Raoul Marc Jennar : The true face of Thailand

The way the international press reports on the conflict inflicted by Thailand on Cambodia leads me to recall a number of undeniable facts.

Raoul Marc Jennar

The official narrative of the Thai authorities, readily echoed by the international press whose correspondents are based in Bangkok, is to present the image of a friendly and peaceful country, respectful of the rules governing international relations. As far as this country's relations with Cambodia are concerned, nothing could be further from the truth.

The entire history of relations between the Thais and the Khmers is a history of hatred and conquest by the former against the latter. Since the 12th century, the Thais, whose country was then called Siam, relentlessly attacked and invaded Khmer territory. They successively occupied all the capitals of the Khmer kingdom before 1863. They even annexed the country from 1829 to 1833.

It took the protection of France to halt the Thais' thirst for conquest. And it was the entire effort of French diplomacy to negotiate with the Siamese government the terms for determining the border, as accepted in the Franco-Siamese Convention of 1904 and the treaty of 1907. The result was the adoption by both parties of a border demarcation defined jointly and accepted on numerous occasions by Bangkok in official acts, as emphasized by the International Court of Justice in its 1962 Judgment.

From 1953 to 1970, Thailand systematically refused to recognize Cambodia's neutrality and territorial integrity. It aided and abetted the terrorist acts of a Khmer militia seeking to overthrow the regime of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. The Thai army began laying anti-personnel mines along the border in 1964. In 1970, it provided military support to the coup that plunged Cambodia into the tragedy that marked the 1970s. In 1975, it became the first country to recognize Pol Pot's genocidal regime. When Pol Pot was overthrown in 1979, Thailand drove tens of thousands of men, women, children, and elderly people fleeing a country with no future back into minefields, committing a true crime against humanity.

A signatory to the Paris Accords on Cambodia, Thailand was quick to violate them. During the UN operation tasked with implementing these accords, it supported the Khmer Rouge as soon as they reneged on their signature. Its army captured UN peacekeepers. It moved border markers to Cambodia's detriment. It exploited the natural resources (timber, precious stones) of the area controlled by Pol Pot's forces, enabling him to finance his terrorist activities.

After the Thai army launched several attacks in the Preah Vihear Temple area starting in 2008, killing numerous Cambodian civilians and using cluster munitions prohibited under international law, Cambodia had no choice but to return to the International Court of Justice, where it won its case once again in 2013.

These are the historical facts, and they are indisputable. Thailand is not a friendly neighbor.

Since May 28th of this year, it is the Thai army that has been attacking Cambodia. The intelligence services of major powers, as well as those of certain ASEAN countries, are aware of this. There is an aggressor and a victim, despite Thailand's mendacious rhetoric, which suggests it can erase its centuries-long hostile and aggressive role. Thailand scoffs at international law; it scoffs at the agreements and treaties it has signed; it scoffs at the ceasefires it has signed. Like all regimes dominated by an army that intends to impose its will, its signature is worthless.

The tragedy of Cambodia is that it lacks the size, population, economic development, and military power of its neighbor. Consequently, it carries very little weight in the eyes of the major players in international politics, who are quick to equate aggressor and victim. The soothing and hypocritical pronouncements of international diplomacy allow them to avoid defending the weak against the strong and to wash their hands of all responsibility.avoir à défendre le faible face au fort et de se laver les mains de toute responsabilité.