Border: Unity opportunity that cannot be missed

Pen Bona
Radio France Internationale
 

Unfortunately, when it comes to the eastern border, this issue turned into a tragic fight among the Cambodians. It is regrettable to see that Cambodian politicians are not willing to sit with each other to reach unity on this national problem. Quite to the contrary, they ended tearing each other apart in front of their neighbors who are focused on invading Cambodian territories. Is it impossible for Cambodian politicians to reach a unity consensus?

   

(Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is currently being sued under two new charges involving the border with Vietnam. The new lawsuit that the government lawyer had just sent to the Phnom Penh municipal court on Friday is more severe than the first one in which Sam Rainsy was sentenced to 2-year of jail time. Will the border problem leads to disunity and unending hatred among the Cambodians?

The two-year jail sentence for uprooting border stakes in Svay Rieng province was not the end of Sam Rainsy’s case. It was in fact the start to additional charges brought against Sam Rainsy. The continuing saga of this case leads to a more severe and unsolvable problem. The two new accusations raised by the government lawyer and sent to the Phnom Penh municipal court on Friday are: (1) publication of false information, and (2) the falsification of public documents. They are much more severe charges that could lead to up to 15-year of jail sentence.

The two new charges were raised after opposition leader Sam Rainsy published maps to prove that the border stakes which he uprooted in Samrong commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province, at the end of October 2009, were truly inside Cambodian territories. However, the government called these documents “fake”, and it went on to accuse Sam Rainsy of defaming the government.

The government explained that Sam Rainsy used wrong technique which led to wrong representation of geographical coordinates indicated on the maps. For the government, this action was done with bad intention from the opposition leader to accuse the government of losing land. However, in listening to Sam Rainsy, the map documents he published were correct because the work was performed with cooperation from both Cambodian and foreign experts. Therefore, these maps should not carry any technical mistake.

Nevertheless, the lawsuit against Sam Rainsy was already sent to the court, and from now on, only confrontations between technical experts from both sides could clearly reveal the truth about this case and also both sides must defend themselves in court.

However, besides the technical and legal aspect of the case, strategy mistake should also be noted because border problems could be the catalyst that lead to disunity among Cambodian politicians, as well as their unending hatred from one generation to another. Based on our past history, the border problem should be an issue that unites all Cambodians, irrespective of their political allegiance, because this is a national affair that requires unity.

For example, problems along the western border seems to bring national unity that cannot be missed, i.e. the government leaders have shown their determination to defend Cambodia’s territorial integrity against neighboring aggression, and the opposition, as well as the population, are all supporting this action. This is a national unity with which Cambodians can be proud of.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the eastern border, this issue turned into a tragic fight among the Cambodians. It is regrettable to see that Cambodian politicians are not willing to sit with each other to reach unity on this national problem. Quite to the contrary, they ended tearing each other apart in front of their neighbors who are focused on invading Cambodian territories. Is it impossible for Cambodian politicians to reach a unity consensus?

From darkness into light

Jonathon Braden
Columbia Daily Tribune (Missouri, USA)

Toward the end of “Enemies of the People,” the documentary screeches to a halt when the rich soundtrack recedes, the color drains from the frames and stark black-and-white images of rotting bodies and skeletons flash across the screen.

During yesterday’s midday showing of the film at the True/False Film Fest’s Missouri Theatre venue, the crowd of more than 900 fell silent as the images from the killing fields of Cambodia screamed out on the big screen.

The loss of his family in the Khmer Rouge regime’s killing fields was what led co-director Thet Sambath on the journey that culminated in “Enemies.” He began the project more than a decade ago with the goal of finding out the truth about the Khmer Rouge’s killing of an estimated 2 million Cambodians — his father and brother included.

Sambath’s co-director Rob Lemkin said he and Sambath chose to display the graphic images toward the end to really drive home the scale of the atrocities.

“This is what these people actually did,” Lemkin told the audience after the film when True/False co-founder David Wilson asked about the sequence.

Sambath, a Cambodian newspaper journalist, had been videotaping interviews with former Khmer Rouge deputies involved in killings and with Nuon Chea, who was Pol Pot’s deputy during the reign of terror, when he met Lemkin in 2006.

Lemkin went to Cambodia to document the trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders, including Chea, and the two struck a deal to complete “Enemies” together.

The film was this year’s True Life Fund selection at the seventh annual True/False Film Fest.

The honor has been given the past four years to “demonstrate that documentaries create change.” A monetary award is given to help compensate the filmmakers.

Johanna Oldham, the True Life Fund coordinator, estimated that $4,000 to $5,000 had been raised. The Crossing church in Columbia sponsors the fund.

“He spent so much of his own personal time and money and effort,” Oldham said of Sambath, who through his interviews got Chea to admit culpability on film.

Sambath also sacrificed time with his young family, and that storyline also played a prominent role in the film.

Most of the picture, however, documents Sambath’s efforts to reach former murderers and get them to explain how and why they killed their countrymen.

Sambath also talked to villagers who live near the killing fields, where plants and trees now grow. One woman in the film said she bathed in the nearby water.

“I know there are bodies in there,” she said, “that’s why I don’t dare to drink.”

When the film ended, the crowd rose to give a standing ovation to Lemkin and Sambath.

“I just think it was really important for people to see that,” 49-year-old Columbia resident Monica McMurry said as tears slid down her face.

Tribunal Judges Admonish Ieng Sary’s Laywers

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

Investigating judges for the Khmer Rogue tribunal on Thursday issued a stern warning to the defense team of Ieng Sary against breaking the filing rules of the UN-backed court.

Ieng Sary, the former foreign affairs minister of the regime, is facing an upcoming atrocity crimes trial, along with four other Khmer Rouge leaders currently in court detention.

Jugdes Marcel Lemonde and You Bunleng wrote in their official warning that Ieng Sary’s lawyers had broken the rules by filing “duplicitous” motions on issues already addressed by the court. They further warned the defense lawyers not to conduct “their own investigations” and ordered them to “comply” with tribunal rules.

Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said the sanction was a warning to the legal team. If the lawyers further violate practices on filings, they could be prevented from appearing before the court and be reported to the Cambodian Bar Association.

Ang Udom, a lawyer for Ieng Sary, called the sanction a “constraint to our freedom,” but said he was not concerned by it.

The sanction came three days after the defense team filed a complaint that claimed their client had been intimidated during the investigation into his alleged atrocity crimes.

Also on Thursday, the investigating judges sought to remind civil party applicants they can file “complementary information” through April 29. The announcement follows dissatisfaction among some victims who worried they would be left out of the tribunal process.

Meanwhile, international donors in New York on Tuesday approved a budget for the next two years of the tribunal, allocating $42 million for 2010 and $43 million for 2011, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

Cambodia Not Ready for Munitions Pact: Official

Men Kimseng, 
VOA Khmer Washington

Cambodiais not ready to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, due to stockpiles it is currently holding, a senior government official said Thursday.

Cambodia is still assessing the cost and means associated with finding a replacement to its current munitions, Prak Sokhon, vice president of the Cambodia Mine Action Authority, said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

We need more time to study the number of cluster munitions we have and if we need to replace them in order for us to sign the convention,” he said.

The government also needs to know “how much money and time we need to replace the munitions with the ones that are not banned,” he said. “Once we have these, we can then sign it.”

The UN took the opportunity on National Mine Awareness Day on Wednesday to renew an appeal for Cambodiato renew its commitment to the eliminating cluster munitions.

“We urge Cambodiato sign and ratify as soon as possible the Convention on Cluster Munitions to demonstrate its commitment to a peaceful and secure world,” the UN said in a statement.

Cambodiais peppered with landmines, remnants of decades of civil strife, though the number of mine- and ordnance-related fatalities has dropped over the past four years, falling from 450 in 2006 to 243 in 2009.

The decrease was due to better demining operations, law enforcement and coordination in identifying mined areas, Prak Sokhon said.

Sihanouk's advisor rebuked the fake Ruom Ritt

By Khmerization
Source: RFI

Ruom Ritt, the childhood friend of ex-king Sihanouk, has re-entered the political fray against after absence from the political limelight for the past 5 years, reports Radio France Internationale.

Ruom Ritt, whom many people believed was Sihanouk himself, has published many critical and controversial articles about Cambodian political affairs in Sihanouk's monthly BMD bulletin and has disappeared from public controversy since 2005 after Prime Minister Hun Sen bitterly attacked him and challenged him to show his face in public. However, 2 weeks ago Ruom Ritt gave an interview to an online radio called World Khmer Radio in which he came out strongly in support of Mr. Sam Rainsy's border policies. However, the U.S-based Khmer-language Angkor Borei Newspaper claimed that voice in the radio was a fake Ruom Ritt and it was actually the voice of Mr. Ngin Chhorn.

Prime Minister Hun Sen again bitterly attacked the fake Ruom Ritt and Prince Sisowath Thomico (pictured), Sihanouk's royal advisor, quickly informed the ex-king about the appearance of the fake Ruom Ritt. Ex-king Sihanouk immediately released a short statement vehemently denying that the voice on the radio was a real Ruom Ritt.

Prince Thomico was quick to set the record straight and came out to clarify the issue in an interview with Radio France Internationale. Prince Thomico said the real Ruom Ritt never gave an interview, he only write. He never have contacts with anyone, except his childhood friend, ex-kingSihanouk.

On the question of why the real Ruom Ritt didn't come out to personally denounce the fake Ruom Ritt, Prince Thomico said that Ruom Ritt is too frail and bedridden and he has no modern technology (internet) to listen to the interview, therefore it is possible that he didn't know about the latest controversy.

On the topic of members of the royal family entering politics, Prince Thomico abandoned his original belief that members of the royal family should be allowed to enter politics like any ordinary citizens. This time he said members of the royal family should not involve in politics in order to preserve the dignity and honour of the throne.

6,000 Cambodians apply to work in South Korea

By Khmerization
Source: RFA

About 6,000 Cambodians from all provinces in the kingdom have come to Phnom Penh to sit for the test to work in South Korea, reports Radio Free Asia.

The examination session was held on 26th February at the National Institute of Polytechnics in which all the test papers are written in Korean. The test is free but the application lodgement will cost $17.

Miss Peung Sinath, from Siem Reap, said she is very hopeful that shell pass the test and the selection criteria because she said she can speak Korean and English quite well.

Prof. Bun Phearin, supervisor of the exmination at the National Institute of Plytechnics, said among the 6,000 candidates, only 700 will be selected to work in South Korea.

Many Cambodians have sought works overseas due to limited opportunities at home. Many have gone to work in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East andSouth Korea.

SRP not alarmed about new charges against its president

By Khmerization
Source: RFA


 The opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) said it is not surprised, not alarmed and not concerned about new charges being laid against its party president for faking public documents and disinformation, reports Radio France Internationale.

Mr. Sam Rainsy (pictured), president of the SRP, was convicted and sentenced in absentia to 2 years jail for "sabotage and destruction of public property" and "racial incitement" when he uprooted 6 wooden border stakes on 25th October 2009. After his sentence, he released a series of maps and documents showing Vietnam's encroachments on Cambodian territories. The Cambodian government said all his documents are fake designed to mislead and confuse the people regarding Cambodia's borders with Vietnam.

The new charges against Mr. Sam Rainsy, filed under article 49 of the UNTAC's Criminal Code on Friday 26th February, carry between 5 to 15 years imprisonment if found guilty. An SRP official said he is notconcerned. "We have nothing to be alarmed of", he said.

In recent months, many journalists, members of the civil society, government critics and opposition politicians have been sued by the government, forced into exile or jailed.

Hun Sen strongly rebuked a Cambodian military and Thai-owned TV

By Khmerization
Sources: RFA and Kampuchea Thmey

Prime Minister Hun Sen has gone into a tirade against TV5, co-owned by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and a Thai company, accusing it of failing to fulfill its duty of serving the army, report Radio Free Asia and Kampuchea Thmey Newspaper.

