KI Media: “Thailand adding conditions that were not included in the Jakarta-brokered peace package” plus 24 more

Thailand not breaching TOR, but stands by its stance, says Kasit

The withdrawal of Cambodian troops from Preah Vihear Temple and its vicinity - a condition that Thailand has set before it accepts Indonesia's team of observers to be stationed in the disputed area - was not mentioned in the Jakarta-brokered peace package, a diplomatic source said.

The three-step package agreed upon by the Cambodian, Indonesian and Thai foreign ministers on Monday only set a timeline for the deployment of the team of observers and the meetings of Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and General Border Committee (GBC), the minutes of the meeting showed.

In a Twitter message yesterday, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya explained that the basic principle of the deal was still that Cambodian troops need to be withdrawn from Preah Vihear, Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svara and adjoining areas before Indonesian observers will be allowed in the area.

"Thailand has never breached the terms of reference for the team of observers are we are being accused of," he said.

The new peace package, a copy of which was obtained by The Nation, comprises three steps for the deployment of Indonesian observers to areas near Preah Vihear where military clashes broke out in February. They are:

Kasit said he would submit the peace package to the Cabinet next week, and it might want to adjust some details.

Though Thailand and Cambodia have already agreed upon the text of the terms of reference, Thailand will only send its formal acceptance to Jakarta if Cambodia agrees to withdraw its troops from Preah Vihear and its vicinity. Phnom Penh has rejected the condition and things are at a deadlock.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa called a tripartite meeting with Kasit and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Jakarta on Monday. The meeting came up with a package that stops both sides from setting conditions before any steps can be taken.

A Thai official anticipates that the condition of Cambodia's troop withdrawal, even though it is not mentioned in the package, would be discussed during the GBC meeting, which is co-chaired by the defence ministers of Thailand and Cambodia, or by the JBC, which takes care of boundary demarcation.

Indeed, the withdrawal or repositioning of troops in the disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple is one of the major topics to be discussed by the JBC in relation to the boundary demarcation.

The last JBC meeting was held in Bogor, Indonesia, in the first week of April but no significant progress was made. Clashes broke out later in April near Ta Mouan Thom and Ta Kwai temple in Surin about 150km west of Preah Vihear.

We are very pleased to inform our colleagues, SRP supporters and the Cambodian public at large of the upcoming visit of H.E. Sam Rainsy and MP Saumura Tioulong to North America in the upcoming weeks.

Receptions and public speaking events are being planned by SRP leaders and activists at selected communities across USA and Canada. For better information, please consult " the Schedule Events" below or contact your local SRP representative for further clarity.

On behalf of the executive members of Sam Rainsy of North America, we wish to express our deepest thanks and appreciation to all caring Cambodians who have supported our party's cause for defending Khmer rights and democracy in Cambodia. We thanks our colleagues at communities across the continent for their enduring works and dedication.

Like H.E Sam Rainsy, we are looking forward to seeing you at the day of the event. Please join us on that day.

A HEARING in Sam Rainsy's appeal against a 10-year jail term handed down against him last year for falsifying public documents and spreading disinformation was delayed yesterday, as the opposition leader was judged not to have legal representation.

Although Sam Rainsy's lawyer, Choung Choungy, attended the hearing at the invitation of the court, he said he had not been asked by the Sam Rainsy Party leader, who is living in self-imposed exile in France, to represent him.

Last September, Rainsy was found guilty of the charges in connection with maps he produced of Cambodia's border with Vietnam in Svay Rieng province.

He was sentenced in September to 10 years jail and fined US$14,000.

Sam Rainsy yesterday issued a statement from France in which he called the court "laughable" and said that he merely "used and published both French-made maps and United States-made maps to show that they corroborate one another regarding border delimitation between Cambodia and Vietnam".

When quizzed by judge Khun Leang Meng about his appearance at the hearing, Choung Choungy said: "His Excellency Sam Rainsy did not depend on me to defend him."

Judge Khun Leang Meng said that because yesterday's hearing involved a criminal case, the court could not proceed without Sam Rainsy being represented.

The case was delayed for a 30-day period to allow the opposition leader to find representation. After that period, the court will ask the Cambodian Bar Association to appoint a lawyer to defend him.

Government lawyer Ky Tech said yesterday that he did not oppose the court's decision to delay.

Dear colleagues,

Today ICTJ launched a short video about the relationship between peace and justice. ICTJ President David Tolbert and other ICTJ experts speak alongside former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone, and human rights activists from Kenya, Indonesia and Colombia on the role of justice in sustaining peace, ensuring non-repetition and reinstating respect for the rule of law.

For a long time, making compromises on justice with powerful perpetrators of mass atrocities has been an integral part of peace negotiations. The immediate concern of ending violence often resulted in amnesties for war crimes and crimes against humanity, sometimes even presenting calls for justice as obstacles to peace.

This ICTJ video describes the marked shift in recent years away from the practice of providing immunity from prosecution to those most responsible for mass atrocity. The video illustrates the growing understanding that the two goals of peace and justice, rather than being exclusive, are mutually reinforcing. Peace, when understood as enduring and long-term peace, goes beyond the immediate goal of ending a conflict and relies on justice and accountability to ensure sustainability. Where mass crimes are not addressed, when the root causes of conflict are not sought out and removed, when victims' calls for justice are not heard, the danger of violence recurring remains high.

We hope you will take a few minutes to watch the video. And we encourage you to share it with your contacts and to use it as a tool in your discussions about peace negotiations.

You are welcome to share the video with a direct link: http://ictj.org/news/peace-versus-justice-false-dilemma

We also welcome you to embed the video on your site. Please write to my colleague, Clare Garvie, cgarvie@ictj.org if you need assistance.

Regards,


Caitlin

The ECCC is full of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An's special agents and CPP Party members. More than half of the ECCC senior administration and staff are either CPP Party members or pro-CPP "like-minded." That's why it didn't surprise me when I heard that Khmer Co-prosecutor Chea Leang is the niece of Sok An, and that she refused to prosecute additional Khmer Krahom leaders. Chea Leang will do whatever her uncle Sok An tells her to do. She's not in the ECCC to seek justices for the victims of the Khmer Krahom.

On May 10, 2011 Chea Leang announced that she has no plan to investigate and prosecute the Khmer Krahom suspects in Case 003 and Case 004 – even though it is a known fact that Meas Muth and Sou Met were former Khmer Krahom military commanders. They were both directly responsible for many killings during the Democratic Kampuchea Period.

Similarly, Mrs. Helen Jarvis, an Australian academic, who's the ECCC Chief of Public Affairs and Head of the ECCC Victims, is a very good friend of Sok An. She visits Sok An at the Ministry of Council of Ministers quite often to inform and be advised on the ECCC matter. She's been so good to Sok An that's why he recently awarded her a Cambodian citizenship - Helen is also a member of the Leninist Party Faction in Australia.

The SRP Party MP Son Chhay was correct when he said that the government can't find justice for the Khmer Krahom's victims because the government leaders were former Khmer Krahom themselves!

A SPECIAL NOTE:
It's great to work for changes alone, but it's even better if we can work as a team! Be proud to be kon Khmer and help keep Khmer race and culture alive!

Article 18 new

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon will meet his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh to discuss border problems during the 5th Asean Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) in Jakarta, Col Thanathip Sawangsaeng said on Wednesday.

The defence spokesman said Gen Prawit would be accompanied by Gen Kittipong Ketkowit, the permanent secretary for defence, and a number of military officers in the trip to Indonesia.

The meeting is for the defence ministers of the 10 Asean member countries to exchange opinions concerning security and military affairs in the region.

Asean's role in solving international problems such as suppression of piracy in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia will also be discussed.

The defence ministers attending the meeting will consider the 3-year operational plan under an ADMM framework for the years 2011-2013 and sign a document on the establishment of the Asean Peace-keeping Networks Centre, a document on an initiative on cooperation on defence industries, and a joint declaration on promotion of cooperation for the defence of Asean against new forms of threats.

Gen Prawit will also hold a bilateral meeting with the defence ministers of five countries - Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore - regarding military relations and cooperation, border security, strengthening of confidence in the region, military exchange programmes, and joint military training and exercises.

Col Thanathip said Gen Prawit and Gen Tea Banh of Cambodia will meet to discuss border problems on this occasion.

On the last day of the meeting Gen Prawit will pay a courtesy call on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Army commander-in-chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said Wednesday he would never order the withdrawal of Thai soldiers stationed near the disputed areas on the border with Cambodia unless there is a reciprocal withdrawal by Phnom Penh's forces.

"Why do we both remain in the disputed areas?" he said.

