By CARE

Who is the winner?

by Soratha Chan

The entrance of Preah Vihear temple situates ontop of a 525-metre-cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains in the Preah Vihear Province of Cambodia.

Preah Vihea temple became a hot headline in the press, both local and international. First, the news was about the temple which was listed as world heritage status. Then, it was about the dispute around Cambodia-Thai border. As far as I know, the dispute occurred on the 15^th of June, nine days after the temple was honoured as world heritage status by UNESCO.

The dispute is centred around Cambodia’s 11th century Hindu temple Preah Vihear. The World Heritage inscription was cause for celebration in Cambodia, but it sparked protest in Thailand. Thailand fears the new status will undermine the country’s claim to nearby land. Thailand’s foreign minister resigned after being accused of jeopardizing the country’s claims to land near an ancient Cambodian temple. In Cambodia, the residents around the temple also fled away to safety place while the troops from both sides are increasing.

I read in the news that the Thai troop movement followed the arrest of three Thai citizens by Cambodia. A Thai Buddhist monk, a woman, and a man apparently managed to evade into Cambodia earlier on Tuesday. Then, the three were released to Thai authority on Tuesday afternoon. However, the Thai troops remain along the border.

Although I am way from the country, I feel so sad for the families of the troops and the residents around the temple. The soldiers have to leave their families behind and go to the conflict area. Ten years ago, my father went to the battle field when I did not join school yet. He was a general physician then. I did not know anything during that time. I just saw my father wearing a uniform, and then he got on a big truck with other soldiers. My mother was crying her eyes. People around told me that my father went to the battle against Khmer Rouge, but I did not know what it was. As a child, I thought it was a happy place to play because there were many persons going there. Luckily, my father came back safely. My mother cried one more time.

Historical Conflict

In January 2003, there was a riot in Phnom Penh. Thai embassy and Thai-own business were destroyed in Phnom Penh. The riots were prompted by an article in the Cambodian Rasmei Angkor newspaper. The article alleged that a Thai actress, Suvanant Kongying, had said that Cambodia had stolen Angkor, and that she would not appear in Cambodia until it was returned to Thailand. The Thai government sent military aircraft to Cambodia to evacuate Thai nationals, while Thais demonstrated outside the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok. Historically, the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia is extremely fluid. In 19^th Century, northern Cambodia including Angkor was ruled by a Siamese, former Thailand, tributary state. Angkor’s being subject to a foreign power made it a potent and sensitive national symbol from that time on.

If there is gun shooting….

I think everyone can visualize what will happen next if there is gun shooting. There will be loosers and winners and both sides will get injured. People will get killed. Children will become orphans. Women will become widows. However, the responsible parties might forget one thing. The Preah Vihear Temple itself might be damaged. The winner and the Looser will got nothing besides the broken-down place to develop after the war. I believe that fighting might not last only one or two days. It will take a lot of time and people lives. Why don’t the leaders find a best solution for each others?

Win win situation

I think Cambodian and Thai politicians should sit and talk together. When there is an open-hearted negotiation, people can help each other for the solution. There are many things that Cambodians and Thais can do together beside fighting for the temple. We still can do business among each others and be good neighbours. Both countries should concentrate more on those internal issues: corruption, poverty, terrorism, and economy. There is no looser, but only winners. People who are doing business in Cambodia or Thailand will be free from loosing. One of my friends who is interning in Thailand told me that “my father want me to go back home because of security problem.” However, my friend remains in Thailand with expectation of peace in both countries. Last weekend, I also met one Thai lady living in Bonn, Germany, for nearly 10 years. I am glad that she talked to me although I was introduced as Cambodian. We chatted for 10 minutes. When we left, we waved our hands to each others. She even smiled and said, “See you again”. I hope the two countries will have this opportunity like me.

Cambodian and Thai soldier were chatting on Saturday 19th in the pagoda next to Preah Vihear temple. Photo: Kounila Keo

As I mentioned in my previous blog, conflict partly contributed to the food crisis in Ethiopia. I expect we can learn from this and avoid conflict. Like in Europe, although those countries fought each others during the world war, they remain being friends right now. They can strengthen relation and do business. Now, I am older than the time my father going to battle. I know that war is not a good thing to play with.

Tags: Angkor Wat, Asia, Cambodia, Journalism

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 16:00 and is filed under Projects Asia, Soratha Chan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.