Cambodian-Thai border rift sees no immediate settlement - Xinhua

PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- As of Friday, two days have passed without gunshots disturbing the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple after the Feb. 4-7 bloody clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops, but there's a fear that real peace is still far out of reach in the disputed border area.

The skirmishes, in which heavy weapons including rockets, machine guns, mortars and artillery were resorted to, have reportedly killed at least eight Cambodian and three Thai soldiers, wounding many more, and compelling tens of thousands of villagers to flee home for shelters.

Witnesses said damage was done to the 900-year-old temple, a World Heritage site, and that although firing had stopped for two days, additional Thai tanks were seen en route to the contested areas, and Cambodia's military deployment near the frontier was not lessened.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated. Although the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple itself belonged to Cambodia, the row over the 4.6-square-km territory around the temple has never been resolved.

As the international community urges both sides to display restraint and calls for a peaceful solution to their age-old territorial dispute, the two neighbors are even at odds over the way of working the matter out.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen favors the United Nations Security Council's decision to hold a meeting on Feb. 14 to discuss the Cambodian-Thai border dispute.

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Mideast upheaval to alter peace talks - Xinhua

by Adam Gonn

JERUSALEM Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- With the world's media focused on the street protests in Egypt that now has entered their 17th day, observers are asking whether the Israeli-Palestinian peace process will be put on the backburner because all eyes are on Egypt.

Following the successful ousting of Tunisian President Zine al- Abidine Ben Ali three weeks ago, a wave of popular protests have been sweeping the Middle East with large-scale demonstrations in Egypt, Jordan and Yemen calling for regime change.

Ever since direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks started in the early 1990s, they have been grabbing headlines across the world. However, with the process mired in stalemate for the last couple of years, fears are rising that it will slip from the consciousness of world leaders at a time when it needs their involvement perhaps more than ever.

Analysts that spoke to Xinhua said that the protests in Egypt and across the region will definitely in the near future receive more attention, but in the long run could lead to a stronger Palestinian position against Israel, if Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak steps down.

STRONGER PALESTINIAN POSITION

Palestinian analyst Hani Masri said that while the peace process is dead at the moment, once the dust settles in Egypt there will be a new reality. That will affect the talks in a positive way for the Palestinians.

"It will be difficult (for Israel) to continue in the same way as before because the Palestinian stand will be stronger and they will be able to reject Israeli positions," Masri said.

"When Egypt becomes a democracy, this will help the Palestinian issue because it will show us that the Egyptian people can rule themselves," he said, adding that this would be better for the Palestinians than the Mubarak regime.

Asked if what is happening in Egypt could spread to Jordan, the only other Arab state that has a peace treaty with Israel, Masri said that it might be possible but that "Jordan has some national characteristics that are not present in Egypt," which makes the situation in Jordan more complicated. Jordan's King Abdullah II has already made some government changes following events in Egypt.

Looking forward, Masri said that what is needed now is another "serious" peace process, but it will take some time before that happens. He said one of the most important preparations for a new process will be the unification of the Arab and Palestinian positions so that a united front can be presented against Israel.

INTERNAL UPHEAVAL

Prof. Mohammed Dajani, director of the American Studies Institute at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem told Xinhua that in the long run the protests in Egypt will have a positive impact on the peace process and the Palestinian people.

"Egypt is one of the leading Arab countries so whatever events that take place in Egypt affects the region; it has a very strong ripple effect on the countries around it, particularly on the Arab countries," he said.

Dajani believes that Egypt has played a very big part in the peace process and what's happening in Egypt is connected to the peace process. He pointed out that some of the slogans being heard during demonstrations in Cairo - such as "Revolution until victory " - are old Palestinian slogans from the 1960s.

While most commentators have said that protests in Egypt are solely focused on domestic issues, Dajani disagreed.

"It's not only about food and about jobs," he said. "It's also about dignity, about peace, about what is happening in the area and about not just being followers of other big countries."

Dajani agreed with Masri that Egypt's future part in the peace process will be more "moderate," which may bring "equity and balance of the players" that are the main actors in the process.

