This document discusses two observations regarding Cambodian-Thai relations: history textbooks and turning battlefields into Hindu-Buddhist world heritages. It provides context on debates surrounding the 2011 Cambodia-Thai border conflict. It analyzes how Thai history textbooks focus solely on Thailand and depict neighbors like Cambodia and Burma negatively. This leads to misunderstandings and conflicts. The document concludes that history textbooks in Thailand and surrounding countries need reform to foster understanding between neighbors and build peace for the ASEAN community.

1. Two Observations: Cambodian-Thai
Relations
One: History Textbooks
Two: Turning the Battlefields into
Hindu-Buddhist
Trans-Boundary World Heritages

2. Two Observations: Cambodian-Thai Relations
Religion, Politics, Nationalism
and an Ancient Temple
Background and Contemporary Debates
of the 2011 Cambodia-Thai Border
AAS-ICAS Annual Conference
Honolulu, Hawaii 2011, 31 March 2011
Charnvit Kasetsiri
charnvitkasetsiri.com
Thammasat University
Bangkok, Siam (Thailand)

3. One
„Bad‟ History – „Bad‟ Education
and
„Bad‟ ASEAN
Neighbour Relations

4. What I would like to do is to give you pictures of interactions
between history-myth, education, textbooks, and Thailand/Siam‟s
relations with her neighbors. In this age of globalization and even
with regional organizations like ASEAN/GMS/ASEM/ADB we
seem to have some difficulties as good neighbors to one another.
We will see that the use of the Past, History-myth, if not
up-right, incorrectly perceived, negatively and
politically exploited could produce an unpleasant
outcome.
In other words „bad history‟ produces „bad education‟ and
eventually leads to „bad relations between nations‟.

5. On January 29, 2003, theThai Embassy in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia was torched and burnt down.
Thai diplomats had to run for their lives.
The Thai Government of Mr. Thaksin flew planes into Cambodia
to evacuate all Thai citizens from Phnom Penh.
This ugly episode of Thai-Cambodian relations started with a news that
a popular Thai TV female star was reported to have said that
„she would not visit Cambodia unless the 800 year-old temple of Angkor Wat was returned
to Thailand‟. I, personally, do not believe that the Thai star said that kind of word.
But the news, regarded as a serious insult to the Cambodian Nation, spread like fire.
It was reported in Khmer newspapers and radio.
On top of that there was a rumor that Cambodian diplomats in Bangkok
were brutally murdered.
There were students demonstrations which eventually led to
the burning and looting of the Thai Embassy.

6. Cambodian Flag
Kob Suwanan
Niang Prakai Pruk Angkor Wat
Thai TV star

8. Students began their protest by marching through the city and burned a
Thai flag and a photograph of Kob-Suwanan outside the embassy.
The size of the demonstration swelled to around one thousand and the
crowd became more aggressive as the day progressed, burning tyres and
throwing rocks at the embassy. After a day of flag-burning and anti-Thai
chanting, the crowd massed outside the embassy towards nightfall.

9. Royal Thai Embassy: Phnom Penh
Thailand estimates the damage at about
US$ 23 million and has demanded that
Phnom Penh reimburse both the Thai
government and the businesses affected.
Bangkok has cut all economic and
technical assistance pending a full
explanation and compensation by
Cambodia. It also demanded that those
responsible be jailed.

10. ``The protest is because we hate the Thais inside Cambodia and
because the Thais encroach on Cambodian border territory,'' said
Virak, an 18-year-old law student.

11. Two
Preah Vihear – Phra Viharn
Temple
Unesco World Heritage
2008-2011

12. Preah Vihear Temple
Unesco World Heritage since 2008

14. 14

17. Turning a Market Place into Battlefields

18. สงคราม หรือ สันติภาพ
War or Peace

19. Battlefields - Thai-Cambodian Border

21. Village Houses Burning:
Thai-Cambodian Border February
2011

22. Phum Srol-Srisaket :
Reds versus Yellows along the Border
2008
Battlefields Thai versus Thai along the Border 2008-2011

23. As you can see the incidents in the Angkor-
remark in 2003 and Preah Vihear Unesco
Heritage Affairs of 2008-2011
are unpleasant and tragic.
They may lead to a bigger war
between the two Asean countries:
Cambodia and Thailand.

24. One may ask why these two events happened and
how come such a remark about “Angkor Wat”
and simply the Temple nomination to the Unesco
could spark up such ugly incidents ?
We may explain that it is because of:
1. Khmer-Thai brands of Nationalism ?
2. Political Conflict and Manipulation ?
3. Love and Hate Relationship: Khmers & Thais
4. Unequal and Expliotative Relationship ?
5. Misundertanding & misuse of the Past/History
etc. etc.