"The answer is because one side has broken the rules and the other was left with no choice but to deploy troops to fight to protect its territorial sovereignty,'' he said.

"If Cambodia does not withdraw its troops, we won't either. This is the rule and our superiors have also instructed us to do it this way,'' said Gen Prayuth.

Gen Prayuth said he had a meeting with his visiting Malaysian counterpart General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin in Bangkok on Tuesday, but the Malaysian army chief said little about the border dispute.

Gen Zulkifeli said only that he would respect whatever decision was eventually made by Thailand and Cambodia, because it was an internal issue between the two countries and Asean was not able to intervene, said Gen Prayuth.

It was a problem between Thailand and Cambodia and the two nations should try to resolve it through dialogue, Gen Zulkifeli said, according to Gen Prayuth.

Defence spokesman Thanathip Sawangsaeng said Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon will meet his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh to discuss border problems during the 5th Asean Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) in Jakarta.

Col Thanathip said Gen Prawit would be accompanied by Gen Kittipong Ketkowit, the permanent secretary for defence, and a number of military officers in the trip to Indonesia.

The meeting is for the defence ministers of the 10 Asean member countries to exchange opinions concerning security and military affairs in the region.

Asean's role in solving international problems such as suppression of piracy in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia will also be discussed.

The defence ministers attending the meeting will consider the 3-year operational plan under an ADMM framework for the years 2011-2013 and sign a document on the establishment of the Asean Peace-keeping Networks Centre, a document on an initiative on cooperation on defence industries, and a joint declaration on promotion of cooperation for the defence of Asean against new forms of threats.

Gen Prawit will also hold a bilateral meeting with the defence ministers of five countries - Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore - regarding military relations and cooperation, border security, strengthening of confidence in the region, military exchange programmes, and joint military training and exercises.

Col Thanathip said Gen Prawit and Gen Tea Banh of Cambodia will meet to discuss border problems on this occasion.

On the last day of the meeting the defence minister will pay a courtesy call on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

BANGKOK - Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's fugitive former prime minister, has given the nod to radical United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) protest movement leaders to run on his Puea Thai party ticket at upcoming national elections. Whether their participation and association with last year's protest-related violence will help Thaksin's electoral cause is in doubt.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolved parliament on Monday, paving the way for early polls on July 3. Opinion polls show a neck-and-neck race between Abhisit's Democrat Party and Puea Thai, which is expected this week to nominate Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, as its prime ministerial candidate.

The UDD and its top leaders, who last year campaigned for early elections and the ouster of Abhisit, have arguably been tainted by the mayhem unleashed in the wake of last year's protest-related clashes and crackdown. At least 91 people were killed in confrontations between protestors and security forces, with neither side accepting responsibility for any of the casualties.

Many hold the UDD's associated militant wing as responsible for the assassination of a prominent army colonel, launching grenades into rival protestors in Bangkok's main business district and forcing the nation's ailing chief monk to flee from a royal hospital its members had raided. A string of arson attacks, including against Southeast Asia's largest shopping mall, CentralWorld, and several provincial town halls, are believed to have been ignited by UDD supporters in retaliation for the government's bloody crackdown last May 19.

Several UDD leaders, currently out on bail after being detained for several months or returned from Cambodia, to where they fled last year, face terrorism charges for those and other attacks. News reports have noted that several UDD leaders hope to win elected office for the parliamentary immunity that comes with the job. A Puea Thai led government is expected to push for a general amnesty that would absolve UDD leaders of responsibility for last year's violence.

If the disruptive closure for several weeks of Bangkok's central shopping and luxury hotel district had brought down Abhisit's government, these violent events would have likely been forgiven as part of a successful popular uprising. But the UDD's protests were simply not big enough, numbering tens of thousands at their peak, to bring down a popularly elected government - albeit one that came to power through behind-the-scenes military machinations.

Thaksin, overthrown in a bloodless September 2006 coup for his alleged corruption, disloyalty to the Thai crown and elite-jarring ambition, has wrapped his desire for legal and political rehabilitation into Puea Thai's campaign. Given that polls show that the majority of Thai voters are not firmly in either political camp, the inclusion of unrepentant and taboo-breaking protest leaders in the Puea Thai's election line-up could be seen as yet another in Thaksin's long parade of often unsuccessful political gambles.

