order to keep the integrity and value of the site, the controversy about the proposed listing of Preah Vihear should be managed with the right mindset, taking into account the unsettled boundaries between Thailand and Cambodia, scholars said.

Cambodia has proposed only the temple's structure be put on the World Heritage List, with Thailand trying to nominate the surrounding area separately.

Mr Surachart suggests both Thais and Cambodians find ways to overcome their past struggles over their unsettled boundaries so relations will not be damaged unnecessarily.

He recently proposed joint management in the form of either joint development areas or joint cultural development areas for Preah Vihear so the two countries could avoid clashing over their unsettled boundary. Preservation work for the site needs to be done, and when developed both countries should benefit.

"The disputed areas should be viewed as the property of all concerned because once you try to draw a line over them, there tends to be a winner and a loser, and no one wants to be a loser," he said. "A win-win situation is there for people."

Historian Mr Srisakra suggested that the people involved first understand the most important part in the Preah Vihear case is the integrity and universal value of the temple.

He said people should not push for the temple to be listed as a World Heritage site only because they want economic benefits. The real meaning of being a World Heritage site is that it helps reflect the world's civilisation, he added."Don't just look at short-term benefits and concentrate on keeping its physical property. The temple is actually a valuable cultural sphere that was once shared by people regardless of their races and nationalities," said Mr Srisakra.