Hun Sen rebukes Thai media for misquoting his desire for peace
Hun Sen delivered a special June 10 address to clarify Thai media claims that Cambodia would use force and legal means to reclaim occupied territory. AKP
Senate president Hun Sen has corrected reports published by Thai media outlets about a speech he made yesterday, June 9, on how Cambodia would reclaim the territory currently occupied by Thai forces. In his speech, he noted that there were two possible means of reclaiming the land; through peaceful means or through force.
The acting head of state made it clear that Cambodia will pursue the peaceful path.
In an address released today, June 10, Hun Sen noted that several Thai outlets had published unfounded remarks.
“This caused a misunderstanding for [Thai] Prime Minister Anutin, who was in Hanoi at the time. The reporting claimed that I suggested we would employ both peaceful and military means. I ask the Thai journalists to look at this clearly; this is a major misunderstanding that should not have occurred,” he said.
He noted that the displaced Cambodian he met with expressed their strong support for a peaceful resolution and he had repeated that Cambodia will opt for a peaceful end to the issue.
“I ask the Thai media to watch that video again and distinguish the facts clearly,” he added.
He said the use of a military solution is not an option that Cambodia should take and explained that his message targeted Cambodian extremists abroad who are pushing Cambodia to use force.
Hun Sen also took the opportunity to send a message to Bangkok to refute Thai Prime Minister Anutin Chanvirakul’s claims that Thailand had not encroached on Cambodia territory, even though their troops currently occupy more than a dozen areas on Cambodia.
“The Thai prime minister said Thailand never invades. Now, whether you invade or not, please implement Point 3 of the ceasefire agreement to demarcate the border. Point 3 clearly states that both parties agree that any agreement under this Joint Statement must not affect the demarcation of the border and the international boundaries between the two countries.
“Both parties agree to assign the role to the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to continue the work of surveying and demarcating the border as quickly as possible, in accordance with the existing agreements between the two countries, to achieve long-lasting peace along the border.
“Both parties agree to use existing JBC mechanisms to ensure the safety, peace and security of the joint survey teams on the actual sites, including safety from the air. Both parties further agree that the JBC will give the highest priority to surveying and demarcation work in affected areas where civilians live,” he said, quoting the details of Point 3 of the December 27 Joint Statement.
Hun Sen also asked Thai media why they chose to falsify his original message.
“What is your intention in saying that I combined both military and peaceful measures? I did not choose the military means; I pointed to the peaceful means. I have taken this issue as the policy of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) for the 2027 and 2028 election campaigns,” he said.
He urged the Thai leadership to instruct their media to correct the information they published and repeat his words clearly.
“I hope Thai politicians are not foolish enough to believe the lies created by Thai journalists. In Thailand, there are people who know Khmer; have them translate. Is there any statement where I said I would use both peaceful means and armed force? I did not say that,” he said.
‘On the contrary, I am against using force to fight and take land back. I leave it to the opposition in Cambodia to put forth competing policies regarding the border solution between Cambodia and Thailand,” he added.
Hun Sen urged Thailand to respect what was acknowledged by the Thai king more than one hundred years ago; the Franco-Siamese Agreement of 1904, the Franco-Siamese Convention of 1904 and the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907.
-Phnom Penh Post-
