Foreign minister: No word yet on Thai restitution at Preah Vihear

Written by Cheang Sokha

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia is seeking $2.1m in damages for razing of 264 market stalls. Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON Foreign Minister Hor Namhong shown here in a file photograph. THE Cambodian government is still waiting for a Thai response to its demands for compensation for a market that was destroyed during border clashes in April, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Monday. Speaking with reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hor Namhong said the issue was not on the official agenda during talks between Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart, Abhisit Vejjajiva, in Phnom Penh on Friday. "The Thai prime minister and the Thai foreign minister have never dismissed our claims, but they asked for time to investigate," Hor Namhong said. Cambodia is seeking US$2.1 million in damages from Thailand over the destruction of 264 market stalls at the foot of the Preah Vihear temple, which the government says were destroyed by Thai rocket fire on April 3, leaving around 319 families homeless. Thai and Cambodian troops have faced off for nearly a year, following UNESCO's listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site last July. Last month, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters that the government would have to look at the market's location and the damage caused before it could respond to Cambodia's request. On Monday, about 150 Cambodians gathered at Deum Ampil, a Khmer-language newspaper, to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that handed Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia. Deum Ampil publisher Soy Sopheap said the event was to remind Cambodians of the achievement of building the temple, defending it at the ICJ and listing it as a UNESCO site last year.