Thai and Khmer are more common than what each other think. The only thing that separate khmer and thai is the truth,,, I personaly think that the thai elite from generation pass has play a game untruthfully,, the card need to turn right side up and reform the education and history for the younger thai generation. As for Khmer, they have been to hell and back. Khmer will be likely to forgive and forget and move on.

I also agree that the borders that was set by colonial powers will never heal the hearts and minds of the people who feel victimized by it, even though they born long after the border was made. ‘Lost’ or ‘gain’ the land will always be there, neither ‘lost’ or ‘gained’.

If any country in the region is victim by of this colonial border, Cambodia is perhaps the best example. The border were drawn at a time that Cambodia was a weak state. As a result, there are now more than a million Khmers and many Khmer temples in northeastern Thailand, and 4 to 5 millions Khmers in the Mekong delta or lower Cambodia in present day Vietnam. This is also why Cambodia is now so small and ethnically very homogeneous, and as Khmers are unlikely to ‘reclaim’ any territory in the future, they will have to accept that their ‘nation’ will always be separated across the three states. This situation is certainly not unique to the Khmers.

Nationalism hasn’t been encouraged very much in Cambodia since the civil war, but recently it has gained ground, likely also in response to the highly nationalist sentiments in Thailand. I am concerned that if it’s becoming stronger or a nationalist government in Cambodia is elected, tensions will rise even higher than now.

Ultimately, it’s our different interpretations of our shared history that underlies the problem. But no one seems to care to address the issue.

Noppadon resigns
Reform at the top
Vatana on the run
Another court blow
Preah Vihear - Heritage lost
Preah Vihear - Get over it
Political crisis
The ‘New Politics’ charade
New party, same as the old party
The blame game

(BangkokPost.com)
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resigned to show his spirit on Thursday - but said defiantly that events will show that he and the ministry staff handled the Preah Vihear temple issue perfectly.

“Time will prove that I and the Foreign Ministry have done what is right. I am not a nation-seller. I am as patriotic as all Thai people. I have not caused damage to the country,” he said.

Earlier, the Democrats began a process to impeach Mr Noppadon in parliament. It was not clear if that effort would be dropped in light of the resignation.

Out on the street, core leader Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang of the People’s Alliance for Democracy demanded the entire government resign. The minister may have quit to take responsibility but the whole cabinet was to blame, he said.

Mr Noppadon quit just hours after he returned from Canada, where he attended the meeting of Unesco which approved Cambodia’s application to declare Preah Vihear temple a World Heritage Site. While he was absent, on Tuesday, the Constitution Court ruled that he had violated the constitution by signing a joint communique backing the Cambodian government without first submitting the document to parliament for approval.

“Although I didn’t do anything wrong, I would like to show my spirit and take responsibility by stepping down from foreign minister post,” he said at a press conference held at mid-afternoon on Thursday, and broadcast nationwide on Army TV Channel 5.

The resignation takes effect on Monday.

He was not humbled by events. He insisted he did done the right thing by supporting the Cambodian application. He respected the Constitution Court’s verdict but felt the entire issue was debatable.

He insisted he did not cause Thailand to lose sovereignty over the disputed area around the temple: “I did not sell the country and did not cause any damage to it.”

The only thing he was truly sorry for, he said, was that the issue had been used to instigate conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, and to wrongfully arouse nationalistic sentiments in the country.

He also got in criticism of his more radical opponents, saying they had even harassed his sister at her home in Nakhon Ratchasima.

“I am resigning to show my spirit,” he said, “so that the government can concentrate on solving people’s problems.”

He had indirect support from Army commander Anupong Paojinda, who said that he felt the only way to face any problems with Cambodia over the temple issue was through peaceful negotiatons.

He rejected calls by nationalists to oust Cambodian vendors in the disputed area around the actual temple, on the grounds that it is Thai territory. He said the area is in dispute, and legal and international relations mechanisms should be used. There are better ways to deal with the problem than simply to use armed force against the Cambodians.

In parliament on Thursday morning, opposition whip Sathit Wongnongtoey began formal impeachment proceedings against Mr Noppadol by handing a letter to Senate Speaker Prasobsuk Boondech.

Mr Sathit said Mr Noppadon had violated the constitution, and “shoulc have used his common sense in considering how much his own actions affected society,” he said.

That was before Mr Noppadon resigned, and it was not known if the Democrats will continue to press the issue. Probably they will; Mr Sathit said he plans to seek the removal of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej for the same violation of Article 190 of the constitution.

At the Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge, Day 47 of the PAD demonstration was under way, and Maj-Gen Chamlong seemed happy.

The rally will continue indefinitely, he said. He called Mr Noppadon’s resignation just one of 17 political victories by the protesters, and he said they will not stop before the government is brought down.