Namhong vows temple talks

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong has said he will hold bilateral talks with Thailand over last month’s ruling on the disputed Preah Vihear temple when the bloody political crisis engulfing the neighbouring country subsides.

Namhong on Saturday told about 1,000 soldiers at a military base near the Preah Vihear site that further negotiations with Thailand would take place after the current political crisis in Thailand calms down.

He added that the government would ask the Thai military to withdraw its troops from territory granted to Cambodia in the International Court of Justice’s ruling on November 11.

“I could not pass up a visit [to see the soldiers] here to inform them about the good news and offer thanks and gratitude to our soldiers,” Namhong told the troops. “Our brothers here protected [Cambodia’s] territorial sovereignty with weapons, and we in the government have protected the territorial sovereignty with pens and laws, and together we were successful until today.”

In its ruling, the ICJ unanimously declared that its 1962 judgment awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia also gave the Kingdom sovereignty over the promontory upon which the temple sits.

It ruled that the promontory extends in the northwest to the foot of a neighbouring hill known as Phnom Trap, which sits about 2.5 kilometres away from the temple, according to the colonial-era Annex I map that forms the basis of Cambodia’s border claim.

more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/namhong-vows-temple-talks