Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Cambodia microfinance: it’s not all about credit, savings matter too

Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Guardian.co.uk

Liz Ford: Nobody is too poor to save, insists Care International, which supports community microfinance initiatives that offer safe and efficient ways to put money aside

Sarom Eng, 55, has five children. She perches on a wooden slatted bench in her village, Preytotung, in Battambang province, as she speaks about her business ventures. Family members, including her daughter and one of her five grandchildren, neighbours and animals mill around the garden that surrounds her small stilted wooden house as we talk. Lined up opposite the bench are huge plastic bags full of kapok fibres, which have been plucked from pods that hang from nearby ceiba trees, and are ready for sale.

Eng has developed a good seasonal business, buying the pods from farmers who have the trees on their land, and selling the kapok to companies that make mattresses and pillows. It has been funded through loans she’s taken out from the Khum Chrey community-based microfinance organisation (CBMIFO). She’s on her third or fourth loan now – the most recent for 1.5m Cambodian riel, about $370. She employs neighbours and family to help pluck and bag the kapok, and she expects to get a 50% rate of return when she sells her goods. “I’ve never had a problem with paying the money back. I usually pay back before I need to.”

The income generated, along with money earned from selling fruit up along the Thai border and from growing rice in a field about 4km from her home, means she can support her children and grandchildren, and save money.

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ASEAN, China hardening positions on overlapping claims in South China Sea

Tuesday, May 31, 2011
By Kavi Chongkittavorn
The Nations (Thailand)/Asia News Network

After 15 years of discreet and patient diplomacy over the overlapping claims in South China Sea, both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have now showed signs of fatigue at the lack of progress towards a resolution as well as joint development schemes. Incidents of alleged intrusions and confrontations in the resource-rich maritime territories among various claimants have increased in the past two years.

But the most serious one occurred on March 2 when the Philippine oil exploration ship, MV Veritas Voyager, was harassed by the Chinese Navy patrol boats at Reed Bank. It topped the agenda when Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanlie visited the Philippines last week. The incident immediately harked back to the event in March 1995 when the Philippines confronted China after the discovery of new structures in the Mischief Reefs, which subsequently led ASEAN to issue a joint statement, the first and only one, expressing “serious concern” over Beijing’s action.

Over those years, there were high hopes that the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China in 2002 would not only encourage the claimants to restrain from any activity that would destabilize the whole region but help to resolve issues related to territorial sovereignty. Somehow the long-standing pledge for the promotion of trust-building measures and mutually beneficial cooperative continue to be an elusive aim in the past nine years.

One stumbling block remains the wordings of the implementing guidelines of the 2002 document, which was agreed upon when their bilateral relations were at the zenith.

The ASEAN claimants, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and China still fight over them when their senior officials last met in Medan, Indonesia. Given the current tension and growing mutual suspicion, especially between China and Vietnam/Philippines, it is doubtful if they could finalize the guidelines in time for next year’s 10th commemoration in Phnom Penh, when Cambodia chairs the 20th ASEAN summit. Their collective assertiveness showed that the disputes in South China Sea represent their core national interests.

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Thailand hires 3 foreigners to fight case at ICJ

31/05/2011
Bangkok Post

Thailand has hired three foreign legal advisers to help fight an International Court of Justice case filed by Cambodia.

The three attorneys are from Australia, Canada, and France. Considering the importance of the case, the Bangkok Post is providing an introduction to the lawyers.

Prof James Crawford, Australia national
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Crawford: One of the top UK barristers

Mr Crawford is a professor of international law at the University of Cambridge, the United Kingdom. He is one of England’s top international barristers and has worked on cases in several international courts, including the ICJ.

He represented Malaysia in a dispute with Singapore over the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Puteh island and in another dispute with Indonesia over the Ligitan-Sipadan islands.

Prof Donald M. McRae, Canada/New Zealand national

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McRae: Teaches law at Ottawa University

Mr McRae currently holds the Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law and teaches international law at the University of Ottawa.

Mr McRae has been a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration since 1988. He was elected to the United Nations’ International Law Commission in 2006.

He was a counsel for Canada during an arbitration with France over the St Pierre and Miquelon maritime boundary dispute in l991 and 1992, was a legal adviser to New Zealand on maritime boundary issues from 2000 to 2005, and counsel to Suriname in a dispute with Guyana in 2006.

Prof Alain Pellet, French national

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Mr Pellet is an international law professor at Universite’ Paris Ouest-Nanterre-La De’fense.

He is one of the most distinguished French experts on international law and has made a name for himself as the representative of several countries before the ICJ in the Hague.

He is one of the most active lawyers practising before the ICJ.

In addition, he serves in an advisory capacity to international organisations on issues concerning administration and international legislation. He has been a member of the UN’s International Law Commission since 1990. He was the commission’s chairman in 1997.

ICJ’s Report for the 30 May 2011 Sitting

ICJ Public Sitting on 30 May 11 (English)

Cambodia's Aplication for Interpretation by the ICJ on April 2011

Malaysia lauds Cambodia, Thailands effort to solve border dispute in court

May 31, 2011
Source: Xinhua

Malaysia on Monday lauded Thailand and Cambodia’s commitment to solve their border dispute peacefully as Cambodia referred the conflict to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

“Tensions in the Cambodian-Thai border have caused a great deal of concern in the region and this was evident during the recent Asean summit in Jakarta,” Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a speech at the 25th Asia-Pacific Roundtable here.

Cambodia sued Thailand to the International Court of Justice on Monday, asking the court to order Thai troops to withdraw from the disputed area around the ancient temple Preah Vihear.

Both countries have been claiming sovereignty to the more than 900-year-old temple and its surrounding areas for the past few decades.

Cambodia last month asked the International Court of Justice to explain its ruling in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia.

Latest clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops killed at least 20 and injured dozens while tens of thousands fled the area in April.

Suwit: No conclusion from Preah Vihear talks in France

Tuesday, 31 May 2011
By NNT
Pattaya Mail (Thailand)

BANGKOK, 28 May 2011 – Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti has admitted that no conclusion was made in the recent meeting of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in France regarding the Preah Vihear management plan.