TV5, co-owned by a private Thai company and the Cambodian Defence Ministry, was given a license to broadcast programs related to the Cambodian defence and army, but recently it mostly broadcast music and entertainment.

In a speech during his visit to Cambodian troops in Battambang province on Saturday 27th February, Mr. Hun Sen ordered TV5 to stop using and displaying the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) name and its logo on the TV screen immediately. "Please take off the logo of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. It is not necessary, just use the name TV5 only because it uses the RCAF's name but it didn't broadcast much about the army's works, so it should be taken off. I only allow Haeng (derogatry term for 'you') to use the name of TV5 only but (you) must delete the RCAF's name from the station. All the pictorials ofthe army will not be allowed to be shown any longer", Hun Sen said.

According to Kampuchea Thmey, Prime Minister Hun Sen was so enraged that TV5 fails to broadcast his speech and activities during his visit to Preah Vihear and Ta Moan Thom temples early this month. In the Bambambang speech, Mr. Hun Sen directly blamed and blasted Gen. Neang Phat, Secretary of State of Defence Ministry and director of TV5, for failing to run TV5 in accordance with its originally aims of servingthe army. "Is it because Neang Phat wear too heavy military insignia that he forget to supervise this issue properly? I donned him with a lot of stars, but those stars are useless, they cannot perform their duty, so please sell all your share to Anh (derogatry term for 'me'). I will buy all the share because the TV is not reformed. It onlybroadcast my speech in the last few days, but before it never boradcast (my speech) at all, even if we went to visit the army, Vear (derogatory term for 'they') never broadcast my speech about the army, Vear never broadcast it at all, Ah Neung (derogatry term for 'that one'). So, I say that please don't use (the military logo) and when we return back (to Phnom Penh) His Excellency Tea Banh must examine this issue", Hun Sen declared.

Gen. Neang Phat, director of TV5, cannot be reached for comment. Defence Minister Tea Banh said the Defence Ministry will carry out Mr. Hun Sen's order.

Mrs. Chea Vannath, an independent analyst, said that a prime minister cannot order a TV station what to do. "No politicians or leaders can order any TV station what name they can or cannot use. If they write a letter in their capacity as private citizens, it is OK", she said.

Pailin road builders complain of pay delay

May Titthara

Phnom Penh Post

NEARLY 100 construction workers involved in the building of National Road 57 in Pailin province have filed a complaint against the contractor, who they say has not paid money that is owed them in outstanding wages, a representative of the workers said Thursday.

 

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Exports to South Korea soar as rubber begins to take off

May Kunmakara

Phnom Penh Post

CAMBODIAN exports to South Korea surged 391 percent in January compared with the same month last year to US$4.33 million amid an overall rise in bilateral trade between the two countries, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) figures showed Thursday.

Total trade was up 77 percent to $27.715 million. Imports from South Korea climbed 58.2 percent to $23.39 million as economic activity rebounded from the very low base at the start of 2009, when the economic crisis was at its height in the Kingdom. Last January, trade between the two countries declined 20 percent.

 

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New alliance to address climate issues

Khouth Sophakchakrya 
Phnom Penh Post

CAMBODIAN authorities and international development groups have launched a new initiative aimed at addressing climate change in the Kingdom, officials said Thursday.

The Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA) is a partnership between the government and international donors, who have kicked in US$8.9 million in funding to support the effort.

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Ministers differ on Internet controls

Brooke Lewis and Sam Rith 

Phnom Penh Post

SENIOR ministers on Thursday were in apparent disagreement over the extent to which the state-owned company Telecom Cambodia would be able to block access to individual Web sites if it were granted control of the country’s Internet exchange – a move both company and government officials are reportedly looking to implement as soon as possible.

 

Photo by: Rick Valenzuela Suong Senghuot, a line supervisor for the Internet service provider WiCam, checks for data service on the corner of Monireth and Sihanouk boulevards.

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Moving plan alarms city officials

May Titthara 

Phnom Penh Post

OFFICIALS in three municipal departments are up in arms about a decision to relocate their offices to the capital’s outskirts, a move rights groups have alleged is a clear attempt by the government to profit from the sale of land close to the city centre.

The Council of Ministers issued a directive earlier this month stating that three departments – the Department of Economy and Finance, the Department of Culture and Fine Arts and the Department of Information – would be moved from their current location near the Council of Ministers building on Russian Federation Boulevard to Dangkor district.

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PM to visit troops near Thailand

Vong Sokheng 

Phnom Penh Post

PRIME Minister Hun Sen announced Wednesday that he will visit troops near the Thai border in Battambang province this week, and he denied that the trip was linked to an impending verdict in Thailand on the seizure of fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s assets.

Photo by: Heng Chivaon Prime Minister Hun Sen addresses graduates of the Royal University of Phnom Penh during a speech on Wednesday in which he discussed his upcoming visit to Battambang province.

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Cambodian PM accuses opposition chief of treachery

Associated Press
24th February, 2010

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen accused opposition leader Sam Rainsy of treachery Wednesday for disputing the government's position on a border dispute with Vietnam.

Hun Sen said while speaking to students Wednesday in Phnom Penh that government legal experts were preparing to file a lawsuit against Sam Rainsy for challenging whether the border is incorrectly marked to Cambodia's disadvantage. He did not make clear what the charge might be.

Hun Sen referred only to the opposition leader, not to Sam Rainsy by name. Sam Rainsy is living in exile in Paris and was sentenced in absentia by a Cambodian court last month to two years imprisonment for a political protest in which border markers on the frontier with Vietnam were uprooted.

Hun Sen described Sam Rainsy's actions as treacherous because Cambodia already has a volatile border dispute with Thailand on its northern and western frontiers, so causing trouble with Vietnam could open up a potential second area of confrontation.

He claimed that Sam Rainsy had publicized "false" information purporting to show that border posts had been moved several hundred meters (yards) insideCambodian territory.

The Sam Rainsy Party is the sole opposition party in parliament and Sam Rainsy is a fierce, longtime critic of Hun Sen. His previous tangles with the government have seen him go into self-imposed exile for his safety and to avoid jail.

