PEPY, an adventure cycle tour and humanitarian aid organization, has partnered with Mlup Baitong, a well respected Cambodian NGO to launch an Eco-Club program at eight primary schools in the region of Kralanh, Siem Reap province. The innovative program gives rural students hands-on experience in environmental awareness and resource management.
With PEPY’s support, Mlup Baitong will train teachers and principals at each school about environmental education and conservation, and how to apply the action-based Eco-Club concept. The trained teachers will be involved in facilitating club activities through micro-projects, where students can choose to initiate activities such as tree planting, compost making, waste collection, vegetable gardening, a schoolyard clean-up, or an anti-litter campaign. The program launches at all eight schools at the start of the academic year in October.
This program is one of PEPY’s many educational and environmental initiatives, aimed at increasing opportunities for students and families in developing areas. PEPY has funded the construction of two rural schools in Cambodia, and has several humanitarian programs, which focus on increasing access to and quality of education. These programs are funded by PEPY’s unique volunteer and adventure tours.
PEPY founder Daniela Papi notes, “Many people donate in support of development projects they will never visit, but with PEPY, you can go where your money goes. By joining one of our trips, you see first hand the difference you are making.” Each tour participant fundraises for specific, ongoing projects, which they then have the chance to visit during their tour in Cambodia. This December, PEPY will organize an experiential tour in Kralahn, offering a chance for the 20 volunteer travelers to witness the activities of the Eco-Club program and assist with student-run environmental initiatives.
Thus far, over 50 schools, 250 teachers and 4000 children have participated in Mlup Baitong’s existing Eco-Clubs all over Cambodia. The partnership with PEPY will allow even more schools to benefit from this program. Cooperation with a school typically lasts two to three years, after which the schools may still be involved as demonstration centers for new target schools in the project. Eco-Club members develop an increased awareness of the natural environment around them and how they can make a positive impact.
Students are encouraged to share their new skills and knowledge with their friends and family. To strengthen this effect, the project also implements activities in the communities surrounding the schools. In addition to environmental education projects such as the Eco-Clubs, Mlup Baitong is also invested in Community Forestry and Ecotourism activities across Cambodia.
For more information about PEPY, to make a donation, or to sign up for any of the upcoming volunteer trips, please visit www.pepyride.org
To learn more about Mlup Baitong’s environmental programs across Cambodia, please visit www.mlup.org .
The PEPY Ride is a New York State registered Non-for-Profit Corporation founded in 2005 to support educational projects in developing countries and disaster relief areas with a focus on the relationship between the environment and our health. Emphasizing education through action, where participants both learn from and give back to the communities they visit, PEPY Tours organizes volunteer and adventure travel in developing countries and redevelopment areas suffering from natural disaster.
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
KIDS LEARN TO PRACTICE CONSERVATION IN RURAL CAMBODIA
Bali sends artists to Cambodia
JAKARTA: The Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) of Denpasar has sent a group of artists to Cambodia to participate in an Indonesian Tourism and Trade Exhibition in Siem Reap from Sept. 20 to 23.
"The nine-member arts delegation will perform Indonesia's traditional dances, including Balinese dances which are popular internationally," ISI rector I Wayan Rai told Antara in Denpasar, Bali, on Tuesday.
The artists were invited to attend the event by the Indonesian Embassy in Cambodia.
Wayan Rai said during the visit ISI would also explore the possibility of establishing cooperation with Cambodia's art institute.-- JP
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Bird, monkey species in Cambodia added to critically endangered list
Two types of birds and one species of monkey native to Cambodia have had their survival prospects worsen significantly in the past year, according to the World Conservation Union's 2007 "Red List", the most comprehensive annual assessment of the world's endangered animals and plants, local media reported Wednesday.
The red-headed vulture and the Bengal florican, once abundant in Cambodia, have been re-classified as critically endangered, meaning they face an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future, the Cambodia Daily newspaper said.
Meanwhile, the douc monkey has also been elevated to endangered status worldwide, according to the World Conservation Union, or IUCN.
Recent worldwide declines in the population of red-headed vultures are believed mainly to have been caused by the pharmaceutical Diclofenac, which is used to treat livestock but toxic to vultures that feed on their carcasses, the IUCN report said, adding that there could be as few as 300 of the vultures remaining in all of Southeast Asia.
The Bengal florican has declined to as few as 900 birds in Cambodia and could be extinct in the country within five years, the report stated.
The douc monkey also faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future, it said.
Tom Evans, technical adviser for the Wildlife Conservation Society, said the decline of the red-headed vulture in Cambodia was mainly due to less carrion on the ground than poisoning.
In fact, Diclofenac is not used in Cambodia, which could mean there is a good chance for the species to begin recover its numbers here, he said.
Included on the "Red List" are 26 animals, fish and plants found in Cambodia, which are listed as critically endangered, and some 36 species listed as endangered.
Source: Xinhua
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Cambodia: Top Former Khmer Rouge Leader Arrested In Cambodia
PAILIN, CAMBODIA: Police detained the top surviving leader of the Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea, on Wednesday (19 Sept) over his role in the notorious former Cambodian regime that caused the deaths of 1.7 million people in the late 1970s.
Police surrounded his home in Pailin in northwestern Cambodia near the Thai border and served him with an arrest warrant on charges of crimes against humanity, police Capt. Sem Sophal said.
Officers later took Nuon Chea, who is about 80 years old, into custody and put him on a helicopter heading for the capital, Phnom Penh, as dozens of onlookers gathered to watch the historic scene, witnesses said.
Nuon Chea helped the group's notorious leader Pol Pot seize control of Cambodia's communist movement in the 1950s and '60s and then became the movement's chief political ideologue during its murderous rule in the 1970s.
"The police have already put him on the helicopter," said Ou Boran, a grandson of Nuon Chea.
Prosecutors for the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal investigating crimes by the Khmer Rouge have not publicly named Nuon Chea as a suspect. But he is believed to be one of five senior Khmer Rouge figures they have recommended for trial before the panel.
He would be the second, and highest-ranking, Khmer Rouge leader detained to appear before the panel.
"There is an order from the top to execute a warrant to take Nuon Chea (into custody) this morning," Sem Sophal said before Nuon Chea was taken into custody. "All road access to his house have been ordered sealed."
After numerous delays, the tribunal's co-investigating judge You Bun Leng and his U.N.-appointed counterpart, Marcel Lemonde, in July began investigations of former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of crimes against humanity.
Nuon Chea said in July that he is ready to stand trial.
"I will go to the court and don't care if people believe me or not," Nuon Chea said.
Reach Sambath, a tribunal spokesman, declined to comment Wednesday.
Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known as Duch who headed the former Khmer Rouge S-21 prison, is currently the only senior figure detained by the tribunal on charges of crimes against humanity committed during the Khmer Rouge's time in power. He was charged last month.
The late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 and his former military chief, Ta Mok, died in 2006 in government custody.
Their senior-level colleagues, Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister; and Khieu Samphan, the former head of state, live freely in Cambodia but are in declining health. They are also widely believed to be on the prosecutors' list. (By SOPHENG CHEANG/ AP)
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
British investors interested in pig rearing, bio-fuel in Cambodia
A group of British investors have expressed interest in cooperative investment in pig-rearing and jatropha growing in Cambodia, local media reported on Tuesday.
The investors showed their interest after visiting some agro- industrial farms in Sihanoukville Municipality and Koh Kong province on Sunday, reported Cambodian-language newspaper the Kampuchea Thmey.
British Ambassador David Reader said during the visit that he had brought two important British companies to observe the sites, operated by the Cambodian Mong Reththy Group. In the future many other UK firms will arrive in the kingdom to cooperate with the group for the development of the nation's agricultural and agro- industrial sectors.
Stephen J. Curtis, the executive chairman of ACMC, an East Yorkshire-based pig breeding and pig genetics company, said that his company was interested in cooperating with the Mong Reththy Group as Cambodia has strong potential to provide favorable conditions for industrial-scale pig-rearing.
Mong Reththy, director of the Mong Reththy Group, said that foreign investors seemed very keen on pig rearing and jatropha planting in Cambodia, and his company is ready to work with the foreign investors.
"If the plan can be operated, it would be a proud moment for the nation and its people," the director added.
Source: Xinhua
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Cambodia To Destroy Thousands Of Confiscated Firearms
Phnom Penh, Cambodia (AHN) - The Japanese Assistance Team for Small Arms Management in Cambodia announced on Monday the destruction of thousands of small firearms collected from various provinces in Cambodia. The group, also called JSAC, said they will burn 7,000 small arms under the "flame of peace" program on September 19.
In a statement, JSAC said the arms were collected in the Battambang province, while some were surrendered by residents from Kompon, Thom, Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey, and Oddar Meanchey provinces.
The group said the burning would be the 12th and final ceremony supported by JSAC as the Japanese organization is set to complete its weapons collection and destruction program this September.
With the closure of the program, the district governors of the Battambang district, would be in charge in keeping security, and safety of their area and keep it weapon-free.
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10th Asian Cartoon Exhibition opens in Cambodia for environmental issues
The 10th Asian Cartoon Exhibition opens in Phnom Penh on Monday with the theme of "Asian Environmental Issues".
The exhibition is being held in the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC) in Phnom Penh from Sept. 17 to 29, a CJCC press release said.
