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As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the possibility of Cambodia being in violation of Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, possibly. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Thai Enquirer over on X, so we'll go ahead and throw that up it's @thaienquirer on X, quoting directly under the title: Thailand Says Cambodia's Restrictions on Civilian Movement Violate International Law. Quote: "Thailand said Cambodia's decision to shut Thai-Cambodian border crossings violates International humanitarian and human rights law, stressing that civilians are not parties to the conflict and must not be prevented from returning home." Yeah, this is one of those situations, what is it the Thai saying - "When the elephants fight, the mice get trampled." These civilians in this situation are not supposed to be affected negatively or otherwise by what's going on between these two countries but here we are. That said, quoting further: "In a statement issued on December 13, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nikorndej Balangkura said any restrictions on civilian movement must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, and non-discriminatory, citing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Fourth Geneva Convention. He said Thailand had already facilitated the departure of Cambodian Nationals from its territory, but Cambodian authorities have refused to reopen border checkpoints to allow Thai Nationals currently in Cambodia to travel home." 

Yeah, I have read a lot about this. There are a number of Thais that were just sort of working and living on the other side of the border that  basically all got together - they're waiting at the border facility - to be just allowed to just cross back into Thailand, and thus far, to the best of my knowledge as of the time of this video, they haven't been allowed to do that. We go into this in some detail in our deep dive analysis in our long-form content. If you're interested in the long-form content you can email us and get on our email list for the long-form content from our paid news service, Integrity News Service. Please feel free to email us, [email protected], we will get you on the mailing list for that. Also while I'm talking my book, my better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. It's called Pancake Palace. As the name implies, it is breakfast anytime, although it is not exclusively breakfast. We have American Diner style food including but not limited to hamburgers, cheeseburgers, we even have American style Sloppy Joe's, chilli bowls; we've got buffalo wings, we've also got Coke in glass bottles, grilled cheese sandwiches and of course pancakes, eggs, bacon; all the things you think about when you think of American breakfasts. If you're interested, links are in the description below, come on by, we would love to see you. 

That said, quoting further: "Thailand also underscored obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, including the requirement to guarantee unhindered consular access and protection." Again, these people are basically, for lack of a better term, pilgrims in sort of an unfriendly land - I don't think it's unfair to say that - and they are kind of trapped. And what basically Thai Authorities are saying is look either let them go, which is what you should do, or again, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), or at the very least if you're going to keep them there let Consular Officers and things have access to them to make sure that they're not being mistreated.

Again, all of that seems pretty straightforward, pretty commonsensical stuff to me. I think most outsiders around the world would agree with that. I'm not sure how many people fully understand the fact that there is a group apparently as of the time of this video, there's still a group of Thai nationals who are just being basically sort of detained in Cambodia apropos of nothing, and you have to wonder why, and if there are further political motives? But again it's indicative of acting in bad faith, to say the least. That said, it remains to be seen how this is going to play out, so we will certainly be keeping you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.