Hun Sen was installed in government by a Vietnamese invasion that ousted the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. He is sympathetic with Hanoi, while Sam Rainsy bases part of his political appeal on pandering to traditional anti-Vietnamese sentiment common amongCambodian who don't trust their much larger neighbor.

Hun Sen, a shrewd and tough politician, said he would not help Sam Rainsy get a royal pardon for his conviction in the border marker case, in which he was found guilty of destruction of public property and inciting people to commit a criminal act. He pointed out that without serving his sentence or winning a pardon, he would be unable to run for office.

Hun Sen: Sam Rainsy is a traitor

By Khmerization
Source: Radio Free Asia

Prime Minister Hun Sen (pictured) called opposition leader Sam Rainsy 'an unforgivable traitor' who falsified maps about Cambodian-Vietnamese borders, reports Radio Free Asia.

Speaking to students during a graduation ceremony at the Royal University of Phnom Penh on Wednesday 24th February, Mr. Hun sen said Mr. Sam Rainsy is a traitor because he tried to stir up trouble with Vietnam with fake maps at the same time while Cambodia is having border conflicts with Thailand. "I ask all diplomats to look at the maps posted onlines and in the website of this (Sam Rainsy Party) group and compare it with the real maps to see what they really are. So, the government cannot forgive them, not only the leader of the opposition, but whoever dare to come out and do this will face legal action", he declared.

In the last few months, Mr. Sam Rainsy released a series of documents and maps showing encroachments by Vietnam. Mr. Sam Rainsy claimed that the documents and maps, including official maps fo the RoyalGovernment of Cambodia deposited at the Unioted Nations in 1964, have been produced and verified by French experts as authentic documents.

Sam Rainsy is currently living in exile in Paris after he was recently sentenced to 2 years jail term. Mr. Hun Sen said Sam Rainsy will not be pardoned and allowed into the country. "This time I'm very sorry that the court has sentenced him to a jail term but there won't be a pardon. I'm sorry, this time no! There will be apposition parties participating in the next elections, but there will be no this individual (Sam Rainsy), I can say this from now on. (He) must serve his sentence first. If he thinks he is strong please return back to Cambodia and please don't set any conditions that we have release this or that person first. Don't! We know you very well", he said referring to Sam Rainsy.

Mr. Sam Rainsy said after his sentence that he would return to Cambodia if the government released the two farmers. They were sentenced along with Mr. Sam Rainsy and are currrently in jail after they joined him in uprooting 6 wooden border stakes from the Cambodian-Vietnamese borders on 25th October 2009..

Mr. Kimsour Phirith, acting spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, refuted Mr. Hun Sen's accusations that Mr. Sam Rainsy is a traitor. "We ask: 'have Mr. Sam Rainsy cut and given any Cambodian territories to anyone or any countries yet? Has he killed any Cambodian people or committed autogenocide against his own race yet? Committed abuses against his own people yet? And has he destroyed Khmer traditions and culture yet? The answer is none! So he cannot be accused of being atraitor because what he has done did not cause Cambodia to lose any territories, but to protect the farmlands and those farmlands were inherited by farmers from their ancestors", he said.

Mr. Hun Sen also said that new charges will be laid again Mr. Sam Rainsy for falsifying public documents.

Sam Rainsy defends his documents as true and authentic

By Khmerization
Source: RFA

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy defends his documents amid accusations from the government that he falsify the border documents with Vietnam, reports Radio Free Asia.

Mr. Hun Sen went further by calling him a traitor for stirring up tensions with Vietnam at the same when Cambodia is having border conflicts with Thailand after Sam Rainsy released a series of documents and maps showing encroachments by Vietnam.

The documents and maps show that Vietnam had encroached to between 250 to 500 metres in the area in Chantrea district of Svay Rieng province where he had uprooted 6 border stakes in late 2009.The government and Prime Minister Hun Sen accused Mr. Sam Rainsy of falsifying these documents.

However, in a press conference via video links from Paris on Wednesday 24th, Mr, Sam Rainsy defends his documents as correct and authentic. "What the Sam Rainsy Party had shown in the last time, last few weeks and last few months are correct. That's why we request to those who accused that thosedocuments and those figures are not correct to show us what they called as correct. Please show us what they think as correct so that we can compare which particular areas are different and which parts are correct in accordance with scientific basis. In science, there is only one solution, there is no more than on answer", he said.

Sihanouk Ruom Ritt is not Ruom Ritt and Ruom Ritt is Ngin Chhorn

By Khmerization
Source: Kampuchea Thmey and Angkor Borei News
King-Father Sihanouk and Prime Minister Hun Sen came out strongly to denounce the voice of an interviewee on World Khmer Radio as a fake, report Kampuchea Thmey.

From 14-19 February, World Khmer Radio, an online radio based in the United States, broadcast a voice purported to be Ruom Ritt, a childhood friend of ex-king Sihanouk who often caught the ire of PM Hun Sen for his many critical articles against the latter.

During a speech to students at a graduation ceremony on Wednesday at the Royal University of Phnom Penh published in Kampuchea Thmey, PM Hun Sen blasted Ruom Ritt as a fake by threatening to take legal action against the impostor. "The real Ruom Ritt has no voice, but the fake Ruom Ritt has a voice", Mr. Hun Sen said implying that the real Ruom Ritt could be King-Father Sihanouk.

King-Father Sihanouk, in a statement from Beijing, declared that Ruom Ritt that people heard on the radio is a fake because he said the real Ruom Ritt are very old who is bedridden and cannot talk. “Right now, if there is any group or any individual who claimed to be Ruom Ritt, then he is a fake Ruom Ritt”, the statement said.

The Angkor Borei News, the Khmer-language newspaper published in the United States, claimed that the voice people heard on World Khmer Radio, was really the voice of Mr. Ngin Chhorn, a long time ardent supporters of King-Father Sihanouk.

