Cambodia 2011 Peace Project Event (Part1 The Story)

The NEXT Forty-eight days: ACCESS DENIED
The NEXT Forty-eight days: ACCESS DENIED
incumbent former Prime
Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra’s Thai Rak
Thai Party and then to the
military coup of June
2006, which ousted
Thaksin Shinawatra.
Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej is commonly
seen as a proxy for the
self- exiled Thaksin
Shinawatra. The
Cambodian People’s Party
(CPP) government of
Prime Minister Hun Sen
used the possibly
coincidental timing of
UNESCO’s annual meeting
and the listing of the
temple as a World Heritage
site in its campaigning for
the July 27, 2008,
parliamentary election.
[15] Timeline[edit] Leadup
to the fighting[edit] In
January 2008, the Thai
Defense Ministry from the
56th Cabinet of Thailand
protested Cambodia’s
attempt to register the
temple as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site without
agreement from Thailand.
[16] In March 2008,
Cambodia informed
Thailand of their plan to
register Preah Vihear
Temple as a World
Heritage Site. In April
2008, Thailand (the 57th
cabinet) and Cambodia
planned a talk on the
issue before the
registration. Thailand
insisted that it would
support the registration of
the temple but that the
process ‘must not affect
the disputed borderline’.
[17] On June 18, 2008,
Thailand and Cambodia
made a joint communique
regarding the temple! The
registration.[18] On June
22, 2008, Cambodia closed
the border crossing to
Preah Vihear in response
to Thai protests held at the
border crossing. The
protests were championed
by anti-Thaksin
opposition figure, selfdeclared
bankrupt Sonthi
Limthongkul, who claimed
the government of Thai
Prime Minister Samak
Sudaravej had gained
business concessions in
Cambodia in payment for
ceding Thai territory to
Cambodia when
negotiating the Preah
Vihear site map that would
be presented to UNESCO
in Quebec, Canada.[15][19]
On June 30, 2008 the
Nation newspaper in
Bangkok published an
editorial online highly
critical of the People’s
Alliance for Democracy
for its use of Preah Vihear
temple in its campaign
against the People Power
Party government of
Prime Minister Samak
Sudaravej.[20] On July 2,
2008, as UNESCO began
its annual meeting in
Quebec, Canada, the
Bangkok Post online
published a Deutsche
Presse-Agentur (German
Press Agency) report
that erroneously stated
that Preah Vihear
partially sits on Thai
territory.[21] Following
the Thai government’s
decision to support
Cambodia’s bid for World
Heritage listing, anti-
Thaksin Shinawatra Thai
opposition figures
mounted a legal
challenge against Thai
Foreign Minister
Noppadon Pattama. The
Thai Constitutional Court
finally upheld the suit on
July 7, 2008 in an 8–1
judgment that the
foreign minister’s joint
communique with
Cambodia was
‘unconstitutional’.[22]
[23] Whilst UNESCO met
in Quebec, Canada, there
were about 20 Thai
people standing and
protesting outside
holding sign “Noppadon,
you are a LIAR” and Thai
flags. On July 8, 2008,
thousands of Phnom Penh
residents marched through
the streets in celebration of
the inscription of Preah
Vihear temple by UNESCO.
On the same day, the
Municipality of Phnom
Penh held an evening
outdoor concert at Wat
Phnom to celebrate the
inscription of Preah Vihear
temple by UNESCO earlier
in the day. The concert was
nationally broadcast on
CTN, emceed by Cambodia’s
biggest television star and
featured traditional Khmer
performances as well as a
fireworks display. Despite
persistent rain, thousands
of Cambodians attended. On
July 10, 2008, Thai Foreign
Minister Nappadon Pattama
resigned over the listing of
Preah Vihear by UNESCO.
His resignation followed the
8-1 judgment by the Thai
Constitutional Court that he
had violated Article 190 of
Thailand’s 2007
Constitution, which calls for
a public debate and Cabinetlevel
approval before any
such authorization can take
place. On July 14, 2008,
8,000 Cambodians filled
Phnom Penh’s Olympic
Stadium Indoor Arena for a
concert hosted by Deputy
Prime Minister Sok An and
simulcast on Bayon
Television. Sok An had just
returned from UNESCO’s
annual conference in Quebec,
Canada, where Preah Vihear
was inscribed as a World
Heritage site.[25] On July 15,
2008, cross- border tensions
flared after Cambodian
authorities arrested three
Thai nationals who had
attempted to plant the Thai
flag near the temple. Several
dozen Thai soldiers were
claimed by Cambodian to
have subsequently crossed
the border. One Thai soldier
lost his leg to a land-mine
detonation.[26][27][28]
Thailand maintains that its
troops are deployed to protect
its sovereignty and ensure
that any protests by Thais
near the temple remain
orderly, although a
senior Thai military
official acknowledged
that the troops were on
“disputed” ground. On
July 16, 2008, Thailand
increased the number of
troops stationed in the
border region[29]
adjacent to Preah Vihear
temple. On July 17, 2008,
the total number of
troops at the temple
increased to over 1,000,
with some of the 400
Thai troops in the area
occupying a Buddhist
pagoda near the temple
and claimed by
Cambodia. Thai forces
have denied they are
inside Cambodian
territory. In a letter to
the Thai Prime Minister,
Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Sen called
for the immediate
withdrawal of Thai
troops and protesters
from the area. On July
18, 2008, the Thai
government handed
Cambodia a letter from
Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej insisting
Thai troops are deployed
on Thai soil. In a letter
to Hun Sen, the Thai PM
said Cambodian troops
and buildings on the
disputed 4.6 km2 (1.8 sq
mi) area were a