Cambodia ‘killed 88 Thais’ at border កងទ័ពខ្មែរសំលាប់កងទ័ពសៀម៨៨នាក់ក្នុងការប៉ះទង្គិចតាមព្រំដែន

Bangkok Post

A senior Cambodian army official said Wednesday his troops have killed at least 88 Thai soldiers over the past two years in clashes near an ancient temple on a disputed frontier.

Cambodian General Chea Tara talks at the office of the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh. Tara said Wednesday his troops have killed at least 88 Thai soldiers over the past two years in clashes near an ancient temple on a disputed frontier.

General Chea Tara, a Cambodian deputy commander-in-chief who oversees military operations in the area near the Preah Vihear temple, said that 38 Thai soldiers were killed in October 2008 and another 50 in April 2009.

“We helped them to find the bodies but they still hide the figure,” he said at a briefing of government officials and lawmakers about developments in the border spat. He said only two Cambodian soldiers were killed in the clashes.

The Thai military has previously said that only three of its soldiers were killed in the 2009 gunbattle. Thai army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd denied the new claims.

“The information is not true. If that many Thai soldiers were killed, it would have been big news since then,” he said.

Chea Tara said that soldiers on both sides have remained on “high alert”, but added that the situation near the temple was now quiet.

“Cambodian troops have enough ability to protect the territory and we have all kinds of modern weapons to counter Thai soldiers,” he added.

Cambodia and Thailand have been locked in nationalist tensions and a troop standoff at their disputed border since July 2008, when Cambodia’s 11th century Preah Vihear temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status.

The Thai-Cambodia border has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia, which ended in 1998.

Earlier this month Cambodia mounted a rare public test of rockets to protect against “invaders”, while Prime Minister Hun Sen has made several fiery speeches accusing Thai leaders of infringing on his territory.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, although its main entrance lies in Thailand. The exact boundary through the surrounding grounds remains in dispute.

Relations deteriorated further in November after Hun Sen appointed ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as his economic adviser and refused to extradite him to Thailand, which he fled to avoid a jail term for corruption.

18 Thai Soldiers Killed and 50 Thai Soldiers Injured, Says Cambodia

 

Reported by Deum Ampil news.

The latest news updated from Preah Vihear indicated that up until today on 5th April, the casualties from the Thai side have risen as high as 18 killed and 50 injured. The injured are being treated in one hospital in Ubon Ratchathani province.

Thailand has reinforced its troops by sending more troops and war tanks to the borders:

·         1000 special commando forces.

·         Six tanks

·         Four light armored personnel carriers.

Whereas Cambodia, according to Hun Sen, it has suffered no casualties in the clashes.

No war needed for border resolution!

It´s nice to listen to the good words of the leaders of the two countries, Cambodia and Thailand that they do not want WAR.

Thai Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva to reporters:

“I think (the talks) must go ahead. We don’t want to see clashes and losses on either side.”

Cambodian Premier Hun Sen to the Cambodians on Saturday in Komport Province:

“We don’t want to see such accident to occur again. We told the Thai side that they should not enter the border area because there are mines, which were planted in the civil war.”

“But we consider this (clash) an incident. I don’t call it a war… We are very sorry. We don’t want Cambodian or Thai soldiers to die,” he added. hun sen We also appeal that the conflicts should not be expanded to other areas,” he added.

 I do support their statements about the recent border conflicts that the clashes should not be expanded and the resolution should be solved through the negotiation means but not by war. However, their words must be implemented, but not just a lip promises as they have uselessly repeated before.

