By Pen Ngoeun
The article “Villagers Around Preah Vihear Hunker Down for ICJ Ruling” (November 8) misleads readers both national and international on the case of the ownership of the temple of Preah Vihear by saying: “Villagers on the Thai side of the disputed border land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple have begun building underground bunkers in preparation for the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) verdict over the ownership of the temple on Monday, according to a Thai newspaper report.”
In fact, it has been, to say the least, nationally known, and to speak in broader terms, regionally and internationally recognized that the temple of Preah Vihear “is under the sovereignty of Cambodia,” in virtue of the ICJ judgment issued 51 years ago on June 15, 1962.
The judgment, scheduled to be delivered by the ICJ today, concerns the request filed with the ICJ on April 28, 2011, by Cambodia for the interpretation of the 1962 judgment. This will not be “the ICJ’s verdict over the ownership of the temple.”
Pen Ngoeun is a member of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit
