UN Urges Thailand, Cambodia To Resolve Border Dispute Peacefully
2/14/2011 7:07 PM ET
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(RTTNews) - The UN Security Council on Monday urged the government of Thailand and Cambodia to resolve the long-standing border dispute between the two countries peacefully, and called for a permanent ceasefire along the disputed border.

"Members of the Security Council urge the parties to establish a permanent ceasefire and to implement it fully," Council president Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil said Monday.
Her remarks came after Foreign Ministers of Thailand and Cambodia made their cases before the Council at a closed door meeting held in New York. During the meeting, the two nations blamed each other for starting the latest border clashes. The Indonesian Foreign Minister also attended the meeting in the capacity of a mediator.

After the meeting, Viotti said the council members had expressed "great concern" over the recent border clashes between the two nations, and "called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation."

Last week, Cambodia had said that it would request for setting up a buffer zone monitored by UN forces along a stretch of disputed border with Thailand, following four days of border clashes that left several people dead and hundreds displaced.

Despite the Cambodian request for more direct UN role, the Thai government said ahead of Monday's meeting at the UN headquarters in New York that the two countries were capable of resolving the issue without foreign intervention.


The developments follow four days of deadly border clashes between troops from both countries along a stretch of disputed border. At least ten people have been killed after the clashes erupted on February 4. Though the fighting has since subdued, the situation along the disputed border remains tense.

Provocation for the border clashes was on the sentencing of two members of a Thai nationalist movement by a Cambodian court earlier this month. The fighting led to a mass exodus from the region, with thousands of residents fleeing their homes on both sides of the border.
Currently, relations between Thailand and Cambodia remain strained over the ancient 11th century Preah Vihear temple located on their border. Both countries claim ownership of the temple, which is located inside Cambodian territory. However, the main approach to the temple is from Thailand.

The latest fighting marked the most serious incident along the disputed border since similar clashes erupted some two years ago. The clashes started as Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers were meeting in Cambodia to discuss the long-running border dispute. The clashes reportedly caused minor damages to the temple.

  The long-standing dispute over the Preah Vihear temple began after the International Court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, and escalated after UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site recently. The dispute has led to several clashes between the armies of the two countries near the temple.


The Cambodian and Thai troops were involved in skirmishes briefly near the disputed border temple back in July 2008. Since then, the situation along the Thai-Cambodia border have been tense as both countries have increased their troop levels at their respective borders.
Thailand has witnessed several protests over the UNESCO listing of the disputed Preah Vihear border temple as a World Heritage site in 2008. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has promised to challenge Cambodia's management plan for the preservation of the 11th century temple at the UNESCO.

The ties between the two countries have deteriorated further after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been convicted of corruption charges in Thailand, as an economic adviser to the country.
by RTT Staff Writer
source:rttnews.
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