PM: Malaysia doesn't understand the border conflict

0 * Published: 10/05/2011 at 10:34 AM
* Online news: Security

Malaysia's Deputy Foreign Minister Richard Riot Jaem does not understand the situation on the Thai-Cambodian border and his criticism is misplaced, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday.

Mr Riot yesterday blamed Bangkok for the clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops along the disputed border near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, and said Thailand "did not adhere to the agreement".

"The Malaysian deputy foreign minister may not understand the border situation because there was a tripartite meeting between Thai, Cambodian and Indonesian foreign ministers last night (May 9) and the issue was settled," Mr Abhisit said.

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)

He said Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya would return to Thailand today and would report on the result of the meeting to the cabinet next week.

"Thailand's stance remains the same. If Cambodia doesn't withdraw its troops from the disputed border area, no [Indonesian] observers will be sent there," the prime minister said.

Meanwhile, the 2nd Army command has asked the customs office to slow down the export of fuel and other strategic products to Cambodia that the Cambodian military could use to support their troops in operations against Thai forces along the disputed border.

The go-slow should continue until the border situation really returns to normal, according to the 2nd Army order obtained and published by the local media today.

The order is intended for the customs office at the Chong Chom immigration checkpoint in Surin’s Kap Choeng district.

It asked the customs office to request the cooperation of traders in slowing deliveries of fuel, natural gas and other products which could be used by Cambodian troops opposing the Thai forces.

This morning, the number of Cambodian people crossing the border to buy food products at the Thai fresh market near the Chong Chom checkpoint was lower than normal. The market was only recently re-opened after being closed because of the fighting on the Cambodian border in Surin and Buri Ram.

A number of Thai tourists crossed the frontier into Cambodia today. Most were seen headed to a casino not far away.

Although most shops at another market near the checkpoint have also reopened, the number of both Thai and Cambodian shoppers was not as high as it used to be.

Army bans fuel exports to Cambodia

0 * Published: 10/05/2011 at 01:39 PM
* Online news:

The 2nd Army command has ordered a halt to further exports of fuel and other products the Cambodian military may need to support their troops in operations against Thai forces along the disputed border.

The export ban will last until the border situation really returns to normal, according to the 2nd Army order obtained and published by the local media today.

The order is intended for the customs office at the Chong Chom immigration checkpoint in Surin’s Kap Choeng district.

It said the office must request cooperation from traders of oil, natural gas and other products needed by Cambodian troops.

This morning, the number of Cambodian people crossing the border to buy food products at the fresh market near the Chong Chom checkpoint remained lower than normal. The market was only recently re-opened after being closed because of the fighting on the Cambodian border in Surin and Buri Ram.

A number of Thai tourists crossed the frontier into Cambodia today, most were seen headed to a casino not far away.

Although most shops at another market near the checkpoint have also reopened, the number of both Thai and Cambodian shoppers was not as high as it used to be.

Morning Focus: Malaysia blames Thailand for border row (10/05/2011)

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Yellow-shirts report to CSD

0 * Published: 10/05/2011 at 01:17 PM
* Online news:

Leaders and supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) charged by police in connection with the blockade of Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports in 2008 reported to the Crime Suppression Division on Tuesday.

CSD investigators have decided to recommend indictment of 114 PAD suspects on charges of illegal assembly for the seizure of the two airports.

Some of the suspects, mostly leading PAD figures, are additionally charged with terrorism under Articles 113 and 116 of the Criminal Code.

Of the 114, some had earlier reported to the CSD, leaving 83 to do likewise today.

As of about 12pm, 27 of them had reported to the CSD. They included such leading figures as Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, Somsak Kosaisuk, Pibhop Dhongchai, Somkiat Pongpaiboon, Saranyoo Wongkrachang, Sarocha Porn-udomsak, Anchalee Paireerak, Prapan Khoonmee, Panthep Pongpuapan and Jindarat Charoenchaichana.

Of the PAD leaders summonsed, four of them sought to postpone reporting to the CSD. They included Sondhi Limthongkul, who went to the Chachoengsao Court, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who was still abroad, and Pol Lt-Col Santhana Prayoonrat.

Those who already reported to the CSD were subsequently handed over to Wichian Thanompichai, chief of the prosecutors handling the case.

Mr Wichian said the suspects had been told to return on June 9 when the prosecutors would decide who among them are to be indicted and on what charges.

