The UN’s top court ruled yesterday that the area around a flashpoint ancient temple on the Thai border belongs to Cambodia and that any Thai security forces there should leave.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) interpreted a 1962 ruling saying that “Cambodia had sovereignty over the whole territory of the promontory of Preah Vihear,” Judge Peter Tomka said.
“In consequence, Thailand was under an obligation to withdraw from that territory Thai military or police forces or other guards or keepers who were stationed there,” Tomka said.
Photo: EPA
At least 28 people have been killed in outbreaks of violence since 2011 over the ownership of the patch of border land next to the 900-year-old Preah Vihear Temple.
“It’s good enough,” Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong, who was at the hearing in The Hague, told reporters.
Last year, the court ruled that both countries should withdraw forces from around the ancient Khmer temple, which is perched on a clifftop in Cambodia, but is more easily accessed from the Thai side.
Cambodia and Thailand finally pulled hundreds of soldiers from the disputed zone in July last year, replacing them with police and security guards.
Ahead of the ruling by the Netherlands-based court, there were fears that the decision would revive nationalist tensions and spark renewed clashes.
Tens of thousands of people were displaced in the 2011 fighting, leading Cambodia to ask the court for an interpretation of an original 1962 ruling.
Thailand does not dispute Cambodia’s ownership of the temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, but both sides laid claim to an adjacent 4.6km2 piece of land.
Leaders of the two countries appealed for calm before the ruling by 17 international judges.
The court’s decision is binding and cannot be appealed.
The mood on both sides of the temple was tense ahead of the verdict, with tourists still allowed to visit the ancient structure via Cambodian territory, but journalists denied access.
The Cambodian army denied local media reports that it had sent military reinforcements to the area.
On her Facebook page, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra vowed on Sunday to “consult” with Cambodia after the decision to avoid any conflict, adding that her government would make a statement following the verdict.
The ruling, which was broadcast live on Thai TV, is fraught with danger for her government, which is already grappling with mass street demonstrations against a controversial political amnesty bill.
The country’s opposition is now likely to direct public anger toward Yingluck, whose divisive brother, former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is close to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
RSS