Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen has claimed that the 18 Cambodian soldiers, held by the Thai military, are not prisoners of war (PoW) but hostages who are being used by Thailand as a bargaining chip.
The former prime minister also questioned why Vitit Muntarbhorn, a special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Cambodia, has never mentioned the case of the captured soldiers and why international law has not been applied to force their release and repatriation.
Hun Sen is quoted to have said that Cambodia has no intention of retaliating against, what he claims to be, provocative acts by the Thai military, not because it is afraid of Thailand, but because it recognises and respects the joint declaration, signed by Cambodia and Thailand in Malaysia last month.
On the issue of mine clearance, Hun Sen insisted that demining efforts must be mutually agreed, undertaken by both sides and not be carried out unilaterally, as doing so may be used as an excuse to invade the territory of another country.
The Cambodian strongman also claimed that no Cambodian troops were killed on Thai soil because Cambodia has never invaded Thailand, adding that only Thai troops were killed and injured on Thai territory.
Meanwhile, Fresh News of Cambodia quoted a senior Cambodian official in charge of border affairs as blaming Thailand for the delay in forming the joint technical team for temporary demarcation between the KM42 and KM47 markers in Sa Kaeo province.
It is reported, though, that the Thai-Cambodian joint technical team on demarcation met today at Ban Klong Luek in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province.
It was agreed that the team must survey the area, followed by the installation of 838 temporary markers placed 50 metres apart using GPS.
The Thai side claimed that 35 Cambodian houses are sitting on Thai territory in Ban Nong Ya Kaew and 135 in Ban Nong Chan.