The protests in Egypt may not only affect inter-governmental relations. According to Dajani, they may also inspire people in the West Bank and Gaza to protest against both the Israeli and government and Palestinian leadership.

"I do believe that in the near future the frustration with the peace process, as well as the frustration with economy and political situation might also lead to protests here," he said.

He added that issues such as the continued Israeli occupation and land grabbing as well as corruption in Palestine would act as "drops adding and then over-spilling."

GAME CHANGER

Gad Gilbar, professor of Middle East modern history at the University of Haifa, said that what is happening in Egypt will not only have a profound effect on the peace process but on the region as a whole.

However, Gilbar also pointed out that predictions about what will happen in Egypt and how that might affect the region are still very speculative since the situation is changing on a daily basis.

He said that one of the earliest assumptions - that Mubarak would step down - has still not happened and that it may take anything from two months to two years before we know what is happening in Egypt.

If the Muslim Brotherhood, which opposes the Egyptian peace treaty with Israel, will be given power in a future government then "we can forget about the peace process," Gilbar said.

Dr. Maha Azzam, an associate fellow at Middle East and North Africa Program at the British think-tank Chatham House, believes that popular protests in Egypt and other countries across the Middle East will grab some of the attention from the Israel- Palestinian peace process.

"Inevitably what is happening in the region is going to take much attention of the people in the region, and also of the U.S.," Azzam said.

However, in order to have stability in the region there is a need to keep a close eye on what's happening with the Israeli- Palestinian issue, Azzam added.

Azzam agreed that events in Egypt will affect the way the Palestinian people view and judge their own leadership, which will lead to demands for greater accountability and transparency.

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Thailand insists on not being the party starting crossfire with Cambodia - Xinhua

By Sinfah Tunsarawuth

BANGKOK, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Thailand insisted on Monday that it did not start the recent crossfire with Cambodia and the country preferred to solve the current conflict with Cambodia through bilateral mechanism.

At the first formal press conference since the crossfire erupted last Friday, senior Thai government officials implied that Phnom Penh has tried to seek UN intervention on the border issue, a move rejected by Bangkok.

"The Thai side did not start the shooting and we returned the fire to make the Cambodians stop," army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said at the press conference at the Government House.

Sansern, giving a chronology of the crossfire that began on Friday's afternoon, said that despite an agreement of truce on the following day, exchange of heavy-gun firing between the two countries erupted again on Sunday's evening.

He said since the start of the firing, one Thai soldier and one civilian were killed while another 25 soldiers were injured.

Sansern implied that the eruption of crossfire after the truce agreement could be a result of miscommunication between Cambodian soldiers on the field and their commanders at their headquarters and senior officials in Phnom Penh.

As of Monday's afternoon, there was no report on any further violence in Thailand's northeastern Si Sa Ket province, which borders Cambodia.

"What has happened is not an intrusion by the Thai side," Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to Thai foreign minister, told the same conference. "But it is a protection of the Thai sovereignty."

He said Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has made a phone call to his Cambodian counterpart, Hor Namhong, and both agreed that the current conflict should be resolved through the existing Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC).

The JBC, led by senior government officials of both countries, is scheduled to meet in the last week of February, but a specific date has not been set yet.

The JBC together with the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Thailand and Cambodia in 2000 is the key framework for settling the two countries' disputed border areas, which involved a 4.6-square kilometer piece of land near the World Heritage's Preah Vihear temple. Both nations have claimed possession of this piece of land.

Chavanond said the Thai government has sent a letter to the World Heritage committee and the director general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in asking the committee not to take any further step regarding the registration of the Preah Vihear temple.

He said any further action on the registration will further complicate the conflict and that the two countries should be allowed to negotiate on the border disputes first.

Unilaterally, Phnom Penh has the Preah Vihear temple enlisted as a World Heritage site on July 7, 2008.

Chavanond said the Thai government will soon send a letter to the UN Security Council in response to an earlier letter sent by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

He said the action by Hun Sen showed that Cambodia had a " hidden motive" in wanting to make the current conflict an international issue.

