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Thai and Cambodian troops clash


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Border ceasefire agreed

 

 

 

The talks between commander of Army Region 2 Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakorn and commander of Cambodia's Army Region 4 Lt Gen Jia Mon had ended with both Thailand and Cambodia agree on ceasefire.

 

Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on Saturday afternoon that the two commanders also agreed that both sides must not deploy more troops in the border area and that commanders on Thai and Cambodian troops must oversee their soldiers to prevent future clash.

 

Surin provincial governor Serm Chainarong said the commander of Army Region 2 had ordered a reopening of Chong Jom border checkpoint, which had been closed since Friday.

 

Somchai Chuapetsophon, an inspector for Zone 13 of the Ministry of Public Health, said that altogether 14 soldiers and 3 civilians were injured in the border fighting on Friday and this morning.

 

One soldier was killed and four others wounded in the border gun-battle this morning.

 

 

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The plague of fanaticism

 

Opinion by Voranai Vanijaka

 

 

 

What I write for the Sunday column usually hits me around 2am Saturday morning, while standing in some god-forsaken nightclub, starring down at the bottom of a whisky bottle, trying to find the meaning to life. Whisky bottles are bottomless, I tell you, but that's neither here nor there.

 

Friday night in a taxi (drinking and driving is unhealthy), the driver was raving about the border clash that led to one dead Cambodian soldier, one dead Thai villager, five captured Thai rangers (despite initial reports, four were captured and later released) and several people injured.

 

''We should destroy them,'' he moaned. ''We are bigger and stronger, we can wipe them out,'' he groaned. ''They shot at us first,'' he blasted.

 

His sentiments undoubtedly reflect those of many Thais, shocked and angry, and, most importantly, ready to go to war.

 

All of this over a stone tablet, a flag and a pagoda on 4.6 square kilometres of dirt? Of course not, that would be silly. On the contrary, the cause is something far more existential, far closer to the soul.

 

All of this, because of what happened when a few old men, like People's Alliance for Democracy leader Maj Gen Chamlong Srimuang, Thai Patriot Network leader Chaiwat Sinsuwong and Santi Asoke sect leader Samana Photirak and their Cambodian counterparts woke up one morning.

 

They woke up, looked in the mirror and were stupefied by the horrific reality of their benign existences, of the political irrelevance staring back at them. Shocked silly, they had to immediately find a justification for their existence on this Earth - a reason for living, a motivation to breathe, a reminder that they are not just taking up space and wasting oxygen.

 

That reason is a stone tablet, a flag and a pagoda on 4.6 square kilometres of dirt.

 

Men have fought wars over some pretty stupid issues through the 7,000 years of human (ahem) civilisation. One that is most common in its absurd stupidity is a war where young men are sent to die and innocent civilians are blown to bits to serve the vanity of a few old men made insecure because they can no longer control their bowel movements and have to wear diapers. (The irony is, they soil themselves, yet they run the world. But then again, look at the world, it sort of makes sense.)

 

Fingers are pointing. You shot first! No, you shot first! Like juveniles quarrelling in a backyard. You started it! No, you started it! Like those bickering children in the playground. This was mine first! No, this was mine first! Like those tattletale little punks running to adults. He's lying! No, he's lying! (Yes, I know, referring to the United Nations as ''adults'' is a bad metaphor.)

 

The irrational, illogical and uncritical zeal for a cause, the extreme and blind obsession over a stone tablet, a flag and a pagoda on 4.6 square-kilometre of dirt - it's not nationalism, it's fanaticism. It's stupid. Like Winston Churchill once said, ''A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.''

 

Is it possible that Maj Gen Chamlong, Chaiwat and Santi Asoke's Samana Photirak and their Cambodian counterparts might wake up tomorrow, look in the mirror and see other causes worth fighting for? Like poverty? Corruption? Social injustice? Plus a host of other real problems plaguing Thailand and Cambodia?

 

No. It's 4.6 square kilometre of dirt, and there is not even oil underneath it. That would be a reason worth sending young men to die and blowing innocent civilians to bits. Shall we then invade Cambodia to bring freedom and democracy to its people? Would you chuckle a little if Newin Chidchob pointed at Thaksin Shinawatra and screamed, ''You're corrupt!''?

 

Fanaticism is a continuous cycle of mounting stupidity. Two years ago, it was about an old ruin called Preah Vihear. Last year, it was about 4.6 square kilometres. Two weeks ago it was about a stone tablet on that 4.6 square kilometres. This past week it was about a flag and a pagoda on that same land. Yesterday, it was about the shooting, the deaths and injuries to soldiers and civilians on both sides.

