Points international observers should consider while hearing Thai claims
8:31 PM
0
The following is an open letter to the representatives of the international diplomatic corps, delegations from 33 countries and other international observer teams who recently visited Thailand, as reported by Khaosod English.
Dear members of the diplomatic corps and international observer teams,
I am concerned that some of you may have been misled by some of the claims made by Thailand during your recent visit.
I have drafted a list of important points that you should consider before making a judgement on which country may be in the right or in the wrong regarding the recent border clashes, as well as the ongoing accusations and counteraccusations.
The first thing you should study is the map that was recognised by international law and the UN International Court of Justice and the Franco - Siamese Treaty in 1907.
You should all be wary of the tricks employed by Thailand. They fired first and have repeatedly violated the current ceasefire. As part of their efforts to provoke a reaction from the Cambodian armed forces, they used slingshots to shoot marbles and ball bearings at our forces and deployed barbed wire barricades on our territory.
When Cambodia suggested taking territorial disputes to the ICJ for adjudication, Thailand refused. Why?
The Thai leadership also showed you brand new landmines which are not in our inventory, as a pretext to level accusations against the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF).
If these PMN-2 mines were taken from a minefield, the arming pins would have been removed to make them active and functional. But the pins were not removed.
Why won’t the Thais show where these mines were allegedly discovered on a map? If they want people to believe that these mines were laid by RCAF troops, they need to show precisely where they were laid and how far from the border it is.
When it comes to these mines being used as evidence, the Thai public may be deceived, but international ordnance specialists will easily see through their lies.
The undeniable truth will no doubt come to the surface. The Thai government appears to be trying to absolve itself from the fact that it has cynically planted its own mines in an attempt to frame Cambodia.
The Thai government or military will be unmasked before the world for its deceitful and treacherous tactics. By using landmines as a false pretext, it seeks to justify its war of invasion and pursue its long-standing expansionist ambitions against Cambodia — an agenda that history will never forgive nor forget.
Thank you,
Tesh Chanthorn
Tesh Chanthorn is a Cambodian translator and scholar. The views and opinions expressed are his own.
Credited: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/
