Thai PM calls early elections

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PM Abhisit takes border peace one step back with new conditions

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By Piyanart Srivalo,
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Published on May 11, 2011

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva took the Indonesia-brokered peace solution back to square one yesterday as he insisted that Cambodia withdraw its troops "before" a team of observers can be accepted and added an extra condition by requesting that Jakarta dispatch an advance survey team to the border area.

Foreign ministers from Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand met in Jakarta on Monday and agreed to combine all conditions and demands from both sides into one package. However, under the package, all parties must refrain from setting prerequisites before the package is implemented.

"We talk about who must do what in advance before taking the next step. It is a process, not an event-by-event thing," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.

To be more precise, he said it would happen when Thailand had formally agreed with the terms of reference (TOR) of the team of Indonesian observers, and at the same time Phnom Penh had announced the meeting of the military-run General Border Committee (GBC).

Initially, both sides agreed to the text of the TOR, but Thailand would not officially accept it until Cambodia withdrew its troops from the disputed areas and the Preah Vihear temple. Bangkok wants the troop withdrawal to be discussed by the GBC.

For its part, Cambodia has rejected the condition and is refusing to call the GBC meeting until Thailand formally accepts the team of observers.

In the Cabinet meeting yesterday, Abhisit said he would have the new peace package considered by the Cabinet as well as propose that Indonesia send an advance survey team to the border before the TOR and troop withdrawal is discussed.

Premier's proposal of an advance team is a modification

Abhisit's proposal of an advance team is a modification, because the four-page TOR - a copy of which was seen by The Nation - does not mention any advance teams. The TOR mostly indicates the role of the team of observers and the location where they will be stationed.

The prime minister also said he wanted the conflict in the border areas of Ta Muen Thom and Ta Khwai in Surin province, where a serious military clash broke out in late April, to be included in the peace package.

Cambodia has not put any additional conditions in the package because, as Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told Kyodo News, his government was ready to accept the package, which involves a series of steps to be taken by the two countries under a specific timeline.

Speaking to reporters upon arrival from the Jakarta peace talks, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said there would be no implementation of the peace package until Cambodia withdrew its troops from Preah Vihear and adjacent areas.

Thailand has been consistently calling for the withdrawal of Cambodian troops, because a military presence goes against the spirit of the Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property and the memorandum of understanding signed in 2000 by both countries, he said.

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Sourn Serey Ratha broadcasts his message on the Thai Yellow Shirt's ASTV channel. Why does he use a platform that holds hatred against Khmer?

Dear Readers,

Please find below a broadcast by Sourn Serey Ratha on the Yellow Shirt ASTV channel. In our opinion, while his message against the Hun Xen's regime sounds reasonable, his use of the Yellow Shirt's platform, a group that maintains hatred against Cambodians in general, is unreasonable and a poor decision. In the long and arduous road to democracy, the enemy of one's enemy is not necessarily one's friend.

Nevertheless, we leave it up to you to judge Mr. Sourn Serey Ratha's decision.

Thank you,

KI-Media team

http://www.manager.co.th/vdo/defaultrun.aspx?NewsID=5540000058763

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Surin, Buriram gradually close evacuation centres as border situation eases

BANGKOK, May 2 (MCOT online news) - Surin and Buriram, two Thai provinces bordering Cambodia, have gradually closed their evacuation centres for local villagers centres as the residents are returning home as the border situation has eased, with no heavy weapons clashes taking place between Thai and Cambodia troops.

While Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ordered the army to high alert at the Thai-Cambodian border as Cambodia is still using tactics to incite [incidents] and making sporadic attacks with small arms.

He added that the sniping and inciting by Cambodian troops could eventually lead to intensified clashes anytime so that the army must closely monitor situation.

Surin Governor Serm Chainarong said the province had closed 35 evacuation centres and provided transportation for some 44,000 villagers to return to their homes after the situation returned to normal.

He said that during the last four days, there were no heavy weapons in action on the Cambodian side.

In Buriram, Governor Thani Samartkij closed three evacuation centres following the clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops at Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district had eased with only small weapons fire being heard.

Villagers who fled the fighting to shelter at centres in Ban Kruat and Prakhon Chai districts have gradually returned to their homes. The province has closed three centres and six remaining centres are expected to be closed on Monday.

Mr Thani said six villagers were wounded from the fighting. Two homes were destroyed and 14 homes were damaged.

Meanwhile, minister attached to the prime minister's office Ongart Klampaiboon reiterated that during the border clashes between April 22- May 2, eight Thai soldiers were killed and 131 were wounded.

One civillian was killed in the while three died from congenital diseases at hospital in Surin, he said.

Mr Ongart said he has instructed Surin governor to build 169 additional bunkers in at-risk areas in the province.

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ASEAN needs dispute settlement mechanism

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Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Mon, 05/02/2011

To the majority of Cambodians, warfare is not an option, even while their government and the Thai government are struggling to end border disputes.

Lita Cheng, a 20-year-old Cambodian woman, said that she and other Cambodians have the same desire — to have peace.

“We had a civil war a long time ago. We just want peace now,” she said Friday.

“There’s also a sensitive problem. Our neighbor wants to take our land. So this issue is very sensitive for Cambodians.”

Likewise, Cambodian Phalla Say said her country had gained peace just recently after the war among the Khmer.

“Now we don’t want to see any more conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand,” said the 28-year old.

Experts say it is timely for ASEAN in the upcoming ASEAN Summit on May 7-8 in Jakarta to consider renewing a dispute settlement mechanism to make it more effective than the “moral advice” that ASEAN is offering now.

“[The ASEAN Summit] is the right time for ASEAN to start thinking of new mechanisms that are more effective and binding in dispute resolution [because] the fact right now is that the desire to use weapons is still quite strong [among member countries], including Thailand,” Pelita Harapan University School of Social and Political Science dean Alexius Jemadu told The Jakarta Post recently.

“Otherwise, the relevance of ASEAN will be questionable to its own people and the international community,” he said.

He said Indonesia’s efforts to mediate the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia had ended embarrassing the current ASEAN chair due to the two parties’ inability to commit to their cease-fire agreement.

Parahyangan University international relations expert Bonggas Adi Chandra agreed, saying a code of conduct in dispute resolution should be included in the ASEAN Political and Security Community Blueprint.

“We need a specific dispute settlement mechanism that any ASEAN chair can conduct [when there’s a dispute between members],” he told the Post.

Current chair of ASEAN and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa went to Phnom Penh and Bangkok in February for the so-called “shuttle diplomacy” after four days of border fighting

around the Preah Vihear temple that killed at least three Thais and eight Cambodians.

Thailand and Cambodia agreed in an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Jakarta, about three weeks after the February clashes began, that both parties would maintain a cease-fire and would have an Indonesian observer team on both sides.

The agreement, however, seemed to be futile, with Thailand and Cambodia renewing their skirmishes last week around the Ta Krabey and Ta Moan temples. The death toll in the March fighting already hit 16 people from both sides.

Thailand and Cambodia renewed their truce agreement on Thursday, but peace was brief as clashes broke out again on Friday in a disputed zone along the frontier, The Associated Press reported.

Cambodian Col. Suos Sothea said that the Thai army fired artillery shells into Cambodia again Friday and small arms fire crackled anew around the Ta Krabey temple, AP reported.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said security issues would be one of the main agendas during the Summit.

But he said he was not sure if the Thailand-Cambodia border disputes would be specifically discussed during or on the sidelines of the Summit.

Bonggas said he doubted that the issues presently harbored between Thailand and Cambodia would be openly discussed by the leaders during the Summit due to ASEAN’s principle of non-interference.

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Thai, Cambodian troops clash again at disputed border

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May 02, 2011Troops from Thailand and Cambodia have exchanged fire again at their disputed border.

The Thai regional army spokesman, Colonel Prawit Hukaew, said the two sides exchanged automatic weapons fire overnight and before dawn yesterday as the conflict entered its 10th day.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said the fighting took place around the Ta Krabey and Ta Moan temples, which are in a disputed zone between the two nations.

No casualties were reported. At least 16 people have been killed and nearly 100,000 displaced since fighting began April 22. AP

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Thailand going rogue? A different perspective

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By Pornpimol Kanchanalak

Special to The Nation

Published on May 2, 2011

The Wall Street Journal's editorial on "Thailand Going Rogue" published on April 26 needs a response. It is filled with "rigorous" hypothetical speculation and those conjectures were never verified. It also based on a loaded conspiracy theory whose foundation is at best unsound.

The article put the condemnation squarely on Thailand for being recalcitrant in hearing out peace initiatives. Without the normally required journalistic consideration for fair and equitable treatment of the subjects and subject matter, the article starts positing one huge hypothesis after another, and leaped to a conclusion about Thailand's motives and factual circumstances.

The first point of the article cites Thailand's refusal to accept the initiative to allow the Indonesian Observer Team (IOT) in the affected areas along the Thai-Cambodian border as evidence of Thailand's unwillingness to work towards peace.

Fact 1. It was the Thai foreign minister, Kasit Piromya, not the Cambodian, who proposed to the Asean meeting in Jakarta in February the deployment of an Asean observer team to the area of conflict. Unwittingly, his proposal was not attached with any conditions for implementation. Indonesia, which holds the rotating chair of Asean, in good faith, then drafted the terms of reference (TOR) for this IOT using the same guidelines as those governing the Aceh peace-monitoring activities by the European Union after the peace agreement was reached between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement - GAM.

Unfortunately, Aceh and the disputed 4.6 square kilometres on the Thai-Cambodian border are of a very different nature. Aceh is part of Indonesia and GAM was called the rebels, and all the monitoring bodies were under the jurisdiction of one government - that of Indonesia.

The Thai-Cambodian border row involves the conflicting claims of two sovereign nations. For this reason, the ToR that was applicable to Aceh is not germane to the Thai-Cambodian situation.

The key issue that makes the proposed TOR unacceptable to Thailand is the question of sovereign authority over the two observer teams. One will be deployed in undisputed Thai territory and, according to the TOR, will be under the supervision of Thai authorities.

The other observer team will be dispatched to the disputed area that the ToR considers to be under the jurisdiction of the Cambodian government. That would tip the scale of the delicate balance necessary for a negotiated peace. This issue, if left unaddressed, will become knottier, particularly when the Asean chair next year changes from Indonesia to Cambodia. The sweeping claim of the article that Thailand is unwilling to seek peace is erroneous because it ignores these important facts.

The second point of the article hypothesises that the Thai military has a hidden agenda to perpetuate the conflict. Worse, it makes the unsubstantiated claim that the military, the palace and business elite intentionally instigate and exacerbate the border clashes for their own self-serving interest, and that is to foil the general election that would make possible the return of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

If one does not have enough respect for the long-standing integrity and journalistic standard of this US newspaper, one may have thought that it was probably the hand of some directly interested party in Thai politics that penned this piece.

Fact 2. As much as Thais would like it to be, the Thai military does not have a unified stance and cannot be treated as a cohesive body. The Thai military may have pledged its loyalty to the monarchy as one of the three national pillars to defend, but the reality is quite different for some pledgers.

Fact 3. The article makes a cavernous connection between the yellow shirts and the palace. This is a continuing and blatant misconception. It is not only the yellow-shirt leaders who have been trying to legitimise the movement by dragging the monarchy into the fray for its own interest - many parties shamelessly have. The connection made between the yellow shirts, or the shirts of any colour, and the palace is as factually invalid as the argument that a man does not get pregnant because he is taking birth control pills.

