Thai Parliament withdraws JBC meeting minutes

19 Apr, 2011
(MCOT online news)

BANGKOK, April 19 - Thailand's joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday approved by majority vote to withdraw three minutes of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meetings as proposed by the government, saying the border talks between the two neighbours have yet to conclude.

The joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate voted 240:12, with 86 abstentions and nine absent, agreeing to withdraw the notes of the special panel to study the controversial issue.

There are currently 622 members of parliament -- 473 MPs and 149 senators. At least 312 members are required for a quorum.

The study suggested that the Thai government should speed up talks with Cambodia to move the troops from the disputed area to pave way for border demarcation, as well as to facilitate and help Thai nationals who possess land in the contested area.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob informed the joint sitting the ruling of Constitution Court that the minutes of three JBC meeting have not yet fallen under Article 190, which says any agreement made with a foreign country requires parliamentary approval.

The court said, in this case, there are further border talks to be held to find a solution and conclusion to the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, according to Mr Chai.

The court ruling came as a group of 80 Democrat MPs led by Democrat MP Sirichoke Sopha asked it to define whether the three JBC minutes are considered an international agreement under Article 190.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the Thai Parliament has been facing difficulty in considering the minutes. Finally the Constitution Court ruled that the border talks between Thailand and Cambodia have not yet concluded, and should not be raised in Parliament.

Mr Kasit stated the government therefore proposed to withdraw the three JBC minutes and let the concerned agencies to proceed border talks.

The joint sitting agreed by majority vote to withdraw the JBC meeting minutes from consideration, said the minister.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that the 11th century temple belongs to Phnom Penh, and UNESCO named it a World Heritage site in 2008 after Cambodia applied to register the status. Both countries claim a 4.6-square-kilometre strip of land adjacent to the cliff-top temple, with tension along the Thai-Cambodian border being renewed from time to time.