A Change of Guard

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Wednesday 20 July 2011

Thai PM wants talks with Cambodia


Piyanart Srivalo and Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation (Thailand)
Publication Date : 20th July, 2011

Thailand is seeking talks with Cambodia before it complies with an International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to withdraw troops from the disputed area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple, caretaker Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (pictured) said Tuesday (July 19).

Abhisit called a meeting with security-related agencies to set positions and a framework before responding to the court's injunction, requiring enforcement of a demilitarised zone in the border area.

"We need to talk to Cambodia first to make sure that the country will not send other forms of military into the area, and that the people living in the community are really civilians, and not military-related personnel," Abhisit said.

"At this moment, our troops are stationed at their posts at the border to take care of our territory," he said.

Abhisit said he assigned concerned agencies, including the foreign and defence ministries, to contact their counterparts in Phnom Penh to seek channels for talks about compliance with the court's decision.

He said he believed the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee would be the best channel for the two countries to implement the ICJ's order. The GBC is co-chaired by the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers.

Abhisit also instructed concerned agencies to check for repercussions from the court ruling. The government will have to ensure observance of its obligations as a member of the United Nations as well as upholding the Constitution, particularly Article 190, related to the framework for international negotiations, he said.

Concerned agencies will study the legal requirements and consequences, to decide among other things whether compliance with the IJC's order needs prior approval from the Parliament, in accordance with the Constitution, he said.

"If it needs to pass through a parliamentary process, we will leave that duty to the new government," Abhisit said.

The caretaker prime minister said the ICJ's order had no bearing on the location of the border or Thai sovereignty. However, the so-called demilitarised zone set by the court covers a large area beyond the overlapping disputed area claimed by both sides. The court's demilitarised zone covers 17.3 square kilometres, whereas the disputed area is only 4.6 square kilometres, he said.

From Thailand's point of view, the demilitarised zone covers 8.5 square kilometres of Thai territory and the remaining 8.8 square kilometres belongs to Cambodia. But if looked at from the viewpoint of Cambodia's claim, Phnom Penh has to withdraw its troops from an area of 13 square kilometres. "So the court order does not affect only Thai territory," the PM said.

Abhisit said he had to mention the comparative sizes of the zone to clamp down on the fury of nationalists who believed that Thailand had lost territory to Cambodia following the court's decision.

Cambodia has about 4,000 soldiers in the zone, while Thailand has much fewer, he said.

The Cambodian government issued a statement Tuesday expressing its appreciation of the court's decision and urging Thailand to accept and comply with the order.

It said Cambodia fully supported the order of court, which was completely responsive to its request for peace in the area of the Preah Vihear temple. Observers should be stationed in the provisional demilitarised zone and normal civilian activities allowed to continue, it said.

Phnom Penh did not say when and how it would comply with the court's order, but called on the Indonesian observers to carry out their mission as soon as possible and said it was ready to welcome and facilitate them.

Cambodia foreign minister Hor Namhong reportedly sent a letter of request to Indonesia's foreign minister Marty Natalegawa, asking Jakarta to dispatch its team of observers to the demilitarised zone as soon as possible.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A loser want to talk. A winer never want to talk to the loser.