Mr. Ly Diep, editor-in-chief of Angkor Borei News who claimed to know Mr. Ngin Chhorn very well, editorialised on 24th February that he doesn't know why Ngin Chhorn want to become the fictitious Mr. Ruom Ritt. Mr. Ly Diep said that the real Mr. Ruom Ritt is Sihanouk himself.

Migrants abused in Thailand

James O’toole and May Titthara 

Phnom Penh Post

CAMBODIAN citizens and migrant workers from other nations working in Thailand are frequently subject to extortion and abuse, denied basic legal protections by local authorities, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.

Released on Tuesday, the report documents a litany of dangers inherent in the lives of the perhaps 3 million migrant workers in Thailand from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, even those who are working legally.

Photo by: Human Rights Watch

Migrant labourers from Cambodia help load a Thai fishing boat operating in the Gulf of Thailand.
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Families free to remain in protected forest area

May Titthara 

Phnom Penh Post

BATTAMBANG provincial authorities on Tuesday ruled that 68 families in Ek Phnom district could continue farming on land that is part of a protected forest area, one day after they led an inspection of the site, officials said.
The families in Bak Prea village, Prey Chas commune, said they were informed in December that they would be required to leave the 74.5-hectare site where some had lived since 1983.

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Malaysia asks foreign maids to study rights

Irwin Loy and Mom Kunthear 

Phnom Penh Post

FOREIGN maids working in Malaysia will be required to attend training courses to learn about their “rights and responsibilities”, Malaysian media have reported, a development likely to affect thousands of Cambodians preparing to head there in search of jobs, but rights organisations warn that domestic workers are still vulnerable to mistreatment.

Beginning next month, new foreign maids and their employers will attend mandatory courses aimed at “improving working relations”, according to Malaysia’s New Straits Times.

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Police criticised over KKrom

Camron Wells and Tharum Bun 

Phnom Penh Post


MUNICIPAL police officials on Tuesday called the representative of a group of 22 Khmer Krom asylum seekers to police headquarters in order to explain the rationale behind the decision to deny them identification cards, a move that has drawn the ire of civil society groups.

The representative, Thach Soong, attended the meeting along with the owner of the home where most members of the group have been staying since being deported from Thailand in December after a failed asylum bid.

Photo by: Sovan Philong Khmer Krom returnees from Thailand sit in a rental home in Boeung Tumpun commune last week.

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US Launches Program for HIV/AIDS Victims

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh

The US announced on Monday a $13.4 million program to reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS in Cambodia.  
More than 700 people gathered for the launch of the program, at a Takeo province pagoda that acts as an orphanage and help center for victims of the disease.  
The five-year US program will “offer care to people affected by HIV/AIDS, including people living with the disease and orphans, while also seeking to prevent new infections among groups at high risk of acquiring the disease,” the US Embassy said in a statement.  
The program will be run by the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance, or Khana, which offers training to 60 local organizations and supports more than half the nation’s community-based HIV care teams.  
Chhoup Sok Chamrouen, director of technical support for Khana, said the project would provide education to communities, support to orphans and prevention measures in at-risk areas.  
“By working with leaders like the monks at Wat Opot, our implementing partner [Khana] is making an enormous contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS in communities throughout the country,” US Ambassador Carol Rodley said at the launch of the program. “The United States looks forward to continuing our support for community initiatives like these.” 
The US has provided Cambodia $18.5 million in 2010 for the prevention of HIV among those most at risk and for care and treatment of those infected with the disease, the embassy said.

Car sales start to grow after a dismal early '09

May Kun Makara

Phnom Penh Post

FOUR leading car dealers in Phnom Penh said Monday they have seen business pick up again after the global economic crisis led to a dismal 2009, with one firm exploring new credit options for buyers in an attempt to increase sales.

Kong Nuon, president of Toyota distributor TTHK Co, said sales had picked up compared to the same period last year, citing improvements in the agriculture and tourism sectors.

 

Photo by: SOVAN PHILONG A mechanic looks under the bonnet of a 1997 Toyota Camry Monday at a car dealership in Tuol Kork district, Phnom Penh. Car dealers say that some buyers have started to purchase new vehicles this year instead of second-hand cars, a sign the industry is beginning to rebound.

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Starlet victim of acid attack to seek treatment in South Korea

Mom Kunthear

Phnom Penh Post

A TELEVISION talent show star who was the victim of an acid attack late last year will be flown to Korea in another attempt to treat her wounds, the girl’s mother said Monday.

Hang Srey Leak was doused with half a litre of acid in December while she was leaving a Daun Penh district beauty salon. She was sent to Vietnam for treatment after the assault, but her mother said Monday that the wounds still have not healed.

 

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

At their home on Monday, Soam Sichoun, 52, shows the wounds that her daughter, Hang Srey Leak, 16, sustained in an acid attack last year.
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Adhoc targets smuggling in Ratanakkiri

Tep Nimol

Phnom Penh Post

THE Ratanakkiri provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc has filed a complaint against the head of a suspected illegal timber-smuggling business, who stands accused of attempting to take more than 200 pieces of luxury wood out of the country and threatening to kill anyone who got in his way.

Pen Bonnar said that 230 pieces of luxury wood, each measuring 2.5 metres in length, were discovered Wednesday in the forest by residents of Pong commune, Veun Sai district, who promptly reported them to Adhoc and local officials.

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Rainsy to face fresh charge in border row

Meas Sokchea

Phnom Penh Post

THE government has again gone on the offensive against opposition leader Sam Rainsy, saying he will soon face charges of falsifying public documents in order to support allegations of Vietnamese territorial encroachments.

Var Kimhong, Cambodia’s chief border negotiator, said at a press conference on Monday that the government had lost patience with the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) president and his “exaggerations” about the situation on the Vietnamese border.

Photo by: Pha Lina

Chief border negotiator Var Kimhong points to a document about frontier markers as he stands in front of a projected map of the border with Vietnam at a press conference Monday.Readmore

Cambodians oppressed, distracted, divided

By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
Guam's Pacific Daily News
February 24, 2010 

Cambodians' public discussions of Cambodia's past, present and future churn through cyberspace. A discussion that targets domestic political developments, particularly the perennial tensions between those who advocate civil rights and freedoms and those who support stability and economic development, foments passionate debate.

