Thai flag also flies over disputed area

People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) co-leader Chamlong Srimuang looks at a sign criticising Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The sign reads: PM - Liar - Stupid - Sneaky - Traitorous - Slave to Khmer

A Thai flag has also been hoisted in a disputed area near the Preah Vihear ruins, where the flying of a Cambodian flag has raised tensions, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday.

Mr Abhisit said this information was included in a situation report made by Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.

"We have never said that the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda should be demolished. We said only that the Cambodian flag flying over the temple should be removed.

"But, meanwhile, we have also flown our flag there," the prime minister said, but did not elaborate.

The Keo Sikha Kiri Svara temple is located in the 4.6 square-kilometre disputed area adjoining the Preah Vihear temple.

The prime minister admitted that Thai and Camboldian military forces were confronting each other along the border.

However, there should be no problems if both sides observe the 2000 memorandum of understanding, and this is the best way of solving the Thai-Cambodian dispute, he said.

Mr Abhisit said Thai and Cambodian authorities have been in contact to ease the tension and prevent possible border infringements by either side.

National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha also said earlier today that a Thai flag had been raised in the 4.6 square-kilometre disputed area where both countries claim ownership.

"We have done that acting on orders," Gen Prayuth said.

The army chief insisted that the best way to settle the border dispute with Cambodia is by formal talks.

It is most important the problem is resolved by negotiation through the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), he said.

The Foreign Ministry was trying to arrange a new meeting of the JBC to discuss the matter.
The situation along the border remained normal today, and the 2nd Army was well prepared to ensure peace and order in the border area, he said.

The Cambodians had similar security measures along the border, but that did not mean the two sides were on the verge of clashing with each other, said Gen Prayuth.

“The use of force will be the last means we will turn to.

"It’s now the government’s duty to try to end the problem through talks," he said, reiterating that Thailand had not lost any territorial sovereignty to Cambodia.

30,000 Thai Red Shirts Join Anti-Government Rally in Bangkok

Thousands of Thai anti-government activists have marched in Bangkok in one of their biggest shows of strength since a mass protest that triggered a deadly military crackdown last year.

About 30,000 Red Shirts, as the activists are known, gathered around Bangkok's Democracy Monument Sunday and marched to an upscale shopping area in the city center, blocking traffic on a major street.

The Red Shirts had staged a mass sit-in at the site in April to May last year, paralyzing central Bangkok and engaging in street battles with Thai security forces. The violence killed about 90 people, mostly civilians. The protesters had demanded early elections to replace a government they view as illegitimate and elitist.

In Sunday's rally, the Red Shirts called on the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to release Red Shirt leaders who were arrested and charged with terrorism for involvement in last year's mass protest. The activists also demanded justice for fellow Red Shirts killed in the military crackdown.

Authorities deployed 1,000 police to maintain order. The rally appeared to be peaceful.

The marchers included senior Red Shirt activist Jatuporn Prompan, who has avoided arrest because he is a lawmaker with parliamentary immunity.

The Red Shirt movement has vowed to stage mass gatherings in Bangkok twice a month to press its demands.

Red Shirts have staged a series of anti-government rallies in the capital in recent months, the latest of which drew about 10,000 people on December 19. The activists had ignored a state of emergency that banned public gatherings of more than five people. The government lifted that ban in late December.

Many Red Shirts are rural and working class supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whom the military ousted in a 2006 coup. Thaksin lives in exile to avoid a jail term for corruption.