[Thai] PM: Next govt will decide WHC membership

Prime Minister and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva (left) and Natural Resources and Environment Minister and Social Action Party leader Suwit Khunkitti (right)

Published: 28/06/2011
Bangkok Post

The next government will decide whether or not Thailand should rejoin the World Heritage Convention, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Thailand announced its withdrawal from the WHC on Sunday night.

Mr Abhisit said he had received a letter from Unesco director-general Irina Bokova, who informed him that the World Heritage Convention had not considered Cambodia's proposed management plan for the Preah Vihear temple.

Ms Bokova hoped Thailand would reconsider its decision.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit said since the matter will have legal implications, it would be better if it were decided by the next government.

Thailand's withdrawal from the WHC would not have any affect on historical sites and national parks which had earlier been listed as world heritage sites, he said.

Mr Abhisit said he held no grudge against Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen for claiming victory in the WHC forum, saying the Cambodian premier might have felt a loss of face.

Earlier today, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti accused the Unesco director-general of showing a lack of respect for Prime Minister Abhisit by refusing to receive his phone calls.

"Mr Abhisit tried to call the Unesco director-general many times to explain Thailand's wish to postpone the consideration of the Preah Vihear temple management plan [proposed by Cambodia], but Mr Abhisit's telephone calls were not answered," said Mr Suwit, who led the Thai delegation to the WHC meeting in Paris last week and made the decision to withdraw Thailand's membership of the WHC.

"Thailand can rejoin the WHC anytime but it must take the country's sovereignty and the Thai-Cambodian border situation into account because they are sensitive issues."

Mr Suwit said the current border problem was caused by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's legal adviser Noppadon Pattama, who presented the Preah Vihear issue to Unesco when he was foreign minister three years ago.

Mr Noppadon today posted a message in his Facebook page, claiming that Prime Minister Abhisit was putting the blame on him for the Preah Vihear dispute.

Former foreign minister and ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's legal adviser Noppadon Pattama

Mr Noppadon's message says: "My parents taught me not to lie to protect myself and damage other people. Mr Abhisit yesterday defamed me with lies. I forgive him and I'm not angry because Mr Abhisit has no privilege above the law of karma."

Yesterday, Mr Abhisit wrote a message in his Facebook page, saying the Preah Vihear problem started when Mr Noppadon signed a joint statement with Cambodia on June 18, 2008 while he was foreign minister and agreed to the listing of Preah Vihear as a world heritage site.

Meanwhile, the director of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce International Trade Studies Centre, Ath Pisalvanich, said Thailand's withdrawal from the WHC could delay plans for an Asean Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.

Any conflict between member countries, for example the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia and Burma, could affect the formation of the AEC, said Mr Ath.

He said the process to form the AEC would be different from the process to form the European Union (EU). In Europe there were no international disputes among member countries during the formation of the EU.

Nevertheless, Mr Ath said he believed Thailand's withdrawal from the WHC would not affect border trade between Thailand and Cambodia.

He suggested that the next government should give priority to the formation of the AEC, as well as the relationships between Thailand and its neighbouring countries.

The AEC is one of the three pillars of the Asean Community that the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) in October 2003 agreed to create.

The other two pillars are the Asean Security Community and Asean Socio-Cultural Community.