After his return from a meeting with the WHC and Cambodian delegates in France, Mr Suwit pointed out that the issue between Thailand and Cambodia over the Preah Vihear management plan had not been concluded even though bilateral talks had been ongoing and UNESCO had voiced its support for an immediate end to the dispute. He said no approval was granted for Thailand’s request to have the committee’s consideration on the plan postponed.

The Minister indicated that, after this, there would be another bilateral discussion on the matter before the arrangement of the 35th WHC Meeting during 19-29 June, when the Preah Vihear management plan was slated for its official review.

In addition, Mr Suwit stated that Thailand had proposed itself as the host of the 36th WHC Meeting in 2012. Other countries bidding for the opportunity include Russia and Cambodia.

Thai attacks murderous: Phnom Penh

May 31, 2011
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation, Agencies

Cambodia yesterday began its legal battle in the International Court of Justice over the Preah Vihear Temple by accusing Thailand of deadly intrusions into its territory and requesting temporary measures for Thai troops to withdraw.

Thailand does not merely challenge Cambodia’s sovereignty in this region, but is imposing its own interpretation by occupying this zone by murderous armed incursions,” Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the court.

Hor Namhong testified that his country was requesting that the ICJ clarify its 1962 judgement on the Preah Vihear ownership case, as the two sides had failed to interpret the ruling jointly and this had led to armed conflict between the two neighbours.

Thailand is basing its recent military action on an interpretation of the 1962 judgement that is “both erroneous and unacceptable”, he said.

Thailand is using its reading of the ruling “to provide legal cover for armed incursions into Cambodian territory”.

Major military clashes around the ancient Hindu temple in February caused the deaths of eight people including civilians on both sides.

The ICJ yesterday and today is holding oral hearings on Cambodia’s request for provisional measures to ban Thai military activities and any act that could be regarded as interference in Cambodian sovereignty.

The request and hearing are the result of Cambodia’s application for an interpretation of the 1962 ruling.

The Thai defence team led by Ambassador to The Hague Virachai Plasai argued that the ICJ had no authority to rule on this case since a border dispute did not fall under its jurisdiction, said Chavanond Intarakomalya-sut, secretary to Thailand’s foreign minister. Thailand has already complied with the ICJ’s 1962 ruling and has nothing more to do with the case, he said.

“Basically, the Cambodian oral testimony has nothing new, and we believe that our argument is solid enough to convince the court,” Chavanond said in a phone interview from The Hague.

The Foreign Ministry expects the court to deliver its concurrence on the provisional measures within three weeks after the oral hearing, he said.

Thai-Cambodia border quiet as temple battle in international court

May 31, 2011
DPA

Bangkok - The Thai-Cambodia border region around a disputed 11th-century Hindu temple was quiet Tuesday as the two countries prepared for day two in court at The Hague to settle the contentious border issue, officials said.

Thai soldiers remain in the border region guarding Thai territory, Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Thanatip Hwangsaeng said Tuesday, adding that the area was peaceful and relations with the Cambodian military were good.

In April, Cambodia asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to revisit its 1962 ruling that awarded Preah Vihear temple to Phnom Penh.

The court case started Monday with Thailand saying again that it honours that 1962 ruling, and that the temple itself is in Cambodia.

What is at issue is a 4.6-square-kilometre area near the complex that Thailand maintains was not included in the court's 1962 ruling.

That dispute goes back decades but Bangkok said it resurfaced after UNESCO in 2008 designated Preah Vihear a world heritage site, over Thai objections.

The temple has proved a flashpoint and sparked several clashes between the countries, most recently eight days of artillery and small arms skirmishes in April that killed 16 people, mainly soldiers, on both sides, and wounded around 60.

Both Thailand and Cambodia blamed each other for starting the fighting.

At The Hague on Monday Cambodia accused Thailand of 'deadly intrusions' into Cambodia and requested Thai troops to withdraw.

Thailand argued the border dispute did not fall under the court's jurisdiction because Thailand had complied with the 1962 ruling. It also says the 4.6-square-kilometre area is Thai territory and not part of the 1962 ruling.

Oral arguments were scheduled to continue Tuesday in The Hague.

HRP's press release on the alleged phone conversation

Please click on the statement to zoom in

Boeung Kak lakesiders reject city’s on-site housing offer

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Boeung Kak lake, which is being filled in by Shukaku Inc and a Chinese firm, from Canadia Tower in Phnom Penh last week. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Monday, 30 May 2011
Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

Residents facing eviction from Boeung Kak lake in Phnom Penh are expected to re-submit their plans for on-site relocation today after a proposal introduced on Friday by City Hall was deemed inadequate.

Nine representatives for residents met with Phnom Penh deputy governor Nuon Sameth on Friday to discuss a plan for on-site housing proposed by the city and Shukaku Inc, the company run by ruling party Senator Lao Meng Khin that is developing the 133-hectare site with China-based Erdos Hung Jun Investment Co.

Tol Srey Pao, a Boeung Kak community representative, said the offer fell short of expectations and resembled much-derided on-site relocation housing opened last year in Prampi Makara district’s Borei Keila.

“Each family wants a 4×16-metre house at the ground level with strong construction, not a building such as Borei Keila that has five storeys. If they construct a building that’s the same as Borei Keila, we cannot accept it,” she said after the meeting.

Tol Srey Pao said residents had already adjusted a proposal they had submitted in March that would have set aside 15 hectares of land from the development for relocation housing but that was dismissed by the city. Last month, they submitted a request for 4×16-metre houses for villagers with “small” plots of land, and two or more such homes for residents with “large” plots.

“We will hold a protest again on Monday, because the result of the meeting is negative,” Tol Srey Pao said.

Officials at Phnom Penh Municipal Hall could not be reached for comment after the meeting. Sia Phearum, secretariat director of NGO Housing Rights Task Force, said the city’s plan for 7×7.5-metre flats in six-story buildings had been designed without input from the community. Residents have pushed for ground-level housing so that they can operate businesses from their homes.

