Saturday, March 5, 2011

Thai PM Insists On Bilateral Talks On Border Issues With Cambodia

BANGKOK, March 5 (Bernama) -- Thai Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has insisted that negotiations on Thai-Cambodian border issues are to be held bilaterally, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

The Thai premier was responding to his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen's recent remarks that Phnom Penh did not support bilateral negotiations and had called for participation in the talks by Indonesia or a neutral party.

Abhisit said everyone at a recent Asean foreign ministers' meeting supported bilateral negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia; while Indonesia would facilitate the bilateral talks, noting that bilateral negotiations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh can be under existing bilateral mechanisms, including the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission, the General Border Committee or the Regional Border Committee.

The Thai Democrat premier also denied Hun Sen's recent remarks, quoting the special envoy of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as saying that Thailand sought the revocation of the World Heritage listing for the ancient Preah Vihear Temple along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Abhisit insisted that Thailand did not mention any delisting of the 11th century Hindu temple but had had told the UNESCO special envoy that attempts to proceed with a world heritage management plan by Cambodia unilaterally could cause more problems.

-- BERNAMA

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