Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will stay in Chiang Mai to closely monitor testimonies being presented before the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the ThaiCambodian border dispute. She has also urged Thais to follow the court session with calm.
Yingluck said yesterday that she would monitor the testimony from 3pm today, when the Cambodian representatives will deliver their oral argument before the ICJ. The Thai side is due to deliver its argument to the court on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in Chiang Mai's Doi Saket district, Yingluck said the government was fully prepared to defend Thai territory near Preah Vihear Temple.
Phnom Penh has asked the ICJ to interpret whether its 1962 ruling that Cambodia has sovereignty over the temple also covers the 4.5-square-kilometre plot of land around it. The Thai side insists the plot belongs to Thailand and was not covered by the earlier ruling.
A well-informed source said Yingluck would remain at her hotel in Chiang Mai to monitor the court session, although war rooms have been set up at Government House and the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok to monitor the testimonies.
The government had a team in place to monitor the testimony being presented in The Hague.
The prime minister said the Foreign Ministry had prepared interpreters to translate the testimony into Thai during a live broadcast via the Foreign Ministry's website.
She said the Thai side would do its best to defend the Thai territory, "So I would like to call on the people to monitor the testimonies with calmness."
She said the ICJ was expected to deliver a ruling late this year.
Meanwhile, Democrat and opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday he wanted the government to give every effort in fighting the case without passing the blame to anyone.
He said there was no reason for the ICJ to reinterpret the old ruling.
Latest stories in this category
- PM helps sister Yaowapa campaign in Chiang Mai
- Pheu Thai Party MP candidate Yaowapa Wongsawat has..
- Poll finds 76% of Thais sceptical of govt's..
- Pheu Thai eyes Amnesty Bill reading this week
We Recommend
- Dolph is Jaa's new punching bag
- Having completed filming on "Tom Yum Goong 2",..
- Abhisit rejects Thaksin's attack on judiciary,..
- Thaksin seeks and offers forgiveness
Comments conditions
Users are solely responsible for their comments.We reserve the right to remove any comment and revoke posting rights for any reason withou prior notice.
Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/04/15/govt-fully-prepared-as-world-court-opens-preah-vihear-case/
0 comments:
Post a Comment