BANGKOK, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Thai-Cambodian Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting was kicked off on Wednesday at a hotel in Thailand's northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province to discuss several issues including troop withdrawal.
The meeting was co-chaired by Lt-Gen Thawatchai Samutsakhon, Thailand's Second Region Army commander, and Cambodia's Fourth Region Army commander Lt-Gen Chea Mon together with Deputy Defense Minister Neang Phat.
Among the 15 agenda, troop withdrawal from the disputed area around Preah Vihear Temple would be raised for discussion.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled on July 18 that both countries should withdraw their forces from the disputed area around the contentious ancient temple in a bid to create a provisional demilitarized zone, following Phnom Penh's request.
On this occasion, Cambodian representatives also congratulated the new Thai government led by Pheu Thai Party which assumed the office following decisive victory in the July election.
The two-day talks will focus on issues including national security, border peace, land development, environment and anti- narcotics measures.
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Thai-Cambodian regional border meeting begins
Cambodian dental nurses gain work experience in Western Isles
THE Western Isles Dental Centre is currently hosting two Cambodian Dental Nurses who are visiting for a month for work experience.
Srey Ny and Ratana both attended a course for dental nurses in Phnom Penh in Cambodia which was run by local dentist Kenneth MacDonald and senior nurse Carolyn MacDonald.
Srey Ny and Ratana both work in a large modern dental clinic run by Dr. Tith, and such was the competition to visit Stornoway for work experience that 30 staff had to take an examination to test their knowledge and language to select the best two for further training.
Mr MacDonald said: “The two nurses will be watching the procedures in the surgery and following the role of our senior dental nurses in the new Western Isles Dental Clinic.
“Srey Ny and Ratana are really enjoying the experience of working in the Western Isles Dental Clinic and are keeping a diary of everything they learn to take back to Cambodia. They find the temperature and food a bit harder to get used to but they tell their family and friends they are really happy in Stornoway.”
Kenneth MacDonald explained that the clinic in Phnom Penh where the girls work was the best managed practice he had seen as they have ‘ISO 9000’ quality management accreditation, use the same computer software as we do in the Western Isles, and provide the full range of dental treatments from oral surgery and implants to the latest cosmetic treatment.
Dr Tith realised the benefits of well trained staff and has sent most of his staff on the courses Mr MacDonald has been running in Cambodia. More recently, he decided to develop his senior nurses to be able to train their new staff.
Kenneth MacDonald initially went out to Cambodia to work in a Rotary sponsored clinic that provided care for orphans in Phnom Penh, but as he is the chief examiner with SQA and City & Guild for dental nurses he has more recently been asked to provide a training and mentoring role for dental staff and students providing care for orphans and the poor of Cambodia.
With the use of Skype and the internet, Kenneth is almost in daily contact with the staff at the charity’s clinics and able to give help and advice. He returns to Cambodia in November for four weeks to do further training and clinics.
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Vietnam assures stronger ties with Cambodia
Really?How strong would be strong enough for Yuon in this relationship? Yuon had no strong enough confidence to grab more land. Yuon Tang Dung is asking Hor Namhong to support all Yuons who are living in Cambodia for a safe heaven.
The Vietnamese Government will do its utmost to join efforts with Cambodia to develop bilateral ties in a deeper, more practical and effective manner.
The statement was made by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung during his meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Hor Namhong, in Hanoi on August 23.
The PM said potential for co-operation between the two sides was great, especially in trade, investment, tourism, education and training, and the two sides needed to accelerate bilateral co-operation to gain benefits for both.
The two sides should continue to co-operate at the ASEAN forum, contributing to building a prosperous ASEAN community and with the Mekong River Commission to use the Mekong River’s water in an effective and sustainable manner, he said.
The two sides also needed to co-operate in the border marker programme, and help the Vietnamese community to reside legally in Cambodia, he added.
Deputy PM Hor Namhong highly valued the results of bilateral ties in all aspects, particularly trade and investment, assuring that the Cambodian Government will create all favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to engage in long-term investment in the neighbouring country.
Deputy PM Hor Namhong was on a visit to Vietnam to attend the 12th session of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Co-operation, held in Hanoi on August 23. Read more!
Cambodia Khmer Rogue leaders genocide trial delayed
Testimony in the trial of four surviving Khmer Rouge leaders before a UN-backed war crimes court is unlikely to start this year, tribunal sources and observers said, marking another delay in proceedings against the elderly defendants.
The court had previously said it expected the presentation of evidence and witnesses in the case, the second to come before the tribunal, to begin in mid-2011 before it pushed that date back to October.
But its recent decision to order a psychiatric assessment on the former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith to determine her mental fitness for trial meant there is now little prospect of a 2011 start.
The behaviour of Ieng Thirith, whose sister suffered from schizophrenia, has been at times erratic. At a preliminary hearing in 2009, the Shakespeare scholar made headlines when she warned her accusers they would be "cursed to the seventh circle of hell."
Court spokesman Lars Olsen said late Tuesday that the court would "shortly" appoint national and international psychiatric experts. He said testimony could start once the court had ruled on Ieng Thirith's mental fitness and a number of other preliminary legal issues.
"At this point, it's not possible to say when that will be," Olsen said.
International prosecutor Andrew Cayley said he "sincerely hoped" the case would start this year because Cambodians and donors to the cash-strapped court needed to see progress.
"But we will see," Cayley said, conceding there "are serious factors influencing the start date which have to be addressed."
However Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at the genocide research organisation DC-Cam, said the chances of testimony starting this year were now "practically nil," echoing the opinions of some court staff not authorized to speak on the record to the media and other tribunal observers.
The four surviving leaders, aged 79 to 85, have denied charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Khmer Rouge's 1975 to 1979 rule.
The other three defendants are: Nuon Chea, known as Brother Number Two, who was deputy to the late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot; former head of state Khieu Samphan; and ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary.
On Monday, the court is to assess the medical reports on three of the defendants to determine their physical fitness to stand trial.
The tribunal estimated 1.7-million to 2.2-million people died in less than four years of rule by the Khmer Rouge, which emptied Cambodia's cities as it advocated a rural, agrarian society. The court said 800 000 of those deaths were violent with the rest attributed to overwork, starvation and illness.
In its first case, the court last year sentenced the regime's security chief, Comrade Duch, to 30 years in prison after finding him guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The verdict on his appeal is pending.
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