By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti needed to do more homework before negotiating with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in Paris today over the world heritage management plan for Preah Vihear.
Otherwise, his stance seeking to delay Cambodia’s plan would have made Thailand look bad, if not making it the bully of Southeast Asia.
Suwit planned to propose a further delay of the World Heritage Committee’s consideration of the Preah Vihear management plan. The minister reasoned that Thailand had only recently received the plan, and a detailed study needed to be made with caution. The management plan apparently involved trespassing into Thai territory, he said.
The two reasons were not convincing enough to back up the Thai proposal to delay the management plan.
Cambodia’s National Committee for World Heritage issued a statement on Sunday arguing against Suwit’s position and saying that the Preah Vihear management plan was submitted to the World Heritage Centre in January 2010. It said the document was made available to all members of the World Heritage Committee, including Thailand, which was then vice chair during the final session of the committee’s meeting in Brasilia, it said.
In fact, minister Suwit himself signed a note agreeing with Sok An on the sidelines of last year’s Brasilia meeting, supporting the World Heritage Committee’s consideration of the Preah Vihear management plan in its 35th session this year. The Thai minister needed a reasonable explanation of why he was reversing that position.
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