Indonesia to observe ceasefire on Thai-Cambodian border (Roundup)

Feb 22, 2011, 11:01 GMT

Jakarta - Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday agreed to allow Indonesian observers to monitor a ceasefire in a deadly border dispute between the South-East Asian neighbours, Indonesia's foreign minister said.

'It is a quite unique arrangement in the sense that Indonesian observers will be on both sides of the boundary, on the Thai side as well as on the Cambodian side,' Marty Natalegawa said.

Natalegawa was speaking at the end of an informal meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta to discuss the conflict over an 11th-century Hindu temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.

Natalegawa, who chaired the meeting, said the observers would be tasked with reporting impartially on complaints of ceasefire violations by both sides.

The unarmed team will comprise civilian and military personnel, Natalegawa said, adding that details of the deployment would be hammered out in the coming hours.

The conflict over the Preah Vihear temple has claimed 10 lives this month and displaced at least 25,000 people.

ASEAN foreign ministers said in a statement that they welcomed a commitment made by Thailand and Cambodia to avoid further armed clashes and urged both sides to resume bilateral negotiations as soon as possible.

Natalegawa said Thailand and Cambodia would involve Indonesia as the current chair of ASEAN in future bilateral talks.

The Indonesian foreign minister warned earlier in the day that even though Thailand and Cambodia were committed to a peaceful solution, the conflict would not be resolved overnight.

'But we would like to make it absolutely clear to all ASEAN member states that the option of conflict, the option of the use of force, is not meant to be on the table.'

Natalegawa said ASEAN's involvement in trying to resolve the dispute was proof of the bloc's relevance, despite cynicism that it is simply a regional talking shop.

Thailand has sought to block Cambodian efforts to get the United Nations Security Council involved, and keep the issue bilateral.

Thailand has blamed the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for exacerbating the dispute with its 2008 decision to list Preah Vihear as a heritage site despite Bangkok's objections.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia but stopped short of determining the border demarcation in the nearby contested area.

Both countries claim a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land near the temple, which has been included under Cambodia's management plan for the World Heritage Committee.

Thailand wants UNESCO to delay any decision on the master plan at an upcoming meeting in Bahrain until the dispute is settled.

It is urging Cambodia to resume bilateral talks under the Joint Border Committee set up in 2000 to negotiate disputes over border demarcation.

Phnom Penh said it would not resume those talks, which have failed to solve the Preah Vihear conflict over the past decade.

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