Thailand-Cambodia boundary meeting in jeopardy

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Thailand-Cambodia boundary meeting in jeopardy
By THE NATION
2011-04-01

Parliamentary wrangling means it remains uncertain whether the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) will meet in Indonesia late next week as scheduled.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob said yesterday that he might be unable to convene a parliamentary session to consider the minutes of previous meetings in time.
"We need to wait for official notification from the Constitution Court and notify members three days in advance of the meeting," he said. "I don't yet know when we will be ready for the meeting."

Chai initially called a session to consider the JBC's meeting minutes on April 5.

The issue was complicated as a group of lawmakers led by the ruling Democrat Party's Sirichok Sopha appealed to the Constitution Court to rule on the need for Parliament to consider the JBC documents. The court on Wednesday rejected the request. As the court did not rule, Parliament needs to carry on with consideration of the documents in accordance with Article 190 of the Constitution, Chai said.

Article 190 requires all documents deemed to be treaties to pass parliamentary approval before the government signs agreements with foreign countries or international organisations.

The JBC met last in April 2009 in Phnom Penh. It cannot convene the next meeting until the Thai Parliament approves the minutes of three previous meetings.

The JBC is a bilateral mechanism for land-boundary demarcation between Thailand and Cambodia.

The two countries have been at loggerheads over the boundary for some time, notably over the area adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.

Troops of the two countries clashed in February and Phnom Penh brought the boundary conflict to the attention of the United Nations Security Council and Asean.

Indonesia, as Asean chair, called a meeting of the bodies dealing with border affairs, including the JBC, on April 7-8 in Bogor to settle the conflict.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was optimistic, saying there was plenty of time before the Bogor meeting for Parliament to consider the minutes.

"We still have time to work on it - please do not jump to the conclusion that we cannot make it," Kasit told reporters.

Senator Rosana Tositrakul suggested that the government withdraw the |JBC documents from Parliament to submit again later after the government had made it clear that the boundary negotiations would not cause the loss of Thai territory.

"I think many MPs do not dare pass the JBC's documents as they fear the loss of territory," she said.

If Parliament called a meeting on the matter again next week, many members might not attend, thus making Parliament lack a quorum, Rosana said.