Therdpoum Chaidee, a former communist and royalist People's Alliance for Democracy protest group supporter, notes that the pro-Thaksin camp's three-pronged attack, including political, militant and mass movement arms, bears a strong resemblance to Maoist guerrilla strategies taught in Hanoi in the 1970s to would-be revolutionaries like himself and certain UDD leaders, including current chairwoman Thida Thawornseth.

Therdpoum noted that in revolutionary theory a united front (the UDD in this case) gathers up anti-government forces in a display of popular resistance while shadowy fighters (the so-called "Men in Black" who launched grenades and opened fire on security forces) provoke, discombobulate and fracture their opponents. A political party (the Thaksin-controlled Puea Thai) then moves into the ensuing political vacuum to seize power as the discredited government collapses.

Historically, united front organizations are discarded or betrayed once the revolutionary party is strong enough to take political power. The point is not to tar the protesters as communists (which, with minor exceptions, UDD leaders certainly are not) but merely to underline that a feisty "people's movement" was created to perform the combative street work inappropriate for a political party aiming to form a legitimate government in a free election.

Revolutionary theory or mere political calculation dictates that the arms of the campaign must at least appear to run independently of each other for the strategy to succeed. Yet several Puea Thai politicians blurred those lines by sponsoring and supporting last year's UDD protests, with many of their photographs proudly displayed at the protest camp. Some spoke on the protest stage, where threats and vitriol were aimed at the government and military, but the party mostly kept its distance from the UDD's "Red Shirt" movement.

The UDD, on the other hand, not only failed to distance itself from the vicious "Men in Black" but last year saw several of its leaders boast of violence inflicted against officials or warn of destructive deeds to come. Outspoken UDD leader Jatuporn Prompan, who's also a Puea Thai party member of parliament, has continued the fiery rhetoric that has effectively redrawn the boundaries of political invective in Thailand. Last month, he made a speech that allegedly tilted against the monarchy, causing a former prime minister and army commander, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, to resign from the party.

Thaksin, notoriously distrustful of potential rivals, may think the risk of running a few of his radical proteges worth it to jazz up an election platform that essentially recycles his decade old populist promises under the now tired "think new, act new" campaign slogan. Because two of his aligned political parties have been dissolved by court rulings, many analysts view the quality of Puea Thai candidates as lacking when stacked against the Democrats.

Some of Thaksin's fiercest opponents remain critical over how the government and military were caught flat-footed by last year's assaults by the "Men in Black". They argue that after Thaksin failed to bring down the government through protests in 2009, even after bringing much of the capital to a standstill and forcing the shameful cancellation of a regional political summit attended by world leaders, the next round of protests had to result in bloodshed to have their desired strategic impact.

On April 13, 2009, a month after Thaksin from exile had called upon his followers to launch a "people's revolution" to overthrow Abhisit's government, this writer exchanged a few words with the army colonel who was in charge of soldiers gathering to confront protestors at Bangkok's Din Daeng intersection. "I am going to do my duty," he said briskly. Was this, I asked, likely to be a problem? Colonel Romklao Thuwatham replied: "No one at all has to get hurt."

At the time, his troops were lining up in front of protestors arrayed around an eight-wheel truck with giant speakers screaming a spicy combination of abuse and flattery at the slowly advancing soldiers. Some protestors tossed small Molotov cocktails in the troops' direction before they retreated. Under Romklao's command, the army dispersed rioting UDD protestors, killing no-one in the efficient crowd control operation. (Thaksin told international broadcasters at the time that the army had killed several protestors, a claim that was later disproved.)

One year later, on April 10, 2010, Romklao's troops were again poised to clear Bangkok's streets of UDD protestors. However, an unidentified assailant lit up his helmet with an identifying green laser and moments later a hail of 40 mm anti-personnel grenades, the sort fired from hand-held M-79 launchers, exploded where he stood. The military precision attack was caught clearly by press cameras in the area, showing several soldiers severely injured or killed.

The unidentified assassins knew what they were doing. The previous year in Din Daeng it was clear the young, noticeably raw, conscripts would be lost without confident command and control. The following year, when Romklao walked into a deadly ambush of assault rifles and grenades rather than unarmed peaceful protestors, bloody chaos ensued. Twenty-five people were killed that evening, including five soldiers. The estimated 860 wounded included another colonel and a general, both of whom were permanently maimed.

