泰国退出世界遗产公约

Thailand on Sunday withdrew from the World Heritage Convention as Cambodia prepared to present management plans for a 900-year-old temple to a meeting of the committee in Paris. The Thai government says its withdrawal is meant to protect the country's sovereignty; analysts say it further delays implementing a management plan for the historical site.

泰国星期天退出了世界遗产公约，起因是柬埔寨准备向世界遗产公约在巴黎举行的会议上递交有关一个900年历史寺庙的管理计划。泰国政府表示，退出这个公约是为了保护泰国的主权。分析人士说，泰国的举措进一步推迟了落实对这个历史古迹的管理计划。

Thailand’s withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention and the World Heritage Committee came during a Paris meeting after an agreement was reached to place a proposed management plan for the site on the meeting’s agenda.

泰国是在世界遗产委员会在巴黎举行会议时退出世界遗产公约的。此前，委员会议同意把这所寺庙的拟议管理计划列入开会议程内。

Thailand has disputed moves by Cambodia to present a management plan for the 900-year-old disputed temple on the Cambodia-Thailand border.

泰国一直对柬埔寨要为这座900年古庙提出管理计划的做法有意见。这座有争议的古迹位于泰国和柬埔寨边界。

At the meeting, Thailand requested a deferral of any proposed management plans until the the border dispute is settled. In 1962, the Hague-based International Court of Justice, or ICJ, ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia. But the more than four-square-kilometer border around the temple, known as the Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Phra Viharn in Thailand, remains in dispute. In May, Cambodia called on the ICJ to force Thailand to withdraw troops from the contested territory surrounding the temple.

在会议上，泰国要求推迟任何拟议的管理计划，直到边界争议得到解决。1962年，设在海牙的国际法庭裁定这座寺庙归柬埔寨所有。但是围绕柏威夏寺庙4平方多公里的边界仍然存在争议。今年5月，柬埔寨请求国际法庭迫使泰国从这座寺庙附近有争议的土地上撤军。

The Thai Natural Resource and Environment Minister, Suwit Khunkitti, announced Sunday's decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention.

泰国自然资源和环境部长素威坤吉滴星期天宣布，泰国退出世界遗产公约。

Thai Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the decision is aimed at protecting his country's national interests, given the territorial dispute.

泰国政府发言人帕尼坦说，在领土有争议的情况下，这个决定是为了保护泰国的国家利益。“This is why the prime minister and the government of Thailand made a decision to withdraw from the treaty and the membership of World Heritage [Committee], just to make sure that we are not running any risks affecting our national integrity and sovereignty," he said.

他说：“这就是泰国总理和政府决定退出这个公约，以及世界遗产委员会会员资格的原因，就是要确保我们没有冒着影响国家完整和主权的风险。”

In 2008, the temple was listed as a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization, or UNESCO. Since then, Thailand and Cambodia have fought sporadically over the site.

联合国教科文组织2008年把柏威夏寺庙定为世界遗产。此后，泰国和柬埔寨不时为这座寺庙发生争执。

In cross-border clashes in April, as many as 50,000 Thai and Cambodian villagers were forced to flee to emergency centers.

今年4月两国发生越境冲突，有多达5万名泰国和柬埔寨村民被迫逃到紧急中心。

Political scientist Carl Thayer at the University of New South Wales in Australia calls the Thai government's decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention and Committee a step backward in ending the cross-border conflict over the Hindu temple.

澳大利亚新南威尔士大学的政治学者卡尔塞耶认为，泰国政府退出世界遗产公约和委员会的决定使结束有关这座印度教寺庙的边界争议向后倒退。

“I suspect Cambodia will have to come up with a bit of a delay on their part," he said. "Bottom line - it would delay getting UNESCO to put the final seal of approval on it [i.e., the management plan] because the management plan is going through disputed territory. How does Cambodia effectively develop that temple? The stronger case would be if the two countries were going to cooperate.”

卡尔塞耶说：“我想，柬埔寨这方将不得不延后推出他们的计划。底线是这将会推迟联合国教科文组织最终对这个管理计划的核准，因为管理计划将通过有争议的领土。柬埔寨如何能有效发展这座寺庙呢？最可行的办法会是两国展开合作。”

Angered by the government’s failure to take a tougher stance against Cambodia over the conflict, Thai nationalists welcomed their government’s withdrawal from the convention. In a protest last week in Bangkok, the nationalists demanded that the United Nations withdraw the temple's World Heritage designation.

泰国民族主义者对政府没有在这个冲突中对柬埔寨采取更强硬的立场感到愤怒，因此他们欢迎政府退出世界遗产公约。上星期民族主义者在曼谷举行的一次抗议活动中，要求联合国撤销指定这所寺庙为世界遗产。

Thai officials say they are prepared to work with the international community as well as with UNESCO and World Heritage members to move forward without the proposed management plan, they say, that affects Thailand's sovereignty.

泰国官员说，他们在没有拟定管理计划的情况下准备和国际社会、联合国教科文组织以及世界遗产委员会的成员合作。他们说，拟定的计划影响到泰国主权。