Cambodia Deja Vu: the Invasion of Pakistan

Pfaff, William


PARIS -- Last September, during the American presidential campaign, I wrote a column declaring that the United States had again invaded Cambodia, only this time "Cambodia" was Pakistan. President George W. Bush had ordered U.S. ground attacks on the Taliban inside Pakistan's Tribal Territories, without Pakistan's authorization.

That was also when Barack Obama's foreign policy campaign platform was promising withdrawal from Iraq and military emphasis on Afghanistan and Pakistan, location of the "real" problem in the great war on terror.

A younger generation than mine, including senior military officers (not to speak of Barack Obama), may not know exactly why the United States and the South Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia in 1970, and what the result was. The invasion was a failure, and the result a humanitarian catastrophe.

Washington, frustrated in its war against the Communist Viet Cong in South Vietnam, which eventually included bombing on a scale greater than the bombing of Germany in the Second World War, decided it could solve its problem by an invasion to cut the Communist supply routes inside neutral Cambodia (which it nonetheless was also bombing: dropping 540,000 tons of explosive on Cambodia over four years).

The invasion accomplished nothing except further destruction in Cambodia. It destroyed the U.S.-supported military government in Cambodia and empowered the native Cambodian Communist resistance, known as the Khmer Rouge, which eventually, in order to create a utopian society, killed some 2 million of its fellow Cambodians.

The later head of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale wrote of the bombing: "The emergent Communist party . . . profited greatly . . . (using) the widespread devastation and massacre of civilians (to justify) its brutal, radical policies."

Three years after the invasion, the Viet Cong, with its North Vietnamese allies, forced American forces to retreat from Vietnam, and by 1975 ruled the country. In Cambodia, the genocide had begun.

The invasion was occasion for Richard Nixon to declare that the U.S. was not "a second-rate power" nor "a pitiful helpless giant" standing by while "the forces of totalitarianism and anarchy . . . threaten free nations and free institutions throughout the world."

How long ago it seems -- 39 years! And here we are again.

The United States, despite its plan to deploy nearly 70,000 troops this year in Afghanistan, finds itself and its NATO allies in danger of defeat by the Taliban guerillas.

U.S. bombing, with remote-controlled "drones," of the Pakistani Tribal Territories, where the Taliban take refuge among their Pathan tribal kinsmen, has killed many people but has had no decisive effect on the fighting in Afghanistan.

American bombing inside Afghanistan is protested by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who says the air-strikes are fast turning the Afghans against the U.S., which risks "losing the moral battle" against the Taliban. Gen. James L. Jones, U.S. national security adviser, says, "We can't fight with one hand tied behind our back."

Karzai says, "How can you expect a people who keep losing their children to remain friendly?" Jones says of Karzai, "I think he understands that we have to have a full compliment of our offensive military power when we need it."

The former Pakistani military government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf was unwilling to send the Pakistan army into the Tribal Territories to attack the Taliban and al-Qaida.

He is now ousted, and the civilian government led by President Asif Ali Zardari, put under immense pressure by Washington, and frightened by the success of the Taliban in operations outside the Tribal Region, has agreed to the ground offensive now going on, in which Pakistani commanders are accompanied by U.S liaison officers and air controllers.

U.S. Command in "Af-Pak" now has been transferred, in obvious urgency, to former Joint Special Operations commander Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

Will a special forces officer think that guerrillas -- with refuge in an inaccessible and unconquered region, amid a tri-national ethnic population of some 40 million fellow Pathans -- can be beaten by guided bombs or special forces raids? Or that an unenthusiastic Pakistani army will do the job? Or 70,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, when the Taliban can always refuse battle and pull back into the mountains?

Moreover, what is supposed to be accomplished by this war against the Taliban, which threatens to leave Afghanistan in ruins, and to tear Pakistan apart? Do the Taliban threaten the United States? Most of them could not find the United States on a map.

What have they ever done to the United States? What if the United States would just go away and leave the Pakistanis, Afghans and Pathans to settle this among themselves?

President Barack Obama says the war will not be won by military means but by a "surge" of civilian development experts, reconstruction leaders and democracy teachers, just as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently told Congress that the U.S. is training. Will this "surge" get there in time? My own feeling is that President Obama is in over his head; and that American military command, not knowing what else to do, is reverting to Vietnam, which most of its members were too young to experience.

Visit William Pfaff's Web site at www.williampfaff.com.
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Cambodia demands compensation from Thailand for losses caused by Thai troops in Preah Vihear

PHNOM PENH, Cambodian government presents its complaints to Thailand on Monday, demanding compensation for the damage and losses caused by Thai troops' attack early April on its market located in front of the Temple of Preah Vihear.

"The attack with heavy weapons by Thai troops against Cambodian territory in the area close to the Temple of Preah Vihear on April 3 caused numerous damages and set a blaze the Cambodian market located in front of the temple," a note from Cambodian foreign ministry to Thailand foreign ministry said.

"A total number of 264 stands within this market were completely destroyed, causing great hardship and misery to 319 Cambodian families who have lost their livelihood," it said, adding that "the material loss incurred on these families amounts to 2,150,500 U.S. dollars."

"The Royal Government of Cambodia demands that the Royal Thai Government take full responsibility for these damages caused by Thai soldiers and to appropriately compensate the above losses," the ministry statement said.

The Preah Vihear temple became a World Heritage Site of UNESCO in July 2008. Although the International Court in Hague decided in 1962 that the temple and its surrounding area should belong to Cambodia, Thailand has been claiming its archeological value and sovereignty.

Both troops built up within the border area since July 2008, and brief military encounters in October 2008 and April 2009 have sparked concern of possible war between these two countries. Gunfire exchange during the armed clashes also led to bullet pits and other slight wound of the temple.
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Cambodia, S Korea to sign bilateral co-op agreements

PHNOM PENH, Cambodian and South Korean governments will sign six agreements during the official visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to the South Korea in late May, national media said on Monday.

The six agreements will include grant to Cambodia, loans for Cambodia's road rehabilitation, waste water treatment, Siem Reap River's development and cooperation in the fields of construction, energy, mines and communications, according to Cambodia's state-run news agency AKP (the Agence Kampuchea Presse).

Premier Hun Sen will also attend the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit and make a speech on the occasion during his stay in South Korea.

According to Lee Youn-joon, South Korean deputy minister of foreign affairs, the South Korean foreign minister will visit Cambodia in July, while the South-Korean president will pay a state visit to the country in October.

South Korea became the largest foreign investing country in Cambodia in 2007, according to official statistics.
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Son recalls LI veteran held captive in Cambodia

Left, Vietnam POW Captain David Baker holds his son, David Baker Jr., 3, and chats with his father in 1973. Right, David Baker Jr. today. (Newsday File Photo / Bill Senft)

BY MARTIN C. EVANS

The photograph hangs in the dining room of the Bethesda, Md., home of David Baker Jr. It shows a little boy looking up with curious wonder at a father he was too young at the time to remember.

The photograph was taken at Kennedy Airport on March 16, 1973, when Baker was 2 and his Air Force pilot father had just been released after nearly a year in a prisoner-of-war camp in Cambodia. The son's memories were so slim that he actually asked the man if he really was his father.

Now, nearly four decades later, the son is preparing to bury his father, retired Brig. Gen. David Baker Sr., at a ceremony scheduled for Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where the nation's military heroes are laid to rest.

But as he does, memories return of a father who survived captivity in the snake-ridden jungles of Southeast Asia, then spent much of the rest of his life nurturing a family and a military career that fate had nearly snatched from him.

Huntington High grad

The senior Baker graduated from Huntington High School in 1964, and from Hofstra University four years later. He retired in 1997 as a deputy director for military education to the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff. He died of heart failure on Jan. 29 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington. He was 62.

"Absolutely, it's comforting to me," Baker said of the photograph, taken by Newsday photographer Bill Senft, who is now retired. "I was able to grow up with a dad; whereas, looking at the photograph, it could have been quite different. He was able to come back to his family.

"There will be a flood of emotions," said Baker, anticipating what his feelings will be at the Arlington ceremony. "Missing him, wishing we had had more time together, thinking that my daughter didn't have the chance to get to know him better."

Baker's daughter, Emily, was born in 2002.

The elder Baker lived a storied military life. On June 17, 1972, he was a 25-year-old Air Force captain serving in Southeast Asia. His wife, Carol, and their toddler son were back home in Huntington. Assigned a target-spotting mission, he boarded a single-prop Cessna and flew low and slow over the jungles of Cambodia.

A surface-to-air missile sliced through the airplane's tail, forcing him to parachute 4,000 feet to the jungle floor, where the Viet Cong waited for him. Shot in his right leg and right hand, he was captured within minutes of reaching the ground.

He spent the next eight months in captivity, alternately dragged on display through remote villages, bound and interrogated by his captors, or held in cramped, half-buried cages that were hidden from view by the jungle's canopy.

He told Newsday in an interview after his release that water would partly fill the cages during monsoon downpours, and poisonous snakes would slither in during the night. To the very end of his life, he avoided movies in which snakes appeared.

But he seized life anew when a 1973 accord with the North Vietnamese government led to the release of some 140 American troops held as prisoners.