 

Today, as you're reading this, more reasons are surely arising for Thais and Cambodians to kill each other. And tomorrow? Even more reasons.

 

What happens five years from now, if the fanaticism of those old men, who are too insecure and egotistical to just retire and tend to a garden, or actually help the country by building schools or homeless shelters, isn't checked and curtailed? Millions of innocents, both Thais and Cambodians, will suffer.

 

Because fanaticism is an airborne disease, foaming at the mouth, it catches on quick. Yesterday, bickering over 4.6 square kilometres may seem silly. But tomorrow, the deaths of fellow countrymen would demand that most foul, that most base and that most destructive of human impulses: vengeance, a driving force of fanaticism.

 

Look around the world. People aren't blowing each other up because of some thousand-year-old ancient feud. No, they blow each other up because yesterday their brother, cousin, friend, or that dude who just happen to have their same skin colour, same passport or same religion, was blown up - and that demands what? Vengeance!

 

Fanaticism lies, dormant or alive, in the heart of every man. But in Thailand, we - for the most part - haven't gone so far as to strap C4 explosives to our behinds for greater glory, not just yet. However, there is a burgeoning, a blossoming of fanaticism. Look for clues, in both the red and the yellow camps.

 

A year ago, if you asked a red shirt why he marched, his answer would be for democracy, for a general election, for justice for Thaksin Shinawatra. Ask him today, and his answer would be because of the May 19 crackdown and his comrades killed on that day.

 

In 2006, if you asked a yellow shirt why he marched, his answer would be for the Royal Institution and to fight corruption. Ask him today, and his answer would be 4.6 square kilometres of dirt and ''they shot us first!'' And, oh yeah, ''Because Abhisit sucks!''

 

Two things both camps have in common. The first is the irrational, illogical and uncritical zeal for a cause, an extreme and blind obsession. The second is rich old men who have the talent for stirring speeches and the willingness to send the young against bullets (rubber or live) in order to justify their benign existence and to boost their political relevance.

 

And rest assured, none of them can change their minds, nor will they change the subject. Although I do hope they can prove me wrong.

 

Beware of fanaticism. It's a disease that has killed more than the plague. Nip it in the bud.

 

After the taxi driver calmed down a bit, I said, ''Sure, we can beat them in war.'' Because, heaven forbid, if I express any doubts over the might of the Thai armed forces against Cambodia, the driver might have kicked me out of his cab. Stranded on the tollway at midnight, on a journey to find the meaning of life at the bottom of a whisky bottle - no, we cannot have that.

 

So I said, ''Sure, we can beat them. But at what price? Is one life of somebody's son, brother, husband or father worth 4.6 sq km of dirt? The life of a daughter, a sister, a wife or a mother? Soldiers or civilians? Is one human life worth 4.6 sq km of dirt?

 

''It will be a guerrilla war. There will be terrorist tactics. Is your home worth getting blown up over 4.6 sq km of dirt? Living in fear and paranoia each and every day?''

 

I'm not a pacifist. There are reasons to fight, but 4.6 square kilometres of dirt is not one of them.

 

So at 2am, standing in some godforsaken club, starring down at the bottom of a bottle, looking for life's meaning, what I saw instead was fanaticism and its meaninglessness.

 

But I also saw hope. Because, you see, the taxi driver was able to see reason, and he said he only had a sixth grade education. Surely, the rest of us could too. Surely, the Thai government and military and their Cambodian counterparts won't let the fanatics dhmanipulate the situation any further.

 

The question would then become, not who shot first, not who was here first, and not who this stretch of dirt belongs to. But who is willing to extend his hand first, and make peace.

 

 

 

Bangkok Post

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At least the BBC can get the facts right:

 

 

<< Both sides claim the land surrounding the temple, and observers say the dispute is being used as a rallying point to stir nationalist sentiment in Thailand and Cambodia.

 

[color:red]The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear itself belonged to Cambodia, although its main entrance lies in Thailand and the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area around the temple is claimed by both sides.[/color]

 

Cambodia said two of its soldiers and one civilian were killed in Friday's fighting, while Thailand said a villager on its side of the border also died.

 

A Thai soldier was killed in a brief resumption of hostilities on Saturday morning.

 

The media in both countries have suggested the toll could be much higher, however, with Thai newspapers suggesting 64 Cambodian soldiers were killed. Across the border, it was reported that at least 30 Thai troops had died. >>

 

 

 

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Fighting flares anew on border

 

 

 

Fresh fighting has erupted along the border with Cambodia in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district, ending a brief ceasefire.

 

The first shots were fired yesterday in border areas near tambon Phu Pha Mok in Kantharalak about 1.30pm.

 

The fighting included artillery fire and shots from small firearms and lasted about 15 minutes. No deaths or injuries were reported.

