I doub if Hun Sen has the guts to do what he says. I don't believe in someone who has closed his eyes to the millions of illegal yuons.
On Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 5:12 AM, KhmerNews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > *Leave disputed area or face "death zone," Cambodia tells Thailand > > Last Updated: Monday, October 13, 2008 | 12:36 PM ET > CBC News > > Thailand has 24 hours to pull its troops out of a disputed border region > that includes an ancient temple, Cambodia's prime minister warned Monday > on threat of violence. > > "Thai troops must withdraw from Cambodian land by tomorrow at the > latest," Hun Sen told reporters after meeting Thai Foreign Minister > Sompong Amornvivat in Phnom Penh. > > "We will not allow them to occupy our land." > > Both countries have laid claim to the Preah Vihear temple complex, an > ancient Hindu site built by the same Khmer dynasty as the > internationally renowned Angkor Wat temples in central Cambodia. > > "We see that territory is our land, too. What would it mean if we > retreated?" Sompong told reporters in Bangkok. > > "If the Cambodians think it is their land, too, we should start > bilateral talks to sort that out very quickly." > > Thailand's failure to immediately withdraw, however, will incite > Cambodian forces to turn the area into a "death zone," Sen said. > > Cambodian troops are en route to the disputed territory to counteract up > to 500 Thai soldiers who have crossed the border, Cambodian deputy > defence minister Gen. Neang Phat said Monday. > > Decades-old dispute > > The dispute has simmered for decades but came to a head in July when > UNESCO accepted Cambodia's request to declare the temple complex a World > Heritage Site, a move seen in Phnom Penh as de-facto international > recognition of its claim. > > Thousands of heavily armed soldiers from both sides rushed to the > disputed 460-hectare area, about 250 kilometres north of Phnom Penh, and > faced off in hillside trenches just metres apart from one another. > > Since then, two Thai soldiers have lost their legs in blasts from > landmines strewn around the temple. A number of others from either side > have been wounded during exchanges of fire. > > Both countries are members of the Association of South East Asian > Nations, or ASEAN, which has previously offered to mediate in the > dispute. No consensus could be reached, however, on how best the > organization could be involved. > > Thai forces occupied land around the temple in 1954 when France withdrew > its soldiers from newly independent Cambodia. > > International legal authorities have found in favour of Cambodia's claim > in the past, but Thailand has rejected such rulings. > > Cambodia has since appealed to the United Nations Security Council to > help resolve the standoff. > > With files from the Associated Press and Reuters > * > > > > -- MR, Khlean + Khlao + Khlach = Khmer --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