He returned home to his family - landing at Kennedy Airport, where Senft took the picture of Baker Sr. walking down a long corridor with his young son. He had received several medals including the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The elder Baker went on to get master of business administration degree at the University of Hawaii in 1974, then resumed an Air Force career that eventually saw him become the only Air Force POW from the Vietnam era to fly missions over Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. He did so while serving as deputy commander of operations for two tactical fighter wings operating out of Saudi Arabia.

In 1994, he was promoted to brigadier general and appointed a vice director of operational plans to the Joint Chiefs. His son said the time in captivity had been so stressful that his father continued to have nightmares until the end of his life.

Although General Baker was often reluctant to share some of his more painful memories, his son said he always found ways to remain open to his family.

He juggled a military career in which he flew jet fighters, then came home to play baseball with his grade-school son. Later, father and son worked together to restore a 1977 Camaro, and frequently traveled to car races. After retiring from the military in 1997, General Baker began a second career with a financial consulting company to help provide for his younger son, Christopher, who is now 30.

Thoughts of family may have helped

"I have to believe that there were times while he was in that cage when he said, 'If I ever get out of here, that is what I want to do,' " said Baker, 38.

Gen. Baker will be buried with family keepsakes - a favorite watch, a heart-shaped necklace that was one of his first gifts to his wife, who lives in Mitchellville, Md., and a crayon drawing by Emily depicting herself and family members holding hands.

Baker said he believes his father maintained an appreciation for the second chance at life that his wartime repatriation offered.

That feeling was driven home a few years ago when the younger Baker hung Senft's photograph on his dining room wall.

"He was silent looking at it," Baker recalled of his father's reaction. "I have to think he was thanking his lucky stars that he was able to come home and be a part of that picture."

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Britain garment manufacturer moves operations to Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, A major garment manufacturer will move its product development center from the United Kingdom to Cambodia, a sign, according to some experts, that despite the effects of the economic crisis, the Cambodian garment sector continues to remain internationally competitive, local media reported on Monday.

Britain company New Island Clothing is setting up "a high level standards product development center," making the company one of the first to conduct the whole garment-production process -- from development to the placement of orders -- in Cambodia, New Island General Manager Kevin Plenty was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying.

The company, which has been in Cambodia for nine years and produces up to 75,000 men's shirts per week, had decided to set up the center here because it makes "the whole production process quicker for our customers," as the majority of materials come from the ASEAN region, said Plenty.

Kaing Monika, external affairs manager of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) said New Island's strategy showed the factory's "long-term vision and commitment in Cambodia," adding that most Cambodian factories only do "cut, make and trim" -- a production formula in which raw materials and designs are supplied and factories only really stitch the clothes together.

Tuomo Poutiainen, chief technical adviser for the International Labor Organization's garment sector program Better Factories Cambodia, said New Island's decision was "very positive for industry" and showed there was "enough confidence in the Cambodian garment sector to invest even in bad times."

Hundreds of factories have constituted the backbone of the garment sector of Cambodia, which used to generate above 70 percent of its total annual export volumes.

However, due to the global financial crisis and rising labor disputes, at least 60 garment factories have been closed and more than 50,000 garment workers lost their jobs since late 2008 and the sector's export volumes have also seen an obvious slide in the first quarter of this year.

But Plenty said he believed that the industry will see an economic turnaround within six months, and that he is not the only one within the garment industry to feel that way.


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UN chief calls for global compassion, solidarity on Buddhist day of Vesak

UNITED NATIONS, In a message commemorating the Vesak Day, which marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday called upon the world to learn from the spiritual leader's sense of compassion.

"The financial crisis, climate change, pandemics, terrorism and other international threats prove that the fates of all people are linked," the secretary-general wrote in his message.

He noted that a problem for one country can quickly turn into a global threat, saying that "I constantly remind leaders that we must act together or we will fail individually."

It is in the world's best interest to join forces in solidarity, as well as the right thing to do, Ban said. "More than 2,500 years ago Buddha taught that nothing exists in isolation."

Underscoring the idea, Ban noted that Buddha also taught that we "cannot be happy as long as others suffer, and that when we do reach out, we discover the best in ourselves."

"On this day of Vesak, let us resolve to help people who are suffering so that we may secure a better future for all," he said.

Vesak is an annual holiday observed traditionally by practicing Buddhists in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Nepal, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, Pakistan and India.

Sometimes informally called "Buddha's birthday," it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha.

The exact date of Vesak varies according to the various lunar calendars used in different traditions. In Theravada countries following the Buddhist calendar, it falls on the full moon Uposatha day (typically the 5th or 6th lunar month). While the Vesak Day in China, it is on the eighth of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar but falls in April or May. Read more!

Cambodia to strengthen security for ASEAN-EU ministerial meeting

PHNOM PENH, More than thousand of police and military police will be in force in order to safeguard the upcoming ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting to be held here in late May, national media reported on Sunday.

The Interior Ministry will be responsible for the security of the meeting, and military and police will be deployed to have the meeting not be affected by demonstrations and terrorism activities, the Chinese-language newspaper Cambodia Sin Chew Daily quoted Khieu Sophak, the ministry spokesman, as saying.

"Tight security will be in force in meeting-place," said Khieu, but he did not give the details of the deployment of the security force.

Delegations from 40 ASEAN and EU countries will gather here in late May to discuss ways to fight terrorism, human trafficking, drug smuggling, weapon proliferation, according to a statement from the government.

The 17th Ministerial Meeting between ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and EU (European Union) will review previous and future cooperation between the two regional bodies from May 27 to 28, said the statement issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong and Vaclav Klaus, Czech President and current EU President, will be named as co-presidents of the meeting.
The 16th Ministerial Meeting between ASEAN and EU was held in Germany from March 14 to 15, 2007 with the adoption of the Nuremberg Declaration on an ASEAN-EU Enhanced Partnership which sets the direction and the agenda for ASEAN-EU relations in the years to come.

The meetings rotate between ASEAN and EU countries.
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Cambodia bans sand export for environmental protection

PHNOM PENH, The Cambodian government issued a directive signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen here on Friday to ban sand export for the sake of environmental protection.

"In order to protect the balance of nature and environment in areas of sea and fresh water, the government has decided to allow sand business to meet domestic demand only," said the directive.

After examination by experts, sand dredging is only allowed in places where the balance of nature can be restored or water flow is obstructed, it said.

Meanwhile, the directive "terminates any sand export to foreign countries," too.

The Committee of Sand Management has to check sand trade immediately, and report all the involved institutions to the premier, it added.

According to local reports, Cambodia used to export 40,000 to 50,000 tons of sand per month from its coastal province of Koh Kong, and the annual value of this business stood at 35 million U.S. dollars.

Vietnam and Singapore were the major destination countries.

While sand business boomed, sand dredging frequently caused riverbanks and houses to collapse along the Mekong River and the Tonle Bassac River.
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Swede held for child sex crimes in Cambodia

A Swedish man in his sixties has been arrested in Cambodia on suspicions of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy.

The man, who resides in the Stockholm area, was arrested Wednesday night local time, but denies committing any crime.

According to the newspaper, the Swede was the target of an investigation into other child sex crimes, and was a figure in another investigation into child sex crimes in Cambodia which was abandoned in September last year.

Interpol’s division for child pornography crimes learned of the arrest on Wednesday.

“We’ve received information about it, but haven’t been directly involved in the arrest,” said Interpol’s Anders Persson from Lyon, France.

Varg Gyllander, a spokesperson with the Swedish police’s National Investigation Department (Rikskriminalen), confirmed that a Swedish man had been arrested in Cambodia and that they had received information that he was taken to a detention centre in the capital city Phnom Penh.
“What we’re doing now is making sure that the Cambodian police receive the help they need from us. We’ll help them out as best we can,” he said.

Police don’t know of the exact charges against the Swede, but it has something to do with the sexual assault of a child.

“All we can say is that he’s known for similar crimes from before,” said Gyllander to the TT news agency.

Local organizations which against paedeophiles in Cambodia are said to have had the man under surveillance for some time.

He is reported to have been in the country since 2007 and been in contact with small boys, according to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

Seila Samelang from Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), claims that, prior to his arrest, the man was living together with five boys and had launched an adoption bid with local authorities in Cambodia, according to SvD.
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Despite warnings, some travel to potential danger zones

By John D. SutterCNN


CNN) -- A few weeks ago, when violence and kidnappings along the U.S.-Mexico border were all over the news, Todd Sotkiewicz took a group of high school students to Tijuana, Mexico.

The teens' parents had to be warned that the service-oriented spring break trip might go against a federal travel alert, he said. But, in his view, the value of the experience, which involved building homes for impoverished families, trumped any perceived threat.

"These poor families really needed these houses," said Sotkiewicz, a parent of one of the students and also the president of Lonely Planet in the Americas. "We went down there and we took the appropriate precautions like we all should."

While the H1N1 flu virus has stirred fears about international travel and has brought renewed attention to government travel advisories, there remains a hearty group of travelers who say such official advice doesn't dictate whether they will or won't take a trip.

For some, voyages into warned-against places are less motivated by adrenaline and more by a genuine desire to experience the world in a new way. Danger is part of the human experience, some of these travelers say. It's something that can't be avoided entirely and should be assessed by well-informed individuals, not just by governments.

