WASSANA NANUAM & THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL

In a bid to downplay conflicts surrounding the Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodian border, Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said Thailand had decided not to protest against Cam-bodia’s unilateral move to have the ancient temple ruins listed as a World Heritage site.

The minister said it was a misunderstanding on the part of defence spokesman Pichasanu Putchakarn and his statement was personal, not the resolution of the Defence Council.

”It is not a resolution of the Defence Council. It was just an internal meeting of agencies concerned to assess the situation. It was not intended to be announced and the information [given by the defence spokesman] was incorrect and included personal views,” Gen Boonrawd said yesterday.

He was referring to a statement by Lt-Gen Pichasanu that Thailand was risking the loss of the disputed areas should Cambodia get the ancient temple listed as a World Heritage site without Thai participation, and that the government should protest and condemn the neighbouring country for the move.

Gen Boonrawd also tried to tone down the defence spokesman’s remark that Cambodia attached a ”false” map to claim the disputed areas with its World Heritage application. That referred to the use of a ”different” map to claim the disputed areas, the defence minister explained.

Lt-Gen Pichasanu said the Defence Council had not reached a resolution, but it had held a discussion to prepare to take the right position.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said Cambodia’s Preah Vihear move had nothing to do with the feared loss of Thai territory.

”Whether Preah Vihear will be listed as a heritage site or not is a matter for the World Heritage Committee (WHC). It will not involve the loss of Thai territory,” he said.

Thailand has discovered that the information or map that the Cambodian side has proposed to the WHC includes the areas in dispute. Thailand has protested as the border demarcation is not concluded and Thailand’s rights to the areas in question have been recognised, he said.

The spokesman said a Thai representative who joined an international committee’s trip to Cambodia on Jan 11-12 had already complained about the territorial issue with the Cambodian authorities.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Bahn said he already received an explanation from Lt-Gen Niphat Thonglek, the Thai border affairs director-general, that the matter was a misunderstanding.

Gen Tea Bahn said although Cambodia was building a walkway to Preah Vihear on its soil, the construction would not affect Thai territory.

”There is a joint committee working on border demarcation. But its work is quite sluggish,” he said.

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Foreign Minister Hor Namhong condemned as “stupid” comments made by a Thai official Friday over a disputed border temple in the north.

Preah Vihear temple, known to the Thais as Khao Phra Viharn, has become controversial in the unmarked border area, claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia.

Thai Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Pichasanu Putchakarn told the Bangkok Post Friday that Cambodia’s recent unilateral request seeking UN World Heritage Site status for the temple could upset relations between the two neighbors.

“Thailand has to think of its national interests. We may protest to the Cambodian government through diplomatic channels and try to explain to other countries that Thailand has tried to cooperate with Cambodia in requesting the World Heritage listing of the sanctuary together,” Pichasanu told the Post.

“That general is stupid, as he does not know anything,” Hor Namhong said Friday, referring to Pichasanu. “Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. That we want to put it into Unesco’s World Heritage is our right.”

Cambodia had shown a willingness to negotiate with Thailand “several times,” Hor Namhong said. “More Thai experts than the international ones showed up in the negotiation. That is a stupid claim.”

Cambodia and Thailand both have troops stationed at the border near the temple, Pichasanu said.

“If Thailand still objects to Preah Vihear being listed as a World Heritgage Site, that is fine. We’ll still keep going,” said government spokesman Khieu Kanharith. “We have warned Thailand that if it blocks the entry to Preah Vihear from Thailand again, we will block it forever. Then it is Thailand that will totally suffer from the loss.”

http://www.voanews.com/khmer/2008-01-25-voa2.cfm