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KANTHARALAK, Thailand — Hundreds of Thai and Cambodian soldiers faced off at the ruins of an ancient Hindu temple here for a sixth straight day on Sunday, in a modern-day echo of the age-old clash of empires across Indochina.
Cambodian Buddhist monks walked past a soldier standing guard at the Preah Vihear temple on Sunday.
Cambodian soldiers on Thursday patrolled the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, a flash point on territory that both Cambodia and Thailand have claimed.
The temple, perched high on a bluff on a disputed patch of border, may be the prize. But the conflict has also created a secondary, more prosaic target: an embattled government in Bangkok, where the opposition is using the historical dispute and nationalist fervor as weapons.
The fires of nationalism have spread in both nations over the past few weeks. Old grievances have flared, and troops and heavy weapons have been mobilized in the mists above the jungle. Over the weekend, truckloads of reinforcements from each country were seen heading toward the temple, called Preah Vihear.
Tense moments have been reported when weapons were aimed within the temple complex. The prime ministers of both nations have exchanged stern notes, hardening their positions.
The Cambodian government has taken its complaint to the United Nations, saying that Thai troops have intruded onto its territory. The Thai prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, insists that the area is Thai.
Neither government appears to want a war, and there were plans for the countries' defense ministers to talk Monday.
The conflict comes at a delicate time for both countries. Thailand has its slow-burning political crisis, and nationalism is looming as a factor in Cambodia's general election next Sunday as well.
But in Bangkok, political damage has already been done: the resignation of a cabinet minister, a censure debate in Parliament and accusations of national betrayal have further weakened a shaky, ineffective government.
"The Democrats have used this quite dishonestly to get at the current government," said Chris Baker, a British historian of Thailand, speaking of the main opposition party. "This of course is a very dangerous game. A troop buildup is a very dangerous game. It's a very stupid way for Thailand to deal with an important neighbor."
Sovereignty is a volatile issue in a region where dominance has shifted over the centuries among empires in what are now Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. "The dark side of nationalism is as dangerous as ever," said Thongchai Winichakul, a historian and the author of "Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation" (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994).
Cambodia, which has been annexed throughout history by its neighbors on both its eastern and its western borders, is particularly sensitive, and its temples are a source of national pride. They symbolize its last period of greatness, under the Angkorean kings, which ended with a Thai invasion in the 15th century.
Just five years ago, mobs in Cambodia burned down the Thai Embassy because of rumors that a Thai actress had claimed Thai sovereignty over Cambodia's greatest temple, Angkor Wat.
The catalyst of today's confrontation seemed mild enough: the naming of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site, a designation that is meant to preserve historical monuments, not to call out armed soldiers.
The temple, built between the 9th and 11th centuries, is unlike any other. It is an ornate, sagging ruin of broken pillars and sweeping roofs that stands alone on a finger of rock, high above the forests of the Dangrek Mountains. It was consecrated to the Hindu god Shiva when it was built, but, like other temples in the Angkorean period, was converted to Buddhist use.
Questions of sovereignty are complicated by the temple's location at the top of a 1,640-foot cliff. It is almost inaccessible from Cambodia, but it is reachable through Thailand by a comfortable drive over a paved road.
On June 17, Unesco placed the temple on its list of protected monuments, or World Heritage sites. It was responding to a bid from Cambodia that included a disputed map drawn up by French colonial rulers in 1907.
Legally, the temple has belonged to Cambodia since 1962, after a ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The French had left Indochina seven years before, and the temple had been occupied in the interim by Thai soldiers.
The Thais were forced to withdraw, and the court's decision has rankled in Thailand ever since. The validity of the French map and the court's logic have been questioned, and the focus is now on 1.8 square miles around the temple that were not specifically covered in the ruling.
In a strangely passive response last month, the Thai government failed to insist on joining Cambodia as a bidder for the Unesco designation and signed off on the questionable map that Cambodia presented.