The resolution about the conflicts between the two countries are absolutely easy to solve if they, Hun Sen and Abhisit, really have a political will to stop the conflicts:

1. First, Hun Sen and Abhisit must order the withdrawal of soldiers of the two countries from the Preah Vihear Khmer temple without conditions and transform it to be a peaceful heritage site as before. Then, Cambodia and Thailand can adopt the bilateral talk  and base the resolution on the  international recognized 1904-1907 Siamese-French treaties and the verdict of the International Court of Justice, 1962.
2. Cambodian must reject the bilateral talk with Thailand as the results of talk have always been failed to reach any remarkable resolution and Thailand has never keep its promises for peace as it has agreed in every border conflict resolution meeting with Cambodia by keeping sending its troops to trespass into Cambodian territory, not only at Preah Vihear Khmer temple, but  in every province bordering with Thailand. Then, Cambodia must bring immediately the case to UN Security Council or the signaturories of the Paris Peace Accord 1991. And please stop repeating, “We, Cambodian government, will bring the case to UN Security Council.” And yet never does what it preaches.
3. And if Thailand does honestly love peace and is so sure that it is not invading Cambodia and really respect Cambodian sovereignty as it recognized in Paris Peace Accord 1991, Thailand first must withdraw its troops from the Cambodia territory around Preah Vihear Khmer temple as Thailand is the first party that send troops to the area to invade Cambodia and then Thailand can bring the case to the UN Security Council to ask for help in order to justify its accused action by Cambodia. Can Thailand do that?

If any of these alternatives is chosen and implemented, the conflict between the two countries will be peacefully solved.

This time I hope Hun Sen and Abhisit will determine to end the conflicts and bring about peace to our two countries so that we can live in peace as good neighbors.

Cambodia-Thai War and the Hidden Agenda

 

The recent conflict between Cambodia and Thailand did pose serious concern over our country´s stability and security. We really don´t know to what extend the war will become in the future. And we are asking if there would be  any hidden agenda in the conflict,  and if not, what is the resolution to stop this unnecessary war?

The possible hidden agenda:

Cambodia

• Hun Sen might want to help his close and share personal interest friend, Thaksin Sinawatra whos was ousted by the military coup last year, by helping his in-law , Somchai, to stay in power. The PPP governement has always been troubled by the People Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the extremist Thais, with daily mass protests which deepen Thai internal conflict day after day. This act of declaring war of Hun Sen can divert the PAD´s attention from protest against its own government to look at the external issues and calmdown or united with the government. 
• It can be a political strategy of Hun Sen. This is the only alternative to finish the conflict through the help of the third parties -UN, ICJ, and Asean,  as Cambodian people wanted. Unfortunately, this resolution is not welcomed by the UN and Asean body as long as the situation is not seriously concerned. So this might make Hun Sen government to have patience for the right time to come.
• If Hun Sen government is really protecting the soveriegnty of Cambodia, so Hun Sen government must understand that to take bilateral negotiation is not the advantage at all and Cambodia might lose her territorial integrity to Thailand and therefore only the third party´s intervention may help and protect the nation from loss, so the third party is needed and the resolution is to react militarily against the endless invasion of Thailnd.
• It also can be a boost for political support for Hun Sen government and divert the Cambodian people´s attention from the quiet protest of the opposition of the disturb result of recent unfair national election and more importantly to divert the Cambodians from launching another protest against the third aniversary of the Supplemental Treay 15 October 2005 which validates the 1985 treaty of the Vietnamese invasion back to life, which he himself personally signed it.
• Hun Sen may be pushed to war by Vietnam for Vietnam will not want to see Cambodia at peace for this will cause the loss of its future´s political control over Cambodia. And Hun Sen may get any secret agenda with Vietnam as well.

Will Cambodia lose the war? It may be said that Cambodia won´t lose it, but Cambodia will take advantage in taking in the international intervention if Cambodian government truly serves the country. If the war is just to help Thaksin´s crony to stay in power, then Cambodia will be absolutely at a big loss.

