Watch video of Norodom Sihanouk visiting Preah Vihear temple in 1962 right after Cambodia won the case against Thailand at the International Court of Justice.
This article was sent to Khmerization by an anonymous reader.
The Preah Vihear Speech
In 1953, Preah Vihear was invaded by Thailand's armed forces as its belonging. With greatest efforts by His Majesty King Norodom Sihanuk who has led previous Royal Government of Cambodia, the King himself has done through many diplomatic channels with Thailand in order to get Preah Vihea back, but it was refused by Thailand. To follow any treaty: Any dispute that can’t be reached by diplomatic channel or agreement shall have been given to one or many arbitrators. And if there is no arbitrator, then it shall have given to permanent international court, where our highly respected His Royal Highness, the King had submitted the case to LAHE international court.
Victory had been given to Cambodia on 15th January 1962, under the decision of the international court, “Preah Vihea belongs to Cambodia, and geographically is on Cambodian land. On the 5th January 1963, after visiting Chom khsan district for newly inauguration our Royal Highness His Majesty the King of Cambodia; The Father of national Patrimony had traveled to Preah Vihear, 40 Km away form Chom khsan district center for our traditional Buddhist religious ceremony; and also to be presided raising Cambodian flag ceremony as a symbol of the returning of our beloved national inheritance that had been stolen by Thai force in 1953.
(note: this article is intended for Khmer to understand Thai Ideology thanks from L.C)
In 1953, Preah Vihear was invaded by Thailand's armed forces as its belonging. With greatest efforts by His Majesty King Norodom Sihanuk who has led previous Royal Government of Cambodia, the King himself has done through many diplomatic channels with Thailand in order to get Preah Vihea back, but it was refused by Thailand. To follow any treaty: Any dispute that can’t be reached by diplomatic channel or agreement shall have been given to one or many arbitrators. And if there is no arbitrator, then it shall have given to permanent international court, where our highly respected His Royal Highness, the King had submitted the case to LAHE international court.
Victory had been given to Cambodia on 15th January 1962, under the decision of the international court, “Preah Vihea belongs to Cambodia, and geographically is on Cambodian land. On the 5th January 1963, after visiting Chom khsan district for newly inauguration our Royal Highness His Majesty the King of Cambodia; The Father of national Patrimony had traveled to Preah Vihear, 40 Km away form Chom khsan district center for our traditional Buddhist religious ceremony; and also to be presided raising Cambodian flag ceremony as a symbol of the returning of our beloved national inheritance that had been stolen by Thai force in 1953.
(note: this article is intended for Khmer to understand Thai Ideology thanks from L.C)
3 comments:
Siamese forces repeatedly invaded Cambodia
(Thai ambition ideology)
Siamese forces repeatedly invaded Cambodia after the fifteenth century, the present border dispute actually dates from the period of the French protectorate (Giteau, 1957: 126-127 and 148-155). In the Franco-Thai treaties of 1887 and 1893, the government of Siam renounced all territorial claims on the left bank of the Mekong River, including the islands located in the river.Through a later series of treaties concluded in 1902-1907, Siam also ceded to France the border provinces of Battambang, Sisophon and Siem Reap .
In 1941The Thai army invaded northwestern Cambodia , and after fierce
fighting, took control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces with the exception of the French garrisons at Angkor Wat and Siem Reap town. The Thai takeover was legitimised with Japanese backing in a peace treaty signed in Tokyo in March 1941.Through this agreement, France agreed to return to Thailand most of the territory, including Preah Vihear, earlier ceded by the latter in the pacts of 1904 and 1907. In supplementary letters exchanged at the time, representatives of France and Thailand assured the Japanese government that neither would join a combination hostile to Japan. In turn, the Japanese government agreed to guarantee the new frontier (Landon, 1941: 25-42). With the termination of hostilities in 1945, the Tokyo convention was subsequently overturned; and in the 1946 Treaty of Washington, Thailand returned the border provinces it had seized five years earlier.
In 1953, the government of Thailand, under the pretext of strengthening its border defences, established a police post in the Dangrek Mountains just north of Preah Vihear and hoisted the Thai flag over the sanctuary. When protracted negotiations from 1954 to 1958 failed to produce a positive result, the Cambodian government in October 1959 instituted legal proceedings against Thailand before the International Court of Justice (Thailand, 1959: 1-14). In October 1961, the dispute led to a suspension of diplomatic relations and the closing of the Thai-Cambodian border. Preah Vihear remained under Thai occupation until the early 1960's when the International Court of Justice upheld Cambodian sovereignty (Leifer, 1961-62: 364-366).
