THAIS DENY MILITARY INCURSION INTO CAMBODIA AFTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002167 SIPDIS PARIS PLEASE PASS TO US MISSION UNESCO E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV UNESCO SCUL MOPS PBTS TH CB SUBJECT: THAIS DENY MILITARY INCURSION INTO CAMBODIA AFTER PROTESTORS ENTER DISPUTED TERRITORY REF: A. STATE: 02137 (CRIMINAL CHARGES) ¶B. STATE: 02111 (FM RESIGNS) BANGKOK 00002167 001.2 OF 002 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On July 15, a senior monk and two other Thais crossed into disputed territory between Thailand and Cambodia in protest of Preah Vihear temple's World Heritage status. Tempers flared on both sides when Cambodian and Thai press reported that large numbers of Thai troops had entered Cambodian territory to rescue the protestors and that some troops had been detained. Some Thai press denied the allegations and reported that Royal Thai Armed Forces Supreme Commander General Boonsrang had secured the release of the prisoners with a phone call to Cambodian Defense Minister Teah Banh. The sense of tension was heightened with the additional report of a Thai solider losing a leg to a landmine near Preah Vihear. Thai officials told us that all reports of a troop incursion into Cambodia are unfounded. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On the morning of July 15, a senior monk and two other protestors crossed into disputed territory in the vicinity of the Preah Vihear temple, in protest of the decision to inscribe the temple on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The protestors claimed an affiliation with the "Dharmayatra" organization, which the local press has described as "ultranationalistic." (Note: We do not believe this group, heretofore unknown to us, is connected to the "Dharma Army" associated with leading anti-government figure Chamlong Srimuang. End Note.) ¶3. (SBU) Thai press quoted a Cambodian official as saying that 40 Thai troops entered Cambodia on the morning of July 15 after Cambodian soldiers seized the protestors for evading a border-crossing checkpoint. Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith was quoted as stating that 140 Thai troops crossed into Cambodian territory to assist the protestors, and that some had been detained - although Khanarith later protested to Cambodia-based journalists that he had never said anything about Thai soldiers being detained by Cambodian military. However, a Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) official told us that Thai troops never entered Cambodian territory and that there was no "incident" involving Thai troops. He described the area around Preah Vihear as "good and controllable," noting that the three protestors had been released but will most likely continue to protest the RTG's policies over Preah Vihear. Both a Deputy Army Spokesman and the Deputy Governor for Security Affairs of Sisaket Province, which borders the Cambodian site where the temple is located, told us that the news reports were unfounded. An Australian diplomat told us that her Embassy's contacts in the Thai military also asserted Thai troops had not been detained. Some Thai press denied the allegations and reported that Royal Thai Armed Forces Supreme Commander General Boonsrang had secured the release of the prisoners with a phone call to Cambodian Defense Minister Teah Banh. ¶4. (C) A BBC correspondent who wrote an article alleging the incursion into Cambodia of 40 Thai soldier told us that he received this information from Cambodian authorities. He added that the Thai soldiers most likely crossed into disputed territory, noting that the Thais probably did not view this as Cambodian land. He said that the Thai soldiers he interviewed during his visit to the area had been stationed at the temple border area for many years and most speak Khmer. However, they told him that they stopped their daily conversations with the Cambodian border soldiers after the temple's inscription. Since his last visit to the area, the correspondent noted an addition by the Thai side of layered barbed-wire with multiple warnings of landmines. He saw the Cambodians approaching the wire several times and the Thais yelling at them to retreat. The tension was definitely high, he added. (An Embassy DAO officer who visited the area on June 30 confirmed that Thai soldiers were fortifying their positions, and some of the junior troops believed they might clash with the Cambodians.) ¶5. (C) The BBC correspondent was also at the temple site with a group of Thai Rangers when their radios picked up the report of a landmine blast that resulted in a Ranger losing a leg. The Rangers considered the event unrelated to the tension at the temple since it occurred around four BANGKOK 00002167 002.2 OF 002 kilometers away from the site, when the Ranger was conducting a routine border patrol. The Rangers told the correspondent that the landmine was likely many years old, in an area known for being littered with the old devices. ¶6. (SBU) The debate over Preah Vihear on internet sites reflected the polarized national political environment. Some postings expressed anger at the anti-government People Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for exacerbating the issue (ref A). Popular Thai website and chat board www.pantip.com featured debates that centered around Thailand and Cambodia potentially going to war over Preah Vihear and the role of PAD in the controversy. Some posters assessed that the U.S. would aid Thailand while China would side with Cambodia; others said that both the U.S. and the UN would not interfere in the conflict. Some online commentators noted that Cambodia successfully promoted its stance on Preah Vihear during Thailand's 2006 coup, adding that the loss of the temple could not be blamed entirely on former Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama (ref B). They seemed to suggest that the U.S. chose to favor Cambodia on the temple issue since it held a democratically-elected government in contrast to Thailand's interim military government. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Despite its World Heritage status, the controversies surrounding Preah Vihear continue, mainly fueled by turmoil in domestic Thai politics. Many Thais, whether they support the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) or not, seem genuinely dismayed over the perceived lack of transparency in the Samak government over the Preah Vihear joint communique and the map submitted to UNESCO. Political cartoons continue to portray the event as a loss of Thai territory and depict Thaksin as the only Thai who benefited from the UNESCO decision. (Thaksin's opponents allege he used his influence to support inscription and, in return, received favorable treatment in ostensibly unrelated commercial transactions.) We will continue to monitor how Preah Vihear is used to fuel nationalist sentiments and channel displeasure over the current government's performance. ¶8. (SBU) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Phnom Penh, which reports that the Thai-Cambodian face off was front page news in most local papers today, but with both Cambodian and local Thai officials seeming to try to defuse the situation. The Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh responded to local media inquiries with a faxed statement dismissing rumors that Thai military personnel had entered into Cambodia territory and asserting instead that a few Thai paramilitary personnel were introduced into the border area within Thai territory. JOHN