Oct 14, 2011
Bangkok - The Thai government elected in July has decided to remain a member of the UN World Heritage Committee, reversing a pullout ordered by the previous administration over a border dispute with Cambodia, local media reported Friday.
Culture Minister Sukumol Khunploem said Thailand would remain a member despite controversy over an 11th-century Hindu temple on the border with its neighbor, the English-language Bangkok Post reported.
The ruins of Preah Vihear sit on a cliff, which defines the Thai-Cambodian border, and have been a bone of contention between the two countries for six decades.
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in June agreed to consider Cambodia's plan to manage the temple despite Thai objections, and the government of former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said it planned to withdraw its membership in protest.
But the new government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra decided it could better address issues concerning Preah Vihear by remaining on the committee, Sukumol told the Post.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple was on Cambodia soil, but it stopped short of ruling on where the border lies in the disputed area.
While Thailand has accepted the 1962 ruling, it claims a 4.6-square-kilometre area adjacent to the temple, which is also claimed by Cambodia.
Since the temple was named a World Heritage Site in 2008 over Thai objections, Thai and Cambodian troops have clashed on several occasions along the border, most recently in April when 16 people died.
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