25. As a history teacher of Thailand/Siam and
Southeast Asia/Asean,
I would like to look and try to understand it
from my own professional angle,
i.e.
the use and misuse of
History-myth and the Past,
in my own country.

26. • First, let us see how the Thai in general see their neighbors.
• By land Thailand/Siam is surrounded by mainland ASEAN
countries: Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. If we include
island-neighbors, or by the sea, they would cover India, Indonesia
and Vietnam as well. As is known to all of you, in the colonial era,
Siam (Thailand) remained
the only independent country in Southeast Asia („history-myth‟).
• Therefore, from mid 19th century until after the Second World
War the Thai Government in Bangkok had to pay attention to
what the colonial powers would have to say. Bangkok had to deal
with London and the British in India and Singapore, Paris and
the French in Vietnam.
• The Thai Elite need no concern nor having anything to do with
the Burmese in Rangoon, the Lao in Vientiane, the Khmer in
Phnom Penh, the Vietnamese in Saigon or Hanoi, nor the Malay
in Kuala Lumpur, etc. Asians were kept apart from one another.

27. 1920s Cartoon in Siam:
Showing Rama VI,
the King of Siam (Thailand)
pulling his Thai People high up,
while Burmese,
Vietnamese and Cambodian
were left down below.
In the background
five former Bangkok Kings,
Rama I-II-III-IV-V,
were watching up in the sky.
Cartoon from Vajiravudh‟s Time (Dusit Samit)

28. • In one of his interviews, Nidhi A., a leading Thai historian, explained how the
Thai, especially the elite, see the neighbors. To us the Burmese
have become a „permanent national enemy‟
• This was an outcome of Thai history writing from the latter part of the 19th
century. For „nation-building‟, an enemy was needed to unify the people
within Siam/Thailand while the country was threatened by the British and the
French.
• Burma which in the pre-colonial time, used to have frequent wars with the Thai
had already been colonized by the British. They were no longer a threat.
• So the wars between Ayutthaya and various Burmese Kingdoms
have been high-lighted to show the struggle of the Thai people in the
Past and to be a lesson for our unity in the Present.
Illustrations like these are regularly portrayed in school textbooks.
The episodes of the fall of the former Thai capital of Ayutthaya and
the suffering and bravity of the Thai are also repeatedly reproduced
in drama, songs, novels, films, and TV series.

29. Bang Rachan
History-Myth-Texts-Films-Plays-Songs
Villagers of Bang Rachan
fighting the Burmese, all
King Naresuan
in an elephant dual
died heroic death during the
fighting a Burmese Prince Fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.

30. King Naresuan Naresuan
King
in an myth-historical dual Villagers of Bang Rachan
in an elephant
fighting a Burmese Prince
elephant dual fighting the Burmese, all
fighting a Burmese Princedied heroic death during the
Fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.

31. LAOS and CAMBODIA
(what and how to the Thai)
• As for Laos and Cambodia, we, Thai viewed these
neighbors rather inferior.
• They, the Lao and the Cambodians, have been seen as
„younger‟ (smaller) and poorer.
• In the past, during Ayutthaya and early Bangkok periods,
they were seen as our muang khuen or “colonies”.
• In the present they are less developped and poorer. So I
would say that relationship with Laos and Cambodia is even
much more difficult, complicated, sensitve, and
problematic.

32. History Writing, Textbook,
and the Ministry of Education
• In Thailand/Siam stop signs with warnings like:
“Official Property, Do Not Enter without Permission”,
are not uncommon. They are symbols of authority and
a reminder to „know one‟s place‟ in this „bureaucratic
polity‟.
• As a history teacher for more than thirty years I have
the impression that history is also an official domain and
there is no trespassing.
• This forbidden area is noticeable in what is, or correctly,
is not, written „in‟ textbooks, especially for six-year
primary and six-year secondary school students.

33. Fourth Year, Primary Sch.
Students Aged 10
THAI HISTORY
Chapter 1:
Urban Settlements in Thailand
Chapter 2:
Kingdom of Sukhothai
Chapter 3:
Contemporaries of Sukhothai
(Hariphunchai, Lanna, Phayao-Phrae-
Nan, Nakhon Sithammarat, Ayutthaya)
No Pagan, no Angkor, no Champa, no
Melayu, etc. etc = no neighbors.

