KI Media: “Abhisit rules out talks with Hun Sen at Asean” plus 24 more

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva indicated yesterday he had no intention of holding talks on the border clashes with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Asean Summit in Indonesia.

"Don't forget that I met Hun Sen four times late last year, and then in February clashes erupted," Mr Abhisit said.

"And I insist that each clash is not an accident. It is an intention to internationalise the issue."

The clashes are part of Cambodia's strategy in dealing with territorial disputes, according to the premier.

He also doubted Cambodia's claim that the fighting continued because in part it could not control its troops.

Mr Abhisit said Thailand was making preparations to face Cambodia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has asked Thailand and Cambodia to give statements on May 30-31.

Cambodia has asked the court to interpret its 1962 verdict on the Preah Vihear temple and issue an urgent ruling, including an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Thai troops from the land surrounding the temple and a ban on Thai military activity in the area.

In the 1962 verdict, the court said: "Thailand is under an obligation to withdraw any military or police forces, or other guards or keepers, stationed by her at the temple, or in its vicinity on Cambodian territory."

Cambodia wants the ICJ to interpret the term "vicinity" mentioned in the ruling.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the Thai team to the ICJ will be led by Thai ambassador to the Hague, Virachai Plasai.

It will comprise three lawyers from France, Canada and Australia, chief of Treaties and Legal Affairs Department Ittiporn Boonpracong, and legal officials who will act as secretaries.

"The special legal committee will go to the Hague a few days before the court hearing to meet the three foreign advisers and prepare a statement for Mr Virachai to deliver to the court.

"They will have only three or four hours to clarify the Cambodian complaints with the 15 ICJ committees," Mr Kasit said.

"We think the court will make a decision after the New Year as at least five of 15 ICJ committees' terms will end and there will be changes in their members," Mr Kasit said.

Meanwhile, the House committee on foreign affairs yesterday voiced an objection to the government's plan to face Cambodia in the ICJ.

Pheu Thai MP Torpong Chaiyasarn, head of the committee, said the government should instead opt for negotiations to resolve the dispute or let a new administration handle the issue.

Mr Kasit hit back at Mr Torpong for making the suggestion.

"The suggestion is misleading because the public may think the government has done something wrong, and, therefore, has to go to the ICJ. The committee should not talk about this issue to the media directly.

"If it has any questions, it should ask the government for clarifications first," Mr Kasit said.

In a statement issued today, the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers accused Thailand of threatening peace and stability in the region with its war-like stance, and damaging Preah Vihear.

"For that reason, all neighbouring countries together with the international community should make joint efforts to put an end to this dangerous policy so that we can enjoy a lasting peace and stability in Southeast Asia," it said.

"Thai leaders should know that the world of the 21st century needs a new vision, a vision of peace rooted in justice, a vision of a world bound together in intentional community dedicated to the well-being of all people.

"Peace rooted in justice requires the nurturing of a culture of peace in homes, communities, nations and across the world," the statement said.

The brief flare-up of fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops that killed 10 people last month was largely portrayed as a dispute over which country rightfully controls a Hindu-Buddhist temple that has stood along the border between the two for nearly a millennium.

Close observers of the region, however, explain that the recent troop buildups and violence are actually the product of a primarily manufactured conflict driven by nationalists scrambling to maintain a hold on power in both countries.

"Basically what you have here is a war of convenience between two governments that would both benefit from a skirmish that has almost no potential to escalate into a full-blown war," says Ernest Z. Bower, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington.

Bower, who spoke with Trend Lines earlier this week, said the situation is being driven by domestic politics, predominantly in Thailand, where the government is "trying to appease the military because of recent political tensions."

An ongoing divide in Bangkok has "Yellow Shirt" nationalists supportive of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva pitted against the country's "Red Shirt" pro-democracy activists.

The military, meanwhile, is the "final arbiter of who will run Thailand," said Bower, noting that Vejjajiva is expected over the coming days to announce a schedule for Thai elections in July.

In the interim, the prime minister is not only using the border tension to "give the military a nail to hit," he's attempting to exploit it as a means of unifying politically divided Thais.

"The Red Shirts, who significantly outnumber the Yellow Shirts, may win an election if there's nothing interesting going on, so a war against Cambodia certainly helps the current government, which is part of the Yellow Shirt establishment," he said.

Similar motivation -- albeit driven by entirely different circumstances -- is at play in Cambodia, where President Hun Sen is keen on using the military action to advance the prospects of his son, Hun Manet, a Cambodian army general overseeing the troop buildup.

"Hun Manet is a West Point-trained military officer, and Hun Sen is grooming him as a successor," said Bower, who added that "[seeing] Thais kill Cambodians on the border enrages Cambodians and really helps unite them as a people. It also battens down any opposition to Hun Sen."

While such reasoning might quell fears of a wider conflict between the two countries, it has done little to keep other regional players from feeling on edge. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose rotating presidency is currently held by Indonesia, has attempted to exert diplomatic pressure on both countries to stop sending more troops to the disputed border region. The pressure may be superfluous though, as Bower notes that neither country "is interested in a prolonged conflict at the border."

"I think the end game is the Thai election," he said. "Although there will be continued disagreements, I think the violence will end after July or August, and we'll see this issue disappear from the headlines by the end of the year."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa was asked last week whether he would try to arrange for the Thai and Cambodian premiers to meet at the Asean Summit to be held here later this week. His prompt response was: "No, I don't want to wait that long. The sooner the better."

The bilateral, top-level meeting between Abhisit Vejjajiva and Hun Sen has yet to materialise after a series of military skirmishes. Whether they will sit down and hold serious talks here later this week remains to be seen.

