By Dr. Jan Meyer
26th July, 2011
A newspaper article's title caught my eye this morning, as any news about Thailand (my favorite travel destination) does. Actually, there had been a small "teaser" about this subject in last night's paper, but no real details. So I was anxious to read more about it.
There has long been a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, going back to when France colonized Cambodia. In the early 1900s French surveyors set the border between the two countries along a watershed range. But, there is a big and ancient temple, Preah Vihear, sitting apparently right on that watershed, and the French went around it, placing it inside Cambodia.
It is difficult to understand why they did that, because the temple is also located at the edge of a very high cliff, and far more easily accessible to the Thailand side than down or around the bluff to Cambodia.
Evidently the Thai did not file any formal protest at the time, but the temple and the lands surrounding it have been informally disputed ever since, sometimes in open fighting.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice basically again gave the temple to Cambodia, but did not clarify the ownership of the land around it, i.e., on top of the bluff leading to the temple. So the fight has continued, off and on.
Today's article was of special interest to me, as one time I had the privilege of visiting the site. One of my work colleagues was getting married, and the wedding was going to be at her hometown in the province of Thailand in which that temple is located, or should be depending on which side of the dispute one is standing.
I just happened to be in Thailand at that time, and all of us from the office had been invited to the wedding. Because it was a good distance from Bangkok, it would be a three-day trip. And because the bride's father was the governor of that province at the time, he arranged special activities for all of us visitors during our free time. The highlight of those activities was a trip to that ancient temple.
There was a chartered bus to take us to the base of the temple. There was a sort of "staging" area where we got off the bus, and anyone who chose not to walk could sit in the shade and wait.
The temple itself was a series of steps, and then a plateau where long narrow buildings extended both ways to the right and left of the main walkway. If we walked straight ahead, we would soon be going up another set of steps to the next long narrow buildings. And so it continued until we reached the edge of the bluff. At that point there was a sheer drop-off, and down below was the panorama of Cambodia.
The temple itself, comprised of those buildings on the way up, was no longer in use. But there were Thai Army guards serving to protect the temple, and I would assume to continue to demonstrate Thailand's insistence that the temple did indeed belong to Thailand.
I as a Westerner was a bit of an oddity, and one of the Thai Army fellows spoke English and was kind enough to describe some of the interesting sites and happenings to me. He said that the border between Cambodia and Thailand was close by but was accessible to the Cambodians only by climbing up a steep and treacherous path on the side of that high bluff. He asked if I wanted to go into Cambodia.
Of course I did. So off we went. It was not a long ways to get to a simple wire fence, which served as the border crossing, and it was apparent that the hole in the fence was well-used. The "border guard" explained that because the Cambodian people did not have access to the kinds of things that could be had in Thailand, a thriving black market existed by the guards on both sides exchanging goods and money.
On the other side of the border, we did a short hike through the jungle and soon came to the Cambodian "border outpost," consisting of a couple of guards lounging around. Communicating with them was not a problem because the Cambodian and Thai languages are very similar, sort of like Swedish and Norwegian and my new Thai friend translated to English. Of course the Cambodians wanted to know where I was from, and we were soon all laughing because they wanted to see my passport. And I responded that I wanted it stamped to show I had been in Cambodia.
Of course this not being a usual spot to cross the border for legitimate visitors to Cambodia, they did not have a passport stamp. But we improvised by one of them dating, signing and noting on my passport the name of the nearest Cambodian town and the province in which I was "visiting."
The Thai man and I sat for a while in the congenial company of the Cambodians, and even had some tea. Then we made our way back through the hole in the fence to Thailand. I remember thinking at the time that sometimes governments fight each other, but often the people right at the borders have more in common than they do differences.
Today's news story is that once again the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, has ruled, this time that the area will belong to neither. Instead it established a demilitarized zone, requiring both sides to withdraw troops from the area. But I am sure the issue is far from settled. Cambodia's response to the ruling is that it will mean "the cessation of aggression of Thailand against Cambodia," and I am sure that Thailand will not react kindly to being accused of being the aggressor. Cambodia not long ago hired Thailand's deposed and self-exiled prime minister as its economic advisor, also infuriating the Thai people.