This was fuel enough for the Thai opposition, which says, without presenting evidence, that a backroom deal had been struck and that the man behind it was the country's most prominent wheeler-dealer, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr. Thaksin, who was deposed in a coup in 2006, remains influential in business and politics, and has financial interests in Cambodia. The man who let Cambodia's bid slip through — and who was forced to resign as a result — was Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, once Mr. Thaksin's personal lawyer.
The embattled prime minister, Mr. Samak, is also seen by his critics as Mr. Thaksin's proxy, and, under pressure from the opposition, he has begun talking tough. Having earlier called the nationalist protesters crazy, Mr. Samak sounded a nationalist note on Friday, saying that the Cambodian presence at the temple "is a continued violation of Thailand's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The Dangrek mountain range and the high plains in Thailand that lie beyond it are home to dozens of lesser temples in Khmer style, including two in Thailand that Cambodia laid claim to in 2003. Experts say there are 15 more overlapping locations along the nations' 500-mile border that need to be resolved.
But Preah Vihear, in its majesty and geographical ambiguity, has been the symbol for both sides' claims of dominance. "The Preah Vihear temple is part of a wounded history of Thailand and Cambodia," said Charnvit Kasetsiri, a historian Thammasat University in Bangkok.
That history — as the troops and heavy weapons deployed at the temple show — has not yet receded into the past.
Preah Vihear Temple (the below is from Wikipedidia)
| Preah Vihear Temple | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Preah Vihear Temple |
| Creator: | Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II |
| Date built: | 11th & 12th Centuries CE |
| Primary deity: | Shiva |
| Architecture: | Banteay Srei style and others |
| Location: | Preah Vihear , Cambodia |
Preah Vihear Temple , Prasat Preah Vihear) is a Khmer temple situated atop a 525-meter cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains in the Preah Vihear Province of Cambodia and on the border of Sisaket Province in northeastern Thailand. In 1962, following a serious dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership of the temple, the International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled that it belonged to Cambodia. The adjacent land to the north is under Thailand's control, in contravention of the ICJ's ruling. Affording a view for many kilometers across a plain, Prasat Preah Vihear has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-century-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the empire's spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. Preah Vihear is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, rather than having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east. The temple gives its name to Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, in which it is located, as well as the Khao Phra Wihah National Park in Sisaket Province, Thailand, through which the temple is most easily accessible. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Nomenclature
Preah Vihear is translated into Thai as Prasat Phra Viharn (ปราสาทพระวิหาร or Prasat Khao Phra Viharn (ปราสาทเขาพระวิหาร). Prasat has the same meaning in Khmer and Thai ("temple" or "tower"), and Khao is the Thai word for "hill" or "mountain" (in Khmer: "Phnom"). The two versions of the name carry significant political and national connotations (see New dispute over ownership).
Ancient history
| Temple of Preah Vihear* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| | |
| State Party |  Cambodia |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i |
| Reference | 1224 |
| Region** | Asia-Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2008 (32nd Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. | |
Construction of the first temple on the site began in the early 9th century; both then and in the following centuries it was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in his manifestations as the mountain gods Sikharesvara and Bhadresvara. The earliest surviving parts of the temple, however, date from the Koh Ker period in the early 10th century, when the empire's capital was at the city of that name. Today, elements of the Banteay Srei style of the late 10th century can be seen, but most of the temple was constructed during the reigns of the kings Suryavarman I (1002–1050) and Suryavarman II (1113–1150). An inscription found at the temple provides a detailed account of Suryavarman II studying sacred rituals, celebrating religious festivals and making gifts, including white parasols, golden bowls and elephants, to his spiritual advisor, the aged Brahman Divakarapandita. The Brahman himself took an interest in the temple, according to the inscription, donating to it a golden statue of a dancing Shiva.
International dispute over ownership
In modern times, Prasat Preah Vihear was rediscovered by the outside world and became subject of an emotional dispute between Thailand, where the temple's name is translated into Thai as Khao Phra Viharn (Thai: ปราสาทเขาพระวิหารPrasat Khao Phra Wihan), and the newly independent Cambodia.
