A Thai nationalist group, the Yasrm Fao Pandin (Thailand Watch Foundation), submitted a letter today, urging the Thai government to terminate MOUs 43 and 44 with Cambodia immediately, on the grounds that Cambodia has grossly violated the obligations defined in the two documents.
The letter, which was handed to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul by Panthep Puapongpan, chairman of the foundation, also urged the government to suspend all meetings of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), the Regional Border Committee (RBC) and the General Border Committee (GBC) until the two MOUs are terminated.
Enclosed with the letter were two opinion pieces regarding the MOUs, written by Dr. Thanet Sujareekul, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of the two documents and how to manage them, plus another piece on how such MOUs can be cancelled.
Two additional opinion pieces on the same matter, one by Dr. Suwanchai Sangsuk-iam and another by Admiral Pallop Tameesanont, were also enclosed.
The letter cited Cambodian missile and artillery attacks on civilian targets in Thailand during the five-day armed conflict in late July, causing the deaths of and injuries to Thai citizens and property damage, as violations of the MOUs. In accordance with the Vienna Convention, the letter claims that such violations justify the unilateral termination, by Thailand, of the two memoranda.
The foundation also said that, to protect such rights under the Vienna Convention, the Thai government must exercise such a right immediately, instead of hesitating through the holding of a referendum to seek a public consensus or the holding further talks with Cambodia.
The foundation suggested immediate termination of MOU 43, to be effective in the next eight months. It further noted that MOU 44 is an interim document and is unconstitutional, because the Thai negotiators who signed the MOU did not have the authority to do so.
MOU 44 concerns the maritime demarcation and joint development of undersea natural resources, such as gas and oil, which are yet to be resolved.