"It was not a draw that there was a dangerous element to it," Sotkiewicz said of the Mexico trip. "The draw was that [the students] wanted to have a transformative experience."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends U.S. residents avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico because of swine flu. The U.S. State Department still has an alert out concerning violence in the country. A spokeswoman for the CDC said travelers should follow official government guidance when making their plans.

Robert Young Pelton, an author who has traveled to 120 countries and seen 36 wars, said people can and should travel wherever they want to, regardless of warnings. Such adventures offer intellectual stimulus and have the potential to draw meaningful connections between people, he said.

"The reason why it's important to go to places that you dreamed of or are intensely interested in is because it matters," he said. "I could send you to Disney World for a week and I don't think you would change a bit, but if I sent you to a Rwandan refugee camp, I think you would change peoples' lives, and you would be changed by it."

He says travel warnings, like those concerning H1N1, are politicized. The hysteria about this strain of flu is driven more by an irrational fear than by actual danger, he said.

"It's a fascinating fear. It's not a danger," he said of the flu. "So when people say, 'Oh, it's dangerous in Afghanistan,' or, 'It's dangerous in Mexico,' what are they basing that on? They obviously haven't been there."

Sotkiewicz said travel deals tend to pop up in destinations that are stigmatized by a health outbreak or a terrorist attack. This was true after the Madrid, Spain, attacks, as well as the SARS and bird flu epidemics, he said.

In a statement to CNN, Expedia, the travel Web site, said a travel warning like the one for swine flu "ultimately creates travel values for consumers."

"As the swine flu subsides in Mexico, we expect travel suppliers in the area to offer significant deals to increase demand for the region," Expedia said.

When asked if some people might wish to travel to Mexico despite the advisory, perhaps for a hotel deal, CDC spokeswoman Shelly Diaz said travelers should heed the warning.

"Your health should come before your wallet. There's nothing more valuable than your health," she said. "We are recommending that people avoid travel to Mexico unless it's essential. I don't know that a really good travel bargain makes it essential."

Melvin Francisquini, a 31-year-old from Miami, Florida, who is volunteering in Mexico City, said this actually wouldn't be a bad time to visit Mexico except everything is closed. On Tuesday, only a handful of people were still wearing flu masks in the subway, he said. Follow Francisquini's video posts on iReport

"Come if you're fine with everything being closed," he said. "I mean, even museums are being closed, but don't be afraid of the flu. It's nothing out of the ordinary." Avoiding Mexico specifically because of the flu is ridiculous, he said.

People who travel into potentially dangerous places seem to have their own rules for deciding what's safe and what isn't. Several said they factor in government warnings and news reports. Others consider crime rates and statistics.

The trend seems to be for people to look for online information that comes directly from travelers in the country where they want to go.

These on-the-ground observations are important because U.S. news stories about foreign countries tend to focus on crime and terrorism and not what life is actually like for people, said Pelton.

"Millions of people get up every morning and go through their entire day with nothing actually happened to them, but the media will never write a story that says, 'Nothing happened, everything's fine,' so we tend to be inundated with stories about" violence, he said.

He added: "Yes you can order a latte in Kabul and Somalia has hotels for 40 bucks a night."

Gary Arndt, a 39-year-old who sold his assets and has been blogging about his world travels since 2007, said many American travelers have a "fear of the unknown."

Arndt was in Israel when swine flu broke out. He said he would have no qualms about traveling to Mexico because of the swine flu.

He recently traveled to a region of Cambodia that is considered dangerous by some. He also went to Thailand at a time when most travelers were "freaked out" by government protesters. Prices for hotels at the time were lower because the country was emptied of tourists, he said.

"I'm not the kind of person that is an adrenaline junkie," he said. "I did bungee jump once [but] I've never gone skydiving, I don't go rock climbing. It's not like I want to go into these places because they're dangerous. Read more!

Cambodia's poor fight for their homes

Despite 'good' law to protect needy landowners, developers gain increasing amounts of property

FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER

In a rundown enclave of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, hundreds of poor people can't sleep at night. They're afraid to go to work in the morning for fear their homes will be gone when they return.

Today the clock has run out for the community of 150 families, slated to become the latest victims of clearance projects that have rolled across Cambodia since its land became a prize for developers.

The 26-year-old community is to be evacuated, according to a notice from the municipality dated yesterday. Although residents are appealing, they have seen the dire results of other forced eviction orders, which human rights groups say are contrary to Cambodian law.

A recent clearance in the community of Dey Krahorm left the majority of families homeless after some 250 police and contractors for the company claiming to own the land arrived in the early hours, drove out the residents with threats and tear gas and levelled the village.

Now the Phnom Penh community – known as Group 78 – is facing a similar fate.

"The authorities have offered them compensation of $5,000 (U.S.) and a plot of land, without shelters, 20 kilometres outside the city where there are very limited job opportunities," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher, who is monitoring the eviction site.

"There is no clean water supply, no electricity or sanitation," she said in an email to the Star, adding the residents turned down the offer – "to travel to the city from their current work places would cost them more than their expected daily earnings."

Human rights groups say the community has a strong claim to ownership under a 2001 land law passed after genocide and civil war left many Cambodians landless. The Khmer Rouge destroyed public documents, so few had papers to prove ownership. But in 2003, the government brought in a "social land concession plan" to give the poor more secure land tenure.

In spite of fines and jail terms for those who violate the land laws, developers have managed to take over increasing amounts of farm and urban land. In some cases they have made deals with corrupt community leaders to seize the land, pushing the residents out to remote areas without shelter or transportation.

"Cambodia's land law is good," said Mekh Sokhan of the NGO Forum on Cambodia in the newsletter of the Danish charity DanChurchAid. "But the law is not implemented by the authorities."

In Phnom Penh, highrises have sprung up in the last five years with hotels, condos and restaurants sprouting from the once devastated landscape. Prices have doubled, and in spite of the economic meltdown, the wealthy continue to boost the real estate market.

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Cambodian PM to visit S Korea early next month

PHNOM PENH, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will visit South Korea early next month in the hope of strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation, a government official said here Wednesday.

Hun Sen will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to discuss investment, tourism and trade cooperation, said Koy Kong, spokesman and undersecretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Prior to his presidency, Lee Myung-bak once worked as economic advisor for Hun Sen, which helped establish deeply-rooted friendship between the two.

"Cambodia needs more investment from South Korea, and also urges those who have already invested here to speed up development of their projects," the spokesman said.

South Korean investors started to build skyscrapers in Phnom Penh last year, which are expected to become future landmarks of the capital city.

However, most of these projects have recently become stranded due to shortage of funds and the global financial crisis.

In 2007, South Korea became the largest foreign investing country in Cambodia, according to official statistics.
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Cambodia appeals for more mobile phone investment

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia's telecommunications minister called on Wednesday for more foreign firms to invest in the country's mobile phone sector to satisfy demand that has been growing 40 percent a year in terms of the number of users.

"We want more foreign firms because we want a better service, cheaper, and higher quality," So Khun told reporters at a seminar on mobile phone technology, adding that the government also wanted to extend reliable coverage to the whole of the country.

Cambodia has an estimated 4 million mobile phone subscribers out of a population of about 14 million people, 80 percent of whom live in the countryside.

Khun said mobile phones had helped integrate people living in remote areas, particularly those in parts of the country still covered with land mines from the country's civil war, which only formally ended a decade ago.

"Our people, they love to talk over the phone for business communication. They talk until their phone batteries go dead," Khun said.

The southeast Asian country has eight mobile phone firms, all foreign-owned except market leader Mobitel, which works in partnership with Luxembourg-registered Millicom International Cellular (MICC.O).

"We want the existing companies to set up more antennas, but don't build them near or on historic sites," he said, recalling how in the past one foreign firm caused outrage by siting an antenna on an ancient temple. (Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Alan Raybould)

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Cambodia sees higher sex trafficking during crisis

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Cambodia expects an increase in prostitution and human trafficking as the unemployment rate climbs during the economic downturn, the country's secretary of state said on Wednesday.

"More women and more girls will be entering the entertainment business and will also face issues on sexual exploitation," Chou Bun Eng, whose portfolio includes anti-trafficking, told reporters during a visit to Singapore.

Cambodia's economy could shrink 0.5 percent this year due to a slowdown in garment exports and a drop in the number of tourists, the International Monetary Fund said in March.

Chou said the economic crisis has forced many female factory workers to return home and look for "riskier jobs."

Chou said there were about 13 to 18 cases of human trafficking reported in Cambodia last year, but it was difficult to spot because many women were leaving of their own free will after being promised good jobs abroad.

"It's hard to identify the cases as they do not look at themselves as trafficked women," Chou said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in February human trafficking for the sex trade or forced labor market appears to be getting worse because many countries are ignoring the globalized problem, but it gave no figures.

(Reporting by Laurence Tan; Editing by Neil Chatterjee and Paul Tait)

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Cambodia: End Threats to Opposition Lawmaker

One of Parliament’s Few Women Faces Criminal Defamation Suit

New York) - Prime Minister Hun Sen and other senior members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) should stop threatening to orchestrate the removal of lawmakers' parliamentary immunity in order to silence government critics, Human Rights Watch said today.
In a speech on April 29, 2009, Hun Sen said that it would be "as easy as ABC" to have the parliamentary immunity lifted for Mu Sochua, a National Assembly member. This would permit the government to bring criminal charges against her and prosecute her for publicly criticizing the prime minister. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has summoned Sochua to court on May 7.

