Abhisit Meets Hun Sen; Fails To Resolve Conflict

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PMs' face-to-face meet fails to resolve conflict

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

Jakarta

PM Abhisit proposed discussing the troop withdrawal in a military-run General Border Committee (GBC) meeting, but Cambodia's Hun Sen disagreed, saying the GBC meet would not be convened before a Thai letter accepting the Indonesian observers' terms of reference had been submitted.

A tripartite meeting called by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to setฌtle the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia yesterday made no progress as the conflicting countries remained extremely indifฌferent.

Indonesia's plan to dispatch its observers to the borderdisputed area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple has not materialised as Thailand insists it would not sign a letter of acceptance to the Indonesian observers' term of reference (TOR) unless Cambodia withdrew its troops from the Hindu temple and its vicinฌity.

Cambodia rejected the condition- saying it would not withdraw troops from its own territory.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva proposed to discuss the troop withฌdrawal in a militaryrun General Border Committee (GBC) meeting - but his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen disagreed, saying the GBC meetฌing would not be convened before the Thai letter of acceptance to the TOR was formally submitted to Indonesia.

"Once Thailand has signed the TOR, the meeting of the GBC could start immediately," Hun Sen told a press conference on the sideline of the Asean summit.

Seeking a solution

As the issue came into deadlock, Indonesian President Yudhoyono, who is facilitating the peace process, recommended foreign ministers of the two nations stay one more day in Jakarta to work with Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa and seek a solution. The ministers are in Indonesia for an Asean summit meeting which ended yesterday.

The border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia came to the attention of Asean following a major clash in February at the Preah Vihear temple. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), as requested by Phnom Penh, entrusted Asean to implement a permanent ceasefire.

The armed conflict extended to other areas near Ta Mouan Thom and Ta Kwai temple in Surin in late April. The latest clash which caused more casualties prompted Cambodia's move to have the International Court of Justice (ICJ) interpret the scope and meaning of the 1962 ruling on the Preah Vihear case.

Prime Minister Abhisit charged Cambodia with igniting the military conflict to internationalise the issue, although the two countries already had many bilateral mechanisms, including the GBC, to settle the conflict.

Abhisit rejected Cambodian preฌmier Hun Sen's accusation of being an obstacle to a peaceful solution, saying it was the government in Phnom Penh that had made the issue more complicated, calling for differฌent solutions to the problem.

Cambodia called for a third party from international organisations to intervene in the Preah Vihear case but was willing to settle the conflict in areas of Ta Mouan bilaterally.

'Two areas, two approaches'

"Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterฌated two areas needing different approaches which I find hard to understand as people along the borฌder areas need equal attention and long lasting solutions," Abhisit said in another press conference.

Thailand's position was consisฌtent in having a longlasting soluฌtion and prevent further conflict, he said.

Hun Sen defended his idea that a third party was needed for the Preah Vihear, as the issue had already been submitted to the UN and the Asean had a UN mandate to participate.

"We necessarily have to respect the role of Asean, we cannot talk together secretly or quietly, he said.

"The acceptance of Indonesian observers had been agreed in the meeting of Asean foreign ministers in February and the TOR has been modified seven times already - and there were no demands for troop withdrawal and no demands for a GBC meeting before the signing of the letter of acceptance," he said.

Abhisit argued that the message of troop withdrawal had been conฌveyed to Indonesia at the beginning, not a new condition, since the presฌence of troops at the temple and in its vicinity is against the spirit of the Hague convention and world herฌitage guidelines.

"Cambodia cannot deny this conฌdition as its request to ICJ also wantฌed to have the withdrawal of Thai troops from the temple. So I find it hard to understand why Cambodia cannot accept there is a need for disฌcussion for both sides to talk about troop withdrawal from sensitive areas," Abhisit said.

-- The Nation 2011-05-09

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No Agreement Reached at Meeting during Asean Summit

Both Thailand and Cambodia stood firm in their positions over the border dispute in a meeting held at the Asean Summit.

Many Asean members have expressed concern that the Thai-Cambodian dispute could disrupt the formation of a regional economic bloc.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa earlier today to discuss the border dispute.

However, no agreement was reached during the hour-long meeting.

All of them left the meeting without talking to the press.

The overall atmosphere at the Asean Summit has been described as tense, especially after a speech from Hun Sen, accusing Thailand of being the aggressor in the recent border clashes.

The Cambodian premier also blamed Thai nationalist activists for making the situation worse when they allegedly trespassed onto Cambodian soil.

Meanwhile, Abhisit repudiated the accusation, saying that on the contrary, Thailand has offered assistance to Cambodia, particularly during its civil war.

The Thai prime minister added that Cambodia violated the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2000 which prohibited the disputed area from being populated or occupied by armed forces.

Thailand has reportedly agreed to allow unarmed Indonesian observers to be deployed in the area on the condition that Cambodia withdraw all of its troops from the area surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple.

However, Hun Sen and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong rejected the demand, claiming that it is impossible for Cambodia to withdraw from the area since it is the rightful owner of the temple as determined by the International Court of Justice in 1962.

Many Asean members have stated that the Thai-Cambodian conflict could affect regional stability and disrupt the formation of the Asean Economic Community or AEC in 2015.

Leaders from Malaysia and Laos have voiced their support in having the dispute settled within Asean.

At the same time, President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines has offered to mediate the dispute if requested by Indonesia, which currently holds the Chairmanship of Asean.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-09

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Abhisit Speaks on Meeting with Hun Sen at Asean Summit

The prime minister has spoken for the first time about his meeting with Cambodian prime minister at the Asean Summit over this past weekend.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thailand and Cambodia apparently have opposite views on the conflict.

The Thai premier added that the matter should be resolved through the Joint Boundary Commission and General Border Committee meetings.

He said it is difficult to move forward with Cambodia insisting on not withdrawing its troops from the disputed area.

However, both countries agreed that their foreign ministers would remain in Indonesia for further talks.

On the other hand, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen acknowledged that the Thai-Cambodian conflict overshadowed the summit, which should have been aimed at efforts to achieve economic integration by 2015.

He said Cambodia agreed to sending in Indonesian observers to the disputed territory because it wants to show respect to Indonesia, which holds the current Asean Chairmanship.

Hun Sen added that Thailand's request to have Cambodian troops withdrawn from the disputed border area cannot be granted as the territory does not belong to Thailand.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-09