Leaders of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began a two day summit in Jakarta Saturday. The organization has made progress in creating an economic trading block, but still faces great challenges in finding common ground on political and security matters.
All the ASEAN heads of state, with the exception of Singapore, are participating in the Jakarta summit. Singapore's prime minister stayed at home to await the results of the election there.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the summit and endorsed ASEAN's recent efforts to mediate peace between two member states, Thailand and Cambodia, that have been fighting since February.
The two countries moved closer to ending an ongoing border conflict Friday, when both sides agreed in principle to accept 15 Indonesian observers in the conflict zone. Thai and Cambodia troops have been exchanging gun and artillery fire in a dispute over an area surrounding an ancient Hindu Khmer Temple that both countries claim.
President Yudhoyono also cited the challenges the region faces, such as soaring food and energy prices, the threat of terrorism and natural disasters that frequently strike in southeast Asia. He said ASEAN needs to become a more coherent and effective force to respond to these threats and maintain peace and stability in the region
The goal of the summit is to continue progress in making ASEAN an effective regional community with binding rules governing economic trade and political and security cooperation.
There has been strong support by all the leaders to create a unified economic trading block. Since 2010, ASEAN members have adhered to a free trade agreement with China, even though there have been some calls to modify the agreement to protect local industries from cheap Chinese imports.
But ASEAN members have been reluctant to enforce its own charter on issues of democracy development, protecting human rights and maintaining regional peace and security.
Carl Thayer is a southeast Asia political analyst with the University of New South Wales in Australia. While he credits Indonesia for its mediation efforts in the Thai-Cambodia conflict, he says ASEAN's inability to impose sanctions on member states that violate the organization's charter continues to limit its effectiveness.
And he says when it comes to mutual security issues, it is hard to see progress other than talk about humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and improving border protection.
"At the moment we have meetings and meeting of officials and have firmed up the defense side by moving it from informal to formal, but there has been no [not] anything done jointly by ASEAN in the defense and security spheres. It is all bilateral, trilateral," said Thayer.
He says while ASEAN's plan for economic integration is on track, when it comes to political and defense issues, the organization is still in the talking stage.
Source: http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/ASEAN-Summit-Highlights-Economic-Gains-Political-Growing-Pains--121563884.html
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thai border villagers back home after clashes
Xinhua
When Wirot Sambookoraw, a villager in Thai-Cambodian border area, arrived home from the temporary shelter on Saturday, he knew he had to deal with the fact that he would have no home at all for the next month.
In the border village of Jinglor, Kantaralak district, Wirot, 44, tried to find something intact in the debris of his bungalow. Finally, he found a bedroom door still useful.
"The provincial government promised us that the damaged bungalows would be rebuilt within a month and the Army agreed to help. I feel much better now," said Wirot.
"At the first sight of my home after the bombing, I was so mad that I hoped our army could take revenge for my loss. But now, on a second thought, I hope it can stop here and there is no more fighting."
The clashes between Thailand and Cambodia started on Feb. 4 and ended on Feb. 7, leaving at least three people dead and dozens of others injured in the Thai side, and thousands of border villagers temporarily homeless.
Jinglor village, only 11 km away from the border, suffered an artillery attack in the first day of the latest round of clashes between the two countries in their chronic territorial dispute over a 4.6-sq-km land near Preah Vihear temple.
The temple, itself a sensitive issue frequently raised by nationalists of both countries, had been ruled by the international court in Hague in 1962 to belong to Cambodia. UNESCO 's enlisting it in the World Culture Heritage list in 2008 accelerated the tension on this issue between Thailand and Cambodia.
A strip of 4.6-sq-km land around the 11th-century temple was claimed by both countries, which led to skirmishes between the two armies during the past years.
This is the first time, however, that this village has been damaged by this kind of clashes, said Wirot.
A villager was killed by the rocket when he was working in the field. "This time the clashes are the biggest," he added. besides, seven huts were destroyed in the village.
An anonymous Thai ranger, who took part in the clashes, echoed Wirot by saying that this was the fiercest crossfire he had ever seen since he was stationed here five years ago.
"Before both sides only used guns, this time we saw rockets and cannons," he said.
Wirot also mentioned that an artillery shell even hit the roof of the school building and exploded at the back yard. That was lucky, he said, "because at the moment the kids were holding sports event right at the front yard. Think about what might have happened..."
When both Thailand and Cambodia are blaming each other for triggering the fresh clashes, the villagers hesitate to make judgment. He said that before the firing some Cambodian soldiers who had wives in this village made phonecalls to their wives, warning them against danger.
