[Tlc] TC-border issues

[justinm at ucr.edu]

FYI.
Thanks,
justin


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/05/26/opinion/opinion_30073950.php

Spinning preah Vihear
Published on May 26, 2008

The Thai press placed areas on the eastern border under an unwanted spotlight amid two high-profile cases involving a territorial dispute with Cambodia and the vandalising of an ancient Hindu temple in Buri Ram province.


Thai Rath newspaper quoted Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama expressing optimism that things are moving in the right direction with regard to the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over the latter's proposal that Unesco add the ancient Hindu Preah Vihear Temple to its World Heritage list.

Noppadon told reporters that Phnom Penh was prepared to propose to Unesco that only the main Preah Vihear Temple's grounds - not the disputed 4.6 square kilometre area surrounding it - be considered for recognition as a Unesco World Heritage site.

The former consiglieri for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, although falling short of declaring victory, put a positive spin on negotiations that basically resulted in Cambodia rejecting Thailand's proposal that the areas in dispute fall under a "joint administrative regime".

But, as it is, things are back to what they were before the latest dispute erupted.

The area in dispute remains tense, with security officials from both sides glaring at their counterparts, and with the Thai side hosting the only accessible route to the Hindu temple that the International Court ruled in 1962 was in Cambodian territory after years of disputes over its ownership.

Separately, local television stations and daily newspapers reported that residents were taking matters into their own hands by employing black magic in their search for the culprits behind the recent act of vandalism at Phanom Rung, the ruins  of a ninth-century Hindu stone temple and a monument to the ancient Khmer civilisation. 

Shamans were called in to carry out ceremonies that saw bundles of incense and candles accompanying baskets of fresh fruits and half a dozen boiled pig heads to stave off the potential wrath of Shiva, the Hindu deity for whom the temple was built over 1,000 years ago.

On domestic matters, Thai dailies reported Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej as saying he is determined to push through a referendum in July on whether to amend the Constitution, which voters approved by a referendum during the previous administration.

 The newspapers said Samak was in no mood to debate the issue when the Parliament convenes  in less than two months. He decided that he would instead use his executive powers as prime minister to push the referendum through for a vote in July.


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Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
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justinm at ucr.edu