Cambodia’s map verification puts an end for CNRP’s unreasonable allegations
8/9/15
Hong Sok Hour arrested by The Phnom Penh Post
Recently, the
border issue between Cambodia
and Vietnam
has raised tensions when bad-intended elements like Cambodia National Rescue
Party (CNRP), Khmer Kampuchea Krom (KKK), Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF)
and some opportunists tried to carry on their unreasonable allegations.
The CNRP, a merged
political grouping that includes the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) in the Senate, has
been engaged in a months-long dispute with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party
(CPP), which it accuses of ceding land to Vietnam at various spots along the
1,228-kilometer (763-mile) border. The CNRP has many times claimed that the
Cambodian government had utilized a map made by Vietnam in the 1980s.
A number of the
CNRP members launched demonstrations gathering thousands of people in common
border areas and even caused violent conflicts at border marker 203 in the
Cambodian province
of Svay Rieng on June 28,
2015.
Um Sam An, who has been traveling in
the United States since May to raise funds, said he had copied the 26-piece
map, published in 1951 by the Indochina Geographic Group, as well as a disk
that contained a digital map.
So, a map
verifications followed the CNRP’s recent accusation that the Cambodian
government had been using a map of Cambodia that was not identical
with the one preserved by the UN.
On Thursday after verifying the maps in
Phnom Penh, Chairman of the Cambodian Border Affairs Committee
Var Kim Hong released the confirmation that the map the Cambodian
government is using to demarcate its border with Vietnam
is identical with the one it has borrowed from France for comparison.
The verification event was held at the Peace Palace
in the presence of representatives of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party
(CPP), the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), and the FUNCINPEC Party. It
was also attended by those from the Senate, the National Assembly, the Supreme
Council of the Magistracy, the Constitutional Council, the Royal Academy,
UN officials, and Cambodian and foreign news agencies.
Prior to the verification, French
Chargé d’Affaires to Cambodia Alan Fontang handed over a 26-piece
1/100,000-scale map preserved by France to Cambodian Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Nam
Hong.
The map was offered at Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Sen’s request. After the map presentation ceremony, Deputy PM Hor Nam Hong emphasized that it is the official map
produced by France, and thus
the result of the verification should end all improper demands regarding border
demarcation with Vietnam.
After the verification that showed the
two maps are identical with each other, the deputy premier ordered an end to
opposition politicking on the Vietnam
border issue
Spokesperson of the Cambodian
government and Secretary of State Phay Siphan said the work’s result proved the
transparency, rightness and correctness of the Cambodian government’s
responsibility in border demarcation and marker planting with Vietnam. He
underscored that the verification also helps prevent irresponsible forces from
inciting extreme nationalism and sowing the division of national solidarity.
This was the second verification of
maps being used by the Cambodian government to demarcate the eastern boundary
with Vietnam.
The first verification was made on August 20 based on a 1/100,000-ratio map of Cambodia that had been handed to Deputy PM Hor Nam Hong by
acting President of the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library Mereani Keleti
Vakasisikakala. The first check also showed that the map being used by the
Cambodian government in demarcating its border with Vietnam is identical with the one
borrowed from the UN.
“The matter of borders and maps should
end at this point,” he added. “So, to the political parties, do not take these
issues to campaign and incite people to act against the government.” Mr.
Namhong concluded by attacking the CNRP lawmakers who accuse the government of
using other maps.
“Do they have integrity and morality in
politics? They like to cheat and do whatever to gain votes,” he said.
Last month, Prime Minister Hun Sen
ordered authorities to arrest anyone who accuses the government of using the
wrong maps to demarcate the country’s border.
Outside the Peace Palace,
Raol Marc Jennar, a Belgian political scientist who has advised the government
on border issues since the 1990s, said he had only ever seen Cambodian and
Vietnamese authorities using the French colonial maps when holding border
demarcation talks.
“It’s impossible for me to find another
legal basis for work on the border, and it’s crystal clear that in the ’80s and
also for the 2005 treaty, the Cambodian authorities used the French map. That
should be crystal clear for everybody,” Mr. Jennar said.
“It is pure polemic,” he added of the
CNRP’s claims about separate Vietnamese maps. “They are the same maps. The maps
printed by the Vietnamese are the same maps from the Indochinese Geographical
Service, no matter who the printer was.”
He urged Cambodia’s politicians to “stop
exploiting the border issue” for their own purposes and to “allow researchers
to work on the case.”./.
All comments [ 10 ]
Cambodian police arrested Senator of the opposition CNRP Party Hong Sok Hour for distorting a Cambodia-Vietnamese agreement on border affairs.
Each of the other 25 pieces were exact copies of the French colonial maps made using the Bonne projection.
Mr. Kimhong demonstrated that each of the 26 map pieces held by Cambodia and France were identical.
Hong Sok Hour, Chhea Tang Sorn they were charged on three counts of falsifying public documents, using fake documents and inciting chaos disrupting social security.
Now, the map is not a fake, ok CNRP? ok KKK?
They should be arrested for "treason" by accusing of posting a fake document about the border with neighbouring Vietnam on social media.
Um Sam An was accused of trying to destroy international relations and causing instability along the border, where local Cambodians and CNRP activists have recently clashed with Vietnamese villagers over disputed areas.
Cambodia's opposition party has long been critical of Phnom Penh's cosy ties with Vietnam and routinely unreasonably accuses Vietnam of taking Cambodian territory.
Hope CNRP, KKK will end their unreasonable territorial claims.
After the verification that showed the two maps are identical with each other, both sides should put an end to opposition politicking on the Vietnam border issue
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