Daily Lessons from Life 28 - Thailand and Cambodia announce border truce

"Thailand and Cambodia announce border truce - CNA 28 April 2011

SAMRONG, Cambodia : Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday said they had agreed to end fierce fighting on their shared border after seven days of clashes that have left 15 dead.

"After discussions by the military on both sides this morning, there is a ceasefire agreement... border checkpoints will be reopened and villagers will start to return home," said Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.

Earlier on Thursday, Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh told AFP that a deal had been reached for an end to hostilities and for "soldiers to stay where they are".

Both countries have blamed each other for sparking the violence around two contested jungle temples - the bloodiest fighting between the neighbours in decades - which has displaced around 75,000 civilians.

Panitan said the negotiations were "amicable" and troops were confident that the truce could be implemented.

But he added: "The ceasefire agreement is preliminary and we have to wait and see how the situation on the ground develops."

The neighbours had come under increasing international pressure to stop the violence."

What can I say. After 7 days of bloody clashes and probably not many of the combatants really know why they were ordered to shoot and kill each other, there is truce! Thank goodness gracious!

Lessons for me are:

1. man does not treasure peace or they are too foolish to understand what war brings?;

2. is this politically motivated or economic or cultural? this supposedly fighting over a tract of jungle land where 2 ancient temples sit? Surely the deities in both temples do not expect both sides claiming to protect them from harms' way since the Gods can handle themselves well, thank you very much!! Is there this conspiracy theory that the ousted ex-PM of Thailand, Thaksin, instigating and paying for this 'war' using his billions stashed overseas as he fled the country when he was, rightly or wrongly, chased out from his country? God forbids that it was his money that started this mindlessness!;

3. are the oil underneath the land where the 2 temples sit? is this almost grabbing valuable and scarce resources? I do not know. What I do know is people who used to be good neighbours are going to be enemies even if they are not the direct combatants. Will trust return among them? I do not know. Suffice to say if it does, it will take a longer time and bigger effort by both sides to reach out and nail it!

Mindless battles coming to a truce. Good on the truce makers or brokers. May this truce last and that the healing and soul searching begin so that lasting peace can exists. It will take a lot of courage to ask the question of: what was this all about? why do the 15 or whatever numbers of people that were killed - military or otherwise - happened?

May the answer be more substantive instead of: 'oh, someone paid someone else to engage in "war"!'