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PHNOM PENH, Jul 24 (Newsmekong) - The armed standoff between Cambodia and Thailand over ownership of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear is the latest chapter in the neighbouring countries’ troubled relationship.

“The current conflict with Thailand is not just about what is happening now. It is about the longer history,” said Chea Vannath a regular commentator on Cambodian political and social affairs.

“You need to look at the history. Vietnam and Thailand both grew while Cambodian shrank since the 14th century, swallowed up bit by bit by those large neighbours,” he explained.” This is not a recent thing; it is long-running.”

Indeed, decades of war and colonialism have left Cambodia with disagreements over all its land borders, not just Thailand.

On the streets of Phnom Penh, national pride over the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) recognition of Khmer ownership of the temple at the border with Thailand has been mixed with apprehension about instability as the country enters the final week of campaigning for the Jul. 27 national elections and concerns that the dispute could broaden.

 

The current dispute originated on Jun. 17, when UNESCO agreed to a Cambodian request to have the temple proclaimed a World Heritage Site.

In response to the announcement, thousands of people poured out into the streets of Phnom Penh in spontaneous celebrations. Prime Minister Hun Sen called the decision “a new source of pride for the people of Cambodia”.

Legally, the temple has belonged to Cambodia since a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962.

The ICJ’s 1962 ruling provoked violent protests in Thailand, which has never accepted the verdict and questioned the validity of the map used by Cambodia to claim ownership of the temple, the same map document used by UNECSO as the basis for its recent decision.

Thailand successfully blocked Cambodia’s efforts to list Preah Vihear in 2006 and 2007 on the grounds that a 4.6 square kilometre piece of land in the temple compound is still subject to border dispute.

It is the 4.6 square kilometres not covered by the recent ruling that is at the centre of the current standoff.

As of early this week, approximately 500 Thai and 1,000 Cambodian troops were stationed around a small Buddhist pagoda leading to the ruins of the temple, according to media reports.

The build-up began on Jul. 15, when Cambodian guards briefly detained three Thais who crossed into the area and refused to leave. Cambodia claims the Thais sent in troops to retrieve their nationals and have been building up their forces since.

Thailand denied the charges and saying its soldiers are deployed in Thai territory.

Preah Vihear is the centre of a complex relationship between Thailand and Cambodia, the result of fluid historical borders that did not begin to coalesce until as recently as the fifties.

For much of the 19th century, northern Cambodia, including Angkor Wat, was ruled by Thailand. France forced Thailand to cede the area to its rule in the 1930s. Thailand took advantage of World War II to take back much of the territory, which was not handed back to Cambodia until after the war.

Cambodia’s independence saw numerous disputes and between the two countries. Problems persisted during the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime and grew after the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1979 to overthrow the Maoist group.

Thai troops suddenly found themselves confronting Vietnamese forces across their country’s border. The flood of Cambodian refugees into Thailand further strained relations.

Thailand joined ASEAN, China and the United States in demanding the Vietnamese withdraw from Cambodia and recognised the Khmer Rouge-controlled, anti-Vietnamese resistance coalition put together under Prince Norodom Sihanouk in 1982.

Despite tensions over Phnom Penh’s claim, elements of the Thai military continued to support Khmer Rouge guerrillas. Ties began improving as far back as the eighties. They took a significant turn for the worse in 2003, however, when mobs burned down the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh and a number of businesses. It was in response to a Cambodian newspaper article alleging that a prominent Thai actress said Cambodia had stolen Angkor Wat.

Responsibility for the riots has never been established. Hun Sen attributed them to ‘incompetence’; others claimed opposition politicians stirred them up. Some say economic interests, keen to rebalance the relationship with Thailand, fuelled them but that they got out of control.

“There are many different relationships between Thailand and Cambodia and you have to be careful to differentiate them,” cautioned Vannath. “At a government level, the relationship is vexed but at the popular level there are not so many problems.”

While many Khmers feel may feel occasionally patronised by their more developed Thai neighbours, she said, they recognise culturally that the two peoples have much in common and that relations are generally good.

Observers are unclear how the Preah Vihear issue will play in Cambodia’s national election, which is now in its final week.

Members of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) were quick to claim credit for the UNESCO listing. On Jul. 11, the ‘Phnom Penh Post’ quoted senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap as saying the he expected the listing to be a major boon to the ruling party in the lead-up to the election.

He said Hun Sen deserved credit for the decision because he sent the letter to the UNESCO six years ago requesting the decision.

“They have tried to take credit for it and have used the state budget to promote themselves as heroes,” said Son Chhay, a parliamentarian with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP).

Just as Thai opposition groups have accused their government of backing the UNESCO application in exchange for business contracts, so too have Cambodia opposition politicians been quick to talk of secret deals.

“A deal has been done, no doubt about, it to jointly manage the Preah Vihear temple,” claimed Son Chhay, a member of parliament for the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP). “The Cambodians will get ownership and the Thais will get casinos and hotels.”

“I have no proof on terms of black and white evidence on paper. But we have evidence of meetings between Thai and senior members of the Cambodian government pointing to a deal,” he continuted.

The Preah Vihear standoff has put Prime Minister Hun Sen in a difficult position between preventing a broader conflict while placating public anger over the presence of Thai soldiers around the temple, which opposition parties are calling “an invasion”.

In a letter sent Saturday to the Thai Prime Minister, Hun Sen maintained that the temple is Cambodia, but pressed for a negotiated end to the stalemate.

Talks between the two countries on Monday proved failed to resolve the issue, although the English-language ‘Cambodian Daily’ said that both sides had resolved not to send additional troops to the border.

Most Cambodians seem are aware that the temple issue is a proxy for Thailand’s internal political problems.

“To use another country in Thailand’s own internal fight just shows their weakness,” said one long-time political observer. “I am not worried but we are in an election time. There is potential for even a small-scale incursion to get out of control is there and it could become serious.”

“Our troops may not be as well equipped as the Thais but they are experienced,” said Chamroen, a motorcycle driver in Phnom Penh. “Many of them are ex-Khmer Rouge. We don’t want a fight, but if the Thais push they will fight.

Vannath disagreed that the dispute has the potential to explode as it did in the 2003 anti-Thai riots. “No, it will not get out of control. The government has learned its lesson once and they will not repeat the same mistake twice.”

In the meantime, the row is gathering international attention. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Jul. 21 called for both sides to peacefully resolve the issue. The Association of South-east Asian Nations has offered to mediate between the two countries. (END/IPSAP/NMKG/AN/JS/08)