In 1904, Siam and the French colonial authorities ruling Cambodia formed a joint commission to demarcate their mutual border. In the vicinity of the temple, the group was tasked by the two governments to work under the principle that the border would follow the watershed line of the Dângrêk mountain range, which places Preah Vihear on the Thailand side. In 1907, after survey work, French officers drew up a map to show the border's precise location. The resulting map, which was sent to Siamese authorities, showed Preah Vihear as being on the Cambodian side.
In 1954, Thai forces occupied the temple following the withdrawal of French troops from Cambodia. Cambodia protested and in 1959 asked the International Court of Justice, commonly known as the World Court, to rule that the temple lay in Cambodian territory. The case became a volatile political issue in both countries. Diplomatic relations were severed, and threats of force voiced by both governments.
The court proceedings focused not on questions of cultural heritage or on which state was the successor to the Khmer Empire but on technicalities of the border demarcation work early in the century and Thailand's subsequent treatment of the resulting map.
Arguing in the Hague for Cambodia was former U.S. secretary of state Dean Acheson while Thailand's legal team included a former British attorney general, Sir Frank Soskice . Cambodia contended that the map showing the temple as being on Cambodian soil was the authoritative document. Thailand argued that the map was invalid, was not an official document of the border commission, and violated the commission's working principle that the border would follow the watershed line, which would place the temple in Thailand. If Thailand had not protested the map earlier, the Thai side said, it was because Thai authorities had practical possession of the temple, due to the great difficulty of scaling the cliff from the Cambodian side, or had not understood that the map was wrong.
On June 15, 1962, the court ruled 9 to 3 that the temple belonged to Cambodia and, by a vote of 7 to 5, that Thailand must return any antiquities such as sculptures that it had removed from the temple. In its decision, the court noted that over the five decades after the map was devised, the Siamese/Thai authorities did not object in various international forums to the map's depiction of the temple's location. Nor did they object when a French colonial official received the Siamese scholar and government figure Prince Damrong at the temple in 1930. Thailand had accepted and benefited from other parts of the border treaty, the court ruled. With these and other acts, it said, Thailand had accepted the map and therefore Cambodia was the owner of the temple.
Thailand reacted angrily. It announced it would boycott meetings of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, with Thai officials saying this step was to protest a U.S. bias toward Cambodia in the dispute. As evidence, Thai officials cited the pro-Cambodia vote of an American judge on the court and Acheson's role as Cambodia's advocate; the U.S. government replied that Acheson was merely acting as a private attorney, engaged by Cambodia. Mass demonstrations were staged in Thailand protesting the ruling.
Thailand eventually backed down. In January 1963, Cambodia formally took possession of the site in a colorful ceremony attended by close to 1,000 people, many of whom had made the arduous climb up the cliff from the Cambodian side. A fit Prince Sihanouk, Cambodia's leader, bounded up the cliff in less than an hour, paused to sip lemonade, then made offerings to Buddhist monks. In the ceremony, he made a gesture of conciliation, announcing that all Thais would be able to visit the temple without visas, and that Thailand was free to keep antiquities that it had taken away from the site.
Civil war
Civil war began in Cambodia in 1970; the temple's location high atop a cliff served to make it readily defensible militarily. Soldiers loyal to the Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh continued to hold it long after the plain below fell to communist forces. Tourists were able to visit from the Thai side during the war. The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh in April 1975, but the soldiers at Preah Vihear continued to hold out after the collapse of their government. The Khmer Rouge made several unsuccessful attempts to capture the temple, then finally succeeded on May 22, 1975 by shelling the cliff, scaling it and routing the defenders, Thai officials reported at the time. It was said to be the last place in Cambodia to fall to the Khmer Rouge.
Full-scale war began again in Cambodia in December 1978 when the Vietnamese army invaded to overthrow the Khmer Rouge. Khmer Rouge troops retreated to border areas. In January, the Vietnamese reportedly attacked Khmer Rouge troops holed up in the temple, but there were no reports of damage to it. Large numbers of Cambodian refugees entered Thailand after the invasion. In June 1979, Thai security forces forcibly expelled tens of thousands of them back into Cambodia in the vicinity of Preah Vihear. Unknown numbers were killed by landmines , gunfire and exposure; the government that Vietnam installed in Phnom Penh put the number of fatalities at more than 300.
