The Hague (AFP) - The UN's top court will on Monday hand down
its verdict in a dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over a
flashpoint temple that threatens to reignite nationalist tensions.
The Hague-based International Court of Justice is
to rule in the bitter border conflict between the two Asian neighbours,
over which at least 28 people were killed in clashes in 2011.
Tens
of thousands of people were displaced in the fighting over the patch of
land around the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, leading Cambodia to
ask the ICJ for an interpretation of an original 1962 ruling.
Thailand
does not dispute Cambodia's ownership of the temple, a UNESCO World
Heritage site, but both sides claim an adjacent 4.6-square-kilometre
(1.8-square-mile) patch of land.
Leaders of the two countries have
appealed for calm ahead of the ruling by 17 international judges but
residents on the border have been building bunkers in anticipation of
renewed violence.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday
he had spoken with his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra and the two
agreed to accept the verdict and to maintain peace along the border.
"I
would like to appeal to all armed forces who are fulfilling their
duties protecting the border to remain calm, show restraint and to avoid
any activities that could cause tension or clashes," he said on state
television.
The verdict poses a particular challenge for the Thai
government, which is already grappling with mass street demonstrations
over a controversial political amnesty bill.
If the ICJ rules against Thailand, the country's opposition is likely to direct public anger towards the government.
The
dispute has touched a raw nerve in Bangkok, with Thai censors briefly
banning a documentary film on the issue, saying it could "cause disunity
among Thais and jeopardise national security".
Monday's ruling
will be broadcast live on Thai national television and Yingluck is
scheduled to address the nation shortly afterwards, according to
government spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi.
Tensions between the two
nations have calmed since mid-2011 when Yingluck, the sister of exiled
former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, became Thai prime minister.
Thaksin and Cambodia's Hun Sen are close friends.
Last
year, the ICJ ruled that both countries should withdraw forces around
the ancient Khmer temple, which is perched on a clifftop in Cambodia but
with access much easier from the Thai side.
Access from the
Cambodian side was so difficult that in the 1970s it was the last place
to fall to the Khmer Rouge regime, and also the communists' last holdout
in the 1990s.
Cambodia and Thailand finally pulled hundreds of
soldiers from the disputed area in July 2012, replacing them with police
and security guards.
But Cambodia told the ICJ earlier this year
that Thailand must withdraw its security personnel from the temple so as
to respect the 1962 judgement.
Thailand in turn said Phnom Penh's request did not meet ICJ criteria and therefore should be declared inadmissable.
It
also wants judges to rule that the 1962 decision did not determine
"with binding force" where exactly the boundary between the two
countries lay.
The roots of the dispute lie in maps drawn up in 1907 during French colonial disengagement.
Residents in the area said they were nervously preparing in case the ruling sparked renewed fighting.
Phumsarol
Wittaya, deputy head of a school in the Thai border province of Si Sa
Ket told AFP he and his students were clearing bunkers in front and
behind the school in preparation.
On the Cambodian side, Pen
Chheng, a soldier based a few kilometres from Preah Vihear, said the
situation was normal but the army was on heightened alert.
No comments:
Post a Comment