Thailand withdraws heritage site support for Hindu temple

Jul 1, 2008, 11:20 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand on Tuesday withdrew its support for a Cambodian proposal to list Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Cabinet decided to backtrack on support for the controversial temple's listing to obey an Administrative Court order made over the weekend, Deputy Prime Somchai Wongsavat said.

It is unclear whether the government change in stance on the listing will derail Cambodia's proposal to list the centuries-old Hindu temple at UNESCO's upcoming meeting in Geneva on July 2-10.

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who is currently visiting China, called his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen to personally inform him of the cabinet decision and to urge him to guarantee the personal safety of Thai nationals living in Cambodia, said the Thai News Agency (TNA).

Preah Vihear, a stunning cliff-top temple dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva, has long been a source of diplomatic spats between the two neighbouring countries.

The temple is perched on a mountain range that defines the Thai-Cambodian border.

Cambodia was awarded Preah Vihear by a World Court ruling in 1962, but when Phnom Penh attempted to list the temple as a UNESCO heritage site last year, Thailand objected on the grounds that the inscription map included land that was still subject to a border dispute.

Cambodia in May rewrote the inscription map to exclude a 4.6 square kilometres of disputed land, winning Thai government approval for the proposal on June 10.

The approval was poorly timed, coinciding with street protests and a censure debate against the Thai government. Participants in the street protests and the censure debate used the Preah Vihear issue to accuse the cabinet of 'selling off' the nation, and furthering the business interests of certain Thai politicians seeking deals in Cambodia.

The Administrative Court issued an injunction on Saturday demanding the the government end its support of the Cambodian proposal. On Tuesday, the Cabinet obeyed the order.