Preah Vihear And Shirt Color

[bendejo]

I figured the Preah Vihear issue was one of nationalism, Thailand vs. Cambodia. Nothing like a challenge to the mother soil to unite a country: define a common enemy and the internal political bickering evaporates. Works every time.

My question: why is Preah Vihear a yellow shirt issue, and not an all-uniting one?

The following is my supposition, so I'm putting a cynicism warning here: if you think every day is a sunny day and the only reason people in SE Asia smile is because they're happy stop reading here.

From what I've been able to piece together, this split goes back to the redshirt leadership, which consists of only one leader, and he's a fugitive with a private jet. This leader made a big buddy-buddy play with Hun Sen last year.

Angkor Wat is the cash cow of Cambodia, and I heard a while back that the lion's share of the money it brings in goes to a private concern, so as such PV would become a new excursion in the Angkor Wat experience. I figure TS made some sort of gentleman's agreement (in the full cynicism of that term) that if HS helps him get back in power he will not stand in the way Cambodia getting custody of Preah Vihear. Those familiar with these guys will find nothing shocking in this notion. I also figure TS told the redshirt rabble to completely ignore anything to do with this issue.

But, financial compensation aside, doesn't the issue of Thailand's boundaries being infringed upon rattle something inside them? I would have thought the Isaani 'sons of the soil' would be the most vehemently concerned.

[dumball]

Personally , I do not think the masses give a hoot or a holler about Preah Vehear , they would much prefer things were done to set the country straight and improve thier day to day lives , dispense with all of the local violence and lur back the tourists so they can get back to the regular income via thier children .

All the stripes and colours should wear BROWN_____________they are merely crapola disturbers with no real aim for the good of the country .

[Tod Daniels]

The rampant nationalism stirred up inside thailand by Cambodia's attempt to submit a management plan to the WHC on the Temple Complex known as Preah Vihear is nothing but a smoke screen to move scrutiny away from the woefully lacking results the government has had in dealing with internal problems plaguing the thais as a whole.

The views stirred up by this 'much ado-about-nothing' knows NO color boundaries, that I am aware of.

I routinely sit outside my apartment with thais who wear; yellow shirts, red shirts, navy blue shirts, and the ever popular multi-color shirts. These are middle class working thais with wives, kids, cars, and good paying jobs. We sit in a group, talk about politics, the weather, various 'n sundry work related problems and really just about anything that comes up.

These thais are all of differing political persuasions; yet in my chats with them, they are, to a person, totally united against Cambodia over Preah Vihear. That few, if any of them, could actually find it on a map, or really have any grasp of what the dispute is about doesn't seem to dissuade them in their nationalistic views that somehow Cambodia is trying to 'steal' sovereign thai land.

This entire debacle is about a 4.6 sq kilometer piece of economically unviable land called in the press the 'disputed territory'. Land which I might add; in the intervening 48 years since the ICJ decided the temple was IN Cambodia, has NEVER EVER been demarcated, not even a single square meter by the illustriously named 'duffers' who run the "Joint Demarcation Committee".

I think stirring up thais against their 'neighbors' is nothing new and a quick perusal of the not too distant past thai history will show this tactic can work as an effective tool in easing 'internal tensions'. Especially once all the thais are focused on 'outsiders' for a change rather than each other.

To even allude to the fact that there is any behind the scenes power brokering going on between Hun Sen and T/S over this broken down b/s temple complex is ludicrous. It could NEVER EVER become another cash-cow like Angkor is to Cambodia. It also shows you’ve not ever seen it, nor understand the underlying issues concerning it. Google it for christ sakes, it's not that great. Certainly, even inside thailand, you could find far better examples of ruined Khmer temples.

Again, this entire brouhaha is NOT about the temple but JUST about the 4.6 square kilometers of "disputed territories" which wasn't in the 1962 ICJ's decision. A decision which ONLY addressed in whose country the temple complex itself was located in.

What’s very short-sighted is; the easy and quick access to the temple complex is from the thai side using a thai road which runs thru the national park in Sisaket Province. The slog to get to it from the Cambodian side is a tough row to hoe indeed. Yet thailand in their infinite wisdom decided to CLOSE the road and thereby lose the income which they were making by charging people an entry fee into the national park to use the road. This also deprived many thais, who had small shops and what not scattered along the road, of a viable income source as now you can't cross from the thai side. No access, equals NO tourists and that equals NO income. ..

So again, the thai government shot themselves in the foot financially rather than seeing a bigger picture (a picture which could benefit the thais in that area), and finally getting over the 48 year old 'sour grapes' attitude that thailand has had since the ICJ's decision. I find it sad the government decided to take the nationalistic 'moral high road' rather than moving forward in a way which might actually benefit both countries' people who live in that general area on whatever side of the border.

Way to go; AMAZING Thailand!!!

Edited August 8, 2010 by tod-daniels

[zzaa09]

Just a common political distraction. Misdirection is a valid political theme that encompasses all bodies of the establishment. There isn't an intense issue down there to stir the masses. If only the culprits could interpret historiography models correctly.

[cardholder]

Personally , I do not think the masses give a hoot or a holler about Preah Vehear , they would much prefer things were done to set the country straight and improve thier day to day lives , dispense with all of the local violence and lur back the tourists so they can get back to the regular income via thier children .

All the stripes and colours should wear BROWN_____________they are merely crapola disturbers with no real aim for the good of the country .

I think the masses (particularly those amassed in Isaan) care greatly about Khao Phra Wihan. Given the nationalistic indoctrinations I believe there is a strong sense of pride about 'ownership' of the disputed land. The Thais will, of course, always be in the right (in their eyes).

[dumball]

Personally , I do not think the masses give a hoot or a holler about Preah Vehear , they would much prefer things were done to set the country straight and improve thier day to day lives , dispense with all of the local violence and lur back the tourists so they can get back to the regular income via thier children .

All the stripes and colours should wear BROWN_____________they are merely crapola disturbers with no real aim for the good of the country .

I think the masses (particularly those amassed in Isaan) care greatly about Khao Phra Wihan. Given the nationalistic indoctrinations I believe there is a strong sense of pride about 'ownership' of the disputed land. The Thais will, of course, always be in the right (in their eyes).

Pride in a tiny piece of scrubland where folks used to live in peace and work together on ? That is not pride , that is nonsensical thinking that will achieve nothing in or for thier lives , but then again , we are talking of people being herded like sheep to the slaughter , life goes on___________for some________?????????????