Apinya Wipatayotin
Bangkok Post
Unesco’s request that Thailand reverse its decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention can be complied with only if Preah Vihear’s listing as a world heritage site is temporarily withdrawn, until there is a clear agreement on the demarcation of the border in the immediate area, caretaker Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti said on Friday.
Mr Suwit announced Thailand’s withdrawal and then walked out of a World Heritage Convention (WHC) committee meeting in Paris last week.
The dispute centres on Cambodia’s proposed management plan for the temple and the land immediately adjoining it. Bangkok and Phnom Penh both claim sovreignty over 4.6 square kilometres of borderland surrounding three sides of the old Hindu religious ruin, which sits on the end of a promontory.
He said Unesco (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) should show its sincerity by carefully considering to the fact that the problem occurred due to the committee’s poor understanding of the sensitive border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.
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