Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation spokesperson Chun Sounry has called on Thailand to not politicise the Ottawa Convention, while clarifying misleading information that Thailand will host a meeting of the member states of the anti-mine agreement in Bangkok tomorrow, August 15.
Sounry used this afternoon’s press briefing to warn that misleading claims are spreading online that suggest that tomorrow’s gathering would produce a consensus against Cambodia regarding Thai claims that recent landmine incidents in Thailand were caused by Cambodian forces planting new mines.
He explained that Thailand is actually hosting a diplomatic briefing tomorrow, which it use to lobby foreign diplomats and attempt to convince them of their false claims, and that the briefing falls outside of the formal procedures of the Ottawa Convention. He noted that the meeting will produce no formal outcome.
“States often attend briefings to listen, not to take sides. The Ottawa Convention operates on a humanitarian, non-politicised basis,” he said, adding that the official Ottawa Convention meeting is held just once a year. This year’s will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from December 1-5, under current chair Japan.
He also expressed concerns about claims that the Ottawa Convention secretariat would attend tomorrow’s briefing, explaining that in fact, this will not happen, as the convention secretariat only attend official meetings, and do not involve themselves in bilateral issues.
Sounry reiterated that Cambodia, as always, supports fact-based investigations, whether bilateral or with the cooperation with ASEAN, to address mine action concerns.
“Cambodia rejects Thailand’s politicisation that risks undermining the convention’s neutrality. Cambodia categorically dismisses the baseless claims that it has planted new landmines along the border. Cambodia reaffirms full compliance with the Ottawa Convention and humanitarian law. Cambodia is committed to addressing mine action concern through credible, fact-based investigation and through established bilateral and ASEAN mechanisms,” he said.
“We call on Thailand not to politicise the Ottawa Convention for bilateral disputes,” he added.