"Thailand reaffirms that it can solve the issue through bilateral mechanism," the secretary to the Thai foreign minister said.

"We will fully exercise our patience and restraint," he continued. "But at the same time, we need to exercise the right of self-defense on the basis of necessity and proportionality."

Chavanond also mentioned that Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, as the current chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), is scheduled to arrive in Bangkok on Tuesday, Feb. 8.

Chavanond said Thailand will brief the Indonesian minister on the current situation on its border disputes with Cambodia, but is not seeking any mediation by ASEAN, to which both Thailand and Cambodia are members.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told the same press conference that the government has now set up two centers for news release on the border conflict one at the army-run Channel 5 television and the other at the Government House.

Sansern said news footage and photographs published by news media could expose Thai military strength to the Cambodians.

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Thai PM: soldiers fire back at Cambodians to protect sovereignty - Xinhua

 Villagers are evacuated from the border near the Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, some 500 km northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Feb. 5, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday reached a ceasefire agreement to halt fighting near a disputed temple, but border tensions remained high. (Xinhua/Sovannara)  
BANGKOK, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday said Thai soldiers exchanged firing with Cambodians as they needed to protect the country's sovereignty.

"When there was an attack on Thai territory, we needed to protect our sovereignty and returned the firing," Abhisit said in his weekly national televised address.

"Our counter-attack has entirely aimed at military targets," he said. "We fired back to where it was fired from."

The premier said Thailand had no intention to invade any other country first.

Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged heavy-gun firing for a few hours on Friday afternoon and for another half an hour on Saturday morning as both countries claim a disputed area near the World Heritage's Preah Vihear temple

The clashes inflicted some casualties on both sides.

Senior army officers of the two countries met on Saturday and agreed on a truce. The border area remained peaceful on Sunday and some Thai villages have left a shelter provided by local authorities during the clashes to return to their homes.

Abhisit reaffirmed that his government could not accept the three demands set by the "yellow-shirt" People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), whose supporters have been rallying near the Government House in Bangkok calling for the scrapping of an existing memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Thailand and Cambodia in 2000 as the framework for settling the two countries' disputed border areas.

The PAD also wants the government to move out Cambodians who are occupying the disputed areas, and Thailand to pull out as a party to the World Heritage Convention.

The premier said without the MOU, there would be no mechanism for the two nations to settle their border disputes, while pulling out of the World Heritage Convention will allow Cambodia to move ahead with its plan to administer the disputed areas around the Preah Vihear temple.

Abhisit told reporters after his broadcast that he preferred to pursue a settlement with Cambodia bilaterally and refused to accept any intervention by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional body to which both countries are members, or any other multilateral bodies. 

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Clashes break out on Thai-Cambodian border - Xinhua

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The deadly crossfire between Thai and Cambodian troops Friday afternoon at the border area injured at least five Thai soldiers and killed one villager as the two countries' long-time dispute over an ancient temple had been under the spotlight recently.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday evening that Thai army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha reported to him that both sides had already ceased fire at around 5.30 p.m. The PM also assigned the military to explain the entire incident.

Thai Public Broadcasting Service quoted Jurin Laksanawisit, Minister of Education, as saying that at least five Thai troops were wounded while one villager in Khantalalak district of eastern Si Sa Ket province was killed in the clash.

Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd, Thai Royal Army's spokesman, told Xinhua the border clash started at about 3:15 p.m. after a cannon landed on Thai territory, though a military source in Cambodia said the clash was triggered as Thai bulldozers made the way to Beehive zone in front of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple and ignored warnings by Cambodian soldiers to stop crossing into their territory.

In response to this fresh incident, Thai military spokesman believed the artillery firing from Cambodia was unintentionally and caused by misunderstanding.

"We believe the firings were not intentionally and might have mistakenly occurred. We are now trying to control the situation. This is what the in-charge officials have initially reported but more detailed facts are needed to be examined," Sansern said.