It displays 77 new cartoons of leading cartoonists from 10 Asian nations, namely China, Cambodia, Japan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, it said.
Each cartoon presents various perspectives of the cartoonists on the topic of environmental issues in each country, it added.
Cambodian cartoonist Em Sothya appeared Monday at the opening of the exhibition and explained his works about illegal logging to the audience.
The Japan Foundation has been sponsoring the Asian Cartoon Exhibition every year as a contribution to the greater understanding of Asian societies, cultures and people through the widely appreciated medium of cartoons, the press release said, adding that this year the exhibition is held by the Japan Foundation in cooperation with CJCC.
Source: Xinhua
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Cambodia to create wildlife sanctuary in Takeo
Phnom Penh, Sept. 18 (Xinhua): The Cambodian Council of Ministers has approved a sub-decree to establish a protected area of around 8,000 hectares of wetlands in Takeo province for endangered cranes and other wildlife, local media said on Monday.
The sanctuary, which will be created around the Prek Lpov Lake in Borei Cholsar and Koh Andaet districts, aims to preserve cranes, other bird species, aquatic animals and plants that are critically endangered, said Cambodian-language newspaper the Kampuchea Thmey.
The sanctuary will be divided into a "core zone," to which access is highly restricted, and a "buffer zone," said Agriculture Secretary of State Chan Tong Yves, reported English-language newspaper the Cambodia Daily.
However, Yves said that he did not know when the approved sanctuary will be established.
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Monday, September 17, 2007
CAMBODIA: Government's stock market plans under fire
The Cambodian government says it wants an exchange set up within two years and has enlisted the help of South Korea to achieve its end. But the opposition says the country isn't ready, and fears ordinary investors will end up losing out.
Presenter - Tom Fayle Speaker - Sam Rainsy, Cambodian opposition leader; Bret Sciaroni, lawyer and chair, American Cambodian Business Council; Bret Sciaroni, lawyer and chair, American Cambodian Business Council.
FAYLE: Cambodia's economy may be booming, but development is still largely reliant on the millions of dollars pumped into the country each year in the form of international aid. And this is despite a recent surge in bank deposits. The trouble is, much of the cash flowing into the banking system is being held short term. Those who need to, simply find it too difficult to mobilise enough long-term funding for investment. Brett Sciaroni is a Phnom-Penh based lawyer, and chair of the American-Cambodian Business Council. He's among those in the business community that supports the government's ambitious plans, at least in principle.
SCIARONI: It's not a problem for Cambodia to have a stock market, so long as it's done the right way. This is a challenge for Cambodia, that it's trying to catch up in terms of human resources, to have the people in place. But for me, I think it's a good idea, it's a good objective to strive for, and the faster we can have it, I think the better is for the Cambodian economy.
FAYLE: Cambodia's opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, himself a former finance minister, sees it somewhat differently.
RAINSY: My concern is the lack of transparency, and the rampant corruption that is prevailing in Cambodia. As long as we don't ensure the rule of law, as long as we don't fight corruption, any stock exchange in Cambodia will not function properly.
FAYLE: But is it not important for an economy, a developing economy, like Cambodia, to have a stock-market, to be able to funnel capital into development?
RAINSY: We realise that. We support the idea of creating a stock market in Cambodia. But we want to ensure that the right conditions are met. The long awaited law against corruption has not been passed by the National Assembly yet, and there is no indication that the government is willing to curb corruption.
FAYLE: But Brett Sciaroni, of the American Cambodian Business Council, says while he personally supports anti-corruption legislation, the passage of such of a law should not hold up the development of a local securities market. And he argues that if done correctly, the introduction of a stock exchange will inevitably lead to greater transparency, even if the 2009 target date is a tad ambitious.
SCIARONI: If the stock market here has the kind of disclosure rules that other stock markets have, it means that for local companies, they will have to fully disclose critical information about their companies. As local companies understand that this is a source of revenue, there'll be a trade off. They'll have to disclose what they are doing, and a lot of local companies don't disclose much about their activities publicly. But in order to get listed, they'll have to - so they'll see the trade off between the need for capital and the disclosure of information which has heretofore been held pretty closely.
FAYLE: Sam Rainsy, though, says the level of government control of the new oversight body, the Securities Commission, means potential investors need to be on their guard.
RAINSY: I am afraid that when they say control, they can manipulate the market, so that their cronies make money at the expense of the poor innocent investors - meaning that the Cambodian who could be attracted by by quick gains. We have to warn potential investors, small and big, to be careful, at least at the early stage of the Cambodian stock market.
FAYE: In short then, is the country ready for such a stock market?
RAINSY: No, in short, in one word, "No".
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Thais, Singapore Give Up On Hosting 2008 ASEAN Championship
There are now only four teams left vying to host the Asean Football Championship 2008 following the withdrawals of both the FA of Thailand (FAT) and the FA of Singapore (FAS) from the bidding process.
Both Thailand and Singapore announced their withdrawals from the official bid of the Asean Football Championship 2008 at the 2nd AFF Council meeting for the session 2007-2011 this morning in Yangon, Myanmar.
The four remaining countries are Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar.
At the same meeting, questionnaires were also given to the four candidate countries to answer as far as the stadium capacity, logistics, training facilities and other requirements are concerned.
The related Member Associations have until the end of the month to submit the questionnaires to the AFF.
As far as the qualifying competition for the Asean Football Championship is concerned, venue inspections will be conducted in the next month to assess the conditions of the two candidate countries of Laos and Cambodia.
Similar questionnaire have also been given to the Laos Football Federation (LFF) and the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC).
The next AFF Council meeting will be held in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007.
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Saturday, September 15, 2007
Demand for virgins fueling Cambodian sex trade, says IOM
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- High demand for virgins from mostly Asian clients is fueling the flow of underage girls into Cambodia's sex trade, the International Organization for Migration has said in a report.
About 38 percent of the women and girls surveyed working in the sex trade here entered the industry by selling their virginity, IOM found, while 85 percent of the clients paying to sleep with them were Asian men.
"The commercial sale of virginity is one of the major routes into commercial sexual exploitation," the group said in a report released earlier this week.
"This trade clearly shapes the patterns of trafficking within Cambodia ... it is arguably the largest factor contributing to entry into commercial sex."
Non-Asian foreigners accounted for nine percent of customers paying for sex with virgins, IOM said, while the other six percent was unknown.
More than half the Asian clients were Cambodian men, with the other half made up of Chinese, Taiwanese, South Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Filipino men.
Most women were 16 or 17 years old when they sold their virginity, and the majority said they entered prostitution willingly. But others told IOM they were tricked by family and friends.
"There was a high use of force and incapacitation through drugs or alcohol at the time of commercial sex," the humanitarian group said.
People were increasingly picking up virgins in high-end karaoke bars, massage parlors, and other entertainment establishments in the country's urban centers, IOM said, whereas before the trade was found mostly in brothels.
IOM surveyed 203 women and girls working in the sex trade in the tourist hub of Siam Reap, the seaside town Sihanoukville and Koh Kong province, which borders Thailand.
Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as a haven for pedophiles, putting dozens of foreigners in jail for child sex crimes or deporting them to face trial in their home countries since 2003.
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Cambodia concludes 2nd National Bokator Championship
Cambodia here on Friday concluded the matches of its second National Bokator Championship, which aims to highlight the indigenous Khmer martial art.
More than 200 fighters from all over the country have competed for gold, silver and bronze medals at three levels including 70 kg, 65 kg and 60 kg of weight, at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh from Tuesday to Friday.
Meanwhile, there were also two performing martial art competitions, including martial art with long stick for men and martial art with short stick for woman.
Bo Chum Sary, under-secretary of state of the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, presided over the closing ceremony on Friday and handed over the gold medal to San Sovanara, the winner of the level of 70 kg.
Bo Chum Sary said that this traditional martial art of Cambodia, bokator, is the heritage from their ancestors which carved on the wall of Angkor temples.
The bokator martial art was used in the war in the past and Cambodian people always fought to find the strongest person in village while they were holding traditional ceremonies after the rice harvest, he said.
Currently, there are bokator clubs in 10 out of the 20 strong provinces of Cambodia and no more than 1,000 people have been found playing the craft.
Source: Xinhua
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Friday, September 14, 2007
The good and bad of Cambodian investment
By Roderick Brazier
PHNOM PENH - What's happening today on Bokor Mountain in Cambodia speaks volumes about what is good and bad about new investment in Cambodia in 2007. Bokor Mountain is just 37 kilometers from the sleepy Cambodian riverside town of Kampot, yet the journey to the 1,000-meter peak takes more than two and a half hours by sport-utility vehicle.
The steep, winding road was built by French engineers in the 1920s, and not a centimeter of it has seen a road-maintenance crew since. Today vehicles climbing the mountain crawl over an uneven surface of large, loose stones, deep ruts cut by rushing rainwater, and mesa-like vestiges of the bitumen that covered the original road. The result is a bone-jangling, exhausting journey.
Once reaching the broad, boggy plateau at Bokor's summit, the visitor is greeted by one of the world's strangest sights: a casino, a Catholic church, and a guesthouse brood in the misty gloom. Built by the French, all are long-abandoned. Left to the dank elements, the buildings are coated in dense, rust-colored moss.
Inside, they are strewn with debris: glass, broken floor tiles, lengths of electrical wire. A wall in the ballroom wears a sinister cluster of bullet holes at chest height: the Khmer Rouge were particularly active here. A metal sign resting on the floor warns tourists not to sleep in the casino.
