UNESCO Delays Decision On Management To Bahrain Meeting

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PREAH VIHEAR CONTROVERSY

Unesco delays decision on management to Bahrain meeting

By The Nation

Unesco committee on World Heritage decided to delay decision on Preah Vihear management plan for another year after Thailand and Cambodia stood firm on their positions concerning the plan.

The committee meeting in Brasilia of Brazil will reconsider the plan again when they meet in Bahrain next year.

Earlier Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti made several attempts yesterday to block Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple from the World Heritage Committee's consideration while the delegation from Phnom Penh stood firm.

Cambodia insisted on pushing forward with the plan, saying it had already given Thailand too much.

The committee's consideration on the plan was delayed twice from July 28 to at about 10pm yesterday and again to 3am Friday.

Suwit proposed the postponement for another year when the yesterday meeting failed to reach any conclusion.

Thailand and Cambodia were once again at loggerheads over the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear when Cambodia submitted its management plan to run the world heritage-designated temple.

Unesco's World Heritage Commit-tee is holding its annual meeting in Brasilia.

Preah Vihear has been inscribed on the world heritage list since July 2008 and Cambodia was obligated to submit for consideration its management plan for the temple.

Thailand expressed its concern over the plan, fearing Cambodia might make the disputed areas adjacent to the temple a buffer zone.

The Cambodian plan does not include areas to the north and the west of the temple, which are the subject of a border dispute with Thailand, according to a source close to the meeting.

At a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on the sidelines of the World Heritage Committee meeting, Suwit raised his concern that the area to the east of the temple, which is the core zone for the listed property, is also under Thai sovereignty.

The Thai Cabinet, after the ruling by the International Court of Justice in 1962, had relinquished the eastern area to Preah Vihear. However, Thai officials at the meeting in Brazil yesterday insisted that the area remained under Thai sovereignty.

Cambodia rejected the Thai claim and the meeting between Suwit and Sok An failed to find any common ground.

Meanwhile, Suwit prepared measures to respond to the Unesco and World Heritage Committee's decision. He was lobbying to have consideration of the plan delayed for at least one year. If the lobbying efforts failed, Suwit planned to issue a statement of protest, objecting to the temple management plan.

The protest statement for the records would state that Thailand would never recognise Cambodia's right over the Preah Vihear temple, the source said.

As a final option, Thailand might withdraw its membership from the World Heritage Committee, he said.

Cambodia said Thailand's move would harm its international reputation, as the objection to the Preah Vihear plan was an attempt by the Thai government and its extremist alliance to spoil the good relations between the two countries.

"Cambodia doesn't care at all about the objection," Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, was quoted as saying by The Phnom Penh Post.

The Cambodian government's spokesman, Phay Siphan, said the so-called overlapping area of 4.6 square kilometres adjacent to the Preah Vihear as claimed by Thailand was based on a unilaterally produced map but the Cambodian claim was based on the 1908 Siam-Franco map.

"Thailand's falsified establishment of the map to claim the area is an international crime," he said.

"Now Thailand's policy is, if they get nothing, they want to co-manage the eco-management."

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the management plan of Preah Vihear should not be approved until Thailand and Cambodia had settled the border dispute over the areas surrounding the temple.

The Joint Boundary Committee of the two countries is now in the process of negotiating the boundary demarcation but its work has made little progress.

Abhisit said that ideally all problems could be settled if Cambodia allowed Thailand to propose the Preah Vihear jointly as a World Heritage Site.

Thousands of People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members last night gathered in front of the Unesco regional office in Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road, waiting for the World Heritage Committee's decision on the Cambodian plan.

The PAD is a strong pressure group that is forcing the government to oppose the Cambodian plan over fear of losing territory.

-- The Nation 2010-07-30

[Thai at Heart]

Fortunately this appears to have lent Abhisit some time. Obviously, the government thought that they risked looking extremely isolated internationally, and appear to be acting as though the PAD is pulling their strings from thousands of miles away.

Hopefully, it is more than enough time to deal with the yellows and reds court cases which will get some of this ridiculous nationalistic rhetoric coming from the yellows calmed down a bit.

When yellows spokesmen stand up and state that if Abhisit doesn't do what they want, they will bring him down, it does speak volumes for the understanding of democracy on all sides of the debates in this country. If the law works it will thrown the book at both the reds and the yellows and that should give the government some chance to handle this situation in a far more rational manner than can be done if they have the PAD constantly biting their backs.

[SomTumTiger]

Why anyone gives a crap about this old, moldy temple is anyone's guess. Historical - sure. Worth all the trouble that is it generating? - not in the least. Suggest Cambodia disassemble it, and reassemble somewhere more accessible.

[taurus88]

The incompetency of Ahbisit again rear its ugly head. He is only switch on when the problem at the door step. What has he and the foreign ministry being doing all the while to counter Cambodia PR. They should start work to lobby other member countries right from the start and not leave to the eve of the UNESCO meeting. They have now have embarass Thailand by making all those threats and making Thailand looks like a pariah.

[dom samui]

Give the temple back to the Hindu!

[Thai at Heart]

The incompetency of Ahbisit again rear its ugly head. He is only switch on when the problem at the door step. What has he and the foreign ministry being doing all the while to counter Cambodia PR. They should start work to lobby other member countries right from the start and not leave to the eve of the UNESCO meeting. They have now have embarass Thailand by making all those threats and making Thailand looks like a pariah.