Thai military spokesman said, however, should the Cambodian authorities gear up its military forces along the disputed area, Thailand would not give in. If Cambodia muscled up its military forces, the Thai army was ready to protect the national interest, he added.

Thai villagers living in Tambon Kao Thongchai, Kantharalak district in eastern Si Sa Ket province bordering Cambodia said they heard tens of artillery firings from the disputed 4.6 square kilometers near the Hindu temple but do not know from which side. Sporadic artillery fire could be heard for at least two hours and any artillery shells and a lot of bullet shells were found around the areas.

Residents in nine villages along the Thai side of the frontier have been asked to take shelter or leave the area, said a senior district official at Kantharalak district.

Over 50 shops at Sa Ngum checkpoint in Phusing district in Si Sa Ket which are situated about 100 kilometers away from the clashing point at Phu Makhua mountain were closed down immediately after the fierce shooting had took place.

Meanwhile, Cambodian vendors in border Sa Keo province opposite from Banteay Meanchey province of Cambodia also hastened to close their shops and crossed the border back to Cambodia after having learnt about disruption of the incident.

Kasit Piromya, Thai Foreign Minister said during a press conference in Phnom Penh that he would try his best to mend the ties of both countries.

Kasit said that the clash indicated that the border issue was very sensitive and the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO should handle the disputed issue very carefully.

"The border situation around temple is very sensitive and both sides should restrain."

The relationships between two countries should not be affected by a "minor conflict," Kasit added.

Meanwhile, Thai army Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha made remarks Friday evening that he believed it would take some time for the Thai and Cambodian ties to be back to normalcy, but he supports the peaceful method.

"There is no use to resort to violent means. We have to handle the border issue extremely carefully; otherwise, it will badly affect the business in border provinces, lives of the Thai and the Cambodian people," Gen Prayuth said.

This latest confrontation occurred while Thailand's Foreign Kasit Piromya is in Cambodia for the 7th Joint Commission meeting to discuss with his counterpart the bilateral cooperation on various issues including the border matter.

Fresh tension between Thailand and Cambodia over the territorial dispute re-erupted as Cambodia refused to remove its national flag put up in front of Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svarak pagoda located in the contentious areas of 4.6 square kilometers around the 11th century Hindu temple, triggering the military built-up from both sides.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated and the issue of Preah Vihear temple has been an age-old dispute. Although the Internal Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple itself belonged to Cambodia, the row over land plot of 4.6 square kilometers around the temple has never been resolved.

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Germany, Spain leaders hold talks over fiscal crisis - Xinhua

BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhuanet) --Visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel has met with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in Madrid. The meeting comes as euro zone nations ponder ways of saving EU countries in fiscal crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Spain is on the right road with its crisis measures and pledged the euro zone would take crucial steps by March to strengthen economic stability.

A show of unity from two countries with very different economic challenges.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel spent eight hours with her Spanish counterpart Jose Rodriguez Zapatero.

On the agenda at the Madrid summit - the debt crisis, the euro zone rescue fund and Germany's call for euro-wide fiscal rules.

Merkel said, "Change is never easy but changes are taking place around us - sometimes at breath-taking speed - the question is not whether we in Europe are united - with our power slipping - but rather whether are we are united across a continent which is home to progress and innovation."

As both leaders met the European central bank announced it was keeping interest rates at 1 percent for the 21st month in a row.

There was also some good news for Spain - it's borrowing costs fell at a bond auction, largely due to improved investor sentiment towards the euro zone's weaker members.

The Treasury sold 3.5 billion euros in three and five-year debt, in line with its target.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said, "The euro is strong but we have to strengthen it further. This strengthening has to come from the work that we are doing at the moment after a year of hard work struggling against the financial crisis and the debt crisis in some euro zone countries."

Markets were calmed last week by better-than-expected news about the exposure of Spain's savings banks to the country's crippled property markets.

New pension reforms were also announced and there are signs that Europe is closer to agreeing changes to the euro zone rescue fund so it could help Spain if need be.

But one in five people in Spain remains unemployed and the government's austerity measures are far from popular.

(Source: CNTV.cn)

Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

 

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