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Thai Nationalism Heats Up

Thailand has not only been plagued by divisive domestic political turmoil. Its relations with neighboring Cambodia have also deteriorated and intensified, resulting in fatal clashes along their common border.

Competing political factions have incessantly used nationalism to legitimize their political activities. The violent confrontation between Thai nationalists and Cambodian villagers in the past few days could further strain this vulnerable bilateral relationship.

Nationalism in Thailand has become a highly destructive force both in domestic and international politics. From late 2007, in their campaign to topple the governments that emerged from the post-coup elections, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), and some elements of the Democrat Party, claimed to represent the true face of Thai nationalism.

In this, they claimed to stand on the side of righteousness by protecting the nation’s territorial integrity, to rid the people of corrupt politicians, and in their duty to challenge an allegedly predatory neighbor.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and successive pro-Thaksin governments were grouped together with alien foreigners, like Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was regarded as a deranged person. These alien characters were represented as having a single objective: selling the country out and tarnishing the good reputation of Thailand built up by past monarchs.

The conflict over the Preah Vihear Temple, to the PAD, was indeed a conflict between those who are true Thais versus Thaksin suporters. It saw its duty as that of protecting Thailand’s national interests, and the best way to do so was to stir up nationalistic feelings.

At first glance, nationalism seemed to serve the political need of both the PAD and the Democrat Party. Both were unable to unseat Thaksin-backed governments of Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat and to uproot Thaksin’s influence in politics. The Preah Vihear Temple issue emerged at the right moment when the PAD and also the military that supported anti-Thaksin sentiment were facing a legitimacy crisis themselves.

But little did they know that in employing the Preah Vihear conflict to eliminate Thaksin, the PAD was also jeopardizing its position in politics, and in particular endangering its representation of Thai nationalism. It played along with the theme of lost territories, falsifying historical facts and portraying Thailand as a vulnerable state perpetually victimized by immoral foreigners.

In this paranoid narrative, Thaksin was helping immoral foreigners to take away the country’s sacred assets and pride. The PAD then adopted certain nationalistic tactics against its opponents, such as condemning them for selling out the country and through its own rhetoric provoking military confrontations with the Cambodians.

The reality is that Preah Vihear Temple belongs to Cambodia, according to the International Court of Justice ruling of 1962. But the loss became an unacceptable political reality because it deals with the national pride that has been deeply ingrained in the mindset of Thais.

The outcome of these political tactics has been destructive. Thai domestic politics has become increasingly polarized. Thailand’s relations with Cambodia have reached a critical point, verging on full-blown war. Who has gained what out of this nationalistic crusade?

As a consequence, the issue of overlapping territories returned to the attention of the Thai public. The spirit of nationhood was high. Thaksin was once again labeled as a Thai who betrayed his motherland.

However, the PAD also became a casualty in the game of nationalism. It opened up a Pandora’s box of bewilderment about Thai self-identity. Was the PAD brand of nationalism a reflection of the Thai way to express love for country?

Didn’t its call for war with Cambodia run against its earlier representations of Thainess: of being a peaceful nation, as enunciated in the words of Thailand’s national anthem?

The PAD might have found nationalism an effective way of deposing of the Thaksin-backed regimes in the past, but the nationalist flame has been fanned and the conflagration has shown the potential to rage out of control.

The latest clashes near the Thai-Cambodian border demonstrated that the PAD is not willing to give up its nationalist tactics.

This is perhaps due to the fact that the PAD recently transformed itself into a legitimate political party—the New Politics Party. It now hopes to exploit the Preah Vihear Temple issue to score political points should elections be called by the current government in the next few months.

It is therefore anticipated that the temple issue will become more intense as Thailand heads into an even more uncertain future.

Cambodian scholars ask Thai "Yellow Shirts" to respect international laws

(Photo: DAP)

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian historians and scholars have appealed to the Thai "Yellow Shirts" protesters to stop demanding the land of 4.6 square kilometers near the 11th-century Khmer Preah Vihear temple, the website of DAP News said on Monday.

"Those Thai protesters have confused the history and their demands are incorrect," IV Chan, a deputy chairman and historian of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) was quoted by DAP Cambodia news as saying.

"We also requested those Thai protesters to respect international border treaty between Siam ( Thailand) and French colony (representative of Cambodia) in 1904-1907 and the verdict of international court which claimed in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia."

"There is no overlapping area at the area and both countries have boundary line for over 100 years," he said.

Additionally, Kim Saron, a senior member of history and culture affairs department of RAC said that Cambodia and Thailand have already established the committee of Khmer-Thai culture and they have met each other for several times to write important documents of the two countries.

"Those Thai extremists have to know about their history and culture, and should also know the cultures and histories of neighboring countries like Cambodia," Kim added.

A group of Thai protesters from People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also called "Yellow Shirts," held a rally near Preah Vihear Temple at the weekend to protest the mishandling of Thai governments over the disputed border area with Cambodia, and planned to move into the are that is claimed by Thailand to hold the protest rally at the areas.

Cambodian and Thai armed forces have tightened security at border near the temple to prevent any rally protests.