Fact 4. Everybody seems to be fond of talking about the Thai "elite", who are the ultimate, omnipresent, omniscient conspirators/culprits who are equipped with a grand design for Thailand's political future. The truth is they are sheer theoretical phantoms or even a figment of the imagination. It was a catchphrase started by the supporters of Thaksin that has assumed a life of its own. No one, when pressed for an answer of who these "elite" are, can give a clear answer. It's always easier to deal with a complicated and senseless world if we believe in a creator who knows what he/she is doing. It is also quite romantic to have some "privileged" ones to blame with full vagaries of bias.

The third point of the article only talks about Thailand and its domestic politics as driving the Thai-Cambodian conflict. Never once does it ask the question if the same assertion can be applied to the Cambodian leadership.

Fact 5. Before the border clashes, the Cambodian people, who historically are more apprehensive about Vietnam, as many can still recall the five-skull torture, were beginning to vociferously question their leadership about the tens of thousands of square kilometres that it gave away to Vietnam under the long border demarcation bilateral dialogue. Sam Rainsy, the opposition leader who is very outspoken on this issue, got whipped out of the country and sentenced several times in absentia to multiyear jail terms.

Cracks began to become more visible in the tight grip of the leadership, which has been in office since 1998. After the border confrontation, it's the Cambodian people who became unified by the umbrage towards Thailand, not the other way around. There is also a real question of leadership succession. The designated heir apparent of the leadership was assigned to the heroic duty of commanding the Cambodian troops and strategy in the border disputes.

As things stand now, Thailand may be rightfully described as a divided nation that has lost her aspirations and sense of direction. But going rogue? That existential quantifier merits a different destination.

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As Asean's chair, Indonesia faces uphill tasks

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By Kavi Chongkittavorn

The Nation

Published on May 2, 2011

When the Asean leaders meet for the first time later this week in Jakarta, new challenges await Indonesia as the chair. The ongoing Thai-Cambodian conflict, the status of the 2014 chair, the membership of Timor Leste and the common platform for Asean beyond 2015 are key issues that can make and break the 44-year organisation. In contrast, myriad other problems related to the realisation of an Asean Community in 1,328 days need to be managed without exchanges of vitriol, bullets and mortar fire.

From the beginning, Indonesia has fixed a very high bar as the 18th Asean chair.

By breaking with the Asean tradition of the chair's rotation system -swapping with Brunei - the world's third largest democracy wants to ascertain other upcoming chairs of major summits, including the G-20, will not face future disruption.

The successful chairing of Asean this year will set a new compass for the country's diplomacy and help to define its role in the region and international community at large.

However, the unexpected eruption of border skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia in early February and late last month has threatened to derail Indonesia's grand strategy. It has zapped the host's overall energy away from the agenda of an "Asean community in a globalised community of nations." After the UN Security Council referred the border conflict to Asean in mid-February, Indonesia moved quickly to display leadership by facilitating dialogue between the two neighbours and serving as observers to monitor the border and establish a permanent ceasefire.

During the past five weeks, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has been hard at work to have the 30-member Indonesia Observers Team, 15 on each side, on the ground ahead of the upcoming Asean summit. His aborted trip last Monday to Bangkok and Phnom Penh indicated the complexity of facilitating any resolution of intra-Asean conflict. Unknowingly, Marty has entered on a new and untested Asean turf in conflict resolution and reconciliation.

The remaining eight months are crucial to set the Asean house in order. Any spill over to the next chair, Cambodia, would have adverse effects on Asean, as the chair would be a conflicting party. A general election is scheduled in Cambodia next year as well.

For the past 14 years, Asean has been unable to assert any peer pressure on the pariah regime of Burma. It was a bit odd that President Thein Sein would have the audacity to ask their colleagues to rubber stamp his legitimacy by permitting the new administration to host the 2014 chair. As of last week, Naypyidaw had not yet responded to the grouping's overture to dispatch a team of Asean senior officials, headed by the chair, to assess the country's readiness.

Several members have reiterated that the 2014 chair is not automatic and should be further deferred until Burma has agreed to the appeal and fulfilled the Asean charter. The often asked question is: Will Asean put its last stick to good use?

An equally divisive issue is the 11th membership of Asean. Timor Leste informed Asean in early March that it wanted to join the club now — a big jump from the 2015 deadline. Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand support the inclusion this year while Singapore would like to postpone it for a few years. The lack of consensus raises the spectre that Indonesia's chair has been linked to the speedier admission. The region's most impoverished nation was part of Indonesia until its independence in 1999. Lack of English-speaking human resources and poverty have been cited as key obstacles. Singapore fears it would further delay the Asean economic integration and realisation of the Asean Community.

Timor Leste, the supporters argue, should be integrated soonest within the Asean family despite all the shortcomings. Leaving this young nation alone would be precarious and subject it to non-Asean influence that could be detrimental to the grouping's interest in the future. For good for worse, Asean has already lived through years of ups and downs with old and new members in various Asean cooperative schemes. Some of the new members contend that no conditions should be placed for admission of a new member. Quite unique, however, has been the attitude of Thailand, which sees Timor Leste, a young democracy, as an inspiration for Asean's people-centred community.

More than Asean's leaders would like to admit that Timor Leste's membership could be a test case of new Asean leadership. Ironically, Dili's status will be the weathervane to where the grouping's real leadership is heading. For decades, Singapore was the prime mover and shaker in Asean's pivotal schemes, covering all aspects of activity. However, since the 2003 summit which gave birth to the Bali Concord II, Indonesia, along with its burgeoning democracy, has expanded its vision and influence on the organisation where it used to be a puller.

