May 30, 2011
AFP
THE HAGUE - CAMBOIDA on Monday launched a legal battle before the UN's highest court, asking it to order an immediate Thai troop withdrawal from an area around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, scene of heavy clashes earlier this year.
'We will ask the court to swiftly provide the provisional measures to protect the peace and avoid an escalation of the armed conflict in the area,' said Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Nor Namhong, who represents Cambodia at the court.
'Thailand is under obligation to withdraw any troops in the area around the temple,' he told a panel of 16 judges at the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ). He insisted that Thailand must 'respect the sovereignty and territory of Cambodia.'
The 11th-century temple complex has been at the centre of a legal wrangle between Thailand and Cambodia - it was taken to the ICJ in 1958, said court documents.
The UN court ruled in 1962 the 800-year-old Khmer temple belonged to Cambodia, but both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of the 4.6 square kilometre surrounding area.
Cambodia last month asked the ICJ to explain that ruling, with the ICJ saying it would rule on a clarification at a later stage.
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