PM blasts UN border report

Thailand's losses 'not taken into account' Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his delegation including Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, left, are at Wing 6 in Bangkok for a flight to Indonesia on Monday. Government House photo Thailand has rejected a UN special rapporteur's report estimating that 650,000 Cambodians were internally displaced during recent border clashes, saying the findings relied on one-sided information and failed to include Thailand's perspective.Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday that Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow was preparing Thailand's factual response to the United Nations, stressing that Thailand would not accept conclusions it considered inaccurate. The remarks followed a report by Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, which referred to about 650,000 internally displaced Cambodians following recent fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border. Mr Anutin said Thailand rejected the report because it was based mainly on information from one side and did not adequately seek the views of Thai authorities. He urged the public to await the Foreign Affairs Ministry's clarification for a more balanced assessment. Mr Anutin also responded to reports that Cambodia planned to submit documents to the United Nations seeking recognition of the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU 2000) and a 1:200,000-scale map as the basis for future border negotiations. He said Thailand maintained its own legal position and negotiating conditions, adding that no country could force Thailand to accept a mechanism it did not agree with. He said land boundary discussions would continue under the framework of the 2000 MoU, while maritime boundary negotiations must proceed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) after Thailand withdrew from the 2001 memorandum. Mr Sihasak said the government strongly disagreed with Mr Andrews' report, stressing that it was issued by an independent UN special rapporteur and was not an official resolution of the UN Human Rights Council. The foreign affairs minister said reports submitted to the council should be impartial, balanced and based on verified information. However, he argued that the report relied heavily on Cambodia's claims, including figures on displaced people and Cambodian migrant workers, while failing to include Thailand's losses and the impact of the conflict on Thai citizens. "What Thailand cannot accept is that the report does not mention Thailand's losses at all," Mr Sihasak said, adding that any assessment should reflect the suffering experienced by both sides. He also disputed the figure of 650,000 displaced Cambodians, saying it appeared to include residents of long-established Cambodian villages in disputed border areas who should not automatically be classified as internally displaced people. Mr Sihasak said Thailand had evacuated about 400,000 people during the conflict but had taken responsibility for caring for its own citizens. He also rejected claims that Thailand had forced Cambodian migrant workers to leave, saying they returned voluntarily after calls from the Cambodian government. Mr Sihasak warned that the report risked being used as a political tool against Thailand and said Bangkok would submit formal letters outlining its objections to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the president of the UN Human Rights Council.