I am sure there will never be another opportunity in my lifetime for westerners to visit that temple. It was just circumstantial that I did, and of course I saved that passport as a souvenir of a very unusual adventure.
26th July, 2011
A newspaper article's title caught my eye this morning, as any news about Thailand (my favorite travel destination) does. Actually, there had been a small "teaser" about this subject in last night's paper, but no real details. So I was anxious to read more about it.
There has long been a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, going back to when France colonized Cambodia. In the early 1900s French surveyors set the border between the two countries along a watershed range. But, there is a big and ancient temple, Preah Vihear, sitting apparently right on that watershed, and the French went around it, placing it inside Cambodia.
It is difficult to understand why they did that, because the temple is also located at the edge of a very high cliff, and far more easily accessible to the Thailand side than down or around the bluff to Cambodia.
Evidently the Thai did not file any formal protest at the time, but the temple and the lands surrounding it have been informally disputed ever since, sometimes in open fighting.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice basically again gave the temple to Cambodia, but did not clarify the ownership of the land around it, i.e., on top of the bluff leading to the temple. So the fight has continued, off and on.
Today's article was of special interest to me, as one time I had the privilege of visiting the site. One of my work colleagues was getting married, and the wedding was going to be at her hometown in the province of Thailand in which that temple is located, or should be depending on which side of the dispute one is standing.
I just happened to be in Thailand at that time, and all of us from the office had been invited to the wedding. Because it was a good distance from Bangkok, it would be a three-day trip. And because the bride's father was the governor of that province at the time, he arranged special activities for all of us visitors during our free time. The highlight of those activities was a trip to that ancient temple.
There was a chartered bus to take us to the base of the temple. There was a sort of "staging" area where we got off the bus, and anyone who chose not to walk could sit in the shade and wait.
The temple itself was a series of steps, and then a plateau where long narrow buildings extended both ways to the right and left of the main walkway. If we walked straight ahead, we would soon be going up another set of steps to the next long narrow buildings. And so it continued until we reached the edge of the bluff. At that point there was a sheer drop-off, and down below was the panorama of Cambodia.
The temple itself, comprised of those buildings on the way up, was no longer in use. But there were Thai Army guards serving to protect the temple, and I would assume to continue to demonstrate Thailand's insistence that the temple did indeed belong to Thailand.
I as a Westerner was a bit of an oddity, and one of the Thai Army fellows spoke English and was kind enough to describe some of the interesting sites and happenings to me. He said that the border between Cambodia and Thailand was close by but was accessible to the Cambodians only by climbing up a steep and treacherous path on the side of that high bluff. He asked if I wanted to go into Cambodia.
Of course I did. So off we went. It was not a long ways to get to a simple wire fence, which served as the border crossing, and it was apparent that the hole in the fence was well-used. The "border guard" explained that because the Cambodian people did not have access to the kinds of things that could be had in Thailand, a thriving black market existed by the guards on both sides exchanging goods and money.
On the other side of the border, we did a short hike through the jungle and soon came to the Cambodian "border outpost," consisting of a couple of guards lounging around. Communicating with them was not a problem because the Cambodian and Thai languages are very similar, sort of like Swedish and Norwegian and my new Thai friend translated to English. Of course the Cambodians wanted to know where I was from, and we were soon all laughing because they wanted to see my passport. And I responded that I wanted it stamped to show I had been in Cambodia.
Of course this not being a usual spot to cross the border for legitimate visitors to Cambodia, they did not have a passport stamp. But we improvised by one of them dating, signing and noting on my passport the name of the nearest Cambodian town and the province in which I was "visiting."
The Thai man and I sat for a while in the congenial company of the Cambodians, and even had some tea. Then we made our way back through the hole in the fence to Thailand. I remember thinking at the time that sometimes governments fight each other, but often the people right at the borders have more in common than they do differences.