“If they stay on the sixth floor, they will lose their income,” Sia Phearum said yesterday.

Although the meeting ended inconclusively, he welcomed the negotiations and urged both sides to continue the talks. Residents have been tasked with re-submitting their plans today, he added.

Sia Phearum said growing international pressure over the project, which rights groups say will ultimately displace over 4,000 families, as well as upcoming local and parliamentary elections, could be weighing on the minds of local officials.

“What we understand now is that the [city officials] want to resolve this problem because Boeung Kak lake is a very bad image – its development violated the people, the human rights,” he said.

“I just encourage the [city] to work cooperatively very well with the residents and then restore our image in the world.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY THOMAS MILLER

[Cambodia] PM’s daughter Hun Mana doesn’t ‘like’ Facebook profile

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Hun Mana attends a Visak Bochea Day celebration on Diamond Island in Phnom Penh earlier this month. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Monday, 30 May 2011
Sen David
The Phnom Penh Post

Prime Minister Hun Sen‘s daughter Hun Mana claimed on Saturday that someone had opened a Facebook account in her name and requested the immediate removal of the account by its creator.

In a statement published by Khmer-language daily newspaper Kampuchea Thmey, Hun Mana, who owns the newspaper, thanked the creator for comments about her work as a “humanitarian activist” but requested that the account be removed.

“I appeal to whoever created the Facebook account to remove it, because it is not mine,” Hun Mana said in the statement. “I do not have a Facebook account.”

The 30-year-old added that her father, Hun Sen, also is not on Facebook but that someone has created an account in his name as well.

A screenshot on Kampuchea Thmey’s website shows that the account in Hun Mana’s name currently boasts 627 Facebook “friends”, while an account in Hun Sen’s name has netted 4,961.

Ministry of Information Cabinet Chief Chhum Socheath said yesterday that it was not appropriate for people to create Facebook accounts in the names of others.

“If people love technology, they should not use technology to affect someone, especially leaders,” he said.

“They should use their own name to avoid damaging someone’s honour,” he added, noting that people who create fake accounts sometimes use “bad pictures”.

Prosecutor blasts KRT judges

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Andrew Cayley (Photo: ECCC)

Monday, 30 May 2011
James O’Toole
The Phnom Penh Post

British co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley has fired back at the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s investigating judges, calling their order for him to retract a public statement he made earlier this month on the court’s controversial third case “unreasonable, arbitrary and of no effect”.

The judges announced the conclusion of their Case 003 investigation last month, but in response, Cayley said the case had “not been fully investigated”. In making his own statement listing a series of additional investigative steps he planned to ask the judges to perform, Cayley effectively exposed their inaction over the 20 months that the investigation was open.

The judges later ordered him to retract this statement, saying he lacked legal basis to make it and had violated the court’s confidentiality rules. In an appeal made public on Friday, however, Cayley branded this order “both unfair and unreasonable”.

The order “implies that a court of law may simply censor parties’ public statements of legal opinion with which it disagrees”, Cayley wrote. “In this regard, it is virtually unprecedented in the jurisprudence of courts dealing with cases of mass crime.

The spat between the prosecutor and co-investigating judges Siegfried Blunk and You Bunleng comes as the pair are facing mounting criticism over their handling of the third case and accusations that they deliberately botched their investigation in the face of opposition to the case from the Cambodian government. In listing the additional investigative steps he believed were still required in his statement earlier this month, Cayley revealed that the judges had not even questioned the suspects in the case over the course of the investigation, nor had they examined a number of potential crime sites.

The suspects in Case 003 remain officially confidential, though court documents reveal them as former KR navy commander Meas Muth and air force commander Sou Met.

The judges were clearly irked by Cayley’s statement, ordering him to publicly retract it “within three working days” after previously having considered initiating contempt-of-court proceedings against him, according to a court source.

In his appeal, however, Cayley noted the illogic of this request, as the retraction order itself quotes extensively from his offending statement.

“The retraction order restates in full the very information whose retraction it directs, thereby repeating the supposed confidentiality breach,” Cayley said, calling the order “an abuse of discretion” and “a capricious judicial act designed to publicly reprimand the international co-prosecutor”.

In making his statement earlier this month, Cayley said he sought both to provide victims with much-needed information and restore public faith in the work of the tribunal, noting that “public confidence in the effective conduct of the judicial proceedings in Case 003 appeared to be seriously undermined”.

This confidence has been especially harmed by the fact that the investigating judges have been so secretive about their Case 003 investigation, said Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia.

“This practice has always led to a concern that the co-investigating judges were not carrying out their activities appropriately, and whether they were or they weren’t, the point is this lack of information has contributed to that perception,” she said.

“Everything that’s been made public about Case 003 makes it seem that they are not doing their job in a thorough fashion, and that they’re trying to hide that from the public.”

The co-investigating judges have shown signs that they are sensitive to such criticism, hitting out last week at an article in the International Justice Tribune in which court observers said infighting and alleged political interference in the court’s third case had left the tribunal “in danger of collapse”.

The judges dismissed this claim as “nonsensical”, adding: “The Co-Investigating Judges have worked independently from outside interference, will continue to resist all such attempts, and are resolved to defend their independence against outside interference, wherever it may come from.”

Nonetheless, observers and other officials within the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the tribunal is formally known, remain concerned about the broader consequences of a failure by the judges to fully investigate the third case, a concern raised by Cayley in his appeal. In defending his claim that crimes alleged by the prosecution are legally required to be investigated, Cayley said a contrary approach “would undermine the structural integrity of proceedings before the ECCC”.

“It would enable the [judges] to simply ignore or dismiss cases initiated by the Co-Prosecutors, a position that is both untenable and inconsistent with the principles underpinning the creation of the Court,” he said.