The outcome of Timor Leste's deliberation will to a certain degree impact on the current chair's ambitions beyond the Asean Community 2015. Indonesia's foreign policy in the past decade has been focused on finding solutions, building understanding and fostering consensus. Jakarta believes that Asean will be able to maintain its creditability and centrality through the establishment of an Asean common platform on global issues. Throughout its history, Asean's members could be quite inflexible when it came to issues that involved their national sovereignty. Asean still has a long way to go concerning collective sovereignty and responsibility. Climate change, nuclear energy and territorial disputes could serve as litmus tests whether the Asean members could adopt common positions and policies on global issues.

The jury is still out whether Indonesia will be able to carry through such a broad and ambitious agenda.

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Cambodia recruiting more soldiers to fight against Thailand

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Monday, 02 May 2011

By NNT

BANGKOK, May 1 2011 (NNT) - Major General Hun Manet announced that he would give 1 house and 5 rai of land to anyone willing to become a soldier and fight against Thailand.

Deputy Army Commander General-Major Hun Manet the eldest son of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that he would give 1 house and 5 rai of land plus a few thousand baht of their normal salary to anyone who are willing to become a soldier and fight against Thailand. This announcement has been broadcast in Sam Rong Province and A-long-weng province.

Meanwhile, Army region 2 spokesman Colonel Prawit Hukaew said that currently the army could not predict when the fighting would stop as Cambodia were now recruiting more soldiers to fight against Thailand. He further said that after the ceasefire agreement there was another breakout of fighting later that night, however, he had called Cambodia and asked for their reason, they said the announcement had not yet reached all of their units and also some soldiers refused to listen to their orders.

Colonal Prawit added that after the conversation, the fighting had lessened, which was considered a good sign.

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EDITORIAL: Suddenly, a Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire

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(Source: The Manilla Times)By The Manila Times, Philippines

April 29--Israeli leaders expectedly condemned the unity announced in Cairo, where the two Palestinian factions were holding talks. The Israelis' initial reaction was to say that Fatah-Hamas unification would harm chances for peace between them and the Palestinians. President Abbas, however, said unity in Palestine would pave the way for peace.

The announcement in Cairo said the Palestine Authority and the Hamas Islamists controlling Gaza have agreed to form a transitional government of the future Palestine state, ahead of elections to be held within a year.

Why did the sudden "outbreak of peace" come about? The Fatah and Hamas officials engaged in the Cairo negotiations both said it was a result of the freeze in peace talks between the Palestine Authority and Israel and the upheavals going on in the Arab countries.

President Abbas (quoted by Agence France-Presse) said on Thursday he hoped the unity agreement achieved between his Fatah party and Hamas would promote revival of negotiations with Israel. He said, "We hope that it will bring all the factions of the Palestinians to accept the Quartet conditions." The Quartet is the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia. One of its demands is that any Palestinian government must accept previous agreements, recognize Israel and renounce violence.

Of greater and immediate importance to us in the Philippines and our fellow members of the Association of Asian Nations (Asean) is the also "surprise" ceasefire agreement that Thailand and Cambodia made yesterday.

The two neighbors had been fighting on their common border for seven days. The clashes resulted in 15 deaths.

Until last Wednesday, it did not appear that the fierce fighting would soon stop, and it looked like the Thai-Cambodian conflict was surely going to get worse because talks that had previously been set to take place in Phnom Penh on Wednesday were called off at the last minute by Thailand's defense minister.

The armed forces of both countries have been shooting at each other since February, when their dispute about an ancient temple erupted in an actual war. There was a ceasefire but this ended last week when shooting began again.

Both Bangkok and Phnom Penh say it is the other's fault that war has broken out over two contested temples in the jungle between the two countries. This conflict has caused 75,000 civilians to be displaced. Scores of soldiers on both sides have been killed.

This episode in this decades-long war has been the bloodiest so far. Six Thai soldiers and a civilian and eight Cambodian soldiers were killed.

In February, the European Union foreign policy secretary echoed an earlier call from the United Nations Security Council for a permanent ceasefire.

And the American Ambassador to Thailand, Kristie Kinney (whose previous posting is the Philippines) on Thursday called on both countries to return to the negotiating table.

Asean leaders have also been appealing to Thailand and Cambodia to stop fighting.

The Thai-Cambodian border has never been fully demarcated. Part of the reason is because the jungles are littered with landmines left over from the years when Cambodia was ruled by the Communist Khmer Rouge (which was, of course, the enemy of democratic monarchy Thailand) at war with non-communists as well as with a faction of Cambodian communists supported by Vietnam.

On Tuesday, the fighting briefly spread to the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. This temple has been the focus of the conflict between the neighbors since the United Nations gave it UN World Heritage status in 2008.

The clashes that began last week were however centered not in Preah Vihear temple but in two other ancient temples that are 150 kilometers away to the east.

In late February, both countries agreed to let monitors from Indonesia observe the grounds near Preah Vihear. But the Thai military later withdrew its approval of the foreign observers' arrival.

In 1962, the World Court ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia. But Thailand, as Cambodia does, claims ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometer surrounding area.

Cambodia accuses Thailand of having used spy planes and poison gas in the recent fighting. Thailand denies this allegation.

It is not just the two countries' concern for territorial integrity that is causing the border war.

Domestic politics in both Thailand and Cambodia also appears to be a reason why clashes suddenly erupt. The Abhisit government in Thailand must not appear weak against Cambodia. And the ruling party in Cambodia has retained Prime Minister Abhisit's rival, ousted and exiled former Thai PM Thaksin, as an adviser.

This war is a test of Asean's effectiveness as an organization. Thailand does not want to internationalize the conflict and insists that there are enough bilateral mechanisms to solve the problem.

A major next step for Asean is to become a united economy. That is obviously put into question if war persists--if only a border one--between two members.

Asean is also seen as a region--just as China and East Asia and India and South Asia--in which global economic growth depends.

Asean must grow into a regional grouping that exercises a more effective say on the behavior of its members than it does now.

-----

To see more of The Manila Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.manilatimes.net.

