And You Thought the Temple Mount Was Problematic

A Hindu Temple is a Buddhist shrine

1.

Talks fail to end Thai-Cambodia temple row

ARANYAPRATHET, Thailand, July 21 (Reuters) - Talks between Thailand and Cambodia failed on Monday to end a military stand-off over the disputed Preah Vihear temple on their border.

Soldiers would remain in their current positions at the temple, but avoid any confrontation, Thai Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niumpradit told reporters after the talks aimed at resolving the week-long impasse.

2.

Thai general calls for calm over temple row

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia moved on Wednesday to ratchet down tensions on their border where hundreds of troops faced off over a disputed ancient temple.

Senior Thai and Cambodian officials were trying to negotiate an end to the stand-off, triggered by Thai protests against the listing of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site earlier this month, Thailand's Supreme Commander, Boonsrang Niumpradit, told Reuters.

...About 200 Thai soldiers and 380 Cambodian troops faced each other a day after three Thai activists were detained for several hours after trying to plant a Thai flag on the temple site.

...Perched on top of a jungle-clad escarpment that forms a natural boundary between Cambodia and Thailand, Preah Vihear was off-limits for much of the 1970s to 1990s when it was a jungle outpost for Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrillas.

Built by Khmer kings in the 11th century, it has been a source of tension since the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Hindu temple belonged to Cambodia, a decision that still rankles Thais.

Thailand's initial support for the temple's heritage listing has been used by anti-government groups to stoke nationalist fervor and protests against the government in Bangkok.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a coalition of royalists, activists and businessmen which has led a nearly 2-month campaign against the government, called a rally for Thursday on the Thai side of the border.

"We want to tell the Cambodian government to withdraw trespassers on Thai territory or we will exercise our rights under the constitution to protect our sovereignty," PAD leader Veera Somkwamkit told Reuters.

Groups opposed to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have accused the pro-Thaksin government of selling out Thailand's heritage to help his business interests in Cambodia.

...The political uproar in Thailand has raised fears the spat could turn into a major diplomatic row five years after a dispute over another Cambodian temple, Angkor Wat, resulted in a nationalist mob torching the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.

and to complicate matters:

Baloch Assembly Protests Against Dam Project Endangering a Hindu Temple

The Government of Pakistan has been asked by the Baloch Provincial Assembly to pass a parliamentary resolution to cancel the construction of a dam over the Hangol River, saying that such a dam could permanently damage an ancient temple of Hindus located in the area.

Balochistan’s Irrigation and Power Minister Sardar Mohammad Aslam Bizenjo and other provincial ministers moved a resolution on the floor of the assembly over the weekend that categorically objected to the dam being constructed near the historical Hinglaj Mata Temple, where an annual festival is held every April.

The Baloch Assembly resolution warned that if the dam was constructed, the temple could go under water sooner than later, and this would hurt the sentiments of all Hindus.