Preah Vihear Temple

Here we are able to see that the Preah Vihear Temple is located almost directly on the border between Cambodia and Thailand.

Claims on the Preah Vihear Temple

In this video we are able to hear the voices of a few civilians and listen to their concerns for the well being of their families and country. Many civilians have began to flee their home country in fear that war will break out sooner or later. Thailand army claims that they are doing all that is possible to avoid a war.

An Ancient Temple Causes New Tensions - June 2008

For many decades now, Thailand and Cambodia have been fighting over ownership of an ancient temple that lies on the border of the two countries. After so many years of mistrust, battles are still ongoing. In this video you will see clips of protests that have risen inspite of the issue. In this news report you will see that some critics are accusing the Thai government of doing a "behind the scenes" deal with Cambodia. The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister are being accused of violating the countries constitution. The Foreign Minister denies the allegation that he allowed Cambodia to redraw the border between the two countries.

Cambodia Thailand diplomatic standoff - 17 July 2008

This video talks about the conflict between the people in Cambodia and why they are fighting over the temple there. The reporter talks about the struggle and how it is also affecting their economy and how they trade among each other to survive. This conflict is making it hard to survive and keep the peace.

According to http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/, the border standoff was caused by a dispute over and 11th century temple that straddles the Thailand-Cambodia border that each country has claimed as their own. Cambodia has claimed that Thai troops have crossed the border. Thai forces occupied the temple while Cambodia was under French rule, but since Cambodia has become an independent country the Cambodian government has asked the International Court of Justice to rule that the temple is in Cambodian territory. The International Court of Justice ruled that the temple was on Cambodian land.

Soon afterward, according to www.foxnews.com, Thai troops deployed to the border. The army has been tight lipped about reasons behind the troop movements, saying only that it is protecting Thai sovereignty, though it's unclear why it thought it was threatened. According to www.telegraph.co.uk, "hundreds of troops and artillery have been facing each other across the heavily mined frontier since the crisis erupted in July." Both sides insist they are ready for war to protect what each regards as their own territory. According to www.foxnews.com, "the only clashes so far have been between Thai protesters and Thai villagers who resent their lands becoming ground-zero for a political and religious battle."

Cambodian-Thai border stand-off