Open letter from 30 senators of the Kingdom of Thailand

1. The recent escalation of tension on the Thai-Cambodian border is a direct consequence of the decision of the World Heritage Committee to unilaterally inscribe the Temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site of Cambodia. Even though the ideal of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), the Secretariat of the World Heritage Centre (WHC), is "to encourage international peace and universal respect among nations and to create the conditions for genuine dialogue based upon respect for shared values and the dignity of each civilisation and culture", its recent decision to inscribe the Temple of Preah Vihear as proposed by Cambodia is absolutely contrary to its basic principles. The inscription of the said site has contributed to rising regional tension resulting in the build-up of troops and arms on the border, the level of which has not been seen for decades, which could lead to most serious consequences. We therefore condemn the decision of the WHC and Unesco as short-sighted, biased, politically motivated and contrary to its own aim of promoting peace and harmony among nations.

2. We consider the decision to inscribe the Temple of Preah Vihear, as unilaterally proposed by Cambodia, wrong and unjustified as it only met criteria (1) of the WHC Operational Guidelines. Furthermore, even though a management plan of the property and an adequate buffer zone is required before the inscription of a site, the World Heritage Committee rushed through the decision to inscribe the site "on an exceptional basis" (Clause 7 of Decision 32, COM 8B .102) without any management plan whatsoever.

3. If the joint nomination of the site by the kingdoms of Thailand and Cambodia, as proposed by Thailand, had been accepted, it would have fulfilled criteria III and IV of the Operational Guidelines as well as given full Integrity to the site and truly promoted peace as well as everlasting social, economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries.

We therefore declare that:

1.1 Under the 1904 and 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaties, it was agreed that the watershed line marked the boundaries between Thailand and Cambodia in the region of the Dangrek Mountain Range. In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that sovereignty over the temple belonged to Cambodia but it refrained from making any rulings on the boundary line as indicated in the Annex 1 map requested by Cambodia. Otherwise, the unilateral map drawn up by France, which was used as one of the evidences provided by Cambodia, received no judicial recognition nor was the status of the Annex 1 map given any judicial pronouncement.

1.2 Thailand complied with the 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice under protest and with expressed reservation, and proceeded to withdraw all Thai personnel from the temple in compliance with that ruling. Under the circumstances, there can be no overlapping area as Thailand did not give up sovereignty of the land surrounding the temple. Therefore, the disputed area of 4.6 sq km adjacent to the temple still lies within the boundary of Thai territory .

1.3 Subsequent to the inscription of the Temple of Preah Vihear to Cambodia, the World Heritage Committee ruled in clause 14 of Decision 32, COM 8 B.102 that Cambodia, in collaboration with Unesco, must convene an international coordinating committee for the safeguarding and development of the property, consisting of not more than seven countries, including Thailand. The aim of the said international committee is to 'examine general policy matters relating to the safeguarding of the outstanding universal value of the property in conformity with international conservation standards'. We would like to assert that should the decision of this international committee cause Thailand to lose sovereignty over the 4.6 sq km of land adjacent to the temple, we will not accept the decision of the committee, even if it means Thailand must withdraw from the WHC. 

1.4 We request the Government of Thailand to nullify the June 18 joint communique with Cambodia, as well as all other related MOUs as soon as possible, as they breach Article 190 (Clause 2) of the Constitution and could lead to other consequences.

1.5 We request the Government of Cambodia to repatriate the Cambodians who have settled to live and trade on Thai soil as soon as possible.

1.6 We will inform the new foreign minister of Thailand that any negotiations he makes with his Cambodian counterpart must be transparent, the public must be kept well informed and finally, the ratification of treaties must first go through Parliament.

  The Senators of the Kingdom of Thailand avail themselves of this opportunity to renew to all diplomatic missions, consular representatives and international organisations in Bangkok, the assurances of their highest consideration.

MR Priyanandana Rangsit          

Senator                                    Co-signed by 30 senators

Bangkok

July 28, 2008