Foreign ministers agree on observers

0'Package solution' allows deployment to border

* Published: 10/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News

JAKARTA : The foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand have agreed on a deal via a so-called "package solution" to allow the deployment of Indonesian monitors to their disputed border area.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong met yesterday to try to iron out their differences after the two countries' prime ministers Abhisit Vejjajiva and Hun Sen failed to reach an agreement during talks at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit on Sunday.

"The achievement this afternoon exceeded my expectations," said Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in the wake of the talks that he mediated.

"I'm not underestimating the scale of the problem, but they have overcome their mutually exclusive demands," he said.

Hor Namhong said Cambodia and Thailand had agreed to a "package solution" on sending observers to the disputed area, the Kyodo News agency reported.

He said the solution was to combine six points in one, that is, both sides would have to first exchange letters of acceptance on the terms of reference for the Indonesian Observer Team (IOT), and at the same time announce the dates of the meetings of the General Border Committee (GBC) and the Joint Border Commission (JBC) of the two countries.

Points three and four are to send a survey team to the disputed area and convene meetings of the GBC and JBC with five days, he said.

Points five and six are to send the full assignment of the IOT and follow up on the results of GBC and JBC meetings within 10 days.

Indonesia, this year's Asean chairman, has tried to facilitate talks over the two countries' joint claims to the 4.6-square-kilometre land plot adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple.

The two sides had signed up to Indonesia's proposal to send observers to monitor a ceasefire on their common border on Feb 22 at the Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta, but the deployment was delayed because Bangkok demanded that Cambodian troops and civilians withdraw from the area around the temple site first.

The Cambodian side, meanwhile, had insisted that the monitoring team be deployed before any negotiations on troop withdrawal could resume under the GBC.

Under the compromise, the two foreign ministers agreed that Thailand's formal approval for the deployment of the Indonesian monitoring team would be made on the same date as the announcement of the committee's next meeting, Mr Marty said.

Yesterday's agreement must still be approved by both countries' leaders, however.

In Bangkok, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said he agreed with Prime Minister Abhisit's demand that Cambodia withdraw its troops from the disputed area before Indonesia sends its observers there.

He said a GBC meeting should be held first to explore ways of enabling Thai and Cambodian troops to stay in place before the terms of reference are signed to deploy the observers.

Gen Prawit will attend the Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting in Indonesia on May 18-21.

He is expected to discuss with Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh preparations for the 8th GBC meeting, a military source said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia yesterday blamed Thailand for renewed clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border, saying a solution was being delayed as Thailand was demanding that Cambodia first pull troops out of the temple area before letting observers in.

"An agreement had been agreed upon. [Thailand] should adhere to it, I wouldn't want to say lacking in faith ... [but] they did not adhere to the agreement," Malaysian deputy foreign minister Richard Riot Jaem was quoted by AFP as saying.

"Thailand refused and that's why the skirmish came again," said Mr Riot, who attended the Asean meeting.

Acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Mr Riot's remarks contradicted what Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the Asean summit to support the two countries in solving the border problem bilaterally.Meanwhile, the border area in Surin province enjoyed its seventh day free of gunfire yesterday but soldiers on both sides were still confronting each other from Ta Kwai temple in tambon Bak Dai to Ta Muen Thom temple in tambon Ta Miang of Phanom Dong Rak district.

The Chong Jom border pass opened yesterday and over 80% of Thai and Cambodian vendors reopened their stalls at a local market near the border pass on the Thai side.

There were more Cambodian buyers than Thais at the market and they stocked up on piles of consumer products for their customers.

Local people want both governments to negotiate and withdraw their soldiers from the border as soon as possible because their confrontation increases the possibility of clashing.

Dozens injured as Cambodian casino ceiling collapses

0
Phnom Penh - Thirty gamblers and staff at a Cambodian casino were injured over the weekend when a ceiling collapsed on them while workers were installing security cameras, national media reported Tuesday.

The accident took place Saturday evening at the Sunday Casino in the south-eastern province of Kampot near the border with Vietnam.

The Cambodia Daily newspaper said six Vietnamese gamblers and a Cambodian card dealer were critically injured.

The head of the border crossing, Phan Sophal, told the newspaper that around 100 customers and staff were on the casino floor at the time.


'The casino has only been open since September, and many Vietnamese come to play every day,' he said. 'But it was built wrong technically and with poor quality.'

He added that the casino would close until repairs were completed.

Cambodia has 27 casinos, but it is illegal for Cambodians to gamble in any of them. Most casinos are located along the borders with Vietnam and Thailand.

