Ingredients:
Khmer water spinach  (trokuon)
pork ribs, cut in pieces 
ripe tamarind or tamarind powder
Chicken flavored broth or chicken broth cube
fish sauce
salt
cooking oil
coconut milk
prohok (fermented fish)
Mreas Prov (holy basil)
beef tendon (optional)
Lemon grass paste - Kreung

Making Kreung: (Lemon grass paste) 1) Remove seeds from dried chili and soak in water until soft.  Squeeze the water out. Then mince it. 2) Thinly cut lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galanga, tumeric root, garlic and  fresh shallots *Pound  # 1 & 2 well together  in a (Cambodian) mortar or grind them in the blender.	**Extract tamarind: Put water and ripe tamarind together and bring to first boil. Smash it with a ladle or spoon to release the sourness. Then drain and keep it for later use.	Separate trokuon leaves from the stalk. Then wash well. Drain it and keep it for later use.

Preparation:

A) In medium high heat, add cooking oil in a pot, then add Kreung, a little bit of fish sauce and salt. Cook for about 7 or until Kreung is a little dry. Then add coconut milk. Stir well, cook the coconut milk until thick.	B )Add pork ribs. Stir well  until the meat is cooked. Then add beef tendon, prohok. Add water and loosely cover and let it boil until the meat is tender.	C) Add trokuon stalk. Cook until soft then add tamarind extract or powder, stir and add trokuon leaves. More or less salt, sugar, chicken flavored broth or cube… adjust your taste! *Serve hot and top with mreah prov (holy basil).

**Note** 
-In case you can’t find ripe tamarind, you may use tamarind powder made by KNOR. It’s more convenient. And if you are using tamarind powder, you do not need to use chicken flavored broth or chicken cube since both have the MSG base. 

-Beef tendon (optional). If you’d like, in a separate pot, slow cook it for hours until translucent and tender. Then slice cube and add  it to the soup (see letter B).

Making chei peou chu`aem:
Wash the salted preserved turnips well and pat dry.
Thinly slice and soak in cold water for 10 minutes to get rid of the salt.
Then wash it a few times and squeeze it dry.
Marinate it with sugar, lemon or vinegar.
De-seed  dried chili and thinly slice, then gently mix with chei peou.

A) *Soak dried shrimps in lukewarm water for 15 minutes. Then wash it very well and discard the soil. Pat dry. -In a mortar - pound dried shrimps and garlic, rhizome together. -In a bowl - extract prahok. And save for later use.	B) Cut fish (catfish) into chunk. Wash and pat dry. Lightly fry them. Set it aside for later use.	(hard vegetables) C) Cut green bean, taro,  and Khmer squash.Wash well and drain them. * Bamboo shoot must be boiled once and wash a few times to get rid of the smell.
D) -Part enoki and oyster mushroom. Wipe the dirt out or wash them if necessary.	E) Part chee prohaer, slek nguob, slek mtess from the stems. Wash each item and drain well.

Making somlor somlok:

In medium soup pot bring water to boil on high heat. Reduce to medium high heat, add A & C with some salt, sugar, fish sauce and chicken broth powder. Loosely cover and bring to boil until the hard vegetables are tender. Remove the white foam. Then add B & D,  Loosely cover and bring to boil, then add E. Bring E to first boil and turn of the heat right away. Do not over cook the leaves (E - herbs, slek nguob, chili leaves).

Note: If you don’t have chicken broth powder, you can use msg.
-You may use catfish, Trey ros (Khmer fresh water fish), Trey Ondaeng (Khmer mud fish), tilapia, OR even chicken if you can’t find any fish.
-Vegetable option: slek bas, zucchini, spinach are fine.

By Sandra Wilson 
Source: CampusAsia

Born and brought up in Cambodia, one of the world’s poorest countries, she has already won a Cambodian government scholarship to study in Japan, studied English at the University of California at Berkeley, been selected for a Japanese university exchange program to study for a year at Murdoch University, and won selection to attend international youth congresses in Glasgow in June and in Quebec in August 2008.
Vichara is full of ideals. Most of all, she wants to do something to help the recovery of her country. Cambodia still suffers the lingering effects of the disastrous Khmer Rouge period of the 1970s, in which perhaps one-third of the population died and a great deal of infrastructure was destroyed.