The problem is that no amount of PR is going to erase the fact that this was all settled at various levels over 100 years ago.

Thailand is looking like a pariah, because no one wants to listen to their case anymore, and the government is appearing to only have taken this position because Chamlong and Sondhi are threatening to push the chair out from under their feet.

Hardly a reason to tear up the papers and start again when this has all been largely agreed to before.

[webfact]

any derogatory comment involving Religion will not be tolerated

One post deleted

[Phuket Stan]

Why anyone gives a crap about this old, moldy temple is anyone's guess. Historical - sure. Worth all the trouble that is it generating? - not in the least. Suggest Cambodia disassemble it, and reassemble somewhere more accessible.

Have u ever been there....have u eveer read a book or done any research on the historical temples throughout Thailand and Cambodia....the written word usually sums up a person's character

[Tod Daniels]

Dear readers, you are missing the point completely.

It is NOT the TEMPLE GROUNDS which are in dispute; no matter what ANY thai says about it . THE ICJ decided that issue way back in 1962. .. All the bluster, mouthing off, and rabid nationalistic rhetoric isn’t gonna change that in the least.

It’s that 4.6 square kilometer piece of b/s land which both countries lay claim to and which thailand was afraid Cambodia would ‘include’ in their management plan of the UNESCO site, thereby ‘encroaching’ on thai sovereignty. Until they hash out the border there; something that hasn’t been done since the ICJ decision, (so both countries have only screwed around with this issued for 48 frickin’ years!!) this problem will not go away.

This temple hot-potato topic (really a NOT potato topic, or much ado about nothing!!) is resurrected every once in a while, usually as a smoke screen to take focus away from more pressing internal issues facing thailand. After all these are some ultra nationalistic people, fiercely protective of their lands. Plus it plays well in the news. It’s a well known fact; thailand has a less than friendly attitude with most of the countries they share land borders with.

The quote in the article which says it all is this one;

“The Joint Boundary Committee of the two countries is now in the process of negotiating the boundary demarcation but its work has made little progress.”

That hasta be the understatement of the frickin’ century, as I don’t believe they’ve delineated even a single meter of that disputed land.

Oh well, another year that thailand will act like spoiled children and keep the access to the Preah Vihear Temple Complex closed from the thai side, losing income, and strangling out the people who were lining the road to sell food, drinks, etc as people went thru the National Park in Sisaket to get to the temple.

Way to go thailand, you showed ‘em. ..NOT

[SamritT]

best news I have heard in year. Thailand must be proud of this achievement.

[elkangorito]

My parents/grandparents taught me (& I believe this) that relinquishing something can be a great thing. Particularly if the 'thing' to be relinquished is small but causes a big problem.

If Thailand wants yet another problem to add to the already huge manifesto of Thai problems, they should wage war for this incredibly small piece of turf.

On the other hand & if they wished to 'be the adult' of the situation (& set an example), Thailand would relinquish this small parcel of land & therefore foster goodwill between the 2 countries. Not doing so indicates a childish & inane preoccupation with historical problems. This is nothing short of 'revenge'.

C'mon Thailand! Wake up!!! You don't want or need the angst over such a small piece of land whilst you have a million other MORE IMPORTANT problems to attend to!!!

Thailand, are you an adult or are you a spoilt brat?

[simon43]

The Cambodian plan does not include areas to the north and the west of the temple, which are the subject of a border dispute with Thailand

So in fact, there wasn't anything in the Cambodian plan that matched the concerns that the Thai side voiced prior to the plan details being known

Suwit raised his concern that the area to the east of the temple, which is the core zone for the listed property, is also under Thai sovereignty

So upon learning that the Cambodian plan did not include the disputed territories, Suwit decides to throw his toys out of his pram and lay claim to an area which has been proven (and accepted by the Thais for many years), to be Cambodian territory.

Let's hope that in this coming year, the Cambodians can complete the improvements to the access road on their side, and enable tourists to visit this temple which everyone agrees (even the Thais), lies on Cambodian soil

Simon

Edited July 30, 2010 by simon43

[patjem]

Why anyone gives a crap about this old, moldy temple is anyone's guess. Historical - sure. Worth all the trouble that is it generating? - not in the least. Suggest Cambodia disassemble it, and reassemble somewhere more accessible.

Have you been there and seen the lay of the land? It's atop an escarpment, where standard demarcation of boundaries are usually set. The Thais do have a very valid point, though I do tend to agree whether it's a battle worth fighting so hard for.

It would make a very amusing TV documentary, the Khmer attempting to relocate it off of the steep hillface, since all accessible roads in pass through demarcated Thai territory!

[Ponbkk]

Have you been there and seen the lay of the land? It's atop an escarpment, where standard demarcation of boundaries are usually set. The Thais do have a very valid point, though I do tend to agree whether it's a battle worth fighting so hard for.

The Thais will never accept that map as drawn. If that map is redrawn, and an agreement to re-propose jointly, not necessarily in that order, then ... .maybe. Until then yyyyyaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn!!!!!

[chantorn]

The 1 year delay is a very smart move by UNESCO.