Press Statement of Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of Asean, calling for a peaceful resolution between Thailand and Cambodia
"No Alternative to Genuine Border Talks" --Surin
"The world and ASEAN have been alarmed by the new outbreak of violent and fatal clashes along the Cambodian-Thai border. The appeal for restraint and a quick return to the negotiatiing table will become louder from the ASEAN and Dialogue Partners. I can only add my voice to that call for a peaceful solution to a long simmering tension between our two ASEAN Member States. There is really no other alternative to a genuine dialogue between the two sides, " said Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN.
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan has worked hard behind the scene to support Indonesia, the current Chair of ASEAN, to convene the unprecedented February 22 meeting in Jakarta of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers devoted specifically to the bilateral border conflicts between the two ASEAN neighbors, Cambodia and Thailand.
"We thought we had responded effectively to the call of the UN Security Council's of February 14 with our own ASEAN's approach to the problem of our two member states," said Dr. Surin, who is a former Foreign Minister of Thailand.
"The renewed fighting not only disappointed the other ASEAN Member States, we have also failed the world in its expectation of all of us."
"Not only tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border having to suffer the consequences of displacement and evacuation away from the on-going violence, we also risk the judgment of the global community that its faith and confidence in us have been misplaced. That will, unfortunately, have a very negative impact on our region as a whole, " Dr. Surin lamented.
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