Prime Minister Hun Sen has fired the director general of the Ministry of Tourism, who has recently come under attack for granting partial control of the Preah Vihear temples to Thailand, officials said Tuesday.
Hun Sen on Monday issued a subdecree dismissing So Mara. It was approved Tuesday by King Norodom Sihanouk, said Thong Khon, secretary of state for the Tourism Ministry.
So Mara also has been dismissed from three other government positions he holds as secretary general for the Cambodian Tourism Authority, board member of the Apsara Authority and chairman of development for Preah Vihear temples, said Nan Sy, a Funcinpec lawmaker who led the efforts to have So Mara sacked.
Although So Mara has been dismissed from his four high-ranking government positions, he will retain a “civil servant” position at the Ministry of Tourism, according to the letter from Hun Sen to King Sihanouk.
Hun Sen fired So Mara at the urging of National Assembly members, who were upset over So Mara’s signing of a deal with Thailand over the management of the 13th-century Preah Vihear temples, Nan Sy said. The agreement did not specify when Thai management would take effect.
The agreement between So Mara and a Thai tourism official was made “illegally” because So Mara agreed to allow Thailand tohelp manage the tourist and visitor facilities at the temple, Nan Sy said. He added that the pact with Somask Thepsutin, the Thai cabinet minister and chairman of the Board of Directors for the Tourism Authority of Thailand, was illegal because it was signed in Thailand and not in Cambodia.
Cambodian Minister of Tourism Veng Sereyvuth said the firing of So Mara will invalidate the Preah Vihear pact, at least on the Cambodia side.
“I issued a letter, much to my regret, to the Thai side,” Veng Sereyvuth said. “The letter said that I exercise my right and prerogative as the Minister of Tourism for Cambodia to annul the singing of the agreement by So Mara with Thailand on June 1, 2001. I trust that the Thai side will understand the reason for our decision.”
“I want to give my assurances that the government, particularly Prime Minister Hun Sen, will continue cooperation in tourism with Thailand,” he said.
Hathaichanok Riddhagni, second secretary and economic attache at the Thai Embassy, said the Thai embassy could not comment on the nullification of the Preah Vihear deal or on So Mara’s firing.
“It is very dangerous for the country for So Mara to sign the deal with Thailand over Preah Vihear,” Nan Sy said. “Members of parliament think that this agreement cannot be legally binding because So Mara did not have authority to sign the agreement. But he is finished now.”
So Mara could not be reached for comment.
The Council of Ministers does not know who will become the next director general for the tourism ministry, but Nan Sy added “I hope the new director general is thinking of the nation and the people. The firing of So Mara is a victory for the people and the nation of Cambodia.”
On July 9, Nan Sy led an effort to collect signatures from lawmakers for a letter he sent to Hun Sen demanding So Mara’s removal as director general, and ended up receiving support from 39 assembly members.
While figures for So Mara‘s total salary were not available as of Tuesday evening, a top tourism official said he had a substantial income. The official added that a typical civil servant in the Tourism Ministry earns between $8.75 and $12.50 per month, depending on seniority. “So Mara will probably not receive more than $12.50 per month,” he said.
“The feelings among the entire tourism staff is very positive because many thought he had too much control,” an official said. “We now look forward to joint understandings before a decision is made.
“A lot of people think So Mara left a scar on the Ministry of Tourism, and now we have to rebuild faith in the [ministry] with the people,” the official said.
