Cambodian soldiers arrest Thai legislator

Monsters and critics
Dec 29, 2010,

Bangkok - Cambodian troops on Wednesday arrested a Thai legislator and six other Thais who were inspecting a disputed area on the Thai-Cambodian border, officials said.
Panich Wikitsate (pictured), a member of the ruling Democrat Party, and six colleagues were detained by Cambodian troops in a disputed zone in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Keow province, 200 kilometres east of Bangkok, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi confirmed.
'The Thai provincial authorities are coordinating with the local Cambodian authorities to gain his release,' Thani said. 'I don't think it's going to turn into a big problem.'
Panich, an assistant to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya before he was elected legislator in a by-election last month, was inspecting the border region after villagers complained that Cambodian soldiers were occupying the area.
Relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been tense for more than two years with sporadic clashes between troops over disputed territory near Preah Vihear temple.
The 11th-century Hindu temple sits atop the Dongrak mountain range between Thailand's Si Sak Ket province and Cambodia's Preah Vihear province.
Both countries claimed sovereignty over the temple in the 1950s, forcing them to take the border dispute to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for a resolution.
The court in 1962 ruled in Cambodia's favour, but failed to rule on the border delineation in the area surrounding the temple.
Thailand continued to claim sovereignty over a 2 square kilometre area adjacent to the temple, which sparked a fresh border wrangle in July 2009, after UNESCO designated Preah Vihear a World Heritage Site, enhancing its potential as a tourist attraction.