84 Thai troops withdraw from border after Cambodian PM issues deadline
14/10/2008 17:26
All 84 Thai troops withdrew around 1100 am(0400 GMT) from the Veal Intry
area where they entered yesterday after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen issued
a deadline to Thailand today, said a Cambodian senior military officer.
The
officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, didn't elaborate on the
withdrawal.
Hun Sen today set 12:00 am (0500 GMT) as the ultimate time for
the 84 Thai troops to pull out from the Veal Intry area, about 2,000 meters west
of the Preah Vihear Temple.
Both commanders have been discussing the issue
since 08:30 local time today at the area, the premier told the Fourth Asia
Forum, which was attended by hundreds of foreign guests and diplomatic
corps.
"If the talk fails, weapon conflict will break out. But we don' t want
to see weapon conflict will occur," he said.
The Veal Intry area is a very
important location for reaching the Preah Vihear Temple, he said, adding that
the Thai troops want to cut the road to the temple.
"I told Thai Foreign
Minister Sompong Amornviwat yesterday in a candid talk that he has to tell Thai
premier that the Cambodian side won't bear any loss of its land to Thailand," he
said.
Thailand shouldn't treat Cambodia like this, because both are members
of ASEAN and neighboring countries, he said.
Cambodia and Thailand used to
have good cooperation with each other, especially in the field of fighting
against terrorism, he said.
"The (usual) relationship between the two sides
still continues normally at this minute," he added.
Yesterday, Hun Sen once
asked Thailand to evacuate its troops from the Veal Intry area within 24 hours,
and warned of war otherwise.
"The Veal Intry area is the dead or alive point
for us," he told reporters at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation after meeting with visiting Thai Foreign Minister
Sompong Amornviwat.
"The situation at the Veal Intry area is too hot. They
have to remove tonight or tomorrow. If they don't remove from the Veal Intry
area, war will be waged," he added.
The Veal Intry area is on the Phnom Trap
hill side, approximately 2,000 meters from the west side of the Keo Sikha Kiri
Svara Pagoda, which is situated on the only way leading to the Preah Vihear
Temple.
In July, tensions ran high after the ancient Preah Vihear Temple was
awarded world heritage status by UNESCO, angering nationalists in Thailand who
still claim ownership of the site.
The tension later turned into a military
confrontation, in which up to 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops faced off for six
weeks. In mid-August, most troops evacuated and just a few dozen soldiers
stationed near the temple.
However, bilateral talks to discuss withdrawing
troops from around the temple were postponed late August amid political turmoil
in Thailand.
In October at the border area, at least one Cambodian soldier
and two Thai troops were wounded during an exchange of gunfire, and two other
Thai soldiers were seriously injured after stepping on a landmine.
Xinhua
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