A Cambodian business conglomerate called the Sokimex Group recently announced its intention to repair the neglected road and renovate the hilltop casino and hotel at Bokor. A group spokesman assured that the original French buildings would be renovated, not demolished, as part of the ambitious and costly project. In addition to the renovations, insiders in Phnom Penh talk of cable cars, golf courses, and helipads.
Sokimex was established in the early 1980s by Sok Kong, and is today one of Cambodia's biggest business groups. Closely associated with the ruling Cambodian People's Party, Sokimex's mainstay is the distribution and retail sale of petroleum. Notable among its many other interests is the lucrative concession to collect entry fees at the world-famous Angkor temples.
After decades of misery and instability, observers are cheered by the prospect of bold, imaginative investments that will create many jobs for ordinary Cambodian people and spur progress. And although Western tourists get a kick from visiting the unearthly Bokor ruins, who can blame Cambodians for wanting to fix up this creepy vestige of war and colonialism?
The Bokor property sits in the heart of Preah Monivong National Park, meaning it belongs to the state, not Sokimex. The casino project can only start if the government awards Sokimex a time-bound concession to redevelop and manage Bokor. In exchange for this privilege, Sokimex will likely pay the government an annual fee. As often is the case in Cambodia, these arrangements are being concluded without competition, and in secret. The fee will likely be revealed to the public only after the deal has been struck, if at all.
Sokimex's concession to manage the Angkor temples was awarded in a similarly opaque manner. The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly urged the government to tender the lucrative Angkor concession, but closed-door negotiations remain the preferred approach. The bad habit is being repeated in Bokor.
Why does it matter how such concessions are awarded?
The trouble is that in the absence of a competitive tender, the true value of such concessions cannot be known, and the state could miss out on valuable revenue. Secret negotiations also create lucrative rent-seeking opportunities that again deprive the state coffers of valuable revenue. Soliciting a range of redevelopment proposals would give maximum value to the state, and a well-designed tender could encourage environment- and heritage-sensitive plans that will not just attract tourists, but bring employment and business opportunities to a poor corner of the country.
The Bokor Mountain project is a worthy idea, and an experienced group such as Sokimex may well be the best party to implement it. But the Cambodian government and society more broadly could get far more value from it if the concession were competitively tendered, rather than negotiated in secret.
Roderick Brazier is The Asia Foundation's country representative in Cambodia.
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Hutch Indian rugby team rout Cambodia to win the Asian 7s Bowl
Amit Lochab set India on the winning patch with two tries, while Captain Nasset Hussain, Puneet Krishnamoorthy and Pritom Roy chipped in with a try each. Pritom Roy also had one conversion to his name, while Sujai Lama got his name on the scoring list with one conversion to round off the tally.
India last won the Asian Bowls title in 1999, since then losing in the final on all occasions. A total of 10 teams took part in this year’s competition, the 9th edition of the Asian 7s Rugby Tournament.
10-year-old moves family to undertake mission trip to Cambodia
By Christie Campbell
Staff writer
chriscam@observer-reporter.com
Harry and Miranda Ankrom never hesitated when it came to taking their two children with them on a mission trip to Cambodia.
In fact, it was their 10-year-old daughter, Emily, who inspired her parents to make the trip. She returned from camp telling them she felt God calling her to mission work.
The Washington family left July 1, and it took them 30 hours and four separate flights to get to Cambodia. Their two-week experience was so profound and rewarding that Miranda and Emily plan to return next month.
"God has given us a burden for that land and those people," Miranda said. "Cambodia is now something I feel very passionate about."
Their mission was at an orphanage for 25 children in Siem Reap run by People for Care and Learning. The Christian charity is based in Cleveland, Tenn.
The Ankroms were allowed to take two suitcases apiece. Because they planned to take as much clothing as they could for the orphans as well as material to build a play gym, they managed to pack all their family items into two suitcases. That left them with six suitcases to stuff full of other items for Cambodia, including two swings, small ladders, rope and a canopy.
They packed so much clothing that the orphans, who only had one suitable outfit to wear, all owned at least three nice changes of clothing and a pair of flip flops when the Ankroms left.
"It didn't matter what color they were," Miranda's 11-year-old brother Isaac said of the sandals. "If they were pink the boys would still take them."
The family was surprised to learn that Cambodia had been a civilized and thriving country for years until the 1970s, when Pol Pot came to power. His Khmer Rouge decimated the country, forcing educated urban residents to rural areas to live as peasants. An estimated 2 million people were murdered and family units were torn apart. There would be civil unrest in Cambodia until 2002.
Now, said the Ankroms, the adult population is largely uneducated, but children are starting to learn as schools are being established.
But there is much poverty and homelessness in Cambodia. They witnessed people bathing and drinking from the same streams where livestock drink. Some people live in garbage dumps so foul that toxic smoke can be seen rising from the refuse. Other areas are posted with signs warning of land mines, and it is not unusual to see people with missing limbs. Children as young as 4 years old are sold into prostitution.
One thing the family was not permitted to do on the trip was evangelize. The country is 90 percent Buddhist, and only missionaries who offer humanitarian aid are permitted to enter.
Harry Ankrom is associate pastor of the Christian Church of North America in Washington. He and his wife wanted their children not only to have the experience of a mission trip, but also thought it would benefit the orphans to have other youngsters with whom to play.
Isaac and Emily acclimated very quickly and made friends easily despite the language barrier.
The trip made a lasting impression on Emily. She already has informed her parents of her plans to become a missionary.
"She said when she turns 18, she's moving to Cambodia," her mother said.
The Ankroms are available to speak to groups about their trip and can be reached at www.freewebs.com/ccnafamily.
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Collin College Book In Common program focuses on Cambodia's killing fields
Prior to Ung's Oct. 23 talk, Collin College has scheduled a series of programs designed to raise the awareness of students (and interested community members), including several screenings of director Roland Joffé's searing cinematic portrayal of the events, The Killing Fields (1984). One of these will take place at the Angelika Theater in Plano on October 9 (at 7 p.m.), and several other screenings are set for CCCCD campus locations.
Also upcoming are a pair of roundtable discussions entitled "Cambodia: Her culture & People." The first of these will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 3 p.m. on the Preston Ridge campus (room F148); the second is scheduled for the next day at 1 p.m. on the Spring Creek campus (room C104).
According to Regina Hughes, director of the Center for Scholarly & Civic Engagement, the Book In Common program is intended to foster a scholarly community through the power of the story, to encourage students to read beyond textbooks and to promote academic discourse and critical thinking through shared experience. For this year's program, the subject matter has been chosen specifically to raise awareness regarding the value and vibrancy inherent in cultural differences.
One Giving World Builds Homes In Cambodia With Help From Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – SEPTEMBER 13, 2007 – Utah non-profit foundation One Giving World, working in partnership with NGO Tabitha Cambodia, led a team of 20 international volunteers this summer in building homes for Cambodian families. During the course of two weeks in June, the volunteers successfully built 6 homes at a cost of $860 each. This year’s Tabitha Cambodia house building fund was made possible by several generous donors, including support from Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. PRMI co-founder Jeff Zitting also made the trip to Phnom Penh and assisted in building the homes.
“Tabitha Cambodia works in partnership with the very poorest families in Cambodia to create economic self reliance through savings,” says Rhiannon Lawrence, Co-Founder and Executive Director of One Giving World. “Thanks to the contributions of our gracious donors, we partnered with many deserving families this year. I am honored when companies donate blood, sweat, and tears in addition to a financial contribution. Jeff Zitting was an appreciated addition to our house building volunteer team. I am so grateful to our contributors for standing with these families as they take the steps to a better life through a process that gives dignity and respect."
Tabitha Cambodia helps the people of Cambodia earn income through the creation and sale of cottage industry goods (silk goods, metal goods, etc.). Program participants are then taught to save their earnings through a micro savings program. Tabitha pays 10% interest every 6 weeks to the enrolled families, and 100% of donors’ contributions, such as PRMI’s, go towards the interest payment. Families then use their savings to purchase homes and other items that will improve their quality of life; it typically takes 5-7 years to save for a house.
In 2006, over 823 volunteers from around the world helped Tabitha Cambodia build 376 houses for 376 families.
“Owning a home isn’t just the American dream, it’s the dream of families and individuals around the world,” says Dave Zitting, President and CEO of PRMI. “We’re proud to have played a small part in making those dreams a reality and hope to play an even bigger role in the future.”
ABOUT ONE GIVING WORLD
One Giving World is a Utah-based non-profit that supports non-governmental organizations and other groups in the vision of global economic self reliance. Each year, One Giving World takes a group of volunteers to work with Tabitha Cambodia in building houses for Cambodian families. The organization also works with Pillows for Peace and The Great Life Foundation.
ABOUT Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. (PRMI) was founded by Dave Zitting, Jeff Zitting, and Steve Chapman in 1998. Since its inception, PRMI has evolved from a four-person business to a nationwide multi-billion dollar operation with 800 employees working in approximately 200 Branches in 47 states. Branches operate under the PRMI brand or as DBAs as part of the Divisional Joint Venture and Consortium Partner programs. Serving all segments of the market, PRMI is a privately-held, debt-free company that focuses primarily on traditional loan products.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Rhiannon Lawrence, One Giving World, rhiannonkl@mac.com
Dave Zitting, Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. davezitting@primeres.com
Jeff Zitting, Primary Residential Mortgage,inc.
jeffzitting@primeres.com
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
Cambodia's Innocence for sale
Ethnic discrimination fuels a vile trade
THE virginity trade can sound as innocuous as the clink of ice in a glass. Roving young women equipped with ice buckets and tongs have long been a fixture of Cambodia's karaoke parlours. Now scores of “ice-pickers” are being groomed to supply a thriving market for virgins.
Capitalising on an influx of foreign visitors, Cambodia has become the region's prime destination for purchasing “unbroken” under-age girls. Among the foreign clientèle, the vast majority are Asian nationals: Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Japanese men who believe that deflowering a virgin will rejuvenate and purify them.
Meeting the demand is a growing number of ethnic Vietnamese—a group historically reviled by the ethnic-Khmer majority, but prized by the visitors for their pale complexions. Though ethnic-Vietnamese are estimated to make up no more than about 5% of Cambodia 's population—the government has never issued official figures—they represent almost one-third of virginity sales, according to “Ties That Bind”, a new study by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Helen Sworn, of the Chab Dai Coalition, a network of Christian anti-trafficking groups, says that some are still trafficked across the border. But most are Cambodian-born daughters of Vietnamese migrants who arrived in the 1980s and 1990s, lured by the prospect of jobs. Many migrants have instead fallen into debt. They suffer discrimination from Khmers, who associate the newcomers with centuries of Vietnamese colonisation.
Entire families have chosen to build their livelihoods around the country's sex industry. “It's the bread-and-butter of daily life,” says one Vietnamese woman who sold her 14-year-old daughter to a brothel. “Most of us think it's just a job, a career to earn our living...And the girls try to do whatever their parents tell them.”
Such sordid realities were once in plain view, when notorious red-light districts were in full swing on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. But nearly four years ago, Hun Sen, the prime minister, led a much-publicised campaign to curb brothels. Resourceful traffickers, madams and pimps responded by pushing low-end sex work underground and infiltrating more up-market hotels, casinos and bars. So Keo Thea, of the Phnom Penh police's anti-trafficking division, says it is now harder to trace traffickers and their victims. “We need to dress our officers up like businessmen to reach them.”
Unlike in a dingy brothel, work in a boisterous karaoke parlour can appear to be voluntary. The girls are not locked up by managers who arrange to sell their virginity. But recruiters still routinely use deception and force, says the IOM, and the proportion of under-age girls is far higher, particularly among ethnic Vietnamese.
The repugnance the trade provokes among both local authorities and international aid donors has helped expedite the progress of a much-delayed anti-trafficking bill. Its passage would bring Cambodian law closer in line with international norms. Given the complicity of Cambodian officials in the sex industry, this would be no small accomplishment.
But such forward momentum is also undercut by Cambodians' popular disgust for the ethnic Vietnamese and the political acrimony they inspire. The migrants are routinely demonised by the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.
“They're an easy scapegoat,” says J.K. Reimer, a consultant to anti-trafficking groups in Phnom Penh. “There is the perception that Khmers have a higher standard of purity than Vietnamese—that the Vietnamese are selling their daughters, but the Khmers are not.”
San Arun, a senior official in the Women's Affairs Ministry, says the government holds no bias against trafficked Vietnamese. She cites an agreement with Vietnam to protect all victims, whatever their status. But without more concerted intervention, says Ms Reimer, the community risks becoming more ghettoised. The supply of girls—and the rings that traffic them—will be unbroken.
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Cambodia seeks effective ways to spread key information to SMEs
Participants from Cambodian public and private sectors Thursday discussed effective strategies to spread information about key developments in the business environment to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The Cambodian government is currently undertaking significant reform measures to improve the business environment and in particular creating a more enabling environment for SMEs, which constitute well over 90 percent of all of Cambodia's business enterprises, a press release said.
Discussions focused on how to get information about new commercial laws, the streamlined business registration process, the decentralized business registration initiative in Battambang, the SME Subcommittee's new business licensing hotline, and the financial accounting template for SMEs, it said.
The participants noted the different strategies required to disseminate information to SMEs and local government officials, and they exchanged experiences on what works well in Cambodia and elsewhere, it added.
"There have been extensive improvements made by the government to facilitate the development of SMEs over the past two years, but we need to improve awareness of these reforms among the small business community and local government officials," said Keo Rottanak, Secretary of the SME Subcommittee.
"By getting more information about the reforms out to SMEs and local government officials, enterprises will be able to take advantage of the improved legal and regulatory framework for business," he added.
The meeting was hosted by the SME Secretariat and the Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) through support of the Asian development Bank's technical assistance under the Cambodia SME Development Program, the press release said.
Source: Xinhua
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More than 60 Vietnamese Montagnards flee to Cambodia
More than 60 Vietnamese ethnic minority Montagnards have crossed the border to Cambodia to seek asylum through the UN refugee agency.
The human rights group, Adhoc, says 40 Vietnamese Montagnards entered Cambodia earlier this week, and another group of 22 crossed the border three weeks ago.
Pen Bunna of the human rights group, Adhoc, says the refugees are hiding in dense forest in northeastern Ratanakiri province.
He says the UNHCR office in Phnom Penh has been informed of their whereabouts.
Around 2,000 Montagnards - a group whose members backed US forces during the Vietnam war - fled to Cambodia in 2001 and 2004 after security forces crushed protests against land confiscations and religious persecution.
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Cambodian man charged with injecting love interest with his blood
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A Cambodian man was charged Thursday with injecting a woman with his own blood after she refused to reciprocate his love, a judge said.
Lon Sopheaktra, 22, is being detained at a prison on suspicion he injected a syringe of his blood into the woman's rib cage and waist as she walked home from school, said Duch Sok Sarin, a judge at Battambang provincial court. He faces up to two years in jail if found guilty of assault, the judge said.
If the assailant's blood is found to be infected with the AIDS virus, the maximum penalty would be increased to 15 years, Duch Sok Sarin said.
Police said the suspect fell in love with the woman when the two were classmates in 2004. After the woman refused his advances, he came up with the scheme to inject her with his blood, they said.
"He thought that if he could not marry her, at least his blood can stay inside her body," police officer Tan Sophal said. "That's why he injected her with his blood."
Battambang province, where the attack occurred, is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Cambodia officially launches new traffic law
Cambodia's comprehensive new traffic law, signed by King Norodom Sihamoni on Feb. 8, was officially launched here on Tuesday with the attendance of approximately 1,000 people and ambassadors to Cambodia, local media said on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, also Minister of Council of Ministers, who presided over the event, said that the announcement on the official implementation of the new traffic law was hoped to encourage all Cambodian nationals to change indifferent attitudes to the law, increase understanding about the law and respect it while driving their vehicles, said Cambodian-language newspaper the Rasmei Kampuchea.
The deputy minister said efforts to strengthen the implementation of traffic law, which is an effective means to reduce road accident rates, are also hoped to contribute to the development of social economy to rapidly eradicate the poverty of Cambodian people.
Public Works and Transport Minister Sun Chanthol stated that most traffic accidents in Cambodia, where about four people died and 17 were injured by road accidents each day in 2006, are caused by human error including speeding and drunk driving, which accounted for 94 percent.
Based on the new law, drivers of vehicles over 49cc are obliged to hold licenses with each license having 12 points, according to English-language newspaper the Cambodia Daily.
Points will be deducted for violations with one point being docked for driving without a helmet, while more serious violations like drunk-driving will result in up to six points being deducted. If a driver loses all of his points, he or she loses his license and will not be granted a new one for at least six months.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that in 2003, Cambodia lost 116 million U.S. dollars, or 3 percent of GDP, as a result of traffic accidents.
Source: Xinhua
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Hewitt slams orphanage's claims
The segment will question the couple's contribution to the orphanage, suggesting they had done less than Bec Hewitt promised in February 2005.
The pair had pledged to be involved in construction of the Hope For Children orphanage, a project by The AIDS Trust of Australia.
But the player's manager, David Drysdale, said today that the couple had followed through on their promises.
"The AIDS trust was looking to somebody [to provide] the money to purchase the land where the orphanage would be built," he said.
"Bec's commitment was to buy the land where the orphanage would be built - she gave $65,000.
"Bec's commitment was fulfilled and The AIDS Trust would support that.
"It's ironic that Channel Seven are taking this track when the money she donated actually came from her prizemoney on Dancing With The Stars and an interview with Today Tonight."
The AIDS Trust's acting CEO Ross Smith confirmed the Hewitts had fulfilled all commitments they had made to building the orphanage.
A Today Tonight spokeswoman would not provide details of the story to air tonight, but confirmed that Today Tonight producer Phil Goyen and reporter Marguerite McKinnon had travelled to Cambodia to "look at the orphanage the Hewitts committed to".
"Basically we're going to put all the facts and financials out there and people can make up their own mind," Goyen said.
"We've come to Cambodia to see exactly what's been done and who's done it."
Drysdale said the program's allegations were based on "a play on words".
"They think 'building the orphanage' means to keep putting in for the building itself, but there was no ongoing commitment, the commitment was to buy the land," he said.
Mr Drysdale said the couple were "bitterly disappointed" at Today Tonight's allegations, which come as Lleyton Hewitt prepares to travel to Belgrade to face Serbia in the Davis Cup.
