It is a matter of following to the letter and respecting the spirit inscribed In the “purpose” of the United Nations Charter

BREAKING NEWS >> Wednesday November 12, 2008 11:36
(BangkokPost.com) - Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat will visit Cambodia on Wednesday to discuss the Thai-Cambodian border row following the Joint Border Committee (JBC) meeting earlier this week.
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It is a matter of following to the letter and respecting the spirit inscribed 

In the “purpose” of the United Nations Charter 

By Pancha Seila

The “purpose” of the charter of the United Nations called for member nations to respect international treaties and agreements. 

The Joint Border Committee (JBC) which both Cambodia and Thailand have referred to in all their communications and talks was established under the 2000 MOU signed between Cambodian and Thai governments, and said 2000 MOU decides to utilize the map drawn by the French-Siam mixed commissions established under the French-Siam 1904 Convention and the French-Siam 1907 Treaty.

It should not be any other map to be brought into the talks on the demarcation of the boundary line between Cambodia and Thailand. It is not the question of using different maps. It is the question of abiding by the spirit of the United Nations Charter.

Under any round of talks or under any joint tasks for survey and demarcation of the boundary line between Cambodia and Thailand and to be in conformity with the spirit inscribed in the “purpose” of the United Nations Charter, the only map to be referred to and to be used will be unmistakably the map drawn by the French-Siam mixed commissions.

Cambodia allows Muslim students to wear headscarves in school

PHNOM PENH , Sept. 12 KYODO

The Cambodian government this week issued a directive allowing Muslim students to wear their traditional headscarves in school. The directive signed Wednesday by Prime Minister Hun Sen advised all public and private schools to allow Muslim students to wear headscarves if they wish to do so. The premier said in the directive that allowing Muslim students to wear the hijab, or headscarf, was in conformity with the country's Constitution, which states that all Cambodians have the same rights under the law, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, belief, or language. The Cham ethnic group, Cambodia 's Muslim minority, represents some 4 percent of the Buddhist country's 13.4 million people.

Unlike as in neighboring Thailand , there are no religious tensions in Cambodia . Zakariya Adam, secretary of state of the Cults and Religion Ministry, said the move was warmly welcomed by the Cham community. He said some Muslims, especially females, have dropped out of school because the school uniforms go against their beliefs.

The government's move comes as Cambodia is having closer ties with Muslim countries, especially those in the Middle East . Since the start of this year, leaders of oil-rich nations Qatar and Kuwait have paid visits to the country, and Hun Sen is planned to pay official visits to the two countries early next year. But Zakariya Adam said the directive was made as a response to Cambodian Muslim community's request.

KyodoSeptember 12, 2008