By Pavin Chachavalpongpun
The Nation
Monday’s verdict of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Preah Vihear Temple case is a slap in the face for members of the Bangkok establishment.
They should not have shot themselves in the foot in the first place. They have been politicising the Preah Vihear issue since 2008 in attempts to undermine their political opponents. They successfully created instability along the border. They even “declared war” with Cambodia to justify their confrontational policy. Now they have been told to remove themselves from the disputed area.
There are four main “orders” in the ICJ verdict. First, both parties must immediately withdraw their military personnel currently present in the provisional demilitarised zone and refrain from any military presence within that zone and from any armed activity directed at it. Second, Thailand should not obstruct Cambodia’s free access to the temple, and the two countries should continue their cooperation within Asean and allow observers to have access. Third, each country should inform the court of their compliance with the mentioned provisional measures. And fourth, these measures are binding and create international legal obligations with which both countries are required to comply.
Emerging from the ICJ meeting in The Hague, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, a former distinguished member of the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and a known anti-Hun Sen figure, continued to unashamedly explain away the Preah Vihear case rather than facing the truth.
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