Preah Vihear controversy

July 26, 2008
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Samak hopeful monday meet will end deadlock Phnom Penh will go to UN again if talks fail

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej yesterday expressed optimism that Monday's ministerial meeting would reach a settlement on the Preah Vihear temple conflict, but Cambodia vowed to send the border dispute back to the UN Security Council if the talks failed.

"I don't know how it [the stand-off] will end, but I hope the meeting on July 28 will produce good results," Samak said as Government House sources reported a new foreign minister representing Thailand at the negotiating table was expected to be announced today.

Among the candidates for the post left vacant by Noppadon Pattama's abrupt resignation are Dej Bunnag and Sakthip Krairiksh, the sources said.

Dej is a former permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry, while ex-diplomat Sakthip is a former permanent secretary of the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

Samak agreed with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen that their foreign ministers would meet in Siem Reap on Monday to discuss the overlapping claims to Preah Vihear and its vicinity after Cambodia delayed a plan to seek an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

Noppadon quit after the Constitution Court's ruling that the joint communique he signed supporting Cambodia's application to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site was unconstitutional.

The name of the new foreign minister was submitted for His Majesty the King's endorsement, hopefully in time for the minister to make it to the Siem Reap meeting, a government source said.

In Phnom Penh, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said the Siem Reap meeting was a good step towards reconciliation but that if it did not produce a breakthrough, Cambodia would resubmit its request for a UN meeting.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said the coming ministerial meeting would build on the progress made at the recent General Border Committee meeting in easing tensions.

Siem Reap will be the second round of bilateral meetings after the militaries of both countries faced off on July 15, when Cambodia accused Thailand of encroachment onto the disputed area around the Hindu temple. Thailand has sent 400 armed forces to the area, while Cambodia has amassed more than 1,000 troops.

Thailand believes the temple's new status as a World Heritage site could undermine its claim to sovereignty over a 4.6-square-kilometre patch at the site.