Thailand's Sa Kaeo Governor Parinya Phothisat, submitted a protest note to his counterpart in Banteay Meanchey province, Oum Rattrey, yesterday over incidents on September 16 and 17 when Cambodian protesters dismantled a barbed wire barricade, assaulted Thai police and stole Thai property in Ban Nong Ya Kaew village.
The Thai governor alleged that Cambodian officials present at the scene failed to intervene to stop the Cambodian protesters, many of whom were armed with sticks.
He urged Cambodian troops to restrain their protesters, so they do not violate Thai law, and to stop their interim observer team (IOT) from trespassing on Thai territory without prior approval from Thai authorities.
The governor also called on Cambodia to comply with the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and General Border Committee (GBC) mechanisms in resolving the border conflict.
On September 17, Thai crowd control police, posted at the border barricade, fired teargas and rubber bullets at the Cambodian protesters, but only when they defied a police order to stay away from the barrier fence and stop their attempts to dismantle it.
To cope with the Cambodian protesters, crowd control police have placed on standby 10 water cannons, ready to be sent to Sa Kaeo if tensions escalate.
