OPINION: Cambodia and Thailand dispute

Sovannarith

Researcher

01 April 2011

In an article of the Bangkok Post with the headline “ Politics has no place in the ending the border row ” published on March 29,2011, Foreign Minister Kasit Pyromya stated that “ More importantly, the MoU is vital to show the World Heritage Committee that border negotitations surrounding the Hindu tempple between Thailand and cambodia have not been concluded.” Moreover, the Bangkok Post has inserted its comment, saying: “Recognizing that the dispute is on-going led the WHC to postpone making a decision on Cambodia’s proposed area management plan for Preah Vihear under the World Heritage listing process”.

After reading the article, I have noted that Foreign Minister Kasit Pyromya as well as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva repeatedly links a border issue to the World Heritage Committee (WHC). From my point of view, Mr. Kasit Pyromya is trying to confuse people all over the world with the gray information, especially the people of Thailand to veil his own internal deadlock policy. So, I would like to clarify the following points concerning the border issue and the World Heritage Committee:

1) It’s true that a Memorandum of Understanding of 2000 to which is referred by Mr. Kasit Pyromya is an official document signed between both the Governments of Cambodia and Thailand concerning works of the survey and demarcation of the land boundary.

2) The WHC never involves or interferes in border conflicts between country and country. The main function of the WHC is to protect, conserve the inscribed World Heritage Properties for humanity. Each decision made by the WHC is based on objective and scientific considerations and is thouroughly, responsibly carried out by qualified experts.

3) With the recognition of the great international significance and its Outstanding Universal Value, the Temple of Preah Vihear was finally inscribed on the World Heritage List on the basis of criterion (i), stating that “Preah Vihear is an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture. It very pure both in plan and in the details of its decoration”, as the World Heritage Site under the Decision 32 COM 8B.102 by the World Heritage Committee at its 32th Session in Quebec, Canada, in 7^th July 2008. Therefore, there is no but or if, the inscription of The Temple Preah Vihear has been completely done.

4) Both advisory bodies of the WHC, the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) highly evaluated Cambodia’s management plan and expressed their opinion explicitly during the 34th Session of the World Heritage in Brasilia that Cambodia’s management is a comprehensive plan which provides the firm basis for conservation and development of the Temple of Preah Vihear. Furthermore, the Bangkok Post’s own statement here above-mentioned is totally false. In fact, the World Heritage Committee has never issued any official statement about the postponement alleged by Thailand. It is a normal procedure to allow members of the WHC to be fully aware of the evaluations of ICCROM and ICOMOS.

With its mandate to preserve, conserve and develop the World Heritage Sites the WHC never involves in the territorial issue and never interests in the border negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand, whether they have been concluded or not. The statement by Mr. Kasit Pyromya linking the MoU concerning the survey and demarcation of the land boundary to the WHC’s purely cultural concerns is totally groundless. Its purpose is to only intensify the campaign of intoxication conducted by Thailand to confuse the international public opinion. Nevertheless and despite all the difficulties and roadblocks mounted by Thailand, Mrs. Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO encouraged Cambodia and Thailand to meet at its headquarters on 25^th May to explore the ways of safeguarding the Temple of Preah Vihear damaged by the artillery shelling of Thai military forces.