[Tlc] TC-border crisis

[justinm at ucr.edu]

FYI.
Thanks,
justin



Asia-Pacific News
Cambodia returns Thai temple trespassers (2nd Lead)
By DPA
Jul 15, 2008, 9:21 GMT

Bangkok/Phnom Penh - Cambodia defused a tense border standoff Tuesday
by returning three Thai nationals, including a Buddhist monk, who had
crossed into Cambodia to protest the recent decision to list Preah
Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

The Thais, identified as Phicharn Thapsorn, 35, Chanikarn Singnok, 64,
and Buddhist monk Khamphor, were detained by Cambodian soldiers for
trespassing in the Preah Vihear temple compound on the Cambodian side
of the border.

The men, reportedly members of a Buddhist peace pilgrimage group, had
crossed into the temple area from Khantalak district, Si Sa Khet
province, which borders Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, Monday
night.

Si Sa Khet Governor Seni Chittakasem confirmed that Cambodian
authorities had released the three men unconditionally by Tuesday
afternoon.

An estimated 40 Thai border police had crossed the Cambodian border
into Preah Vihear temple to retrieve the trespassing Thais, alarming
tourists and sparking urgent talks between the two sides, Cambodian
authorities said.

'After the arrests, around 40 black uniformed Thai border guards with
guns arrived at the temple and scared tourists with their weapons,'
said Hang Soth, secretary-general of the government's Preah Vihear
authority in a telephone interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Cambodia has had riot police and military on standby at the temple
since Thai protests began earlier this month.

Preah Vihear temple, known as Phra Viharn in Thailand, was named a
World Heritage Site at a UNESCO meeting in Quebec earlier this month,
despite Thai opposition to the listing.

The ancient Hindu temple, perched on a 525-metre-high cliff on the
Dangrek Mountain range that defines the Thai-Cambodian border, has
been the source of a sovereignty dispute for decades.

An ownership spat between Cambodia and Thailand led to a suspension of
diplomatic relations in 1958 and eventually ended up in The Hague for
an international settlement in 1962. Cambodia won.

The temple reemerged as a source of bilateral tensions in 2006 when
Cambodia first proposed listing the monument as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.

Thailand objected, and succeeded in blocking the subscription attempt
in 2006 and 2007 on the grounds that parts of the temple compound were
still subject to a border dispute.

Cambodia redrew the Preah Vihear inscription map this year, excluding
the disputed territory. It was approved by the World Heritage
Committee on July 7.

The Thai government at first backed the proposal, but then withdrew
support when the issue became a political hot potato.

Residents of Si Sa Khet province, about 400 kilometres north-east of
Bangkok, have been protesting the listing since early July, prompting
Cambodia to shut access to the temple from the Thai side of the
border. 

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu