VZCZCXRO8943
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0143/01 0631026
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 041026Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0466
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0582
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0685
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0141
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2371

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000143 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, P, D, IO 
PARIS FOR AMB. OLIVER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2019 
TAGS: PREL KJUS KTIA SCUL TH CB
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MARCIEL URGES CONTINUED DIALOGUE ON 
PREAH VIHEAR, ATTENTION TO CORRUPTION CONCERNS AT ECCC IN 
MEETING WITH DPM SOK AN 
 
REF: PHNOM PENH 101 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Carol A. Rodley for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  During a March 3 discussion with Deputy 
Prime Minister Sok An, EAP Deputy Assistant Secretary and 
Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel praised the 
Cambodian government for working bilaterally with the Thais 
to find a long-term solution to the Preah Vihear area border 
dispute, and urged continued dialogue between the two 
governments.  Sok An stated that the next step on Preah 
Vihear talks included plans for a Joint Border Commission 
meeting in Phnom Penh in April, and that Cambodia's progress 
report on the Preah Vihear temple is due to the World 
Heritage Committee in May.  On the Khmer Rouge Tribunal 
(KRT), Sok An stated that allegations of corruption at the 
court are an issue internal to Cambodia.  Ambassador Marciel 
repeated the Embassy's message that it is important to 
address corruption concerns so that they do not distract from 
the positive efforts of the KRT.  The Deputy Prime Minister 
stated that finalizing a Cambodian anti-corruption law is a 
priority.  Ambassador Marciel agreed with Sok An's point that 
the law would not be a magic solution to the problem of 
corruption, but stated that passage of the law will be a 
positive signal to the Cambodian people and international 
companies that might consider doing business in Cambodia. 
End Summary. 
 
Preah Vihear:  Same Old Song 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) During Ambassador Marciel's March 3 meeting with 
Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Senior Minister to the 
Council of Ministers Sok An, the DPM communicated many of the 
same points regarding the Preah Vihear area border dispute as 
those raised during Ambassador Rodley's courtesy call with 
the DPM on February 12 (Reftel).  The DPM recounted his 
familiar account of Cambodia's negotiations for the 
inscription of the Preah Vihear temple as a UNESCO World 
Heritage site, highlighting the Thai government's 
modification of its position on the Preah Vihear inscription. 
 DPM Sok An indicated that he believes Thai Prime Minister 
Abhisit Vejjajiva will revert to using a 2000 Memorandum of 
Understanding (MOU) between Cambodia and Thailand and related 
2003 Terms of Reference (TOR) in discussions concerning the 
Preah Vihear border area.  Both agreements refer to a map 
drawn in 1904-1907 (published in 1908), that was accepted by 
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962 as a basis 
for ruling that the Preah Vihear temple was within Cambodia's 
borders.  Sok An reasoned that Abhisit was chair of the 
Democrat Party when the MOU was signed, and stated that 
Abhisit had recently referred to the MOU during February 27 
talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen. 
 
¶3.  (C) However, the DPM stated that a point of continued 
disagreement with the Thai government is whether the temple 
should be referred to as "Khao Pra Viharn," the name for 
Preah Vihear used by the Thai, or "the temple of Preah 
Vihear," as Sok An stated the ICJ referred to it.  The DPM 
stated that Thailand insists on discussing this point further 
with the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC).  Sok An 
commented several times that Thai government officials were 
"singing the same old song" regarding the Thai government's 
position on the Preah Vihear dispute while Thai troops remain 
on Cambodian soil. 
 
Preah Vihear:  April JBC Talks; May UNESCO Progress Report 
Deadline 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) Despite DPM Sok An's expression of frustration over 
drawn-out negotiations regarding Preah Vihear, he seemed 
optimistic about the prospects for a resolution through 
bilateral dialogue.  He stated that the next step is 
Cambodia-Thai Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meetings in 
April in Phnom Penh during which the JBC will focus on 
negotiating the positioning of border posts.  Ambassador 
Marciel encouraged Cambodia to continue to try to resolve the 
Preah Vihear issue through dialogue with the Thai government. 
 Sok An requested U.S. assistance in preparing a progress 
report on Preah Vihear management due to UNESCO in May, and 
stated that the RGC seeks support such as U.S. National Park 
Service Specialist Richard Sussman's help in drafting a 
February 2008 progress report on a Preah Vihear management 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000143  002 OF 002 
 
 
plan.  Ambassador Marciel stated that the USG can explore the 
possibility of support for drafting the May report. 
(Comment:  Post's view is that Sussman's participation would 
not be useful at this juncture.  End comment.) 
 
DPM Not Keen to Discuss KRT Corruption Allegations 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5.  (C) DPM Sok An was quick to reiterate the five successes 
of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) (Reftel), or the 
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), as 
it is officially known.  However, when Ambassador Marciel 
encouraged the RGC to work with the UN to address the issue 
of corruption within the KRT to prevent such concerns from 
detracting from the positive efforts of the court, Sok An 
quickly responded that this was an issue about which he had 
"already told" visiting UN Office of Legal Affairs Assistant 
Secretary Peter Taksoe-Jensen that he did "not want to 
discuss."  In response to Ambassador Marciel's statement that 
the ECCC Administrative Director (Sean Visoth) staying out of 
the KRT process (because of allegations connecting him to the 
corruption claims) is good for the KRT's credibility, the DPM 
changed the subject to Cambodia's progress on drafting an 
Anti-Corruption Law. 
 
Anti-Corruption Law An RGC Priority 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) The DPM stated that after the drafting of a penal 
code, the Anti-Corruption Law is the RGC's number two 
priority law.  He stated that his staff has traveled to 
Singapore and Hong Kong to learn from those countries' model 
mechanisms for fighting corruption.  He said RGC delegates 
took particular notice of Hong Kong's Independent Commission 
Against Corruption (ICAC) as an example of what the RGC 
considers to be one of the most efficient model 
anti-corruption mechanisms.  He stated that in drafting 
Cambodia's law, RGC officials have learned from these models 
and also models from Malaysia, Vietnam, and China. 
Ambassador Marciel agreed with Sok An's point that a law in 
and of itself would not be a panacea for the problem of 
corruption, but stated that passage of an anti-corruption law 
will be a positive signal to the Cambodian people and 
international companies that might consider doing business in 
Cambodia.  Sok An noted the top priority law, the Penal Code, 
was already completed and would soon go to the Council of 
Ministers in advance of transmission to the National 
Assembly.  (Note:  Sok An stated that the RGC's number three 
priority law is an NGO law.  End note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (C) While Sok An communicated Cambodia's intention to 
continue working bilaterally with the Thai government to find 
a resolution to the Preah Vihear area border issue, his 
hopeful repetition of Cambodia's legal arguments based on the 
1962 ICJ decision and 1904-1907 survey map may be overly 
optimistic.  However, the RGC appears to understand that a 
long-term solution must be based on political considerations, 
and that legal and technical arguments can be a face-saving 
way to bring the two countries closer to resolution. 
RODLEY