"Bec is devastated that a TV network she gave so many years to, on Home and Away and Dancing With The Stars ... that the network can turn around and do this to her - she's devastated by it."
Cambodia conducts airplane rescue exercise
The Cambodian government on Wednesday conducted an airplane rescue exercise at the military airbase next to the Phnom Penh International Airport in order to prepare itself against urgent situation such as fire and explosion.
"We conduct this airplane rescue exercise because Cambodia is a member of the International Civil Aviation Association," said Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Council of Ministers.
"We want to show the big aviation companies that we have the abilities to save planes when they are in emergent cases," he said, adding that such exercise will be conducted every year.
Some 20 ambulances, hundreds of troops and firemen and over 10 fire engines were deployed in the exercise.
Some severely "injured" passengers were rushed from the site to the nearest hospitals and the doctors helped other passengers with slight "wounds" on the scene.
Source: Xinhua
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Cambodia's parliament approves stock exchange law
PHNOM PENH (ThomsonFinancial) - Cambodia's parliament on Wednesday approved a law that takes the country a step closer to opening its first stock exchange, planned for 2009.
The National Assembly approved the law setting out the rules and regulations by which private and state enterprises can issue stocks and bonds.
'This law will help develop the national economy and society by collecting capital from the public or securities investors... for investment,' a copy of the draft said.
The law also aims 'to promote investment from abroad and the participation in the securities market in Cambodia,' it said.
The government now must establish a nine-member Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia to regulate the planned market and the issuing of government bonds, it said.
The government last week launched a project to establish the country's first securities market, partnering with South Korea in a programme that hopes to see a stock exchange established by 2009.
Despite concerns from oppostion lawmakers over the independence of the new commission, Finance Minister Keat Chhon said the law meets international standards.
But he acknowledged that many challenges remain -- particularly creating the infrastructure for the market and a computer system to manage trading.
He said the government will control the new securities commission until at least 2015 and will spend some 15 million dollars to develop the market.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy urged the government not to interfere in the securities market.
'When there is a lot of interference, it could lead to conflicts of interest,' he said.
'There will be a lot of money coming across the securities market, so then there will be the risk of cheating,' Rainsy said.
While still one of the world's poorest countries, Cambodia has emerged from decades of conflict as one of the region's rising economies.
The country has posted annual economic growth averaging 11 percent over the past three years on the back of strong garment and tourism sectors.
Cambodia remains a largely cash-only economy and a high degree of mistrust keeps many people hoarding their money at home instead of using the banks.
In April, Cambodia was assigned its first-ever sovereign debt rating by the credit rating agency Standard and Poor's, which said the impoverished country's outlook was 'stable'.
The B+ rating is below investment grade status, restricting many institutional investors, but it is a significant step in Cambodia's bid for economic respectability.
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Cambodian royal shirks Khmer Rouge trials
The 85-year-old royal, who has carved a name for himself as a man who relishes the spotlight, has waded into the dispute in his own inimitable way. He chose to reveal his thoughts on the question that has gripped Phnom Penh: whether Sihanouk should or should not be called to appear before the United Nations-backed war-crimes trial.
On August 30 he made his first thrust by issuing an unusual invitation to the UN officials associated with the tribunal, including its international spokesman, Peter Foster, to visit the palace for a conversation on "the affairs of the Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk". The method of communicating the invitation was typical Sihanouk: it was posted on the personal website that he maintains. The rendezvous in the royal court was set for September 8 and scheduled to last for three hours.
Sihanouk - who stepped down as monarch in October 2004 in favor of his son, Norodom Sihamoni - took the liberty on the Web posting to reveal how he views the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC), as the tribunal is officially called.
"After this [meeting] it will no longer be necessary for me to present myself before the UN's ECCC," Sihanouk stated in his invitation. And if the UN officials failed to show up, he noted, he "will not accept to see, speak or correspond with the UN's ECCC".
As was expected, the UN officials did not participate in this royal conversation on the tribunal.
"I was not authorized to participate in this meeting, nor were other UN officials," Foster said during an interview from Phnom Penh. "We responded by saying that only the judges involved in the trial will be able to determine who will be a witness. The judges will do so based on procedural rules."
But like a character from a Shakespearean drama, Sihanouk continued to protest. In standing up for his cause, the former monarch ''complained that the ECCC wanted him to 'take an oath to tell the truth [and] nothing but the truth on the subject of arch-criminals'", the English-language Phnom Penh Post newspaper reported last Friday. "'I do not have to swear an oath after [the one I swore] with Buddha, to debase myself to take an oath in front of the ECCC.'"
Those familiar with Sihanouk's penchant for grand gestures and a life peppered with drama are hardly surprised by this latest offering. After being crowned monarch in 1941 at the tender age of 18 years, he abdicated twice, served as king twice, held the post of prime minister twice and served as president once. His record in the world of the arts and entertainment has been as varied, dabbling as a filmmaker, songwriter, painter, saxophonist and crooner of ballads.
What is equally well known is the link Sihanouk maintained with the Khmer Rouge, which was responsible for an orgy of death from 1975, when it took control of Cambodia after a prolonged battle with a pro-American puppet regime in Phnom Penh, to 1979. The extreme Maoist group killed close to 1.7 million Cambodians, nearly a quarter of the country's population at the time. The victims were executed or died from forced labor or starvation as the Khmer Rouge tried to turn the country into an agrarian utopia.
Sihanouk himself lost family members to the Khmer Rouge and was kept under house arrest by the genocidal regime between 1976 and 1979. Yet against those details are the roles he played in the four years up to the Khmer Rouge triumph in 1975 - urging the Cambodian people to join the group, in addition to serving as the head of state for the regime in the first year it held power. And when the Khmer Rouge was driven from power by invading Vietnamese troops, Sihanouk fled to the forests with the ousted rulers and took on a new role as the global defender of the regime-in-exile.
It is this phase of Sihanouk's life that has been brought into focus and raised the possibility of him going before the ECCC, which officially began work this July after long delays and hurdles placed in its way, including regular challenges posed by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The push to get Sihanouk to appear before the ECCC was triggered by a relatively unknown non-governmental organization based in the United States, the Cambodian Action Committee for Justice and Equity. Late last month, it made a request to authorities in Phnom Penh to strip Sihanouk of his immunity as a former monarch so he could be called before the tribunal.
The Hun Sen administration rose to Sihanouk's defense by delivering a harsh rebuke. The prime minister called the request to strip Sihanouk "very barbaric" and one that "could have the result of jeopardizing the peace and unity" of the country. But rights groups questioned the government's motives, arguing that war-ravaged Cambodia's quest to create a society governed by the rules of law and justice will be undermined if the former monarch is placed above the law and insulated from the ECCC.
"This could set a bad precedent, since the ECCC is expected to set new and high standards of justice for Cambodia," said Lao Mong Hay, senior researcher on Cambodia at the Asian Human Rights Commission, a regional rights lobby. "The request does not mean he has to face trial as a defendant or as an accused, but it is to remove an unconstitutional clause in the constitution and make the former king available if the judges need him to appear.
"This is very important for the trial, since many Cambodians who lost family want to know about the past - how and why the Khmer Rouge pursued their murderous policies," Lao Mong Hay said. "It is a chance for the former king to clear his name if he did nothing wrong. And he has been on the record in the past saying that he would be willing to face the trial like the former Khmer Rouge leaders."
Colombo awaits confirmation of top LTTE arms procurer's arrest
The Sri Lankan government is awaiting official confirmation of the arrest of top LTTE arms procurer and smuggler, Kumaran Pathmanathan, better known as KP, in Bangkok on Monday.
"We have only seen media reports about his arrest. We are yet to get confirmation," the Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary, Dr Palitha Kohona, told Hindustan Times on Tuesday.
Sri Lankan officials say that if indeed KP has been arrested, it is "absolutely certain" that a "major dent" has been made in the LTTE's multi-million dollar arms procurement network.
This is bound to affect the LTTE's military capability both in the short and the long run. KP, after all, has for decades been the kingpin of the illegal and clandestine racket and is also one of the most trusted men in Tiger chieftain Velupillai Prabhakaran's inner circle.
"If he has been arrested, it shows that the Sri Lankan government is succeeding in its efforts to get other countries to crackdown on the LTTE financial and arms procurement networks. Due to our intense efforts, 17 LTTE operatives were arrested in the US, 14 in France, three in Australia and two in the UK .Last week three LTTE operatives were extradited to Sri Lanka from Thailand," Foreign Secretary Kohona said.
The 1955 born KP from Jaffna in North Sri Lanka, is said to have had over 20 passports in at least five different names. A globe trotter, he is said to have operated with ease from Bangkok, London, Frankfurt, Athens, Australia and Cambodia.
He is believed to have been in Mumbai at the time of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.He escaped within five days of the event when he got wind of the manhunt for him.
However, KP was not directly linked to the assassination. He was not among the 41 persons against whom the Special Investigating Team filed a charge sheet. Later, the CBI had wanted him for arms smuggling, and Interpol's assistance was sought to arrest him.
Since 1991, the Indian Navy and agencies had been keeping a tab on KP and the LTTE's arms procurement and smuggling activities and had helped the Sri Lankan government destroy some gun running ships with timely intelligence.
In one case in 1993, the Indian Navy intercepted an arms ship with the top leader Kittu on board off the Indian coast. When challenged, Kittu ordered the blowing up of the ship and went down with it.
