Cambodia appoints Thaksin as adviser

[Flashermac]

Ahem ... the temple is not in dispute. The WC decision went 9-3 against Thailand, despite the fact that the French map was clearly wrong. (The WC said the Thais had waited too long to protest it.)

 

The dispute is over land adjoining the temple. Still, it was bizarre for the govmt to make a fuss over it. But it was Hun Sen who brought it on by deciding to turn the temple ruins into an attraction attached to a gambling casino. Really a way to honour the Khmer heritage.

 

 

[Gadfly]

The World Court rendered a judgment in the 1960s deciding the site was in Cambodian territory and Thailand had ten years to appeal, but never did. Listen to PAD and the current FM - the dispute is really about the site.

 

Consider this: it was a dead issue until the Cambodians sought World Heritage site status. They offered to do this jointly with Thailand, and Thailand's then FM signed a communique supporting the application for World Heritage status over a site which, now, Thailand has no claims to having never appealed the World Court decision.

 

The PAD and other opponents of the successor to TRT claimed the government had wrongfully given up Thai claims to ownership of the temple site. This was all trumped up in a cynical and dangerous ploy to stokes the flames of nationalism to oust the prior government.

 

I can easily imagine the Cambodians wanting to put up a gambling casino near the site and otherwise acting poorly, but that is not what the dispute was about. Maybe the French map was wrong, but at this point that is irrelevant. The PAD and the current FM have been quite clear in asserting that the site is in territory notwithstanding an uncontested World Court judgement deciding otherwise.

 

The most revealing aspect about this sad saga is timing: why after the issue had been concluded over 40 years ago did the PAD decide to resurrect this old issue? It's pretty obvious why, and it doesn't make Thailand look good. I am not saying the Cambodians look good either, but it's obvious that this whole spat was driven by Thai domestic politics.

 

And now Thaksin is taking advantage of the mess to stir up more problems. I don't understand why the current government didn't see this coming?

[cavanami]

Good to see that Mt. T is off the unemployment roles!

[Mentors]

Good to see that Mt. T is off the unemployment roles!

 

yes, he just use the Global Job Market

[Flashermac]

A flashback:

 

 

Bangkok Post

7 Oct 2009

 

 

Hun Sen, Cambodia's agent provocateur?

 

 

I was caught in the abhorrent situation wherein some 1,000 protesters, mostly students, torched the Royal Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh on the night of January 29, 2003. Elsewhere in the capital, the protests grew more aggravated. So-called Cambodian patriots ransacked Thai-owned establishments, including the Royal Phnom Penh Hotel and the office of Thai Airways International.

 

A few days earlier, Thai actress Suvanand Kongying had been wrongly accused of claiming that Angkor Wat was Thailand's property.

 

That misquote immediately stirred up a sense of nationalism inside Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Sen angrily responded: "Suvanand is not even worth a blade of grass at Angkor." Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra reportedly tried for two hours to reach Hun Sen by phone, and it was obvious the Cambodian leader was avoiding a conversation.

 

Was Hun Sun's anger really about protecting the dignity of the Cambodian nation? The circumstances surrounding the outburst was that a Cambodian general election was around the corner, so a conflict with Thailand could have been used to favour his political allies and undermine his opponents.

 

If the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is a master manipulator of Thai nationalism, can Hun Sen be an "agent provocateur" who exploits nationalistic rhetoric to gain political points at home?

 

Since the flare-up in the Preah Vihear dispute, Hun Sen has never minced his words about the failure of Thai leadership. He has even provoked armed conflict with Thailand.

 

In referring to the Democrat government, Hun Sen once proudly declared: "I am the leader of Cambodia who was elected by the will of the people, not by robbing power." Recently, he intensified bilateral tensions by ordering his troops to shoot any Thai crossing the border illegally. His encouragement not only served to fulfil a nationalistic need in Cambodia, but also worked in turn to legitimise the PAD's activities.

 

Over the past years, Hun Sen has been able to strengthen his popularity thanks to the lingering dispute over the Preah Vihear temple. As Southeast Asia's longest serving leader apart from the Sultan of Brunei, Hun Sen has successfully ridden the wave of Cambodian nationalism to further solidify his rule.