On the eve of the Asean Summit, the Thai-Cambodian armed conflict threatens to seriously undermine the regional grouping's credibility. The  "Asean Option " to resolve conflicts between member countries may prove to be ineffective. The lack of an effective dispute settlement mechanism, despite the existence of the much-heralded Asean Charter, will continue to weaken the regional grouping.

Foreign Minister Natalegawa told a group of Asian editors from the Asia News Network (ANN) here last week: "As the host, we don't want the summit to be a single-issue gathering about the Thai-Cambodian confrontation. That's why I am pursuing peace aggressively for both countries. We have several other issues to consider at the summit, including those of Burma and the South China Sea."

There is a general feeling here that this week's summit of the 40-year-old regional grouping will be held under a dark cloud of cynicism over its future as a cohesive organisation.

Rizal Sukma, the executive director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, wrote in the Jakarta Post last week: "Asean would be hard-pressed to gain international respect if it cannot even gain respect from its own members. It is, therefore, absolutely imperative for both Cambodia and Thailand, and also Indonesia as the 'facilitator', to immediately implement the Jakarta agreement. Not doing so would bring about greater risk - not only to the conflicting parties, but also to Asean as a whole.

"Even without territorial disputes and border conflicts, it has already been difficult for Asean to realise its plan to become a regional community. If the conflict and the loss of life continues, the ideal "we-feeling" among Asean states and the absence of the use of force as the main characteristic of a security community would be harder to create. Consequently, the international community would look at the ideal of an Asean Community as just imagination.

"If the conflicting parties cannot seize the opportunity to settle the problem using the 'Asean option' there is the possibility that the United Nations Security Council (or some of its members) would come to the conclusion that regional arrangements had failed to address the problem. It doesn't serve anyone's interests if the UNSC concludes that the skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia would pose an international peace and security threat and therefore require the involvement of the UNSC."

While insisting that his task would be a "relentless pursuit of a diplomatic solution" to the Thai-Cambodian problem, Foreign Minister Natalegawa said it's not a question of Cambodia trying to bring the issue back to the UNSC. "It's already on the UNSC's agenda. Cambodia doesn't have to refer the matter back to the UN. The genie is out of the bottle."

He said despite the difficulties caused by the military skirmishes on the Thai-Cambodian border, "I hope both sides can be encouraged to return to the negotiating table … to have the ceasefire re-established and stabilised to enable the deployment of the observer teams and the resumption of diplomatic negotiations."

If Indonesia fails to convince both members to go back to the negotiating table, Asean's standing in the international arena will take a severe beating. The Indonesian foreign minister didn't really say that in so many words but he did hint at that scenario when he told me:

"What if Cambodia takes the issue back to the UN Security Council? Well, we will have to see. It really depends on our capacity to solve the problem regionally. But then again, I don't want to suggest that there is a clear difference between what is regional and global, because they are mutually reinforcing to create conditions conducive to bilateral solutions. So, what is bilateral, regional and global - they are actually supporting one another."

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters here last week: "We have to respect and honour the role and involvement of Indonesia. Thailand is not in a position to embarrass the Indonesian government."

That's all the more reason why Kasit and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Nam Hong will have to convince their respective leaders to hold serious talks here on the side of the Asean Summit, not only to avoid "embarrassing" Asean's current chair, but, more importantly, to refrain from further weakening Asean as a whole.

SRP MPs ask Prime Minister Hun Sen about changing Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affair and International Cooperation from his position. The request is based on the failing of diplomatic relations with Thailand about border conflict.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011: SRP High Officials, Mr. Kong Korm, MP Tioulong Samura, MP Mu Sochua and MP Yim Sovann meet with HE Hans Dahlgren, Ambassador for Human Rights from Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to talk about a comprehensive picture of the human rights situation in Cambodia and to prepare for the upcoming bilateral dialogue on human rights between Sweden and Cambodia.

On behalf of my colleagues, my family and on my own behalf, it is my honour to wholeheartedly  express our congratulations to you and your Conservative Party for becoming prime minister-reelect  and winning a majority on May 2, 2011 General Election respectively.

The Khmer Kampuchea Krom community and people in Canada renew our gratitude to the Government and citizens of Canada for welcoming us more than 30 years ago from Cambodia and Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam) during our hardship and communist escape.

Since resettling in Canada, the Khmer Krom community and people have played our part in  contributing to this magnificent country of ours.
 

Canada inspires our community and people to become strong democrats and freedom advocates.       
 

Kampuchea Krom, formerly part of the Kingdom of Cambodia, composed of 68,965 square kilometers, 21 provinces and municipalities, two large islands - Koh Tral and Koh Tralach, 171 districts, 1,368 communes, 14,778 villages, has a population of 13 million Khmer people, who share the same history, Khmer language, religion, civilization, culture, custom and tradition as their compatriots in Cambodia, illegally transferred by France to Vietnam on June 4, 1949. The fundamental human rights of Khmer Krom have been continually and totally violated by the ruling Vietnamese government.

KKC is a non-governmental, human rights and democratic grass-root organization. It is also a humanitarian assistance NGO.

Mr. Prime Minister, please help us remind the Government of Vietnam to respect the rights of the indigenous Khmers in Kampuchea Krom, Vietnamese citizens and other ethnicities.

Please, Mr. Prime Minister, accept my highest consideration, respect and kind assistance.

SURIN, May 4 (MCOT online news) – Tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border have now relaxed and the troops of both sides have pledged to resolve the border dispute by negotiation, Thai Army Region 2 commander Lt-Gen Thawatchai Samutsakorn said on Wednesday.

The Thai regional military commander said after visiting soldiers injured in the clashes which erupted April 22, when both parties used heavy weapons causing casualties among the troops and residents of the two countries.

