Thailand to urge UNESCO to review Preah Vihear's World Heritage listing

10 Feb, 2011
(MCOT online news)

BANGKOK, Feb 10 - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Thursday said his government will dispatch representatives to Paris next week to urge the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to review its listing of the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site as the listing has caused a conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.

The Thai premier said the two representatives are Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Suwit Khunkitti and former Thai ambassador to the United Nations Assada Chaiyanam, in his capacity as chairman of the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC). They will leave Bangkok for Paris early next week.

Mr Abhisit said the trip will highlight Thailand's stance that the meeting of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) is the major cause of problem as Cambodia was pressured to come up with a Preah Vihear management plan. Therefore, the Cambodian Prime Minister wanted the intervention of a third party to help clear the border dispute as it has to send the temple's management plan to the WHC.

The Thai prime minister said the UNESCO must help defuse the tension and Thailand has its way to solve the problem if the world cultural body fails to heed its suggestion.

"If UNESCO helps defuse this, both sides (Thailand and Cambodia) will be able to talk without pressure," Mr Abhisit said. "There is no need to wait until the June meeting of WHC; the committee should realise the problem and play a role in solving it."

As Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that he would not hold any bilateral talk on the dispute with Thailand and is asking for intervention from the United Nations or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Mr Abhisit said Thailand has made it stance clear and clarified the facts on the border dispute and latest skirmishes to all concerned parties.

Mr Abhisit expressed confidence that those who followed the incident, both ASEAN and the United Nations, would support bilateral talks between Thailand and Cambodia.

Meanwhile, Thai foreign ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi reasserted Thursday that bilateral talks is the best solution to end the current conflict even though the Cambodian premier has rejected it.

Mr Thani also expressed hope that the foreign ministers of both kingdoms may meet and hold talks as they go to the New York to clarify the matter with the 15-member United Nations Security Council.

Regarding the French offer to provide access to maps of the region it had made in the early 20th century should any country wish to study or make copies of them, the Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that Thailand welcomed the offer.

“In fact, Thailand had in the past received good cooperation from the Quai d'Orsay, which gave Thai officials access to their archives several times. Should there be additional maps that Thailand has not yet examined, it would certainly consider examining such maps without prejudice to its boundary claims,” Mr Thani said.