Cambodia 2011 Peace Project Event (Part1 The Story)

The NEXT Forty-eight days: ACCESS DENIED
The NEXT Forty-eight days: ACCESS DENIED
[120][121] According to
Thai army spokesman
Col. Prawit Hukaew, the
two sides had engaged
each other with
automatic weapons
overnight Sunday.
According to Thailand,
no Thai troops was
killed in the clashes.
[122] On the afternoon,
the Cambodian Ministry
of Defense issued a
statement which
condemned Thailand
for ten straight days of
armed conflict; “The
repeated invasions of
Thai troops into
Cambodia have caused
gradual damage to
Cambodia, it is an
unacceptable act”.[123]
On May 2, the two sides
engaged each other with
automatic fire, but no
casualties was reported.
[124] Cambodia also
filed a case at the
International Court of
Justice on that day.[125]
On May 3, a Thai soldier
was killed during
skirmish in Surin,
bringing the death toll
on the Thai side to 12.
[126] Cambodia claimed
Thailand had fired
50,000 shells during the
clashes.[127] On May 4,
a ceasefire was agreed
upon, and the border
was re-opened for trade.
[128] On May 5, Thai
prime minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva made it clear
that he would not allow
any international troops
at Preah Vihear, unless
Cambodia withdraw its
forces from the disputed
territory. He claimed the
presence of troops in
the area was a violation
of the 2000
memorandum of
understanding between
Thailand and
Cambodia[129] On May
7, Thailand and
Cambodia agreed to
appoint Indonesia as
observers at the
disputed border.[130]
[131] July 2011[edit]
Following a request
from Cambodia to order
Thai troops out of the
area, the judges of the
International Court of
Justice by a vote of 11–5
have ordered both
countries immediately
to withdraw their
military forces from
disputed areas
straddling their border,
and imposed
restrictions on both
their armies and police
forces. A “provisional
demilitarized zone”
would make Thai troops
leave positions they
have long occupied, and
Cambodia’s to leave the
temple’s immediate
vicinity. The court also
called for officers from the
Association of Southeast
Asian Nations to be allowed
into the area to observe the
cease-fire as called for by
the UN Security Council last
February. Both sides said
they were satisfied with the
decision. Thai foreign
minister Kasit, speaking
outside the court, said that a
withdrawal of armed
Cambodians from the
temple complex “has been
our consistent position.”
Further noting that the
decision is binding on both
countries, he added that
Thailand would withdraw
her forces and facilitate the
observers’ deployment, and
further agreed to allow
unhindered supplies to
Cambodian civilian
personnel at the temple
complex. Cambodian
foreign minister Hor
Namhong said a
demilitarised zone would
mean “a permanent ceasefire
... tantamount to a
cessation of aggression” by
Thailand. He also said he
was satisfied with the
dispatch of truce observers,
which he said Cambodia had
been seeking since last
February, but made no
reference to the demand for
Cambodian troops to
abandon the temple
grounds. The court said its
ruling would not prejudice
any final ruling on the
where the border in the
area between Thailand
and Cambodia should fall.
It could take the court
many months or even
years to reach that
decision.[132] But Abhisit,
caretaker Prime Minister
since the just- concluded
Thai general election, said
that Thai soldiers will not
pull out from the disputed
area until the military of
both countries agree on
the mutual withdrawal.
“We need to talk to the
Cambodians as the
Cambodians also have to
pull out their troops,”
Abhisit said at a news
conference in Bangkok.
“So there has to be some
kind of mechanism to
verify, to do it in an
orderly manner. And
therefore it depends on
the two sides to come
together and talk,” he
said, suggesting that an
existing joint border
committee would be the
appropriate place to plan
a coordinated pullback.
[133] On July 23, one
Cambodian soldier was
killed along the
Cambodian-Thai border
while another was
wounded. A local military
commander stated that
the soldiers death was a
result of clashes
provoked by Thai troops.
Pok Sophal, a commander
for the Oddar Meanchey’s
Trapaing Prasat district,
stated that “We had an
appointment for the
meeting [between the two
sides], and when we were
walking, they opened fire
at our soldiers”. Thai
spokesman Phay Siphan
stated that the
government was
investigating the
incident, but dismissed
claims of armed clashes.
[134][135] September 2011
Football diplomacy[edit] The
general election resulted in a
decisive victory for the Pheu
Thai Party, with their leader,
Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra,
replacing Abhist as Prime
Minister on August 5, 2011.
Many United Front for
Democracy Against
Dictatorship (UDD – also
called “Red Shirts”) members
were elected to the House of
Representatives (“MPs” in
press reports.) Core UDD
leaders arranged with
Cambodian PM Hun Sen for a
friendly football match to be
played in Phnom Penh’s
Olympic Stadium on
September 24.[136] MP–and–
UDD leaders Jatuporn
Prompan and Natthawut
Saikua were prohibited from
leaving the country due to
pending charges arising from
the 2010 Thai political
protests, so an attorney
petitioned the Criminal Court