Nationalists risk making us a laughing stock

August 19, 2010
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

The ICJ judgement is final and without appeal. Many nationalists might not like the ruling but raising the old argument these days in an attempt to do away with the MoU is absolutely ridiculous.

Nationalists, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva amongst them, should stop their rhetoric that the Kingdom has never accepted the French-made, 1:200,000-scale Thailand-Cambodia border map, otherwise it could turn the country into an international laughing stock.

The map was a key piece of evidence used by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in reaching its ruling in 1962 that the Hindu Khmer temple of Preah Vihear was situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia.

The nationalists have demanded that Abhisit's government revoke the memorandum of understanding on boundary demarcation signed with Cambodia in 2000 on the grounds that the pact recognised a map that in their view Thailand had never accepted.

Abhisit said he also believed Thailand had never recognised the map, but he cannot revoke the MoU since it was signed by the then Democrat-led government of Chuan Leekpai. If it had been signed by ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra's government, like the 2001 maritime MoU with Cambodia, perhaps this government would not hesitate to scrap it.

Abhisit said the 2000 MoU recognised all other French-made maps with the exception of the one indicating the boundary line at the Dangrek mountain range, in which Preah Vihear Temple is situated.
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