(2)
In Thailand, the judgement of the Court provoked violent protests and a virulent press campaign.Students throughout the country, acting with
government approval, rejected the verdict of the Court; and in Bangkok, thousands of young people staged a colourful march in which they proclaimed their intent to protect Khao Phra Viharn (Preah Vihear). Students at Thammasart University in Bangkok demanded that the name of Cambodian Prince Sihanouk be removed from the rolls of the University and insisted that an honorary degree conferred on him be withdrawn. Prince Sihanouk later complied with this request returning the degree through the Indonesian embassy. Tempers eventually cooled, and in late June 1962, the prime minister of Thailand announced that his government would honour its obligations under the United Nations Charter. While Thailand surrendered its
sovereignty over Preah Vihear some three weeks later, it was noteworthy that the Thai flag and flagpole were removed from the temple in a standing position and later placed in a Thai museum.This refusal to lower the Thai flag was viewed by contemporary observers as an indication that Thailand remained determined to return its standard to Preah Vihear at a later date (Singh, 1962: 23-26).
After Cambodia had won its independence in the early 1950's, disputes over unsettled boundaries,cross-border operations, and shelling across the
border had frequently disturbed Thai-Cambodian relations. The years that followed the Court's decision on Preah Vihear showed no sign of peace
either in media circles or along the border between the two countries. Charges and counter-charges of border violations, shellings, bombings, and looting were the order of the day by Thailand. The borderland problem was also complicated by dissident groups in Thailand. Khmer communists operated against the Phnom Penh government from inside Thai territory . These problems persisted during the Democratic Kampuchean period, 1975-1978. And they only intensified after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in late 1978 concentrated a volatile melange of refugees and resistance forces along the Thai border (Theeravit, 1982: 567-568).
(3)
After an extended period of occupation by Khmer Rouge forces, Preah Vihear was finally reopened to tourists from the Thai side of the border in early 1992 (Bangkok Post, March 15, 1992). In a unique arrangement for a sanctuary located in Cambodia, tourists wanting to visit the ruins had to apply for entry permits from Thai provincial authorities who were also responsible for providing security as well as the necessary facilities for tourists. In addition, a regular train service was organized from Bangkok
for those wanting to visit the sanctuary, and Thai authorities expressed interest in renovating the ruins (Bangkok Post, December 5, 1991). The
combination of these acts was reminiscent of the legal case for sovereignty earlier developed by Thailand in its counter-memorial before the Court
where it argued that it had been exercising effective jurisdiction up to that time.
This impression was only heightened by the occasional publication of contemporary maps in Thailand which clearly show Preah Vihear, marked
Khao Phra Viharn on such maps, to be situated on the Thai side of the border. For example, the route map in a recent Bangkok Airways inflight magazine depicted, of the dozens of ancient Khmer temples on the Cambodia - Thailand borderland, only the sanctuary of Khao Phra Viharn. And the map clearly located it on the Thai side of the border If the question of the sovereignty of Preah Vihear would again be raised in the future, Thailand would appear to be less vulnerable than in the past to the charge that it had accepted and even published maps showing Preah Vihear as part of Cambodia.
In the end, Preah Vihear is probably the most successful of all Khmer monuments in creating a sense of religious awe, the real objective of these
sanctuaries. The design and location of the shrine combine to create an air of sensuality unequalled in any other Khmer sanctuary. This is particularly true
at the beginning of the day when the unrestored ruins of Preah Vihear rise above the early morning mists in all their majesty. It may be for these
reasons, as much as any other, that Preah Vihear remains at the heart of the Cambodian.
(thanks from L.C)
References
International Court of Justice (1962a) "Case Concerning
the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v
Thailand), Pleadings, Oral Arguments,
Documents", 2 vols., vol. I: Application-
Pleadings.
Jumsai, M. L. (1987) History of Thailand & Cambodia
(From the days of Angkor to the present), Bangkok:
Chalermvit Press.
Landon, K. P. (1941) "Thailand's Quarrel with
France in Perspective", The Far Eastern
Quarterly I, 1 (November): 25-42.
Leifer, M. (1961-62) "Cambodia and Her
Singh, L. P. (1962) "The Thai-Cambodian Temple
Dispute", Asian Survey, II, 8 (October): 23-26.
Giteau, M. (1957) Histoire du Cambodge, Paris:
Librairie Marcel Didier.
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