Thai tantrum works: UNESCO delays Cambodian temple plan Options

[Sexpat]

"Unesco committee on World Heritage decided to delay decision on Preah Vihear management plan for another year after Thailand and Cambodia stood firm on their positions concerning the plan. The committee meeting in Brasilia of Brazil will reconsider the plan again when they meet in Bahrain next year.

Earlier Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti made several attempts yesterday to block Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple from the World Heritage Committee's consideration while the delegation from Phnom Penh stood firm.Cambodia insisted on pushing forward with the plan, saying it had already given Thailand too much...

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the management plan of Preah Vihear should not be approved until Thailand and Cambodia had settled the border dispute over the areas surrounding the temple.The Joint Boundary Committee of the two countries is now in the process of negotiating the boundary demarcation but its work has made little progress.Abhisit said that ideally all problems could be settled if Cambodia allowed Thailand to propose the Preah Vihear jointly as a World Heritage Site.

Thousands of People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members last night gathered in front of the Unesco regional office in Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road, waiting for the World Heritage Committee's decision on the Cambodian plan.The PAD is a strong pressure group that is forcing the government to oppose the Cambodian plan over fear of losing territory."

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/...e-30134867.html

[Hedda]

There's something about this Cambodian temple that seems to bring out the worst traits in many Thais. Mention the name "Preah Vihear" and that famous Thai Smile turns to exposed fangs.

In this morning's hard copy of the Nation, an article by Mad Dog, Thanong Khanthong, was essentially a call to go to war against Cambodia if one centimeter of sacred Thai soil was threatened by a UNESCO approval. Even the usually weak-kneed Abhisit sounded like Marshall Pibun in threatening "dire consequences" if Cambodia's management plan for operating the temple was approved. True to form, foreign minister Kasit, the man from UNCLE, PAD and Hell - who is himself being charged as a terrorist over the airport closure, showed his usual paranoia by accusing unspecified foreigners of taking sides against Thailand.

I'm not suggesting that Thailand doesn't have legitimate interests in what happens at this border temple. The problem is that Thailand has done its best for almost 50 years, since the World Court ruled that Cambodia owned the temple, trying to undermine the court's ruling by perpetuating a totally unnecessary border dispute over a postage stamp parcel of land. Subterfuge and delay are still the Thai objective, as far as this writer can tell. No matter what flag you try to wrap that cause, it still shows a distinct lack of merit and maturity. It's time for the Thais to admit they lost the legal case and move on.

[TheYenta]

Subterfuge and delay are still the Thai objective, as far as this writer can tell. No matter what flag you try to wrap that cause, it still shows a distinct lack of merit and maturity. It's time for the Thais to admit they lost the legal case and move on.

Some Thais seem to agree. From today's Nation:

"...a source at the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed concern that the tough stance taken by Thailand had made the country look pretty much like a "villain" on the international stage."The tough stance has prevented us from winning greater sympathy," the source said.

Cambodia has constantly campaigned about Preah Vihear and showed to the international community how much it was proud of this national treasure."During the past year, it has showed to the world what it has done for the conservation and development of the Preah Vihar temple. Its lobbying campaigns have also gone on actively, especially among big countries,' the source said.

The source lamented that Thailand, so far, had done nothing new to increase its persuasiveness. "If Thailand does not have a new strategy, the Cambodian management plan for the Preah Vihear Temple will finally get the green light from the World Heritage Committee in the future anyway," he said."

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/...e-30134936.html

[DOLLY]

Remember two weeks ago when the Cambodians sent back that supposed red shirt couple who had fled to Cambodia to escape arrest for some bombing ? The Thai authorities were claiming this represented a gesture by Cambodia for better neighborly relations. After this latest stunt by the Thais at UNESCO, I think the Thais can forget about more cooperation from Cambodia. I can't wait to read about the next Thai official asking: "Why are the Cambodians mad it us all the time?"

[Harold]

Voranai Vanijaka, one of the Bangkok Post's editors who strives to be a journalist, not a government mouthpiece, had these sharp words to say today on the temple dispute:

"If it looks like a Hindu, if it was built by a Khmer and if it has all the characteristics of a Cambodian _ then it must belong to Thailand. But rest assured, the dispute over the 4.6 square kilometre portion of the Preah Vihear temple isn't really about the 4.6 square kilometres. It isn't even about Preah Vihear itself. Therefore, this commentary will not dwell on who Preah Vihear really belongs to.

Though this must be said, people seems to neglect the fact that another World Heritage site, Vihear Phra Mongkolpitr in Ayutthaya, may be taken off the World Heritage list by Unesco. The reason is because it's so poorly run that it has become more like a weekend market filled with garbage.And we, Thailand, still have the gall, the audacity, to make claims with the World Heritage Committee."

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion...shing-detergent

PS: The article also takes a hard slap at PAD for "appealing to the basest of Thai society's instincts."

[Tony]

There's an artcle in the Bangkok Post today, warning that Thailand's administration of its own world heritage site in Ayutthaya, where it has allowed hundreds of vendors to illegally squat on premises, has been so bad, that the site could be notified that it's world heritage certification will be put on the "in danger" list. Won't that make the Thais look good when they throw their next fit over the Cambodian temple.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/1889...perils-heritage