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Police, army ready for PAD temple protest

FIFTY riot police officers and dogs have been deployed at the border close to Preah Vihear temple to ensure that a planned demonstration by Thai protesters this weekend does not infringe on Cambodian territory, police officials have said.

The yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has announced it will hold a rally at Preah Vihear temple Saturday, after filing a petition accusing the Thai government of negligence in allowing Cambodia to “encroach” on the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area around the ruins.

“We hope that there will not be a problem if the Thai protesters rally on their own territory, and our riot police officers are just preparing in case any incident occurs,” Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesman Kirt Chantha-rith said Wednesday. “We hope that the Thai authorities will do their job well and prevent the protesters from intruding on Cambodian territory.”

As preparations for the protest gathered pace, Ministry of Defence spokesman Chhum Socheat said that he had received a military report from the border alleging that Thais living near by were being offered 1,000 baht (US$29.69) to join the PAD rally.

The protest is an echo of similar demonstrations last year that triggered a yearlong military standoff at the border. Last July, three Thai demonstrators jumped over the border fence into Cambodian territory and were arrested by Cambodian border guards, triggering the Thai movement into disputed areas around the temple.

“There are some concerns that the Thai protests could lead to violence and reignite armed conflict between the Cambodian and Thai militaries,” said Koy Kuong, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bun Vanna, deputy chief of staff of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 8, which is stationed at the temple, said that border troops are ready to counterattack if there is an intrusion.

However, in the wake of August 24’s joint declaration marking an official end to hostilities at Preah Vihear, Thai officials have also pledged to prevent PAD protestors from jeopardising the current detente.

On Thursday, the Bangkok Post quoted Lieutenant General Wibulsak Neepan of the Thai army as saying Thai troops would be deployed from the Thai side to prevent the protesters from entering the disputed area.

Myanmar, Thai men detained in S'Ville

Men say owners kept them at sea for two years

TWO Thai and one Myanmarese fishermen have been arrested in Preah Sihanouk province on suspicion of illegally entering Cambodian waters after escaping from a Thai boat on which, they said, they were mistreated.

Provincial police Chief Tak Vanntha said Thursday that the men were on Phuluvai Island when found by naval police on September 1.

The Thai fishermen were identified as Aphiwadd Khavivong, 25, from Thailand’s Ayutthaya province, and Manop Kesaro, 57, from Samutprakan province. The third man, Nai Yawaddy, 25, is a citizen of Myanmar.

The men said they were working on a Thai fishing boat but decided to abandon ship and swim to the island due to poor onboard working conditions and mistreatment.

“Our passports and identity cards were taken by the fishing boat owner, and they forced us to work from 16 to 18 hours a day. The boat did not dock for about two years,” Aphiwadd Khavivong told police last week.

The men are being detained at the provincial police station and have been supplied with food and medicine while awaiting a decision from the police regarding their return to their respective home countries.

“This is a fine act of humanitarianism done by our police,” said Ny Chakrya, head investigation officer at the local rights group Adhoc.
“We should contact their ambassadors in Cambodia so we can send them back home.”

Cambodian Relief Fund dinner on Friday [25 Sept. 2009]

Douglas Mendel (Center)

Sunday, September 20, 2009
DAILY NEWS STAFF REPORT (Colorado, USA)

The Douglas Mendel Cambodian Relief Fund invites you to join us for an evening of dining and mingling with friends old and new at Foodhedz in the Frisco on Friday from 5-9 p.m. This fundraiser benefits fire stations and children's organizations in Cambodia. A portion of the nights proceeds will be donated to the nonprofit. Cambodian handicrafts including pashmina and silk scarves and beautiful silk and cotton purses will also be for sale.

Cambodia marks International Day of Peace

(All Photos: DAP)

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 300 people from schools, universities, pogodas and NGOs as well as other international and social groups gathered in downtown of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh Monday to mark the International Day of Peace.

The "peace biking" celebration to mark Peace Day started from National Assembly to Wat Phnom and finally stopped in front of the Royal Palace. And before the end of the event, all marchers prayed at the famous spiritual sanctuary of Dorng Keu in front of the Royal Palace to beg for peace for all people around the world and at the same time, the Khmer Buddhist monks chanted Dharma for peace and non-violence for this day.

"We also appealed to our leader and world leaders to support and respect the peace principles in solving the conflict matters even in internal affairs or with neighboring countries," said a joint statement from the event organizer.

Prok Vanny, representative of the event organizer for the peace working group in Cambodia said that "today we all celebrated the world peace day. And we want to raise awareness for peace for all people and spread peace message for all Cambodians."

"We also want to contribute in building and keeping peace in Khmer society as whole, and also building peace for lovely world and peace for all," she added.

"We have to cooperate each other to work for peace, and our message for this year is that we have to strengthen peace ideas, and reduce the tension, solve the conflict with peace deal, terminate all violence and disputes in the whole world. And today is the day of no violence, and stop all armed clashes in the world."

The International Day of Peace was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.

In 2002. the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace.

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.

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