"This is yet another blatant attempt to silence the political opposition," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "By threatening to prosecute opposition members of parliament on bogus charges, Hun Sen shows once again that his goal is elective dictatorship, not a genuinely pluralistic democracy."

Under Cambodia's Constitution, members of the National Assembly are immune from prosecution unless the assembly lifts their parliamentary immunity. The CPP has a long history of lifting the parliamentary immunity of opposition figures, though, in order to bring politically motivated criminal charges against them.

Mu Sochua, a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) representing Kampot province, is one of the few female members of the National Assembly. On April 23, she and her lawyer announced her intention to file a defamation complaint against the prime minister after he publicly accused an unnamed woman from Kampot of "inciting" problems and acting like a gangster (cheung klang, literally "strong leg," a term considered especially derogatory for women). Sochua had said she was physically manhandled by a CPP military general during the 2008 election campaign. But Hun Sen, in his remarks, contended that she had instead acted provocatively by "rushing to embrace someone" and then complaining that the person had ripped open several of the buttons of her blouse.

The day after Sochua announced her lawsuit, a senior prime ministerial adviser, Om Yentieng, told the press that Hun Sen would counter-sue Sochua, and that all CPP National Assembly members would support lifting her immunity.

Five days later, Hun Sen confirmed that he was suing "a lady," whom he described as "stupid," as well as her lawyer. The lawsuit against Sochua was filed on April 27 by Hun Sen's lawyer, Ky Tech, former president of the Cambodian Bar Association. Ky Tech has also filed a complaint with the Bar Association against Sochua's lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, accusing him of violating the lawyers' code of ethics in this case.

Opposition figures convicted on politically motivated charges after their parliamentary immunity was lifted include Cheam Channy, an SRP member convicted in a biased trial in 2005 on unsubstantiated charges of creating a rebel army, and the party leader, Sam Rainsy, the same year for allegedly defaming government leaders.

"Punishing Mu Sochua is no idle threat as Hun Sen continues to find ways to intimidate the opposition," said Adams. "Threats to prosecute government critics and lawyers are especially difficult to counter in Cambodia, where the courts are controlled by the government. No judge in Cambodia would stand up to Hun Sen."

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Cambodia puts 3,000-year-old pre-Angkor relics on show

PHNOM PENH, The National Museum here on Wednesday opened an exhibition to demonstrate some archeological findings prior to the Angkor Era (802-1432), which was the most glorious period in the history of Cambodia.

The "Angkor Ancestors" show mainly features a recreation of an excavation site at the Angkor Wat area in Siem Reap province, complete with pottery shards and a 3,000-year-old skeleton.

Organized by a French research institution and the museum itself, the exhibition is the first ever held in the kingdom on the pre-Angkor period, said museum director Hab Touch.

"This is an opportunity for scholars as well as the public to understand prehistory. We know so little about it," he said.

The artifacts on display were found at two sites within the Angkor Wat area, a 2,000-year-old village location and a 3,000-year-old burial place.

Currently, the Angkor Wat is the most welcomed tourist destination in Cambodia.

Before the Angkor Dynasty, there were two dynasties governing Cambodia, respectively called Funan and Chenla.
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Cambodian Red Cross to mark 146th anniversary of WRC

PHNOM PENH, The Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) will carry out serial programs to mark the 146th anniversary of the establishment of the World Red Cross (WRC), which falls on May8, national media said on Wednesday.

These programs, with the theme of "For Our World," aim to motivate people to participate in humanitarian work, help prevent and alleviate disasters, enhance public managerial capability and provide aid for accident victims, Chinese-language newspaper the Jian Hua Daily quoted CRC officials as telling a press conference here on Tuesday.

During the recent days, CRC will also commemorate the 54th anniversary of its own establishment and accession to WRC, the official said.

For example, a grand ceremony will be held in this regard on May 8 at the CRC headquarters in Phnom Penh, which Prime Minister Hun Sen himself will attend to highlight the organization's merit, they added.

Currently, CRC mainly undertakes various tasks for humanitarian salvation, such as containing bird flu and influenza A/H1N1, as well as poverty reduction and natural disaster alleviation, according to a CRC statement.
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Princess Eugenie to continue travels despite robbery in Cambodia

Princess Eugenie is to continue her gap-year travels despite falling victim to a gang of muggers in Cambodia. Sources said yesterday that there was no suggestion that her plans would change after a friend of the 19-year-old Princess had her purse snatched.

Royal protection officers looking after the Princess, the younger daughter of the Duke of York, tackled the thief and pinned him to the ground.

When an accomplice pelted them with rocks, though, the two officers let the robber go to ensure the Princess’s safety. Eugenie and her two friends were escorted to safety.

A source was quoted in The Sun newspaper saying: “They feared the incident was escalating out of control and took the decision to focus on the safety of their principal.”

The incident happened two weeks ago in Phnom Penh, and since then the Princess’s gap-year trip has proceeded without interruption. “I have to stress it was Eugenie’s friend, not her, who was mugged,” a royal source said.

The Princess — who is sixth in line to the throne — has already visited Thailand and South Africa during her year out.

The attack highlights the controversy over the cost of protecting the Queen’s granddaughter during the trip, which is said to be in the region of £100,000. Critics point out that the Princess Royal’s children have no Scotland Yard protection. When the question of protection for younger members of the Royal Family was raised a few years ago, the Duke of York is said to have insisted on round-the-clock security for his daughters.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on the incident, nor on its security arrangements. Scotland Yard also refused to comment.

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Cambodian Villagers Block Last Leg of Trans-Asia Highway

By Luke Hunt Kien Svay, Cambodia


A group of Cambodian villagers are blocking construction of a 13-kilometer section of a new highway that will link Singapore to Hong Kong and beyond. The villagers demand better compensation for their land.

Five years ago, then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared that the new Trans-Asia Highway would link 32 countries with 141,000 kilometers of all-weather roads.

The highway will end decades of overland isolation and significantly bolster cross-border trade in Asia. But here in Kien Svay, in southeastern Cambodian, villagers are refusing to give up their land and make way for a final missing link in the highway. They say they have been offered too little for their land.

Kim Lorn, a 72-year-old grandmother, says she was offered just $200 to walk away from her home and business of 26 years.

Many living in one home

Community meetings have turned into rowdy protests. Photo shop owner Kong Heng says the government refuses to take into account how many people are living under the same roof.

He says some people are upset when their houses are affected and they get little compensation because they have a lot of family members. He has three families living in his house so when if they get little compensation there is nothing they can do, and they are disappointed.

The villagers' defiance resonates across Cambodia, where land grabbing and forced evictions dominate headlines. Poor land records and a high level of official corruption have meant that over the past several years, tens of thousands of poor Cambodians have lost their land to developers building hotels, golf courses and other lucrative projects.

Project could take another year to finish

Cambodian officials say the protests mean that final link connecting the Malay Peninsula with Vietnam and China through Cambodia will not be completed on schedule by the end of this year.

They say nagging resettlement issues mean it will take at least another 12 months to finish.

Villagers here in Kein Svay hope this means vastly improved compensation packages in return for their homes. Read more!

Massage Offers Blind Cambodians Way Out of Poverty

By Rory Byrne, Phnom Penh0


Blind people in Cambodia face an uphill struggle. Discrimination against the blind is widespread and educational and employment opportunities are few and far between. One way out of their predicament is through "Seeing Hands" massage shops that offer employment and educational opportunities to the blind.

Cambodia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world. There are about 144,000 blind people in the country representing 1.25 percent of the population.

Cambodia's poor health care system means that common diseases like chicken pox and measles leave many people blind. Traffic accidents, crime, and accidents with unexploded mines and bombs left over from decades of war are other leading causes.

Not many opportunities for employment

For the blind in Cambodia, educational and employment opportunities are few and far between.

Boun Mao, the Director of the Association of the Blind in Cambodia (ABC), lost his sight in 1993 when robbers threw acid in his face. He says Cambodian's belief in karma leads to widespread discrimination against the blind.

"The Blind People in Cambodia are most facing with the discrimination because the public and the family believe in karma - that the blind have sinned in the past life," explained Boun Mao. "When you are born blind until you die you do nothing useful in society - even in the family."

Opportunities are essential

Boun Mao says the key to ending discrimination against the blind is by giving them access to employment and educational opportunities.

"We want to see the blind people in Cambodia get access to employment, health care, education and accessibility. We need to show more [role] models of blind people who are really successful in their lives and their jobs," Boun Mao said.

One such role model is 22-year-old Vi Rak. He lost his sight from chicken pox when he was a baby. Five years ago he set up a blind massage shop in Phnom Penh.

He says that he has a lot of blind friends and that he had the idea that they could all get together and work in a group. So, he says, he learned massage and then he taught his friends how to do it so that they could all earn a living. He says that today things are much better and he and his employees are like one big family.

What are blind massage shops?

About a dozen blind shops have opened in Phnom Penh and other cities in recent years.

Blind massage shops are run on a cooperative basis. About half of the profits go to salaries with the rest reinvested in the employee's development such as teaching them how to use computers and how to read braille.

Blind land mine survivor So Pary, 24, says that becoming a masseur changed his life.

He says after he became blind his family picked on him a lot because he could not do any work. He says that something had to change and then he discovered this organization that taught him massage. He says that now he is happy because he can work again and help his family.

A better massage?

Many customers say blind masseurs and masseuses are better because they have a better sense of touch.

Tourist Tony Rice from London, England enjoyed the experience.

"Well I would recommend a blind massage to anyone really," said Rice. "It is intense, accurate - they found a weak spot I have got and it is a really good thing for people to come and do when they are in Cambodia."

A massage at a "Seeing Hands" massage shop typically cost about $5 for one hour, but with fewer tourists around these days, better deals are often available.

So as well as being great value for money, having a blind massage allows you to feel great while at the same time helping some of Cambodia's most vulnerable people.
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Cambodia steps up conservation measures near Preah Vihear temple

By Xia Lin

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia recently stepped up its culture and nature conservation efforts near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, while its dispute with Thailand over border issues still remain unsolved.

Construction of the Samdech Techo Preah Vihear Museum will begin in one week in Chom Ksan district of Preah Vihear province, which is expected to bring more tourists to the disputed area bordering Thailand, said Chinese-language daily newspaper the Commercial News on Tuesday.

"The museum is for national and foreign researchers to study and learn about the history of the Preah Vihear temple and the Cambodian history," said Suos Yara, undersecretary of state at the Cambodian Council of Ministers.

The museum will house artifacts from the temple complex, as well as from other nearby temples, he added.

Japanese and Cambodian donors have provided some 145,000 U.S. dollars to build the museum, but more cash will be needed to finish the project, he said.

"The money is not enough, but we will do it step by step. When we get more money, we will keep on working on it," he added.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian government is preparing to relocate the Kor Muy village near the temple for the sake of conservation, village chief Bun Leng told Xinhua by phone on Monday.

"Up to now, we have not seen the formal notification of the government yet, but the whole village will be moved 20 kilometers away from the temple, because this area is under conservation control of the Preah Vihear Temple Authority," he said.

The land circling the temple will become a belt of development, management and conservation, as it is a World Heritage Site recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), he said.

"There are about 600 families in my village. Some of them are unhappy when they heard the news because their usual business will be affected," he said.

On Sunday, Phay Siphan, secretary of state and spokesman of the Cambodian Council of Ministers, confirmed to local media that Kor Muy village will be moved in order to make way for the government's conservation work.

The Preah Vihear temple became a World Heritage Site of UNESCO in July 2008, which immediately drew criticism and protest from Thai nationalists who claimed the ownership of the temple by their own motherland.

Although the International Court in The Hague decided in 1962 that the temple and its surrounding area should belong to Cambodia, Thailand has never stopped coveting its archeological and sovereignty value.

To make things worse, temple obsession is ever increasingly combined into the bilateral border dispute.

Cambodia and Thailand have never fully demarcated their 800-km-strong land border. Demarcating work cannot be carried out, as both sides have different interpretations of historical maps and worry about the landmines left there from years of civil war in Cambodia.

Both troops have been built up within the border area since July 2008, and brief military encounters in October 2008 and April 2009 have sparked concerns of possible war between these two countries.

Gunfire exchange during the armed clashes led to bullet pits and other slight wound of the temple, which has prompted UNESCO to study the loss and non-governmental organizations (NGO) to ask for payment.

In the meantime, some 147 Cambodian families living near the temple also urged Thailand to pay for the damages of their houses as a result of the April armed clashes.

Rocket bombs hit their houses and then led to total damage, said the Khmer Civilization Fund, a NGO representing the compensation seekers.

The fund had submitted the request letter to the Cambodian government, who later presented it to the Thai Embassy.

So far, the Thai side has not responded to the demand yet.
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Cambodian dance troupe's US tour comes to an emotional close

By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer

INGLEWOOD - As Ray Chum looked at the face of the son she hadn't seen since 2003 displayed on the wall via a computer screen projection, her voice broke and the tears flowed.

The son, Tuy "KK" Sobil, whose image was being broadcast from an Internet cafe in Cambodia, was also speechless in tears.

The exchange brought an emotional climax to what has been an amazing tour of the United States by a dance troupe KK founded and comprised of street kids from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Dabson Tuy, KK's brother, took the microphone from his mother and talked to his brother.

"Mom just wants you to be a better person," Dabson said. "To see what you're doing today, we're just so proud of you. Just keep it positive. I'm sorry you had to see all that pain."

However, the heart rending pain underscored a success story that has been nothing short of miraculous. It is a story that would never happened but for KK's fall.

About 150 people had gathered at Chuco's Justice Center in Inglewood to see the final U.S. performance of Tiny Toones, a hip-hop dance crew, and Cambodian rapper Chan Samnang, also known as K-Dep.

The story of KK and Tiny Toones has received national and international recognition in recent years.

KK was born in a Thai refugee camp and later became a gang member in Long Beach after emigrating to the U.S. with his family. In 2003, after serving a conviction for armed robbery, he was deported to Cambodia, a country he had never visited.

After KK's arrival, kids began asking him to show them dance moves. Eventually, he relented, put his personal despair aside and formed Tiny Toones.

The lure of hip-hop has since been used not only to teach kids break dancing, but provide English language education, HIV/AIDs awareness, gang prevention and other arts and life skills. Through the help of donors and other charities, Tiny Toones now has a drop-in center for impoverished teens and children in Phnom Penh.

The U.S. trip was just the latest remarkable event in the rise of Tiny Toones. Supporters here in the United States were able to secure an invitation and funding to bring six dancers and K-Dep to the U.S. for an international hip-hop dance competition in Madison, Wis., followed by trips to perform in New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and the Southland.

Although the fund-raiser in Inglewood was the group's last performance, plans are already afoot to bring them back next year.

For the dancers, the trip has been magical. Dyrithy Sovann, who goes by the stage name Fresh, said he never dreamed he'd ever see the United States.

Sovann, 17, is particularly adept at one-hand stands and head spins. On Sunday, he was learning the excitement of skateboarding, which the group was first introduced to several days ago.

Sovann met KK four years ago after going with some friends to watch him dance.

At Saturday's performance, Sovann played a lead role in the Monkey Dance, which has become the group's signature piece.

In the dance, the troupe begins with Keo Srey Leak, aka Diamond, the lone girl in the troupe dancing in classical Cambodian style. Gradually, traditional music gives way to hip-hop and the entire troupe launches into a full-fledged tumbling, spinning, hip-hop routine.

In addition to the performances, Tiny Toones dancers have engaged in impromptu cultural exchanges.

In Seattle, they met with a group of first-generation Cambodians from a group called Khmer In Action.

Grace Kong of KIA said the two groups learned much from each other.

Kong said the dancers feared they would be looked down upon and shunned when they came to the U.S.

Instead they have been overcome by the welcome they have received.

"We wanted them to see that no matter what, they have our support, they have Khmer Americans who love them," Kong said.

Information on Tiny Toones can be found online at www.tinytoonescambodia.com.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291 Read more!

Princess Eugenie mugged in Cambodia

Princess Eugenie and her friends were mugged while in Cambodia, according to reports

The Queen's granddaughter, 19, who is holidaying in the country as part of her gap year, was rescued by two bodyguards who tackled a gang of bandits.

The incident happened as the Duchess of York's daughter and two gap-year friends were walking at night in Phnom Penh.

When one of her friends got a purse out, the mugger grabbed it. The officers were just feet away.
The two officers rugby-tackled one of the bandits as he tried to flee with the princess's purse.

According to reports, they grappled with the man before another robber started throwing rocks at them. The officers, fearing for the princess's safety, let the thief go, grabbed the purse and led the royal away.

A Buckingham Palace source told The Sun: "They feared the incident was escalating out of control and took the decision to focus on the safety of their principal."

It is the first time in 10 years that SO14 officers have stopped a direct threat to a Royal.

Questions have already been asked over the amount of money spent to keep the princess safe while on the trip. Reports suggest the cost of flights, expenses, accommodation and overtime for the officers will amount to around £100,000 for the six-week stay.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman would not comment on the incident, nor on the princess' security arrangements.

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JAPAN TO HELP CAMBODIA IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

TOKYO, May 04, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- The Japanese government has pledged to help Cambodia in information communication technologies, a move Japan said will help boost economic growth.

The pledge was made by Kunio Hatoyama, Japanese minister of internal affairs and communications, at a meeting with So Khun, Cambodian's minister of posts and telecommunications in Phnom Penh on May 1, according to Kyodo News.

During the talks, Hatoyama credited ICT with contributing about 40 per cent to Japanese economic growth.

''Japan will implement a feasibility study by Japanese experts, make a presentation on new technologies for next generation IP (Internet protocol) networks, and give advice on a Cambodia broadband master plan,'' Kyodo reported, citing a record of the discussions.

To achieve the goal, Hatoyama said his ministry will detach experts to draft and implement relevant rules and provide instruction materials based on Japanese experiences, while at the same time facilitating training programmes, workshops, seminars and study exchanges.

In a separate meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Hatoyama said his government has decided to donate 20 firefighting trucks to Cambodia and will respond to Hun Sen's request for help if swine flu affects the country, the agency said, citing Eang Sophalette, PM Hun Sen's spokesman. Read more!

