Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Cambodia gather to praise ceasefire with Thailand and mourn the dead
They marched from the country's main religious school near the Royal Palace in the capital, Phnom Penh, to a nearby temple, where they were joined by nuns and laymen and women.
The monks chanted and prayed to honor the souls of the dead soldiers.
A board inside the temple displayed the photographs of more than 40 men in uniform. It wasn't clear whether these images were of soldiers killed, or included those who were wounded and captured.
Cambodia has admitted only to the deaths of six of its troops in the fighting, which began late last month and continued for five days.
Dozens of people on both sides, including civilians, were killed in the fighting and over 260,000 displaced on both sides of the border.
A ceasefire that took effect on July 29 ended major fighting, though both sides have alleged violations of the truce and the underlying dispute over territorial claims has not been resolved.
Khem Sorn, the chief monk for Phnom Penh, said the main purpose of Friday's ceremony was to show support to the government for working toward peace and ending the war with a ceasefire.
It was also intended to honor to the souls of the Cambodian soldiers and civilians who were killed, and to appeal to all Buddhist countries, especially Thailand, to live in peace with each other, he told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
'It means that we only want to live side-by-side with Thailand as a good neighbor, living with unity and peace with each other,' Khem Sorn said.
Sundays
Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba.
The recent fighting was triggered by a land mine explosion in disputed land along the border that wounded five Thai soldiers. That came just a week after a similar incident.
It was the latest eruption of hostilities in a decades-old dispute over ownership of several small pockets of territory along the 800-kilometer (500-mile) land border.
Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to delay crucial trade talks, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire on July 28.
Talks in Malaysia on Thursday reaffirmed both sides' commitment to the ceasefire deal but failed to secure the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers, who were captured in disputed circumstances after the truce went into effect. Thailand says it is treating the men in full compliance with international humanitarian law and will free them once 'active hostilities' end.
The United States and China, which both played an active role in encouraging an end to the fighting, separately hailed Thursday's reaffirmation of the ceasefire, and said they look forward to supporting the parties involved in securing the peace process.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Georgia Republicans, against backdrop of 2026 election, push to eliminate state income tax
ATLANTA (AP) — As the 2026 election looms, Georgia Republicans seeking higher office met Tuesday to begin exploring plans for Georgia to eliminate the state's personal income tax. The Republican contenders for lieutenant governor sat on the committee spearheaded by Republican Burt Jones, who currently holds the role and is running for governor with U.S. President Donald Trump's endorsement.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Georgia Republicans, against backdrop of 2026 election, push to eliminate state income tax
ATLANTA (AP) — As the 2026 election looms, Georgia Republicans seeking higher office met Tuesday to begin exploring plans for Georgia to eliminate the state's personal income tax. The Republican contenders for lieutenant governor sat on the committee spearheaded by Republican Burt Jones, who currently holds the role and is running for governor with U.S. President Donald Trump's endorsement. 'If we want to continue to stay competitive in the state of Georgia and continue to be the number one state to do business, we've got to be looking for ways to keep us competitive and make it where we have a competitive advantage over states that we are competing with all the time,' Jones said. Most of the lawmakers on the panel praised the idea as one that would help working families and small businesses after hearing from Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and a prominent conservative lobbyist for tax cuts. Currently, eight states, including Florida and Tennessee, don't tax individuals' income, according to the Tax Foundation, a tax policy think tank. Other states, including North Carolina and Louisiana, have reduced income taxes or are on their way to eliminating them. In Georgia, Democrats oppose the idea, saying it would benefit the wealthy rather than low-income people, who would face other levies. Atlanta Democrat Sen. Nan Orrock said Tuesday that eliminating the income tax would hurt vital services across the state by reducing state revenue, especially amid federal cuts to programs such as food stamps, education grants and disaster relief. 'I can go on and on with needs that we have now in many areas that would argue for having a robust revenue to meet the needs of our citizens,' said Orrock. Norquist said states still generate revenue after cutting income taxes. One reason is that when businesses know states are on track to eliminate income taxes, he said, they start investing there, and residents flock over too. 'When you attract more people into the state and more investment into the state, you end up with both more money for individuals but also more tax revenue at lower rates,' said Norquist. Georgia income taxes are expected to bring in $20 billion for the state in 2026, accounting for almost half of state revenue, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law this year income tax rebates of up to $500 and a reduction in taxes to 5.19% in January for all income earned in 2025. That's part of a long-term plan to cut Georgia's income tax rate to 4.99%, which could happen as early as next year. The law already took Georgia's former system of tax brackets and created a flat income tax. The state has also paid rebates on income taxes to taxpayers in recent years, thanks to billions in surplus cash, Higher-income taxpayers collect the most benefits from income tax reductions. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found two-thirds of the income tax cut benefits would flow to the highest-earning 20% of Georgians. Republicans said that was only natural because most Georgians in the lowest 20% of the income distribution are mostly exempt from state income taxes. Democratic gubernatorial candidates haven't ruled out tax reductions. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has suggested eliminating the state income tax for public school teachers, but said eliminating income taxes altogether would hurt funding for schools and raise costs for lower-income families. Republicans are still forging ahead. 'While the mechanics are up for debate, I think it's clear that the end goal is not,' said Sen. Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery, a Vidalia Republican who is running for lieutenant governor. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
California man who admitted shipping weapons to North Korea is sentenced to 8 years in prison
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting to shipping weapons and ammunition to North Korea that he said were to be used for a surprise attack on South Korea, authorities said Tuesday. Shenghua Wen, 42, came to the U.S. from China on a student visa in 2012 and remained in the country illegally after it expired, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles. Wen pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, the statement says. He was sentenced on Monday. Wen told investigators that before he entered the U.S., he met with North Korean officials at an embassy in China, where they instructed him to procure goods for the North Korean government. He also admitted that he tried to buy uniforms to disguise North Korean soldiers for the surprise attack, a federal complaint says. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North's border with South Korea, a U.S. ally, recently delivering nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units. United Nations resolutions ban North Korea from importing or exporting weapons. In 2022, North Korean officials contacted him via an online messaging app and instructed him to buy firearms, prosecutors said. He shipped two containers of weapons and other items from Long Beach, California, to North Korea via Hong Kong in 2023. He told U.S. authorities that he was wired about $2 million to do so, according to the complaint. Authorities did not specify in the complaint the types of weapons that were exported. To carry out his operation, Wen purchased a business in 2023 called Super Armory, a federal firearms licensee, for $150,000, and registered it under his business partner's name in Texas. He had other people purchase the firearms and then drove them to California, misrepresenting the shipments as a refrigerator and camera parts. Investigators did not say whether Wen had organized any shipments during his first 10 years in the U.S. The FBI in September seized 50,000 rounds of ammunition from Wen's home in the LA suburb of Ontario that had been stored in a van parked in the driveway, the complaint says. They also seized a chemical threat identification device and a transmission detective device that Wen said he planned to send to the North Korean government for military use, the complaint says.
