Sam Rainsy urges Cambodia to sue Thailand, demand compensation
Exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy has demanded that Thailand pay compensation for damage caused by the Thai military to temples, bridges, roads, houses and other property in Cambodia during the recent border conflict.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Sam Rainsy said the Cambodian government should accuse Thailand of aggression at both the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
He also recommended that Cambodia should not sign any agreement with Thailand similar to the one reached on December 27, which he claimed resulted in the unacceptable ceding of Cambodian territory to Thailand.
Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has claimed credit for the December 29 return of 18 Cambodian prisoners of war from Thailand, after they had been held in Thai custody for 155 days.
He welcomed their safe return and said his government places great importance on protecting Cambodian troops.
The Thai military has, however, pointed out that the Cambodian government has so far refused to retrieve the bodies of its soldiers killed in the fighting, which have been left on the battlefield.
Thai troops have collected their military badges in the hope they will eventually be claimed and the families informed.
Yesterday, Army spokesman Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree rejected accusations by the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) that the Thai military had used various types of munitions, including cluster bombs and chemical weapons — in attacks on military and civilian targets in Cambodia, such as hospitals, schools, temples, communities and farmland.
He said the Thai military adheres to the principles of necessity and proportionality in its operations and flatly denied the use of chemical weapons.
Regarding cluster munitions, he said there were no unexploded bomblets left behind that could endanger Cambodian civilians.
On the contrary, Winthai said the Thai military had found many unexploded Cambodian munitions in civilian areas on the Thai side of the border, which have yet to be rendered safe.