Gen Thawatchai said the situation has now eased since no heavy weapons such as artillery or rocket launchers have been used recently.

"Today I have talked with the Cambodian field commander and urged him to avoid any possible clash," Gen Thawatchai stated. "If any misunderstanding does occur, both sides will talk to solve the conflict and reduce suspicion."

Gen Thawatchai reported that there were no clashes Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, the Thai-Cambodian border at the Chong Chom crossing in Surin province reopened this morning to allow trading to resume.

The Thai commander said that re-opening the border pass would allow people on both sides of the border to resume their normal life, while affirming the opening or closure of border pass will not be a condition to pressure Cambodia to stop shooting.

In other developments, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Wednesday that Thai ambassador to the Hague Weerachai Palasai will head the Thai delegation in contesting the case reopened by Cambodia at the International Court of Justice seeking to clarify the 1962 ruling on the land surrounding Preah Vihear temple.

Mr Kasit, who has just returned from a Geneva meeting with the three newly-appointed legal advisers from Australia, Canada and France, said Thailand and Cambodia are scheduled to clarify the matter to the court on May 30-31 focusing on the provisional measures requested by Cambodia.

Cambodia has urged the court to interpret its 1962 judgment regarding Preah Vihear temple, as well as issue an urgent indication for provisional measures including an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Thai troops from the contested land near the temple and the ban of all Thai military activity in the area.

The Thai legal team comprises 15 persons including three foreigners and foreign ministry officials, Mr Kasit said.

After the verbal clarification to the court, Mr Kasit said, it will take about four to five months to complete the written statement to be submitted. The ruling is expected after New Year.

BANGKOK, May 4 (MCOT online news) - The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is confident that it will successfully defend Thailand's national interests at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Netherlands when the court hears the Preah Vihear temple issue, even though it will become a caretaker government, according to Mr Abhisit.

The prime minister said his government has already prepared arguments and the Foreign Ministry was compiling information and studying the petition filed by Cambodia to the court.

Cambodia is seeking the ICJ's interpretation of its 1962 ruling on Preah Vihear and accuses Thailand of aggression and attempting to claim Cambodian territory.

The UN court, based in The Hague, ruled in 1962 that the ancient temple belonged to Cambodia, but did not rule on the surrounding area and both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre tract.

The court had reportedly arranged for Thailand and Cambodia to attend a hearing on May 30-31.

The Cabinet on Tuesday gave a green light for preparations to fight the case, he said, adding that coordination with the agencies concerned would be carried out continuously to ensure all necessary information is collected.

Thailand is obliged to fight the case, Mr Abhisit stated. To avoid the court hearing could be seen by others as Thailand giving up its legal battle and the court could hear one-sided information.

The Thai premier said that he has no plan to hold bilateral talks with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia over the weekend.

Mr Abhisit said he would wait to see the progress of ministeral level actions before deciding the next move.

"I've met Mr Hun Sen four times during the last year but [nonetheless] clashes eventually occurred in February. I confirm that Thailand has repeatedly stated that each clash was not an accident but simply Cambodia's intention to internationalise the issue. Therefore, I cannot say whether or not talks with Hun Sen will happen," the Thai prime minister said.

Eight Thai troops and nine Cambodian soldiers have died since the latest clash occurred April 22. The fighting has recently quieted.

BANGKOK, May 4 (Bernama) -- There is no schedule for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to meet his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen during the forthcoming Asean Summit in Jakarta, amidst the calm situation at the border Wednesday.

Abhisit said he would let the ministerial level meeting discuss the clashes at the Thai-Cambodian border since April 22, and later he would follow-up on its development.

"We have to wait and see the development from the ministerial level meeting first before the leaders' summit as the whole picture will be much clearer then," he said.

To date, Abhisit has scheduled to meet his counterparts from Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos on the sidelines of the summit which will be held on May 7 and 8.

He said, even if his meeting with Hun Sen took place, there was no guarantee that clashes would come to an end or fresh clashes would not trigger in future.

"Don't forget, I met Hun Sen four times at the end of last year but there were many clashes in February.

"I always insist that every clash did not accidentally occur but it was the intention of Cambodia to raise the problem to international level," said Abhisit.

Asked whether his meeting with Hun Sen -- if it took place later -- would be considered as not useful, Abhisit said: "I cannot answer that question today as I have to see development at the (Asean) meeting."

Eleven soldiers and a civilian were killed and more than 120 others injured from the Thai side since skirmishes started two weeks ago.

More than 40,000 villagers in Surin, Si Sa Ket and Rum Buri had to be evacuated, following clashes at the three provinces which are located near the border.

However, the situation at the border remained calm today with no clash reported between troops of both countries as thousands of villagers began returning to their homes.

Thailand and Cambodia share an 800km borderline but certain stretches of the border, including the areas where clashes occurred, have yet to be fully demarcated.

They have traded accusations against each other, of starting the clash first and trying to invade their respective territories.

Phnom Penh has sought the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to interpret its 1962 judgement on sovereign territories in the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear Hindu Temple.

The ICJ has ruled that the temple is located in Cambodia but Bangkok and Phnom Penh claimed an area of 4.6sq km surrounding the temple which was designated by Unesco as a world heritage site in 2008.

Ceasefire negotiations involving ground military officials from both sides managed to halt shelling activities as clashes continued with the use of small arms only.

The border situation returned to calm today, for the first time after 14 days of skirmishes.

Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are gathering this week in Jakarta (May 5-8th) to discuss regional economic development and mutual security issues.

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry's spokesman Michael Tene says ASEAN's role in trying to end an ongoing border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia will almost certainly be addressed when the heads of state meet May 7th. "Of course the development in Thailand, on the border of Thailand and Cambodia is one of major issues developing in our region. So it will be very natural I believe that such issues will be taken up in the summit," he said.

