Saturday, April 23, 2011

UNESCO envoy calls for dialogue between Thailand, Cambodia

23 Apr, 2011

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Friday that the special envoy from UNESCO asked Thailand and Cambodia to hold talks before the next UNESCO meeting in Paris.

Speaking at a press conference after the latest round of border clash between the two countries, Kasit unveiled that Koichiro Matsuura, the United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) special envoy, called for the two countries to hold bilateral dialogue before the UNESCO world heritage meeting in May.

He said Thailand agreed with the suggestion on condition that consideration of the management plan of the disputed Preah Vihear Temple should be postponed until border demarcation is fully completed.

The relation between Thailand and Cambodia has been even more strained since UNESCO listed the 900-year-old Preah Vihear Temple as the World Heritage Site in 2008. Last year, Thai delegation protested against Cambodia's proposed management plan for the temple, resulting in the UNESCO meeting in Brazil postponing the decision.

Thailand and Cambodia blamed each other for triggering the deadly clash on Friday morning in disputed border areas in Pa Nom Dong Rak district of Thailand's Surin province, killing at least three soldiers from each side.

Source: Xinhua

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