A Thai soldier injured in a fighting with Cambodia is helped by his comrades and a nurse after arriving at a hospital in Phnom Dongrak district of Surin province, northeastern Thailand, Friday, April 22, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia exchanged artillery and gunfire for several hours along their disputed frontier Friday in a new flare-up of their long-running conflict. It was the first skirmish reported since the two Southeast Asian countries battled for four straight days in February at the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.
(AP Photo) THAILAND OUT
(AP Photo) THAILAND OUT
Writer: Wassana Nanuam
Published: 29/04/2011
Bangkok Post
Cambodian defence spokesman Chhum Socheat did not shed crocodile tears to win sympathy from the world when he talked to reporters during a recent press conference on the Thai-Cambodia border clashes.
It could be true that heavy losses suffered by Cambodia during the border clashes with Thailand brought him to tears, and not the heart-wrenching drama in the Thai soap opera Dok Som Si Thong, as army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd suggested. Col Sansern earlier said that Lt Gen Chhum Socheat might have been a bit too impressed by Reya, a popular and artificial female character in the Channel 3 soap opera, which can be seen in Cambodia.
A highly placed military source said that when Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon telephoned Gen Tea Banh to discuss the prospects of a ceasefire after the clashes had entered a second day, his Cambodian counterpart turned down the peace overtures.
Gen Tea Banh told Gen Prawit that Cambodian soldiers were met with too much of a ''heavy-handed'' response from Thai troops and that a ceasefire was still not possible, the source said.
''A lot of Cambodian soldiers have died. They suffered heavy losses.
''But they started the fight and Thai soldiers had to retaliate,'' 2nd Army chief Thawatchai Samutsakhon said.
''If they shell us, Thai troops will retaliate by launching even heavier shelling,'' Lt Gen Thawatchai said.
Border military sources have said that if the Cambodian side fires one artillery shell, Thai troops will retaliate with around five shells. ''We launch about 200-300 artillery shells each day [during the fighting],'' a source said.
During the past two months, since the Feb 4-7 clashes with Cambodia in Phu Makhua, near Preah Vihear, Thai troops have amassed plenty of artillery shells, multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), and radars in the area.
Gen Prawit, while on a visit to China this week, will hold talks to buy additional 130mm MRL systems and radars from China at a cost of 1.2 billion baht.
After heavy retaliatory shelling on April 26, a day of few skirmishes, Thai troops spotted Cambodians collecting a number of bodies of their dead colleagues.
Cambodia reported that eight of its soldiers were killed on Tuesday.
Cambodian army deputy commander Hun Manet, son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, has reportedly moved back from his headquarters at O Smach opposite the Chong Jom border checkpoint in Surin's Kap Choeng district to 20 kilometres inland from the scene of the clashes.
Since the latest spate of fighting erupted, Cambodia suffered its worst losses during a battle near the Kap Choeng border on April 24 and 25, the source said. A deputy commander of Cambodia's Brigade 42, who was the son of a former Khmer Rouge military leader, was among those killed in the clashes, said a Thai intelligence report.
Cambodia and Cambodian soldiers have been dragged into a conflict not of their own choosing. Hun Sen wields complete control over them and he has already made the choice on their behalf, a Thai soldier said.
Thailand and Cambodia yesterday agreed to a ceasefire after one week of border clashes.
Cambodian defence spokesman Chhum Socheat did not shed crocodile tears to win sympathy from the world when he talked to reporters during a recent press conference on the Thai-Cambodia border clashes.
It could be true that heavy losses suffered by Cambodia during the border clashes with Thailand brought him to tears, and not the heart-wrenching drama in the Thai soap opera Dok Som Si Thong, as army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd suggested. Col Sansern earlier said that Lt Gen Chhum Socheat might have been a bit too impressed by Reya, a popular and artificial female character in the Channel 3 soap opera, which can be seen in Cambodia.
A highly placed military source said that when Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon telephoned Gen Tea Banh to discuss the prospects of a ceasefire after the clashes had entered a second day, his Cambodian counterpart turned down the peace overtures.
Gen Tea Banh told Gen Prawit that Cambodian soldiers were met with too much of a ''heavy-handed'' response from Thai troops and that a ceasefire was still not possible, the source said.
''A lot of Cambodian soldiers have died. They suffered heavy losses.
''But they started the fight and Thai soldiers had to retaliate,'' 2nd Army chief Thawatchai Samutsakhon said.
''If they shell us, Thai troops will retaliate by launching even heavier shelling,'' Lt Gen Thawatchai said.
Border military sources have said that if the Cambodian side fires one artillery shell, Thai troops will retaliate with around five shells. ''We launch about 200-300 artillery shells each day [during the fighting],'' a source said.
During the past two months, since the Feb 4-7 clashes with Cambodia in Phu Makhua, near Preah Vihear, Thai troops have amassed plenty of artillery shells, multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), and radars in the area.
Gen Prawit, while on a visit to China this week, will hold talks to buy additional 130mm MRL systems and radars from China at a cost of 1.2 billion baht.
After heavy retaliatory shelling on April 26, a day of few skirmishes, Thai troops spotted Cambodians collecting a number of bodies of their dead colleagues.
Cambodia reported that eight of its soldiers were killed on Tuesday.
Cambodian army deputy commander Hun Manet, son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, has reportedly moved back from his headquarters at O Smach opposite the Chong Jom border checkpoint in Surin's Kap Choeng district to 20 kilometres inland from the scene of the clashes.
Since the latest spate of fighting erupted, Cambodia suffered its worst losses during a battle near the Kap Choeng border on April 24 and 25, the source said. A deputy commander of Cambodia's Brigade 42, who was the son of a former Khmer Rouge military leader, was among those killed in the clashes, said a Thai intelligence report.
Cambodia and Cambodian soldiers have been dragged into a conflict not of their own choosing. Hun Sen wields complete control over them and he has already made the choice on their behalf, a Thai soldier said.
Thailand and Cambodia yesterday agreed to a ceasefire after one week of border clashes.
4 comments:
that was a good jok bangkok post..
Imagine that you scanned your CB (Citizens Band) radio receiver and all of the sudden a loud voice of shouting and laughing in one channel comes up. It comes from a bunch of criminals who were bragging aloud of how their group went in to rob a convenient store,killed the clerk,did damage to all the store property etc..
If you had lived in this type of city or county what would you have felt like ?
Of course it is not going to happen here in the USA, but in SE Asia after the Thai criminals invaded Cambodia they still braged on TV and in news paper of how they assaulted and killed the victims unashamedly .
Where is the World Police Force, Cambodia sincerely and desperately need them.
Kampujak Neadh,
you are 100% right. One more thing I want to add here. Not only World Police Force but also a single un-armed observer hasn't been sent to the disputed area.
I am totally disappointed.
Stop crying for sympathy you weak sauce. The world are not going to help us you should know by now. Cambodian can handle this situation with Thailand. We been through it so stop crying for everyone. You need to man and fight the Thai thieves. The country that got a lot to lose is Thailand, if this war continues to drag on with Cambodia. You just wait and see. Cambodian forces might be under arms but they're are not stupid.
Post a Comment