A group of Cambodians living in the Netherlands plans to stage a protest at The Hague in November, demanding that the International Court
take action in an ongoing border dispute between Cambodia
and Thailand.
Around 400 Cambodians from European countries and the US are expected to call for support of a 1962
decision by the International
Court giving ownership of Preah Vihear temple and
lands surrounding it to Cambodia,
according to organizer Pothi Tey Svathey.
Thailand
does not dispute Cambodia’s
ownership of the temple, but it disputes nearby border land claimed by Cambodia.
Cambodia
and Thailand
have been at odds since July, when Thai soldiers entered a pagoda in one
disputed area, following the inscription of nearby Preah Vihear temple as a
Unesco World Heritage site. Thousands of soldiers have since massed on the
border on each side, and fighting between soldiers last week left at least
three Cambodians and one Thai soldier dead.
“We will bring a complaint to the Hague court about the Thai
military or Thai government invasion of Cambodian territory and also the
violation of the Hague
court decision,” Pothi Tey Savathey said.
Thai officials maintain they have not invaded Cambodian
territory and that Thai soldiers occupy Thai land.
The group will also complain to Unesco and the UN Security
Council, she said, adding that she hoped the governments of Thailand and Cambodia would solve the border
dispute peacefully and at the international level, Pothi Tey Savathey said.
“So what we are doing is just complain it through
international law,” she said. “We really don’t want war to happen again.”
Both governments have side they remain committed to
bilateral solutions.
Ir Channa, general secretary of the Cambodian Watchdog
Council in Norway,
said his group also urged a solution to the dispute through the International Court.
“The
Hague court is our only hope that Cambodia will receive victory with pride
and make sure that we don’t lost our land and our historical heritage,” he
said.