Border villagers oppose reopening checkpoints

AMID discussions on reopening some Thai-Cambodian checkpoints Thai border villagers in Surin said they disagree with doing so and urged the new government headed by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to consider whether this is appropriate, Amarin TV said this morning (Sep. 12).

Reporters of this TV station went to Ban Khao To, Bak Dai subdistrict, Phanom Dong Rak district, where they talked to some villagers as they were digging up cassava for sale at their farms which are just three kilometres from the ancient Prasat Ta Kwai temple.

They said they remain wary as the situation along the border is uncertain and asked the reporters to convey their apprehension to the incoming administration.

Mr. Sompol, 61, said he opposes the government’s move to reopen the checkpoints and would like them to remain closed for a long time, possibly four to five years.

“I really hate and detest the Khmers because they are not telling the truth, I am still wary of Cambodians. If they are moving to reopen the border, I would say close it permanently.

“Currently Prasat Ta Kwai is still in Cambodian hands, Thailand has not been able to seize it completely, but one day we’ll have to take it back.

“I want Hun Sen to tell the truth, not lie, he just points to whatever he wants and recently he pointed to our temples but we don’t accept this.

“He said in Khmer language, ‘All the temples belong to Thailand, not Cambodia, but Cambodians can’t read their language, please understand that our country built these temples’.”

Ms. Boonchuay, 50, likewise said that she does not want the border to be reopened to Cambodians because she dislikes and hates them.

She urged the authorities to close the border permanently and if possible build a high wall to block them while also urging the government to resolve the Thai-Cambodian border issue as quickly as possible.

Earlier RADM Surasan Kongsiri, the Defence Ministry spokesperson, quoted acting Defence Minister Gen. Nattapol Nakphanit as saying after the first special Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC) meeting at Cambodia’s Koh Kong province on Tuesday (Sep. 10) that this is an important step in using bilateral mechanisms to ease border tensions.

Key issues the two countries agreed upon at this meeting are as follows:

– Withdrawal of heavy weapons and equipment of mass destruction from the border area;

– Joint border demining to begin within one month;

– A joint working group to be established within a week to combat online scammers;

– Border area management: The Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) and Regional Border Committee (RBC) will develop management guidelines under the framework set by the former. Regarding Ban Nong Chan, the governors of Sa Kaeo and Banteay Meanchey provinces are coordinating to ensure peaceful and orderly management of the area.

– Border crossing relaxation: The Defence Ministry clarified that no border crossings have been reopened yet. This measure has merely been discussed in principle.

If applied in future, only vehicles transporting goods not travellers will be allowed to pass through, with there to be restrictions on the number of trips on a case-by-case basis, depending on the level of preparedness and tension in the area.

For appropriateness the ministry has separated the Thai-Cambodian border area into three zones based on the level of tension as follows:

– Zone 1: Highest Tension (2nd Army Region border – Ubon Ratchathani, Sisaket, Surin and Buriram);

– Zone 2: Medium Tension (1st Army Region border – Sa Kaeo);

– Zone 3: Low Tension (Chanthaburi and Trat Border Defence Command).

Any reopening of border crossings would first take place in Zone 3.

CAPTIONS:

Top, first insert and Front Page: Mr. Sompol and Ms. Boonchuay talking to reporters.

Second insert: Acting Defence Minister Gen. Nattapol Nakphanit. All photos: Amarin TV

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