One Temple of Three Thai: Border Official

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer Original report from Washington 05 August 2008

Khmer audio aired 05 August 2008 (860 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 05 August 2008 (860 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Cambodia reacted cautiously Monday to a Thai proposal for the listing of a border temple on the Unesco World Heritage protection list.

Thailand has reportedly requested the Ta Moan Thom temple for World Heritage status, a temple Cambodia claims as its own.

The temple is the largest of three temples of the Ta Moan complex, several hundred kilometers west of Preah Vihear temple, where a tense military standoff continues.

Officials say Thai troops fortified positions around Ta Moan Thom over the weekend.

"They can list it if it belongs to Thailand, but the Franco-Siam treaty says two temples out of three belong to Cambodia," Var Kimhong, chief of Cambodia's Border Committee said Tuesday. "Those are Ta Moan Thom and Ta Moan Touch."

The official Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted a Thai official this week as saying Thailand would seek World Heritage status for Ta Moan Thom.