Opinion: Preah Vihear matter is the Cambodia business and UN interests

Preah Vihear belongs to UNESCO now

By Kok Sap -26 June 2009

Besides being a doing better member in economic in the ASEAN sphere, Thailand has miserably failed to uphold and up lift human dignity.  It has become a lightning rod for the insecure and disharmonious ASEAN goal. From its 227 year history and at the whim of Siam’s Chakri ruling family, Siam has continuously and pervasively viewed Cambodia and its people as a lesser equal.

Given facts in war history, Cambodia has endured the death threshold and Hell Gate for the past centuries. For now, Cambodia is different and determined to survive at all cost and no matter what. 

All can see after it’s failed to host the scheduled ASEAN Summit couple months ago, Bangkok has incessantly picked fights over Preah Vihear under its disguise of domestic political turmoil and socialist class struggles under the stare of modern democracy and human rights. It is uncivil of Bangkok to see no equal in justice for others.

Few days ago, Bangkok Post illogical brain, has ineptly accused the World Heritage Committee of colluding with Cambodia to list Preah Vihear with World Heritage Site without its approval. Thailand has ranted and stepped on too many toes in regarding to Cambodia’s individuality.

Thong Duang-evil doer to his father in law King Tak Sin and Khmer people

Before the UNESCO accepted Preah Vihear inscription, in record, Cambodia did ask and receive support from the previous governments respectively. But up to last year; the Yellowed Prem lackey government, under PM Abhisit, had chastised and rescinded the signed Communiqué and 2000 Memorandum of Understanding which Thailand agreed for Cambodia proposal to inscribe Preah Vihear with World Heritage Committee days before UNESCO held its annual meeting in Canada. 

During the 70′s, General Prem was a pointed contact for the armed operatives along borderlines with Cambodia. Then when he was handpicked by Bhumibol for Prime Minister Job, he had secretly funded and armed many Khmer refugees living in Aranya Prathet camps and others to infiltrate and scout intelligence inside Democratic Kampuchea border. Most of General Prem private ex-armed scouts are now living abroad and can attest to how an evil doer General Prem was.

Presently UNESCO is honoring Preah Vihear under Cambodia ownership alone as the heritage site for world humanity. Now Preah Vihear matter, a purely Cambodia agenda, has enraged Bangkok leaders to misbehave and badger UNESCO officials at meeting in Spain.

Given Thailand insane bully records, otherwise, categorically the 1904-1907 maps was not the best interest of Cambodia.  It’s done without Cambodia indulgence. Besides Cambodia have rights to take Siam to world court over its land beyond Preah Vihear locality.  Historically and anthropologically Cambodia possesses facts to prove like its claim as it did so in 1962 Preah Vihear case at Hague Court.

In effect of international laws, again Cambodia shall challenge Thailand in court over its genocidal crimes committed on high plateau Khmer struggles during General Tak Sin and his best buddy General Thong Duang later turned his killer and Cambodia generational enemy.

Nonetheless, Cambodia humbly accepted and did not demand Thailand to compensate and return all of its properties prior to 1962 Court rulings.

Most vivid and gruesome act against humanity in 1979 under Kriengsak -Prem government, Siam herded and dumped 43,000-47,000 Khmer refugees to die at Preah Vihear site.

As one of the signatories, Thailand has habitually disregarded and flagrantly violated the 1962 International Court of Justice, the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention, the 1945 Universal Human Right charter and the 1991 Paris Peace Accord.

In records show Thailand abuses refugees from following countries: Cambodia, Viet Nam, Laos, and Burma.  The most recent that caught the world eyes was Thailand military abused Rohimsa and Hmong refugees. It’s all well and understood why Yala-Pattani ethnic religious minority fights hard to separate from Bangkok axis of evil.

The legal ground is swelling against Chakri family and its appointed government. More people of Siam origin begin to see Bangkok evil doers and evil doings.

Yet no shame, Siam aka Thailand continues to cry over the spilled milk and have a nerve to accuse UNESCO of wrong doing in accepting Preah Vihear nomination from Cambodia as world heritage site. Obviously it seems to forget the world has gone round and round and what goes up must comes down tumbling according Isaac Newton gravity law. Gradually the ugly truth reveals to the world on the ruling family and its underlinks.

According to UNESCO’s Cultural Landscapes definition:

• (6): Cultural landscapes are cultural properties and represent the “combined works of nature and of man” designated in Article 1 of the Convention. They are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social, economic and cultural forces, both external and internal,
• (7) They should be selected on the basis both of their outstanding universal value and of their representativity in terms of a clearly defined geo-cultural region and also for their capacity to illustrate the essential and distinct cultural elements of such regions,
• (8) The term “cultural landscape” embraces a diversity of manifestations of the interaction between humankind and its natural environment, and
• (10) Definition & Categories (i) The most easily identifiable is the clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man. This embraces garden and parkland landscapes constructed for aesthetic reasons which are often (but not always) associated with religious or other monumental buildings and ensembles and (iii) The final category is the associative cultural landscape. The inscription of such landscapes on the World Heritage List is justifiable by virtue of the powerful religious, artistic or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent. Thus Cambodia has done no wrong and the answer is NO to Bangkok Post opinion.

So in short, Preah Vihear criteria fits ICOMOS categories and is in compliance with above cited UNESCO regulations. For the interest of ASEAN charter spirit and harmony of 2015 goal and UNESCO, Thailand ought to be not too bully but to the least be respectful, if not helpful, to Cambodia internal affairs and World Heritage Site interests.

To date Thailand and its paid press keeps instigating a full scale war with Cambodia. This is not to settle score over Preah Vihear inscription with World Heritage Site but to show the hind side of Siam long overdue hypocrisy.

This remains to see if the world continued to turn its blind eye toward Thailand characteristically ploy in blaming the dog in order to kill the dog. But for Cambodia rights and dignity, Thailand shall beware of the cornered dog reaction.