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Preah Vihear Temple is the subject of a century- long dispute between Cambodia and
Thailand. The impressive structure is located located between the Choam Khsant district in
the Preah Vihear province of Northern Cambodia and the Kantharalak district in the Sisaket
province of Northeastern Thailand.

Preah Vihear Temple is one of the most magnificent structure in the world. Built in
the early 9th century, it was constructed 100 years before the great Angkor Wat. This ancient
Khmer temple is situated in Cambodia and near the Thailand border. The beautiful temple
lies above the Dangrek Mountains on a cliff overlooking a spectacular view of the jungle
below. One can almost touch the heaven when visiting the temple in the sky.

This lastest and latest border dispute erupted into violence in October of 2008 and
April of 2009, as troops from both nations exchanged fire over ownership of an ancient
temple and the surrounding land. From October 3, 2008 up to April 16, 2010, the reported
casualties of Cambodian soldiers during the border clash is six deaths and 2 wounded while
the Thai forces losses seven soldiers and nine were injured.

The spar continued into 2011 as the two neighboring countries continue their
divergence over whose territory the Preah Vihear Temple belongs to. Last February 4 to 9,
2011, fighting between Cambodian and Thai forces result in deaths among both military
forces. Also, civilian deaths were reported. The Temple had incurred damages from a Thai
artillery.Because of the recent situation on the border, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
referred the fighting as war, asserting that "Thailand created this war. Thai Prime Minister
Abhisit must be responsible for the war." Hun Sen also said "This is a real war. It is not a
clash."

The ownership dispute recurred when the Preah Vihear Temple was subject to United
Nations Educvational, Scientific and Culutural Organization (UNESCO) application for a
World Heritage Site. The application was submitted by the Cambodian government. Thailand
contended that the application requested such designation for land surrounding the temple
that Thailand considers belong to it. In the interest of cross-border relations Cambodia
withdrew the application, and in 2008, after winning support from Thailand, submitted a
modified map requesting the designation only for the temple but not the surrounding land.e

Cambodia¶s attempt to register the Temple as a World Heritage Site without

agreement from Thailand was disputed by the Thai Defense Ministry. Arrays of
communication was made leading to the creation of a joint communique regarding the
Temple registration.Cross-border tensions flared after an arrest incident happened. From that
day onwards, military troops of both country were stationed in the border region adjacent to
Preah Vihear Temple.

?
 



The Preah Vihear temple has been in the news recently because of its World Heritage
status, the conflicting claims and a disputed border by both Thailand and Cambodia.
 The temple has been a source of conflict between Thailand and Cambodia for more
than a hundred years. Maps drawn up by other authorities and court cases ruled in favour of
Cambodia being the rightful owners in spite of the fact that access to the temple site was
very difficult.

As History provides, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague,

Netherlands, in 1962 awarded ownership of Preah Vihear Temple to Cambodia by a 9 to 3
vote, stating that the 1907 map clearly showed Preah Vihear as being in Cambodia. The court
only ruled that the temple belong to Cambodia, and did not rule on the surrounding adjacent
lands. Thailand reacted angrily, as the 1907 map and ICJ ruling did not follow the watershed
line at Preah Vihear despite clearly following the watershed for hundreds of kilometers along
the surrounding Dangrek Mountains as had been the agreement of the bilateral border
commission.

A peaceful solution was arrived at in 1963 when Cambodia took 'official' possession
and agreed to freedom of access by Thai citizens and agreeing that they could retain
ownership of any removed artifacts.

As the war between the two counties intensify, many nations including the
Philippines, Japan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and as well as the United Kingdom calls their
attentions to observe restraint. To help resolve the conflict, Indonesia¶s foreign minister stand
in between the two countries embroiled in an escalaying border spat. The foreign minister
calls for negotiation as the key to prevent future fightings. Also, the chairman of the
Association of South- East Asian Notes, Marty Natalegawa stressed that dialogue and
negotiation were the only way to resove the differences between the two nations, both
members of ASEAN.

Thailand contended that it is the 2008 decision of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to include the Temple on the list of the
world heritage sites as the root of the escalating border conflict. Cambodia, on the other
hand, has sought international involvement to resolve the border dispute, but Thailand
insisted that the conflict should be resolved bilaterally. With that, the government of
Thailand and Cambodia agreed to reconvene the Thai- Cambodian Joint- Boundary
Committee which is set up in 2001 to handle the warring sovereignty claims to the area
around the temple site.

?
?

Preah Vihear also known as Phra Viharn carries its share of symbolic history,
beginning from the erroneous French demarcation of the border and the following legal
wrangles, to the horrific forced expulsions of refugees at the site. Notwithstanding this issue,
Preah Vihear was in more recent years not an escalating issue in Cambodia and Thailand.
However, politics in both countries changed this. The temple has been the subject of an
intense boundary dispute since French colonial forces withdrew from Cambodia in the 1950s.

For two years, since Preah Vihear temple was designated a World Heritage Site,
firefights across the Thailand-Cambodia border emerged on the ancient spiritual site.It has
been said that its precarious location complicates the issue. Resting on the edge of a near
half-mile-high cliff, one side of the rectangular temple looks out over a vast Cambodian plain
± yet the temple itself is virtually inaccessible from Cambodia.
Despite the International Court of Justice ruling in 1962 that the temple belonged to
Cambodia, Thailand has never fully relinquished its claims. Thailand asserts sovereignty
over the 1.6-square-mile patch of surrounding land. And this issue has never been resolved.

The successful bid for the designation of the Temple as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site by Cambodia ignited tensions that stirred nationalist outrage in protests in Thailand.
Since then, armies from the two nations have clashed five times; the latest battle, the most
intense and sustained so far, was the first time artillery and mortars were used.

The main issue now is not about who owns the Temple but is the end of of the chaos
in the borderline of Cambodia and Thailand. As a member of the United Nations, Taiwan
should abide with its rules and regulations as well as resolutions. The fact that after the
International Court of Justice ruled that the sacred temple is under the sovereignty of
Cambodia and that Thailand accepted the ICJ ruling, although Thailand protested within 10
years after the date of the ruling, the latter has never officially made an application for the
revision of the resolution, nor reserved the right to request a revision of the ruling as
provided by Artice 61 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice to clarify the scope
of the decision.

It has been said in many news articles of different papers that Cambodia has called
upon the United Nations for intervention. However, Thailand despised that means for more
expidient and peaceful manner of resolving the conflict. Negotiation must be push through to
stop gunfightings. The demand of the International Court of Justice for the withdrawal of
Thai troops sorrounding the border must be obeyed to prevent from resorting to more severe
measures.

The dispute must now come to an end. The ICJ and the UNESCO already awarded
the Preah Vihear Temple in favor of Cambodia and all countries, member of the United
Nations, must respect such decision. Remove all the military troops surrounding the Temple
and allow tourists as well as Thai people to visit the area. Let the people of all nations see
what the Temple has to offer. Let it be filled with people wearing an overwhelming smile in
their faces and not a place full of bullets, armaments, and artillery.


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