Today's news story is that once again the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, has ruled, this time that the area will belong to neither. Instead it established a demilitarized zone, requiring both sides to withdraw troops from the area. But I am sure the issue is far from settled. Cambodia's response to the ruling is that it will mean "the cessation of aggression of Thailand against Cambodia," and I am sure that Thailand will not react kindly to being accused of being the aggressor. Cambodia not long ago hired Thailand's deposed and self-exiled prime minister as its economic advisor, also infuriating the Thai people.
I am sure there will never be another opportunity in my lifetime for westerners to visit that temple. It was just circumstantial that I did, and of course I saved that passport as a souvenir of a very unusual adventure.
7 comments:
PART 1
We need to look back into our history again and again to analyze the past in order to compare with the present time. I would like to take us farther back into the past before the existence of the Khmer Rouge, so that we can understand the history which is repeating itself.
As the French lost the battle at Dien Bien Phu, the French begin to retreat from South East Asia. The Americans begin to move into the region to farther prevent the advance of the communist influence. Americans quickly begin to arm South Vietnamese, while Cambodia declares itself as independent and neutral state. Prince Norodom Sihanouk refused to enter the war to support the South Vietnam president Ngo Dinh Diem against the North Vietnam as long as the South Vietnam regime refuses to recognize the border treaty with Cambodia. The South Vietnam regime was no different from Thailand today. The South Vietnam regime wanted to have the Mekong River, just as the Thai wanted and referred to watershed as the natural the boundary between the two countries and refuse to organize and disregard those border posts which was left by the French.
The well armed South Vietnamese soldiers consisted of the element of the Khmer Kroms, who understand the Cambodian language fluently, entered Cambodia to harass and to terrorize Cambodian villagers who lived near the border area. Many houses were burned down. Female as young as twelve years old were forced at the gun points to have all the cloths striped off while cooking and servicing food to the soldiers. The South Vietnamese troops forced relatives of these villagers at gun points to watch the other soldiers rapping them. Men were forced to watch their wives and their daughters being rapped. Many villagers were killed when they tried to escape, to disobey order, or to fight back.
PART 2
At the same token, the Americans did nothing. The Americans knew damn well what was happening on to these villagers, just as like today as Thai troops invading Cambodia and killing unarm Cambodians at the borders. The Americans are remaining silent as ostrich burying its head in the sand when knowing the elephant is in the room. This is one of the major failures in the U. S. foreign policies continue to this day, since the Vietnam War. The Americans are playing double standard by permitted its allies committed the atrocity against unarm civilians, while lecturing other about human rights. American policy makes it very clear, it is either you are with us or against us. There is no such thing as independent and neutral.
Prince Norodom Sihanouk was furious and blamed the South Vietnam troops and accused the CIA, who was funding the operation of committing crime against Independent and Neutral Cambodia. The relationship between Prince Norodom Sihanouk and President Ngo Dinh Diem got bitter. It is the same kind of a bitter relationship between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as we are seeing today on a similar matter.
Prince Norodom Sihanouk, unlike Prime Minister Hun Sen, was looking for quick fix to the situation at the border as more and more human right violation keep occurring to his citizens. When he began secretly talking to Ho Chi Minh, Cambodia was no longer independent and Neutral. He believed enemy of his enemy is his friend. He was wrong. The birth of the Khmer Rouge began. Vietcong started to move to the Cambodian country side to help and to organize Cambodians fighters, who were eager for revenge, to push out the South Vietnamese troops. The relationship between Prince Norodom Sihanouk and President Ngo Dinh Diem got uglier. Politics between the two men were no long business as usual. It got more and more personal when a South Vietnamese agent sent a parcel bomb to have Prince Norodom Sihanouk assassinated. However, Prince Vakrivan was killed instead when he opened the mail for Prince Norodom Sihanouk.