KP has been using Thailand as a major transshipment point for weapons acquired from war-torn Cambodia and other places across the globe. He is in charge of the LTTE's fleet of ships, which transport the arms apart from legitimate cargo. He has been adept at exploiting rampant corruption in Third World countries like Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia to feed the LTTE's gargantuan appetite for sophisticated arms.
However, three to four years ago, there were reports that Prabhakaran and KP had fallen out. Media reports said that the seizures and destruction of arms vessels had come for adverse comment from the Tiger chieftain.
But in 2003 there were reports that Prabhakaran was trying to rehabilitate KP by making him a member of the LTTE's team for the peace talks with the Sri Lankan government. The LTTE had tried to push a person called Shanmugam Kumaran Tharmalingam, who, the Sri Lankan government suspected, was none other than KP. KP's real name is Tharmalingam Shanmugam Kumaran!
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Bec, Lleyton in TV spotlight
Confidential can reveal that Today Tonight producer Phil Goyen and reporter Marguerite McKinnon have spent the past several days in Cambodia trying to expose the "truth'' behind the Hewitts' pledge to house AIDS-affected children two years ago.
"We will be involved from scratch, starting off with the land, the building and then feeding the kids. It will be unreal,'' Bec said in February, 2005.
The Hope for Children home is now up and running, but - without the approval of the Hewitts - TT has set out to find if the celebrity couple did properly oversee the project with the AIDS Trust of Australia.
While a Seven spokeswoman would not reveal the outcome of the "investigation'' when quizzed by Confidential yesterday, it's clear the gloves are off when it comes to the glamorous tennis mum -now signed to Channel Nine's magazine arm ACP as a weekly columnist on Woman's Day.
"We've come to Cambodia to see exactly what's been done and who's done it,'' Goyen said yesterday.
"Basically, we're going to put all the facts and financials out there and people can make up their own mind.''
However, AIDS Trust boss Terry Trethowan said the Hewitts had given what they had committed to - a figure believed to be about $65,000 - mainly from Bec's prize money from her winning performance on Seven's reality show Dancing with the Stars.
"They have done nothing wrong and gave exactly what they said they were going to give,'' Mr Trethowan said.
Cambodia smashes international human trafficking ring
Police from the Cambodian Ministry of Interior have smashed an international human- trafficking ring led by prominent expatriates which has allegedly been responsible for the illegal transit of hundreds of South Asians through Cambodia to first-world nations, local media said on Tuesday.
The ring, reportedly led by Sri-Lankan and Pakistani expatriates, had planned to transport over 200 people through Cambodia to several developed nations including Australia and destinations in the European Union, according to Chhay Sinnith, director of the department of information at the ministry, reported Cambodian-language newspaper the Rasmei Kampuchea.
There were three ringleaders in the case, all of whom managed to flee Cambodia before the police could arrest them, he said.
The first was Mariam Pillai Lerins Ranni, the 40-year-old Sri Lankan owner of the Raani Curry Leaf Restaurant in Phnom Penh. The second is Lipton Lerins, a relative of Ranni, and the third Mohammed Nadim, the Pakistani owner of the Taj Mahal Restaurant in Siem Reap, reported Chinese-language newspaper the Commercial News.
A further three suspects including two more Sri-Lankan nationals and a Pakistani were detained, and subsequently expelled from Cambodia for the crime over Sept. 1 and 2, said Sinnith.
The crackdown was the culmination of a months-long investigation conducted jointly by the Cambodian police, the Interpol and the police from other concerned nations, he said, adding that the traffickers had established a network in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampot and Sihanoukville.
The ministry cracked a similar case in 2002, which resulted in the rescue of 248 illegally trafficked persons and the arrest of the ringleaders involved, he added.
Source: Xinhua
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Monday, September 10, 2007
WHO warns over complacency on bird flu
"I am often asked if the effort invested in pandemic preparedness is a waste of resources," director general Margaret Chan told a regional meeting of the world organisation.
"Has public health cried wolf too often and too loudly?" she said in a speech.
"Not at all. Pandemics are recurring events. We do not know whether the H5N1 (avian influenza) virus will cause the next pandemic. But we do know this: the world will experience another influenza pandemic sooner or later."
WHO regional director Shigeru Omi noted that bird flu deaths in the Western Pacific -- which excludes Indonesia -- had fallen from 19 two years ago to five in the past year.
But he said the virus was still "entrenched" in several countries.
"Because the virus continues to evolve and mutate, we must maintain constant vigilance," he said.
Speed would be the key in handling any human pandemic triggered by bird flu, he said.
"If a human pandemic associated with avian influenza were to break out in the region, rapid containment would be our highest priority. Such an effort would require the massive deployment of antiviral drugs, personal protection equipment and other supplies."
A stockpile was established in Singapore in April with the support of Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, he noted, urging members to consider using military transport planes to move equipment to affected areas.
Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional adviser for communicable disease surveillance and response, reiterated that the main fear is of H5N1 mutating into a forum easily transmissable between humans.
He told AFP in an interview that past experience and data indicated it might be high time for a new human global influenza outbreak, following pandemics in 1968, 1953 and 1918.
"Sadly, the H5 virus is mutating and changing very rapidly. Usually the bird flu virus changes slowly but this one changes very, very fast," he said.
Kasai said it was unclear if this was an indication that it could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans. "But these are the facts that make the WHO concerned."
"I'm sure if people are ready, its impact would be low, but if they are not, there would be big disasters."
Omi in his speech noted progress in fighting other regional diseases. He said the Western Pacific had become the only WHO region to meet intermediate 2005 targets for tuberculosis control.
It was also making progress against HIV/AIDS, with prevalance among adults falling in some countries. In Cambodia the percentage had fallen from above two percent in 1998 to around 0.9 percent now.
Deaths from malaria continued to fall but drug-resistant strains hampered control efforts, Omi said. And dengue fever and dengue haemmorhagic fever remained "major public health problems" in many regional countries.
He noted a massive outbreak in Cambodia this year, with more than 30,000 infections and 327 deaths. Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam also reported increased cases this year.
Omi said the Western Pacific "continues to bear a disporoportionate share of the world's suicide burden." The WHO had begun a project to counter the trend in partnership with the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention.
Cambodia arrest USA man for drugs
Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodian police said Monday that they had arrested a US national accused of possessing methamphetamines and not having a valid passport.
Phnom Penh Foreigner Police Chief Mom Sitha gave the man's name as Daniel Jakob Thoreaux Division, 39.
"He was arrested ... because he was sleepy on the street and behaving strangely," Sitha said. "Police found a small amount of methamphetamines on him as well as equipment for smoking drugs and a set of scales."
Sitha said it was unclear why the man was carrying scales because the amount of drugs was only enough for personal use but investigations were continuing. He said the American was detained over the weekend.
After we arrested him, we also found he had no passport, which is another serious charge," he added.
Sitha said Division was expected to face court Tuesday on the drugs charges and he was still awaiting orders regarding the immigration charges.
The 39-year-old could face a prison term as Cambodia continues to crack down on a growing methamphetamine problem, although deportation was also a possibility because of the small amount in his possession.
If the court finds he has a case to answer, Division might be detained up to six months under Cambodian law as he awaits trial.
Authorities did not reveal the exact amount of drugs recovered.
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RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: Will Sihanouk Appear at Khmer Rouge Trials?
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Sep 10 (IPS) - Cambodia’s colourful former king Norodom Sihanouk has emerged as the central figure in the latest controversy to plague the special tribunal established to prosecute the surviving members of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.
And the 85-year-old royal, who has carved a name for himself as a man who relishes the spotlight, has waded into the dispute in his own inimitable way. He chose to reveal his thoughts on the question that has gripped Phnom Penh: whether Sihanouk should or should not be called to appear before the United Nations-backed war crimes trial.
On Aug. 30 he took his first thrust by issuing an unusual invitation to the U.N. officials associated with the tribunal, including the international spokesman for the tribunal, Peter Foster, to visit the palace for a conversation on ‘’the affairs of the Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk.’’ The means of communicating the invitation was typical Sihanouk: it was posted on the personal web site that he maintains. The rendezvous in the royal court was set for Sep. 8 and expected to last for three hours, from 9 a.m. till 12 noon.
Sihanouk -- who stepped down as the monarch in October 2004 in favour of his son, Norodom Sihamoni -- took the liberty on that web posting to reveal how he views the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC), as the tribunal is officially called. ‘’After this (meeting) it will no longer be necessary for me to present myself before the U.N.’s ECCC,’’ Sihanouk stated in his invitation. And if the U.N. officials failed to show up, he noted that he ‘’will not accept to see, speak or correspond with the U.N.’s ECCC.’’
As was expected, the U.N. officials did not participate in this royal conversation on the tribunal. ‘’I was not authorised to participate in this meeting, nor were other U.N. officials,’’ Foster said during an interview from Phnom Penh. ‘’We responded by saying that only the judges involved in the trial will be able to determine who will be a witness. The judges will do so based on procedural rules.’’
But like a character from a Shakespearian drama, Sihanouk continued to protest too much. In standing up for his cause, the former monarch ‘’complained that the ECCC wanted him to ‘take an oath to tell the truth, nothing but the truth on the subject of arch criminals’,’’ reported the ‘Phnom Penh Post’ English-language newspaper last Friday. ‘’I do not have to swear an oath after (the one I swore) with Buddha, to debase myself to take an oath in front of the ECCC.’’