34. Perception of „mythical‟
Past for 4th Year-Aged
10 Primary School
Textbook
Sukhothai
The „first‟ Thai
Kingdom
13th-15th centuries
Shown in the Map of
Boundary covering
Malacca &
Temasek/Singapore ?

35. Fifth Year, Primary Sch.
Students Aged 11
Thai History
Chapter 1:
Foundation of the Ayutthaya Kingdom
Chapter 2: Political and Administrative
Evolution of Ayutthaya
Chapter 3: Economic Evolution of
Ayutthaya
Chapter 4: Social and Buddhist
Evolution
Chapter 5: Wars with the Burmese and
Falls of Ayutthaya
Chapter 6: New Capital: Thonburi
(Bangkok)

36. 1767 Fall of Ayutthaya: completely „destroyed‟ by the „Burmese‟ !?

37. Besides Textbooks, novels, drama, songs, Wars of„national independence‟
films and TV series about with „Burma‟ !?
Ayutthaya/Burmese have been repeated or of between Kings and Kings !?
reproduced and reinvented
Queens and Queens!?
Queen Sudachan
Father: By former
Minister of Edcation !?

38. Besides Textbooks, novels, drama, songs, films and TV series about
Ayutthaya/Burmese have been repeated reproduced and reinvented
Father: By former
Minister of Edcation !?

39. Mythical-historical Wars of „National Independence‟
Between „Thailand‟ and „Burma‟ Nation vs Nation !!!???
or of between Kings/Queens and Kings/Queens !!!???
Queen Sudachan

40. King Naresuan Part I-II-III etc.
Series
of
History
Mythical
Films
heavily
funded
with
public money
disregard
To
Neighbors

41. กรุงยโสธรปุระ-อาณาจักรพระนคร-นครวัด-นครธม
ANGKOR (Contemporary of Ayutthaya, but…)

44. สร้างกรุงยโสธรปุระ
Birth of Angkor, not mentioned

45. The Fall of Angkor 1431, not mentioned
Concluding words

46. • Myth-history: Problematic Textbooks
• ‘Siam-Thailand’ nationally confined, no neighbors
• Fall of Angkor 1431, not mentioned
• King Chao Sam Phraya, attacking Angkor
• เสียกรุงศรียโสธรปุระ พ.ศ. ๑๙๗๔/๑๔๓๑
• ถูกกองทัพอยุธยาของพระเจ้าสามพระยาโจมตี

47. Sixth Year, Primary Sch.
Students Aged 12
THAI HISTORY
Chapter 1:
Revival of the Country in Early
Bangkok Period
Chapter 2: Thailand Entered the
Modern Age
(„lost‟ of territories (เสียดินแดน 1940s) to
the Western powers: Left Bank of the
Mekong (Laos), 1893, Siem Reap,
Battambang, Sisophon, 1907 Kedah,
Palis, Kelantan, Trengganu, 1909, and
remained independent)
Chapter 3: Democratic
Administrative Change
Chapter 4: Evolution of Democratic
9 King Ramas of Bangkok Era
Administration

48. Big „Lost‟ of Territories to the
Western powers, the British and
the French:
Laos or the whole area of the left bank
of the Mekong River, 1893
Cambodia, Siem Reap (Angkor Wat),
Battambang, Sisophon 1907
Malaysia: Kedah/Saiburi, Pelis,
Kelantan, Terengganu,
1909
And Siam/Thailand remained
independent: history-myth ?

49. Ultra-Nationalism
reproduced 2008-11
Internet-online-long distance nationalism
Modern or anachronistic !!!???

50. How much TERRITORIES
have we LOST ? 14 or 15 times !!! ???

51. Biggest Lost, No 12 !!!???
Inner Cambodia, 1907
Siem Reap (Angkor Wat), Battambang, Sisophon

52. Interestingly, what we do not know-
inconvenient truth, Khmer „mapped‟

54. A leading Thai historian, Thongchai Winichakul,
has this concluding word about Thai history:
• “Historical studies in Thailand have been closely related
to the formation of the nation since the late nineteenth
century...
• It presented a royal/national chronicle, a historiography
modern in character but based upon traditional
perceptions of the past and traditional materials.
• It was a collection of stories by and for the national elite
celebrating their successful mission of building and
protecting the country despite great difficulties, and
promising a prosperous future.
• The plot and meaning of this melodramatic past have
become a paradigm of historical discourse, making history
an ideological weapon and a source of legitimation of the
state.”

55. Concluding words for Cambodian, Thai,
Southeast Asians and ASEAN Community
Concluding words

56. ONE
Our Texts
on History and the Past of Thailand/Siam
(including most of the Asean/GMS countries)
especially in relations with our Neighbors
are problematic and need a serious reform.