 

A more severe exchange began at 6.30pm and lasted until about 9.40pm, with heavy artillery fire being exchanged between Cambodian and Thai troops centred on Don-aow village in tambon Rung, Kantharalak, near Preah Vihear temple.

 

The Cambodian government said the 11th-century Hindu temple was damaged in the firefight.

 

''A wing of our Preah Vihear temple has collapsed as a direct result of the Thai artillery bombardment,'' said a military commander in a statement released by Phnom Penh last night.

 

Several communities on Thai soil were also damaged by artillery shells and at least 12 people were injured, including two civilians.

 

Ambulances were seen rushing in and out of the area to take injured people to hospital.

 

Several petrol stations in Kantharalak switched off their lights to avoid being targeted by Cambodia troops.

 

Many residents evacuated Kantharalak, causing traffic congestion in the district.

 

Locals said they feared flames from artillery fire by Thai troops during the night would be visible to Cambodian troops, enabling Cambodian soldiers to pinpoint the Thai positions.

 

A military unit commander stationed near the disputed area told the Bangkok Post Cambodian soldiers launched rocket-propelled grenades and several artillery rounds at Thai military camps at Don-aow pass and at homes in Don-aow and Phum Saron villages.

 

''They were trying to take over Don-aow pass [which lies in the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area near Preah Vihear], an important strategic route,'' the commander said.

 

''Cambodian forces have fired artillery rounds that have landed close to Thai positions,'' Gen Pol Vey, commander of Cambodia's front-line forces, was quoted by the Associated Press as telling Deum Ampil Radio.

 

He also claimed his troops had secured important strategic locations.

 

Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd denied the claim and said the Thai side had fired only in retaliation.

 

''Cambodian troops started firing into Thai territory and we fired back,'' he said. ''We retaliated and gave them what they deserved.''

 

He said the weaponry used last night by the Cambodian side included Soviet-made BM-21 rocket launchers which have a range of at least 20 kilometers.

 

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan accused the Thais of firing first.

 

''The fighting broke out as Thai forces entered the Cambodian side,'' he said. ''They walked into Cambodian territory and began the fighting.''

 

The two countries agreed to a ceasefire two days ago after border clashes on Friday night and Saturday morning killed one Thai soldier and a Thai civilian. Cambodia said two of its soldiers and one civilian were killed.

 

Yesterday's violence came ahead of a visit by Asean chairman Marty Natalegawa, also Indonesia's foreign minister, to the two countries in a bid to secure peace.

 

He is scheduled to visit Cambodia today Monday and Thailand tomorrow.

 

But Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has brushed aside calls for intervention by other Asean countries to help resolve the conflict.

 

Mr Abhisit said during his weekly television and radio broadcast yesterday there was no need for other Asean member countries to step in, as suggested by Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan.

 

The prime minister said he was confident the dispute could be resolved through bilateral negotiations. The Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers have met for talks, in line with the framework set by the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Committee.

 

However, he insisted Thailand would not withdraw its troops, as demanded by Cambodia. Thailand must protect its rights to the land, he said.

 

Even though there are risks involved in maintaining a Thai military presence, the two sides are working to ease tensions, the prime minister said.

 

Mr Abhisit dismissed claims by Phnom Penh that Thai troops were the aggressors. He said they were defending the country's sovereignty.

 

He added that the Thai government would seek the suspension of Preah Vihear temple's listing as a Unesco World Heritage site and would submit a letter to the United Nations Security Council ''clarifying'' the border clashes.

 

 

 

BP

 

 

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Thai field commanders believe the Cambodian operation after the ceasefire on Sunday was the work of Hun Sen's son, Hun Manet, who was promoted to a two-star general in a ceremony earlier this month.

 

He is commanding the Cambodian troops based near the Preah Vihear temple himself.

 

"Hun Sen wants the Cambodian people to be satisfied with his son and he wants to show them his [impressive] roles before he is to be promoted to the army chief's post," a source said.

 

Brig Gen Hun Manet, 33, who graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, wanted to retaliate against Thai troops after Cambodian troops suffered severe damage in Friday's clashes, the source said.

 

Bangkok Post

 

My brother-in-law who lives close to KPV tells me that the fighting now stopped because Hun Sen's son was injured. I haven't been able to confirm this on any news source yet.

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Doesnt really matter who 'started it', its usually civilians that wear the brunt of this sort of malarkey. Outside of Afghanistan and several failed states in Africa, I have to ask whether the people of Cambodia havent seen enough war and destruction to last them for several centuries. Hun Sen was still fighting on the streets of PP in 1991 - boggles the mind that he would risk anything like that happening again by provoking a larger force.

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