Thailand announced its departure from
the World Heritage Convention with immediate effect on Saturday,
after the World Heritage Committee failed to heed its request seeking
postponement of the Cambodias unilaterally-proposed Preah Vihear Temple
management plan, as Thailand fears that it may threaten national
sovereignty.
Thailands
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, leading
the Thai delegation at the 35th session of the WHC meeting in Paris,
earlier notified Mr Mounir Bouchenaki, director-general of
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and
Restoration of Cultural Property, who represents the director-general
of United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNESCO, that Thailand would leave the World Heritage Convention and
would also withdraw from the 21-member World Heritage Committee as the
body continues to ignore any negative consequences which may arise
from the consideration of the temple management plan which he said
overlooks sensitive issues which could adversely affect Thailands
sovereignty and territory.
However, the withdrawal was not fully backed by the Foreign Ministry, a government source said.
Officials
from the Foreign Ministry who attended the meeting together with Suwit
in Paris were satisfied with their negotiations with the Cambodian
delegation on the draft of the World Heritage Committee’s decision.
The Thai business opportunities in Cambodia in the long-term inevitably will be harmed if the border conflict persists.
Suwit,
who led the Thai delegation to the World Heritage Committee meeting in
Paris last week, reported to the Cabinet on his decision to walk out
of the session and the announcement of denunciation. The action is to
protect Thai sovereignty over the territory adjacent to the Preah
Vihear Temple, Panitan quoted Suwit as telling the Cabinet.
Abhisit
backed Suwit’s decision and most of ministers in the Cabinet agreed
with him, but the caretaker government decided not to carry out the
procedure of denunciation, Panitan said.
Mr
Suwit also said the World Heritage Centre, instead of revising the
wording of the draft, decided to put it on the agenda of the WHC
meeting in Paris, despite Thailands request to have the plan deferred,
pending border demarcation with Cambodia. Thailand is opposed to the
terms of “urgent repair and restoration” but preferred using the
wording “protection and conservation” in the draft. The head of the
Thai delegation also said the pullout means that any WHC resolution
will not be binding to Thailand.
The
withdrawal has resulted in the Director General of the Fine Arts
Department, Mrs Somsuda Leyavanija, one of 21 members of the WHC, to
leave her post. Mr Suwit earlier posted a message on his Twitter
account late Saturday night saying, “Thailand has no choice but to
withdraw as the meeting has resolved to put the issue on agenda.”
via Thailand pulls out of World Heritage Convention .
Thai
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday said the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Director-General Irina Bokova has sent a letter expressing her regret
over Thailand’s decision to withdraw from the World Heritage
Convention.
Director-General
Irina Bokova has sent a letter expressing her regret over Thailand's
decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention.
Mr
Abhisit, before the weekly cabinet meeting, showed reporters a letter
from the UNESCO chief and said briefly that he would address a news
conference on Thailand’s stance after today’s Cabinet meeting.
National
Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, as head of the
Thai delegation to the World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris, will
report the issue to the Cabinet and agencies concerned will study the
implication of the UNESCO agency’s resolution on Cambodia’s management
plan for Preah Vihear after Thailand leaves the convention.
In
her letter dated June 26, Ms Bokova has expressed deep regret with Mr
Suwit’s declaration on the Thai intention to leave the 1972 World
Heritage Convention.
“The
World Heritage Committee did not discuss the management plan of the
Preah Vihear temple nor did it request for any reports to be submitted
on its state of conservation. Moreover, it needs to be clarified that
UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre never pushed for a discussion of the
Management Plan by the Committee,” Ms Bokova said in the letter.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr Suwit denied he would benefit from the decision to withdraw from the convention.
He said the decision was not premature and was intended to protect the country’s dignity and territorial integrity.
During
the past three years he had done everything he could to lobby and
convince member nations that the management plan was a sensitive issue
and that approving the plan could lead to problems.
He
said a resolution relating to Preah Vihear adopted at the Paris
meeting of the World Heritage Committee had allowed Cambodia to carry
out maintenance and repair work for Preah Vihear and the areas
surrounding it and to seek financial assistance from Unesco.
Mr Suwit said he found the resolution unacceptable because it could lead to the loss of Thai territory.
If
Thailand had accepted the resolution, it would have given Cambodia a
chance to use it to fight at the International Court of Justice for
ownership of the disputed areas around the temple.
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