Thailand ignores razor wire complaints; analyst suggests deliberate provocation
Thailand ignores razor wire complaints; analyst suggests deliberate provocation
Although just over 50 days have passed since fighting on the border came to an end with the July 28 ceasefire, Thailand has continued the provocative laying of razor wire barricades in Banteay Meanchey’s Prey Chan and Chouk Chey villages. Their goal appears to be to claim territory where Cambodian citizens have lived for decades.
Dozens of Thai soldiers and police officers laid more barricades yesterday and today, September 16 and 17, in Prey Chan village, in O Chrov district’s O Beichoan commune commune This area was first fenced off by Thailand more than a month ago, with at least six Cambodian families no longer able to access their homes and rice fields.
Thai authorities have demanded that the families relocate.
Desperate Cambodian villagers armed with sticks have attempted to stop the armed Thai soldiers from laying the additional wire, with unarmed Cambodian soldiers standing watch.
Cambodia, through the Banteay Meanchey provincial administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of National Defence, has requested that Thailand halt these provocative actions and resolve the issue through the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) mechanism.
Thailand has ignored Cambodia’s requests, instead deploying more soldiers and police to continue installing even more razor wire.
Yang Peou, secretary-general of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, believed that Thailand does not respect bilateral agreements or international decisions, including the recent ceasefire measures which were signed last month. Instead, he said Thailand continues to provoke Cambodia to the point of inciting violence.
“It is a difficult situation for us, because heavily armed Thai soldiers continue to aggressively enter our territory, even though the villagers resist them. This is a challenging time because we are adhering to the ceasefire. If we deploy armed forces to confront them, it could lead to armed conflict, undermining the ceasefire. That is exactly what Thailand wants. If Cambodia resorts to arming our troops, we are falling into the trap of violating the ceasefire, which Thailand itself is breaching,” he said.
“We must resist through non-violent means, meaning our forces, citizens and authorities should prevent Thailand from installing razor wire or encircling our homes and fields by using non-violent methods. Not only citizens but authorities must also help resist; but without using weapons,” he added.
He suggested that additional actions should include raising international awareness by accelerating complaints to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), filing cases with the UN Security Council for all incidents and submitting reports to the ASEAN secretary-general in Malaysia, the current ASEAN chair.
He also believed that Thailand’s aggression must be widely publicised, through both local and international media.
For the future, Peou stated that only by strengthening itself can Cambodia effectively counter Thai aggression and prevent the neighbouring Kingdom from continuing its arrogant actions.
