Jul 8, 2008, 3:48 GMT
Bangkok - The decision by UNESCO to designate a Hindu temple in Cambodia to the World Heritage list is likely to add to Thailand's already shaky political scene, observers said Tuesday.
The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at a meeting in Quebec on Monday decided to designate Preah Vihear, a stunning clifftop temple dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva perched on the cliff that defines the Thai-Cambodian border, as a new heritage site.
The Cambodian proposal was opposed by Thailand, which lost the temple to Cambodia in a International Court of Justice case in 1962.
Although Thailand accepted the ruling it opposed Cambodia's previous efforts to list the temple at UNESCO on the grounds that part of the temple compound is still the subject of a border dispute.
Thailand's current government under Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej first supported the listing and then withdrew their support when the issue became highly politicized.
The controversial border area was excluded in the listing, sources said, but even so the listing is expected to add to Thailand's mounting political instability.
Thailand's Foreign Ministry refused to comment immediately on the listing of Preah Vihear, which is called Phra Viharn in Thailand.
'The Preah Vihear affair has the makings of the Shin Corp deal. It could oust the government,' said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's prestigious Chulalongkorn University.
In January 2006, former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra's family sold their shares in the Thaskin-founded Shin Corp - Thailand's largest telecommunications conglomerate - in a 2 billion dollar tax free deal that is often cited as the beginning of the downfall for the populist prime minister.
Thaksin, a billionaire businessman who was premier between 2001 to 2006, was eventually toppled by a coup in September 2006.
Anti-government protestors and the opposition Democrat Party have both jumped on the current administration's initial support for the Cambodian proposal to list Preah Vihear for political mileage.
Although the government later withdrew its support, and Thai Foreign Minister Noppodon Pattama flew to Canada to lodge opposition to the listing, there was widespread dissatisfaction with the handling of the issue and suspicions that Noppodon had backed the Cambodians to benefit his former boss, Thaksin, in rumoured business deals in Cambodia.
Noppodon was once Thaksin's personal lawyer. He belongs to the People Power Party (PPP), which is known to back and be backed by Thaksin, and is headed by Prime Minister Samak, a Thaksin ally.
'If Noppodon remains defiant and the Samak government doesn't come out with some responsive measures to placate the nationalistic mood, there will be problems,' predicted Thitinan.
Samak's government is already under mounting pressure to resign. Thousands of protestors have been demonstrating in Bangkok against Samak's rule since late May, and several court cases this week are expected to undermine his cabinet.
Thailand successfully blocked Cambodia's efforts to list Preah Vihear in both 2006 and 2007 on the grounds that the inscription map included a 4.6-square-kilometre piece of land in the temple compound that is still subject to a border dispute.
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