Click on Khmer text to read.Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban, the Thai Deputy Prime Minister, has been pressured by the Thai ultra-nationalists to take action against Cambodia for building roads in the so-called "disputed zones". In response he said: "The roads were built during the previous government. And even if there are roads in the border area it does not mean that the land belongs to Cambodia".
Mr. Suthep's statement has prompted the Cambodian government to reply in a statement below:
Kingdom of Cambodia
Nation Religion King
Council of Ministers
Office of Spokesman
No: 001 Or Sor Thor
Statement
The Office of the spokesman for the Council of Ministers wishes to inform national and international public opinion that the Royal Government of Cambodia rejects totally the statement by His Excellency Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, on 24th September 2009 in relations to the old road to the north linking the Preah Vihear temple.
The Office of the Council of Ministers whishes to clarify the following:
-The long-built old road from the foot of the mountian to the Preah Vihear temple is totally situated inside Cambodian sovereignty and territorial integrity based on history and on legal basis of the Phnom Dangrek Map Annex I which came about as a result of the Franco-Siamese Convention of 1904, the 1907 Treaty and the verdict of the International Court of Justice in 1962 which as been re-certified in Quebec City in Canada through the inscription of the Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site in accordance with the application by the Kingdom of Cambodia.
-This long-built old road has been under repairs and renovations funded by Bayon Foundation which Madame Hun Mana is the president who has made great effort to collect donations from all circles to carry out repair and renovation works until it is successfully completed as a mean for the Cambodian people and tourists to travel to pray and visit monks at Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda and to visit Preah Vihear temple.
-This road is not a joint road between Cambodia and Thailand because this road is completely located inside the territories of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
The Office of the spokesman of the Council of Ministers expresses regrets and wishes to make an announcement resolutely rejecting all the baseless comments and statements which can confuse public opinions and that can affect the bilateral relations and friendship between the two countries.
Royal Capital of Phnom Penh, 25th September, 2009
stamped and sealed by Council of Ministers
Mr. Suthep's statement has prompted the Cambodian government to reply in a statement below:
Kingdom of Cambodia
Nation Religion King
Council of Ministers
Office of Spokesman
No: 001 Or Sor Thor
Statement
The Office of the spokesman for the Council of Ministers wishes to inform national and international public opinion that the Royal Government of Cambodia rejects totally the statement by His Excellency Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, on 24th September 2009 in relations to the old road to the north linking the Preah Vihear temple.
The Office of the Council of Ministers whishes to clarify the following:
-The long-built old road from the foot of the mountian to the Preah Vihear temple is totally situated inside Cambodian sovereignty and territorial integrity based on history and on legal basis of the Phnom Dangrek Map Annex I which came about as a result of the Franco-Siamese Convention of 1904, the 1907 Treaty and the verdict of the International Court of Justice in 1962 which as been re-certified in Quebec City in Canada through the inscription of the Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site in accordance with the application by the Kingdom of Cambodia.
-This long-built old road has been under repairs and renovations funded by Bayon Foundation which Madame Hun Mana is the president who has made great effort to collect donations from all circles to carry out repair and renovation works until it is successfully completed as a mean for the Cambodian people and tourists to travel to pray and visit monks at Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda and to visit Preah Vihear temple.
-This road is not a joint road between Cambodia and Thailand because this road is completely located inside the territories of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
The Office of the spokesman of the Council of Ministers expresses regrets and wishes to make an announcement resolutely rejecting all the baseless comments and statements which can confuse public opinions and that can affect the bilateral relations and friendship between the two countries.
Royal Capital of Phnom Penh, 25th September, 2009
stamped and sealed by Council of Ministers
4 comments:
Indeed. Much of the baseless comments and statements stemming from Thailand are made with the intention of confusing public opinion. They've flipped flopped all over the place.
The area where the road was built is located deep inside Khmer territories under 1904 Khmer-Thai convention, 1907 Khmer-Thai treaty and 1962 international court decision. Thailand has no claim to this area.
It is utmost important that official statements be proof-read by qualified staff prior to releasing them to the public. A poorly written or worded statement will not only embarrass the nation, but also compromise the nation credibility. Not long ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mistaken the word compliment with complaint.
In the posted message, The “Office of the spokesman of the Council of the Ministers” should not be used, unless the spokesman wants to brag about his or her status in the message, which is absurd. The message should be consistently and appropriately worded with: “The Office of the Council of Ministers”.
You know Phay Siphan wants to set up his own group within the Council of Ministers. See, Sok An set up a breakaway group from Hun Sen by making the Council of Ministers very strong and now he controls Hun Sen and his activities.
But we should not divert the attention here. Thailand's claims of Preah Vihear areas are the issues. The lands that Suthep was talking about was located within Khmer sovereignty under international laws. Even a lot of areas along the borders populated by Thai soldiers and villagers are Khmer territories under 1907 treaty, but due to wars Cambodia was unable to protect those areas and Thais took control of them.
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