Deputy Defence Minister Lt Gen Adul Boonthamcharoen today urged hardline Thai nationalist Veera Somkwamkid to exercise restraint and allow the Burapha Task Force to handle Cambodian encroachment in Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew villages, in accordance with the joint declaration recently signed between Thailand and Cambodia.
Veera has threatened to lead a group of Thai protesters — with the support of a backhoe — to forcibly remove illegal Cambodian settlers from the two border villages in Khok Sung district of Sa Kaeo province today.
Lt-Gen Adul warned that Veera’s planned forced eviction could complicate the situation and hinder the military’s efforts to implement the peace agreement, particularly regarding the management of disputed areas and joint demining operations.
He added that while he understands Thai citizens’ frustration over the Cambodian encroachment, they should only resort to their own actions if there is no progress in fulfilling Thailand’s four preconditions set prior to the signing of the declaration.
Those preconditions include:
- Withdrawal of heavy weapons from border areas
- Cooperation in mine clearance
- Suppression of transnational scam syndicates operating in Cambodia
- Joint management of disputed border zones
Meanwhile, the Thai Army today dismissed a Cambodian media outlet’s report claiming that a submunition from a cluster round fired by Thai forces during the July border clashes killed a 10-year-old Cambodian boy on October 25 in Preah Vihear province.
Army spokesman Maj-Gen Winthai Suvaree said the claim, based on a report by the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), was incorrect. He noted that the technical specifications of the Thai Army’s cluster munitions differ from the data presented by the CMAC.
Maj-Gen Winthai explained that it was highly unlikely for bomblets (submunitions) from cluster rounds to remain unexploded for such a long period, adding that the type used by Thailand does not contain steel pellets.
He further noted that the numerous small holes reportedly found in the roof of the house said to have been hit by the leftover submunition were inconsistent with the effects produced by the shaped charge inside Thai cluster bomblets.
The spokesman insisted that the Thai Army has exercised extreme caution in the use of cluster munitions, which were deployed only against military targets.