Man accused of murdering wife suffered metal toxicity, court told

0Narin Sok is pictured on July 30, 2008, the day he was arrested by police and charged with the second-degree murder of his wife Deang Huon.Photograph by: Supplied, Edmonton Journal

May 9, 2011
By Ryan Cormier, Postmedia News
Edmonton Jounal (Alberta, Canada)

EDMONTON — In a rare move, Crown and defence lawyers have agreed that an Edmonton man charged with the second-degree murder of his wife is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder caused by "heavy metal toxicity."

After his arrest, Narin Sok told doctors he thought his wife might have been possessed by the "snake spirit" of his dead brother. He has admitted he killed her in the couple's downtown apartment on July 30, 2008.

Deang Huon, 40, died of strangulation.

In a joint submission, defence lawyer Peter Royal and Crown prosecutor Robert Fata agreed that Sok was suffering from lead, cadmium and manganese toxicity the day his wife was found dead.


The condition is attributed to years of working with scrap metal, and the fact that in hours before the murder, Sok tried to melt "magic belts" he and his wife had used in hopes of increasing their chances of pregnancy. That last concentrated exposure occurred in the couple's enclosed apartment.

"In my 36 years of practice I have never seen another case like this, and doubt we will ever see another one," Royal told court.

Sok, 51, was in a deranged state when police found him and his wife's body in their apartment after concerned relatives asked that someone check on the couple's welfare.

Police found a bizarre scene, according to an agreed statement of facts.

Sok was sitting in the bedroom, ripping up a black garbage bag to add to numerous others that covered the floors and windows. Next to him, his wife's dead body was partially covered with garbage bags, rice sacks and other debris. Rigor mortis had already set in.

Sok was taken to police headquarters in the back seat of a cruiser, where he spit and complained of thirst.

In his cell, he urinated on the floor and simultaneously complained the room was dirty.

He was soon moved to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where he was treated for kidney failure, liver damage and facial scratches and bruises. There was also damage to his heart. He was then transferred to Alberta Hospital for a psychological assessment.

Starting in 1986, Sok had spent a total of nine years off and on working in various scrap-metal yards. Largely, his job was to cut and peel wires to separate various metals to be recycled. He told doctors he usually wore gloves but only used a mask sporadically because it was uncomfortably hot.

He told doctors his job was dusty and could turn his mask black when he did wear it.

When he returned from a 2007 visit to Cambodia, Sok brought back two "magic belts" made of zinc, silver and lead that were supposed to increase the chances he and his wife could conceive a child. The couple constantly wore two belts each, he told doctors.

Huon never became pregnant.

The night before his wife's death, Sok tried to melt those belts in a pan on the stove. As the apartment filled with smoke, he disabled the smoke detector, but had already covered the windows with garbage bags in what doctors later thought was a sign of increasing paranoia.

He said he doesn't remember going to sleep that night. Sometime after, the couple fought and Huon was strangled.

Sok told doctors he couldn't understand what happened in the moments before his wife's death, or why he punctured her right arm with a thin metal rod. He remembered placing a chair astride her neck then using a rice sack to weigh it down. He remembered both of them falling asleep.

At one point, he told doctors he thought his wife might have been possessed by the "snake spirit" of his deceased brother.

Heavy metal toxicity occurs when the amount ingested exceeds the body's ability to eliminate them. The effects vary greatly, depending on the level of toxicity and the specific metal involved.

Doctors concluded that Sok's toxicity started because of his occupation, leading to paranoia and abnormal behaviour.

It also led to the impaired judgment that led him to burn the metal belts, which caused acute poisoning by inhalation.

The Cambodian couple married in Edmonton in 1994. Between then and the murder there was no evidence of violence in the relationship and Sok did not have a criminal record.

Court was told Sok is now fully recovered from his mental illness.

The trial continues.

rcormier@edmontonjournal.com

RI hails progress in row, but deadlock remains

Tue, 05/10/2011
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An Indonesian-brokered meeting aimed at defusing a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia ended Monday evening, with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa later describing the outcome as positive and claiming progress.

However after three hours of intensive talks, Thailand still insisted that Cambodian troops must withdraw from the disputed border area before any further talks could be held, a condition the Cambodian leader rejected during meeting Sunday’s ASEAN summit.

Marty said Indonesia had proposed a package solution to the deadlock, but did not elaborate.

According to analysts, this may mean a combination of having Thailand sign a term of reference allowing Indonesia to send in observers to the disputed area, meeting the Thai-Cambodian general border committee and withdrawing its troops from the disputed areas.

