August 16, 2008

The Khmer Chronicles / Issue Nr 11: A window of opportunity

John Vink

Nothing much happening in the Middle East? No major earthquake around? Paris Hilton is flying below the radar? The Olympics have not started yet? THIS is the right time then!!! On July 15th, two weeks before parliamentary elections in Cambodia, Thai soldiers show up at Preah Vihear, an 11th century temple, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site a few days before, and located smack on a disputed border. Friction, soldiers, guns, an incredibly spectacular setting, historic tensions flaring up to extremes and possibly degenerating into a full-scale war. A conjunction of history, nationalism and interior politics looking for the outside enemy: the perfect scenario to wake up dozing news freaks and give them something to stay alert during their holidays. The eyes of the world will focus on Cambodia, on my backyard. An opportunity not to be missed...

Right... It takes between ten and 12 hours by various taxis and motorbikes to cover the 250 km or so from Phnom Penh, which says a lot about how to get fresh troops up there (there is a neatly drawn tarmac road on the thai side of the border)... Once at the temple the situation looks like anything but a potential battlefield: for sure there are lots of guns and close to 2000 military around, but Thai and Khmer soldiers are just meters apart, talking or just staring at each other. Because they know each other since a long time. 70% of the cambodian soldiers there are former Khmer Rouge who protected Ta Mok in this same area until ten years ago, before being integrated in the RCAF (Royal Cambodian Armed Forces), and they had many contacts with the thai border units which today have set up camp in the bushes around the temple. Many of the thai soldiers are Khmer Surin and speak cambodian.

Exalted nationalists in pick-up trucks bring food to their flip-flops wearing heroes (according to a cambodian officer soldiers with good boots can run away from battle, soldiers without shoes have to stay and fight), khmer tourists and bikers from New Zealand come and visit the place. The Council of Ministers has set up a tent with internet connection for journalists in the middle of the archaeological site. After a couple of days I get the impression it is more about muscle-flexing and big smiles. But then of course one should not forget that in January 2003 a mob burned down the Thai embassy and several thai owned and run companies in Phnom Penh, just because a thai singer supposedly claimed that Angkor Wat belonged to her country. History has not settled down in this area of the world, and as long as nationalistic feelings can be stirred up as a cover-up for domestic issues, many things can go wrong...

With an inflation close to 30% and thousands of dissatisfied because of land issues, and with parliamentary elections just weeks away, this was the right time for the party in power in Cambodia to pull off the registration of the temple as a World Heritage site and gather support for those who achieved this important nationalistic feat. But Thailand has interior politics issues going on after having recovered from a military coup not long ago, and an outside enemy is a welcome opportunity to divert attention. A reaction Cambodia maybe did not expect.

But both parties agreed to talk, which resulted in a status quo with soldiers waiting for the other side to retreat first and meanwhile catching malaria in the woods. And the elections are over in Cambodia, with indeed a comfortable win for Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP (Cambodian People's Party). Mr Hun Sen will further extend his 23 years of being in power.

Cambodia. Takmau (Kandal). 27/07/2008: Prime Minister HUN Sen casting his vote on elections day. © John Vink/Magnum Photos

So that's it: no war for me yet. Business first in Cambodia... And anyhow there are the Olympics and a war in Georgia now. Window closed...

There are mulitmedia presentations on the Preah Vihear border dispute and the cambodian elections on the Ka-set website.

Published on the Magnum Blog on August 16, 2008

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