Cambodia names multilateral peacekeeping exercise in 2010 as "Year of Angkor"

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia has named a multilateral peacekeeping exercise to be held in the kingdom in 2010 as "Year of Angkor," the Jian Hua Daily said on Monday.

The title of "Angkor" can be traced back to the 802-1423 dynasty, when the Khmer nationality had its most glorious period in history.

The exercise in 2010 will have at least 13 participating countries, most of them Asian ones, the Chinese-language newspaper quoted military officers as saying.

In early April, Prak Sokhon, secretary of state at the Cambodian Council of Ministers, told reporters that 2,000 troops from 13 countries will take part in the U.S.- and UN-sponsored exercise to be held in Kompong Speu province in 2010.

The event will be conducted in the framework of the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI), an annual training event attended by GPOI member nations and other regional and international partners, according to the U.S. Embassy.

GPOI once held such exercises in Bangladesh in 2008 and Mongolia in 2007. Garuda Shield 09 in Indonesia is the upcoming GPOI serial exercise, for which Cambodia prepares to dispatch some60 soldiers.

According to official files, Cambodia respectively sent 40 soldiers to Bangladesh and 43 to Mongolia to take part in these GPOI exercises. Read more!

Adventures in Angkor

By Elaine O'Connor, Calgary Herald

Two hours into a back-road motorcycle ride through the Cambodian countryside-- wind cutting the baking 34-degree heat, dust flying up from the road --I'm treated to a parade of rural Khmer life.

Two women bicycle by in peaked straw hats, a farmer passes with a load of hay strapped to his scooter, another hauls a slaughtered hog, kids ride three to a bike, parents with toddlers sit four to a scooter.

We weave around each other, trying to avoid the worst of the road's ruts. With every teeth-rattling, spine-shattering swerve, I remember my airport taxi driver's ominous warning after I landed in Siem Reap. Three tourists die every month trying to see the wats (temples) from the back of a scooter, he said. I thought he was just trying to land a gig as my chauffeur.

Now, I'm not so sure.

But the effort to uncover Angkor's Beng Malea --a remote 12th-century forest shrine more than 60 kilometres from the heart of the ancient city of Angkor,

which is a UNESCO World Heritage site--proves well worth my bruised tailbone.

Angkor, Cambodia's star attraction, is considered the seventh wonder of the world, and its archeological mysteries lure four million visitors a year.

The temples of Angkor ("holy city" in Khmer)were built between the 9th and 13th centuries when the kingdom was at its height, with a million people.

It was the seat of the Khmer empire, whose influence extended into Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, and it was the region's most sophisticated city for over 500 years. Archeologists believe it was the largest preindustrial city in the world.

Beng Malea is a massive, kilometre-square crumbling monument strewn with tumbled rocks the size of small cars set quietly in the jungle. It was built by King Suryavarman II, who also built Angkor Wat. But in contrast to Angkor

Wat's tourist throngs and iconic status, Beng Malea seems forsaken, lost and abandoned.

Cambodia itself has profoundly struggled, and tourism to its ruins is just beginning to help it rebuild.

The nation of 14 million was bombed during the U. S. war in Vietnam to flush out Viet Cong, creating two million refugees. A famine followed in 1975 and that same year the rebel Khmer Rouge took power. Pol Pot's Communist Party renamed the country Kampuchea and tried to return it to its agrarian roots, forcing educated Cambodians to work on farms, killing doctors and teachers and outlawing anything western.

One to three million people were tortured, slaughtered or died from lack of food or medicine. A Vietnamese invasion in the late 1970s ousted the regime, but the Khmer Rouge rebels continued to fight in pockets throughout the countryside: though 1999 was the first full year of peace in 30 years, there are reminders of the Vietnam War everywhere. On the streets, it's rare to see a man over 40. At one wat-side stall, a young girl with a stack of plastic-wrapped books offered a slim volume, reading off its title: Children of Cambodian Killing Fields.

The development and dollars that accompany tourists to Angkor Wat-- arguably the country's top renewable resource--seem to be having a positive impact.

Angkor Wat itself, the world's largest religious building, makes a profound impact.

Nearby lie more remarkable ruins. The gates of Angkor Thom, a three square-kilometre city built by King Jayavarman VII starting in 1181, are flanked with giant, Buddha-like statues--passing through can feel like entering another world. The otherworldly Bayon temple lies on the other side.

The Bayon, with its 37 towers chiselled with dozens of enigmatic, all-seeing Buddha faces offers an eerie introduction to Angkor's wonders. Eyes seem to follow you as you explore the temple, climbing over ruins, ducking under lintels, running fingers over the ancient bas-reliefs, and clambering up stone steps. The mysterious Bayon is one of Angkor's most affecting temples.

For those put off by the two-hour trek to Beng Malea, the temple of Ta Prohm is a fine substitute.

Ta Prohm is perhaps one of the most atmospheric of the inner temples, overgrown with thick vines with slabs of rock smothered in snaking tree roots. No wonder it was used in scenes from Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie. The 12th-century temple has been left as it was found--and has become beautifully meshed with the jungle.

It can be exhausting playing amateur archeologist in the 30-degree heat but, thankfully, Siem Reap has lots to offer in the way of rejuvenation. The city comes to life after sunset and though Siem Reap is a small town, restaurants, night markets and street stalls in the tourist-centric core remain lively well after midnight.

French colonial roots run deep here, so good bread here is almost as common as rice, and vendors balance baguettes on their heads on their morning rounds.

For a taste of colonial cuisine, try Le Malraux (named for French adventurer Andre Malraux, arrested for stealing temple bas-reliefs in the 1920s), for salade Parisienne, salmon rillettes and cream puffs amid art nouveau interior. Stop for dessert at the Blue Pumpkin cafe, which offers exotic ice cream flavours like banana galangal, green lemon and Kaffir lime, and ginger and black sesame.

After dinner, take care of watwandering tensions with street-side foot massages. They're a dime a dozen (actually, about $3 US for half an hour). Or enjoy an affordable body massage ($10) or pedicure ($7). Several shops also offer massages by the blind; at Seeing Hands Massage on Sivatha Road, part of the proceeds go back into training Cambodia's vision-impaired citizens in the trade.

But for a more refined experience, step into Bodia Spa, a cool, inviting retreat across from the Old Market. A chilled ginger tea and cold herb-infused face cloth greet clients as they enter the white, high-design minimalist space en route to their oil body massages and herbal compresses.

Once refreshed, practise your bargaining skills at the Night Market off Sivatha Road--where endless rows of silk scarves beckon--or shop for social good at several local stores that support non-profit ventures. Rehab Craft near the Old Market sells handmade carvings, wallets and silks made by disabled employees and Artisan's D'Angkor trains poor youths in carving.

Top off the evening with a drink or two on the terrasse of the Red Piano, a restored French Colonial home with a sweeping corner balcony. Raise a glass of Angkor or Chang brand beers or sip a "Tomb Raider" cocktail (the restaurant was known as the place Jolie and crew hung out during filming) and toast to the spirit of Cambodia, to the beauty of Angkor, and to the adventurer in you.

Learn more at Tourism Cambodia: www.tourismcambodia.com.

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Cambodia refutes U.S. underestimation of its anti-terrorism capability

PHNOM PENH, The Cambodian Information Minister has refuted a U.S. State Department report about the country's capability of countering terrorism as "not 100 percent correct," national media said on Sunday.

The recently issued U.S. report about the global anti-terrorism situation claimed that terrorists might take advantage of the weakness of Cambodia, such as corruption, poverty and lax management of the border, to carry out illegal acts in its territory, despite the government had made a clear promise to crack down on this type of crime, the newspaper Jian Hua Daily quoted the minister as saying.

In addition, Cambodia lacked training and other resources to counter terrorism, it added.

Khieu Kanharith, also spokesman for the Cambodian government, said "there is no country in the world that can control its border with 100 percent accuracy, neither Cambodia."

However, "the government has established strong and trustworthy relations with different communities in order to nip any social violence in bud," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the newspaper also quoted a senior official of the Interior Minister as saying that there is minimum possibility that terrorists' acts occur in Cambodia, and fighting against money laundering should be the kingdom's priority in the anti-terrorism field.

According to official reports, no major terrorism case with global connection has occurred in the country so far.
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Wolverine Hugh Jackman-declawed

“Wolverine” star Hugh Jackman has many sides. There is the movie action hero, the Broadway musical award winner and the charming Oscar host. He also hobnobs with billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s family and visits Third World countries where microfinancing projects give people hope for breaking out of poverty.

Jackman plays the main character in superhero movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” that opened on Friday, reprising his role as a tough mutant with claws that spring from his knuckles.

But in real life, the 40-year-old Jackman is not likely to turn anyone into mincemeat as he does in the “X-Men” movies, including the fourth and latest film in the franchise which kicks off Hollywood’s blockbuster season.

Jackman is a married family man, whose two young adopted children have playdates with Murdoch’s kids, and who himself hangs out with the media mogul’s adult son.

Of course, the “X-Men” movies that made Jackman a star are productions of Murdoch’s Twentieth Century Fox, and both men are Aussies, so there’s a kinship there.

But Jackman, who says his most expensive hobby is wine and who splits his time between New York and Australia, also has a kinship of sorts with an impoverished woman in Cambodia, after visiting the nation to see microcredit charity work in action.

