The sketch-map of the provisional demilitarised zone.AKP Phnom Penh, July 21, 2011 –The decision has been made by the International Court of Justice on 18 July 2011, in the case of the request of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) for provisional measures prior to the judgment of the interpretation of the Judgment of the 15 June 1962 in the case concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear.
It created a provisional demilitarized zone (PDMZ) around the Temple of Preah Vihear, as shown in the sketch-map of the PDMZ identified by the Court. This PDMZ shall be delimited by straight lines connecting the following points, the co-ordinates of which are calculated on the basis of the WGS 84 system: point A, situated at latitude 14º 23′ N and longitude 104º 41′ E; point B, situated at latitude 14º 24′ N and longitude 104º 38′ 15″ E; point C, situated at latitude 14º 25′ N and longitude 104º 38′ 40″ E, and point D, situated at latitude 14º 25′ N and longitude 104º 42′ 20″ E.
It ordered the immediate withdrawal of Thai and Cambodian military personnel from the PDMZ; both parties shall refrain from any military presence within that zone and from any armed activity directed at that zone.
It ordered Thailand not to obstruct Cambodia’s free access to the Temple of Preah Vihear or Cambodia’s provision of fresh supplies to its non-military personnel in the Temple.
It ordered the continuation of cooperation of Cambodia and Thailand with ASEAN.
It ordered Thailand and Cambodia to refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.
It ordered Thailand and Cambodia to inform the Court as to its compliance with the above decision.
The RGC “fully supports the Order of the ICJ and calls for the Indonesian observers to carry out their mission as soon as possible in the PDMZ,” said the Statement of the Royal Government of Cambodia, 18 July 2011.
On the Thai side, the Bangkok Post reported outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as saying: “The ruling is the temporary provisional measures and it will not have a binding commitment to Thai sovereignty and the ruling does not place Thailand at a disadvantage.”
What the soon outgoing Thai Prime Minister should carefully read the ICJ Ruling is that “Order indicating provisional measures had binding effect and thus created international legal obligation with both parties were required to comply”.
In summary, the Order for provisional measures is a good start for Cambodian and Thai people!
Press and Quick Reaction Unit (PRU)
20 July 2011
It created a provisional demilitarized zone (PDMZ) around the Temple of Preah Vihear, as shown in the sketch-map of the PDMZ identified by the Court. This PDMZ shall be delimited by straight lines connecting the following points, the co-ordinates of which are calculated on the basis of the WGS 84 system: point A, situated at latitude 14º 23′ N and longitude 104º 41′ E; point B, situated at latitude 14º 24′ N and longitude 104º 38′ 15″ E; point C, situated at latitude 14º 25′ N and longitude 104º 38′ 40″ E, and point D, situated at latitude 14º 25′ N and longitude 104º 42′ 20″ E.
It ordered the immediate withdrawal of Thai and Cambodian military personnel from the PDMZ; both parties shall refrain from any military presence within that zone and from any armed activity directed at that zone.
It ordered Thailand not to obstruct Cambodia’s free access to the Temple of Preah Vihear or Cambodia’s provision of fresh supplies to its non-military personnel in the Temple.
It ordered the continuation of cooperation of Cambodia and Thailand with ASEAN.
It ordered Thailand and Cambodia to refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.
It ordered Thailand and Cambodia to inform the Court as to its compliance with the above decision.
The RGC “fully supports the Order of the ICJ and calls for the Indonesian observers to carry out their mission as soon as possible in the PDMZ,” said the Statement of the Royal Government of Cambodia, 18 July 2011.
On the Thai side, the Bangkok Post reported outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as saying: “The ruling is the temporary provisional measures and it will not have a binding commitment to Thai sovereignty and the ruling does not place Thailand at a disadvantage.”
What the soon outgoing Thai Prime Minister should carefully read the ICJ Ruling is that “Order indicating provisional measures had binding effect and thus created international legal obligation with both parties were required to comply”.
In summary, the Order for provisional measures is a good start for Cambodian and Thai people!
Press and Quick Reaction Unit (PRU)
20 July 2011
5 comments:
ICJ's ruling is not fair to the owner...Mr. Sam Rainsy is Right!!!!
Its like someone broke into your house and the judge suppose to ask the robber to leave your house...Not the owner of his house? It doesn't make any sense...
yellow shirts in bangkok agreed with the statement and rejected the ruling
The Thai military is doing its level best to sabotage even this latest ICJ effort to enforce peace through its provisional measures. As usual Abhisit turned to the Thai generals for counsel and only then would he be able to outline what course of action for his government to follow. Nothing wrong with consulting with your military, but the outcome of this latest consultation is hardly a departure from all previous meetings the Bangkok government of Abhisit Vijjajiva had had with the men in the barracks concerning the Preah Vihear issue.
In fact, the call for bilateral talks and the insistence by the Thais that Cambodian troops withdraw from the area first as prerequisites for allowing the Indonesian observers to come and do their inspection work are a repetition of recent obstructing tactics by the Thais (military and civilian commands) following the last summit in Jakarta and the agreement on dispatching the Indonesian inspectors to the area in 'dispute'. I said' agreement' here, but with Bangkok the term's meaning can be stretched, bended, twisted around or a combination of any of these post-agreement measures to conform to the conspirators' mood and ultimately prolong their staged crisis with little Cambodia. How could it be verified that the Cambodian troops vacate the area in question without the presence of third party observers being allowed in the same area to confirm or deny the withdrawal?
The incoming Thai government of Pue Thai party is likely to encounter a challenge posed by the Thai military similar to the difficulties Cambodia has been experiencing when dealing with Prayud Chan Ocha and his colleagues who have been in the same tune with the ultra-nationalist PAD since the time when both Abhisit and Kasit Pyromya were their members in opposition.
Cambodia must have faith in international justice that came to her aid once before in 1962 when she did not even have an armed force strong enough to even contain Thailand's aggression. Whether she is allowed to station troops at the Temple itself, which is her legal and rightful property to begin with, is not of immediate relevance or concern at this point as the Court takes its time to look into Cambodia's complain. Why came to the Court for intervention in the first instance, if you did not have sufficient trust in its integrity and judgement needed to dispense justice to either of the parties? What use is there for heavily armed combatants from both countries to be squaring up to within a few metres of one another? If there is such a strong desire to fight it out or shed blood, why not arrange to do so in the Gobi desert somewhere where innocent civilians will not be hurt?
Vast tracts of Cambodian territory have been strewn with cluster bombs and other unexploded munitions; a result of recent clashes, undoing all the last 10/15 years' de-mining effort in the area. Whilst some Cambodians scream at the 'injustice' of being forced to vacate military personnel from their national property as contained in the provisional de-militarized zone, they have unwittingly overlooked the plight of their compatriots in the thousands who had been displaced or harmed by the recent military violence along the border as well as the many kilometre squares (perhaps several times the size of the provisional DMZ) littered with cluster munitions that can no longer be cultivated or used for generating economic subsistence; not at least for several more years to come.
To 22 July 2011 4:33 AM
Yellow shirts in bangkok reject every thing. So, what different does it make? You should know them by now. The Yellow PADs don't just want 4.6 Sq. meters, they want Preah Vihear temple, Angkor Wat, Siam Reap, Battombong, and Puor Sat as well. We just want Thailand to let us live in peace. Not much to ask.
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