Accuses Thailand of military threat; Abhisit says he was misquoted, situation calm
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned yesterday that the border issue was "very hot" and could result in violence, reiterating his call for international assistance.
"Cambodia would like to ask for intervention to have an international conference on the issue of the Cambodian-Thai border dispute," Hun Sen said at a ceremony attended by foreign diplomats. "The issue is very hot. It may cause bloodshed."
He said bilateral efforts to resolve the conflict would not work and called on the United Nations, Asean and other countries to help resolve the spat.
Tensions between the two nations flared after the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) started protesting again over the Preah Vihear temple row, and Thai media quoted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva saying over the weekend that he was ready to use both diplomatic and military means to settle the dispute.
Hun Sen wrote to the United Nations on Sunday accusing Thailand of violating UN rules by allegedly threatening to use military force against its neighbour.
Cambodia reserved a "legitimate right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in case of deliberate acts of aggression", he said.
However, Abhisit said yesterday that the letter was based on incorrect information.
"Cambodia wants to give an image of Thailand as an intruder or using force, which is not true," he told reporters. "We are Thais, whatever the problem we should talk."
Abhisit also said that the Foreign Ministry would write a letter to the UN clarifying the dispute and explaining that Hun Sen's allegations were based on wrong information.
"He [Hun Sen] uses the world 'if' and quotes a sentence from a newspaper report, which are not my exact words," Abhisit said.
On Sunday, Hun Sen sent letters addressed to UN Security Council president Vitaly Churkin and UN General Assembly president Ali Abdussalam Treki quoting Abhisit as telling the PAD that Thailand would cancel the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding and resort to both diplomatic and military means to resolve the issue.
The PAD has called on the government to revoke the MoU signed over the boundary demarcation because it believes the pact allows Cambodia to claim Thai territory. However, Abhisit insisted that the MoU had been signed by the Democrat-led government under Chuan Leekpai and was useful to prevent territorial encroachment.
According to the PAD, the MoU recognises a French map that was used by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) when it ruled in 1962 in favour of Cambodia over the Preah Vihear temple.
In his letters to UN, Hun Sen referred to the ICJ ruling, saying that the border temple was located on territory that was under the sovereignty of Cambodia, and that Thailand was obligated to withdraw its troops and police from the area.
Hun Sen accused Thailand of violating the ICJ's ruling as it maintains troops at Keo Sikkhakiri Svara pagoda, which is 300 metres from the Preah Vihear complex.
Abhisit, meanwhile, said Hun Sen was trying to paint a bad image of Thailand, making it look like an aggressive country.
"On the contrary, what I always say is that we will only use force
for self-defence and protect
ourselves from foreign invasion,"
he said. "We will explain our stance to the international community."
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Thailand did not need to worry about Hun Sen's letters to the UN because he had already spoken to Cambodian authorities and that both countries were willing to live in peace.
Former deputy foreign minister and current Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who put his signature to the 2000 MoU, said the pact never allowed Cambodia to take Thai territory and had never created any problems earlier. "I don't see anything wrong with it. The MoU was enforced by six governments over the past decade."