Talks ‘disappoint’ UNESCO

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Deputy Prime Minister Sok An speaks to reporters yesterday after returning to Phnom Penh from a meeting in Paris. (Photo by: Pha Lina)

Monday, 30 May 2011
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

UNESCO’s director-general has expressed “disappointment” after three days of talks between Cambodia and Thailand on the protection of Preah Vihear temple ended in no result, while an international court is set to hear related arguments in The Hague today.

In a statement issued on Friday, UNESCO said its director-general, Irina Bokova, had “voiced her disappointment at the fact that no agreement was reached” on “concrete steps” to preserve the temple ahead of an upcoming World Heritage Committee session slated for June 19-29.

“I appeal to both countries to pursue efforts towards achieving a common agreement before the World Heritage Committee session in June in a spirit of cooperation and constructive dialogue,” Bokova said.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, who headed the Cambodian delegation to the Paris talks, and his Thai counterpart Suwit Khunkitti, Bangkok’s Minister of Environment, both attempted to put a positive spin on the meeting.

“There was no actual result, but it was fruitful preparation for the upcoming meeting at which UNESCO will examine the state of conservation [at Preah Vihear],” Sok An told reporters at Pochentong airport upon his return yesterday.

Sok An said he had presented evidence of damage to the 11th-century temple and had rejected a request by Thailand to withdraw Cambodia’s proposed management plan for the World Heritage site.

“We saw that all the requests by Thailand [to UNESCO] were not successful,” he claimed. “Thailand seems to be defeated from the meeting.”

Suwit, however, said Cambodia and Thailand would meet bilaterally to consider the management plan ahead of next month’s World Heritage Committee meeting, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday. Suwit said consideration of the management plan for the temple should be postponed until the border is fully demarcated by the countries’ bilateral Joint Border Committee.

In related news, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong left on Friday to attend hearings on the border dispute at the International Court of Justice scheduled for today and tomorrow, ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday. The ICJ ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. Earlier this month, Cambodia asked the ICJ to reinterpret this judgment to bear on the surrounding territory, and in the interim, to order all Thai troops to withdraw from “those parts of Cambodian territory situated in the area” of the temple.

Deadly clashes that killed at least 10 people broke out between the two sides in February near Preah Vihear. Clashes broke out again along the border near Oddar Meanchey province last month, killing at least 18.

Although tensions in the area have largely eased, a Thai soldier was arrested in Oddar Meanchey province on Thursday and accused of spying on Cambodian artillery positions along with an alleged Cambodian accomplice, a military intelligence official yesterday.

Chea Samrach, an official at the Banteay Ampil district intelligence unit, said he had apprehended the two men on Thursday after they had tried to escape by motorbike, adding that the Thai suspect had been identified as a military official.

An Oddar Meanchey police official who declined to be named said the suspects had been sent to the provincial military office, though he refused to provide any further details.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHEANG SOKHA AND THOMAS MILLER

Cambodia launches legal fight in UN’s top court

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Cambodia will tell the court that clashes with Thai troops at Preah Vihear have increased since July 2008 (AFP, Valerie Kuypers)

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Monday, May 30, 2011
By Jan Hennop (AFP)

THE HAGUE — Cambodia on Monday launched a bitter legal battle before the UN’s highest court, asking it to order an immediate Thai troop withdrawal around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, scene of heavy clashes earlier this year.

“We will ask the court to swiftly provide the provisional measures to protect the peace and avoid an escalation of the armed conflict in the area,” said Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, who represents Cambodia.

“Cambodia is asking the court to implement measures to prevent further destruction of the temple and the area around it,” he told a 16-panel of judges before the International Court of Justice based in The Hague.

In February the UN appealed for a permanent ceasefire after 10 people were killed in fighting near Preah Vihear, but fresh clashes which broke out in April further west left 18 dead and prompted 85,000 civilians to flee.

The court ruled in 1962 that the temple itself belonged to Cambodia.

“Thailand is under obligation to withdraw any troops in the area around the temple,” the Cambodian representative said.

He said that although there had been clashes in the past, Thai aggression substantially increased after July 2008, when the UN’s cultural body UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage site.

“It’s time for the voice of international law to speak loudly,” Hor Namhong said, calling the ICJ “the guarantor.”

That is why we brought this dispute here — it has been going on too long,” he said.

Thailand was expected to make its first public submission later Monday.

Speaking outside the courtroom, Thailand’s caretaker Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya denied Thailand ever questioned the court’s 1962 ruling.

“We have never contested or disputed the court’s decision on the temple,” he told reporters.

He said Thailand’s dispute was specifically over the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area surrounding the complex.

“That’s different,” Kasit said when asked about the disputed territory. “The court did not have the jurisdiction to rule about that.”

But he said Thailand’s view “has been our position for the last 50 years.”

“We do not understand why we had to come here,” he said.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters in Bangkok that it was “unncessary” for the court to consider Cambodia’s petition.

“The request violates the previous ruling. … We will fight based on the court’s jurisdiction and facts. When Cambodia won the last case, the Thai government followed the ruling and has done so since 1962.”

The 11th-century complex has been at the centre of an ongoing legal wrangle between Thailand and Cambodia — which took its southeastern Asian neighbour to the ICJ in 1958.

The UN court ruled in 1962 the 900-year-old Khmer temple belonged to Cambodia, but both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of the surrounding area.

Cambodia last month asked the ICJ to explain that ruling, with the ICJ saying it would rule on a clarification at a later stage.

The ICJ has set down two days for public submissions after which judges will convene and give a ruling, said a source close to the court who asked not to be named. Two more hearings for submissions are also scheduled for Tuesday.

Cambodia-Thailand border dispute at UN court

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Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong is seen at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations’ highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski) (Bas Czerwinski)

May 30, 2011

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia traded barbs Monday at the United Nations’ highest court, accusing each other of launching illegal cross-border attacks around a historic temple in a disputed border region.

The competing claims came as Cambodia appealed to the International Court of Justice to order Thai troops away from Preah Vihear temple — Thailand responded by claiming the court has no jurisdiction to intervene.

Opening the hearing with an emotional speech, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong claimed Thai forces had mounted “murderous armed incursions” into Cambodian territory.

