Opinion & Border dispute: ‘Thailand must rewrite its history and accept the truth’

By Major General Tith Viseth: Thailand is shooting itself in the foot by attacking Cambodia! Beyond hatred and anger, it is indeed for these reasons that the Thai army continues to provoke Cambodia at a time when an immediate and unconditional ceasefire has been declared by Malaysia.

Major General Tith VisethDirector of International Relations at the Ministry of the InteriorGraduate of Lyon 2, Lyon 3, Paris Assas 2, ENA, ENSP, INHESJ

Violence: A False Remedy for Internal Problems

Violence and war have never solved internal problems. They may revive nationalism in times of crisis, but they will never solve underlying problems. It's like arguing with your wife and blaming your neighbour out of jealousy.

It is a primitive reaction. In advanced societies, laws and regulations have been established to guarantee peace and social progress, with limits that must not be crossed.

Otherwise, it would be the law of the jungle, where the most powerful could do whatever they wanted without ever worrying about justice. Society could not be at peace and would revert to a primitive state.

A conflict of identity and history

The Thai model, the ‘ASEAN tiger’, in armed conflict with its small, pacifist neighbour Cambodia, shows that it is choosing the path of the strongest without regard for international law. For example, the Preah Vihear temple is primarily a Khmer temple, built by the Khmer people and recognised by history books, historians and international researchers.

Furthermore, the ICJ (International Court of Justice) confirmed Cambodia's sovereignty in 1962 and again in 2013 for the entire adjacent plateau. What lesson do Thai leaders want to teach their children and all future generations?

‘You can steal, plunder, destroy your neighbour, lie, slander, manipulate... as long as you are the strongest and have the weapons’?

The Roots of Contempt and Falsification

This Thai contempt for Cambodians, ranging from basic racism to other forms of discrimination, stems from Thailand's nationalist heritage. Pseudo-intellectuals have systematically falsified the history of the Khmer people in order to discredit the heirs of the Angkor empire and appropriate their historical and cultural heritage.

Thai school textbooks present a nationalist image of the Khmers as an ‘inferior’ people, minimising their role in the founding of the Khmer Empire and the jewels of Angkor.

The term ‘Khom’, invented in the 20th century, has no historical basis recognised by international researchers.

Erasing the Khmer Heritage

I remember my first visit to Thailand: when I bought a local history book, I was surprised to find that their historical account began where that of the Khmers began, from the 1st to the 6th century in Oc-Eo (the Founan era, in what is now southern Vietnam). From the 6th to the 13th century, there is almost nothing; Thai history seems to begin in earnest only with the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th century.

In museums, Khmer sculptures and statues are not labelled. The ancient Thai script, like Sanskrit, comes from Old Khmer from the pre-Angkor and Angkor periods.

All this systematic remodelling and camouflaging serves to erase or modify the Khmer heritage within the Thai royal family and, subsequently, in the construction of Siamese civilisation. The Thai script is directly descended from ‘Old Khmer’, used in sacred texts and royal inscriptions. Even at the coronation of Rama X (Vajiralongkorn), prayers in Khmer were recited.

Why deny the truth?

Denying reality is tantamount to denying a fundamental part of oneself. It would be absurd for French historians to hide the fact that the French language derives from Greek and Latin in an attempt to appropriate the historical identity of ancient Greece.

The heritage of the Khmer language and script in the Thai royal family is deep and ancient, symbolising the historical, cultural and political ties between the Khmer kingdom and the kingdom of Siam.

In the 10th century, Thailand adopted Old Khmer as its writing system; at that time, the Thai language did not have its own script. In the 13th and 14th centuries, King Ramkhamhaeng created the Sukhothai script, the direct ancestor of the modern Thai writing system, which is derived from Khmer.

Nationalism and Silent Hatred

The desire to erase the Khmer past from Thailand's identity is like denying one's own ancestors. This historical denial, coupled with the construction of a xenophobic narrative, has generated a silent and creeping hatred over time, damaging the friendship between the two peoples.

Today, it erupts during troubled times when extremist nationalism thrives against a backdrop of ignorance. Social media is flooded with videos showing groups of Thais assaulting Khmer workers, provoking pogroms of unprecedented savagery. The Thai authorities are not calling for restraint, unlike Cambodia, which has banned all attacks against Thais and their property under threat of prosecution.

Heritage, Memory and Future Prospects

Education and historical falsification in Thailand have long fuelled this hatred, which is like a time bomb that extremists and the military are manipulating to gain popularity.

In this complex situation, diplomacy, intercultural understanding and an open view of shared history will hopefully contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous future.

Thailand must rewrite its history in order to re-educate its children to accept the historical truth about the Khmers, their cultural ancestors. Germany and France were able to reconcile after the Second World War. We must draw inspiration from this example.

Cambodia: Friend to All, Enemy to None

Cambodia is a friend to all and an enemy to none. Thailand, on the other hand, is in conflict with many of its neighbours: border disputes with Cambodia and Myanmar, conflicts over the Mekong River with Laos, ethnic tensions with Malaysia, and rivalries with Vietnam.

The tragic event at Phnom Dangrek illustrates this contemptuous mentality: in 1979, as Cambodian refugees fled the Khmer Rouge, the Thai military forced thousands of civilians down a steep cliff, causing many deaths.

Conclusion

The scars run deep. Yet the Cambodian people have chosen to look to the future, while the racist and xenophobic narrative persists in Thailand. The Thai military does not hesitate to stir up nationalist fervour during internal crises, particularly during border tensions with Cambodia.

To build a common future, it is imperative to revisit history, recognise the deep ties that unite the two countries, and prioritise peace and truth.

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Major General Tith VisethDirector of International Relations at the Ministry of the InteriorGraduate of Lyon 2, Lyon 3, Paris Assas 2, ENA, ENSP, INHESJ