More damage was done even after the overthrow of Pol Pot, during the Vietnamese occupation and the long civil war that followed. Indeed, it is almost impossible to find anyone in Cambodia who is still not affected by those terrible years, and in many ways the country remains in shock.

Now that peace has come to Cambodia, Vichara says, “it is time to begin reconstruction to help Cambodia’s economy to catch up with other countries in the region, and to give hope to the young generation.”

“I want to use everything I learn from abroad to help Cambodia achieve sustainable development in this new century.”

Her own ambition is to specialize in Economics, because it will play such an important role in reconstruction.

Some of her own family were killed during the Khmer Rouge years, and Vichara is also driven by a desire to make up for what those relatives couldn’t do in their shortened lives. She studied hard and has a special love for mathematics.

In 2002 she was placed among the top ten best students in the National Mathematics competition in Cambodia. Then she was selected with two other students for a Cambodian government scholarship to study in Japan. Her desire to study in Japan, she says, stems from the conviction that Japan provides the best example in Asia of economic transformation, especially in its recovery from the disastrous effects of the Second World War. Vichara is currently majoring in Economics and English at Ryukoku University in Japan. Then in early 2008 she arrived in Perth, courtesy of Ryukoku’s partnership agreement with Murdoch University.

Murdoch University has exchange agreements with several Japanese universities, enabling Murdoch students who study Japanese language to spend a full year studying in Japan as part of their Bachelor of Asian Studies specialist degree.

Australia, Vichara says, is not only an ideal place for her to improve her English, which will be vital in her future career, but is also a great place to study economics. In recent decades, she says, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy.

‘It has impressed me a lot to learn that robust business and consumer confidence, together with high export prices for raw materials and agricultural products, are fuelling the economy, particularly in the mining states. The Cambodian economy, too, is based on agriculture and raw materials, including rubber, oil and gas, so there is a lot for me to learn here’.

Vichara was selected to attend the 8th World Assembly in Glasgow in June of CIVICUS, an international alliance formed in 1993 to encourage citizen action and democracy. Then she plans to go on to the 4th World Youth Congress in Quebec City in August, though she is still seeking funding to allow this dream to come true.

Recipe in Khmer:

(Request from Mrs.Kay N.)

Source: KI-Media
Letter from Amb. Julio Jeldres to the PPP regarding Preah Vihear temple
23 July 2008

The Editor
The Phnom Penh Post
888 Buidling F, 8th Floor
Phnom Penh Center
Corner Sothearos & Sihanouk Blv
Khan Chamkarmon, Phnom Penh
Cambodia

Dear Editor:

My attention has been drawn to your reporting of events concerning the temple of Preah Vihear over the past week. I notice that your reporters have referred to Preah Vihear as being “a disputed 11th century Hindu monument”.

May I point out that the temple of Preah Vihear is not a “Hindu monument” but a Khmer sanctuary, built by Khmer kings and dedicated to Shiva the Hindu god. Indeed, construction of the temple was began under the rule of the Khmer king Jasovarman I (889-910 AD) and completed during the rule of one of his successors, king Suryavarman II (1113-1145).

It should be understood that for past Khmer kings, a sanctuary was first and foremost a cosmological recreation. Thus, the construction of Khmer sanctuaries in the form of multi-tiered Pyramids meant that the place was considered a sacred cosmic mountain. This was particularly noticeable in the temples dedicated to Shiva, because of the association with the god’s mountain home –Mount Kailasa-. A mountain or a cliff top location, as in the case of Preah Vihear, was always the first choice for the Khmer architects building these major temples.

The fact that Preah Vihear is a Khmer sanctuary and not a “Hindu monument” has been extensively acknowledged by most experts in Khmer architecture including in such books published in Thailand by Thai authors like Professor S. Siribhadra of Silpakorn University in Bangkok in 1992, Dr. Dhida Saraya in 1994 and by the Italian author Vittorio Roveda in 2000.

There is no dispute over the temple itself but rather over surrounding land that is claimed by both Cambodia and Thailand. The temple has always been Khmer, except for a period when it was occupied by Siam from 1431 to 1907. In 1431, under the reign of the Siamese king Chao Saam Phraya (Boromrajadhiraj II) who ruled from 1424 to 1448, in what is known as the Ayutthaya period of Siamese (Thai) history, the armies of Siam defeated the Khmer armies and forced the evacuation of Angkor and the capital of the Khmer Empire was moved to Oudong and then to Phnom Penh. The Siamese armies occupied Battambang, Sisophon, Siemreap-Angkor as well as Preah Vihear and they were annexed into Siam.

On March 23, 1907, king Chulalongkorn (Rama V) signed the Franco-Siamese boundary treaty with the President of France, by which Siam agreed to return Battambang, Sisophon, Siemreap-Angkor as well as Preah Vihear to Cambodia, under French protectorate, in exchange for Chantaburi, Trat and the land of Dan Sai in Loei province of today’s Thailand.

According to the American scholar Lawrence Palmer Briggs and to other French scholars, Siam had made no attempt to colonize the provinces or to convert its citizens into Siamese subjects. Indeed, during the whole period of Siamese suzerainty this region was the hereditary fief of a Cambodian family and was ruled according to Cambodian customs and few could speak the Siamese language, using always Khmer to communicate.

Thailand took advantage of the Second World War to regain part of the territory that it had previously returned to Cambodia, under French protectorate. However, we the defeat of the Japanese and the end of hostilities French authority was restored in Indochina and in 1946 by the treaty of Washington, Thailand ceded the border provinces back once again.

In 1953, when King Norodom Sihanouk obtained full independence for Cambodia and refused to join the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), Thailand, under the pretext to strengthen its border, established a police post in the Dangrek mountain range, just north of Preah Vihear temple and hoisted the Thai flag over the temple and expelled the Cambodian officials posted to the temple by the Royal Cambodian government.

Cambodia sent several diplomatic notes to Thailand seeking a negotiated solution of the problem but Thailand did not reply until August 1958 when negotiations were held in Bangkok but ended in failure.

At that time, in a gesture to keep the friendship between the two countries, Cambodia proposed two solutions to Thailand: a) the joint administration of the Khmer sanctuary and b) that the matter be referred to the International Court of Justice.

As Thailand did not reply to the Cambodian proposal, in October 1959, King Norodom Sihanouk decided to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice for adjudication.

Commenting on Cambodia’s decision to take the case to the ICJ, the leading Bangkok newspaper “Siam Rath” editorialised as follows:

“If Cambodia has taken this matter to the ICJ, we cannot prevent her from doing so. It is her right to do it. She is in her right because the ICJ is an organ of the United Nations having the mission of peacefully settling differences between its members… As for the Thai government, faced with this correct attitude on the part of the Cambodian government, it should accept it in a friendly spirit and with the honesty worthy of a member of the United Nations”.

On June 15th 1962, the judgment of the ICJ was announced. By nine votes in favour and three against, it held that Preah Vihear was under the sovereignty of Cambodia. The ICJ urged Thailand to immediately withdraw any military, police and any other guards or keepers from the site.

Thailand was disappointed by the ICJ’s judgment. It withdrew its Ambassador from France and its delegations from the SEATO Council and the Geneva Conference on Laos, in protest to what it felt was the “uncooperative behaviour of some of its SEATO allies”, members also of the ICJ, and which had voted for Cambodia.

The Thai Foreign Minister at the time, Mr Thanat Khoman, rejected the ICJ ruling of behalf of the Thai government and wrote to U Thant, the UN Secretary General, expressing his government reservations but providing no new legal argument which would back up the Thai government’s reservations.

Furthermore, and I think this is of fundamental importance, he attached to his letter to U Thant, a map in which it was clearly stated: ”The map representing the area where the Temple of Preah Vihear (Pra Viharn in Thai language) is situated, over which Thailand has relinquished her sovereignty”.

I fear that by continuing to refer to Preah Vihear as a “disputed 11th century Hindu monument”, your esteemed newspaper is contributing to the misunderstanding existing over the sovereignty of the temple which has always been a Khmer temple, built by Khmer rulers in honour of a Hindu god.

Yours sincerely,

Ambassador Julio A. Jeldres
Official Biographer of HM the King Father
Samdech Preah Upayuvareach Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
Research Fellow, Monash University’s Asia Institute

“According to the joint statement of 18 June 2008, signed by the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Sok An, and by Thai Foreign Minister Mr. Noppadon Pattama, and Mrs. Françoise Rivière, UNESCO Deputy Director for Culture, about the listing of the Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site, and a new map that the Cambodian government sent to UNESCO, we found a part of Cambodian territory at the west and the north of the temple (or Area 3) is lost.
“The Cambodian government seems to fall into a trap of Thailand by listing only the body of the Preah Vihear Temple and the areas which extend 30 meters from the temple, but do not include the Area 3 which should also have been listed.

“According to our own experience from visits with students from different universities in Phnom Penh in 2001 and 2004, we found that the Cambodian government is creating a loss of land, by agreeing to create a new map, especially as it does not include Area 3 as Cambodian territory. Obviously, based on two visits, we found that the loss of land in Area 3 is an obstacle for tourists to climb up to the Preah Vihear Temple from Cambodia, because the areas at the east and the south are extremely steep to climb up and go down.
“According to the Deputy Director of the Cambodian Border Committee, it shows that The Hague International Court of Justice in 1962 used a 1:2000 scale map for the Preah Vihear Temple, and that map is being kept at the court. In addition, the French-Siem [Thai] Treaties in 1904 and 1907 show clearly the land border and sea border between Cambodia and Thailand, especially they show that the Area 3 definitely belongs to Cambodia, which contradicts some Thai positions which say that the border at the Preah Vihear Temple is at the steps to the temples.
“We agree with UNESCO, working to maintain cultural heritage, but we cannot give up the Hague verdict of 1962 about the Preah Vihear Temple and its area, based on the 1904 and 1907 French-Siem Treaties, especially the listing of land in Area 3 - otherwise Cambodia will lose this land to Thailand.
”We found that Thailand never dared to invade territories of Malaysia or Burma, because the governments of both countries are strongly committed to protect their territories. Only the territory of Cambodia has repeatedly been invaded by Thailand.. Moreover, Thailand never dared to protest officially on the international level; it just tries to make trouble for Cambodia. This shows that Thailand intends to invade Khmer territory and to block the Cambodian economic breath of tourism, absorbed by the Preah Vihear Temple. “We would like to give the recommendation to the Cambodian government, that if the government is still intent to list the Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site, being an independent nation with patriotism, the government has to:
Remove the new map and use a map from The Hague for the proposal of the listing of the temple.
__________________________________________________________________________________

“Preah Vihear was built in the 10th and 11th century by the august kings of former Cambodian Empire- Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II ” before the arrival of Tai (Thai) tribes from southern China.

If we observe the processes of the conflict we can judge who the righteous is and who the provoker and the invader is.

Legally and internationally, the sacred Khmer Preah Vihear temple was undisputedly recognized as Cambodian property and geographically, it is located in Cambodia soil both in the past and the present.

Historically, the sacred Khmer Preah Vihear temple was built in the 10th and 11th century by the august kings of former Cambodian Empire- Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II when the Tai tribe (present Thai) were still in Nan Jao southern of China who later moved southwards to resettle in the then Khmer Empire in the wake of the Mongol invasion of China and this tribe was forgiven and kindly allowed to live in our Empire by our benevolent kings.  

However, our great Empire was weakened by the in-fighting politics and the war with other neighboring states. Taking this chance; the Tai built up its state, attacked and sacked us in the 1431. From then on we have been under the consistent attack and invasions by these neighbors for centuries.

Our country was able to survive under the French protectorate. Some provinces, Battambang, Preah Vihear, and Siem Reap, were given back by the Siam even though many are still under its occupation today, and the new borderline demarcation between Thailand and Cambodia was carried out drawn by the French. Thailand accepted the map and signed the treaties-1904 and 1907 which also used as the foundation for International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Hague in 1962 over the Preah Vihear case which favor Cambodia in the suit.

However, the Thai never give up their greed and honestly accept the loss proudly boasting that they are the superior people to all nations in South East Asia and why must they subject to the Khmer? The war continues. They rewrite their ultra-nationalist history, reject the existence of the Khmer political, cultural, and architectural influences in their society, create hatred and  the look down on Khmer,  Laos as well as Burma, and keep invading Khmer border both land and sea, and treat and kill Khmer like animal.

Now the wound becomes painful again to the Thai when it comes to Khmer Preah Vihear temple seek for World heritage status submitted since 2002 and finally granted its listing in 7 July 2008.

The Thai consider the loss of Preah Vihear as the unforgivable shame. They always think they are superior to Khmer. So how can they give it up easily and accept the loss? Then the frame over the border invasion and Preah Vihear control started. How could this have happened? The Thai know that it would be the loss again if they would contest with Cambodia honestly over the Preah Vihear unless they stage a long-term strategy and carefully frame over Cambodian weakness and the world’s soft politics toward them.  Let’s observe the below process of the political frame of the Thai.

Firstly, they persuaded Cambodia to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU) over border demarcation, esp., the 2000 MOU. Why do we need MOU? Why don’t we use GPS basing on the existing map of Siam-Franco treaty to demarcate the borderline?

Then, they published the fake protests, to Cambodia, published widely in media, sent them to international communities, that Cambodia is invading Thai territorial sovereignty, esp., the protests in 2004, 2005, 2007, and April 2008.  Why are they the fake protests? Because have Cambodia ever invaded any country for these centuries? Is Cambodia capable to invade Thailand while she is trying to survive herself from poverty of decades of war and the internal conflicts? Thailand is a forever peaceful country and has its soldiers stationing everywhere along the border and how can the unarmed Cambodian civilian invade Thailand? We hardly believe this accusation of the Thai.

By using the 2000 MOU, the fake protests, and through its soft persuasion and the fake smile, the international communities listened to the Thai and asked Cambodia to negotiate with the Thai for their support in order to list the Preah Vihear temple. They successfully blocked Cambodia from listing the temple as World Heritage site two times 2006 and 2007 and hoped to achieve their greed, i.e., the Joint Management as they proposed.  Their often and basic arguments raised as an objection to the listing of the Khmer Preah Vihear temple is that the borderline is not known, the stair of the temple is in Thailand, the temple is easily accessible only from Thailand, some important sites subordinates to the temple are in Thailand, etc.,  so we must have the Joint Management. How can these people claim that the borderline is not known? Do they lose their mind and forget the Siam-Franco treaty in 1904 and 1907 and the verdict of ICJ 1962 which they themselves signed and recognized? Basing on the ICJ 1962, geographically the borderline is clear and the demarcated distance from the temple stair to the Cambodian-Thai border is as far as 2.6km away. But why the stair is in Thailand now? Did the Khmer build the temple without its subordinate elements and the stairs? So who invades whom?

Boring with the Thai objection and the easy-tricked international community, motivated by the political interest, the Cambodian leaders fell into the Thai trap by redrawing the new map proposed by the Thai. Why is it the trap? Because with the new map redrawn, the Thai will have privilege to lay claim for the 4.6 km2 land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple which is the long planned strategy to get rid of taking over the temple or achieving the Joint Management plan.

We can see it clearly that it is really the bad frame of the Thai. After endorsing the Joint Communiqué, they then rejected it. They are playing with two faces flip-flopping daily over the Khmer Preah Vihear temple issues in order to provoke the conflicts and they will take the opportunity to invade Cambodia. With this, they intentionally ignore the daily protestors who claim over Khmer Preah Vihear temple. And they even allowed these protestors to go into Cambodia illegally and protest inside Cambodia. Who believe that dozens of Thai border soldiers can’t prevent these three protestors from entering Cambodia? Where on earth one can enter into another country freely, illegally and protest against it? Cambodia detained them only four hours and then released without harm. Do we believe the Thai would treat us the same as we did to the three Thais if we entered into Thailand in the same situation? The answer is absolutely “NO”, because we have seen and witnessed so much Cambodian civilian blood covering the ground along the Cambodian-Thai border inhumanly committed by these brutal Thai.

Now it is almost their last step. After having achieved their strategical frames-the 2000 MOU, the Joint Communiqué, and the latest bait of three Thai protestors, they (Thai soldiers) entered into Cambodia freely by claiming that they come to protect their people who were arrested by the Cambodian soldiers. If the Thai are really honest neighbor why didn’t they send their delegates to negotiate for the release? Why soldiers? And it is absurd for the claim because the arrested people were already released and why don’t they withdraw?

With the pressure of Cambodia side and the international eyes, they later on claimed differently as Thai army Colonel Chay Huay Soongnern said, “We all love peace. We are here, we don’t want anything. We came to offer protection in case Thai protestors come here … We came to help Cambodian troops and their people. I don’t think that we will stay here much longer.” Why don’t they station in their country to prevent their Thai extreme protestors? Does Cambodia ask for their help? Do they think Cambodia is incapable for such a protection? I think Hun Sen government is even more capable in prevention than the Thai for such a protest.