The fate of Cambodia shocked the world when the radical communist Khmer Rouge under their leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975 after years of guerrilla warfare.

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Saturday, April 30, 2011

(Source: Belfast Telegraph)The fate of Cambodia shocked the world when the radical communist Khmer Rouge under their leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975 after years of guerrilla warfare.

An estimated 1.7m Cambodians died during the next three years, many from exhaustion or starvation. Others were tortured and executed.

Today, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world and relies heavily on aid. Foreign donors have urged the Government to clamp down on pervasive corruption.

Cambodia is burdened with the legacy of decades of conflict; unexploded munitions -- thought to be in the millions -- continue to kill and maim civilians, despite an ongoing demining drive.

Only now is the country beginning to put the mechanism in place to bring those responsible for the "killing fields" to justice. Cambodia and the UN have agreed to set up a tribunal to try the surviving leaders of the genocide years.

Renewed clashes this week on the Thai-Cambodian border have spread to a second location, increasing the danger that the fighting might develop into a full-scale conflict.

At least 12 soldiers have been killed in clashes between troops stationed on the disputed border, making this their most violent confrontation in 20 years.

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'Red Power' editor Somyos arrested

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By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation on Sunday
Published on May 1, 2011

Red Power magazine editor Somyos Prueksakasemsuk was arrested yesterday afternoon for alleged lese majeste, after trying to leave the Kingdom on a fund-raising tour to Cambodia

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) arrested Somyos after being notified by border officers at Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaew province that Somyos was leading some 30 or so red shirts on a fund-raising tour for the magazine to Angkor Wat.

Somyos was charged last week with alleged lese majeste over an article in the February and March issue of the now-banned Voice of Thaksin magazine, which he published in February. He denied the charge and insisted yesterday that he was innocent.

"We're fighting for the right to be human," he said on the phone shortly after 5pm yesterday, while inside a DSI vehicle on the way from Sa Kaew back to Bangkok.

It was unclear at press time if Somyos would be granted bail or not, but a DSI officer told a local media outlet they were determined to detain him until Monday, when a court would decide whether he should be given bail or not.

Speaking on his mobile phone, Somyos said he was surprised by the incident. He said the timing of his arrest, coupled with other developments, such as the crackdown on many red-shirt community radio stations, a new wave of internet censorship, plus "harassment" of a red-shirt historian and lese majeste charges against 18 red-shirt leaders had all taken place at a "suspicious" time - just before the election.

"I think they're all related to the current [political] situation," said Somyos, who was detained for a month without charge last year under the emergency decree.

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Cambodia, Thailand agree to ceasefire after clashes

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A Thai army tank is unloaded onto a road near the Thai-Cambodia border in Surin province April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

Apr 28, 2011

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a cease-fire on Thursday after a week of clashes that killed at least 15 people, wounded scores and sent more than 60,000 into evacuation shelters in Southeast Asia's deadliest border dispute in years.

The agreement caps seven days of sporadic clashes with guns, heavy artillery and small-rocket fire that fanned nationalist passions in both countries, threatened to overshadow elections in Thailand and reinforced doubts over Southeast Asia's ambitions to form an E.U.-style community by 2015.

Cambodia's Defence Ministry said both sides agreed to keep troops in the area, hold regular meetings between field commanders and leave their long-festering territorial disputes to a Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary set up a decade ago.

They also agreed to open a border checkpoint near two disputed 12th-century Hindu temples at the heart of the fighting, although it was unclear when villagers would be allowed back to their remote, ravaged towns.

"We will abide by the cease-fire from now on and local commanders will meet regularly to avoid misunderstanding," Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said a decision on sending villagers home would be made soon.

"We hope that would ease tension and that both sides will respect this initial agreement," he said. "On our side of the border, the regional commander is expressing confidence peace will hold."

Cambodian Colonel Suos Sothea said Cambodia was in control of the Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples around which rival troops clashed repeatedly. "The situation is now quiet," he said. "The temples are completely controlled by Cambodia."

Thai military and government officials declined to acknowledge Cambodian control of the two stone-walled temples.

Thailand has insisted the ruins reside in its Surin province according to a 1947 map. Cambodia says they are in its Oddar Meanchey province.

Sovereignty over the ancient temples -- Preah Vihear, Ta Moan and Ta Krabey -- and the jungle of the Dangrek Mountains surrounding them has been in dispute since the withdrawal of the French from Cambodia in the 1950s.

Earlier, Thailand reinforced the area with tanks following a night of shelling that killed a Thai soldier and wounded seven. Eight Thai tanks had rumbled through deserted villages towards the front lines where troops on both sides were sealed off by heavily guarded roadblocks, about 7 km (4.3 miles) away.

The fighting killed at least eight Cambodian and six Thai soldiers, and one Thai civilian.

"I WANT TO GO HOME"

Analysts have expressed scepticism the conflict -- which first flared with February 4-7 clashes near Preah Vihear that killed 11 people -- is really about sovereignty and say it appears politically driven from both sides.

Others say hawkish generals were colluding with nationalists to create a crisis that could cancel elections in Thailand expected by July and sideline the opposition to preserve the royalist establishment's hold on power.

In Karb Cherng, a village on the Thai side of the border damaged by the shelling and mortar fire, houses were abandoned and small shops shuttered. Police and bomb squads patrolled the empty town for remnants of unexploded ordnance.

"Where do you hide when they are shelling all night. I want to go home and I want things to go back to normal," said Jarat Unanom, a 51-year-old farmer.

The clashes are a setback for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member bloc with plans to become a regional community by 2015, illustrating the limits to regional diplomacy after the Thai army rebuffed international monitors proposed by ASEAN foreign ministers in February.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was scheduled to meet Indonesian foreign minister and ASEAN chairman Marty Natalegawa on Thursday in Jakarta.

(Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Ambika Ahuja and Martin Petty in Bangkok; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Andrew Marshall)

Reuters

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Prayuth: Ceasefire promise reached

http://www.bangkokpost.com/

via CAAI

Published: 28/04/2011

Online news:

A ceasefire on the border is effectively underway after contacts on Thursday morning between Thai and Cambodian military commanders in the area where fighting has been occuring, national army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said.

A ceasefire on the border was effectively underway after contacts on Thursday morning between Thai and Cambodian military commanders in the area where fighting has been occuring, national army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said.

The army chief said this move followed a heavy exchange of fire near Chong Chom pass in Surin province this morning.

National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha

"Actually, a ceasefire has begun. Unit commanders of the two sides in the area had talks to end the fighting. Let's wait and see whether there will be more fighting this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow.

"If there is no more fighting, Lt-Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, the 2nd Army commander, will tomorrow (Friday) meet and hold talks with Lt-Gen Chea Mon, Cambodia's 5th Army Region commander," Gen Prayuth said.

The army chief said this after attending the funeral of soldiers killed in action in Surin.

"The 2nd Army chief and his Cambodian counterpart have been in contact," he added.

An informed source said on Thursday morning Cambodian deputy army chief Hun Manet and Lt-Gen Chea Mon sent their representatives to negotiate with Thai soldiers at Chong Chom pass in Surin for a ceasefire.

The source said the Cambodian force, commanded by Lt-Gen Hun Manet at O Samed opposite Chong Chom pass, suffered heavy casualties during a fierce exchange of fire this morning.

Gen Prayuth said the situation was likely to improve now the Cambodian side showed they wanted to talk, unlike in the past when they refused to do so.

The army chief said he was also concerned about the well-being of Thai villagers in the area, although most of them had been evacuated to safe havens.

"Let us hope that from now there will not be a single shot fired, but if they open fire we will return fire to stop them. We will not let any force intrude onto Thai territory," said Gen Prayuth.

A Thai soldier was injured in a Thai-Cambodian border clash on April 28, 2011. (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)

The army chief admitted troops had been reinforced to the area following an assessment of the situation and intelligence operations to ascertain the movements of the other side.

Asked if it would be best if Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh could meet for talks, Gen Prayuth said he supports talks of all levels, ranging from commanders in the area to high-level commanders of the Defence Ministry.

Army Region 2 spokesman Prawit Hukaew said a Thai soldier was confirmed killed in the clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops on the border in Surin on Wednesday night.

The casualty, identified as Second Lt Uthai Muen-apai, was the sixth Thai soldier killed since the fighting began last Friday, Col Prawit said.

The spokesman said three Thai villagers suspected of spying on Thai soldiers and passing information to Cambodian forces were arrested today for interrogation.

He said the three were apprehended near Ban Don Nam Tan in tambon Bak Dai of Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district.

They are suspected of reporting the locations of targets by mobile phone to Cambodian soldiers for attack.

They were identified as Thanit Srisa-nga, of tambon Khok Klang, Sanit Pinkao, of Ban Nong Khanna, and Sermsuk Phochaiserm, of Ban Don Nam Tan.

Col Prawit said the three were still being questioned and it was not yet confirmed they were spying for Cambodia.

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Thai soldiers wounded in latest clashes

http://www.upi.com/

via CAAI

Published: April 27, 2011

BANGKOK, April 27 (UPI) -- Sporadic fighting continued for a fifth day on the disputed Thailand-Cambodia border, with 10 Thai soldiers wounded since the weekend.

Soldiers exchanged fire in a disputed area around the Preah Vihear temple and other areas along the border.

Thai army spokesman Col. Prawit Hookaew said the soldiers were wounded in a clash on the border in Surin province when Cambodian soldiers attacked Ta Kwai and Ta Muen Thom temple ruins at 3 a.m., but they were repulsed.

Sporadic small arms fire and some heavy artillery shells were exchanged throughout the day and into the evening, Prawit said. At one point Cambodian soldiers fired at a Thai air force F16 fighter that was flying along the border.

Prawit said Thai forces must be careful when exchanging fire with Cambodian soldiers dug in near the Preah Vihear temple because there are many civilians close Cambodian positions.

"I can assure you that we can protect our sovereignty with our border defense forces," Prawit told reporters.

"Negotiation is out of the question because every movement on the Cambodian side is commanded solely by (Cambodian Prime Minister) Hun Sen. Last night seven or eight artillery rounds were fired at us across the border and one of them landed (4-5 miles) inside Thai territory, near Phanom Dong Rak hospital," Prawit said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement Washington was "deeply concerned" by the reports of violence along the Thailand-Cambodia border.

"We strongly urge both sides to exercise restraint, refrain from provocative acts and immediately take all necessary steps to reduce tensions and avoid further conflict," she said.

One of the main areas in the dispute is less than 2 square miles around Preah, since 2008 a World Heritage Site. The temple is in the Dangrek Mountains 300 miles east of Bangkok on Cambodia's northern border.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple was on Cambodian land but the some access to the mountaintop structure passes through the Thai side, a route that Thai troops occasionally seal off.

Around 2,000 troops from both sides are stationed on border patrol. In one of the previous cross-border incidents, in October 2008, two Cambodian troops died and seven Thai troops were wounded in a gun battle lasting an hour.

Clinton's comments come after Association of South East Asian Nations Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan -- a former foreign minister of Thailand -- added his voice to that of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Pitsuwan appealed for both countries to show restraint and stop fighting that also claimed four lives last weekend.

"The world and ASEAN have been alarmed by the new outbreak of violent and fatal clashes along the Cambodian-Thai border," Pitsuwan said.

"I can only add my voice to that call for a peaceful solution to a long simmering tension between our two ASEAN member states. There is really no other alternative to a genuine dialogue between the two sides."

In February, Ban said he was "deeply concerned" about the latest fighting after several years of peace, even though both sides disputed the border in the mountainous region. He called on both sides to "exercise maximum restraint."

