April 27, 2011
Xinhua
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen Wednesday urged Indonesia to send observers to Cambodian side to monitor and ensure permanent cease-fire in the disputed area despite disagreement from Thailand.
"I appeal to Indonesia, current ASEAN chair, to send observers to Cambodian side despite disagreement from Thailand," Hun Sen made the remarks during a conference of Cambodian Women Association for Peace and Development.
Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers agreed in February to accept Indonesian observers stationed along their common border to monitor a cease-fire. But Thailand's military insisted the issue be resolved bilaterally and rejected the involvement of Indonesia, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Cambodian and Thai troops have clashes for five straight days from April 22-26 at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province and on April 26 at the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, the World Heritage site.
Hun Sen said that "in these days of the fightings, Cambodia has used exercised utmost restraint, we just used small weapons, not heavy weapons, but on April 26, Cambodia began to use heavy weapons to defend our infantrymen." "Our patience is limited, but our use of heavy weapons is still in low level and small scale," he said.
The clashes left at least a dozen of both sides' troops killed and more than 30 injured.
The fighting has not only cost lives, damaged to the temples, but also forced tens of thousands of civilians of both countries flee for safe shelters.
The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.
Although the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Temple of Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia, the row over the 4.6-square-km territory around the temple has never been resolved.
The conflict has occurred just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008, since then both sides have built up military forces along the border, and periodic clashes happened, resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.
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