He's a sole man: Prime Minister and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva walks barefoot into a paddy field to plant some rice seedlings during a campaign stop on Sunday in Sukhothai's Si Samrong district. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
Returning to talks is better option, he says
Published: 6/06/2011
Bangkok Post
Cambodia should withdraw all border dispute cases from international bodies and return to talks with Thailand, says Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Mr Abhisit said his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen should first show good will by withdrawing his country's request that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) interpret its 1962 ruling on Preah Vihear temple.
Cambodia has also put forward a management plan for the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area around the temple to Unesco's World Heritage Committee (WHC). Mr Abhisit said it should withdraw that as well.
"If Cambodia agrees and returns to talks with Thailand, both countries will benefit," said Mr Abhisit.
Wichit Yathip, the former army deputy chief, said the Cambodian premier had proposed three ways to solve the problem during recent talks with him in Phnom Penh.
Gen Wichit, a close aide of former premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who has close ties with Cambodia, said he proposed that Thai and Cambodian troops be withdrawn from the disputed area, joint oversight of the disputed area, and renewing boundary demarcation work. Mr Abhisit insisted that if Hun Sen really wanted to discuss the border problem, he should raise it at the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting, a bilateral mechanism between the two countries for settling disputes.
At the Asia Defence Forum in Singapore, Neang Phat, secretary of state of National Defence and adviser to Hun Sen, spoke to the Bangkok Post about Cambodia's approach for solving the border dispute.
He said Cambodia wanted to know why Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon insisted the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) meeting should be held this month when his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh had never made any agreement with him to meet.
Cambodia's stance on the GBC meeting was that Thailand must first sign the terms of reference (ToR) on the deployment of Indonesian observers in the disputed area, and that the GBC meeting would be held in Thailand or Cambodia.
The ToR was included in a six-step package solution proposed during a trilateral meeting between Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and his Cambodian and Thai counterparts, Hor Namhong and Kasit Piromya, on May 9.
"I guarantee the ToR will not compel Thailand to accept the Indonesian Observer Team," Gen Neang Phat said.
"In fact, Gen Prawit and Gen Tea Banh will talk over the matter at the GBC meeting," he said.
"At the meeting we can also talk over whether we will withdraw troops or not."
Gen Prawit said he was upset that Cambodia had failed to keep its promise over the GBC meeting.
He insisted that he and Gen Tea Banh agreed that the GBC meeting would be held if Thailand allowed the Indonesian survey team to enter the area where armed clashes occurred last month.
Deployment of the Indonesian survey team was also included in the package.
The GBC meeting was the only way to solve the border problem, he said.
"I insist Thailand will not sign any ToR," he said.
Bangkok Post
Cambodia should withdraw all border dispute cases from international bodies and return to talks with Thailand, says Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Mr Abhisit said his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen should first show good will by withdrawing his country's request that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) interpret its 1962 ruling on Preah Vihear temple.
Cambodia has also put forward a management plan for the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area around the temple to Unesco's World Heritage Committee (WHC). Mr Abhisit said it should withdraw that as well.
"If Cambodia agrees and returns to talks with Thailand, both countries will benefit," said Mr Abhisit.
Wichit Yathip, the former army deputy chief, said the Cambodian premier had proposed three ways to solve the problem during recent talks with him in Phnom Penh.
Gen Wichit, a close aide of former premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who has close ties with Cambodia, said he proposed that Thai and Cambodian troops be withdrawn from the disputed area, joint oversight of the disputed area, and renewing boundary demarcation work. Mr Abhisit insisted that if Hun Sen really wanted to discuss the border problem, he should raise it at the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting, a bilateral mechanism between the two countries for settling disputes.
At the Asia Defence Forum in Singapore, Neang Phat, secretary of state of National Defence and adviser to Hun Sen, spoke to the Bangkok Post about Cambodia's approach for solving the border dispute.
He said Cambodia wanted to know why Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon insisted the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) meeting should be held this month when his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh had never made any agreement with him to meet.
Cambodia's stance on the GBC meeting was that Thailand must first sign the terms of reference (ToR) on the deployment of Indonesian observers in the disputed area, and that the GBC meeting would be held in Thailand or Cambodia.
The ToR was included in a six-step package solution proposed during a trilateral meeting between Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and his Cambodian and Thai counterparts, Hor Namhong and Kasit Piromya, on May 9.
"I guarantee the ToR will not compel Thailand to accept the Indonesian Observer Team," Gen Neang Phat said.
"In fact, Gen Prawit and Gen Tea Banh will talk over the matter at the GBC meeting," he said.
"At the meeting we can also talk over whether we will withdraw troops or not."
Gen Prawit said he was upset that Cambodia had failed to keep its promise over the GBC meeting.
He insisted that he and Gen Tea Banh agreed that the GBC meeting would be held if Thailand allowed the Indonesian survey team to enter the area where armed clashes occurred last month.
Deployment of the Indonesian survey team was also included in the package.
The GBC meeting was the only way to solve the border problem, he said.
"I insist Thailand will not sign any ToR," he said.
3 comments:
Siam was trying to play flip flop ,from time to time,,,
and abhisit just do what siam's king says..
abhisit, has no authority, to decide
in his jobs,,,
Cambodia is already having a dictator for life, they don't want another dictator on top of that.
What is that suppose to mean, Abhisit? Thailand threaten war with Cambodia if not ending all action? Why so serious comrade? Why crash the party already? ICJ hasn't made up its decision yet. Don't tell me Thailand is going to lose big and make an ass of itself to the world. If I'm not mistaken, Abhisit and his gangs are trying to save faces by trying to be nice to Cambodia in an indirective manor. It's very usual and predictable tactics of sweet-talking and at the same time threating, attempted by Thailand to make Cambodia drop the issues. I say Cambodia should rev up this issue to a higher level so to make this bullshit a done deal so next time Thailand can't cook up anymore fantasy story to make claim of Cambodia's property and territory as Thailand's. This is how Cambodia should honor the fallen Khmer soldiers who died to protect Cambodia's sovereignty from Siem/Thai invaders.
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