In a recently released investigative report on last year's violence, Human Rights Watch was highly critical of the government's use of lethal force against mostly unarmed protestors. At the same time, the report discounted UDD claims that they were not associated with the "Men in Black". Any fair reading of the independent report based on eyewitness accounts concludes that the provocations of the so-called "Men in Black" were designed to trigger multiple casualties, which the UDD leveraged to predictable political effect.

This reporter was at one point squatting behind some army sandbags on Bangkok's Rama IV road last May watching the acrid black smoke rising from tires burning on the roadway occupied by protestors a couple of hundred meters or so away. There was barely a flicker of life in the smoke and nothing much seemed to be happening.

A grizzled old warrant officer was monitoring the haze through a battered pair of binoculars and occasionally spoke to a young soldier beside him who was peering down the sights of an M-16. Perhaps every 15 minutes or so this soldier would fire a shot at presumably some movement in the distant smoke. I asked the sergeant what they were firing at, to which he replied: "They have M-79s."

Competing versions of last year's violence are expected to animate Thailand's upcoming election campaign, which some analysts fear could tilt towards more violence. At least in part, the polls will represent a trial of popular tastes for radical and sharp-edged realignments of political power with the many UDD leaders running under Puea Thai's banner.

Those voters - not to be confused with actual protesters - still impressed by Thaksin's past aura of dynamism and pro-poor promises will likely still punt for his party. But there are subtle indications that the UDD's drawing power may have peaked in 2009, when the movement was widely seen as something fresh, hopeful and exciting. Then, many ordinary Thais were keen to echo the UDD's arguments against social and economic inequality, often with a vigor that often seemed to surprise UDD speakers themselves.

If Thai culture accommodates a certain level of "justified" violence, witnessed in the popularity of Thaksin's 2003 war on drugs campaign that resulted in over 2,200 extrajudicial killings, there is also a visceral dislike of anarchy and distrust of overweening arrogance. The UDD leaders running with Puea Thai will likely struggle against perceptions of the latter.

Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a Thai academic who has been notably pro-UDD and strongly opposed to military meddling in politics, wrote last year on an academic website that "The use of arms in [urban] struggle, during political protest that claims 'non-violence' as its motto is political suicide."

"[The violence] didn't really 'protect' the rally, in fact it only provoked heavier deployment of lethal force by the government, which the protesters, however armed, would not be able to counter, and which would [result] - and this is my strongest objection - in loss of lives of innocent demonstrators themselves," he added. Somsak now faces lese majeste charges filed by the Thai military for other outspoken views.

Meanwhile, three top UDD leaders told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in late April that their group was an entirely "peaceful" movement. Jatuporn claimed that the arson attacks against CentralWorld and other tower blocks were perpetrated by "the state" to distract attention from the military's killing of unarmed protestors. The government "started the violence because they know our strength is in peaceful protest," he said.

With the credibility of such claims stretching credulity, including well-documented counter-narratives raised in the HRW report, there are indications of significant splits among UDD stalwarts on moderate and hard lines.

Former UDD chairman Veerakarn Musikapong, who was jailed after last year's crackdown, warned in a recent press interview that the UDD will destroy itself if it continues to move in lockstep with the Puea Thai party because it should represent the people, rather than a single man, ie Thaksin. Veerakarn also raised concerns that the movement's agenda risked being hijacked by radical fringe elements that did not represent the movement's wider sentiments.

"We must not make people hate or fear us. We have to erase this image," he said in the interview.

Whether internal conflicts or negative popular perceptions will undermine the radical UDD leaders' bid to enter the political mainstream at the upcoming polls is yet to be seen. But it will by now have become clear to undecided voters that the UDD and its top leaders are no more peaceful or less guilty than the establishment forces they will be running against in July's elections.

BANGKOK, May 11 (UPI) -- Thailand's prime minister hit out at Cambodia, saying no international observers will be allowed on the disputed border where both armies remain on high alert.

"Thailand's stance remains the same. If Cambodia doesn't withdraw its troops from the disputed border area, no observers will be sent there," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said.

Indonesia offered to send troops as observers to the area in which Thai and Cambodian armies have periodically clashed, resulting in the deaths of more than a dozen Thai soldiers and an undisclosed number of Cambodian soldiers.

The offer was made and initially accepted during a meeting between foreign delegations in Jakarta this week.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong hammered out the agreement. They made the deal after a failed meeting between Abhisit and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit Sunday.

"The achievement this afternoon exceeded my expectations," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told media after the agreement.

