Cambodia 'opposes' bid to delay temple plan

By The Nation on Sunday

Cambodia has voiced opposition to a Thai proposal to delay Unesco's bid to consider the management plan for Preah Vihear Temple, Suwit Khunkitti, the Natural Resources and Environment Minister, says.

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.