By The Nation
Published on April 19, 2011
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti (pictured) has quit his position as head of the Thai delegation to the bilateral and international negotiations over the Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site, an informed source disclosed yesterday.
"He has withdrawn from the delegation for the bilateral talks with Cambodia and also from the delegation for the World Heritage Committee meeting," the source said.
The bilateral talks are scheduled to take place in France on May 25. The WHC meeting will take place on June 19 and 20, also in France.
Last year, Suwit led the delegation to the WHC meeting in Brazil and successfully had the Unesco committee delay any decision on Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear Temple complex.
Thailand and Cambodia have had a rocky relationship since Phnom Penh unilaterally pushed to list the ancient Hindu temple as a World Heritage Site on its soil.
According to the source, Suwit told the national committee on the World Heritage Convention - chaired by Trairong Suwankhiri - that he needed to focus on election campaigns and had no time to attend the meetings.
"Suwit has asked the committee to assign the Foreign Ministry to take charge of the negotiations instead," the source said. "Trairong rebuked Suwit, saying Cabinet had assigned him to handle this matter all along."
The source said Trairong planned to raise the issue at the upcoming Cabinet meeting. It is widely believed that Assada Chainam, who chairs the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission, will replace Suwit as head of the delegation for the Preah Vihear negotiations.
Suwit could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The reason behind his decision to withdraw from the Preah Vihear issue, sources suggested, was the People's Alliance For Democracy's move to lodge a complaint against him over his signing of WHC documents last year.
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Kasit: Suwit still main negotiator
19th April, 2011
Bangkok Post
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wants Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti to continue working as the government's chief negotiator with Unesco on the disputed Preah Vihear temple, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Tuesday.
"If Mr Suwit insists that he will resign, he would have to discuss it with the prime minister," Mr Kasit said.
The minister said he was not at odds with Mr Suwit as they had conflicting ideas at times. All issues concerning Preah Vihear were not dealt went through the cabinet's consideration, not just the foreign and natural resources and environment ministries.
Mr Kasit said he and Mr Suwit talked openly for a few hours yesterday and they had no problems with the differences.
When reporters asked Mr Kasit whether the disagreement came about when Mr Suwit disagreed with the plan to joint list Preah Vihear with Cambodia, he said the issue had yet to be resolved.
The minister said he had met with the Unesco representatives and reiterated Thailand's stance that the Preah Vihear management plan proposed by Cambodia should be put off or scrapped as the border negotiation between both countries had not finalised yet.
He said the temple management plan, if carried out, would violate the sovereignty of Thailand. If negotiations are not over, there might be conflicts, which would not be unusal.
He insisted that Thailand has not lost its sovereignty.
1 comment:
This guy is smart that he wants to quit because he knows that ah siem or thai stole lands from khmer and he does not want to be called a thieve.
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