Thailand

• It also can be the Thai hidden politics  to bring its unity by provoking the outrage of Cambodian leaders by keep invading to the last patience of Cambodia in order to wage war against Cambodia. The reason is  that the weak Thai government can divert the PAD to become its alliance and united as a nation and move against the external country, Cambodia.
• It´s about superiority. The Thai and Cambodia keep claiming superiority over each another. We are the rivalery neighbors over the history. This act means the Thai want to take pride over Cambodia that they will not submitt to Cambodia.
• It actually about increasing the nationalism among the Thai and with this the PPP goernment will be able to collect political sympathy among the Thais.
•  This will paly as a military show-off to its neigbors because Thai military is known as weak and inexperiened even though they are equiped with the modern weapons they will have a hard time to deal with the poorly equiped but better experiened Cambodian soldiers. If they can bug down Cambodia soldiers  it will bring more confidence among their soldiers for  future military operation against other neigbors. With this, they will not let the opportunity goes away easily. 
• It might  be the case of taking revenge over the lost of Khmer Preah Vihear temple.
• Thai politics is always about saving face. This operation actually may save its losing face from the last few months´s invading acts as being viewed by the international community and become the rightious by not the one who first declares the war. But take this advatage it ignites the war.

All these hidden agenda can be called  the strategy of “Uniting one´s Country on the expense of the other nation.” Cambodian leaders must be aware of this inhuman strategy.

Will Thailand win the war? Thailand will not win the war. But thai may win over its people´s heart for unity. With this war, Thailand just regain national unity for a while if possible and save its face but it will then confront the international judgement and lastly it will lose its greed and alibi forver to invade Cambodia in the future.

Can we solve the conflict peacefully? Yes!

The resolution is easy as everyone must say:

• The two countries must bring the case to the credible third parties- UN Security Council, International Court of Justice or at least Asean.
• It also can be solved through bilateral resolution.

The two countries must stick to a truly honest neighborhood principle and the resolutions stated above must be solved basing on the international recognized legal documents and treaties- 1904 and 1907 Siam-french Treaty, the verdict of ICJ 1962, and the 1935 Siam-French border resolution treaty.

But this is not happened because the Thai has claimed that it needs bilateral resolution rather than the international intervention or keep claiming that its country is having the internal problem and asks Cambodia to wait. And it always flip-flops that it has the will to solve the issues peacefully. Cambodia can not wait. The longer the issue is prolongued the advantage will be lost on the Cambodian side. Therefore, to stop the war the third party´s intervention must be the last choice.

However, we do put doubt over Thai political atittude for its dishonesty and treachery by observing the following cases:

• If Thailand is truly honest in its national and international politics and a true freindly neighbor Thailand should be the one who takes a lead in bringing the case to the International Court of Justice, United Nation Security Council (ICJ), and Asean, because Thailand always keeps claiming that Cambodia invades its territory and the  ICJ is injustice. But why it denies Cambodia chalenge in the international level and yet keeps dishnoestly demanding the bilateral resolution? Thai deplomatic can reach the rest of the world any time it wants why refuses to openly fight peacefully for its justice in the international arena with Cambodia through court and dialogue?
• If Thailand is truly a good neigbor, Thailand must not have sent its troop to station on Cambodian land. If Thailand also claims for the land and have materials in hand recognized by the international body, why don´t use the existing  Joint Committee for Border Resolution that the two countries have established to solve the issue instead of sending troop to provoke the war?
• if Thai themseves do accept the interal political trouble and have often asked Cambodian to be patient and understanding why Thai  government allows its troops to encraoch Cambodia day after day? Why don´t they spare time the Cambodian government given to them to strenghten the stability inside its own nation and regain its reputation in the international community? 

These are truly unacceptable in the political game of Thailand towards its neigbor. The world must see understand this and push for the peaceful resolution as soon as possible in order to avoid any unpredictable causalty by the conflicts.

Conflicts causalty as up today

Cambodia:

• Two Cambodian soldiers died.
•  Three Cambodian soldiers slightly wounded.

Thailand

• Three Thai soldiers lost their legs by stepping on landmine.
• Ten Thai soldiers seriously wounded.
• Ten Thai soldiers captured.
• Six Thai soldiers died.

 

      

The ten Thai soldiers captured and their weapons confesticated during the fighting on Wednesday 15-10-2008.