The Province, Canada
Reuters May 3, 2011
The International Court of Justice on Monday said Cambodia had filed an application over a temple dispute with Thailand, and has asked it to order the Thai military to withdraw from the area.
The fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops over the 12th-century Preah Vihear temple (pictured) has turned into Southeast Asia's bloodiest border dispute in years, resulting in several deaths and forcing more than 50,000 to seek safety in evacuation centres.
The ICJ, based in The Hague, ruled on the dispute nearly 50 years ago, in 1962, awarding the temple to Cambodia, but both countries lay claim to a 4.6-square-kilometre patch of land around it.
The temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2008, a decision fiercely opposed by Thailand on the grounds that the land around Preah Vihear was never demarcated.
Cambodia said it is seeking an explanation from the ICJ over the meaning and scope of its judgment, and that the explanation, "which would be binding on Cambodia and Thailand, . . . could then serve as a basis for a final resolution of this dispute through negotiation or any other peaceful means".
"Serious armed incidents are continuing at the time of filing of the present request, for which Thailand is entirely responsible," Cambodia said, asking the court to order an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Thai forces from Cambodian territory in the temple area.
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