2 days ago
50 envoys to get briefing on landmine breaches
Thailand will on Friday brief more than 50 diplomats from signatories and member states of the Ottawa Convention on repeated landmine incidents along the Thai-Cambodian border, emphasising Phnom Penh's refusal to cooperate in demining operations.
The briefing comes ahead of site visits scheduled for tomorrow.
Thailand will present documented evidence of mine-related incidents to the international community and push for stronger pressure on Phnom Penh to end the repeated use of anti-personnel landmines, said government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub, speaking on behalf of the government's Ad-Hoc Centre for the Thailand-Cambodia Border Situation.
"The use of anti-personnel landmines is a serious breach of the Ottawa Convention, as well as basic humanitarian principles," he said.
In a bid to increase international scrutiny, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited over 50 diplomatic missions, primarily from countries that are signatories to the Ottawa Convention, to visit the affected provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Si Sa Ket tomorrow.
The delegation will be briefed by Thai demining teams operating in the border zone and taken to inspect mine clearance activities at Phu Makua, as well as damage sites at Ban Nong Mek and Phum Saron Witthaya School in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district, said Mr Jirayu.
Ahead of the planned field visit tomorrow, Thailand will today host a closed-door briefing for foreign ambassadors and military attachés in Bangkok to outline its position and share details of recent incidents, he said.
Russ Jalichandra, vice minister for foreign affairs, said the move follows a fresh incident on Tuesday, in which Thai paramilitary forces encountered Cambodian-laid mines while patrolling near Chong Chub-Tamok in Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district, about which formal protests have been lodged through diplomatic channels.
The Cambodian government has been urged to cooperate immediately.
Mr Russ also revealed that Cambodia rejected Thailand's proposal during previous General Border Committee (GBC) meetings to jointly remove landmines from disputed zones.
"This refusal shows a lack of sincerity and undermines regional peace efforts. It also violates the United Nations Charter and the Ottawa Convention," he said.
The Royal Thai Armed Forces have confirmed that an Interim Observer Team, composed of military representatives from neutral countries, will conduct independent inspections between Aug 18–20, said Mr Jirayu.
Thailand's Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also coordinating with international mine clearance organisations to evaluate whether humanitarian support to Cambodia should be reassessed in light of Phnom Penh's perceived non-cooperation, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura.
He also took aim at Cambodia's domestic information controls, accusing its government of suppressing public access to external media, particularly Thai news outlets.
"Cambodian citizens are not the enemy. But they are being denied their right to independent information. The spread of misinformation and fake news by Cambodian state media infringes on previous GBC ceasefire agreements, which committed both sides to reducing tensions," Mr Nikorndej said.
He also called on Cambodia to allow open access to global news sources so its citizens "can form their own judgements based on facts".
The Thailand-Cambodia Regional Border Committee (RBC) will meet tomorrow to discuss the implementation of the 13-point ceasefire agreement reached on Aug 7 in Malaysia. It will also discuss clearing landmines in disputed areas and cracking down on cross-border scam gangs, said Capt Pharis Wongpensri, commander of the Royal Thai Marine Corps' Trat Task Force.
