Norodom Marie Ranariddh, suing Norodom Ranariddh for adultery

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's Princess Norodom Marie Ranariddh had filed a lawsuit against her estranged husband, Prince Norodom Ranariddh for adultery, a court official said Monday. The former leader Funcenpec Royal Party had an affair with Ms. Ouk Phalla, the Royal Ballet dancer.
Ranariddh could face up to one year in prison if found guilty under new monogamy laws.
Sok Kalyan, a deputy prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said they were probing a complaint filed two weeks ago accusing Ranariddh, often seen in public with his mistress, of adultery.
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I am investigating the case to find evidence," Sok Kalyan said, adding that he would invite both Princess Marie and Ranariddh to court once he had completed his investigation.
The kingdom in September passed a monogamy law which punishes unfaithful spouses and banned polygamy and incest.

Prince Norodom Ranariddh could face between a month and a year in prison, plus a fine of up to $250. Prime Minister Hun Sen, Ranariddh's arch rival, proposed the law after publicly grumbling about government officials bringing their mistresses instead of their wives to official functions.
Ranariddh and Ouk Phalla have been in a long-term relationship. The pair have a three-year-old son. Read more!

International Migrants Day Celebration in Thailand December 18, 2006

Labor activists marked International Migrants Day on Monday in Bangkok, while representatives submitted a letter to the Thai government urging greater migrant labor rights protection.
The group urged the Thai government to change policies toward migrant workers Burma, Laos and Cambodia to allow open-ended worker registration.

It also urged the government to establish special migrant worker registration centers that would help find workers employment and coordinate more contact between migrant workers and employers.
Moe Swe of Young Chi Oo, a Mae Sot-based NGO, said about 50 labor activists gathered in front of government house in the morning until an official met with the group and promised to send the letter to Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Monday afternoon.
More than 20 Thai-Burmese labor organizations recently organized a collective union between Thai workers and migrant workers, which consist of non-government organizations, labor associations and special interest groups.

Juthathawat Inthornsuksri, a permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Labour, said that if migrant workers in Thailand are here legally, they are protected under the same law as Thai laborers. Illegal migrant workers are arrested and deported to their home countries.
A poll recently conducted by Assumption University in Bangkok revealed that among 4,148 people, 58 percent believed that there is no need for Thailand to accept more migrant workers in the agricultural and industrial sectors, because they could have a negative impact on Thais who want jobs and depress their wages.

Although most respondents agreed that migrant workers are diligent, they said migrant workers are neither honest nor loyal to their employers.
The poll found that 67 percent of the respondents did not want migrant workers to be permitted to work in all fields, while 50 percent said foreign workers should not be able to work under the same conditions and receive the same wages as local workers. Forty percent said that migrant workers should receive the same wages as local workers.

Meanwhile, the latest statistics from Thailand's Ministry of Labour found that local businesses want to hire more migrant workers.
In 2006, Thai employers have sought 1.3 million unskilled workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, but the Thai government was able to supply only about 700,000 workers, according to the ministry. Read more!

Vietnam, Cambodia to discuss investment projects

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung arrived in Phenom Penh on Monday morning for a two-day official visit to discuss Vietnamese investment projects with Cambodian leaders, said Deputy Prime Minister Hor Nam Hong.
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Both sides will meet to negotiate and decide on a number of requests like Vietnamese investment to explore mines in Cambodia, investment for building a hydro-electricity power plant along the Se San River in northeastern Cambodia, the project for rubber planting, and the study of four other projects for hydro- electricity development," said Hor, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

All the cooperation is expected to strengthening the relation and friendship between the two countries, he added.
Nguyen Tan Dung is scheduled to meet Acting Head of State and President of National Assembly Heng Samrin and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Chien Thang, Vietnamese ambassador to Cambodia, told reporters that during the prime minister's first ever official visit to the kingdom since he was elected in June, he also aims to pay courtesy call to Cambodia's high ranking officials.
Nguyen Tan Dung will then visit Laos on Dec. 19-20 and Thailand on Dec. 20-21, he said.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

$7.8 Mln grant to suppor for Cambodia's New Tier of Loacal Government

$7.8 Million Grant to Support for Cambodia's New Tier of Local Government Press Release - Asian Development Bank Dec. 15 2006 A US$7.8 million grant from ADB’s Asian Development Fund will help improve governance in Cambodia by providing further support for the development of a local tier of government. The project will enable more commune councils – the lowest level of elected sub– national administration created as part of a decentralization process begun in 2001 - to operate more effectively. While this level of sub-national administration is expected to take on an increasing level of responsibility, serious capacity constraints persist for most of the country’s 1,621 commune councils.

