Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Monday met the legal team representing Thailand at last week’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing on Preah Vihear at Government House and praised them for their hard work and impressive performance.
Photo by Chanat KatanyuThree members of the Thai delegation to The Hague returned home on Sunday morning to a warm welcome at Suvarnabhumi Airport. They were Surapong Tovichakchaikul, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and ACM Sukumpol Suwanatat, the defence minister, who were accompanied by Virachai Plasai, the head of the Thai legal team.
Mr Surapong, ACM Sukumpol and Mr Virachai lead the delegation, including the four foreign lawyers who arrived on Monday, into the meeting with Ms Yingluck.
The delegation met Ms Yingluck at 2pm at her office. Mr Virachai briefed the premier on the concluding report on Cambodia’s request for a reinterpretation of ownership of the temple’s surrounding area.
Afterwards, Ms Yingluck thanked all members of the Thai delegation and others involved for their dedication and cooperation in preparing the documents presented to the ICJ and for doing their utmost in the case.
She said the team was able to clearly explain points of concern to the Thai public and rebutted Cambodia’s arguments. Members of the public obtained knowledge of the case and became more confident about understanding the information given at the hearing by the Thai legal team.
She said the Thai people gave them moral support throughtout the five days of the court hearing and were proud to see how they were able to perform a difficult task and gain such an impressive result.
Also attending at the meeting were leaders of the military and police forces.
The foreign legal team hired by Thailand was Prof Alain Pellet, Prof Donald McRae, Prof James Crawford and Alina Miron. Ms Yingluck later took a group picture with the Thai delegation in the foyer on the ground floor of the Thai Ku Fah Building, her office. Reports said during the photo session, Prof Pellet, who was standing next to Ms Yingluck, managed to kiss her on the right cheek, which both surprised and abashed the premier at the same time. Ms Yingluck reportedly appeared to be shy but managed to smile.
Of the lawyers, Ms Miron, the 34-year-old Romanian map expert, was outstanding in her argument on the maps and has been praised as a heroine by Thais.
Ms Miron said before the meeting that she was glad to know that she had become a darling to many Thais. She only learnt about it on Sunday. She said she was proud to help Thailand after having only got the job when Thai authorities contacted her through Prof Pellet.
In the morning, the legal team held a closed-door meeting with agencies concerned such as the Royal Thai Survey Department and Council of State, to discuss further proceedings in the Preah Vihear case. The meeting also discussed the preparation of documents on grid coordinates of the Preah Vihear ruins to be presented to the ICJ on April 26.
A teen admirer asks for a photo op with Alina Miron. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
Photo by Chanat Katanyu
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