Cambodia, Thailand agree to joint border patrols

Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to jointly patrol the areas along the Preah Vihear border following today’s bilateral talks, according to the breaking news from AP, AFP and Bangkok Post.

This would prevent another round of fatal clashes between the two countries, the three newspapers reported Thai army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd as saying.

“Major General Srey Deok, commander of Cambodian troops in the disputed border area, said the Thai and Cambodian generals had agreed that soldiers would not fire their weapons, but troops would remain in the area.” (AFP)

Meanwhile, a separate Bangkok Posrt article reported that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs was collective more evidence about the PMN2 landmine that two Thai troops stepped on at the disputed Thai-Cambodian border on October 3 and would forward this case to the United Nations (UN) for inspection under the Ottawa Convention.

Thailand argued that the Russian-made landmine was recently planted by Cambodian troops in the Thai territory.

The case would not further worsen the border tension, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat.

Photos of Thai-Cambodian border conflict following Oct 15 shooting

Here are my collection of photos of the Thai-Cambodian border spat following the Oct 15 gunfire exchange, which led to two at least (maybe three) Cambodian soldiers being killed and several others injured on both sides.  I’ve collected them from around the web.  If you find others, please leave a link in the comment area of this post!  Thank you in advance!

Latest news following gunfire between Cambodia and Thailand

A calm morning has been reported as Cambodia and Thailand resumed bilateral talks following the Oct 15 fighting, according to the Thai News Agency (TNA).

A third Cambodian soldier was found dead at about 4:00AM (local time), wrote Cambodge Soir today.

Thailand is still asking Cambodia to resolve the border dispute through bilateral negotiation, the newspaper reported.

While Thais are, according to ABC News, fleeing Cambodia leaving their business behind, Cambodians who live near Preah Vihear are evacuating their housesholds for fear of further shooting, Sinchew Daily reported.

Thai businesses like Samart, Siam Cement, SCG and Siam Commercial are being concerned about their transaction in Cambodia, wrote the Bangkok Post.  Also, the Thai News Agency (TNA) wrote that trade at Rong Klua market in Sa Kaeo on the Thai-Cambodian border went quiet on Thursday owing to Cambodian traders’ fear of the border dispute, while tours to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom have been cancelled.

The gunfire exchange is worrying the UN and Singapore, according to Xinhua, ABC News and Thai News Agency (TNA).  Both Singapore and UN chief Ban Ki-Moon called on Cambodia and Thailand to settle their border flareup through bilateral negotiations.  Indonesia suggested that ASEAN discussed the conflict in the next summit to be held next week in Beijing, reported Xinhua.

A BBC reporter believes that the the border spat between the two nations will take time.  He’s also pessimistic about bilateral negotiations.  “As Thaksin Shinawatra’s brother-in-law, any concessions [Thai PM Somchai Wongsawat] makes to Cambodia will arouse suspicions that he is serving the interests of his family before those of the country.”

Related news articles:

• Businesses say border fight could hurt trade, The Phnom Penh Post (Oct 16), http://tinyurl.com/4vulr4
• Govt: Asean won’t take sides, Bangkok Post (Oct 16), http://tinyurl.com/48kpee
• In photos: ‘Cambodia - Thailand Border’, M&C (Oct 15), http://tinyurl.com/3r9ho5
• More than 400 Thais flee Cambodia after border clashes, Channel News Asia (Oct 16), http://tinyurl.com/44jw3n
• Thai, Cambodian armies to hold disputed border talks, Gulfnews (Oct 16), http://tinyurl.com/4c2oml
• Thai-Cambodian border quiet as two sides meet, Bangkok Post (Oct 16), http://tinyurl.com/5y8uva
• Thai and Cambodian military chiefs in talks to calm tensions, The Guardian (Oct 16), http://tinyurl.com/3eleej
• Thai, Cambodian Military to Meet After Border Clashes (Update1), Bloomberg (Oct 16), http://tinyurl.com/4whg97
• Thai, Cambodian officials hold peace talks, AP (Oct 16), http://tinyurl.com/4aw92s

Number of people evicted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

As usual, i started my day today with news reading.  The first piece i went trough today is The Cambodian Press Review by Multimedia Consulting & Development (MCD) which i receive daily.  One of the headlines goes, “UN concnerned over forced eviction.”  Two newspapers were reviewed: Khmer-language Khmer Sthapana and The Phnom Penh Post. They reported UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who said on the World Heritage Day that all development must not affect the livelihood of the poor, expressing his concern over the evictions Cambodian were facing.

What shocked me the most is the number of people evicted in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.  “According to a UN-Habitat report, as of Aug 2007, 15,000 Phnom Penh families had been relocated in the name of development.” The number is huge, isn’t it?  Besides, not a single days in the past months have I gone without coming across land issues in the media, local or international.  I then started wondering if this had happened in Japan or the United States too when their economy began to grow.

I went right straight to the Cambodia-based UN-Habitat website but found no such report the news review mentioned there.  If you have one or know where to get it online, please post a link in the comment section of this post! Thanks in advance!

Hearts apart, house apart!

If you ask why, its a unique solution made on a divorce by a 40-year-old couple in Prey Veng province of Cambodia. That’s their own choice; litigation is not, Koh Santepheap Daily, a Khmer language newspaper reported today.

To read the news from the newspaper in Khmer, click here! Note: best viewed in IE.

Review in English on M&C here!

UPDATE (Oct 7):  So finally The Phnom Penh Post, one of the most leading English-language newspaper in Cambodia also reported the story.  “Arguing couple split up by sawing their house in half” (Oct 7)

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