Cambodian PM gives Thailand border ultimatum
Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:28pm IST
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By Ek Madra
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen gave Thailand an
ultimatum on Monday to withdraw troops from a disputed stretch of jungle-clad
border within 24 hours or his forces would turn the area into a "death zone".
"Thai troops must withdraw from Cambodian land by tomorrow at the latest,"
Hun Sen told reporters after meeting Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat
in Phnom Penh. "We will not allow them to occupy our land."
The Thai army denied any incursion by its soldiers near the 900-year-old
Preah Vihear temple, which sits on the natural escarpment dividing the two
nations and which has been a source of enmity for decades.
"Invasion? What invasion when the land is claimed by both sides?" army
spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told Reuters.
Tensions have been high since July when around 1,000 soldiers on both sides
faced off only yards apart in trenches dug into a hillside that until 10 years
ago was under the control of remnants of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot's
guerrilla army.
The area is still littered with landmines, and two Thai soldiers lost legs
earlier this month the day after a brief exchange of fire in which soldiers
from both sides were wounded.
Cambodian Deputy Defence Minister General Neang Phat said more troops were
heading to the area to oppose up to 500 Thai soldiers who had crossed the
border.
"We are building up our troops at the border."
Hun Sen said 84 Thai soldiers were "camping" on Cambodian soil about 30
metres (yards) away from his own forces.
At the heart of the dispute is 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub near the
temple, which the International Court of Justice awarded to Cambodia in
1962, a ruling that has rankled many in Thailand ever since.
This year's flaring of the long-running argument started when protest groups
seeking to overthrow the Thai government criticised Bangkok's backing of
Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear as a U.N. World Heritage site.
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