Deputy PM calls for halt to jingoism

Published: 24/09/2009

Bangkok Post

Whipping up nationalist fervour over the Cambodian border issue is a risky game which could harm trade relations with our neighbour, says Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban.

Suthep: Favours talks, not picketing

Negotiations were the way to handle the dispute, not picketing, he said yesterday.

Mr Suthep was commenting on Saturday's clash between the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and Si Sa Ket residents near a disputed 4.6 square kilometre border area with Cambodia.

PAD held the protest in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket to pressure authorities to force Cambodians from the disputed area, which is near Preah Vihear temple.

The protesters confronted a group of residents who tried to stop them. A clash between PAD protesters and the villagers left scores of people on both sides injured.

Mr Suthep said the government had tried to solve the border problem through negotiation to prevent the dispute from escalating into a conflict between the countries.

People should not let their emotion drive them to stage protests over sovereignty, he said.

Demarcating the boundary with Cambodia could take as long as 10 years, as the two sides could not agree on who owns what.

PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey said the government would bring together Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and PAD co-leader Veera Somkhwamkid, who led the PAD protest on Saturday, to explain problems concerning Preah Vihear temple. They would appear together in a television broadcast after the prime minister returned from his overseas trip this weekend.

Natthawut Saikua, of the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), yesterday demanded Mr Abhisit clarify reports that Cambodia was building a road to Preah Vihear through the disputed area.