Somewhere
between 9th
and 10th
century CE, Cambodia's Hindu Khmer kings decided to construct a new
Hindu temple complex atop a 525-metre (1,722 ft) cliff known today
as 'Pey Tadi,' in the Dângrêk Mountains, located in the present
Preah Vihear province of Cambodia. They named it as “Prasat Preah
Vihear” or “Palace of sacred abode.” Because of the
spectacular view extending to many kilometers across a plain, Prasat
Preah Vihear has the greatest setting amongst all of the temples
built during the six-centuries-long Khmer Empire in Cambodia.
Construction of the temple is believed to have began first in early
9th
century, but most of the temple was constructed during the reigns of
the Khmer kings Suryavarman I (1002–1050) and Suryavarman II
(1113–1150).
After
the great Khmer empire of Cambodia began its slow decline after
reaching it's zenith, a new empire known as the Ayutthaya Kingdom,
began to rise in the west or in what is called today as state of
Thailand. Most of the growth of this kingdom happened at the cost of
Khmer territories like Battambang, Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey and
Oddar Meancheay provinces of today's Cambodia. Temple of Prasat Preah
Vihear, being much to the northeast of the later capital of Khmers at
Siem Reap also naturally fell to the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
In the
Nineteenth century, after having established their control over
Cambodia, the French forced a treaty on Kingdom of Siam (Thailand)
known as the Franco-Siamese treaty of 1867. According to this treaty,
Siam was forced to renounce suzerainty over Cambodia, with the
exception of Battambang, Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey and Oddar
Meancheay provinces, which were then officially incorporated into the
Kingdom of Siam. However, during the 1904 state visit of King Rama V
of Siam to France, Siam agreed to cede the four provinces to France
in exchange for regaining Thai sovereignty over Trat Province and
Amphoe Dan Sai of Loei Province, which had been occupied by France.
In
1904, French and Siam had agreed to mark the border between Cambodia
and Siam that would follow the natural watershed between the two
countries. In 1907 the Thai-Cambodian border was actually mapped by
the French as per this agreement. However, the final map showed
Prasat Preah Vihear temple on the Cambodian side, though this
deviated the 1904 agreement. Surprisingly, Siam accepted this map,
probably due to oversight and only realised the error much later in
1930 and this is where the border row began.
The
dispute was taken subsequently to the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, Which in 1962 awarded ownership of
Prasat Preah Vihear Temple to Cambodia by a 9 to 3 vote, based on the
1907 map (correctly drawn or not.) mentioned above. However, the
court ruled that only the temple belonged to Cambodia, and did not
comment about the adjacent land to the north of the temple. The exact
words that were used in this court order say: “Thai forces were
obliged to withdraw from the temple or in its vicinity on Cambodian
territory."
This
court ruling brought up a new border dispute as Cambodia and Thailand
interpreted the word 'vicinity' in different manners. Meanwhile in
2008, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) put the temple, on its world heritage list in
2008 saying "an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture,
in terms of plan, decoration and relationship to the spectacular
landscape environment". This gave a new dimension to the already
simmering dispute.
Cambodia
claimed that it was given 4.6 Km around the temple by 1962 judgment
and again went back to the International Court of Justice in 2011,
following several clashes between its army and Thai forces, to ask
exactly what judges meant by "vicinity" in 1962.
After
a wait of two years, International Court of Justice has given its
verdict this week ( on 11th
November 2013) to clarify what it meant by vicinity. Court did not
give any new maps with the judgment, but said that the rocky plateau
on which temple stands is bordered by steep slopes on most sides and
by a border line drawn up in 1907 by a commission of French officials
to the north. It gave an area of 1 sq. Km, which it considered as the
area in the vicinity of temple to Cambodia, leaving rest of the
plateau to Thailand. It asked the two countries to work out the
border amongst themselves.
On the
surface at least, both countries appear to be happy with the verdict.
Many Thai villagers, who live close to the disputed Preah Vihear
temple had moved away from the area fearing armed clashes, began
returning to their homes after the court verdict. By any logic the
court verdict appears to be a sound one. Prasat Preah Vihear Temple
has been and is a legacy of Cambodian people and it has been accepted
that they can keep it as their national treasure.
14th
November 2013
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