"You see, we don't hate each other. Our girls even married their guys," Wirot said.
There were about 1,800 households in the three villages here, including Jinglor, said Wirot, and most of them have been back home Saturday as soon as the Si Sa Ket provincial government announced the situation was stable and the border villagers could go back.
Thousands of the local residents had taken shelters from the possible shellfire since the clashes broke out, and their daily trade with Cambodians had to halt, too.
"We (the Thai and Cambodian border villagers) are in good relations, we never hate each other, even now," said Wirot. "They come to us to buy rice, fruits, cloths, and others, while we go over there for fish and some wood and animals. There is only a narrow river between us. We can come and go freely. But since the clashes we can't do it any more."
In the capital of Bangkok, which is about 700 km away from the border area, thousands of supporters of "yellow-shirts" group were protesting against the government, blaming it for lacking toughness over Preah Vihear issue.
For Wirot, however, "talk for peace" seems always the best way. "If 'red-shirts' want wars, let them come and live here. Then they will know how a war will be like. They will know the consequences, " he said, pointing at his shattered bungalow.
The UN Security Council will hold a closed meeting Monday on the clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in an effort to negotiate a peace deal. The foreign ministers from the two nations, and Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa are expected to participate in and speak to the council.
Maybe this meeting can lend some hope to Wirot, who, worried about his small bungalow, is not aware of the news at all.
Opinion from Thailand on the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand
14/02/2011
Letters to The Bangkok Post
A missed opportunity
Amid the jingoistic ballyhoo surrounding Preah Vihear temple one point has been largely drowned out.
Article 11.3 of the 1972 Unesco World Heritage Convention states that ''the inclusion of a propery situated in a territory, sovereignty or jurisdiction over which is claimed by more than one State shall in no way prejudice the rights of the parties to the dispute''. Thus, any call for delisting is essentially a red herring.
The sane and civilised approach, which briefly looked possible three years ago, would be a joint listing and management plan as per the 2008 World Heritage operational guidelines. Of course, that idea was scuppered by those who are now engaged in a bout of mutual recriminations over the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding.
Not that World Heritage status of itself necessarily solves anything. The Old City of Jerusalem has sat on the endangered list since 1982.
CHRIS JEFFERY
------------------
History of hate
Regarding the letter written by Khun Phuttikiat (Postbag, Feb 13), I strongly agree that delisting is not a solution. However, we have to know the cause. If Prime Minister Abhisit misunderstands the listing of Preah Vihear as the root of conflict, he is totally wrong.
Vengeance toward France and Cambodia has been growing since we lost the case in 1962. France and Cambodia were like father and son, they did what benefited them the most as they also benefited each other, and even performed the conspiracy in front of the respective international courts of justice. Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat even announced his anger and promised to take back what previously belonged to Thailand. The conspiracy is the tap root while the court's decision and our negligence are the rootlets.
Solve this bilaterally and diplomatically - and don't make the same mistake again.
China supports ASEAN [to resolve the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand]
Beijing, Prensa Latina
China: China expressed its support for the efforts of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ease tensions between Cambodia and Thailand, and called on both sides to settle their dispute peacefully.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu said China is willing to work with that regional organization and the international community to solve the border dispute over the sovereignty of the Khmer temple Preah Vihear, which sparked armed clashes recently.
The Chinese Government has been in touch with Cambodian and Thai authorities since the beginning of this latest episode of tension, and has asked them to end military clashes and prevent the situation from deteriorating.
The dispute was renewed in early February, resulting in deaths, injuries and thousands fleeing from border areas. Although the International Court of Justice ruled in favor of Cambodia in 1962, granting that country sovereignty over the 11th-century temple, the border has never been completely demarcated.
The situation became worse in 2008, when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site, and the temple became a tourist attraction.
Arguing will not resolve Preah Vihear temple issue
Thanida Tansubhapol
Bangkok Post
Thailand and Cambodia should take one step back to restore peace at the border and jointly develop the disputed area instead of embarking on a fight to get it all.
What has happened at the border between Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket and Cambodia's Preah Vihear province is a proof that unless Preah Vihear temple and the 4.6 square kilometre overlapping area are permanently resolved, future relations between Phnom Penh and Bangkok will remain troubled.
The war of words between Thailand and Cambodia over the past weeks followed by the armed fighting along the border and then the diplomatic dogfight show that neither Thailand nor Cambodia has gained anything.
The fighting started on the evening of Feb 4 after the foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia had just agreed in the morning during the Joint Commission meeting to keep the peace and avoid violence along the border. They also agreed to let the Joint Boundary Commission resume talks by the end of this month. Things did a 180 degree turn in less than six hours and the successful talks became a failure.
