Koh Santepheap newspaper
29th December, 2008
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization
Mr. Khieu Kanharith (pictured), Cambodia’s Minister of Information and government spokesman, has told reporters that the Thai Foreign Ministry and the newly-appointed Thai Foreign Minister have said that the Khmer-Thai border disputes in the areas around the Preah Vihear temple will be resolved in accordance with the maps of the 1904-1907 Khmer-Thai border treaty and in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2000. Mr. Kanharith said that the new border talk has not been rescheduled yet because the red-shirted protesters (Thaksin ’s supporters) have accused the new government of hypocrisy, of doing the same thing as the previous government, regarding border issues.
At the same time, Mr. Kanharith said that the Cambodian government has chosen the best option, and that is bilateral talks, in order to avoid an all out war because wars have brought great loss and misery to our country in the past. He said that even if Cambodia complains to the UN, they will tell Cambodia and Thailand to come back to resolve the issues through peaceful means. The minister added that, Cambodia still can complain to the UN if Thailand invaded Cambodian territories. As for ASEAN, they have told Cambodia and Thailand to continue bilateral talks, he said.
Regarding lodging a complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Mr. Kanharith said that Cambodia cannot bring the matter to ICJ if Thailand does not agree because this is the sovereignty of a country.
According to sources, in January 2009, the Khmer-Thai Joint Boundary Commission will hold talks in Thailand and then in Preah Vihear areas. Cambodian and Thai negotiators have reached an agreement in previous talks but the agreement needs the approval of the Thai parliament. The next talks were scheduled to take place in early December to finalise the agreement, but due to political crisis in Thailand, the Thai parliament was unable to approve the agreement.
Political observers said that many talks on the 5-months long disputes have resulted in little progress because of the prolonged political crisis in Thailand. They said that as a result, Cambodia has become the hostage of the repeated Thai internal political crises.
29th December, 2008
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization
Mr. Khieu Kanharith (pictured), Cambodia’s Minister of Information and government spokesman, has told reporters that the Thai Foreign Ministry and the newly-appointed Thai Foreign Minister have said that the Khmer-Thai border disputes in the areas around the Preah Vihear temple will be resolved in accordance with the maps of the 1904-1907 Khmer-Thai border treaty and in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2000. Mr. Kanharith said that the new border talk has not been rescheduled yet because the red-shirted protesters (Thaksin ’s supporters) have accused the new government of hypocrisy, of doing the same thing as the previous government, regarding border issues.
At the same time, Mr. Kanharith said that the Cambodian government has chosen the best option, and that is bilateral talks, in order to avoid an all out war because wars have brought great loss and misery to our country in the past. He said that even if Cambodia complains to the UN, they will tell Cambodia and Thailand to come back to resolve the issues through peaceful means. The minister added that, Cambodia still can complain to the UN if Thailand invaded Cambodian territories. As for ASEAN, they have told Cambodia and Thailand to continue bilateral talks, he said.
Regarding lodging a complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Mr. Kanharith said that Cambodia cannot bring the matter to ICJ if Thailand does not agree because this is the sovereignty of a country.
According to sources, in January 2009, the Khmer-Thai Joint Boundary Commission will hold talks in Thailand and then in Preah Vihear areas. Cambodian and Thai negotiators have reached an agreement in previous talks but the agreement needs the approval of the Thai parliament. The next talks were scheduled to take place in early December to finalise the agreement, but due to political crisis in Thailand, the Thai parliament was unable to approve the agreement.
Political observers said that many talks on the 5-months long disputes have resulted in little progress because of the prolonged political crisis in Thailand. They said that as a result, Cambodia has become the hostage of the repeated Thai internal political crises.
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