Indonesia took over the chairmanship of the group of 10 Southeast Asian nations this year and made it a stated goal to transform the organization from a loose association to an active participant in global economic and security matters.

But in February clashes erupted between two ASEAN members, Thailand and Cambodia. The two armies have been fighting sporadically over an area surrounding a Hindu Khmer temple, a historical landmark that both countries claim as part of their heritage.

As head of ASEAN, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa saw this conflict as a test case for what the organization leadership could achieve and he has actively tried to negotiate an end to the conflict. So far his efforts have been unsuccessful, but ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan says Natalegawa should get credit for his unprecedented diplomatic efforts.

"There has never been one single special meeting of the foreign ministers on an issue between states before, ever. We have made history under Indonesia. There has never been an attempt by the chair to go to the two capitals and holding hands and talking and try to convince that this is something that we will have to work out together," said Pitsuwan.

He says in addition to continuing to resolve the Thai/Cambodia border conflict, leaders at the summit will also likely discuss how to build on Indonesia's efforts to make ASEAN an integrated economic and political community in the future.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Legal and human rights groups say they fear Cambodia's U.N.- backed genocide tribunal will shut its doors prematurely without prosecuting former second-tier Khmer Rouge officials accused of atrocities.

Lawyers for the regime's aging former foreign minister, meanwhile, pressed Wednesday for his release from prison, saying he should be held under house arrest instead until his trial later this year.

Ieng Sary's lawyers argued that his three years of pretrial imprisonment was illegal. A ruling on the appeal is expected later.

In its first case, the tribunal sentenced another Khmer Rouge official, Kaing Guek Eav, to 35 years in prison last July for running the regime's notorious S-21 prison.

Its second case involves Ieng Sary, former Khmer Rouge chief ideologist Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, and Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs.

They are charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and other offenses related to the Khmer Rouge's four-year rule in the 1970s, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people.

The proceedings follow French-style law, which mandates that investigating judges collect evidence that is then forwarded to prosecutors who decide whether to go to trial. There are parallel sets of Cambodian and international judges and prosecutors working together.

Last week the co-investigating judges — You Bunleng of Cambodia and Siegfried Blunk of Germany — officially informed the court that their investigation for Case No. 3 was complete. The names of those being probed have been kept secret, but they are believed to include at least five second-tier Khmer Rouge officials.

Critics including Human Rights Watch say the co-investigating judges have done an incomplete investigation in an effort to scuttle future prosecutions.

"The investigating judges have acted precipitously to shut down the investigation, and I say that because we know from talking to people working in the court that they have not gone to crime scenes and done the kind of investigation that one would expect in any criminal case, much less a case of this seriousness," said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

"They've basically done a desk study and it appears that that desk study was a sham," Adams said in an interview in Bangkok, Thailand. "It was a political decision, it appears, to shut down this case."

The Open Society Justice Initiative, an international legal watchdog group funded by billionaire George Soros, says the court may ultimately decide to strike a deal with the government, agreeing to end cases No. 3 and 4 in exchange for full cooperation from the government and witnesses in the current case.

"Victims of the Khmer Rouge will be cheated of the more comprehensive accountability further trials would have produced. And every Cambodian will know that all the will the international community could muster was not sufficient to create a truly independent court," James Goldston, the initiative's executive director, wrote in a recent opinion piece.

Because of the inadequate investigations, "I think it's very dubious whether these cases will go forward and if they do go forward, that they will result in convictions," Adams said.

Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said it was speculative to say that the investigating judges plan to dismiss the remaining cases. He said it was wrong to draw exact parallels between the first two cases — which involved extensive research and investigations — and the two pending ones, saying each case has its own set of circumstances.

"What's important is that there is a legal process that has been done; that impunity for the most responsible and the most senior leaders has ended," he said.

___

Associated Press Television News producer Jerry Harmer in Bangkok contributed to this report.

The targeting of Cambodian journalists through defamation and disinformation legislation and the closure of an opposition newspaper were responsible for a decline in the Kingdom's world ranking for press freedom last year, according to a report released yesterday.

According to the Freedom of the Press 2011 report, released by United States-based watchdog organisation Freedom House in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, Cambodia's press freedom ranking plunged to 141 for 2010 out of 196 countries and territories rated, compared with a ranking of 134 for 2009.

The report described Cambodia as "not free" and declared that the number of people worldwide with access to free and independent media had dropped to its lowest level in over a decade.

Cambodia's ranking also declined within the Asia-Pacific region to 30 in 2010 out of 40 countries and territories, compared with a ranking of 29 in 2009. "Cambodia's score ... deteriorated due to an aggressive use of disinformation and defamation legislation against journalists, as well as a reduction in media diversity following the closure of an opposition newspaper," the report said.

Opposition newspaper Khmer Machas Srok relaunched in March after closing down in June 2010 due to funding shortages and illness suffered by its publisher, Heng Chakra. Heng Chakra was jailed for disinformation in 2009 for articles published in Khmer Machas Srok which alleged that officials working for Deputy Prime Minister Sok An had been involved in corruption. He received a royal pardon in April last year.

Moeun Chhean Narridh, director of the Cambodia Institute for Media Studies, said yesterday that defamation and disinformation legislation had been used by some government officials to deliberately prosecute journalists.

"It constitutes political harassment," he said. "The government needs to remove the criminal provision from [defamation and disinformation] law."

Moeun Chhean Narridh added that the government must adopt a draft law on freedom of information.

"We need a legal framework that guarantees access to information," he said.

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith told The Post in December that a draft policy paper on freedom of information finalised by the government in 2007 – which would serve as a framework for a draft law – was at the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection.