Thailand’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Virachai Plasai, hit back by alleging that unprovoked Cambodian attacks on Thai territory amounted to “a blatant and deliberate violation of” the rules of war.

“This portrayal of Thailand as a big bad wolf bullying the lamb of Cambodia is totally wrong,” Plasai said.

Fighting between the two nations has cost some 20 lives, wounded dozens and sent tens of thousands fleeing since 2008, when the 11th-century temple was given U.N. World Heritage status, overriding Thailand’s objections.

In a fresh attempt to settle the dispute that has simmered for decades, Cambodia is asking the world court for a new interpretation of its 1962 judgment that gave it control of the temple.

But Thailand’s lawyer James Crawford said the 16-judge panel has no jurisdiction to intervene now because Thailand accepts the 1962 ruling that the temple is on Cambodian territory. He said the border dispute is not part of the ruling.

He was responding to Hor Namhong’s assertion that Thailand is using an erroneous reading of the 1962 ruling “to provide legal cover for armed incursions into Cambodian territory.”

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the two countries are still in talks to settle the border dispute.

“We do not understand why we have to come here when there is already an existing mechanism” for negotiating a border, Kasit told reporters outside the courtroom.

The court could rule on Cambodia’s request for a Thai troop withdrawal order within weeks, but will likely take years to settle the underlying dispute if it accepts it has jurisdiction.

Tensions along the border have been exacerbated in recent months, in part by pressure from influential Thai nationalist groups that have protested in Bangkok, urging the government to take back disputed border territory. Hardcore nationalists insist a 1962 World Court ruling awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia was unfair.

“Thailand does not merely challenge Cambodia’s sovereignty in this region, but is imposing its own interpretation by occupying this zone by murderous armed incursions,” Hor Namhong said.

The flare-up also comes as the Thai military raises its profile in domestic politics ahead of a general election scheduled for July 3.

According to its World Heritage listing, the temple dedicated to Shiva “is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation.”

Talks mediated by Indonesia’s president in early May between the two countries’ prime ministers failed to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.

“The two armies confront one another on a daily basis and new Thai aggression could arise at any moment,” Hor Namhong told the judges. “It is time for international law to speak loudly.”

Cambodia says Thailand’s military action around disputed temple is threat to regional peace

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Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, left, President of the court Japan’s Judge Owada, second right, Vice-President of the Court Slovakia’s Judge Peter Tomka, second left, and Judge Koroma from Sierra Leone, right, are seen at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations’ highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)
ICJ+on+30May2011+02+%2528AP%2529.jpg
Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong is seen at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday,May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations’ highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)
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Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong, right, Sir Franklin Berman, member of the English Bar, center, and Jean-MarcSorel, Professor of International Law at the University of Paris, left, are seen at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations’ highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)
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Thailand’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Virachai Plasai, left, Thailand’s Director-General, Department of Treaties and Legal affairs, Ittiporn Boonpracong,center, and Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya, right, attend the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations’ highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

Monday, May 30, 2011
AP

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — “Murderous armed incursions” by the Thai military around a historic temple in a disputed border region form a “grave threat” to regional peace and security, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the U.N.’s highest court Monday.

Fighting between the two nations has cost some 20 lives, wounded dozens and sent tens of thousands fleeing since 2008, when the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple was given U.N. World Heritage status, overriding Thailand’s objections.

In a fresh attempt to settle a dispute that has simmered for decades between the Southeast Asian neighbors, Cambodia is asking the International Court of Justice for a new interpretation of its 1962 judgment that gave Cambodia control of the temple.

Hor Namhong said Thailand is basing its recent military action on an interpretation of the 1962 judgment that is “both erroneous and unacceptable.”

Thailand, he said, is using its reading of the ruling “to provide legal cover for armed incursions into Cambodian territory.”

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said his nation does not dispute Cambodian ownership of the temple, but said the two countries are still involved in talks to settle a border dispute in the region, which he argued was not covered by the court’s 1962 decision.

“We do not understand why we have to come here when there is already an existing mechanism” for negotiating a border, Kasit told reporters outside the courtroom.

Monday’s hearing was focused on Cambodia’s request for the court to issue an emergency order to Thailand to withdraw its troops from the disputed region. The court could make a decision on the request within weeks, but will likely take years to settle the underlying border dispute.

Tensions along the border have been exacerbated in recent months in part by pressure from influential Thai nationalist groups that have protested in Bangkok, urging the government to take back disputed border territory. Hardcore nationalists insist a 1962 World Court ruling awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia was unfair.

The flare-up also comes as the Thai military raises its profile in domestic politics ahead of a general election scheduled for July 3.

“Thailand does not merely challenge Cambodia’s sovereignty in this region, but is imposing its own interpretation by occupying this zone by murderous armed incursions,” Hor Namhong said.

According to its World Heritage listing, the temple dedicated to Shiva “is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation.”

Talks mediated by Indonesia’s president in early May between the two countries’ prime ministers failed to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.

“The two armies confront one another on a daily basis and new Thai aggression could arise at any moment,” Hor Namhong told the judges. “It is time for international law to speak loudly.”

Referring Border Row To ICJ Not Tantamount To Asean’s Failure

KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) — Referring the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should not be equated with Asean’s failure to solve the issue.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Marty Natalegawa said what was important was that the parties involved would solve the matter peacefully rather than resorting to violence.

He told reporters this at the 25th Asia-Pacific Roundtable here Monday.

The minister noted that the row had previously been brought to the attention of the United Nations Security Council and Asean, and now ICJ.

“But this doesn’t mean that the diplomatic process has been exhausted, as various measures are being taken to solve the issue, including the legal process, diplomacy and others,” he said.

The ancient Preah Vihear temple has been at the centre of the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

In 1962, the ICJ granted the temple to Cambodia, but Thailand claimed much of the surrounding land.

Tensions mounted a few years ago following Cambodia’s bid to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Cambodia says Thailand military action take deadly border dispute to UN’s highest court

Monday, May 30, 2011
The Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong has told the United Nations highest court that “murderous armed incursions” by the Thai military around a temple in a disputed border region are a “grave threat” to regional peace and security.