“In a very interactive and dynamic meeting, both sides have shown the spirit of solving the dispute peacefully. They have the consensus to accept Indonesia’s proposal of having a package solution,” Marty told the press after the meeting

“With this package approach, we don’t talk about who will take what step first anymore before the other takes a step. We should see this as a process, not an event. This way, our chances of having progress are more open.”

Marty said that both ministers would return to their respective countries to consult with their respective leaders and government.

“We will await the responses from each of the governments,” he said.

While reaching a consensus at the ministerial level is considered a success by Jakarta, experts and officials from both sides have agreed that domestic politics in each of the countries will have a far more significant impact on the dispute.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will face a major test in Thailand’s July general elections, when he will run against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose supporters call themselves the Red Shirts, and a nationalist group loyal to the royal family and the military called the Yellow Shirts.

Abhisit’s response to the dispute with Cambodia has prompted critics to label him as weak.

“There is always an element or group of nationalists and they may have very strong nationalistic feelings, and they’re part of society,” Abhisit said in an interview with The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

“But my government has demonstrated clearly that we listen to them but we would do what is best and what is necessary in the interests of the country and we protect our sovereignty and we protect our territory,” he said.

Experts have said that backing down from their demands for Cambodian troops to withdraw from the border is not a credible option for Abhisit.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s popularity has peaked since he began taking a tough stance on Thailand.

“The withdrawal of Cambodian troops and people from our own territory is not acceptable,” he told a press conference during Sunday’s summit.

Asean still has to prove that it is really unified [-The Nation needs to check its facts before writing such outrageous article]

0May 10, 2011
The Nation

Despite the sterling efforts of Indonesia as the current chair, the regional grouping must show the world it can act in true solidarity

Thanks to the effectiveness and non-partisan outlook of the current chair, Indonesia, the 18th Asean Summit last weekend concluded on a high note. With the Thai-Cambodian conflict still simmering and overshadowing the summit, it took the calmness of the chair to steer the summit toward a successful conclusion.

If it hadn't been for Indonesia's cool-headed approach, the summit could have turned out differently. For the first time in the history of the regional grouping, an intra-Asean conflict featured prominently during the plenary sessions at the ministerial and summit levels, much to the chagrin of the more conservative members and delegates.

Cambodia's unilateral decision to seek international assistance has pushed the other Asean members to support the ongoing efforts of Thailand to settle the border dispute through a bilateral mechanism, as reflected in the chairman's statement.

The aggressive approach and the lack of consistency by the Cambodian side also helped to strengthen Indonesia's facilitating role and the "fullest utilisation " of the bilateral efforts. It remains to be seen how Indonesia will further engage both sides as the Asean leaders sent a clear signal to the two protagonists not to split Asean with this conflict and thus delay the realisation of an integrated Asean Community by 2015.


Apart from the hullabaloo surrounding the Hun Sen-Hor Nam Hong dramatics, Indonesia managed to push forward processes within the grouping to ensure that the prospect of achieving the Asean Community for 2015 and beyond will be a strong one.

The statement on "the Asean Community in a Global Community of Nations" is a good testimony to Indonesia's current leadership. The Asean leaders agreed that the regional grouping needs to move forward with a shared vision and coordinated action on global issues of common interest. Without these commonalities, Asean will remain weak and lack bargaining power in the globalised world. Toward these objectives, Asean has to do a lot more, as its members are still basically unwilling to think "collectively" for the good of the whole organisation and its 600 million people.

Indonesia has done an excellent job in encouraging the dialogue between the Asean leaders and the civil society organisations. However, Burma has not taken part in the interface. The chair has shown initiative and demonstrated that such dialogues are useful and can be carried out without any politicisation. Vietnam chose not to do so last year.

Somehow, this dialogue process must be institutionalised further. Otherwise there is no guarantee that there will be this type of positive gathering when Cambodia is chair, given past negative responses from Phnom Penh. Without the dialogue process, it is hard to convince the world that Asean is moving toward a people-oriented economic community.

As expected, the controversial issues relating to Burma's request to chair Asean in 2014, as well as the proposed membership of East Timor [Timor Leste], were further deferred. Asean will dispatch fact-finding teams to both countries to assess the situation on the ground and come back with a set of recommendations for the next summit. However, there is nothing given on both cases.

Several Asean members have strong views on the 2014 Asean chairmanship for Burma, as well as the grouping's enlargement. As a rules-based organisation, Asean is getting tough on its members about strictly adhering to rules and regulations.

Indonesia's chairmanship will remain pivotal for the reduction of Thai-Cambodian border tensions in the months to come. Further progress is crucial if so-called Asean solidarity is to become a reality. The whole world is watching.