The Message from the President of the UKD : Mr. EA Kuon

[Khmer Blood]

 

Venerables, dear compatriots and friends,

Please find hereafter the Union of Khmer Democrats ( UKD ) political stand on the topic quoted in the subject.

Best regards,

The President of the UKD : EA Kuon
 
 
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Communiqué number 15 of the Union of Khmer Democrats ( UKD )

Encroachments of Cambodia borders by  Vietnam and Thailand  : very well planned and well orchestrated operations

(Courtesy  translation from the French version)

 

In a message of May 24th, 2002,  King Norodom Sihanouk has launched an alarm signal to the inactivity of the HUN Sen - CPP regime (Government and Parliament) faced to repeated encroachments of Cambodia borders by Vietnam and Thailand. This royal message is entirely justified and relevant. It is justified because the King, as guarantor of the country territorial integrity (article 8 of the Constitution), must naturally take the initiative of warning the Government and the Parliament when this territorial integrity is threatened. This message is relevant because, by virtue of the article 7 of the Constitution which states that the King reigns but does not govern, it is the primordial role of the Government and the Parliament that act to defend the Cambodia ‘s territorial integrity in case of threats coming from outside. So this royal message deserves the support of all our compatriots who must reinforce and unite themselves in order to defend our territorial integrity.

Replying to this royal message, Mr. Thanh Phan Thuy, spokesman of the Vietnamese Department of Foreign Affairs, said that « Vietnam always consistently respect all the treaties signed between the two countries on the basis of genuine equality and conformity with international law and practice » (cf. VNA, May 24th, 2002). However, Mr. Thanh has no arguments on « why and how » these treaties can be qualified as « in conformity with international law and  practice ».

 

Beyond the two aforesaid events, what is the logic that really explains this remarkable and undisputed stillness of the HUN Sen - CPP regime faced to these our borders  encroachments, like with other problems as well, which govern in a decisive way our Nation fate ? To better understand  this global process, we suggest to string together on the same plan some following past historical events (for more details, please see the UKD ‘s documents entitled « The true nature of the HUN Sen - CPP regime » and « Cambodian Nation  : which problem, which solution  ? »).

Historical point 1  : The borders between Cambodia and Thailand are delimited on the basis of the Agreements of 1904 and 1907, regularly implemented, on the one hand by Thailand and on the other hand by France which acts in the name of Cambodia as power defender. It is in regards with these demarcations that Thailand have regularly made encroachments on Khmer borders.

Historical point 2  : The HUN Sen - CPP regime was installed by the Vietnamese occupying army on January 7th, 1979. It is during the occupation period that all the important treaties (those of the 1979, 1982, 1983 and 1985) were imposed by the Hanoi communist leaders to this regime, not recognized at that time by the UNO. It is about these treaties that Mr. Thanh qualified as « in conformity with international law and practice ». In reality, these treaties led the HUN Sen - CPP regime to give to Vietnam the islands the territorial membership of which is still to be clarified such as the Koh Trâl island and the Koh Krâchâk Sés (Poulo-Panjang) islands group. These treaties also caused losses of the maritime waters of Cambodia of about 30.000km2 always for the Vietnam benefit, and they neutralize about 10.000km2 under the so called “ historic sea ”. They also forced the HUN Sen - CPP regime  « to legalize » border stones moving inward Cambodia about 10, 20, even  30km (for record,  the report of  Task Force by " YOSSEF BODANSKY and VAUGHN S FORREST of April 26th, 1990, to the House of Representatives of the United States, shows encroachments of 4 to 5km inside Cambodia along the frontier more than 500km. In one of His communiqués on December 14th, 1992, King Sihanouk, then Chairman of « Supreme National Council of Cambodia », also strongly denounced these  borders encroachments of 10, 20, even 30km on some places).

Historical point 3 : Some days before the coup of July, 1997, Mr. HUN Sen was summoned to Hanoi by the Vietnamese communist leaders. A little more than a month after this coup, Vietnam and Thailand officially concluded on August 11th, 1997 a treaty on the limitations of their maritime waters, treaty to which the HUN Sen - CPP regime weakly opposed but naturally with no effect. This treaty causes a supplementary loss to the Cambodia ‘s maritime waters of about 30.000km2.

These three historical points put clearly in evidence  :

•         The « minor concessions » acutely granted by the Hanoi communist leaders to Thailand, and this to better minimize the difficulties in their process of Cambodia annexation.

•         The submission of the HUN Sen - CPP regime faced to all these operations of the Vietnamese communist leaders, whereby « its remarkable silence » faced to all these Cambodia ‘s borders encroachments.

•         The ridiculous character of the statement of Mr. Thanh Phan Thuy which qualifies as « in conformity with international law and practice » the application of treaties imposed by the Vietnamese occupying army to the regime that it then installed in flagrant violation of the international law and principle recorded in the UN Charter (article 2, §7).

 

In spite of the elections of July, 1998 assuring him an appearance of legitimacy, the HUN Sen - CPP regime, installed by force by  Vietnamese occupying troops, remains by nature an instrument remote guided from Hanoi. The stubborn refusals to denounce these illegal treaties imposed by the Hanoi communist leaders, as stated in the Paris Accords of October, 1991 and in the Vienna Convention of May, 1969, and its orders given to Mr. Var Kim Hong to always use them as basic documents in borders negotiations with the Vietnamese part, allowed Mr. Thanh Phan Thuy to qualify them as « treaties in conformity with international law and practice ».

 

The UKD strongly condemns all these encroachments on our borders. It also firmly condemns all these well planned and well orchestrated operations by the Hanoi communist leaders. It solemnly declares void and nil all the treaties concluded or to be concluded in the future by the HUN Sen - CPP regime.

 

 

                                                                                  Paris, May 29th, 2002

                                                                                The President of the UKD

 

                                                                                               EA Kuon

 

 

Regard,