The project will also develop the national civil registration system and aims to strengthen voter understanding of democratic rights and accountabilities. “The decentralization process is perhaps the single most important state-building development in the country since the 1993 Constitution, and the project will support this by helping to institutionalize more accountable local government and public service delivery,” says Joao Farinha-Fernandes, an ADB Economist. The project will provide 235 commune councils with local assembly premises that will provide adequate working facilities for elected councilors and their constituents, thus helping to establish the newly introduced institution of elected local government. It will help develop a modern and computerized civil registration system to assist the population’s access to justice administration, based on official birth, death, and marriage documents. More comprehensive and accurate information based on the system will also improve government public service delivery and general policy making. Last, it will provide a fund to support training for elected commune councilors, clerks, and government officials in concepts of local democracy and accountability, council tasks, roles, and services.

A mass media fund will also be established to disseminate key messages on local democracy, participation, and accountability through TV, radio, and village theaters over 24 months. The project follows the successful implementation of the pioneering Commune Councils Development Project, backed by a $10 million loan from ADB in 2002, that provided facilities and support required for 440 commune councils to function effectively. A $200,000 technical assistance grant, from ADB’s Gender and Development Cooperation Fund, accompanies the project to support the advancement of gender equity in local governance in six target provinces. The Government will contribute $1.98 million equivalent in the form of counterpart staff and equipment. The Ministry of Interior is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion in December 2009. Read more!

Vietam Prime Mminister took off for the Neighbours

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had left Hanoi for Cambodia,this morning. Nguyen Tan Dung is on his official visits to Cambodia, Laos and Thailand from December 18-21.
The visits, made at the invitations Dung’s neighboring counterparts Samdec Hunsen, Buasone Bouphavanh and Surayud Chulanont, aim to affirm Vietnam’s external relations policy of continuing to attach great importance to developing cooperation relations with the regional countries. These trips are the new concepts of political features to boost Hanoi stomach.

The State leaders will discuss measures to promote multi-lateral cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Vietnam have been battling with several issues with political ties with the neighbours.

During the visits, the Vietnamese PM will attend the inauguration of Friendship Bridge No 2 over the Mekong River that links the Lao province of Savanakhet and the Thai province of Muk Dahan.
Dung is scheduled to visit Cambodia on Dec. 18-19, Laos Dec. 19-20 and Thailand Dec. 20-21. The visit will be discussed on a new stage of political tie and friendship with Thailand. Vietnam is in need political shelters and steel cable to pull itself up. This is a new game Thai-Viet playing.

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Heng Peo must pays legal cost before leaving on 18 December 2006

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Cambodian police chief Heng Peo has to reimburse the government for costs incurred before he is allowed to leave the country. Heng Peo, in immigration custody, is likely to be deported to Singapore, his last place of disembarkation, after he settles the amount owing. The final bill will be ready tomorrow. His counsel N. Sivanathan said although his client wanted to fly, the Immigration Department has decided to follow the court order to the letter and would only allow Heng Peo to leave via the Causeway.

Sivanathan, accompanied by lawyer Abdul Shukor Ahmad and Heng Peo’s wife Ngin Sotheavy, 38, met immigration officers to discuss the deportation order.On Friday, the High Court decreed that Heng Peo be deported.Heng Peo, 51, fled Cambodia when court proceedings commenced in Phnom Penh against him and several others for the murder of a judge and other crimes.

He was arrested on Oct 3 here for overstaying but filed an application at the High Court to stop Malaysian authorities from deporting him to Cambodia. Last week, he was granted a visa to enter Finland.

Read more!