The latest series of clashes between Thailand and Cambodia began in February. The fighting has been condemned by the United Nations and ASEAN, to which Thailand and Cambodia belong.

One of the main areas in the dispute is near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, since 2008 a World Heritage site, in the Dangrek Mountains on the Thai-Cambodia border 300 miles east of Bangkok.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple was on Cambodian land but some access to the mountaintop site passes through Thai territory, a route that Thai troops occasionally seal off.

Fighting has flared in the area within the past several years, notably in October 2008 when two Cambodian troops died and seven Thai troops were wounded in an hourlong gun battle.

Thai and Cambodian field commanders agreed to a cease-fire in late April but it was quickly broken, with both sides blaming the other.

This week Thailand's army requested customs officers to slow down the export to Cambodia of fuel and other strategic products that the Cambodian military could use to support their troops in operations against Thai forces.

Products include vehicle fuel, oil and natural gas.

The border remains open in many place and local people are allowed to pass, as well as some tourists, Bangkok's media report.

Abhisit's hardening position comes after this week's announcement that Thailand will go to the polls July 3 in a national election.

The poll will be the first for Abhisit, whose coalition government came to power in 2008 after a court dissolved the then governing party.

It also comes a year after anti-government riots and protests disrupted several central areas of Bangkok, leaving more than 90 people dead.

(BANGKOK) — A Thai opposition lawmaker was wounded in a drive-by shooting near Bangkok, an attack denounced Wednesday as the first election-related violence as the country gears up for tense national polls.

The Tuesday evening attack came a day after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolved the lower house of Parliament to hold early elections on July 3. The snap polls open a new front in the political battle between supporters of Abhisit and those of populist former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a 2006 military coup.

The wounded lawmaker, Pracha Prasobdee, represented the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai Party in the lower house of Parliament. He was shot in the back and shoulders by at least one gunman on the back of a motorbike while he was driving his car in Samut Prakan, outside the capital, party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said.

"As soon as the lower house is dissolved, they start shooting politicians," Prompong said. "We suspect a political link here."

Abhisit visited the lawmaker Wednesday at a hospital where he was being treated for the bullet wounds.

Last year, "Red Shirt" protesters, a grouping of anti-government protesters largely loyal to Thaksin, occupied much of Bangkok's downtown commercial districts in two months of demonstrations. The protests, which demanded Abhisit call early elections, ended with a military crackdown and violent street battles that killed at least 91 people and wounded 1,400.

(Read more about the Thailand-Cambodia border clash.)

The demonstrations marked the latest phase of instability in Thailand, which has been gripped by political unrest since Thaksin's 2006 ouster. Thaksin is now in self-imposed exile overseas but continues to rally and fund his supporters.

Puea Thai's pro-Thaksin predecessor, the People's Power Party, won the most seats in the last elections in 2007 and formed a government that ruled for about a year. But controversial court rulings ordered the PPP dissolved, and militant anti-Thaksin demonstrations helped Abhisit's Democrats woo enough lawmakers to form a new ruling coalition and take power.

Polls suggest that Puea Thai, made up mostly of former PPP lawmakers, will win the most seats in upcoming polls, but probably not a majority. Few expect that elections will solve Thailand's political problems and many fear renewed violence during the campaign period.

Lawyers for the victim participants of the Khmer Rouge tribunal said Tuesday the court violated their rights by not releasing enough information to them about a potential case at the court, which is facing increasing pressure to conduct further trials.

Controversial Case 003, which could see two more Khmer Rouge leaders indicted, saw investigating judges issue conclusion on April 29, which should have given prosecutors and civil parties both 15 days to appeal for more investigation.

However, civil party participants were not given access to the case file, which prevented them from taking "any meaningful actions," lawyers Silke Stuzenski and Hong Kim Suon said in a statement.

As a result, civil party complainants—who are supposed to participate in trials as a means of national reconciliation for the genocide—face a "high risk" of rejection from the case, the lawyers wrote.

Under court rules, victims are supposed to demonstrate they are victims of particular crimes by the accused. But the names of the accused in Case 003 have remained confidential with the court, making such a petition impossible. Only four people have applied to become civil party complainants in Case 003, a court official said.

Latt Ky, a tribunal monitor for the rights group Adhoc, said he worried the number of complainants was "too small," especially when civil parties are supposed to play an important role in the national process.

"Their participation helps them peacefully accept justice," he said.