When the debate turns to Cambodia's external problems with her neighbors to the east and west -- Vietnam and Thailand, both viewed historically as "swallowers ofKhmer land" -- the conversation has fallen to the depths of racial slurs and intensified hatred.

Premier Hun Sen's supporters and critics are deaf to each other's arguments. Persuasion and compromise are foreign concepts. Those who comment do so anonymously to more easily demonize the opposition.

Hun Sen has successfully used governmental administrative machinery to keep Cambodians intimidated and ignorant of their civil rights and the principles of good governance. He dangled showy projects and physical improvements to infrastructure, while many scavenge the city's dumps and live on rodent meat.

Of late, Sen has succeeded, with Cambodians' complicity, to divert attention from his peoples' domestic plight to focus on the Thais, whose leader Sen has cursed publicly almost every day. His call to protect Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple from the Thais brings many Cambodians to his side, though they are mute over Vietnamese expansionism from the east.

There is endless and mindless debate over the use of the term "Yuon," because some non-Khmers say it's "racial pejorative." Yet, the authoritative Buddhist Institute's "Dictionnaire Cambodgien," 5th edition, 1967, defines "Yuon" as "Vietnamese," pure and simple. Sen's supporters love the debate: it divides and distracts critics.

I have written on the history of Vietnam's southward movement since the Vietnamese ended their thousand-year bondage to China in 939. They physically moved away from Chinese threat while seizing and absorbing territories before them. Johns Hopkins retired professor Naranhkiri Tith's Web site deals at length with the fundamentals of Vietnam's "Nam Tien" (southward movement) and his proposed roadmap to save Cambodia from it.

Government to sue Sam Rainsy for falsifying border documents

By Khmerization
Source: RFA

A senior minister in charge of border affairs has hinted that the government may lay new charges against opposition leader Sam Rainsy for falsifying documents on borders with Vietnam, reports Radio Free Asia.

Mr. Var Kimhong (pictured), Minister of Border Affairs, said in a press conference on Monday that the government has lost patience with Mr. Sam Rainsy who continues to attack the government on border issues with Vietnam. "This is a serious accusation against the government. He (Mr. Sam Rainsy) still insist that what he had publicised was still the truth. We said it is not true. We have told our friends to tell His Excellency Sam Rainsy, but he (Rainsy) is still recalcitrant and still continue to accusethe government again and again, so we have no other option but to take legal action against him", he said.

In the last few months Mr. Sam Rainsy had published and released a series of documents showing border encroachments by Vietnam resulting from border demarcation works. He was sentenced to 2 years jail term and fined 8 million riels ($2000) for his role in the uprooting of 6 temporary wooden border stakes on 25th October 2009.

Mrs. Ke Sovannaroth, Secretary General of the Sam Rainsy Party, said what her president and party did was for the cause of defending Cambodian territorial integrity. "If the government still think that the information presented by the opposition in order to protect Cambodia and its people is wrong then I don't know where we are leading the country to, because even our own lands we dare not to defend it. If so, we must re-plant the border markers (removed by the Vietnamese authority) and create a border commission to re-plant those border markers again", she said.

In a report by Khmer Express News, Mr. Rainsy was quoted as saying that the government's attacks on him will keep the border issues alive. "It is good if they (the government) keep talking more about this issue because the documents I presented are true documents that can be verified by international institutions and experts as true", he said via a telephone from France.

Mr. Kimsour Phirith, acting spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, suggested that the government and the opposition should take this matter to a truly independent court to clear the issue once and for all.

VIDEO PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SAM RAINSY WEDNESDAY 24th February

SRP Cabinet

Members of the national and international press and any interested observers are invited to attend a video press conference with Sam Rainsy at the SRP Phnom Penh Headquarters on Wednesday, February 24, 2010, at 02:00 pm.

The conference will address border issues from a constitutional, political and technical point of view.

Cambodian authority commences renovating Preah Vihear temple

By Khmerization
Source: RFA

The Preah Vihear National Authority has commenced its renovation and repair works of the Preah Vihear temple, reports Radio Free Asia.

Mr. Suos Yara, Undersecretary of the Council of Ministers in charge of Preah Vihear developments, said the renovation and repair works have been carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the technical experts. "We look at [the temple] in accordance with the reccomendations of the technical experts. We look at which parts are our priority and which parts are vulnerable to collapse and we will repair them first. We cannot say how big is the project, it all depends on the budget we recived. We will repair the areas of priority first like if the stairs are all in dereliction and out of use we will repair them first", he said.

Government officials refused to reveal the annual budget earmarked for the renovation and repair works of Preah Vihear temple.

A police officer based at Preah Vihear said the renovation and repair works have commenced, starting with the temple's columns. "The authority started to straighten up the tilted columns because they are afraid that they will collapse one day. They are starting therenovation and repair works now like they try to dry the pond to clean the dirts", he said.

Mr. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said in 2010 Cambodia will design a masterplan for the developments of the Preah Vihear temple and send it to Unesco before the end of the year.

Cambodia advises its citizens against travelling to Bangkok

By Khmerization
Source: RFI

Cambodian Foreign Ministry has on 22nd February advised its citizens not to make an unnecessary trip to Bangkok amid fear that violence may erupt after the court verdict against ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra is announced on 26th, reports Radio France Internationale.

Mr. Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said the travel advisory was issued because the government is concerned about the violence and political developments in Bangkok before or after the court verdict. He said the government also fears there might be a coup d'etat after the verdict.

The travel advisory said all Cambodian citizens without necessary business should under no circumstances travel to Bangkok during this period.

SRP submits an anti-corruption private member's bill to parliament

By Khmerization
Source: RFI

Mr. Son Chhay (pictured), an MP from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), has submitted his anti-corruption private member's bill to parliament for consideration after the government-drafted anti-corruption bill has been delayed for 14 years, reports Radio France Internationale.

Mr. Son Chhay's private member's bill, called the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Corruption, which contains 19 pages, 7 chapters and 41 articles, was submitted toparliament on the 22nd of February.