“It was unbelievable to see this woman get 200 U.S. dollars in her hand, with tears running down her face and the real first chance she and her family had ever had to escape the cycle of poverty,” Jackman told Reuters in a recent interview.

The woman planned to use the money to buy a sewing machine and some supplies to start a clothing business, he said.

Jackman made the recent trip to Cambodia as an “ambassador” for charity World Vision, which has joined in the microcredit movement, offering loans to poor residents of developing countries so they can make a living and sustain themselves.

Jackman is friends with Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus, a pioneer in the world of microcredit and author of the 1999 book “Banker to the Poor.”

Apart from his philanthropic work, Jackman enjoys skiing, kayaking in Sydney Harbour and horse riding. Like many children, his kids enjoy tearing the limbs off the “X-Men” toy figurines that have become popular in recent years.

“Somehow, it’s saving me therapy bills for my kids down the road,” Jackman joked.

Although some reviewers have taken their shots at “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” indications are that it will post strong box office numbers this weekend. Online ticket seller Fandango.com reported on Friday that the firm accounts for 81 percent of its ticket sales, and that it appeals to both men and women. In a survey of moviegoers planning to see the film, 48 percent were female, and 72 percent of all respondents said Jackman’s starring role was the major reason to see “Wolverine.”

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Pakistan’s impending ‘Cambodian Moment’

By Harold A. Gould


The latest news from the Hindu Kush makes one thing painfully apparent: The Taliban/Al Qaeda jihadistani quasi state, “Jihadistan Emirate”, has achieved critical mass. It has now metastasized into a killer disease that threatens the survival of Pakistan’s fragile democracy.

The decisive indication that coherent political integration has been achieved by the Taliban is their successful conquest of Swat. This initial incursion outside their montane territorial fortress now shows that Taliban/Al Qaeda can call the shots regarding subsequent targets. This is evident from their deliberate and systematic expansion from Swat into the contiguous portions of Malakand Division, commencing with Buner district.

What is striking is that they are undertaking the latter in blatant defiance of agreements that were ostensibly ratified between them and the Pakistani government. It is clear, in other words, that the Taliban/Al Qaeda leadership view understandings and agreements that have been made with government authorities in the course of their politico-military expansion purely in tactical terms.

They sense the weakness and paralysis of the Pakistani government, and its consequent willingness (nay eagerness!) to engage in political appeasement, as a golden opportunity to gradually overpower and gain control of the Pakistani state.

The signs are everywhere that the Taliban/Al Qaeda strategy is working, and the authority of the Pakistan government is gradually waning despite official assurances to the contrary. Pakistani officials insist that the situation is under control when all the evidence points in the opposite direction. When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton alluded to the “existential threat” to Pakistan’s survival posed by the extremists, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Washington, Husain Haqqani, replied that “we do not have a situation in which the government or the country of Pakistan is about to fall to the Taliban.”

His statement exemplifies the state of denial the democratically elected government of Pakistan is in. Clearly, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and even army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani are in a state of paralytic inaction.

If one is searching for an analogy to what may be forthcoming from the Hindu Kush, in the face of the breakdown of popular government in Pakistan, it might not be far fetched to look no further than the Pol Pot phenomenon and the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. There are disturbing similarities between the two cases.

As the Khmer Rouge germinated and perfected their retrograde Maoist extremism in the remote jungle backwater of Cambodia, so the Taliban and Al Qaeda have honed their brand of doctrinal extremism and their accompanying organizational apparatus in the remote valleys of the Hindu Kush. As in the case of the Khmer Rouge, the Americans and the purportedly more advanced segments of Pakistani society at first took the extremists lightly, slighted them strategically, and indeed played political footsie with them until it became apparent that they were a serous threat.

When it seemed to then US secretary of state Henry Kissinger that the Khmer Rouge could be useful in opposing the North Vietnamese, in January 1968 the US Army helped the Khmer Rouge establish the Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea, which materially strengthened them. Much as ISI and the CIA from time to time bolstered the Taliban when it seemed they might be of value to both countries’ regional strategic interests.

There is another horror scenario waiting in the wings should a political collapse result in a “Cambodian Moment” for Pakistan. A Taliban regime in Pakistan would not only tear at the social fabric of Pakistan and plunge millions of Pakistanis into fratricidal conflict, it would potentially place nuclear weapons in the hands of lunatics like Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar!

This would impose on US President Barack Obama a moral dilemma beyond anything he could have imagined or contemplated when he assumed office. The only option open to him would be to take out the Pakistani nuclear facility at Chagai Hills in much the same manner, but on a grander scale, than Israel did when it feared that Saddam Husain’s Daura reactor near Baghdad would go critical by July or August of 1981.

The ramifications this would have for South Asia and indeed the entire world boggle the mind.

Yet this is a scenario whose occurrence cannot be dismissed as long as Pakistan’s civil society acting through its elected secular government, in consonance with the United States and the UN, move decisively before it is too late.

(03.05.2009 - Harold A. Gould is visiting scholar in South Asian Studies at the University of Virginia. He can be contacted at harold.gould4@verizon.net)


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Sebelius Confirmed; Cambodian MP Countersued

By WeNews Staff

Cheers
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius won U.S. Senate confirmation on April 28 to serve as the nation's health and human services secretary. The pro-choice Democrat will be heading the agency, which oversees women's health issues and is directing the government's efforts against the swine flu outbreak.

The Senate voted 65 to 31 to confirm Sebelius, who is a two-term governor, after the Democrats urged quick action to approve Sebelius in light of the swine flu outbreak, The Associated Press reported. Sixty votes are needed in the 100-seat Senate for confirmation. Sebelius' confirmation had been stalled, as Republican opponents raised concerns over her pro-choice stances, among other issues.

Sebelius' confirmation completes President Obama's cabinet.

More News to Cheer This Week:

A California bill, called Assembly Bill 612, cleared its first hurdle this week when it was approved by the Assembly Committee on Judiciary. The bill seeks to prohibit courts from considering nonscientific theories when making decisions on child custody or visitation. Supporters of the bill say that one of these unscientific theories, the parental alienation syndrome, where a child is essentially brainwashed into thinking the other parent is the enemy, has fueled bitter child custody battles and has been used by some abusive parents to regain custody of the abused child.

The Fawcett Society, the United Kingdom's leading campaigning organization for women's rights, will launch a campaign on May 4 to encourage more black women to exercise their right to vote. Fawcett's research has found that ethnic-minority women in the U.K., particularly black women, are less likely to be registered to vote than white women and ethnic-minority men. They are also less engaged in mainstream politics: there are only two black female MPs, while there has never been an Asian female MP. The organization will also be promoting a new guide to democracy for ethnic-minority women in advance of local and European elections on June 4.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HR 1913) this week. The vote is being applauded by organizations such as the American Association of University Women, who say it's a strong statement against bias-motivated crimes that can destroy communities. The organization also said that the current federal law does not do enough to protect victims, especially women, who are completely ignored under the federal statute and for whom statistics for such crimes aren't collected.

The number of married Filipinas using contraceptives is increasing while the incidence of infant mortality in the Philippines is declining, according to statistics released this week, the Manila Standard reported. The number of married women using any family planning method climbed to 51 percent in 2008, up from 47 percent in 1998. The same survey found that for every 1,000 live births in the Philippines, 34 children die before reaching the age of five, as opposed to 54 deaths in 1988 to 1992.

The Pakistani Government has decided to establish 39 more Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Centres for Women in various districts of the country for the rehabilitation of victims of violence and to provide temporary shelter, psychological counseling, and free medical and legal aid, The Pakistan Newswire reported. The funds to establish these centers are to be part of the budget of financial year 2009 to 2010. Twenty-five of these centers have been created at the district level during the current financial year.


Jeers
Mu Sochua, a senior MP in Cambodia's opposition Sam Rainsy Party, the largest opposition party in the country, is facing legal action and a possible suspension of her parliamentary immunity. This is in response to her announcement last week that she is suing Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for defamation and insults.

Sochua is suing Sen for calling her cheung klang, or "strong leg"--a term that she says is especially offensive towards women--during an April 4 speech, the Phnom Penh Post reported. The comments made by the prime minister didn't name Sochua directly, but she says she was clearly the target.

"This is the first time, and I do this on behalf of Cambodian women. I do it on behalf of women in general, because women who are raped, who are assaulted--verbally, sexually, physically and so on--who don't have a voice, cry in silence, are ruined inside. This is a symbolic case and also an unprecedented case," Sochua, who was previously the minister for women's affairs in the coalition government, told ABC Radio Australia.

The prime minister struck back this week by filing a lawsuit against Sochua for defaming him during the news conference where she announced her legal intentions.

More News to Jeer This Week:

The United Nations said this week that the vast majority of Iraqi women face domestic violence on a regular basis and many commit suicide because of it, Reuters reported. In response to this, the UN mission in Iraq said that Iraq and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan should take measures to stop violence against women, including honor killings and female genital mutilation.

Saudi Arabia is clamping down on the growing number of unlicensed female gyms, Reuters reported. The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs recently closed three gyms for not having a license. Gyms are sexually segregated in Saudi Arabia and female participation in sports has long been a controversial issue. While male gyms get licenses from a government sports body, female gyms have no official authority overseeing them.