Applicants now have until May 18 to file complaints under court rules, although the court may extend the period a further six weeks.

The court is now facing increasing pressure from within and without to continue more trials of Khmer Rouge leaders.

The court has successfully prosecuted one case—against prison chief Duch—and is preparing for a second. But the fates of two more cases, which would require more indictments, remain unclear.

She has also come under sharp criticism for court officials in recent weeks, after she named in a complaint former Khmer Rouge believed to be part of two confidential case now under consideration at the court.

In an interview, Seng Theary said the court was failing in its mission to help average Cambodian victims, either by withholding the names of those likely to be indicted in the two upcoming cases—003 and 004—or other omissions of information.

"In Case 003, they didn't even receive a single victim as a civil party," she said. "This is extremely unreasonable. They've violated their duties and have been irrational in what they've taken as a pretext for confidentiality, which is not consistent with the facts."

In complaints to the tribunal, Seng Theary named former Khmer Rouge cadre Meas Muth, Sou Meth, Im Chaem, Ta An and Ta Tith, in an effort to move cases 003 and 004 forward. (In interviews with VOA Khmer, both Meas Muth and Im Chaem have denied involvement in regime atrocities.)

Both cases, which Prime Minister Hun Sen is against, have stalled in the courts under objections from Cambodian judges and prosecutors, making them politically sensitive.

On April 29, the office of investigating judges issued a conclusion to their investigation of Case 003, giving prosecutors 15 days to review the case and recommend further investigation.

That set off a schism within the prosecution's office, with the international and Cambodian prosecutor trading statements in the media this week over the propriety of the case.

International prosecutor Andrew Cayley issued an open statement Monday, saying the investigation was not complete.

Cayley said he planned to request that the investigating judges summon suspects named in the case, interview further potential witnesses, examine more crime sites, such as mass graves, include more evidence in the case file and investigate the involvement of those suspects in Case 003 in the torture center Tuol Sleng. He also recommended the confidential suspects be publicly identified.

In his statement, he made clear his belief that the suspects of Case 003 fell under the jurisdiction of the court, which is mandated to try those "most responsible" for the atrocity crimes of the Khmer Rouge.

On Tuesday, Cayley's Cambodian counterpart in the prosecution's office, Chea Leang, issued her own statement, saying she did not believe the accused fell under the jurisdiction of the court. She has in the past echoed Hun Sen's concerns that further indictments in those cases could destabilize the country, presumably by threatening members of the Khmer Rouge who joined the government at the end of its civil war.

All of this comes as the tribunal prepares for its second case, a complicated trial of four leaders already in the court's custody—Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith.

A tribunal spokesman said this week that the tribunal was following its principles and guidelines and notifying the right parties at the right time as cases develop. The court has earned support from Cambodians and internationals alike, the spokesman said.

However, an increasing number of people are starting to look more closely at cases 003 and 004 and questioning whether they will be completed by the tribunal, which has struggled financially under accusations of mismanagement and corruption.

Last week, Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a major researcher for the tribunal, called for greater transparency and independence for cases 003 and 004.

"We expect the [tribunal] to uphold the highest standards of judicial independence," he said in a statement. "All [tribunal] decisions must be made independent of political pressure and in accordance with a forthright interpretation of the court's rules."

KHMER Rouge tribunal co-prosecutor Chea Leang has responded to a statement from her international counterpart calling for further investigation in the court's controversial third case, reiterating her opposition to the investigation and claiming that the suspects are out of the tribunal's jurisdiction.

In a statement on Monday, international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley said he believed allegations set forth by the prosecution in a 2009 submission to the court's investigating judges "have not been fully investigated". The statement followed an announcement from the investigating judges last month that they had concluded their Case 003 investigation, though they did limited field investigation and did not even interview the suspects in the case, causing court observers to charge that the investigation had been deliberately curtailed in the face of government opposition.

Cayley listed a series of additional investigative steps in his statement that he said he planned to request that the judges perform, as he is permitted to do under the rules of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the tribunal is formally known.

Cambodian officials, however, have repeatedly expressed opposition to Case 003 as well as the still-pending Case 004, and yesterday, Chea Leang renewed her claim that the suspects in Case 003 fall outside the tribunal's jurisdiction.