 

At the height of Thailand's domestic crisis last year, Hun Sen suggested that Thailand give up its Asean chairmanship. In so doing, he seemed to declare himself the chief defender of Asean.

 

When Thailand planned to host the Asean meeting in Hua Hin in March this year, Hun Sen sarcastically said that it would be too costly and difficult for him to attend the gathering. Obviously, he later changed his mind.

 

Hun Sen has on numerous occasions warned Thai troops to stop trespassing on Cambodian land, calling the contested territory a "life-and-death battle zone".

 

The PAD has continued to play into Hun Sen's hands by inflating the incident and calling for the Thai military to push back Cambodian "intruders".

 

As much as the temple issue has been held hostage by Thai politics, it has also been used to preserve the legitimacy of the Cambodian leadership. The successful inscription of the temple on the list of Unesco's World Heritage sites was much publicised to voters as a result of Hun Sen's charismatic leadership. (Cambodia's general election was held on July 27, 2008).

 

Scenting an ideal electoral opportunity, Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party pushed the hot issues of corruption and inflation into the background while promoting a nationalistic election theme. The party announced that Hun Sen and his close allies were strong but peaceful leaders who were solely responsible for uniting Cambodians against Thai aggression.

 

After a series of armed clashes, Cambodia had no plans to make peace but demanded Thailand pay compensation for damages resulting from the confrontation on the border. In its diplomatic note, Cambodia stated: "The attack with heavy weapons by Thai troops on Cambodian territory caused much damage and set a Cambodian market ablaze. The material losses to 319 families, who had lost their livelihoods when the fire destroyed their market stalls, amounted to more than US$2.1 million."

 

[color:red]The attempt here is not to paint a gloomy picture of the Cambodian leadership, but rather to highlight that the temple issue and the rise of nationalism have their roots deep in the power politics within Thailand and Cambodia. While it is convenient for Hun Sen to condemn the arbitrary use of Thai nationalism, he himself has taken advantage from Cambodian nationalism.[/color]

 

In an interview, Sam Rainsy, a French-educated former finance minister who leads Cambodia's prominent opposition party, described Hun Sen as a politician who succeeds very well in one thing: "Survival at the helm of the Cambodian state." His ability, Mr Rainsy said, is clinging on to power through political intrigues which he then resolves with an iron fist. This has lasted for almost 30 years now. "When you have only this ambition - clinging to power for the impunity it provides - it is catastrophic for the country," Mr Rainsy said.

 

Professor Chanvit Kasetsiri rightly noted that among the neighbouring countries of Southeast Asia, none seems more similar to Thailand than Cambodia. Both nations share similar customs, traditions, beliefs and ways of life. This is especially true of royal customs, language, writing systems, vocabulary, literature, and the dramatic arts. In light of these similarities, it seems surprising, therefore, that relations between Thailand and Cambodia should be characterised by deep-seated "ignorance, misunderstanding and prejudice". Indeed, the two countries have what can be termed a "love-hate relationship".

 

Today, this love-hate relationship is being firmly sustained by the incessant use of nationalism, which may offer some political benefits in the short-term but will surely create a long-lasting negative impact on the bilateral relationship.

 

 

...............

 

Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.

 

[Flashermac]

p.s. Did Dr Chanvit forget about Laos?

 

 

[Gadfly]

Today, this love-hate relationship is being firmly sustained by the incessant use of nationalism, which may offer some political benefits in the short-term but will surely create a long-lasting negative impact on the bilateral relationship.

 

It cuts both ways. It will create a long lasting negative impact on the bilateral relationship for both sides

 

But as I see it, Thailand has more to lose. The World Court judgment favored Cambodia, and Thailand never contested that. But more important, I think the world (or at least I) expect much more of Thailand than I do Cambodia. I don't expect much of Cambodia, but I do expect a more mature, measured and diplomatic approach to this issue from Thailand. PAD has taken exactly the opposite approach.

 

This childish but dangerous spat has brought Thailand down to Cambodia's level - two kids fighting in a sandbox - and in that sense Thailand suffers. And this childish spat has provided Mr. T with an opportunity to create further problems for the current government.

[Flashermac]

No argument on that ... Thailand definitely comes out looking poorly. Hun Sen is a dictator and the world knows it. Still, it puts Mr T more or less in the same boat with an acknowledge dictator.