Those familiar with Sihanouk’s penchant for grand gestures and a life peppered with drama are hardly surprised by this latest offering. Following his being crowned the monarch of his South-east Asian nation in 1941, at the tender age of 18 years, he has abdicated twice, served as king twice, held the post of prime minister twice and served as president once. His record in the world of the arts and entertainment has been as varied, dabbling as a film-maker, song writer, painter, saxophonist and a crooner of ballads.
What is equally well-known is the link Sihanouk maintained with the Khmer Rouge, responsible for an orgy of death during 1975 to 1979 when it took control of Cambodia after a prolonged battle with a pro-American puppet regime in Phnom Penh. The extreme Maoist group killed close to 1.7 million Cambodians, nearly a quarter of the country’s population at the time. The victims were executed, died from forced labour or starvation as the Khmer Rouge tried to turn the country into an agrarian utopia.
Sihanouk himself lost family members to the Khmer Rouge and was kept under house arrest by the genocidal regime between 1976 till 1979. Yet against those details are the roles he played in the four years up to the Khmer Rouge triumph in 1975 -- urging the Cambodian people to join the Khmer Rouge, in addition to serving as the head of state for the Khmer Rouge in the first year it held power. And when the Khmer Rouge was driven out of power by the invading Vietnamese troops, Sihanouk fled to the forests with the extreme Maoists and took on a new role as the global defender of the Khmer Rouge regime in exile.
It is this phase of Sihanouk’s life that has been brought into focus and raised the possibility of him going before the ECCC. The latter officially began work in July this year after long delays and hurdles placed in its way, including regular challenges posed by the Cambodian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The push to get Sihanouk appear before the ECCC was triggered by a relatively unknown non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in the United States, the Cambodian Action Committee for Justice and Equity (CACJE). In late August, it made a request to authorities in Phnom Penh to strip Sihanouk of his immunity as a former monarch in order to be called before the tribunal.
The Hun Sen administration rose to Sihanouk’s defence by delivering a harsh rebuke. The premier called the request to strip Sihanouk ‘’very barbaric’’ and one that ‘’could have the result of jeopardising the peace and unity’’ of the country.
But human rights groups questioned the motives of the government, arguing that war-ravaged Cambodia’s quest to create a society governed by the rules of law and justice will be undermined if the former monarch is placed above the law and insulated from the ECCC. ‘’This could set a bad precedence, since the ECCC is expected to set new and high standards of justice for Cambodia,’’ says Lao Mong Hay, senior researcher on Cambodia at the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a regional rights lobby.
‘’The request does not mean he has to face trial as a defendant or as an accused, but it is to remove an unconstitutional clause in the constitution and make the former king available if the judges need him to appear,’’ Lao explained during an interview from Hong Kong, where AHRC is based. ‘’This is very important for the trial, since many Cambodians who lost family want to know about the past; how and why the Khmer Rouge pursued their murderous policies.’’
‘’It is a chance for the former king to clear his name if he did nothing wrong,’’ adds Lao. ‘’And he has been on the record in the past saying that he would be willing to face the trial like the former Khmer Rouge leaders.’’
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Military police deputy killed in Cambodia
A senior military policeman has been killed in an intense gunfight in the capital, Phnom Penh.
At least five gunmen, including an Interior Ministry police officer, attacked Phnom Penh's deputy Military Police chief, Reth Nika, firing into his car after a high-speed chase.
Phnom Penh police chief, Touch Naruth, told AFP news agency that the 27-year-old fled his vehicle for a nearby temple after his car got stuck in traffic.
His assailants hunted him down and shot him dead within the temple grounds.
One of the attackers also died - from wounds suffered during the attack.
Touch Naruth says it is unclear why the killing took place.
Two people are under arrest and a hunt is continuing for more members of the group of assassins.
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Cambodia approves agreements on cross-border transportation of cargo, people
The Cambodian National Assembly on Monday approved the agreements on facilitating cross- border transportation of cargo and people with other countries in the region.
Cambodia has already signed such agreements with China, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, said Chhoum Eak, secretary of state in the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation.
These agreements will help to combat drug trafficking and stop expired products from flowing into Cambodia, Ky Lim Orng, chairwoman of the Committee of Transportation and Telecommunication, said.
They will also help to combat human trafficking and terrorism, she added.
In addition, they will help collect tax for national revenue and stop importing unqualified chicken and pork from neighboring countries, said Chheab Yeam, chairman of the Committee of Banking and Finance.
Source: Xinhua
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Sunday, September 09, 2007
Visiting Buddha land is 'dream fulfilled' for Buddhist delegation
Bihar may evoke negative images for many, but certainly not for Buddhists. This was evident from the glowing faces of a 110-member Buddhist tourist delegation from five Southeast Asian countries visiting the land of the Buddha - a fulfilment of a lifetime dream for them.
'We have fulfilled our lifetime dream to come and feel close to Buddha,' said He Khun Kok Hour, a Cambodian member of the Buddhist tourist delegation.
The Buddhist delegation from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar arrived here Wednesday afternoon has been declared as state guests by the government.
State tourism secretary Anjani Kumar Singh told IANS Thursday that elaborate arrangements have been made for the team to give them a feel of the Indian tradition of 'Atithi Devo Bhavo' (Guests are like god).
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has described the tourists as 'enlightened ambassadors' of Bihar to their respective countries. The state government is keen to impress them in order to promote religious tourism to Bihar from Buddhist nations.
The delegation was given a warm welcome by the state government after their arrival and invited to lunch by the chief minister, followed by dinner by Governor R.S. Gavai.
'Nitish Kumar presented the delegation Madhubani paintings as mementos,' officials sources said.
The Buddhist delegation visited Patna Museum and spent about 90 minutes there.
The members are feeling very upbeat and happy with their visit.
'We are lucky to be in the land of Buddha,' said Nabhasporn Bhuttarichva, who is from Thailand.
The delegation is to visit Bodh Gaya, considered the birth place of Buddhism where the Buddha attained enlightenment 2,550 years ago, Thursday. They will also visit other Buddhist places like Vaishali, Nalanda and Rajgrih before leaving for Varanasi on Sep 9.
According to official sources, the delegation comprises ministers, bureaucrats and media persons who are visiting Bihar under the banner of Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC)
The Mekong Ganga Cooperation was named after two major rivers - the Ganges in India and the Mekong, the 10th longest river in the world which originates in the Tibetan plateau and runs through China's Yunnan province, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
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Bush invites Southeast Asian leaders to Texas
In recent days, Bush has branded Myanmar's leaders as "tyrannical" and their crackdown on pro-democracy activists and protests over fuel prices as "inexcusable" as US officials talked about "next steps" to pressure Yangon.
Bush made the announcement as he met with leaders of countries that are members of both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which was meeting in Sydney.
"I invited the ASEAN leaders to Texas at their convenience. I'm looking forward to hosting you down there," said Bush, who reserves invitations to Texas as a diplomatic plum for close allies.
He said democracy promotion, the war on terrorism, trade expansion, avian flu, and climate change would be on the agenda for the talks, which could take place at his ranch or "another location" in Texas, an aide said.
"I also am pleased to announce that we'll be naming an ambassador to ASEAN, so that we can make sure that the ties we've established over the past years remain firmly entrenched," said the US president.
White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said all ASEAN heads of state had been invited, except Myanmar, whose "level of participation is to be determined."
Deputy National Security Adviser Jim Jeffrey said later that Bush had made "an invitation in principle" and stressed "we have to work out the details later," including what he called Myanmar's presence "hypothetically."
The US president unveiled the meeting as he held talks here with leaders of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ASEAN's other members are Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
"ASEAN represents our fourth largest trading partner. In other words, this is a group of friends that represent more than just social acquaintances, you represent commerce and trade and prosperity," he said.
Bush's announcement came hours after he called on APEC leaders to pile pressure on the military rulers of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, to free pro-democracy activists including Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's military rulers have held the Nobel Peace Prize winner and democracy icon under house arrest for 11 of the past 17 years.
"We must press the regime in Burma to stop arresting and harassing and assaulting pro-democracy activists for organizing or participating in peaceful demonstrations," he said in the keynote speech of his visit to Sydney.
His comments followed US State Department criticism of a Myanmar convention that drew up guidelines for a new constitution, and a political foray by First Lady Laura Bush who asked for UN condemnation of the crackdown.
"It's inexcusable that we've got this kind of tyrannical behaviour in Asia," he said at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard ahead of the 21-member APEC meeting in Sydney.
Bush had already last week criticised the junta's crackdown in a statement but his comments in Sydney were more direct and used harsher language.
Aung San Suu Kyi's party won elections in 1990 but the military never recognised the result, and instead opened the National Convention in 1993 to draft a new constitution.
According to Amnesty International more than 150 people have been detained in Myanmar since August 19, when activists began rare protests against a major hike in fuel prices that left some people unable to afford even a bus fare.
The military regime has long dealt harshly with the slightest show of dissent during 45 years in power, but the latest protests have spread across the country, defying the threat of arrests and beatings.
Bush's invitation came after he postponed indefinitely a planned trip to Singapore for a meeting with all 10 ASEAN members.
