Tensions Escalate between Thailand and Cambodia

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The following appears in the BANGKOK POST:

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Cambodia Alleges Thai Troops Crossing Border

 

Phnom Penh (dpa)

 

The number of Thai troops in territory Cambodia considers sovereign increased Thursday, and local media reported fearful Cambodian residents had begun evacuating the area of a border dispute over an 11th-century Hindu temple.

 

Preah Vihear, perched on a 525-metre high cliff on the Dongrak mountain range that defines the Thai-Cambodian border, turned into a flashpoint Tuesday when three Thai nationals entered the temple compound to protest UNESCO's July 9 listing as a World Heritage Site.

 

"The troop numbers have increased, although I have no exact figure. They are at a pagoda about 200 metres from Preah Vihear temple," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.

 

Late Wednesday he estimated that around 200 Thai troops were in Cambodian territory, while Cambodia had sent 380. Thailand maintains the area is a disputed no man's land and they are not in Cambodia.

 

Local newspapers Thursday printed front page pictures of Thai troops standing at Cambodian checkpoints, with Cambodian Khmer-language signs clearly visible.

 

Kanharith confirmed that Cambodia would hold talks with Thailand over the issue Monday and said Prime Minister Hun Sen had spoken with his Thai counterpart Samak Sundaravej by telephone Wednesday night. He said relation remain cordial and urged calm.

 

Kanharith said Thailand called for the urgent meeting to defuse the row over joint claims to the temple ruins compound that has drawn hundreds of troops to both sides of the border.

 

The emergency meeting of the General Border Committee will be held Monday in Thailand's border province of Sa Kaeo.

 

It was not clear whether the meeting of the committee, set up years ago to cope with the two countries' border problems, would be attended by Thai Prime Minister Samak in his capacity as defence minister.

 

Meanwhile both Koh Santepheap and the Cambodia Daily newspapers reported Cambodian residents had begun evacuating the area.

 

"I don't feel safe because the Thai side is building up its soldiers as well as the Cambodian side," the Cambodia Daily quoted villager Kuy Sopheat, 49, as saying as he packed for his family.

 

Around 900 Cambodian families live around the temple.

 

Tensions began rising Tuesday, when Cambodia detained and then released three Thais it said had illegally crossed the border.

 

 

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Cambodia informs U.N. on alleged incursion

 

* Story Highlights

* Cambodia tells U.N. that Thai forces have intruded into its territory

* Cambodian general: Thai troops have deployed an artillery piece near temple

* Both Cambodia and Thailand lay claim to the 11th century temple

 

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AP) -- Cambodia has sent a note to the U.N. Security Council alleging that Thai forces intruded into its territory near an ancient temple.

 

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Sunday that Cambodia's mission in New York submitted a letter to the chairman of the Security Council and the chairman of the General Assembly to "draw their attention to the current situation on the Cambodian-Thai border."

 

He said that Cambodia was not asking for United Nations intervention and hoped to solve the territorial dispute peacefully.

 

Hundreds of troops from the two countries are facing off on disputed territory near the Preah Vihear temple for which Cambodia was granted World Heritage Site status earlier this month.

 

The two countries are to hold peace talks Monday.

 

Meanwhile, a Cambodian general has said Sunday that he has little hope that upcoming talks between his government and Thailand will resolve the border dispute.

 

Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Thai troops have deployed an artillery piece about half a mile (one kilometer) northeast of Preah Vihear temple -- the latest escalation ahead of Monday's meeting aimed at averting a military confrontation.

 

"Regarding the talks tomorrow, we have little hope about the outcome," Chea Keo said.

 

He said the reason for his pessimism stems from a recent counterclaim by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej that the area around a Buddhist pagoda near the historic temple belongs to Thailand. Thai troops have been stationed at the pagoda since Tuesday.

 

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote a letter to Samak on Thursday saying relations had been "worsening" since Thai troops "encroached on our territory," and asked him to pull them back.

 

Responding to his Cambodian counterpart, Samak said the area around the pagoda referred to in the letter "is within the Thai territory," according to a statement Saturday from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

While urging both sides to exercise restraint, Samak's letter said the settlement of Cambodians in that area constitutes "a continued violation of Thailand's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

 

Despite their pledge to hold talks Monday in Thailand to try to defuse the tensions, both Cambodia and Thailand have massed troops at the site.

 

"We continue to be on alert at all time. And at the same time, we keep instructing our soldiers to be patient and avoid being blamed for starting a war," Chea Keo said Sunday.

 

The conflict over territory surrounding Preah Vihear temple escalated when UNESCO recently approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site. Thai activists fear the new status will undermine Thailand's claim to nearby land since the border has never been demarcated.

 

Troops from the opposing forces were on the brink of a shoot-out Thursday night, which was avoided when Cambodians retreated from a site occupied by the Thais.

 

But opposing commanders and their troops have otherwise tried to defuse tensions, sometimes even sharing meals, snapping photographs and sleeping within easy sight of one another.

 

The dispute has taken a toll on tourism in the area, with the Thai side closed to visitors. It also is starting to hurt economic relations between the two neighbors.