Thailand is reviewing its economic and political cooperation with Cambodia, ahead of meetings between Thai and Cambodian politicians at an ASEAN meeting in Indonesia next week. Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is to meet Thursday with ASEAN Chairman Marty Natalegawa.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva instructed all ministries to review all areas of their cooperation with Cambodia.

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Clashes continue on Thai-Cambodia border

April 23 2011 17:02
By Tim Johnson in Bangkok
Financial Times

Cambodia and Thailand have exchanged fire along their disputed border for a second day, with both sides blaming the other for the hostilities.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, Thailand’s government spokesman said that said that at least one more of its soldiers had been killed on Saturday, bringing the number of casualties to eight dead and 32 wounded over two days of clashes near two ancient khmer temples which are claimed by both countries.

Thousands of local villagers on both sides of the border are living in temporary accommodation in schools and other public buildings.

It is unclear how the fighting started. The two sides have accused each other of encroaching into the disputed border area and claim that they were merely defending their sovereignty.

“We have tried to communicate to the Cambodians that their troop movements on the border since yesterday are not acceptable,” Mr Panitan said on Saturday, going on to say that the Cambodians had started the firing.

But the Cambodian defence ministry issued a statement on Saturday morning accusing Thai forces of provoking the clash.

“The Thai armed forces once again resumed its offences against Cambodia today, at 6.15 in the area of Tamone Temple and at 6.45 in the area of Ta Krabei temple. The apparent aim of Thailand’s attacks against Cambodia is to take control of these temples,” the statement said.

Cambodia accused Thailand of using poison gas, a charge the Thai government denied.

The temples, known in Thailand as Ta Kwai and Ta Muen, are some 250km west of Preah Vihear, another 11th century ruin surrounded by disputed territory which was the scene of four days of fighting in February in which ten people died.

In a peace deal brokered by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations after that conflict, both sides agreed to stationing neutral observers on the border to ensure that there were no new clashes, but Thailand’s foreign ministry was overruled by the country’s powerful generals, who refused to consider the idea.

The two countries have been trying for more than 10 years to settle their border. The task that has been complicated by thousands of landmines left over from Cambodia’s war with the Khmer Rouge, but the main stumbling block has been strong nationalist constituencies in both countries which would condemn any compromise solution as abandoning sovereign territory.

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Eight Thai soldiers wounded in new border clash with Cambodian troops

SURIN, April 22 (MCOT online news) – Eight Thai soldiers were wounded in a renewed border clash with Cambodian troops near the Ta Kwai temple in Surin on Friday morning.

Three artillery shells fired by Cambodian troops fell on the Thai side of the border in Phanom Dong Rak district, causing wounds among eight Thai military personnel. The soldiers were directly evacuated to Phanomdongrak hospital.

Residents of 36 villages in Thailand's Bakdai and Kap Choeng districts, living about three kilometres from the clash site have evacuated to two temporary shelters.

The clash reportedly included at nearby Ta Muan Thom temple.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was informed of the incident and cooperation for negotiation has been done in an attempt to end fighting, said Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.

The last fighting between the two sides occurred in February at the Si Sa Ket border. The four-day skirmish left at least 10 people dead.

A Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting was held earlier this month in Bogor, Indonesia. Both countries planned to send a joint team to survey border posts and discuss how to select a company to take aerial photos of the disputed border.

Ties between Thailand and Cambodia have been strained since Preah Vihear was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but a 4.6 square kilometre (1.8 square mile) surrounding area remains in dispute as both countries claim ownership of the tract.

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Thai-Cambodian general border meeting in Indonesia unlikely: Thai FM

http://www.mcot.net/

via CAAI

BANGKOK, March 31 -- Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Thursday said there is a possibility that only the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) meeting would be held in Indonesia, without convening a General Border Committee (GBC) meeting.

He said that until now the Thai Defence Ministry still hopes that Cambodia will host the 7th GBC meeting so that the JBC meeting would be the only meeting to be convened in Indonesia next month.

Indonesia called for both the GBC and JBC meetings to be held on March 24 and 25, but later postponed the dates to April 7 and 8 at Bogor, Indonesia.

The arrangement was part of an agreement to settle the boundary conflict between the two neighbours. The agreement included a plan to dispatch Indonesian observers to the disputed area adjacent to the ancient Khmer Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.

Mr Kasit said Thai and Cambodian officials were discussing the location for the observers to be stationed and the Thai ministries of defence and foreign affairs agreed that Thailand and Cambodia should decide the observers' location before the meeting.

He said Cambodia proposed 15 locations but some are in the contested area of 4.6 sq km near Preah Vihear temple, claimed by both countries, and at the heart of the dispute, so there was no solution to the matter.

The two sides were coordinating in an attempt to find the solution, Mr Kasit said.

Regarding the dismissal of the Constitution Court of the petition asking the court to decide if three Thai-Cambodian JBC meeting memos are international treaties needing parliamentary approval as stated in Article 190 of the Constitution, Mr Kasit said it would now be a matter of Parliamentary decision whether to approve the documents or not.

The Constitution Court Wednesday dropped the petition submitted through House Speaker Chai Chidchob by a group of 80 MPs, reasoning that now was the appropriate timestage for the court to have any injunction on the matter.

Meanwhile, the 'Yellow Shirt' People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) which opposes approval of the JBC documents, said the group believed that the MPs would not cooperate with the government to vote in favour of the memos after the court refused to rule on the three documents.

Prapan Khunmee, a key PAD leader, urged Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to withdraw the issue from the agenda. (MCOT online news)

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Bangkok set for Thailand-Cambodia JBC meeting in Indonesia March 27-28

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/

via CAAI

Published : March 10, 2011

BANGKOK, March 9 -- Thailand is ready for this month's Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting in Jakarta in just three weeks time, March 27-28, as proposed by the Indonesian government and expects the meeting to ease border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said here Wednesday.