Now the Thai trick is clearly revealed when Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, on Friday 18 July 2008, said that, “It is Cambodian troops who invade in Thai soil”.  He claimed this after his country has built up solid military base inside Cambodia and have observed the silence of international communities´s reaction against its invasion over Cambodia. Now they don’t withdraw as they said before but they keep building up their forces and at the same time they start to play diplomacy with the international communities in order to paint the bad image of Cambodia by summoning Cambodian ambassador to Bangkok to accept their protest against Cambodian invasion and inviting eight Asean members to receive their protests signed by PM Samak on 18 July 2008 and some others framed documents, 2000 MOU, the Thai protests against Cambodia invasion 2004, 2005, 2007 and April 2008.

It is even more clearly explained the dirtiness of the Thai if we reflect on the statement of the Thai Supreme Commander Gen Boonsrang Neimpradit who indicated that “Thailand could propose Phnom Penh withdraw about 500 Cambodian villagers from the disputed area as a condition for a Thai military withdrawal.” This statement is clearly referred to Sumak’s latest statement and the new redrawn map –the Joint Communiqué. It means that now they officially claim for the land and greedily want to completely control it.

They do know that if they don’t use forces to pressure Cambodia, the 500 villagers will not be removed and their dream to rob those surrounding lands of Khmer Preah Vihear temple will be failed and the seek for future Joint Management will be completely nonnegotiable and this will put the Thai for another shame.

What will happen if Cambodia doesn’t agree with the condition? I think the Thai will resort to other tricks. They might allow other Thai protesters enter into Cambodia and then provoke the war allegedly protecting their civilians. They might at night use Thai soldiers disguising as Cambodian soldiers and wage the war first against the Thai themselves and then accuse Cambodia as the first to wage war and then invade Cambodia.  Or there might be more invisible tricks. So watch out!

They do hope they will win the war because they think they are always superior to us. Then the villagers will flee from their homes if the war would be erupted. They will control the land and pressure for the last bargain in exchange for the peace, i.e., the rightful control of the land surrounding the temple and it may be even the Joint Management of the Preah Vihear temple.

Do we hope the conflict will be solved easily? I do hope so only if Thailand can become the nation of honesty. For now I see that, “the conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand will not be easily solved if without international intervention, because Cambodia is trying to solve the conflicts basing on its honest, respectful, and friendly relationship with the Thai while the Thai is trying hard to solve it through its dirty political trick for long-term invading and dominant political strategy over Cambodia”. 

My observation is that the Thai trick is easily revealed if we listen to their languages carefully. They always speak their languages flexibly according to the step of the situation development they have planned and achieved.

Source: http://sokheounpang.wordpress.com/

Thai troops invading Cambodia

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia - Cambodia has informed the U.N. Security Council that Thai forces have violated its territory near an ancient World Heritage Site temple where hundreds of troops continued to face off Sunday.

Cambodia’s permanent mission in New York submitted a letter to the chairman of the Security Council and the chairman of the General Assembly to “draw their attention to the current situation on the Cambodian-Thai border,” Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said.

“Cambodia is not asking for U.N. intervention. We still stick to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s instructions to try to solve the problem peacefully between the two sides,” the minister told reporters in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

It was unclear when the letter was submitted.

–World Heritage site
The conflict over territory surrounding Preah Vihear temple escalated when UNESCO recently approved Cambodia’s application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site. Thai activists fear the new status will undermine Thailand’s claim to nearby land since the border has never been demarcated.

Troops from the opposing forces were on the brink of a shoot-out Thursday night, which was avoided when Cambodians retreated from a site occupied by the Thais.

Opposing commanders and their troops have tried to defuse tensions, sometimes even sharing meals, snapping photographs and sleeping within easy sight of one another.

A Cambodian general, meanwhile, said he had little hope that upcoming talks between his government and Thailand will resolve the tense border dispute.

Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Thai troops have deployed an artillery piece about half a mile northeast of Preah Vihear temple — the latest escalation ahead of Monday’s meeting aimed at averting a military confrontation.

“Regarding the talks tomorrow, we have little hope about the outcome,” Chea Keo said.

He said the reason for his pessimism stems from a recent counterclaim by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej that the area around a Buddhist pagoda near the historic temple belongs to Thailand. Thai troops have been stationed at the pagoda since Tuesday.

‘Encroached on our territory’
Hun Sen wrote a letter to Samak on Thursday saying relations had been “worsening” since Thai troops “encroached on our territory,” and asked him to pull them back.

