Cambodian king to visit Preah Vihear province for his birthday
By Deutsche Presse Agentur
Phnom Penh - Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni will give alms to the
poor at a site close to a controversial temple on the Thai border
during his three-day birthday celebrations, officials said Tuesday.
The royal birthday celebration for the king, who ascended to the
throne in 2004 after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk,
began Tuesday and will continue until Thursday.
The king traditionally conducts Buddhist rites at his palace in the
capital, but had chosen to fly by helicopter to an area close to
northern Preah Vihear temple, perched on the Thai border, officials
said.
He was born in 1953.
Sihamoni's visit will coincide with the opening of a Thai-built road
in the south-western province of Koh Kong, to be attended by both
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Foreign Minister Noppodon
Pattama, according to ministerial spokesman Phay Siphan.
Siphan declined to speculate on whether the pair would discuss
controversial border issues during the ceremony.
Cambodia is also mulling the idea of a national holiday on June 15 to
mark the 1962 anniversary of the International Court in The Hague
deciding the temple, which is sacred to both Cambodians and Thais, lay
within Cambodian territory.
Preah Vihear, known as Khao Phra Viharn in Thai, is technically in
Cambodian territory, but only easily accessible from the Thai side.
Thailand has said it will not dispute Cambodia's proposal to nominate
the temple as a World Heritage site this year, but border demarcation,
both around Preah Vihear and in disputed coastal waters, remains a
sensitive issue for both nations.
Potential oil, gas and mineral deposits remain in the balance
depending on the results of negotiations.
Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith has urged local
Cambodian media to remain calm and not inflame debate over the temple
with nationalistic rhetoric.
In 2003, an angry Cambodian mob burned the Thai embassy and Thai
businesses over a false rumour that a Thai soap star had claimed the
iconic Angkor Wat temple was not Cambodian.//dpa
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