Khieu Kanharith could not be reached for comment last night, but said at a World Press Freedom Day event in Phnom Penh yesterday that the government encouraged the delivery of information to the public through different forms of media.

According to a report released at the event by the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists, a number of cases had been brought against journalists for defamation and disinformation over the past year but no journalists had been charged, imprisoned or killed.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Wednesday that he already discuss the dispute with three legal advisers during his recent visit to Geneva of Switzerland.

Cambodia has asked the World Court to clarify its 1962 ruling about Preah Vihear Temple on its disputed border with Thailand.

Cambodia told the ICJ in its complaint that the request "for the interpretation of the Court's judgment concerning the temple of Preah Vihear was prompted by "Thailand's repeated armed aggression to exert its claims to Cambodian territory.

"My meeting with the foreign legal advisers is a preparation for Thailand's defence in the world court against Cambodia's complaint," Kasit said.

The Thai legal team on the matter is Thai Ambassador to the Hague Veerachai Palasrai, a former director general of Legal Department, Foreign Minisstry.

Veerachai's team will work together with the foreign adviser, Kasit said.

The World Court has invited Thailand to enter the verbal argument session from May 30 to 31 and Veerachai will represent Thailand in the session.

Both countries will present their documents and arguments in the session. It is expected that the World Court may be able to rule.

BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chong Chom/O'Smach immigration checkpoint on the Thai-Cambodian border in Thailand's northeastern Surin province was reopened on Wednesday morning after military leaders of both sides held another round of ceasefire talks.

Lt-Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, Thailand's Army Region 2 commander, went across the border to meet Lt-Gen Chea Mon, commander of Cambodia's 4th Army Region, at the O'Smach Resort Hotel where the two military commanders discussed strict implementation of a ceasefire, the Bangkok Post online reported.

They agreed that if a clash took place, the unit commanders of the two sides must immediately contact each other to stop it and prevent it from recurring.

Chong Chom/O'Smach crossing was subsequently opened at 10 a.m. local time to the relief of traders on both sides of the border. It had been closed for 13 days since the latest round of border fighting between the two neighboring countries erupted near the Ta Muen Thom and Ta Kwai temples on April 22, halting cross-border trade.

Both Thai and Cambodian traders were expected to fully resume business, according to the report.

Truce agreement that the field commanders of both sides reached on April 28 was breached as the border skirmishes continued on April 29. The situation in the border area has become stable over the past few days with only small-arms clashes occurred occasionally. A Thai soldier was killed while three others wounded from gunfire exchanges Monday night and early Tuesday.

PHNOM PENH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian and Thai military commanders on Wednesday agreed to a ceasefire again, Lt Gen Chhum Socheat, the spokesman for Cambodian Ministry of Defense, said Wednesday.

The latest ceasefire promise was made on Wednesday morning between Cambodian Major General Chea Mon, commander of Military Region 4, and Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakorn, commander of Thai Army Region 2, in a 30-minute meeting at O'smach border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province, Chhum Socheat said. "Both sides have agreed to six points."

"The most important agreed point is the ceasefire," he said, adding that both sides agreed to allow two soldiers of each side to standby at Ta Mon temple and Ta Krabei temple in order to make the situation to return to normalcy as it was before April 22.

Moreover, both sides agreed to trust on each other, and to allow all evacuated villagers to return homes.

Also, they promised to re-open O'smach and Anlong Veng border checkpoints, which had been closed since the latest fighting, Chhum Socheat said.

The latest series of bloodiest fighting between Cambodia and Thai troops happened from April 22 to May 3 at the 13th century Ta Mon temple and Ta Krabei temple, which lie 150 kilometers west of Preah Vihear Temple.

It had killed 18 people on both sides including nine Cambodian soldiers, eight Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian; and it forced nearly 100,000 civilians on both sides to flee home for safe shelters.

Both sides blamed each other for firstly triggering the attacks.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

PHNOM PENH - LAWYERS for former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary urged Cambodia's UN-backed court on Wednesday to free the elderly war crimes suspect ahead of his genocide trial.

The 85-year-old's defence team argued that his continued detention was illegal because their client's case had not been heard within four months of the issue of the indictment in September, surpassing a court 'deadline'.

One of the few public faces of the secretive regime, Ieng Sary faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over the deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and execution in 1975-1979.

He has been hospitalised several times for a heart condition and blood in his urine since his arrest in 2007.

His lawyers called for his 'immediate release', or that he be confined to his home in Phnom Penh. He is currently being held at a purpose-built detention facility near the court.

'House arrest will ensure his presence for the trial, will ensure that he doesn't flee the country, and would also ensure that no harm comes to him or to others,' argued defence lawyer Michael Karnavas.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Lawyers for the aging foreign minister of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime have pressed for his release from prison where he is being held pending trial later this year.

Their appeal Wednesday came amid signs that the trial of Ieng Sary and three colleagues by a U.N.-backed genocide tribunal may be its last, with no prospect of trying other suspects.

Ieng Sary's lawyers argued that his three years of pretrial detention in jail was illegal and he should be transferred to house arrest. A ruling on their appeal will come later.

Court observers such as Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, suggest the tribunal is planning to finish proceedings with the current defendants, rather than extend its net to cover other former Khmer Rouge accused of atrocities.

JAKARTA - Civil society groups say Asean governments have again thrown cold water on any attempt at engagement and taken control of nominations and agenda-setting for Saturday's Interface meeting between leaders of the two sides.

Thai NGO Coordinating Committee secretary-general Suntaree Saeng-ging said on Wednesday the Thai government, and many other governents, had independently appointed representatives and it was not clear who would attend.

Thai civil society participants at the Jakarta 2011 Asean Civil Society Conference (ACSC) and the Asean People's Forum (APF) had chosen Sureeporn Yupa, of Disabled Peoples' International Asia Pacific (DPI/AP), to represent Thailand during the May 7 Interface dialogue with the government leaders.

Ms Suntaree said should there be any problem with any individual NGO-selected delegates, Asean civil society would compromise by not sending those persons into the meeting room and the rest of the team would go ahead with the talks.

"But if the Asean governments still insist on sending their own nominated representatives to replace our chosen representatives we will boycott the Interface meeting," said Ms Suntaree.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, however, met briefly with the unwanted delegates after the formal meeting.

Last year, when Vietnam was in the chair, there was no such "Interface" meeting and the parallel process under the banner of the Asean Civil Society Conference (ACSC) and the Asean People's Forum (APF) failed the majority of the activists.

With higher expectations for the meeting under the chair of the normally open Indonesia, civil society groups were expecting at it to at least be on par with the Thai process, but this had not happened.

Jakarta had sent out a note to all Asean members on April 28 asking them to provide a list of the delegates by May 1. However, the ACSC/APF had planned to come up with their own nominations at the Jakarta meeting today.

The Foreign Ministry has also asked the Ministry of Social and Human Development to nominate a person.

Decha Chaithap, a Chiang Mai-based community development network organisation, was nominated by the ministry although he was not present at the NGO meeting in Jakarta. He therefore faces a strong protest by the strong hundred-member Thai civil society group here.

"Of course, compared to other countries' lists the Thai government appointed person has stronger credentials ... however, this is about the process not the result or the person," one Thai participant here said.

Efforts to delist the nominee were facing difficulties as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had already been given Mr Decha's name.

The Burmese government has proposed Sit Aye, a senior anti-drugs official, to represent Burmese civil society while the independent Burmese NGOs had proposed Chiang Mai-based Aung Myo Min, from the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma.

As next year's chairman of Asean, Phnom Penh has also pushed its own man, Moly Van, to represent the NGO face while independent NGOs have proposed Thun Saray, chairman of the Cambodia Human Rights and Development Association.

Jakarta was today busy sorting out a face-saving solution for the Saturday summit.

Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network for Burma (ALTSEAN), said it was farcical that the NGO-driven process had been hijacked by the governments and that a democratic host like Indonesia had to compromise with the more authoritarian voices in the regional grouping preaching about people-centered community-building.

Apart from Thailand and Cambodia, Brunei, Burma and the Philippine governments have also prepared lists of their own people for the Interface dialogue. However, Brunei had nominated a person also participated in the ACSC/APF meeting.

A number of workshops are being held today and tomorrow, discussing a wide range of issues including Burmese democracy, civil liberties, the role of th Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, energy and nuclear issues, gender equality and people with disabilities.

Chhaya Hang, director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy, has said the plenary meeting touched upon so many overwhelming issues. He felt the Asean NGOs should prioritise their issues for discussions or communications with the governments.

"I think we should formalise or legitimise the role of the NGOs in Asean's respective countries first.

"Several countries including Cambodia have yet to fully recognise, if not legalise, NGOs although we've done a lot for the betterment of the people in various areas," said Mr Chhaya.

Sodsai Srangsok, from Ubon Ratchathani Nuclear Watch, proposed that Asean should start engaging the people in their formulation of development and energy development policy programmes.

At the opening session, Indonesian vice president Boedinono declared that governments need civil society groups as a connective "tongue of the people", to ensure a solid integration of Asean political, economic and social culture.

However, Mr Boedinono was reportedly uneasy when the NGOs presented footage of Aung San Suu Kyi's message for democratisation in Burma.

PHNOM PENH—The Open Society Justice Initiative is calling on the co-prosecutors at the United Nations-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia to ensure the fullest possible investigation into two former senior Khmer Rouge commanders who are the subjects of its third proposed case.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), which combines international and local judicial staff, said on Friday April 29th that its two co-investigating judges, Siegfried Blunk and You Bunleng, had closed their investigation into the tribunal's third case (Case 003).

The court's co-prosecutors now have until May 14 to call for further investigative actions, before the co-investigating judges decide whether or not the suspects should face trial.

Case 003 is believed to involve Sou Met, the former commander of the Khmer Rouge air force, and Meas Mut, the commander of the navy, and involves allegations of murder, torture, unlawful detention, forced labour and persecution. A fourth proposed case, involving three more suspects, is still being considered by the co-investigating judges.

In a brief statement, the co-investigating judges said that the 003 case file contains more than 2,000 pieces of evidence, comprising more than 48,000 pages.

But since Judge Blunk took office in December last year, the court's spokesman has repeatedly said that no field investigations were being carried out. The court has not appointed defence counsel for either suspect, and neither has been questioned by the co-investigating judges.

Prospective civil parties have also not been given any indication of the scope of the investigation, nor direction in filing complaints that could aid in the prosecution of the suspects.

The Justice Initiative calls upon the co-prosecutors – in particular, the British international co-prosecutor, Mr. Andrew Cayley – to take all steps available to ensure that a full, genuine, and impartial investigation is carried out, including the questioning of suspects and the conduct of field investigations. To this end, requests for further investigative acts should be made immediately.

The Justice Initiative also urges the co-prosecutors to act with as much transparency as is consistent with the needs of justice, given the need to demonstrate the legitimacy of these proceedings to Cambodia's population and other relatives of victims.

Hun Sen, Cambodia's prime minister, informed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon late last year that no further cases by the court would be "allowed", beyond its first two trials. The court is currently considering the appeal of Kang Kech Eav, or Duch, the former commander of the Tuol Sleng prison, against a 35 year sentence in its first trial. Its second trial, against the Khmer Rouge's four surviving top leaders, is expected to open this summer.