57. TWO
Our History Texts
must be revised in order to be up-right,
correctly perceived in order for us to live
peaceful together in this age of
Regionalism-Asean Community/GMS
and Globalization.

58. THREE
We, Cambodian, Lao, Thai, Vietnamese
(including all Asean/GMS citizens)
need to know and understand not just about
ourselves but also in relations with our
Neighbors, especially the closed ones on
mainland Southeast Asia i.e. Burma, Laos,
Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand/Siam.

59. FOUR
What has happened in the PAST
can not be changed
but what is happening in the PRESENT
can be rescued for the FUTURE.

60. FIVE
Perhaps an urgently needed task of
ASEAN/GMS Education Ministers + 3 or 4
(i.e. China, Japan, Korea, India, or even Taiwan),
together with some NGOs or education-oriented
organizations,
is to sit down and work out together.
New Textbooks, new Histories, for the sake of
peace, prosperity, and friendship of the ASEAN
Community are urgently needed.

61. SIX
Creating Network and Linkage of
Peoples to Peoples---Locals to Locals
(not just Governments to Governments as usual)
Academics to Academics
Students to Students
Youth to Youth
(Traveling classrooms for Undergrads from Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand, and Vietnam, etc.
From Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh to Bangkok
to Vientiane and to Hanoi)

63. That was my Observation one:
Revising History Textbooks for ASEAN
Now, Observation two: Turning the
Battlefields into Hindu-Buddhist Trans-
Boundary ASEAN World Heritages:

64. เทือกเขาพนมดงรัก (ไทย) – แดงเร็ก (กัมพูชา)
Phanom Dongrak in Thai – Chuŏr Phnum Dângrêk in Cambodian:
LAND-MOUNTAINS OF PRASAT
IN CAMBODIA-LAOS-THAILAND

65. LAND-WATER OF THE MEKONG
IN CAMBODIA-LAOS-THAILAND

66. To avoid War, my second proposal is that:
--from the Dong Phyayen-Khao Yai Forest, in
Khorat, Thailand…,
--all the way along the Phnom Dangrek Mountians
to Prasat Phnom Rung, to Prasat Preah Vihear and
Prasat Vat Phou….
--to the Biggest Waterfalls of Asia, i.e. Khon Papeng
and Li Phi…
--should be turned into:
AN ASEAN ECO-CULTURAL
TRANS-BOUNDARY WORLD HERITAGE SITES

67. The Emerald Triangle
Land-Mountains-Water
Cambodia-Laos-Thialand

68. Khon Phapheng Falls

69. Khon Phapeng-Li Phi
Phnom Dangrek:?
Khao Yai: Falls ?
WH Preah Vihear: WH
Phnom Rung ? Vat Phou:WH
ASEAN ECO-CULTURAL
TRANS-BOUNDARY
WORLD HERITAGE SITES

70. Hindu-Buddhist Prasats-Mountains and Rivers
Phnom Dangrek-Middle Mekong Basin
belonging to Cambodia-Laos-Siam/Thailand

71. Lesson from Latin America
Iguaçu Falls
น้าตกอีกวาซู

72. Paraguay
Argentina
Brazil

73. •ARGENTINA
Independently inscribed
1984
•BRAZIL
Independently inscribed
1987

74. BRAZIL
1987
ARGENTINA
1984

76. Lesson from Europe
The Belfries
of Belgium and France
Serially inscribed

77. World Heritage Belfries of Belgium and France
Belgium
France Belfries
of Belgium and France
serially nominated & inscribed

80. Khon Phapeng-Li Phi
Phnom Dangrek:?
Khao Yai: Falls ?
WH Preah Vihear: WH
Phnom Rung ? Vat Phou:WH
ASEAN ECO-CULTURAL
TRANS-BOUNDARY
WORLD HERITAGE SITES

81. Phnom Wan Muang Tam
Phimai Sra Kampaeng Yai-Noi
Phnom Rung
Bantei Cmar Preah Vihear
Preah Khan Vat Phou
Srok Kok Thom Waterfalls
Prasat Noi Angkor Sambor Preikuk
Thara
Borivat
Plus, plus, plus

82. The Emerald Triangle
Land-Mountains-Water
of the Dangrek and the Mekong
Cambodia-Laos-Thialand
serially nominated and inscribed
as Asean Eco-cultural World Heritages

83. For Peace, Humanity and
ASEAN Community
Som Orkun
Kho khob chai
Khob khun krab