PM Abhisit welcomes talks with Hun Sen

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PREAH VIHEAR DISPUTE

PM welcoms talks with Hun Sen

By The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday welcomed the chance to meet face to face with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen to discuss bilateral conflicts, but insisted that there was no need for such talks to be mediated by a third party.

Abhisit's guarded response to the possibility of getting together with Hun Sen in Brussels in October when both are scheduled to attend the ASEM meeting came after United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon offered to help Cambodia and Thailand resolve their border dispute.

"If you look into the essence of the UN stance, it's clear that the UN has stated its readiness to help, which will come only if both conflicting parties agree on the mediation," Abhisit said. "Let me express my confidence here that this is an issue that both countries can resolve between us."

Over the weekend, a UN spokesman said Ban Ki-moon was ready to facilitate reconciliation between Cambodia and Thailand on the border issue if UN assistance was needed.

"The secretary-general hopes that Cambodia and Thailand will resolve the dispute along their border amicably through dialogue," Farhan Haq told a press briefing. "He stands ready to help the parties."

Hun Sen has sought help from the UN, accusing Thailand of threatening to renege on its acceptance of Cambodian rights over the Preah Vihear Temple. Bangkok has hit back by claiming Cambodia was encroaching on Thai territory. The Abhisit government also blamed the current tension on Phnom Penh's unilateral handling of the registration of the temple as a world heritage site.

The Phnom Penh Post has reaffirmed Hun Sen's readiness to hold bilateral talks with Abhisit. Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong was quoted as saying that Hun Sen was receptive to the prospect of meeting with Abhisit after Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan raised the possibility during a recent visit with the Cambodian leader.

Both Hun Sen and Abhisit are scheduled to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting in Belgium this October. Koy Kuong said Surin asked Hun Sen if he would agree to meet Abhisit and discuss [the dispute] at the session in Brussels, and the Cambodian leader replied that he would agree to such talks if Abhisit had no problem with it.

"[Hun Sen] stressed that he would agree to this meeting if Abhisit did, though so far there has been no confirmation that the meeting between the two will be held," the Phnom Penh Post quoted Koy Kuong as saying.

Abhisit said he and Hun Sen could always meet and talk in Brussels about bilateral problems without anyone's help.

"I think we can meet and talk there without involving any international organisation or a third country," the Thai prime minister said. When asked if the Thai government would send a "No, Thank You" reply to the UN's invitation to open up a channel for discussion, he said: "We have the Foreign Ministry to coordinate things like that".

Apart from the United Nations, Asean chair Vietnam said last week it was considering mediating in the dispute, although other members of the 10-nation bloc would be consulted first.

Abhisit said he was optimistic that the Thai-Cambodian difference could be overcome, despite domestic political pressures in both countries.

"I'm confident that neither government wants an armed conflict. Both sides realise that we are neighbours and will have to continue to be neighbours. And moreover, we are both in Asean, so we must continue to find a way out together," he said.

"It's normal [for both governments to face] domestic political pressures, but in the big picture the process to resolve the conflict will go on. When the talks happen, whether they're official or not, things will improve."

According to the Phnom Penh Post, Chea Morn, commander of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Military Region 4, believes that the tension between the two countries had not manifested itself along their border. He was quoted as saying that the shots heard along the border near Oddar Meanchey province on Wednesday were fired by Thai soldiers trying to scare away loggers from their territory.

-- The Nation 2010-08-23

[Piengrudee]

No UN please. No ASEAN too. Please.