BANGKOK – Tempers frayed at the Thai-Cambodian border on Wednesday as travelers left in limbo by the closure of international land crossing points amid a bilateral territorial dispute demanded to be allowed to return to their home country.
On Tuesday, thousands of Cambodians working in or traveling to Thailand could not cross back to Cambodia before Thailand closed the seven border checkpoints. Some said they did not even know of the closures.
Under pressure from stranded travelers, authorities briefly reopened border passes, such as Klong Luek in Thailand’s eastern Sa Kaeo province and Chong Chom in Surin province, to outbound travelers on Wednesday evening. Police in Sa Kaeo deployed some 160 riot police to keep the peace, media reports said.
But as night fell on Wednesday, hundreds of Cambodians remained unable to cross from Aranyaprathet district, in Sa Kaeo province, to Poipet in Cambodia.
Angry with the delay, one woman yelled: “So who blocks us from crossing – the Thai or Khmer side? Tell us the truth. Why can’t small people like us can’t go back home? We just want to go back home!”
Although the Thai measures announced Monday still allow travel by students, Cambodian authorities on Wednesday would not open the Chong Chom border gate in Surin province to school children returning from Cambodia.
Some 500 trucks also were stranded Tuesday on the road from Sa Kaeo to Poipet, according to Surawuth Wongsamran, member of the Sa Kaeo provincial chamber of commerce member. He criticized the soldiers for rushing to seal the border without prior notice.
Thai regional military commands, which have assumed effective control of the border, had ordered Monday the closure of all international crossings with Cambodia. That has blocked vehicles, foot traffic and trade – including fuel trucks. The only exceptions are for humanitarian cases, like medical emergencies, and for students.
That’s the culmination of a tit-for-tat, including a Cambodian ban on imports of Thai produce, after a May 28 firefight where Thai forces shot dead a Cambodian soldier on a sliver of disputed territory along the 800-kilometer (500-mile) border.
The crisis in relations was compounded last week when Cambodia leaked a private phone conversation between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. The call was meant to help calm the tensions but ended up making it worse.
In Bangkok, anti-Shinawatra movements announced plans for a mass rally for Saturday at the city’s Victory Monument as Paetongtarn comes under domestic political pressure for her handling of the border crisis and her call with Hun Sen, the father of Cambodia’s current prime minister.
While Thailand and Cambodia have not exchanged fire since the 10-minute clash on May 28, both sides have been readying their militaries in case hostilities break out.
The Thai army said Tuesday more Cambodian troops were moving to the front line, and the Thai military blocked public access to areas on the border, including where the two sides exchanged artillery fire in 2011 near Preah Vihear temple.
“We will not fire the first shot, but if we were shot at first, we will say a single word … We are ready,” Lt. Gen. Boonsin Padklang, commander of Thailand’s Second Army Region, told reporters.
Hun Sen, meanwhile, posted on Facebook Wednesday night a martial video of Cambodian forces in action set to a patriotic song: “Banish the Invaders of Khmer Land.”
Edited by Mat Pennington.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Pimuk Rakkanam for RFA.