Mr. Son Chhay said he decided to submit his own private member's bill becuase the government took too long to approve the long-awaited bill and because corruption is notably on the rise since it was firstly drafted in 1996.

Mr. Cheam Yeap, a senior MP from the ruling Cambodian People's Party, said Mr. Son Chhay's bill had reached the parliament, but said that it has no chance of approval because the bill was written by using laws and ideas from developed countries which does not suit the Cambodian situations.

The government-drafted bill was approved by the Council of Ministers on 11 December 2009 and is scheduled to be submitted to parliament for approval in April 2010. This bill imposes a 1 month to 15 years jail term for corruption and requires all office-holders to declare their assets before taking office. However, the details of the bill remain a secret and opposition politicians as well as members of the civil society have called for an open and transparent debates of this secretly-kept controversial bill and for its details to be publicly revealed before approval.

Jarai gatherings under scrutiny

By May Titthara

Phnom Penh Post

UTHORITIES in Ratanakkiri province’s Lumphat district disrupted a monthly ethnic Jarai community meeting on Saturday to inform its participants that future meetings would be forbidden without written permission from the provincial governor, community representatives said on Sunday.

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Inflation stagnant, but fuel costs raise pressure

By May Kunmakara

Phnom Penh Post

PRICES for consumer goods remained stagnant last month compared to December, but climbed 6.9 percent on January 2009 as a result of rising fuel prices.

Figures from the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) showed that food prices continued to slide month on month – by 0.2 percent in January.

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Photo by: SOVAN PHILONG Forecourt attendants wait for customers on January 28 at a petrol station on Monivong Boulevard in Phnom Penh. Fuel prices have slowly risen in the past year, contributing significantly to year-on-year inflation of 6.9 percent last month.

Three Thais injured in multiple mine blasts

Khouth Sophakchakrya

Phnom Penh Post

LAND mine blasts have injured three Thai nationals accused of illegal logging along the disputed border area in Preah Vihear province, authorities said Sunday.

The explosions occurred last Wednesday when the three men stepped on separate land mines, said Ministry of Defence spokesman Chhum Socheat.

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Khmer Krom ID denied

Cameron Wells and Tharum Bun 

Phnom Penh Post

A GROUP of Khmer Krom asylum seekers who say they are fleeing persecution in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region have been formally denied identification cards by police officials, several representatives said Sunday, casting further doubt over the options that will be available to them when NGO-provided assistance runs out at the end of the month.

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Photo by: Sovan Philong Kim Soun, 50, sweeps outside her one-room apartment, where she and her husband have sheltered Khmer Krom returnees from Thailand awaiting ID papers from the Cambodian government.

Govt to protest Thai court

By: Tep Nimol

Phnom Penh Post

CAMBODIAN officials say they will file a complaint with Thailand’s Surin provincial court after it sentenced six Cambodians to prison terms on Friday for illegal logging.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said Sunday that each of the six was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

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Mr. Ruom Ritt re-enters the political fray

By Khmerization
Source: RFI

Mr. Ruom Ritt, the once fictitious childhood friend of ex-King Sihanouk (pictured), had re-entered the political fray after disappearing from the political controversy for many years, reports Radio France Internationale.

For many, many years, Mr. Ruom Ritt had written many controversial and critical articles in ex-King Sihanouk's monthly BMD bulletin to the chagrin of many Cambodian political leaders. Ex-King Sihanouk was forced to end his relationships with Mr. Ruom Ritt and stop publishing his articles in his BMD bulletin after Ruom Ritt's many critical articles caught the ire of Mr. Hun Sen.

Many political observers, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, think that Ruom Ritt and Sihanouk are the same person due to the similarities of opinions between Mr. Ruom Ritt and Sihanouk. However, Sihanouk had strenuosly denied on numerous occasions that he and the fictitious Mr. Ruom Ritt are the same person.

After disappearing from public attention for many years, Ruom Ritt has re-entered the political fray again after he gave an interview on 17th February to an online World Khmer Radio based in the United States regarding Cambodian border issues. Ruom Ritt's interview on World Khmer Radio had made headlines in the Khmer press, including the Khmer Mchas Srok which published his interview on 20th February.

In the interview, he come out strongly in support of Mr. Sam Rainsy's stance on Cambodia's present border issues.

Ruom Ritt's real identity remains a mystery as no one can confirm whether the person who gave the interview to World Khmer Radio is really the real Mr. Ruom Ritt or just another fictitious person.

Elephant numbers in Cambodia could be more than 175 official counts

By Khmerization
Source: KEN

According to evidences of elephant's drops (poos) found in Cambodia's northeastern forest reserves, there could be more elephants than the official counts of 175 still surviving in the Cambodian wild, reports Khmer Express News.

Mr. Tuy Siriwattana, head of Cambodia's Wildlife Animal Conservation, said conservation officials had recently found between 50 t0 60 elephant drops in the northeastern parts of Cambodia. He said the elephant numbers in Cambodia might be much higher than initially estimated because Cambodia has many protected natural animal sanctuaries. "The 175 elephants found are assumed to have inhabited in the 1/3 of 2 million hectares of the wildlife sanctuaries we have surveyed in the protected forest reserves in the Cardamon Mountains Ranges", he said.

He said these 1/3 of the 2 million hectares surveyed are done in the Koh Kong, Sihanoukville, Kampong Speu, Pursat and Battambang provinces. Mr. Tuy Siriwattana said, however, that the areas most populated by elephants are in Chy Phat, Areng, Veal Ta Phu and Botum Sakor areas.

He said many areas not yet surveyed, but have been populated by lage elephant numbers in the past, are in Prey Long in Kratie province stretching to Tonle Ropov near Laotian borders in Preah Vihear province. The Cambodian elephants are of the Asian stock, he said.

Cambodia Hints at Broader Solution for Border

By Men Kimseng, 
VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
  

In a swing through the border areas earlier this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen raised for the first time the possibility of seeking international intervention to solve a dispute over contested areas, where multiple attempts at bilateral talks have failed. 