The Chong Jom - O-Smach immigration checkpoint on the Thai-Cambodian border in Surin's Kap Choeng district was reopened on Wednesday morning after local military leaders of the two countries held another round of ceasefire talks.

Field reports said Lt-Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, the 2nd Army commander, went across the border to meet Lt-Gen Chea Mon, commander of Cambodia's 4th Army Region, at the O-Smach Resort Hotel not far from the crossing.

The two military commanders discussed strict implementation of a ceasefire. They agreed that if there is a clash then the unit commanders of the two sides must immediately contact each other to stop it and prevent it from recurring.

They also agreed to re-open the Chong Jom - O-Smach immigration checkpoint.

After the talks, Lt-Gen Tawatchai flew by helicopter to visit wounded soldiers at a military hospital in Surin province.

The Chong Jom - O-Smach crossing was subsequently opened at 10am to the relief of traders on both sides of the border. It had been closed for 13 days, halting cross-border trade and leaving them without an income.

Both Thai and Cambodian traders were expected to fully resume business tomorrow.

The Cambodia Daily reported in its 02 May edition that the way the ECCC is handling the announcement of the closure of the investigation of Case 003 – "at the close of business before a holiday weekend" – is consistent with the judges' plan to dismiss this case in which as many as 100,000 victims were involved.

The Cambodia Daily also reported the opposition to the case by Chea Leang, the court's Cambodian co-prosecutor and niece of Sok An – Hun Xen's right hand man. In a confidential pleading, Chea Leang wrote that Sou Met and Meas Muth "worked under the orders of their superior, Son Sen. Moreover, Meas Mut and Sou Met did not have the power to order executions or torture or commit crimes against the victims because all decision to execute, torture or commit crimes were made by their superior. Therefore Sou Met and Meas Mut do not fall into the category of senior leaders or those most responsible." On this issue, Chea Leang was in fact championing the Cambodian government's position whose leader, Hun Xen, told Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-general, during his visit to Cambodia that he does not want to see this case proceeding forward.

According to The Cambodia Daily, the UN side for Chea Leang is of the opposite view. Evidence gathered by Alex Bates, then senior assistant prosecutor, indicated that "at least 299 of [Sou] Met's subordinates in Central Committee Division 502, which was based at the Phnom Penh airport, had been delivered in the hands of Duch." Furthermore, in letters exchanged between Sou Met and Duch, Alex Bates accused Sou met of "directing the interrogation under torture of S-21 detainees, seeking to know whether they had made full 'confessions' and of compiling and referring lists of 'traitors' to the secret police for execution," The Daily reported. In other letters sent to Duch, Sou Met personally implicated others as "enemy".

Although Duch claimed that the letters were written by Son Sen under Sou Met's name, nevertheless Alex Bates' records showed that "Sou Met was 'taking initiative' to advance the policy of purge created by the military's General Staff and the party."

Stephen Heder and Brian Tittermore's legal study also showed that both Meas Mut and Sou Met "had been made aware of Khmer Rouge policies of execution and bore responsibility for advancing them."

With the large amounts of records and evidence gathered against Meas Muth and Sou Met, dismissing Case 003 "would be totally unjust," Rob Hamill, a New Zealander who lost his brother to the Khmer Rouge secret police and who sought to join as civil party to Case 003, wrote The Daily. On her part, Theary Seng, a human rights activist who was the first person who applied to be a civil party to Case 003, said that "the closure of the case was 'very disturbing'".

With justice for almost 100,000 victims at stake, one has to wonder who is  "reckless " in this case: the person who filed to be a civil party to the case or a tribunal whose potential dismissal of the case would handsomely do the bidding of the Second Generation of Khmer Rouge Leaders?

PHNOM PENH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday all remaining evacuees due to the latest border clashes with Thailand have returned home, and there was no weapons explosion at night of Tuesday until early Wednesday.

"The remaining 200 evacuated families, whose houses are closed to the fighting zones, have all returned home by Wednesday morning," Hun Sen said during an inauguration ceremony of premises in a Buddhist pagoda in Phnom Penh.

The premier added that the night of Tuesday until early Wednesday morning was the "first night" that there was not the sound of weapons explosion since the fighting from April 22-May 3 at Ta Mon temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province.

"Now both sides' front-line military commanders agreed to a ceasefire, they built a mutual trust on each other," he said.

The latest series of bloodiest fighting between Cambodia and Thai troops had killed 18 people on both sides including nine Cambodian soldiers, eight Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian; and it forced nearly 100,000 civilians on both sides to flee home for safe shelters.

Both sides blamed each other for firstly triggering the attacks.

Prime Minister Hun Sen will lead a high delegation to attend the 18th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) on May 7 to 8 in Jakarta, Indonesia, according to the media release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

"The summit will discuss a wide range of issues...specially the situation at the border between Cambodia and Thailand," said the statement.

Cambodian and Thai border has never been completely demarcated. The conflict has occurred a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A bloody conflict between Thai and Cambodian forces has added another twist to Thailand's political crisis, and not without benefit to Cambodian strongman, Hun Sen.

Regardless of which side fired first, the border battles have handed Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) a chance to score points at home by taking a stand against an eternal rival he accuses of flexing its superior military muscle.

On the surface, the latest flare-up is a fight over a stretch of border close to Tan Moan and Tan Krabey, two 12th century Hindu temples both sides lay claim to. So far, 18 people on both sides have been killed in 12 days of gunfights, grenades and artillery bombardments that have displaced 65,000 people.

Analysts say political factions on both sides of the frontier have something to gain from prolonging the fight and scuttling a fragile ceasefire agreed between the two armies.

The clashes have struck a chord with Cambodians and Hun Sen's efforts to internationalize the issue by calling for help from the United Nations, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the International Court of Justice have helped stoke nationalist fervour.