U.S.-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced to eight years in prison in Tehran this month on charges of spying for the United States, has gone on a hunger strike to protest her conviction, her father told the Agence France-Presse. He added that his daughter would keep up her protest until she is released. In response to her case, Iranian human rights lawyer and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has joined Saberi's legal team, telling Democracy Now that the journalist's trial was unfair and violated Iran's laws. Read more!

Cambodia refutes U.S. underestimation of its anti-terrorism capability

PHNOM PENH, The Cambodian Information Minister has refuted a U.S. State Department report about the country's capability of countering terrorism as "not 100 percent correct," national media said on Sunday.

The recently issued U.S. report about the global anti-terrorism situation claimed that terrorists might take advantage of the weakness of Cambodia, such as corruption, poverty and lax management of the border, to carry out illegal acts in its territory, despite the government had made a clear promise to crack down on this type of crime, the newspaper Jian Hua Daily quoted the minister as saying.

In addition, Cambodia lacked training and other resources to counter terrorism, it added.

Khieu Kanharith, also spokesman for the Cambodian government, said "there is no country in the world that can control its border with 100 percent accuracy, neither Cambodia."

However, "the government has established strong and trustworthy relations with different communities in order to nip any social violence in bud," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the newspaper also quoted a senior official of the Interior Minister as saying that there is minimum possibility that terrorists' acts occur in Cambodia, and fighting against money laundering should be the kingdom's priority in the anti-terrorism field.

According to official reports, no major terrorism case with global connection has occurred in the country so far.
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Cambodia plagued by epidemic of drug-resistant conjunctivitis

Written by Nathan Green

Ophthalmogists say they are keeping their eyes on a strain of the ailment that is proving particularly resistant to routine antibiotics


AN eye health specialist from the Ministry of Health warned Thursday that people suffering from a particularly tough-to-treat strain of conjunctivitis sweeping Cambodia should seek medical help rather than trying to cure it using over-the-counter medications.

Do Seiha, the coordinator of Cambodia's national eye care program and the resident ophthalmologist at Phnom Penh's Naga Clinic, said that most infections clear up on their own, but treatment with antibiotics is required if the infection persists.

However, the bacteria that are often responsible for the condition seemed to have developed resistance to the steroidal antibiotic eyedrop Maxitrol that is traditionally used.

"We don't know why, but the infection is resistant to routine treatment," he said. "It usually can be treated in one week, but now treatment is taking up to three or four weeks." He added that around 10 percent of sufferers develop a severe form of the condition.

Do Seiha recommended doctors use a two-pronged antibiotic drug response, prescribing Maxitrol drops alongside drops containing the third-generation synthetic antibiotic Moxifloxacin, which has only been available in Cambodia since December.

While these medicines can be bought over the counter, Do Seiha said they should only be prescribed by a medical doctor, as not all eye irritations are conjunctivitis, and not all conjunctivitis is bacterial. The condition can also be triggered by viruses or an allergic reaction, neither of which would respond to antibacterial treatment, while prolonged use of Maxitrol could damage the eyes.

They could also compound other conditions, such as causing ulcers in the eyes of those suffering from keratitis, an inflammation of the cornea, or worsening glaucoma.

Conjunctivitis outbreaks tend to hit Cambodia in November and December, but this dry season the epidemic came later in January and shows no sign of abating yet, Do Seiha said. He treated about 300 cases over the last three weeks in his ophthalmology practice at Naga Clinic, he added.

The infection is highly contagious and can be spread through person-to-person contact, picked up off surfaces and spread by dust - hence its prevalence in the dry season. Many people became infected when travelling to the provinces for Khmer New Year, Do Seiha said, picking it up from relatives or through exposure to dust-borne bacteria.

"Once one person in a family gets it, everybody will get it," he said. "To limit the risk, infected people must wash their hands regularly and avoid sharing towels." Recovered individuals also have a high risk of reinfection.

He expected the epidemic to persist until the rainy season arrived and reduced dust particles, which can carry conjunctivitis-causing bacteria. Read more!

Japan donates $4 million to Khmer Rouge tribunal

By SOPHENG CHEANG

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Japan has donated $4.17 million to the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal trying former Khmer Rouge leaders on war crimes charges, just as the troubled court was running out of funding, a court official said Friday.

The money will be used to offset a salary shortfall for 251 court staffers until at least the end of the year, tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said. The court has been troubled by political wrangling and allegations that some Cambodian officials were demanding kickbacks from people trying to secure jobs with it.

The tribunal is tasked with seeking justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge during their four years in power in the late 1970s. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died under the radically communist regime from forced labor, starvation, medical neglect and executions.

"The donation arrived on time since the Cambodian side of the court was running out of budget. We really appreciate what the Japanese government has done," Reach Sambath said.

The donation comes as Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, is being tried by the tribunal for crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture.

The 66-year-old Duch (pronounced Doik) commanded the Phnom Penh prison, where as many as 16,000 men, women and children are believed to have been tortured before being sent to their deaths. Only a handful survived.

Four other former Khmer Rouge leaders, aging and infirm, are being held for trial on charges of crimes against humanity and war atrocities. The are likely to be tried in the next year or two.

The tribunal operates under the joint administration of Cambodia and the U.N., which have separate budgets. In January, Japan gave $21 million to the U.N. side of the operation.

In March, Japan donated $200,000 to the Cambodian side for that month's payroll.

"Japan places a great emphasis on the progress of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, as it believes that this process will promote peace, democracy, the rule of law and good governance in Cambodia," a statement from the Japanese Embassy said. Read more!

Cambodian hip-hop dance troupe started by ex-gang member plans local fundraiser

KK (Tuy Sobil) keeps an eye on breakdancers at Korsang, a center for returnees, in Phonm Penh, Cambodia, on February 13, 2008. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - When Tuy Sobil, better known as KK, started teaching children and teens in the slums of Cambodia how to break dance, he couldn't have foreseen all this.

A former Crips gang member from Long Beach, who was deported to Cambodia in 2004 after serving time for armed robbery, KK was still coming to grips with his own travails when word spread in Phnom Penh that he was a talented breaker.

After turning down initial pleas by kids to teach his technique, KK relented and Tiny Toones was born.

The goal was to "provide a safe, positive environment for at-risk youth to channel their energy and creativity into the arts and education" and away from the rampant drugs, gangs and criminal activity that infect the streets.

From meager beginnings, Tiny Toones has enjoyed rapid growth and become something of a media phenomenon.

The group has a drop-in center in Phnom Penh and offers educational and social services to needy kids.

Now Tiny Toones has gone global.

And a half-dozen dancers and a rapper are getting a chance of a lifetime.

On Sunday, the Tiny Toones crew concludes a U.S. tour as headliners at a hip-hop community fund-raiser in Inglewood. The event will also feature a live video conference from Cambodia with KK, who is barred from returning to the United States.

However, his dancers were granted visas and have spent the last two weeks traveling the United States, competing in hip-hop battles and packing in a lifetime of experiences that were once unimaginable.
Organizers had hoped to stage the event in Long Beach but ran into complications.

Those who can't make it to Inglewood can meet Tiny Toones at noon Sunday at Cesar Chavez Park, 401 Golden Ave. where a hip-hop/reggae community picnic will be staged with DJs, graffiti artists, b-boys, drum circles, fire dancers, and other artists.

The members of Tiny Toones may wear sideways ball caps, baggy clothes and strike American urban poses, but "Suicide," "T-Boy," "Diamond," "Fresh," "Honey, "Sokha" and "K-Dep" are pure Cambodian.

Dara Chan, a grad student and child of Cambodian immigrants, spearheaded the effort to get Tiny Toones to the U.S.

He said he was "blown away," when he saw the Cambodian crew perform.

Although the dancers, who range in age from 16 to 23, have only been at it for a couple of years, Chan says "they really pushed themselves. They created a really original show."

The routine begins as a traditional Cambodian "Monkey Dance," before transforming into a modern and urban interpretation of the classic tale.

Chan says he has been amazed at the love and welcome the Cambodian crew has received.

The idea of bringing Tiny Toones began with an invitation to an annual international dance battle called "Breakin' the Law," sponsored by the University of Wisconsin as part of its Hip Hop as a Movement week.

After strings were pulled and letters of support from numerous charities and law firms written, the Tiny Toones kids were granted visas.

Chan said efforts to get a temporary waiver for KK were unsuccessful.

After the show in Wisconsin, Tiny Toones traveled to New York, Philadelphia and Seattle. They return home after Sunday's performance.

In addition to Tiny Toones, the event will include art demonstrations and workshops, live graffiti and silk screening and performances by dancers, rappers, spoken word artists and DJs.

June Kaeswith, a student at Cal State Long Beach, organized the event.

"We want to bring back what hip-hop was originally about, which is peace, love, unity, having fun and knowledge," Kaeswith says. "This event is to revive that."

Information about the events is available by e-mail at jumakae@gmail.com. Information about Tiny Toones can be found online at www.tinytoonescambodia.com.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Want to go?

What: Hip-hop community event featuring Cambodian break dancers

When: Sunday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Where: Chuco's Justice Center, 1137 E. Redondo Blvd., Inglewood

Admission: $5 - $10 donation requested

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