Phnom Penh - The Cambodian government said Wednesday that a
couple hundred Thai troops had moved into its territory in a dispute
involving an ancient temple while a Thai military officer denied his
country's soldiers had crossed the border.
More than 200 Thai troops were inside Cambodian territory and 380
Cambodian troops were deployed to meet them, Cambodian Information
Minister Khieu Kanharith said while denying bilateral relations were
strained.
'They are living altogether, and there is no conflict between
them,' he said at a press conference at the Information Ministry.
However, Major Kanok Natrakawessena, commander of the Thai Army's
Suranaree task force along Thailand's border with Cambodia, said no
Thai soldiers had crossed into Cambodian territory.
According to the Cambodian government, Thai troops clad in black -
a colour that evokes memories of the Khmer Rouge to many Cambodians
and is regarded as particularly menacing - began arriving Tuesday at
the northern Preah Vihear temple, about 300 kilometres north of Phnom
Penh.
Tensions have been building since Cambodia again asked UNESCO to
list the 11th-century Hindu temple as a World Heritage Site in 2007
and the United Nations cultural body granted that wish on July 9.
The temple was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International
Court in The Hague, but the surrounding border area is still
disputed, and many Thais were angered by the decision. Thai
protesters have been camped out on the border for weeks.
'Please, I urge journalists not to inflame this situation,'
Kanharith said.
The Cambodian government has urged calm with national elections,
which are held every five years, two weeks away, and Cambodians seem
to have obliged.
In 2003, angry Cambodians torched the Thai embassy and some
businesses over a false rumour that a Thai actress had said the
country's other World Heritage Site, the Angkor Wat temple, was Thai.
Kanharith declined comment on reports that more Thai troops were
massing in the north-western Cambodian province of Banteay Meanchey,
also on the Thai border and around 200 kilometres from the temple.
Cambodia briefly detained and then released three Thai protesters
Tuesday, but their arrest was followed, the Cambodian government
said, by the arrival of 40 armed Thai troops at the temple, which is
sacred to both sides.
Thailand's Kanok denied Cambodia's claims from Tuesday that some
of those Thai soldiers were detained.
Cambodia has said all Thais are free to return after signing
agreements that they trespassed on Cambodian soil and apologize. The
Cambodian government denied they were under arrest.
Kanharith said Thailand had discussed the issue by telephone with
Defence Minister Tea Banh, who has strong Thai connections and speaks
fluent Thai, and added Prime Minister Hun Sen and representatives of
his Interior and Foreign ministries had also met about the issue
Wednesday.
Border authorities were unavailable for comment.
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