Foreign Minister Delays UN Trip for Talks
Cambodia has asked the UN Security Council to suspend discussions over a border crisis for now, in favor of bilateral talks with Thaila
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with diplomats from UNSecurity Council nations in Phnom Penh Friday,delaying a trip to New York in favor ofbilateral border talks with ThailandMonday. Cambodiahas asked the UN to postpone meetings on the Preah Vihear crisis, pendingnegotiations on Monday, but Hor Namhong said the UN option remained on thetable if Monday's talks fail. Hor Namhong briefed the diplomats on the latest in the PreahVihear temple crisis, which has brought a tense military standoff to theThai-Cambodian border that began July 15. "The [bilateral] meeting next week will be a positivemeeting," Hor Namhong told reporters Friday. Cambodiawas expecting help from special envoys from Asean neighbors Vietnam and Indonesia, Hor Namhong said. Thailandhad placed at least seven artillery pieces on the border near Preah Viheartemple, he said. Up to 1,500 Cambodian troops remained on the border Friday. Cambodia andThailand agreed to bilateraltalks late Thursday, following a failed attempt to bring the crisis under Aseanmutli-lateral discussion and appeals by Cambodia to the UN Security Counciland Unesco. Asian Human Rights Commission researcher Lao Monghay calledthe talks a "flip-flop" from bilateral to international negotiationand back. "To me, it seems the government has no real strategy,"he said. Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay said international negotiationwould be preferable to at last "finish this time…the border problem."