Mr Abhisit said Thailand has always been ready to hold bilateral negotiations with Cambodia and if Phnom Penh agrees to resume talks it would be considered a good sign as related bilateral issues could move ahead toward solution.

Thailand and Cambodia will discuss in detail the format of the talks, he said, adding that to invite anyone to witness the bilateral talks would not be a problem.

The premier said Indonesia, in its capacity as current chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and playing a facilitator’s role for the bilateral meeting would only acknowledge the meeting but would not involve the details of the discussion.

It would be considered beyond the framework of the JBC, which is in a bilateral talk format, if a third party joined the discussion, he said.

Mr Abhisit said that he hopes that the JBC could be a first step to ease tensions between Thailand and Cambodia.

Regarding the invitations by Thailand and Cambodia to Indonesia to send observers to their respective sides of the border, Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry spokesperson said earlier that Indonesia has sent the draft Terms of Reference of the observation mission to both Thailand and Cambodia.

He sad the Thai government, in principle, has no objection to the Indonesian proposal.

Nevertheless, Mr Thani said, Thailand and Cambodia would need to discuss details of the proposal’s implementation in order to arrive at a mutually acceptable conclusion.

He added that It is hoped in this connection that the issue could be brought up at the next the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting chaired by the two defence ministers, to be convened as soon as the Cambodian side is ready.

Credit by: MCOT online news

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Secret training video for Thai security force: How to recognize the MIB "Men In Black"

In case the Thai security force does not know what the MIB look like, here is a secret training video for them:

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[Thai] Security tightened over rumours of assassination plots [on Abishit by assasins trained in Cambodia]

September 17, 2010
The Nation

A group of men, reportedly living in a condominium near the prime minister's home, are being watched closely, deputy secretarygeneral to the PM Panitan Wattanayagorn said yesterday. Meanwhile, Deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban, suggested that these men might be linked to the "men in black" behind the April 10 clashes.

Police are also keeping a close eye on a weapons expert from Cambodia, who might instigate violence during the redshirt rally on Sunday.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Santhan Chayanont had previously claimed that a group of "men in black", trained for combat in Cambodia, were staking out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's residence from a condominium nearby. This has prompted the beefing up of security for the PM as well as 50 VIPs, as police monitor people coming in and out of highrises, he said.

While telling the public not to panic, Panitan said yesterday that the police had been watching the PM's house for a few months now and noticed dubious men taking turns entering a condominium nearby. However, the police have not taken any action because the men had not done anything wrong so far. Also, they have not checked the condominium because it is private property, he said.

Admitting that reports claim this group was comprised of "experts" reportedly preparing for something, he said whether or not they are successful would depend wholly on security measures taken. However, he wouldn't say if there were any plans to relocate Abhisit.

Meanwhile, Abhisit said yesterday that he was being careful but added he was not that worried about being "watched" by the so-called "men in black". He said such reports came up occasionally, but the police provided him with good security.

In related news, Suthep told the press yesterday that Bangkok police was ready for the red shirt rally from Friday to Sunday, adding protesters were not allowed to block roads or use amplifiers.

Asked whether VIPs, including Abhisit and Suthep himself, should be moving to safe houses amid rumours of assassination plans, the deputy PM said there was no need.

As for the "men in black", he said, they first emerged on the night of April 10 and became known as an armed group that killed the general public and officials. He said that though the media called this group that allegedly carried out terrorist attacks and plotted assassinations the "men in black", nobody knew what colour they were wearing this time.

He added that following claims of there being plots to assassinate the PM, he had told security officials to check the neighbourhood for spots where the attacks might be launched. However, he said the officials must have moved so loudly that the suspects have already fled.

Meanwhile, former deputy permanent secretary for Defence, Admiral Bannawit Kengrien said he too had heard about the so-called assassination plot and that a large number of Cambodian warriors of Vietnamese descent, who had undergone military training and were great snipers, had been brought in to do the job.

He said this was in line with news about the chaos that is expected to bubble up by the end of this month. However, Bannawit said he didn't think this rumour had anything to do with the socalled "men in black" renting a condominium near Abhisit's home because these imported warriors keep moving around to avoid detection.

"Although I often criticise this government, I must warn the premier about the reports of an assassination plot against him. If he were harmed, the country's image would be ruined," he said.

Bannawit also said he did not know if former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was linked to this plot and that it was the government's job to investigate.

Meanwhile, emergency police chief Pol Maj General Thanapol Sonthes said reports about "men in black" plotting the assassination of VIPs had been filed since April, when the red shirts were rallying at the Rajprasong intersection. He added that all VIPs, especially the premier, were being provided with maximum security. He said a "trainer" from Cambodia was keeping a low profile in Thailand but the police knew his name and whereabouts, and were keeping an eye on him.

A team of 450 police officers had been given the job of guarding the upcoming rally, and initial investigation has not revealed any signs of the protest being prolonged or becoming violent, Metropolitan Police Area 5 chief Pol MajGeneral Anuchai Lekbumrung said.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration deputy governor Theerachon Manomaipibul yesterday presided over the launch of the "citizens' watch for danger" campaign, which runs until Monday. The campaign urges Bangkok residents to keep an eye out for signs of crime, terrorism and other disasters, and is handing out handbooks at Pathum Wan intersection as well as at Siam and National Stadium Skytrain stations.

Theerachon said city officials were also working with police to guard 40 key locations, especially VIP residences as well as subway and Skytrain stations.

Corrections Department chief Chatchai Suthiklom said yesterday that he had notified the directors of some 100 prisons nationwide to be on alert because from 10am today, the red shirts were going to lay roses in front of prisons holding their comrades. "Though we believe that there will be no violence, we have to be prepared," he said.

Currently, 252 redshirt protesters are being detained in 17 prisons across the country, Chatchai said.

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