Tourists Back At Phra Viharn Park, Temple Out Of Bounds

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PREAH VIHEAR CONTROVERSY

Tourists back at Phra Viharn park, temple out of bounds

More than 300 tourists visited the Phra Viharn National Park in northeastern Si Sa Ket province over the weekend after it opened temporarily to visitors, national park chief Theerayut Wongpaisert said yesterday.

A total of 330 visitors and 63 vehicles entered the park to visit Pha Mor E Daeng and other places in the park, he said.

None were allowed to visit Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple, sitting next to the park. The Hindu temple remains the core in a conflict between the two neighbours due to Thailand's objection to its world heritage inscription.

Thai authorities have opened the national park for visitors at weekends until April next year, Theerayut said.

The Phra Viharn national park, a main gateway to the Cambodian temple, has been shut since July 2008 when People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters stormed into the Hindu temple after its world heritage inscription.

The Preah Vihear was ruled by the International Court of Justice in 1962 as being situated on territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia, but Thailand claims that the areas adjacent to the temple are its territory.

The PAD was worried Cambodia would seize the disputed area as a buffer zone for the temple. They understood the inscription to mean international recognition of Cambodia's right over the disputed areas.

The PAD clashed with local residents in Sao Thong Chai sub-district in Si Sa Ket province in protests there two years ago.

The villagers disputed PAD's action in blocking Cambodia's proposal to list the Preah Vihear as a world heritage site and many lost income from tourism after the site was shut down.

Veerayut Duangkaew, Sao Thong Chai sub-district chief, urged authorities to open the park every day permanently and allow tourists to visit Preah Vihear.

The authorities had no reason to shut it down since the situation was back to normal, he said.

"Unless political groups arrive to create trouble, I understand the Phra Viharn park and the Preah Vihear temple will be opened permanently soon," he said.

Security agencies have the authority to decide whether to open the national park, said the park chief Theerayut.

"If this temporary operation goes smoothly, a permanent opening would be possible," he said.

-- The Nation 2010-11-23

[Colabamumbai]

"Unless political groups arrive to create trouble" the park will be open full time soon. I hope that PAD does not take this as an invitation.

[keestha]

I am still gratefull I had the chance to visit the temple back in 1999. The view from the temple looking down from a hundreds of meters high almost vertical cliff, is one of the most stunning things I have ever seen.

[Buchholz]

"Unless political groups arrive to create trouble" the park will be open full time soon. I hope that PAD does not take this as an invitation.

To reflect the current situation, I add that I hope that the Reds don't take this is as an invitation:

Somyos said he shared the same position as the yellow shirts related to the border dispute.

The red shirts plan next month to hold a parallel and separate rally with the yellow shirts to oppose the border limitation recommended by the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission, organiser Somyos Pruksakasemsuk said on Thursday.

The yellow shirts will hold their rally on December 11, so will the red shirts but at a separate venue, he said.

Somyos said he shared the same position as the yellow shirts related to the border dispute.

Seems the Cambodian dispute is no longer the exclusive domain of PAD.

Edited November 23, 2010 by Buchholz