The clashes followed moves by both countries which are trying to claim ownership of the disputed area. The extension of an access road by the Thai military in the disputed area as claimed by the Cambodian army might be the last straw for Phnom Penh.
But a similar construction was also made by Cambodia, according to the Thai army. The long road from the Cambodian side to Keo Sikha Khiri Savara pagoda located in the overlapping zone, not far from Preah Vihear temple, was the evidence.
Despite many protests from the Thai side in the past to see the road project stopped, Phnom Penh has had turned a deaf ear to the call and continued to complete the project.
Understandably, Cambodia was pressured by Thailand's internal political tensions to demolish the two stone tablets that it erected at the pagoda and took down the Cambodian national flag. This series of demands prompted Phnom Penh to be more aggressive against Thai troops. The Thai demands could have been spared had Cambodia not put provocative messages on the stones and intentionally fly the flag.
Investigations are under way as to how the fighting started. But if both sides still continue with military confrontations, more damage cannot be avoided. Until now, the four rounds of firing have caused damage to property and people's lives, especially part of Preah Vihear and Wat Keo Sikha Khiri Savara.
Cambodia tried to get support from the international community including the United Nations Security Council and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations because it expects other countries to show Phnom Penh sympathy, as a smaller country, and put the blame on Thailand.
But the chance is that international or regional organisations like the UN or Asean do not want to play this game. Thailand is lobbying hard to clarify the excuses made by Phnom Penh.
A Thai Foreign Ministry official said the Thai government believes the UNSC will not station forces at the Thai-Cambodian border as requested by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
A similar circumstance occurred in 2008 after Preah Vihear temple was listed as a World Heritage site by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. There was also a conflict over the disputed areas of Ta Muen Tom and Ta Kwai temples located in Surin. The Cambodian government tried to bring in the UN and Asean to settle these issues but finally, they were left to be resolved by bilateral talks.
This time, the Thai government again quickly clarified its position with foreign embassies in Bangkok and the UNSC about what happened and reiterated that it intended to resolve the problem with Cambodia.
The trip by Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to clarify the situation before the UNSC today in New York with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country chairs Asean, are not surprising.
"The meeting is an opportunity to clear up everything, but the Preah Vihear temple issue is a difficult issue for outsiders to understand," the official said.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belongs to Cambodia, but the surrounding lands remain in dispute.
In parallel with the clarification to the UNSC, Thailand will also take the opportunity to demand Unesco delay its consideration of the management plan around Preah Vihear as proposed by Cambodia last year.
In a letter to Unesco director-general Irina Bokova on Feb 5, it noted that the Cambodian armed forces used the temple and its surrounding area as a military base to fire heavy weapons into Thai troops and civilians and as shelter which exposed the temple to grave danger and destruction.
The more Cambodia and Thailand fight, the more it shows the world that this area is not safe for tourists to visit.
Violence could erupt again soon if the countries cannot find a mutually agreed solution for the unsettled area around the temple. The border demarcation will be one way of resolving the problem, but it means both Thailand and Cambodia cannot take all. There are some areas to gain and some areas to lose.
Will it be better if both countries accept the fact and develop a joint management plan to manage the temple and its surrounding so their citizens both can enjoy the benefits that come from world heritage listing?
Much more can be gained with a third party's help
By Pichai Chuensuksawadi
Bangkok Post
Following the border clashes with Cambodia which erupted two weeks ago and ensuing attempts to reach a peaceful resolution, Thailand now finds itself playing on two diplomatic chessboards. Later tonight (Monday night, Bangkok time) we will know the results of the first face-off between Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong as they present their cases to the United Nations Security Council.
The Asean chair, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, will also be there, playing a pivotal role in game one, as well as game two - the "urgent" meeting of Asean foreign ministers on Feb 22 in Jakarta, aimed at facilitating a resolution.
In New York today, the UNSC will hear two key messages - apart from statements from both sides that "they shot first". Thailand will state that the Cambodian attacks indiscriminately damaged civilian property and killed one civilian while Cambodian troops used Preah Vihear temple and its immediate surroundings as a military base to fire into Thai troops and civilians and as shelter, which exposed the temple to grave danger and destruction. Cambodia, on the other hand, will insist that "this is a war" that cannot be resolved bilaterally but that a resolution can be achieved with the presence of a third party.
