149 Cambodian NGOs condemn Thailand's unwillingness to resolve border dispute with Cambodia

Cambodian houses destroyed by Thai artillery shells fired on 23rd April. 149 Cambodian NGOs have condemned what they called Thailand's unwillingness to resolve border dispute with Cambodia by flip-flopping on the Indonesian proposal to send observers to monitor the military situations on the Khmer-Thais border disputed areas. They said that Thailand is currently attempting to reject the Indonesian proposal agreed during the meeting in Jakarta on 9th May. Both Cambodia and Thailand had agreed to the proposal in that meeting, but a few days later Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva put a new condition demanding a withdrawal of Cambodian troops from the so-called 4.6sq. km disputed zone, saying that Thailand will not accept the Indonesian observers unless Cambodian troops are withdrawn from that area first. Cambodian had said steadfastly that it will not withdraw troops from the area because it considers it to be Cambodian territory. Mr. Thao Veasna, president of the Cambodian Federation of Human Rights and Developments, who claims to have represented 149 NGOs, said that by putting new conditions Thailand has shown its unwillingness to resolve the border dispute with Cambodia peacefully. He added that Thailand is holding Cambodia hostage due to its own internal political crisis. Mr. Chheang Vannarith, executive director of the Institute of Cooperation and Peace, has also said that Thailand has no real intention to resolve the border dispute with Cambodia peacefully. "The Asean community pretty much regrets the Thai flip-flopping in relations to the border resolution between the two countries, so this has shown that Thailand has no real political will to resolve the dispute. And Thailand is still changing its position and set new unacceptable conditions in order to delay the progress of the dispute resolution, whereas we (Cambodia) have already accepted the Indonesian proposal. It is something that is regrettable and it shows that Thailand has no real political will", he said. Mr. Po Samnang, director of Centre for National Culture and Social Morality, said that only the UN Security Council and the re-interpretation of the 1962 verdict by the International Court of Justice can resolve this Khmer-Thai border dispute. "We should not engage further with Thailand because we've seen that their intention was to block the resolution because it has its strong foundation [support base] within the Asean. So, Cambodia can only puts hope on the UN Security Council and the re-interpretation of the 962 verdict by the International Court of Justice", he said. The Thai flip-flopping and recalcitrance has earned the ire of some of the Asean members, notably Malaysia. Mr. Richard Riot Jaem, Malaysian Deputy foreign minister, has been quoted as blaming Thailand for the deadly skirmishes between Cambodian and Thai troops in mid April. "An agreement had been agreed upon, (Thailand) should adhere to it, I wouldn't want to say lacking in faith... (but) they did not adhere to the agreement. Thailand refused and that's why the skirmish came again," he was quoted as saying. Source: RFA