Guerilla warfare continued in Cambodia through the 1980s and well into the 1990s, hampering access to Preah Vihear. The temple opened briefly to the public in 1992, only to be re-occupied the following year by Khmer Rouge fighters. In December 1998, the temple was the scene of negotiations by which several hundred Khmer Rouge soldiers, said to be the guerrilla movement's last significant force, agreed to surrender to the Phnom Penh government.
The temple opened again to visitors from the Thai side at the end of 1998; Cambodia completed the construction of a long-awaited access road up the cliff in 2003.
Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site
On July, 8 2008, the World Heritage Committee decided to add Prasat Preah Vihear, along with 26 other sites, to the World Heritage Site list, despite several protests from Thailand.
As the process of Heritage-listing began, Cambodia announced its intention to apply for World Heritage inscription by UNESCO. Thailand protested that it should be a joint-effort and UNESCO deferred debate at its 2007 meeting.
Following this both Cambodia and Thailand were in full agreement that Preah Vihear Temple had "Outstanding Universal Value" and should be inscribed on the World Heritage List as soon as possible. The two nations agreed that Cambodia should propose the site for formal inscription on the World Heritage List at the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in 2008 with the active support of Thailand. This led to a redrawing of the map of the area for proposed inscription, removing the 4.2sq kilometres of border territory awarded to Cambodia but still occupied by Thailand and leaving only the temple and its immediate environs.
Thailand's political opposition launched an attack on this revised plan (see New dispute over ownership), claiming the inclusion of Preah Vihear could "consume" the overlapping area of the dispute lands. In response to the political pressure at home Thailand withdrew its formal support for the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site.
Cambodia continued with the application for World Heritage status and, despite official Thai protests, on July 7, 2008 (July 8th in Cambodia), Preah Vihear Temple was inscribed on the list of World Heritage sites.
New dispute over ownership
Access
Preah Vihear can be approached via Tbeng Meanchey in Preah Vihear province or from Siem Reap in Siem Reap province via Anlong Veng . Although the highway is bitumen when it leaves Siem Reap, both roads are (occasionally) graded gravel once they begin to approach the Dangrek escarpment.
The temple can be approached from Kantharalak district, Sisaket Province of Thailand. Cambodia allows day-trip access to the temple on a visa-free basis from Thailand. Cambodia imposes an entrance fee of US$5 or 200 baht for foreigners (as of 2006, reduced to 50 baht for nationals of Thailand), plus a fee of 5 baht for processing a copy of the passport. In addition, Thailand imposes an access fee of 400 baht for entering the National Park.
Cambodia has from time to time cut off access from Thailand during times of dispute with the Thai government.
The site
The temple complex runs 800m along a north-south axis, and consists essentially of a causeway and steps rising up the hill towards the sanctuary, which sits on the clifftop at the southern end of the complex (120m above the northern end of the complex, 525m above the Cambodian plain and 625m above sea level). Although this structure is very different from the temple mountains found at Angkor, it serves the same purpose as a stylised representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods.
The approach to the sanctuary is punctuated by five gopuras (these are conventionally numbered from the sanctuary outwards, so gopura five is the first to be reached by visitors). Each of the gopuras before the courtyards is reached by a set of steps, and so marks a change in height which increases their impact. The gopuras also block a visitor's view of the next part of the temple until he passes through the gateway, making it impossible to see the complex as a whole from any one point.
The fifth gopura, in the Koh Ker style, retains traces of the red paint with which it was once decorated, although the tiled roof has now disappeared. The fourth gopura is later, from the Khleang /Baphuon periods, and has on its southern outer pediment, "one of the masterpieces of Preah Vihear" (Freeman, p. 162): a depiction of the Churning of the Sea of Milk. The third is the largest, and is also flanked by two halls. The sanctuary is reached via two successive courtyards, in the outer of which are two libraries.
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