"The National Co-Prosecutor maintains that the named suspects in Case File 003 do not fall within the jurisdiction of the ECCC to be brought to trial and that the Tribunal's mandate can be adequately fulfilled through the prosecution of the Accused persons in the ECCC Detention Facility," Chea Leang said in a statement. The agreement between the United Nations and the government that established the tribunal, she added, "envisaged the prosecution of a limited number of people".

The identities of the suspects in Case 003 remain officially confidential, though court documents reveal them as former Khmer Rouge navy commander Meas Muth and air force commander Sou Met.

International prosecutor William Smith made submissions for Cases 003 and 004 to the investigating judges in 2009 without the support of Chea Leang after a lengthy dispute over the issue. Cambodian court staff have consistently expressed opposition to these cases, echoing public remarks by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has warned that prosecutions beyond Case 002 could plunge the Kingdom into civil war.

Prosecutors have said they will not request further investigations beyond Case 004.

In response to Cayley's statement on Monday, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the government's stance on the issue remained the same, repeating a warning about the additional cases to the tribunal's international staff.

Yesterday, however, he sought to walk back his remarks, saying the government thinks "the court should be allowed to do its work".

"In general, we should let the court officials do their job," he said. "The government is not involved in that."

The 2003 agreement between the government and the UN establishing the tribunal empowers it to prosecute "senior leaders" and those "most responsible" for Khmer Rouge crimes. But John Ciorciari, a senior legal adviser with the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said in an email that specific questions about the ECCC's jurisdiction were "never adequately resolved in the political negotiations to create the court".

"If cases 003 and 004 are dismissed, the decision not to interview suspects will raise legitimate questions on whether the dismissals were pre-planned, especially if dismissals are justified by a lack of evidence," he said.

"If the ECCC does dismiss the cases, it will be important not to appear to dress up jurisdictional disputes in the guise of insufficient evidence."

In his statement on Monday, Cayley provided details on a number of crime sites being investigated as part of Case 003 in an attempt to aid prospective civil party applicants interested in joining the case. The move apparently came in response to the fact that the investigating judges had provided no such details, even after the conclusion of their investigation.

Under court rules, victims have until next Wednesday to submit civil party applications, though Cayley has asked the judges to extend this deadline by six weeks.

Civil party lawyer Silke Studzinsky said yesterday that there was "high interest" in the case among prospective civil parties, but that these people had unfortunately received no guidance from the court on the issue prior to Cayley's statement.

"Very often when I'm in the provinces and talk to victims and civil parties, they often ask about Case 003 and Case 004," she said.

Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and Mr. Hor Nam Hong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, agreed to propose to their respective governments a "roadmap" in the form of "a package proposal" on how to move forward.

The agreement was reached during their meeting on 9 May 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia, with Mr. Marty Natalegawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, in his capacity as the current Chair of ASEAN, attending and facilitating said meeting.

The roadmap encompasses the issues of the exchange of notes between Thailand and Indonesia and between Cambodia and Indonesia regarding the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Indonesian Observers Team, the convening of a meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC), and the withdrawal of Cambodian troops from the Temple of Phra Viharn, Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda and the surrounding areas, namely, the local community and market, before the Indonesian observers can be deployed. The roadmap must be approved by both the Thai and Cambodian governments before further action.

Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of the Department of Information and the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson reiterated Thailand's position that Cambodia must withdraw all of its troops from the specified areas before the Indonesian observer teams can be dispatched. Both sides agreed to take the agreed roadmap to the respective governments for consideration, the implementation of which would be as a package. It is thus mutually understood that Cambodia must withdraw its troops from the specified locations before the Indonesian observers are sent in.

In response to the question about a time-frame for considering the proposed roadmap, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said that this would depend on when it would be included on the Cabinet's agenda. He noted that all concerned would like to see progress on this matter at the earliest possible but that it has to proceed in accordance with domestic processes of the respective countries.

Regarding the question on whether the proposed roadmap also calls for a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities in the border area, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson stated that this issue should be discussed in detail within the GBC framework, which Thailand has called for since the beginning. Agreement in this connection would be considered as part of the package. Be that as it may, military units on both sides have been in contact and so far no recent clashes took place, which is a positive sign.

In response to a reporter's question on Indonesia's view on the matter, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson stated that Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting, saying in a press interview that it was "better than expected." Thus, media reports suggesting that Indonesia was not satisfied with Thailand's position are inaccurate.

As for the view of the Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia, which was reported in several media outlet, criticizing Thailand as the instigator of the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said that it was most likely due to his misunderstanding or a mistake made in the news report.