Thailand, Cambodia to develop ruins

Thailand, Cambodia to develop ruins

THAILAND: Thailand and Cambodia, which once fought a furious
legal battle over the 11th century Preah Vihear complex, agreed
on Thursday to develop the ruins jointly.

Relations between the two neighbors were disrupted severely in
2003 when a nationalist mob torched the Thai embassy in Phnom
Penh over an argument about whether a Thai actress had demanded
Cambodia "return" a more famous temple complex, Angkor Wat, to
Thailand or not. She denied it.

Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Cambodian
Senior Minister Sok An said the two countries were working on a
development scheme for Preah Vihear. "We hope this cooperation
will symbolize our bilateral friendship which is based on truly
mutual benefit," Surakiart told reporters.

Preah Vihar, awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of
Justice in The Hague court in 1962 despite access to it being
easier from Thailand, is less spectacular than the Angkor Wat
complex.

But, perched on a remote and heavily landmined escarpment on
the border between the two countries, it has become a tourist
attraction since the remnants of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrillas
withdrew from the area in the early 1990s. --Reuters