Noppadon denies compromise

Obviously this is aggressive and arrogance from the Thai foreign minister and Thailand. The attempt to interfering in the registration of Preah Vihea Temple as World Heritage Site is a violation of Cambodia sovereignty. The Preah Vihea is belong to Cambodia so as the land surounding the Temple. Thailand had moved its borders deep into Cambodia in thousand squar kilometres already and thousand of statues were stolen by Thailand.

Thailand will not compromise with Cambodia in negotiations over land around Preah Vihear temple, which Phnom Penh wants to register as a Unesco World Heritage Site, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said yesterday. ''I [as foreign minister] will not let this country give up a square inch of territory to Cambodia,'' Mr Noppadon said.

The ancient Khmer temple, which is on the border in Si Sa Ket province, was ruled by the International Court of Justice to belong to Cambodia in 1962.

The area around the temple remains in dispute, with the two countries' claims overlapping.

To register the temple, known as Khao Phra Viharn in Thai, as a World Heritage Site might require Thailand giving up some disputed land to Cambodia.

Mr Noppadon's strong statement came amid rumours Thailand might compromise in exchange for benefits for some politicians, including petroleum concessions in other disputed areas.

The reports follow the minister's recent sudden transfer of Virachai Plasai, director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department and head of the negotiation team, to an inactive post.

Mr Virachai is seen by senior officials at the ministry as the most capable person for the job.

Mr Noppadon yesterday strongly denied the speculation. He said the issue of Preah Vihear had nothing to do with a petroleum agreement.

The World Heritage issue was sensitive for both countries, he said, and he sympathised with Cambodia, which was due for a general election in July _ the same time the World Heritage Committee is to reconsider Phnom Penh's unilateral request for listing Preah Vihear.

The minister said Thailand and Cambodia would reach an agreement on the exploitation of natural resources in disputed areas. Negotiations were underway and should be finalised soon.

''Thailand and Cambodia have 26,000 square kilometres of disputed areas and this requires a joint agreement because there are oil and natural gas deposits worth about five trillion baht in the areas,'' he said.

''The dispute deserves joint management and government-to-government actions.

''(Negotiations) have made good progress. The issue will be discussed with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An as soon as possible.