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Inmate blinded during jail brawl

By May Titthara

Phnom Penh Post

An inmate has been blinded at Battambang provincial prison after clashing with another prisoner early on Monday morning, according to prison authorities. Korng Saren, the chief of the prison, said the assailant, Hoeung Ham, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence for killing his father, often made problems in the prison. The victim, a convicted robber named Chheut Rath, was sent to hospital following the attack, he said.

Protected land given to Koh Kong villagers

By May Titthara

Phnom Penh Post

THE government has approved a sub-decree reclassifying more than 1,000 hectares of protected land in Koh Kong province as social land concessions, officials said.

The sub-decree, signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 31, has turned more than a 1,000 hectares of Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary in Khemarak Phomin Ville’s Stung Veng commune over to housing and agricultural land for local residents.

Photo by: Sebastian Strangio The 25,897-hectare Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 1993, encompasses some of the world’s last intact mangrove coastal ecosystems.

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Appeal filed for release of Preah Sihanouk men

By May Titthara

Phnom Penh Post

TEN residents of Bei village in Preah Sihanouk province’s Mittapheap district have appealed to the provincial court for the release on bail of three men whom they say have been wrongly accused of robbery, citing health concerns as well as allegations that the men have been tortured.

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Govt targets illegal pharmacies

Chhay Channyda 

Phnom Penh Post

DISTRICT authorities are set to meet with owners of unlicenced pharmacies in Phnom Penh, saying their businesses will face closure if they do not register with the Ministry of Health.

In January the ministry gave municipal and provincial health officials a February deadline to launch a crackdown on unlicenced premises.

Photo by: Rick Valenzuela 
A pharmaceutical salesman discusses products with a pharmacy owner in Daun Penh district on Thursday.


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In the shadow of Vine Mountain

Sebastian Strangio and May Titthara 

Phnom Penh Post

KAMPOT PROVINCE
OFF a dusty track in Trapeang Chranieng village lies a half-finished Buddhist pagoda, its unpainted walls still exposed to the mid-afternoon sun. Locals say the new building – as well as a nearby shrine, built in 2007 – is dedicated to the spirits of those killed in the village while it was under the control of Khmer Rouge forces in the 1990s.

Now a small hamlet of thatch houses and rustling palm leaves, there is little to hint at Trapeang Chranieng’s tumultuous past. As a Khmer Rouge camp – part of the armed group’s Phnom Voar (‘Vine Mountain’) stronghold – the village was the last home of David Wilson, Mark Slater and Jean-Michel Braquet, three tourists kidnapped when Khmer Rouge troops ambushed a Sihanoukville-bound train on July 26, 1994, killing 13 Cambodians.

 

Photo by: Sebastian Strangio  A villager points out the grove in Kampot province where tourists David Wilson, Mark Slater and Jean-Michel Braquet were held during their six weeks in Khmer Rouge captivity.

Redamore

Govt targets illegal pharmacies

Chhay Channyda

Phnom Penh Post

DISTRICT authorities are set to meet with owners of unlicenced pharmacies in Phnom Penh, saying their businesses will face closure if they do not register with the Ministry of Health.

In January the ministry gave municipal and provincial health officials a February deadline to launch a crackdown on unlicenced premises.

According to Sok Sokun, director of the Phnom Penh Health Department, Governor Kep Chuktema on Thursday authorised local officials to meet the owners of illegal dispensaries to demand that they apply for legitimate licences or face closure.

The date and time of the meeting is yet to be determined, officials said.

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Hospital official a dictator: staff

Rann Reuy 

Phnom Penh Post

SIEM REAP PROVINCE
STAFF members at Siem Reap’s Angkor Chum district hospital gathered on Thursday to protest against operational district director Mak Sam Oeun, accusing him of running the district’s health sector like a “dictator”.

Forty-five of Angkor Chum district hospital’s 120 staff gathered at the facility to denounce Mak Sam Oeun, whom they accused of treating them cruelly and preventing them from providing private health services outside district facilities to supplement their incomes.

Prom Chreuk, the Angkor Chum district health operations officer in charge of administration, said he had been subject to unfair treatment despite having worked in the district for 16 years.

“Since [Mak Sam Oeun] became direcor of the operational district, he began putting pressure on all staff,” Prom Chreuk said. “I just want higher officials to replace this operational district director because he is autocratic and cruel.”

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Cambodia Angkor Air purchases first aircraft

May Kunmakara

Phnom Penh Post

NEW national carrier Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA) has bought its first aircraft, which is now flying from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, aviation officials said Thursday.

CAA purchased the new ATR-72 aircraft, manufactured by a French-Italian company, and obtained its Air Operating Certificate (AOC) from the government’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SCAA) last week.

“We brought a brand-new ATR-72 to get it registered for an AOC on February 12. It is currently being operated on the Phnom Penh-to-Siem Reap route,” said Soy Sokhan, under-secretary at the Secretariat of Civil Aviation, who oversees CAA matters.

CAA was launched in late July last year. It is a joint venture between the government – which owns 51 percent of the business – and Vietnam Airlines. It forms part of a 30-year agreement that drew an initial investment of $100 million.

Since its launch, it has hired two ATR-72 and an Airbus A-320 from its joint-venture partner. CAA runs five flights between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, three flights daily between Siem Reap and Saigon, and two flights from Phnom Penh to Saigon per day.

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Draft Acid Law starts to take shape

Mom Kunthear and Irwin Loy 

Phnom Penh Post

A GOVERNMENT committee plans to finalise a draft law aimed at countering acid attacks shortly after Khmer New Year, officials said Thursday, meaning it has roughly eight weeks to flesh out regulations that rights groups hope will cut down on an apparent surge in the violent assaults.

The 11-member Ministry of Interior task force met Thursday to discuss an initial draft of the law, said Ouk Kimlek, undersecretary of state at the ministry and the committee’s deputy director.    

The members will consider the proposed legislation before meeting again next month, he said.

 

Photo by: Heng Chivoan Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth speaks at Municipal Police headquarters on Wednesday at a conference about a proposed law on acid sales and acid attacks.

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