Let us look at what happen today and yesterday, so that we can make some comparisons. Prime Minister Hun Sen prefers to have border resolved by the Shinawatra and the Pheu Thai party. Is the enemy of his enemy is actually his friend? We have to wait and see. However, a few things which make Prime Minister Hun Sen different from Prince Norodom Sihanouk, is he rebuilds his arm forces very fast, and not depend on anyone like Uncle Ho to rescue Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Sen also holds on to one of the cards which he dose not like to play if it is not necessary. He did not aid the Muslims who are fighting in the South of Thailand. I believe history will still repeat itself if the full scale-war between the two countries, Thailand and Cambodia, occurs. Thailand might have to fight a snake with two heads like the South Vietnamese regime.
This time I am deliberately writing an article, not a short comment. Perhaps, it is a little longer than I expected. My point is to make a comparison between two events, the past and the present, the Southern border and the Northern border. Yes, I do agree with some analysts who have said Cambodia is being sandwich between Vietnam and Thailand. I am welcome other people’s point of views or comments, which might allow us to make better comparisons.
Dr. Jan Meyer is a Parkinson's disease specialist living in Northern South Pole.Her best client patient is herself.The story in her diary if partially true was dated back may be in 1955 when after Thailand stormed in Preah Vihear and the newly independent Cambodian guards was forced out of the temple by gun point.
What were you doing in Thailand around that time? Taught crown prince the western tricks or was he not borne yet?
You should have known about ICJ 1962 and who took Thailand to court. Do your homework.
It is interesting how Westerner viewed thing without researching to find out who was the real owner. Did you know half of Thailand were Cambodia? It was called "Khmer Empire". Did you know why Thai language is similiar to Cambodia because it was invented directly from Khmer writing. For example, the Yantra sak writing; it cannot be changed therefore the Thai kept the way it was because it afraid that the magical spell doesn't work if it changes the character; therefore when they do tatoo on their bodies; it is in Khmer writing; it cannot be changed. Just look at Thai's soldiers body, you will find what I am talking about; you can also inspect hollywood star Angelina Jolie tatoo; what kind of writing is it? It is Khmer literature. Where did she got the tatoo from? Thailand right? If you ask the Thai, they will tell you it was their writing. Since you got a chance to visit the Preah Vihea, did you inspect the writing and architecture style? Was it Thai writing or Khmer writing was it Khmer architecture or Thailand? I know this is history but you should learn the real fact, the truth history. How could any body built a temple without the access way? The reason why Thailand has the access way because they stole Cambodian lands included Cambodian citizens. There are millions of Khmer living in Thailand today; we called them Khmer Surin. This is true fact. I am not lying to you, just do your research. Thai's government forbidden Khmer Surin from learning Khmer literature. They would be punished if they were caught studying Khmer literature. They speak half Khmer and half Thai. I hope this information help you little bit the next time your write the article about Cambodia-Thai conflict.
Dr. Meyer wrote with ignorance or it was because her history lesson of Thailand vis-a-vis Cambodia was taught by her Thai friends. If she read the true history, written by an objective writer, then she would know the truth. The whole of Thailand used to be the Khmer Empire. Starting from the 13th century, due to the southward migration of the T'ai people, Cambodia has been shrunk little by little due to annexation by Thailand. The T'ai people had forcibly annexed Cambodian provinces one by one until they have enough land to create their own country. Many former Cambodian provinces, like Surin, Sisaket (Kok Khan where Preah Vihear is situated), Korat, Buriram, Sakeo (Srah Keo) etc. were annexed by Thailand just before around 1794. Battambang, Siem Reap, Sisophon were annexed around 1795 and Mlu Prey Tonle Ropov provinces were annexed around 1802. Battambang, Siem Reap, Sisophon, Mlu Prey and Tonle Ropov provinces were returned to Cambodia because of the 1907 treaty, but Surin, Sisaket (where Preah Vihear is situated), Korat, Srah Keo etc. were not returned to Cambodia. Thailand was lucky that France did not force it to return these provinces to Cambodia. If France forced Thailand to return all Cambodian provinces it has annexed in the last 100 years, then maybe we won't have any problems at Preah Vihear temple today because the Cambodian-Thai border would be much deeper into Thailand, maybe 100km deeper. I urge Dr. Meyer to read the correct history, not the history invented by Thailand and Thai academics.
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