Responding to his Cambodian counterpart, Samak said the area around the pagoda referred to in the letter “is within the Thai territory,” according to a statement Saturday from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

While urging both sides to exercise restraint, Samak’s letter said the settlement of Cambodians in that area constitutes “a continued violation of Thailand’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Despite their pledge to hold talks Monday in Thailand to try to defuse the tensions, both Cambodia and Thailand have massed troops at the site.

“We continue to be on alert at all time. And at the same time, we keep instructing our soldiers to be patient and avoid being blamed for starting a war,” Chea Keo said Sunday.

The dispute has taken a toll on tourism in the area, with the Thai side closed to visitors. It also is starting to hurt economic relations between the two neighbors.

Thai Soldiers

A while back I wrote in my editorials expressing my fears of Cambodia losing the sovereignty of the 4.6 square kilometres of the so-called “disputed zone” in the Preah Vihear precinct to Thailand. Now, with the Thai sending in the troops to occupy that zone, my fears have been realised. By applying to list only the temple body, the Cambodian government has acknowledged the existence of a “disputed zone” and has effectively given Thailand ammunitions in which to fight for the sovereignty of that zone. The Thai incursion into Cambodia’s territories is a sheer violation of Cambodian sovereignty and territorial integrity and it is a blatant aggression and an invasion. (Full details here).

From a Cambodian perspective, with the Thai refusing to withdraw the troops and with the Cambodian villagers being terrorized to flee this village en masse, the Thai occupation of this so-called “disputed zone” is a fait accompli. For those who were belatedly and proudly claimed that “Cambodia will lose nothing”, the likes of PM Hun Sen, Deputy PM’s Sok An and Hor Namhong and their proponents, they should hang their heads in shame and do the honourable thing by resigning.

Cambodia must not be complacent over the issue of these significant national interests and it must do everything to publicize this Thai invasion of Preah Vihear to the world in a grand scale to expose the Thai flagrant disregards for Cambodia’s sovereignty. Cambodia must bring out all the documents and maps related to the Preah Vihear temple and put them on the negotiating table for the Thai side to see. If need be, should Thailand fails to acknowledge the historical facts, Cambodia should involve outside mediation, based on historical facts. And if necessary, Cambodia should not vacillate in bringing Thailand to the International Court of Justice one more time.

Cambodia must vehemently reject the proposition and the notion of sharing this zone with Thailand. Cambodia must be firm in any future negotiations with Thailand, not just on this so-called “disputed zone”, but on border disputes in other areas as well. Cambodia has all the relevant documents and maps from the 1907 treaty and then again the decision of the International Court of Justice in 1962, to prove that the “zone” belongs to Cambodia.

The Thai ignorance of the historical facts regarding territorial claims between the two countries cannot be allowed to go on unchallenged. A week ago, the Thai protesters have called for a return of Battambang (Phra Tabong in Thai), Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces to Thailand, by claiming that they were once Thai territories. (Full details here).

Well, the Thai should know the history of their presence in that part of the region very well. They must know that they only moved from Nan Chao in southern China to settle in this region in the 13th century, while the Cambodians had settled in the region for more than 2000 years ago. And as recently as the late 18th century (1796?), Thailand had invaded and claimed suzerainty over more than 10 Cambodian provinces. Battambang and Siem Reap have been occupied by Thailand, then called Siam, in 1796(?) and were only returned to Cambodia in 1904 under the French pressure and in exchange for a return of the provinces of Trat and Buriram to Thailand. Other Cambodian provinces, like Surin, Kok Khan (now called Sisaket), Nokor Reach (Korat), Srah Keo (Sakeo), Baschem Borei (Prachinburi), Cholaborei (Chonburi), Aranya Protess (Aranyaprathet), Kanchanak Borei (Kanachanburi), Chanthak Borei (Chanthaburi) and Boeng Kork (Bangkok) and even up to the Ayuddya regions were all Cambodian territories, taken over by Thailand one by one up until the late 18th century (1796?).

My point in bringing all of these former Khmer provinces into the discussion here was to highlight the historical facts and to jog the memories of the Thai people that Cambodia hadn’t taken any Thai lands. But on the contrary, Thailand had taken vast territories of Khmer lands. If the Thai protesters wanted to reclaim Battambang and Siem Reap provinces, then these Thai protesters and, for that matter, the Thai leadership as a whole, must realise that Cambodia has every right to reclaim the territories of the more than 10 provinces lost to Thailand that have been mentioned above.

