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The International Court of Justice Has Ordered Thailand and Cambodia To The International Court of Justice has ordered Thailand and Cambodia to create a demilitarized zone around an 11th century Hindu temple, which has become a flashpoint for deadly clashes in a long running border dispute. By Jared Ferrie, Chiang Mai The July 18 ruling comes after a request from Cambodia that the ICJ clarify a 1962 judgment that granted Cambodia ownership of the temple and demarcated the border. Thailand accepted Cambodian sovereignty over Preah Vihear temple, but has maintained that the court had no jurisdiction to rule on the border. Cambodia asked the ICJ to issue a clarification on the 1962 judgment in the hope that a more precisely worded judgment would pressure Thailand to accept the frontier. On Monday, the ICJ said it would review the 1962 judgment as requested – a statement that can be seen to favour Cambodia over Thailand, which initially demanded that Cambodia withdraw its request to the ICJ. Cambodia had also asked the ICJ to order Thailand to remove troops from the disputed area. The court instead issued a map outlining a demilitarized zone and ordered both countries withdraw troops from the area. Many analysts welcomed the even-handed nature of the order “By removing troops from the border and its immediate surroundings, nationalist sentiments will hopefully be diffused and issue can be dealt with in a more sober and reasonable way,” said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR). Leaders on both sides of the border have used the dispute to stoke nationalism for their own political gain. Politicians in Thailand are particularly vulnerable to nationalist groups that accuse them of ceding Thai territory to Cambodia. The Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD), for example, has successfully used Preah Vihear as a rallying cry in organizing massive street protests by the wider “Yellow Shirt” movement. Such protests were instrumental in the fall of three governments backed by the rival “Red Shirts”. Two were removed through judicial means, while the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, a Red Shirt hero, fell to a military coup in 2006. Good relations, elections and politics Thaksin is considered to have good relations with Cambodian officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen who briefly hired him as an economic advisor in 2009. Hun Sen took an aggressive line toward the government of Abhistit Vejjajiva who has led the country since 2008. Troops have clashed repeatedly under Abhisit’s leadership, most recently in February when at least 10 people were killed and tens of thousands of civilians fled their homes on both sides of the border. But Abhisit’s Democrat Party was defeated in Thailand’s July 3 election, an event that will change diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Democrats lost by a landslide to the Phue Thai Party, which is supported by the Red Shirts and led by Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who is expected to become the next prime minister. “The links between the Cambodian government and Thaksin Shinawatra give reason for hope that the election of Yingluck Shinawatra could offer a real opportunity for peace between the two countries and a conclusive resolution to this issue,” said Virak of the CCHR. However, Napisa Waitoolkiat, a political scientist at Payap University in Chiang Mai, said Thaksin’s Cambodian connections are a double-edged sword. While her brother’s connections may help Yingluk negotiate a peaceful resolution, such success could also damage her party, and even result in her removal as prime minister. Legal challenges must be overcome Napisa explained that Yingluk is facing several legal challenges aimed at preventing her from becoming prime minister. Opposition parties have filed complaints claiming that, in order to win the election, Phue Thai relied on supporters who are banned from taking part Thai politics. One of those supporters is Thaksin, who is currently in exile after fleeing corruption charges he claims were politically motivated. If Yingluk overcomes those legal challenges and becomes prime minister, the border issue may open her up to further attacks, Napisa said. If she were to receive help from Thaksin in resolving the border issue, nationalists and opposition parties could present this as evidence that Phue Thai is indeed working with Thaksin illegally “The new government will need to address this,” said Napisa. “If they don’t deal with this well, there could be street protests.” Thailand is waiting for its elections commission to rule on complaints before certifying the final results of the election, at which point the change in government will take place. In the meantime, politicians in both countries have made public statements of support for the ICJ ruling. Lead photo - wise_kwai on flickr.com - all further use subject to this CC license .
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