"This conflict is being played to the full extent by Hun Sen and with this tough stance he will seek to gain as much status as he can from this," said Ian Bryson, a Southeast Asia analyst at consultants Control Risks.

"The CPP government recognizes that the sovereignty issue is a vehicle for popularity that has almost become policy and gives it a mandate for its rule."

Conspiracy theorists suggest hawkish Thai generals in cahoots with conservative nationalists could be fuelling the conflict to delay an election expected by early July, or even to create a pretext for a coup, to prevent the opposition Puea Thai Party from forming the next government.

Thai officials reject that claim. Some privately point the finger at Hun Sen, suggesting it's in his interest to discredit Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ahead of the election.

Hun Sen, 60, has made no secret of his annoyance at Thailand's heel-dragging on demarcating disputed stretches of their shared 800-km (500-mile) land border and 27,000 square km (10,400 sq miles) of maritime territory believed to contain offshore oil reserves. A joint border commission has carried out studies since 2000 but no agreement has been reached.

Neither has the former Khmer Rouge guerrilla sought to hide his loathing for Abhisit's Democrat Party-led government, which last week he called "thieves" and "terrorists."

Under Abhisit, Thailand has sought to derail Cambodia's listing of a far more significant Hindu border temple, Preah Vihear, as a UNESCO World Heritage site. A 1962 World Court ruling awarded the temple to Cambodia but Thailand says the land around the ruins was never demarcated.

Clashes in that area from February 4-7 killed three Thai and eight Cambodian troops. There was also some fighting near this temple in the latest flare-up.

Hun Sen said last week he was willing to work with Thailand's "next government," interpreted as a show of support for Puea Thai, allied to his exiled friend and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

But most analysts play down any Cambodian motivation to meddle in Thailand's internal crisis, despite Hun Sen's thumbing his nose at Abhisit by briefly hiring Thaksin as an economic adviser in 2009 and refusing to extradite him to serve a prison term for graft.

Thaksin also has much to lose by being seen as close to Hun Sen at this time, if nationalist sentiment rises in Thailand.

Thai generals point out that the fighting coincides with the promotion of Hun Sen's eldest son, Hun Manet, to a two-star general and deputy commander of the country's infantry in what many Cambodians see as a tentative step toward a political dynasty in a country run by the same man for 26 years.

With a doctorate in economics from Britain's Bristol University and having graduated from West Point military academy in the United States, many analysts suggest 33-year-old Hun Manet is being groomed as a successor and say the Thai conflict gives him a chance to assert himself within Cambodia's military.

Others say the clashes are helping to draw attention away from rising discontent in Cambodia over forced evictions to make way for development projects, labor and trade union disputes and tough laws virtually outlawing protests.

"The dispute, by fanning nationalist flames in Cambodia as well, distracts from other pressing problems," said Joshua Kurlantzick of the U.S-based Council on Foreign Relations think tank. "With Cambodia's domestic troubles unlikely to disappear, Preah Vihear probably will not either," he said in a blog post.

The issue is expected to be a hot topic at an ASEAN summit in Jakarta this weekend. Cambodia has rejected bilateral talks and is insisting on third-party mediation, a move that has riled Thailand and suggests to some analysts that Hun Sen's government is in no rush to find a solution.

"Cambodia's motivations are probably much simpler," Eurasia Group analyst Roberto Herrera-Lim said in a research note.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia's prime minister has accused Thailand of firing more than 50,000 artillery and mortar shells in more than a week of border clashes.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday that some shells that landed in Oddar Meanchey province have not exploded and must be disarmed before civilians return to evacuated areas. Cambodia still face the problem of unexploded ordnance, especially mines, from the Vietnam War era and guerrilla wars in the decades afterward.

While much of the area remains inaccessible to journalists, witnesses did not report such intensive fire that could account for so many shells.

"It is impossible for us to fire such a number of shells," Col. Prawit Hukaew, a spokesman for Thailand's army in the northeast, said Wednesday. He put the number of shells fired in the hundreds.

The fighting that started April 22 has quieted in recent days. But Thailand's state broadcaster MCOT reported a Thai soldier was killed Monday night, bringing the death toll to one Thai civilian and a total of 17 soldiers from both sides.

The conflict involves small swaths of land along the border that have been disputed for more than half a century. The latest fighting was the sixth since 2008, when Cambodia's 11th-century Preah Vihear temple was given U.N. World Heritage status over Thailand's objections.

Local commanders for both countries last Thursday held talks that led to a de facto cease-fire, which did not actually end the clashes but reduced their intensity. On Monday, tens of thousands of refugees from the combat zone began returning to their homes.

Hun Sen said the two sides' regional commanders would meet to seek to implement a true cease-fire.

Hun Sen is supposed to meet Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for talks on the border issue at a weekend meeting in Indonesia of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The two countries have tentatively agreed to allow Indonesia observers be stationed at the border and are also seeking more lasting solutions to their dispute.

Cambodia last week asked the United Nations' highest court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the centre of a decades-old border dispute that has flared into deadly military clashes.

In a request filed April 28 and made available Tuesday on the court's website, Cambodia asked International Court of Justice judges to urgently deal with its request "because of the gravity of the situation."

Cambodia claims that according to a 1962 ruling by the court the temple is on its territory and warns that if the intervention request is rejected and clashes continue, "the damage to the Temple of Preah Vihear, as well as irremediable losses of life and human suffering ... would become worse."

Rulings by the court are supposed to be final and binding.

Cambodia has formally applied for an "interpretation" — a written explanation — by the court of its 1962 judgment, and argued in its written application that the court's opinion "could then serve as a basis for a final resolution of this dispute through negotiation or any other peaceful means."

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