He made the claim Monday at the opening of hearings into Cambodia’s request to the International Court of Justice to order Thailand to withdraw its troops from the disputed region around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, which was given U.N. World Heritage status over Thailand’s objections.

Thai officials at the court refused to comment before entering the wood-panelled Great Hall of Justice. They were due to present their arguments to the 16-judge panel later Monday.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Muhyiddin Lauds Commitment By Thailand, Cambodia To Resolve Border Dispute

KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin Monday applauded the commitment made by Thailand and Cambodia to resolve their border dispute peacefully.

Despite initial hiccups and in true Asean spirit, he said, both parties had agreed to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

"The last few months have been rather challenging for Asean. Tensions in the Cambodian-Thai border have caused a great deal of concern in the region, and this was evident during the recent Asean Summit in Jakarta.

"In seven hours' time, Cambodian and Thai advocates will begin to argue their cases in The Hague," he said in his keynote address at the 25th Asia-Pacific Rountable here.
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World’s Most Cutthroat Cell Market?

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Despite an average income of $650, Cambodians enjoy arguably the most competitive mobile phone market in the world. Still, the eight operators’ numbers don’t add up. (Image credit:Matt Wakeman)

May 30, 2011
Steve Finch
The Diplomat

Ngo Menghorn is a typical student in Phnom Penh. Like many 23-year-olds in the Cambodian capital, he owns a motorbike, more than one mobile phone and goes through SIM cards like they’re going out of fashion.

‘I don’t remember how many SIMs I’ve used because I always change them out,’ he says, adding that he has probably brought at least 40 in his two years as a mobile user.

His preferred network Mobitel—currently number two by market share—sells SIM cards for less than the value of credit each provides. Mobitel sells SIMs for 5,500 riels each ($1.35) loaded with $6 in call credit amid fierce competition for customers. The catch is credit is only good for a week unless the user upgrades to a more expensive call plan.

‘It’s hard to contact me because I always change my SIM card,’ admits Menghorn, adding he has taken advantage of promotions on eight different Cambodian operators.

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Cambodia to launch stock market on July 11: gov’t statement

PHNOM PENH, May 30 (Xinhua) — Cambodia is scheduled to inaugurate the long-awaited Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) on July 11, according to the statement of the finance ministry released to the media on Monday.

And the first securities trading will begin towards the end of 2011, added the statement dated on May 26.

The ministry explained that the above two different dates being planned are based on the experience of some countries, which scheduled the start of the securities market operator first, in order for this operator to have enough time in preparing the process of the first securities training.

The CSX is a securities market operator, a securities clearing and settlement facility operator, and a depository operator.

The head-office of the CSX is located in the kingdom’s tallest building, Canadia Tower in Phnom Penh.

Three state-owned enterprises–Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Telecom Cambodia and Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority–have been preparing IPO (Initial Public Offering) to list in the upcoming CSX.

The plan to open CSX was initiated by Korean Exchange in 2007.

Laos, Cambodia agree to work on border

May 30, 2011
DPA

Vientiane – Laos and Cambodia have agreed to discuss border issues, including surveying and addressing drug trafficking in the remote area, the state-run Vientiane Times newspaper reported Monday.

The two governments agreed to more work related to border surveys and demarcation, the daily said.

Other measures included improving collaboration between border agencies and improving border facilities to help maintain order and make legal crossings easier.

The countries share a 540-kilometre border in a region where the Mekong River flows from Laos into Cambodia.

Over $80,000 raised to feed Cambodia kids

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Mon, May 30, 2011
By Jecolia Tong
Asia One (Singapore)

MORE than 700 people showed up yesterday morning at East Coast Park for a 2km walk which culminated in a fair, and they helped to raise over $80,000 for underprivileged children in Cambodia.

The Walk The World event, held annually by express-delivery company TNT, consumer-goods company Unilever and global science-based company DSM, was organised in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP).

WFP is the United Nations’ front-line agency in the fight against global hunger. However, those companies were not the only ones doing their part for charity. The event was held in more than 100 countries yesterday.

In Singapore, funds were raised through the sale of coupons, which could be exchanged for drinks and food, or used to play games at a fair set up at the event. There were corporate donors, such as Swiss bank BSI, which donated $30,000.

Walk The World began eight years ago, with the idea seeded here by TNT.

The concept was proposed to the WFP by TNT chief executive Peter Bakker, and was the first of such initiatives undertaken by the company as part of its corporate social responsibility scheme.

About $60,000 was raised in Singapore alone last year through this event. Internationally, Walk The World last year raised enough money to feed 14,000 underprivileged children for one year in countries such as Malawi and Tanzania.

TNT’s target amount for Singapore this year was $60,000 but, as of yesterday, funds raised have surpassed that amount.

Funds will go to the School Feeding Programme in Cambodia, which provides food for schoolchildren. This encourages people to send their children to school, and it is hoped that promoting education will help many break out of the poverty cycle.

The event was open to the public, but most who turned up to show their support were from TNT, Unilever, Credit Suisse and BSI – the main corporate participants.

Many of those present – such as Ms Jennifer Hewit, the vice-president of the information-technology department at Credit Suisse – were with their families. Ms Hewit was with her husband and their two-year-old son, Tyler.

She said: “It’s good to teach your children that not all children in the world have it as easy as they do.”

Thai PM confident in ICJ border case

30/05/2011
Bangkok Post

Thailand’s legal team is well prepared to present the country’s position on the Thai-Cambodian border dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) today and tomorrow, interim Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Monday.

The Thai team will argue that the ICJ, based in The Hague, has no jurisdiction to decide the borders of countries.

The Cambodian government last month asked the court to explain its ruling in 1962 that the 11th century Preah Vihear temple is located in Cambodia.

Thailand argues that the verdict covers only the ancient ruins, not the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre surrounding area.

