ID :
12793
Thu, 07/17/2008 - 11:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/12793
The shortlink copeid
Thailand, Cambodia to meet Monday over disputed temple
BANGKOK, July 17 (TNA) - Amid tensions over the disputed Thai-Cambodian border near a historic temple, the Thai Armed Forces and their Cambodian counterparts have agreed to hold talks Monday to discuss the issue, according to a statement issued by the Thai Foreign Ministry on Wednesday and confirmed by Cambodia's information chief.
A special session of the General Border Committee (GBC) will be held on
July 21 Thailand's northeastern Sa Kaeo Province, "so that both sides can
discuss issues together in a spirit of neighbourliness," the statement
said.
The GBC – a bilateral mechanism co-chaired by the Thai and Cambodia
ministers of defence, or their representatives, which meets on a regular
basis, was scheduled to hold its next session in August.
Meanwhile, Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told the
Associated Press that Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had ``a cordial and amicable phone
conversation'' and delegates led by their defence ministers would meet
Monday in Thailand to defuse tensions surrounding competing claims to land
surrounding the historic Preah Vihear temple.
The neighbours also agreed that ``both sides should do the utmost to
prevent anything from happening during period,'' Khieu Kanharith was
quoted as saying.
Thai military sources said about 250 Thai troops had been deployed near
the Cambodian border following the arrest by Cambodia of three Thai
nationals, including a Buddhist monk, who crossed into the disputed border
area early Tuesday.
The trio were released later on Tuesday, but as with others, they are
being warned not to travel to the vicinity of Preah Vihear temple on the
Thai-Cambodian border.
Meanwhile, military sources said, Cambodian troops had been reinforced
near the area of overlapping claim.
The troop movements by both countries heightened tension on the border,
and Thai authorities have restricted vehicles and media within a 10 km
radius of the ancient temple.
Thai army commander Gen. Anupong Paochinda told reporters he has ordered
the troops not to use force and urged that the two countries resolve the
issue peacefully.
Both countries have historically laid claim to the Preah Vihear temple
site, which sits on Cambodian soil but which can only be easily accessed
from Thailand. The International Court of Justice awarded the ancient
temple to Cambodia in 1962.
The temple ruins was last week listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site but
the exact border around the ruins remains in dispute. (TNA)
A special session of the General Border Committee (GBC) will be held on
July 21 Thailand's northeastern Sa Kaeo Province, "so that both sides can
discuss issues together in a spirit of neighbourliness," the statement
said.
The GBC – a bilateral mechanism co-chaired by the Thai and Cambodia
ministers of defence, or their representatives, which meets on a regular
basis, was scheduled to hold its next session in August.
Meanwhile, Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told the
Associated Press that Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had ``a cordial and amicable phone
conversation'' and delegates led by their defence ministers would meet
Monday in Thailand to defuse tensions surrounding competing claims to land
surrounding the historic Preah Vihear temple.
The neighbours also agreed that ``both sides should do the utmost to
prevent anything from happening during period,'' Khieu Kanharith was
quoted as saying.
Thai military sources said about 250 Thai troops had been deployed near
the Cambodian border following the arrest by Cambodia of three Thai
nationals, including a Buddhist monk, who crossed into the disputed border
area early Tuesday.
The trio were released later on Tuesday, but as with others, they are
being warned not to travel to the vicinity of Preah Vihear temple on the
Thai-Cambodian border.
Meanwhile, military sources said, Cambodian troops had been reinforced
near the area of overlapping claim.
The troop movements by both countries heightened tension on the border,
and Thai authorities have restricted vehicles and media within a 10 km
radius of the ancient temple.
Thai army commander Gen. Anupong Paochinda told reporters he has ordered
the troops not to use force and urged that the two countries resolve the
issue peacefully.
Both countries have historically laid claim to the Preah Vihear temple
site, which sits on Cambodian soil but which can only be easily accessed
from Thailand. The International Court of Justice awarded the ancient
temple to Cambodia in 1962.
The temple ruins was last week listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site but
the exact border around the ruins remains in dispute. (TNA)
