April 30, 2011
By William Lloyd-George
The Diplomat
According to Michael Montesano of the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies in Singapore, the temple dispute all came about as a result of ‘cheap politics’ by the People’s Alliance for Democracy – otherwise known as the Yellow Shirts – in 2008 to reduce support for then Prime Minister Shinawatra Thaksin.
Domestic politics could be pushing leaders of the two countries to more intense conflict as thousands flee border fighting.
PRASAT, THAILAND – It was a typical night for Wanchai Jongkot and his family. After working all day in the paddy fields, he sat down with his wife and two daughters to eat dinner – the main meal in his household. Before he could take his first bite, flashes illuminated the night sky, followed by deafening explosions.
‘We had no idea what was going on, we just ran to take cover,’ says Jongkot, a wiry man in his late 50s. ‘We were so shocked we almost fainted.’
In the midst of the bombardment the eldest daughter saw her sister rolling in agony and yelled out that she had been hit. When the fighting had subsided, they took the injured daughter to the local hospital where they discovered she had a broken arm and hip.
Jongkot and his family are some of around 80,000 civilians who have been affected on both sides of the Thai-Cambodian border by recent clashes between the two nations.
The latest conflict is the most serious fighting in decades and stems from a demarcation carried out in the 1950s by an international court, which awarded Cambodia the land. Thailand continues to disputes this ruling.
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