BANGKOK, April 22 – Almost two-thirds of the Thai people expressed confidence and satisfaction with the performance of the Thai legal team which defended the Thai position in the Phra Viharn (Preah Vihear) dispute in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week, according to an academic survey.
The ABAC Poll, conducted by Assumption University’s research centre on the Thai-Cambodian court case interviewed 2,165 Thais aged above 18 in Bangkok and 16 provinces April 15-30.
Ninety-seven per cent of the respondents said they were aware of the oral hearings at the World Court in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The survey found that 61.3 per cent or almost two-thirds of respondents, expressed their confidence in the Thai legal team while 33.1 per cent said they felt indifferent and 5.6 per cent said they lacked confidence in the lawyers.
Sixty-five per cent of the respondents were pleased with the performance of the Thai diplomat who headed the Thai legal team and a lesser proportion, only 42.6 per cent, expressed their satisfaction with the performance of the politicians.
Eighty per cent said they would be disappointed if Thailand loses in the case while half blamed politicians for squabbling over Thailand’s defence in the case.