The two neighboring countries share a nearly 800-kilometer-longcommon border and they have never fully demarcated their land border.

The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) approved Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear Temple as the World Heritage Site, in July 2008. Since then, the temple and its adjacent area have become the sites of border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.

Who is Khom? and Who is Khmer?

From California, USA

Is anybody know who is “Khom”? Who are they? and Where do they live? Can anybody tell me? Sometimes ago I felt really embarrassed that I did not know that who is “KHOM” and what they are. But don’t you wanna know why I felt like that? and what it has to do with me personally? Before I answer to that question above, here below are what is in Thailand history refer to as Khom These couple pieces of papers are quoted from Thai history books, even though I have not yet found the first hand source, which show what “KHORM” alphabets are, which the Siamese refer to. The point is in Thai history. They believe that their scripts were derived from the Khom nation, and the worst is that the Thais do not believe that a “KHOM” is a Khmer.

Let's go back to my question above. The reason I personally felt embarrassed because I am a Cambodian or a Khmer, and I do not know that there is such as word “Khom” in Khmer history, especially a Khom is a word which the Thais refer to the Khmer people in the ancient time.

There is nothing wrong with the ideas above, since in this 21st century most of the country promote human rights and freedom of expression is just one of those rights. However, given false information is what most of us think as completely unacceptable. Thai government has all the right to think and to say as well as the Thai citizens but as long as it is not affecting the other nation or people. The ideas that Thai citizens believe that Khom is not Khmer, the ancient Khmer, is what we Cambodians can not tolerate since it affects the Cambodian history, nationality, origin, and reputation.

A Thai law professor named Sompong Sucharitkul who spoke with ABC Radio Australia on Monday, August 04, 2008 has claimed that a Khom is not a Khmer. He said: "The current generation of Kampucheans are not the same as the Khom, the old Khmer, that may have been successor in title but it’s long far removed from their ancestry.” It seems like Thailand has long been rewriting Cambodian history for their Thai generations, and this kind of belief seemed to be deep rooted in the minds of every single Thai citizen and children who have been taught the wrong history about their neighbors history as what the Thai law professor above has himself been taught.

To Cambodians, such Thai belief that has been mentioned above can be considered as deprivation of Khmer history and Khmer citizens of their true history as a whole. This kind of statement and belief can really provide a misinformation about Cambodia and Cambodians to the world community, especially the statement above can be translatable that Cambodia is a liar nation since it has claimed that it is a nation of the Khom or the Khmer.

In reality, the Khmers have not yet been exterminated and there will be only one Khmer race in the world history. Even though Khmer is no longer a big and powerful race in the region, which they once were, they know that they have a very long history. The Khmer people know that after they have gone through many ups and downs of a turbulent history, there is a boat which is still floating and there is no second boat ever existed.

It maybe difficult for foreigners to understand the Thai mentality in regard to the Khmer history, but it can be well understood by the Khmers. It seems like there are some cultural, political, and historical reasons that got involved in this long Thai conspiracy to twist the true Khmer history. Even though Thailand is a stronger nation compared to Cambodia nowadays, but Thailand was only formed as a vassal state under the Khmer Empire period and later on expanded itself stronger and became a powerful nation after the Khmer golden age had vanished. After the fall of Angkor (1431), the Siamese rulers started to absorb and simplify every Khmer civilization and culture and used it as their own such as language, scripts and culture. However the Siamese do not want anything to be attached with the Khmer even though in reality they are, they have used every mean to disregard the Khmer civilization and claim it as theirs. All of these reasons without understanding the Siamese and Khmer history, foreigners will never understand the real action of the Siamese who now have been referred to as Thais.

There is proverb which says “history is written by the victors”. There is nothing wrong with this proverb, but it is so wrong and is an unethical mistake that one nation can write another nation’s history. To Cambodians, by rewriting the Khmer history and creating a word “KHOM” instead of Khmer to put in their history's education system to educate their children, the Thais have shown their long term political interests to blind the world of their own dirty actions and ignorance of their true origin, especially their actions, in trying to undermine the Khmer history and origin.

Thai nationalists disperse

Army keeps tight lid on border protesters; 'red shirts' vow to hold further protests in Bangkok

Sep 21, 2009
By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent
Straits Times (Singapore)

BANGKOK - THAI nationalists who clashed on Saturday with locals and police near an ancient temple on the Cambodian border dispersed on Sunday, after making speeches in an event tightly controlled by the army.

The group from the royalist yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) said it had come to the border to fight for Thailand, and that it was the 'duty of every Thai'.

It brushed off resentment from locals, who were fearful that the activists would provoke a war with Cambodia, saying local villagers did not understand the issu

ister of Khmer Rouge murder victim John Dewhirst hopes for UN trial

By Coreena Ford
Sunday Sun (UK)

KHMER Rouge murder victim John Dewhirst’s sister has revealed how she hopes good can come from his killer’s trial.

John was the only Briton among 17,000 to die after being captured during the communist Khmer Rouge’s rule over Cambodia in the 1970s.

Now, 31 years after his death, his murderer, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, is being tried by a UN-backed tribunal on genocide charges.

He has already confessed to John’s murder and invited victims of the regime to visit him.

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