The Prince and Preah Vihear

Published on October 7, 2009 - The Nation

Nationalism has clouded our view of the temple's ownership, argues one academic. But history has the simple answer

SUBHATRA BHUMIPRABHAS

SPECIAL TO THE NATION

On 30 January 1929, Prince Damrong Rajanupab arrived at Preah Vihear as head of an official expedition from the Siamese court of King Prajadhipok (Rama VII). There to welcome him was the French commissioner for the Cambodian province along with the archaeologist Henri Parmentier, who was to act as guide for the expedition's trip up Panom Dongrek mountain to see its famed centuries-old Hindu temple.

The prince and the commissioner exchanged speeches of friendship at a cheerful reception attended by the entourage of high-ranking Siamese noblemen, before listening to a lecture on Preah Vihear Temple given by the French archaeologist. Fluttering above this happy scene was the flag of France.

"This is recorded history - a history that must not be forgotten by Thai students," said historian Charnvit Kasetsiri, at a talk titled "The Contested Temple" given recently at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand. "Prince Damrong accepted that Preah Vihear belonged to French Indochina," noted Charnvit, as he showed photographs of the prince and French commissioner posing together beneath the French flag. But the history that most Thai students are taught focuses on the loss of territory, he added, citing a Thai textbook for Grade 6 students.

"It asks us to remember the loss of territories beginning with Penang and ending with Preah Vihear Temple. But by ignoring Prince Damrong's visit in 1929, it effectively tells us to forget about the truth. "This is history infected with nationalism." Charnvit went on to show how the "infection" reaches beyond schoolbooks and into tourism - a brochure welcoming tourists to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai talks about the "Losses of Territories and Survival of Siam", while Samut Prakan's Muang Boran [Ancient City] contains a replica of Preah Vihear.

Nationalism and tourism go together, he concluded. The current case of Preah Vihear reflects the kind of "selective history" that stirs nationalistic feeling and leads to war-mongering threats to take back "lost territory", he said. Following Prince Damrong's visit, Preah Vihear was left in peace for over a decade. Then, in 1940 the government of Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsongkram added the Hindu temple to its list of Thai archaeological sites.

Though the addition was announced in the pages of the Royal Gazette, there is no evidence that Cambodia's French rulers noticed it. In 1954, the year after Cambodia won independence, Pibul sent Thai troops to occupy the area around the Preah Vihear site. But Thai history tends to ignore this event, preferring to focus on the claim made by King Sihanouk at the International Court of Justice in 1959, which in 1962 awarded the temple to Cambodia.

Charnvit, now 67, recalled how nationalism was working on him the day he heard of the "loss of territory" brought by the court's judgement. "It was a shock because all the news, all the PR from the military government, told us we were winning for sure," he said.

"We believed that Preah Vihear belonged to us. I was a 21-year-old student. I was so angry. I marched with about a hundred Thammasat University students up Rajdamnoen Avenue. I had a photo of King Sihanouk, which I tore apart, threw down on the street and trampled."

Finally, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, leader of the military government at the time, made an appearance on television to say the government had no choice but to accept the ruling of the court. Now, after almost half a century, the version of history that tells of the "loss" of Preah Vihear has been brought up to stir nationalism in Thailand once again, with nationalists saying they refuse to accept the International Court's 1962 judgement. Bad history creates false perceptions and false perceptions lead to conflict between neighbours, the historian said.

"Our history texts must be revised and corrected to reflect the truth. Only that way will we be able to live together peacefully in this age of regionalism and globalisation."

More Than 60,000 Out of Factory Work

Factory woes in the wake of the global downturn have put 62,000 Cambodians out of work, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Thursday.

Zoellick was addressing an annual meeting between World Bank and International Monetary Fund officials in Turkey. Nearly 50 factories have closed since the downturn began more than a year ago, in Cambodia’s chief export earner, he said.

An estimated 400,000 people are employed by the garment sector, which brings in nearly $2 billion in revenue annually.

“Ninety percent of the 62,000 workers losing their jobs are women,” Zoellick said, offering the example of a worker named Aoy Puon.

“Since the crisis hit, her monthly salary has been cut in half,” he said. “Today she can’t make enough to send money home to her family, who depend on her income. Aoy Puon is now worried that she will lose her job.”

The World Bank figures differed from estimates of the Ministry of Labor, which said 33,000 workers had lost their jobs.

Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union, said 87 factories had closed and 65,000 workers had lost their job from 2007.

“We’re worried about closing the garment factories, workers losing jobs and the fall of the garment exports,” said Kaing Monika, business development manager for the Garment Manufacturer Association of Cambodia. “According to figures, we’ve seen a fall of garment exports of 30 percent. It is quite a lot, and we think that the concerned people must unite to promote the garment sector.”

Um Mean, secretary of state for the Ministry of Labor, said the government had policies “to promote the garment sector through the strength of good working conditions, production and work quality.”

VOA Khmer

Hillary Clinton: US Focuses on Loans During Nonol's Time

On October 1, 2009, Hor Nam Hong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Of Foreign Affair And International Cooperation told the reporters at the Phnom Penh International Airport after his visit to the US that the bilateral negotiation with Hillary Clinton went smoothly. In the meeting, He made a suggestion for Hillary Clinton asking the US to delete the old loans during Non Nol's time and change such loans into grant to develop Cambodia. In response to the suggestion, Hillary Clinton said she would seriously focus on that. DAP News

H1N1 Claims First Cambodian Life, VOA Khmer

The H1N1 flu has killed its first victim in Cambodia, a 40-year-old woman, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Monday.

The virus has infected 88 people in the country so far, and the death has put health officials on alert.

“This is the first case,” Hun Sen said, at the inauguration of a new Ministry of Tourism building. “She had been sick for a long time. She had lung problems.”

The woman had been ill since Sept. 18, traveling to a clinic two days later, before she was taken to Phnom Penh’s Pasteur Institute for testing. Her condition worsened, and she was taken to Calmette hospital on Sunday afternoon, where she died.

Cambodia saw its first cases of the H1N1 flu, sometimes called swine flu, in June, first in traveling US students. The World Health Organization estimates more then 300,000 cases of the flu have been confirmed globally, with more than 3,900 dying.

Look at the picture below.

The wife is injecting drug into her husband's muscle using an unclean syringe.

Public smoking bans reduce heart attack risk: study

WASHINGTON - Bans on smoking in public places, by reducing passive smoking, can decrease the risk of heart attacks by an average of 17 per cent, according to a new US and European study.

The study, which examined the effects of smoking bans in regions across the United States and several countries in Europe, including Italy and Scotland, was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

It found bans in smoking in places including cafes and bars produced an overall 17 per cent decrease in the risk of acute myocardial infarction - more commonly known as a heart attack - with a particular reduction in the risks to the young and non-smokers.

In the United States, 32 states have passed laws banning smoking in public spaces and work places.

According to the study, passive smoking - the inhalation of second-hand smoke - can produce a 30 per cent increase in the risk of acute myocardial infarction.