Like it or not, Cambodia has managed to internationalise the dispute. From an Asean perspective, Phnom Penh can cite Article 28 of the Asean Charter which allows it to seek "the right of recourse to modes of peaceful settlement" contained in Article 33 of the United Nations Charter. Under this UN article, the UNSC shall call on the parties to first settle their dispute and seek a solution "by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice". The Security Council has already called on Thailand and Cambodia to resolve their differences through these means.
But given the two differing positions of Thailand and Cambodia on the prospects of bilateral talks resolving the dispute, and the Asean chair's proactive role in offering assistance, the UNSC can today rely on the UN Charter's Article 52 and 53 which opens the door for "regional arrangements and agencies" to play a role in dispute settlements.
Since Thailand and Cambodia are members of Asean, the UNSC today could urge both parties to, according to the UN Charter, "make every effort to achieve pacific settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies before referring them to the Security Council". Or the UNSC, after listening to ministers Kasit and Hor Namhong, could (again under the UN Charter) suggest that the "regional arrangement and agencies", that is Asean, assist in resolving the dispute.
The key question is what decision will the UNSC adopt today? It is likely that the UNSC will recognise that the dispute is a threat to regional peace (not international as Cambodia has portrayed things) and that both countries find a peaceful and amicable solution soon. But at the same time, the UNSC could suggest that any unresolved issue be open to a third party's good offices, conciliation and mediation while adhering to the UN and Asean charters. In other words: go back and sort out your problems peacefully and if you have problems, consult Mr Marty (and Asean) who should report back when progress is made.
If this is the gist of the UNSC decision, unlike other decisions of UN bodies, it is binding and must be respected and implemented by the disputing parties. Therefore Thailand needs to think ahead and hard, not only of how it will react to the results of chess game one but how it can manage in chess game number two - the urgent Asean meeting of foreign ministers in Jakarta on Feb 22.
An Asean role in assisting to resolve disputes among member states in not really new. In 1997 when the dual premiership arrangement in Cambodia fell apart the Asean Troika was formed comprising Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Troika was assisted by participants of the Asean Regional Forum, including the United Nations, which formed a Friends of Cambodia Group, which played a supporting role, in overcoming the problem.
There is no doubt that Thailand and Cambodia have their national interests to protect. But at the same time, in this period of change, they are also members of Asean and must have the interests of Asean at heart. An effective Asean - with the means and an effective and accepted mechanism to resolve disputes, especially political disputes that erupt into violence - is good for its individual members and the region as a whole. Such a mechanism will help boost confidence in the region because it can sort out problems in its own backyard among members. This can only help boost its competitiveness in the medium and long terms.
Clearly this is a difficult challenge, not only for Thailand and Cambodia, but all its members because it involves balancing national and regional interests. Ironically, the current dispute provides a golden opportunity for its individual members to chart the course in open terrain and build this dispute mechanism.
Already the role played by the Indonesian foreign minister as the Asean chair is a proactive and positive one. But how can the role of the Asean chair - and even that of the Asean secretary-general - be truly enhanced and taken further as a mechanism of "conciliation and mediation" according to Article 22-24 of the Asean Charter? If such a mechanism can be forged, the next question is what is the relationship between this mechanism and the United Nations Security Council or the United Nations secretary-general?
Thailand needs to look ahead at these issues and - as it has in the past - play a key role in shaping this process or mechanism that will help shape and forge the future of Asean. Like it or not, the ball will be in Thailand's court as chess game two commences in a week's time. Of course, the current dispute, the meeting of the UNSC and the meeting in Jakarta next week, is more than a game.
Thailand must adopt a more meaningful and proactive role. It needs to be more forward-thinking as it is in the country's national interest in order to achieve peace and prosperity along its borders and within the region.
My Rights, My Responsibility (ICCPR) Series
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Ratified, acceded by UN General Assembly in December 1966, entry into force March 1976. Cambodia ratified the ICCPR (thus, a part of Cambodia’s body of laws) and is obligated to submit regular reports to the United Nations.
PART IV
Article 34
Article 34
1. When a vacancy is declared in accordance with article 33 and if the term of office of the member to be replaced does not expire within six months of the declaration of the vacancy, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify each of the States Parties to the present Covenant, which may within two months submit nominations in accordance with article 29 for the purpose of filling the vacancy.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall prepare a list in alphabetical order of the persons thus nominated and shall submit it to the States Parties to the present Covenant. The election to fill the vacancy shall then take place in accordance with the relevant provisions of this part of the present Covenant.
3. A member of the [Human Rights] Committee elected to fill a vacancy declared in accordance with article 33 shall hold office for the remainder of the term of the member who vacated the seat on the Committee under the provisions of that article.
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