Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Cambodia and Thailand agree to negotiate ceasefire

The governments of Cambodia and Thailand agreed to discuss a ceasefire to end armed clashes along the common border, which fought for five days for the dispute of Preah Vihear ancient temple. In the midst of armed clashes that have killed at least l2 dead and 57 wounded on both sides, the Cambodian Ministry of Defense reported this afternoon in a statement its decision to negotiate a cease-fire.

"The Cambodian Minister of Defense Tea Banh, has accepted the proposal of his Thai counterpart Prawit Wongsuwon to discuss a ceasefire," said the official statement, according to a report by the Kyodo news agency. Negotiations to be held in the coming days in the Cambodian capital, were agreed after a telephone conversation between Banh and Wongsuwon before the armed clashes that pounds since last Friday on the common border.

On Tuesday, the armed forces of Thailand and Cambodia fighting resumed near the historic temple of Preah Vihear, located on the border between the two countries, which both countries are fighting for decades. Thai army spokesman, Sansern Kaewkamnerd, reported that Cambodian forces fired rockets at four Thai villages near the temples of Ta Muen and Ta Kwai, killing one villager and wounding three others, and three Thai soldiers.

''They fired artillery and mortars and we responded, "said Thai army spokesman, while Cambodia Thailand blamed for initiating the clashes, air strikes launched by the Thai aviation. Faced with the possibility of an upsurge in fighting The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Theerakun Niyom, called for help from China, Vietnam and the United States to convince Phnom Penh to return to negotiations.

Niyom met separately this morning with the ambassadors of China, United States and Vietnam to discuss the situation and find a solution to the conflict by peaceful means through dialogue. In March the governments of both countries agreed to negotiate under the mediation of Indonesia, but Thailand has refused to negotiate a solution with Cambodia, saying the Indonesian observers in the disputed area could complicate the situation.

The temple of Preah Vihear, which dates from the eleventh century, has become a point of tension between the two countries since 1962, when the International Court in The Hague ruled that it belonged to Phnnom Penh, although the surrounding area is still claimed by Bangkok. Thailand has admitted that the temple belongs to neighboring Cambodia, but said that an area of 6.4 square kilometers is located in the vicinity of its territory, not included in the international court ruling.

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