Cambodia can earn 174 mln USD from oil production in 2011: IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted Cambodia could earn 174 million U.S. dollars from oil production in 2011, with the windfall rising to 1.7 billion U.S. dollars after 10 years, said the latest issue of the Phnom Penh Post published this weekend.
The IMF said in its new report that 2011 is a realistic date to assume that U.S. oil giant Chevron would begin production given that oil is already produced on both sides of Cambodia's waters in the gulf of Thailand, the newspaper said.
It projected that after 10 years of production Cambodia's share of oil revenues would peak in 2021 at 1.7 billion U.S. dollars. Then revenues would begin to decline.
The IMF called the report a "moderate scenario", which was based on a variety of assumptions, such as oil production sharing agreements, size of recoverable resources and oil prices.
The Cambodian government's current revenues are 11.5 percent of current GDP, or 632 million U.S. dollars, so an additional 174 million U.S. dollars in new revenues from a new source is a significant windfall, the newspaper said.
Source: Xinhua
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They fled horrors of Vietnam, Cambodia but need help
BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Lak Tev left war-torn Cambodia in 1985 with three children and only the memory of her husband, murdered by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.
To find a better life, she came to the Bronx.
And life is better, but still a struggle. Tev, 52, and her children work hard, crafting bowls and hair accessories for money, and make do with the little help they get from the government.
But she is still haunted by her experience in Cambodia, working in the labor camps and watching as her family and friends disappeared, one after the other.
"I miss them a lot," she said through a translator. "Life hasn't been the same since."
She has pain, both mental and physical. But to her, the pain is one and the same.
Depression, trauma and war-related flashbacks are plaguing the Bronx's Southeast Asian community, and a new survey says treatment can be hard to come by.
Almost half of the Bronx's 10,000 Southeast Asians are at-risk for depression, according to a survey by New York University and local groups.
During the 1980s, many refugees fleeing war-ravaged Vietnam and Cambodia resettled in the Bronx, most making their home in Fordham.
Very few speak English and many live below the poverty line, relying on public assistance for their medical needs.
"The findings were quite striking," said Douglas Nam Le, director of NYU's Southeast Asian Program, who along with the Bronx-based Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV) documented the community's history and current health.
Many Southeast Asian immigrants in the Bronx had firsthand experience with the Khmer Rouge, the Communist regime responsible for more than 1.7 million deaths in Cambodia during the 1970s.
Some are even former Khmer Rouge members who feel they were "used by the system" and have experienced trauma of their own, Le said.
A huge problem in seeking help for depression and other mental health problems is finding someone who speaks their language.
The Indochinese Mental Health Clinic at the Montefiore Family Health Center on E. 193rd St., for example, has translators available over the phone, which many residents find confusing and disrespectful, said Chhaya Chhoum, director of CAAAV's Youth Leadership Project.
Sister Jean Marshall, the founder of St. Rita's Center for Immigrants and Refugees, agreed.
"The problem is dealing with these translation services on the phone," she said. "They don't work well enough to get everyone - the doctors, the patients, the translators - on the same wavelength."
Even those receiving medicine through Medicaid and other public assistance programs would prefer access to more traditional Asian methods of treatment, such as acupuncture, massage and horticultural therapy, Le said.
CAAAV recently set out to record the hardships and struggles of its community, recording and putting immigrants' stories on display for the public.
Tev was relieved to finally be able to tell her story. For years she had remained silent, not even telling her children in full detail what had happened to their father. "We all have to share these stories," she said.
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Writers meet in Ha Noi for Mekong Literature Award
HA NOI — Well-known writers from Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia are getting together for a first-ever five-day conference in Ha Noi from Thursday.
Top of the agenda, the conference will mull over top-notch literary work from the three countries for the newly established Mekong Literature Prize. The meeting will also discuss translating a selection of outstanding pieces to be translated into two other languages.
Work to be presented at the event includes stories about the Indochinese resistance, Vietnamese volunteers in Laos and pieces about relations between people of the three countries.
Twelve Mekong Literature Prizes are up for grabs, with five allotted to Vietnamese writers, three to Laos and four to those from Cambodia.
The awards will be given out on Monday.
The conference is part of an agreement made at a meeting last December between chairmen of writers associations in the three countries. The move aims to encourage literary works exploring their friendship and solidarity. Both Cambodia and Laos will hold similar events.
Sidelining the conference, field trips with Vietnamese writers will be organised for foreign writers to learn about Vietnamese history and culture and their share experiences writing about Viet Nam. — VNS
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Saturday, September 08, 2007
Spread of dengue fever down in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The recent spreading rate of dengue fever has been down by 60 to 70 percent in Cambodia, thanks to the multi-level anti-epidemic efforts carried out by the government and international organizations, local media said on Saturday.
Earlier this year when the disease maintained its peak of spread, some 1,000 people were contaminated on average each week, and recently the figure was brought down to 300 to 400, Chinese-language newspaper the Commercial Daily quoted health official as saying.
The progress came along, after the Cambodian government, in conjunction with the anti-epidemic staff members at various levels, made concerted efforts to help residents clean their living areas and kill mosquitoes in large quantities, the paper said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank extended huge aid to the country in the field of epidemic containment, which also resulted in the back-off of dengue fever.
According to the statistics from the Cambodian Ministry of Health, altogether 370 children died of the disease while 35,000 people were hospitalized for contamination so far this years.
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Private sectors urged Cambodian government to allow them own real estate property
Cambodia's private sector has urged the government to allow foreign ownership this week saying an open-minded real estate market would promote economic growth.
The Cambodian investment law was amended back in 2005 to allow foreign ownership of permanent fixtures, but as yet has not been enforced. The non-implementation of the act has in fact rendered the amendments as a forgotten law, and as such has now become out dated. In the current legal understanding, the old law will only allow a property investment in the name of a Cambodian national but with the pressure from the private sector to increase wealth, urgent action will be required.
Chris Green, Head of Research at Obelisk International says ‘The key improvements to the property investment law would open up a whole new economic world to the country of Cambodia. These measures would not only further develop Cambodia's property investment market, but the new interest from those investors who want to take advantage early, will not only create a boom putting Cambodia on the map, but will also make the country more competitive with its neighbours.’
American lawyer and chairman of the International Business Club, Bretton Sciaron comments on the property investment news ‘There are several reasons for urgent action, this is already a sector of the economy that is dynamic, but foreign ownership of apartments, condominiums and other such structures on the land will help spur further economic growth. Such a regulatory development will provide a dramatic indication that Cambodia has an investor-friendly environment.’
Vast new building projects have increased over the past few years, including a great number of satellite cities worth billions of dollars that when completed will fundamentally alter the appearance of the capital. After years of disorder within Cambodia, the country is now turning things around as a growing economy posting a steady 11% growth over the last three years, fuelled by a strong tourism industry and clothing manufactures.
Cambodian Commerce Minister, Cham Prasidh said that Cambodia still relies on international aid for half of its annual budget, but must now diversify by seeking more varied foreign investments. ‘There are other sectors we are trying to encourage, but we have to find out what are the sectors where we can be competitive. If we try to produce the same thing as Thailand or Malaysia, it will be very difficult’.
For more information on overseas property investments and to find out about Obelisk International’s latest projects, contact: Obelisk International on 0808 1600670 or email :
info@obeliskinternational.com or visit our website http://www.obeliskinternational.com/
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Sri Lanka confront Cambodia in their first match
S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen, Kandy Sports correspondent
RUGBY: Sri Lanka meet newcomers Cambodia in the opening match of the Singer SriLankan International Rugby Sevens which is also an IRB Satellite Tournament which will be played at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium in Kandy today. This match will be played at 10 a.m.
On form Sri Lanka should have no difficulty in overcoming the Cambodians who will be participating in this tournament for the first time. Sri Lanka who are in Pool A will take on Kazakhstan 11.40 a.m. Sri Lanka will play their third match for the day at 4.40 p.m. against Thailand. Their fourth match will be on Sunday against the defending champions Korea at 11.40 a.m.
This tournament will be played in two pools after Japan and Arabian Gulf pulled out of the tournament. The pool draw is as:
Pool A: Sri Lanka, Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Kazakhstan
Pool B: Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, China.
The rest of the International matches for today are:
10 a.m Sri Lanka vs Cambodia, 10.20 a.m. Thailand vs Kazakhstan, 10.40 a.m. Chinese Taipei vs India, 11 a.m. Hong Kong vs Malaysia, 11.20 a.m. Korea vs Cambodia, 11.40 a.m. Sri Lanka vs Kazakhstan, 12 noon China vs India, 12.20 p.m. Chinese Taipei vs Malaysia, 12.40 p.m. to 2 p.m. Women's rugby, 2 p.m. Korea vs Kazakhstan, 2.20 p.m. Thailand vs Cambodia, 2.40 p.m. China vs Malaysia, 3 p.m. Hong Kong vs India, 3.20 p.m. to 4.20 p.m. Schools Cup Quarter finals, 4.40 p.m. Sri Lanka vs Thailand, 5 p.m. Chinese Taipei vs Hong Kong.
On Sunday the International and schools matches will be continued.
There will be a March past and elephant parade form 12.20 p.m. to 1.20 p.m.
Finals: Schools Bowl finals at 1.20 p.m., Schools Plate finals 3.40 p.m., Schools Cup finals at 4.50 p.m., International Bowl Finals at 4 p.m., International Plate finals at 4.20 p.m., International Cup Finals at 5.30 p.m.
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