“Thailand is ready to contest Cambodia’s claim on any stage and I want Thai people to be confident that the government can protect the country’s best interests,” Mr Abhisit said.

The suggestion by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (Unesco), which earlier approved Cambodia’s application to declare Preah Vihear a world heritage site, that its world heritage committee delay consideration of Cambodia’s plan to manage the immediate surroundings of the ruins is the best solution and this argument carries a lot of weight, he said.

Thailand’s legal team will now explain its case to all the committees of Unesco, he added.

Yesterday, Cambodian cabinet minister Sok An said Phnom Penh was confident Unesco would accept its Preah Vihear management plan.

“Cambodia has enough legal documents, that are internationally recognised, to support the temple management plan in Cambodian territory,” Mr An said.

Border ‘not within jurisdiction’ of ICJ

Thailand presents case on temple land today

30/05/2011
Bangkok Post

Thailand will tell the International Court of Justice today that the court has no jurisdiction to judge the borderline of countries in dispute such as itself and Cambodia.

This is a key part of the country’s response to a request filed by Cambodia concerning the fate of land surrounding Preah Vihear temple on the border.

It will deliver the message at the United Nations’ highest court in the Netherlands in a two-day hearing starting today.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday Thailand was ready to fight the case.

“The point is that it’s unreasonable that the ICJ should grant an injunction as requested by Cambodia when Thailand had abided by the court’s ruling [on Preah Vihear ownership] issued in 1962,” he said.

In 1962, the court ruled that Preah Vihear temple is situated in Cambodia. Thailand complied with the ruling but argued that the verdict covered only the sandstone ruins while the area around it belonged to Thailand. Cambodia recently asked the ICJ to interpret its 1962 judgement to establish if the land in the temple’s vicinity also belonged to it.

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Thai leader touched by President Aquino’s mediation offer

Monday, May 30th, 2011
By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

BANGKOK—Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed his gratitude to President Aquino for offering to take an active role in pursuing a peaceful resolution to the renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.

In a news briefing at Government House here on Thursday, the Thai leader said he was “touched” by Mr. Aquino’s offer to be a facilitator in possible talks between Vejjajiva and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to end the border row that has claimed 19 lives since fighting erupted anew a few weeks ago.

“First of all, we are all part of the Asean family. I mean that’s (Mr. Aquino’s initiative) very important and being co-founders of Asean, we know that the number one objective when this organization was formed is actually peace,” Vijjaiva told Filipino and Thai journalists.

The Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia belong to the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) along with Vietnam, Singapore, Burma (Myanmar), Brunei, Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia.

The Thai leader said it was critical “for Asean family members to express care for each other and therefore offer help to each other.”

“Therefore… as part of the same family, whenever there are troubles, I think it is only natural for good members of the family to express concern and to offer assistance when it is needed. And we are touched by that,” he added.

Cambodia-Thailand border dispute: Observer that desperately seeks trust

Mon, 05/30/2011
Bambang Hartadi Nugroho, Jakarta
The Jakarta Post

The Cambodia-Thailand territorial dispute and violent conflict has remained a widely discussed topic, not only during the recent ASEAN summit, but also at the ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (APF).

The growing concern is due to the fact that the quarrel between the two neighboring countries has marred the image of the organization and may destabilize the region, not to mention its impacts on civilians who live near the disputed area.

As reported, the discussion of this issue during the summit was not an easy process. Both parties disagreed over many alternatives of peaceful settlement offered by members of the group.

Yet in the end they finally agreed that Indonesia as the chair of ASEAN would play a role as an observer and mediator.

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Cambodia ‘opposes’ bid to delay temple plan

Sun, May 29, 2011
The Nation/Asia News Network

Suwit, who has just returned from France, said Unesco did not want to see more casualties in the Thai-Cambodian conflict revolving around Preah Vihear Temple, which was unilaterally listed by Cambodia as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Thailand has asked Unesco to postpone deliberations on the management plan for Preah Vihear to the 2012 meeting.

Thailand also has proposed hosting the next meeting, as have Cambodia and Russia.

However, Cambodia was against the postponement and wanted the Preah Vihear management plan to be discussed at the upcoming meeting from June 19-29.

Thailand’s position is that the management plan should be discussed only when the Thai-Cambodian border demarcation is done. Suwit said a further delay is in Thailand’s interest and it would take some time to complete the border demarcation if both countries join hands to do that.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will soon hand documents and other evidence to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to defend Thailand after Cambodia asked the court to interpret the 1962 ruling on Preah Vihear Temple.

Kasit said Unesco appeared to have a good understanding of the issue, as the border has not yet been agreed on.

Cambodia confident temple management plan to be accepted by UNESCO

May 29, 2011

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) – Cambodia is firmly confident that the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) will officially accept the management plan of Preah Vihear temple proposed in the 35th WHC meeting in Paris on June 19 to 29, said a top government official on Sunday.

“In the next month’s meeting, the World Heritage Committee will make the official decision on the management plan of Preah Vihear temple, which Cambodia submitted in the last year’s annual WHC meeting,” the cabinet minister Sok An, Chairman of the Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO, said Sunday at Phnom Penh International Airport upon his arrival from Paris, where he held talks with Thai Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Suwit Khunkitti on Preah Vihear temple issues under the mediation by the UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.

“Cambodia has enough legal documents, which are internationally recognized, to support that the temple’s management plan is done in Cambodian territory,” he said, adding that the plan has also been admired by UNESCO for its good and standardized preparation in the last year’s committee meeting.

However, the Bangkok Post online newspaper reported on Sunday that Suwit Khunkitti said the UNESCO has not made decision yet on whether the WHC will debate Cambodia’s management plan.

Suwit Khunkitti said that Thailand and Cambodia would hold more talks over Cambodia’s management plan for the disputed 4.6-square-kilometer area around Preah Vihear temple ahead of the 35th WHC meeting next month.

In response, Sok An said that Cambodia welcomed more meetings with Thailand under the UNESCO arrangements prior to the next month’s WHC meeting in June.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia in 1962 and the temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.

Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border and periodic clashes have happened, resulting in the deaths of troops and civilians on both sides.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Cambodia-Thailand border dispute at UN court

Sunday, May. 29, 2011
By MIKE CORDER
The Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations’ highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes.

Cambodia is asking the International Court of Justice to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors.

The conflict involves small patches of land along the border that have been disputed for more than half a century.

Fighting has repeatedly broken out since 2008, when Cambodia’s 11th-century Preah Vihear temple was given U.N. World Heritage status over Thailand’s objections.

Talks mediated by Indonesia’s president earlier this month between the two countries’ prime ministers failed to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.

Fighting around the temple has cost about 20 lives and sent tens of thousands fleeing.

Cambodia is asking for an “interpretation” of a 1962 ruling by the court that the temple is on its territory and warns that if the intervention request is rejected and clashes continue, “the damage to the Temple of Preah Vihear, as well as irremediable losses of life and human suffering … would become worse.”

The dispute has stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border. But analysts say domestic politics may also be fueling the conflict, especially in Thailand, where the military that staged a coup in 2006 could be flexing its muscles ahead of July 3 elections.

Cambodia said in April that a written explanation of the 1962 judgment “could then serve as a basis for a final resolution of this dispute through negotiation or any other peaceful means.”

Hearings Monday and Tuesday will not deal with the substance of the case, which will be debated at a later date, only the Cambodian request for the court to order a halt to military action.

Cambodia’s reluctant king -The man inside his golden cage

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Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni in Prague on March 19, 2010. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images)

King Norodom Sihamoni, who took the throne in 2004, is seen by some as a prisoner in his own palace.

May 29, 2011
Emily Lodish
Global Post

Poor King Norodom Sihamoni.

It doesn’t sound like he wants to be king.

It’s true the monarchy is more of a figurehead these days, with the true power lying in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

But the bidding of Hun Sen, who helped turn Cambodia into a forced labor camp with the Khmer Rouge in the late 70s, can’t be pleasant work.

Sihamoni spends his days pushing papers and receiving guests — despite his lack of interest in political affairs — and then he retires to dine alone and read, says one royal adviser.

He is a symbol of national unity, no doubt. Everywhere he goes, people bow at his feet.

But even so, he feels “sad, lonely and abandoned,” according to a new AP article.

Many think of him as a prisoner in his own palace.

The 58-year-old bachelor clearly longs for the years he spent in Europe — France and what used to be the Czechoslovakia — as a ballet dancer and cultural ambassador. It isn’t hard to imagine him dreaming of those far-off places from the confines of his castle.

“I think we can use the words ‘puppet king.’ His power has been reduced to nothing,” says Son Chhay, an opposition leader. “The king must please the prime minister as much as possible in order to survive. It is sad to see.”

But this isn’t news to me. I knew something was up when he refused to go to Will and Kate’s wedding.

He said he had “something important to do.”

A cry for help if ever I heard one.

Cambodia’s king seen as a ‘prisoner’ in his palace

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The KING and his KINGMAKERS: In this Nov. 9, 2010 photo, Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni, center, applauds with Prime Minister Hun Sen, right, and Heng Samrin, left, National Assembly president, during an Independence Day celebration at the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The king may be heir to a royal line trailing back some 2,000 years, but he always seemed more suited to the arts scene in Europe, than the rough and tumble politics of his homeland. Now, close aides and experts say, he has become figuratively, and more, a prisoner in his own palace. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — As the sun sets and the last tourist departs his vast, fairy-tale palace, the gentle, dignified man is left almost alone with memories of happier times, before he became the reluctant king of Cambodia — and perhaps its last.

King Norodom Sihamoni may be heir to a royal line trailing back some 2,000 years, but he always seemed more suited to the arts scene in Europe, where he was a ballet dancer, than the rough and tumble politics of his homeland. Now, close aides and experts say, he has become figuratively, and more, a prisoner in his own palace.

The chief warden: Prime Minister Hun Sen, who rose from a poor rural background to become a brilliant and crafty, some say ruthless, politician.

Hun Sen consolidated power in a 1997 coup as Cambodia slowly emerged from being dragged into the Vietnam War and its own civil war. While the country is nominally democratic, he uses all the machinery of government to lock up critics and ensure his re-election. Human rights groups allege that he and his business friends are enriching themselves, while most of the population remains mired in poverty.

His control extends over the palace. The king is surrounded by the government’s watchdogs, overseen by Minister of Royal Affairs Kong Som Ol, an official close to Hun Sen. Sihamoni is closely chaperoned on his few trips outside palace walls, with the media kept away. Although the constitution endows him with considerable powers, these have never been granted.

“I think we can use the words ‘puppet king.’ His power has been reduced to nothing,” says Son Chhay, an opposition member of Parliament and one of the government’s few outspoken critics. “The king must please the prime minister as much as possible in order to survive. It is sad to see.”

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Midwives on motorbikes spread sex sense in Cambodia

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Chum Pao Chenda (R), demand creation officer of a non-profit reproductive health organisation, educates about safe sex (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy)
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Cambodian midwife Ly Siyan (R) shows villagers how to use a contraceptive device (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy)
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Waitresses at a beer garden are educated on the use of a condom in Siem Reap town (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy)
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A poster to educate Cambodian women about contraception (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy)

‎May 28, 2011‎
By Michelle Fitzpatrick (AFP)

CHANLOUNG — Sitting in the shade of a large tree and surrounded by a group of women, Cambodian midwife Ly Siyan holds up a colourful poster displaying a range of contraception options.

She patiently waits for the giggles to subside when she points to a condom, aware that the two dozen women in the village of Chanloung in northwest Siem Reap province have rarely experienced such an open discussion about sex.

Once the 37-year-old has their full attention again, she talks about long-term contraceptive methods and debunks some of the more persistent myths about their side-effects.

For mother-of-two Beun Chem, 27, who wants to hold off having more children so she can focus on running her small shop, the midwife’s explanations are eye-opening.

“I am happy to learn about contraception and reduce some concerns I had. Now I want to try the implant.”

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