I would like to end this editorial by expressing my condemnation of the Thai incursion into the Preah Vihear region and, for the sake of regional peace and stability, I call on Thailand to withdraw their troops immediately and unconditionally.//

(Viewing the pictures of Cambodian and Thai troops facing off each other in Preah Vihear).

Posted by khmerization

Labels: khmerization editorial, Preah Vihear, Thai troops enter Cambodia, Thai-Khmer troops confrontation

About Cambodia Cooking Class & frizz restaurant
The frizz restaurant ( http://www.frizz-restaurant.com) was established in Phnom Penh five years ago to bring traditional and tasty Khmer cuisine to the increasing number of tourists visiting Cambodia. As more people discovered the beautiful flavours of Khmer food, the restaurant in 2005 started the first cookery class for tourists and expats in Phnom Penh, the Cambodia Cooking Class ( http://www.cambodia-cooking-class.com).

*Note* I was very fortunate to use Kampot pepper which I bought earlier. Cambodia is known for “world finest pepper.” “Cambodian pepper rocks, the versatile flavor can range from intensely spicy to mildly sweet with a hint of flower. Alas, it is not (yet) found outside of Cambodia. Leading hotel chefs in the country buy it in bulk for their signature dishes.”http://www.cambodia-cooking-class.com/kampot-pepper.htm

Sngou Muoan NamNgau- Cambodian chicken soup with homemade preserved lime.  It’s national and one of favorite preserved dish eaten by Cambodian ( in midland, Kampuchea Krom, Isaan-former Khmer territory).
 
Ingredients:
      
2 1/2 tsp oil
6 cups water
1 chicken breast
1 preserved lime, cut in half
1 garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 sugar
1/2  yellow or white onion (medium size), sliced
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 stalk green onion, chopped (diagonally- optional)
8 sprigs coriander, washed
3 tiny rings chili (see photo)

Method:

1) Heat the pot and add oil. Saute garlic until golden, then add onion. Cook onion until  soft. Save it aside on the plate.

2) In the same pot, add water and preserved lime, cover it and bring to boil over medium high heat. -Then add chicken and sauteed garlic/onion bring to boil until chicken is tender. *Break  one of the halves preserved lime to release the the aroma and flavor.

3) Season with salt, sugar, fish sauce, and chicken bouillon. Stir well. Remove the white bubble. -Turn off heat. Sprinkle with green onion and coriander.

**NOTE** I tried the imported preserved lime I got from an Asian market, the taste nothing at all like the Cambodian homemade preserved lime. The commercial ones, the peel taste bitter. Perhaps they didn’t process it right or fermented long enough. Traditional Cambodian homemade preserved lime both peel and inside flesh are well harmonized. The lime peel shouldn’t be bitter. Cambodian method focuses on age, how long the limes place in the sun and how long they are kept air tight in the jar. Very important. I stopped using the commercial ones. This time, I used homemade, the taste is amazingly good. Very tasty and refreshing. Good luck in finding homemade ones. You may ask around, most Cambodian homes have them.

-I used chicken breast because it took less time to cook but it is best to use rock hen (koun muoan- small chicken) or regular whole chicken, they give a lot of flavor to the soup, tastier.

photo from google

Thank you for your input! Welcome to SKO.

As I mentioned earlier about Khmer font, ‘Only Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista support Khmer font,’ I meant it supports IME-Input Method Editor- “a program or operating system component that allows computer users to enter characters and symbols not found on their keyboard.” Well, although I installed this software in my hard drive, I still have difficult time finding Khmer symbols and alphabets. I followed keyboard layout which I found through google search but somehow it didn’t  work well. I am wondering if I need to work on typing Khmer more or is it not  all keyboard layout are compatible for all software?

“Actually this is not the case. You can use Khmer in Windows XP and in Linux and in Apple/Macintosh computers with the international standard UNICODE Khmer fonts, which the Ministry of Education is also introducing in all Teachers Training Colleges etc., and which is considered the new standard by the National Informatioon Technology Development Authority. You can find all information and download everything here.” http://www.khmeros.info/drupal/

Khmer OS is very impressive. With the installation of OpenOffice and OpenSUSE, we now can read and write Cambodian language. I am very happy to have known that there are Khmer IT engineers out there working diligently and devoted times and space to make Khmer language write and readable for the community. This is wonderful and I am grateful for all the hard work.

<—-Software which allows you to read and write in Khmer. Click!