Wednesday, 11 June 2008

Thais to Approve Preah Vihear Map This Week

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
10 June 2008

Thai officials will decide before June 15 on a redrawn site map for Preah Vihear temple's Unesco World Heritage application, officials said Tuesday.

The temple's application for Unesco protection sparked border disagreements between the two countries, over longstanding disputed zones surrounding the temples, and had been stalled for months.

Both countries agreed in a May meeting with Unesco representatives that Cambodia could forward the temples for World Heritage consideration but must redrawn a site map and have it approved by Thailand beforehand.

Thai approval would green-light Cambodia's application submission at a July meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Quebec, Canada.

The redrawn site map includes 30 meters of land surrounding each temple, but it is not a redrawing of the 1962 border map that Cambodian adheres to in its official border position, officials said Tuesday.

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