16 July 2008

Troops sent to temple dispute

BANGKOK Ã¢â¬' Tensions are rising near the Preah Vihear temple, with troops from Thailand and Cambodia patrolling the area.

The dispute over the temple is due to go before a special Thailand/Cambodia General Border Committee meeting where the new World Heritage Site will be discussed.

Thai army commander in the region, Lt-Gen Sujit Sithiprapa, has closed Khao Phra Viharn national park and sealed access to the border in the area, banning visitors from seeing the temple ruins from the Thai side.

About 900 Cambodians living on the mountain where the temple is located have fled their homes for a safer spot lower down, according to Cambodian border unit commander Seng Vuthy.

Thailand started reinforcing its troops yesterday after army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda ordered the First Special Warfare Unit to stand by at their base in Lop Buri province, and be ready for an airlift to the border in case of an emergency, an army source said.

The Bangkok Post reported that troops from the Artillery Regiment and the Third Infantry Division were already on their way to stations close to the border. Some 150 paramilitary rangers are already in the disputed area.

Air force chief ACM Chalit Phukpasuk assigned F-16 jets to patrol the border

Phnom Penh has 380 soldiers stationed at the temple, according to a Cambodian government spokesman.

Thailand is demanding the return of the Preah Vihear temple to
Thailand although the kingdom lost a legal battle with Cambodia over it in the International Court of Justice in 1962.

"If Cambodia does not withdraw its soldiers, we won't either, because it is the overlapping area," an army spokesman said.