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UN council leaves Thai-Cambodia conflict to ASEAN

by (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Click For Restrictions. http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Monday, 14 February 2011 20:39 GMT

* U.N. council rebuffs Cambodian request for peacekeepers

* Thailand rejects charges of using cluster munitions

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council voiced "grave concern" on Monday about Thai-Cambodian border clashes this month but decided to leave the issue in the hands of Asian regional association ASEAN.

Cambodia had asked the council to order the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers to the border. But the 15-nation body made clear in a statement its role would be limited to supporting "bilateral efforts and regional efforts" to negotiate an end to the conflict.

"Members of the Security Council expressed their grave concern about the recent armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand," Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazil's U.N. ambassador and council president this month, told reporters.

She said council members urged Cambodia and Thailand to show "maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation," while continuing to cooperate with ASEAN mediators to resolve the dispute peacefully.

Thailand and Cambodia blame each other for the clashes near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple that killed at least three Thais and eight Cambodians. At least 34 Thais and 55 Cambodians were wounded, according to the two sides.

Cambodia had asked the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the issue. Council members initially resisted allowing the dispute to come to New York but eventually agreed to Monday's meeting, council envoys said.

They now hope the issue will stay with ASEAN -- Association of South East Asian Nations -- they said.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters after the closed-door council meeting that there was no need for U.N. peacekeepers, adding that his government wanted to resolve the issue bilaterally.

He rejected Cambodian allegations that Thai troops used cluster munitions -- bombs that when detonated release many "bomblets" over a wide area. Neither Thailand nor Cambodia has signed a new treaty that bans the use of cluster munitions.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who attended the Security Council meeting in his capacity as ASEAN chairman, told reporters: "The ceasefire is holding but we need to make it more reliable."

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters he had not given up on securing more active U.N. involvement. If the council does not send peacekeepers to the border, he said, U.N. observers or a fact-finding mission would work. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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