Cambodia informs UN Security Council on alleged Thai incursion

Cambodia has informed the UN Security Council that Thai forces have violated its territory near an ancient World Heritage Site temple where hundreds of troops continued to face off Sunday.

Cambodia's permanent mission in New York submitted a letter to the chairman of the Security Council and the chairman of the General Assembly to "draw their attention to the current situation on the Cambodian-Thai border," Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said.

"Cambodia is not asking for UN intervention. We still stick to Prime Minister Hun Sen's instructions to try to solve the problem peacefully between the two sides," the minister told reporters in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. It was unclear when the letter was submitted. The conflict over territory surrounding Preah Vihear temple escalated when UNESCO recently approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site. Thai activists fear the new status will undermine Thailand's claim to nearby land since the border has never been demarcated.

Troops from the opposing forces were on the brink of a shoot-out Thursday night, which was avoided when Cambodians retreated from a site occupied by the Thais. Opposing commanders and their troops have tried to defuse tensions, sometimes even sharing meals, snapping photographs and sleeping within easy sight of one another.

A Cambodian general, meanwhile, said he had little hope that upcoming talks between his government and Thailand will resolve the tense border dispute. Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Thai troops have deployed an artillery piece about half a mile (one kilometer) northeast of Preah Vihear temple - the latest escalation ahead of Monday's meeting aimed at averting a military confrontation. "Regarding the talks tomorrow, we have little hope about the outcome," Chea Keo said. He said the reason for his pessimism stems from a recent counterclaim by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej that the area around a Buddhist pagoda near the historic temple belongs to Thailand. Thai troops have been stationed at the pagoda since Tuesday.

Hun Sen wrote a letter to Samak on Thursday saying relations had been "worsening" since Thai troops "encroached on our territory," and asked him to pull them back. Responding to his Cambodian counterpart, Samak said the area around the pagoda referred to in the letter "is within the Thai territory," according to a statement Saturday from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


21 July 2008, Monday
PREAH VIHEAR AP