Boy's death blamed on CYF errors

By BRITTON BROUN - The Dominion Post


Hoki Thompson still cannot understand why her 14-year-old charge Denbora Oum took his own life.

The slightly built Cambodian boy, who was under Child Youth and Family care, had been happily living with Mrs Thompson and her husband Bill at their Porirua foster home for three months.

She had looked after troubled children for 30 years, but was devastated when she came across Denbora's body on the porch of her house on June 28, 2005.

"I felt so guilty, I felt like I hadn't done enough," she said yesterday.

"I've had a lot of suicidal kids but you know they're like that and you see the signs. With poor Denbora there was nothing. It's such a shame. He just wanted to go back to school ... and back to his mum."

Mrs Thompson remembered Denbora being quiet but smiling, a mischievous prankster who always followed her around.

But he had been in and out of CYF care since he was an infant, between living at home with a violent mother and a brother who physically and sexually abused him.

Mrs Thompson said she was told nothing about his suicide risk.

Denbora was born in New Zealand, one of five children in a Cambodian family. His father died when he was four and he and his brothers and sisters were raised by their mother.

Wellington coroner Garry Evans said CYF had categorised Denbora as a high risk of suicide in 2001. Mr Evans found communication and system failures at CYFs Porirua office had contributed to Denbora's death.

In 2002, counsellor Steve Phoenix said the boy's problems stemmed from his family and intervention was needed to change their behaviour. If nothing was done Denbora may attempt suicide, he warned.

Mr Evans said 11 different social workers had dealt with the family, but there was minimal exploration of family relationships and history.

No-one had in-depth knowledge of Denbora's life, while plans to help the Oum family fell short.

Mr Phoenix's clear warning should have been acted upon, he said. "Implementation of the plans would have required good communication and engagement by the social worker with Denbora, his family and the other professionals involved ... [but] there is little evidence of good engagement."

Failures included:

Language and cultural barriers and a negative perception of Denbora's mother saw her become isolated from the CYFs process.

CYFs paperwork was lacking, with important information and several risk assessment reports not put in Denbora's files.

Pressure in the Porirua CYFs office was "intense" because of understaffing. When Denbora died, his social worker was on stress leave, possibly delaying him going to a new school.

The work culture in the office was more about meeting "computer-based key performance indicators instead of more in-depth work with the children and their families".

Mr Evans recommended CYFs develop a risk assessment and management plan for every child in their care; that work systems focus on the holistic care of children; and records be thorough, regularly updated and stored electronically and on paper.

CYFs chief executive Ray Smith said Denbora's death was "an immense tragedy" but there had been great improvements since.

There was now better supervision and support for social workers, more training, and more effective risk management.

"This has resulted in major improvements to the way our sites, including the Porirua office, are operating and a significant staff culture change," Mr Smith said.

CYFs had also reduced the number of unallocated child cases, from 3482 in 2004 to 69, and improved its suicide prevention programmes. The agency would also look at Mr Evans' other recommendations. Read more!

Sexual Tourism Charges Laid Against Burnaby Man

35 sexual tourism charges were laid against a Burnaby, BC, man today. It is alleged that the offenses took place outside of Canada in locations like South East Asia, the Philippines and South America. It is illegal for Canadians to travel to other countries and engage in sexual activities that are illegal in Canada.

"The charges against Kenneth Robert Klassen include sexual interference, sexual touching, procuring and making child pornography. It's alleged the 35 offences were committed in Cambodia, Colombia and the Philippines between 1998 and 2002.CBC"CBC

The Canadian authorities were alerted to this case by the arrival of a suspicious package containing DVDs and a camera. Subsequent investigations showed that children as young as nine years old were involved.

The child sex tourism law enacted in 2002 has been effective in charging overseas offenders, but much still needs to be done to bring justice to the victims.
Read more!

More Vandalism At Buddhist Temple In Rochester

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) ― Police are asking whoever's behind a string of vandalism incidents at a Cambodian Buddhist temple in Rochester to stop.

Investigators say the latest incident was Monday, when rocks, dirt and sand were put in the temple's mailbox. Twenty solar-powered lights were also taken.

Members say the mailbox has been vandalized five times in the past month, and there have also been five attempted break-ins.

Vandalism at the temple a year ago included smashed lights, yanked flowers and a cross along with "Jesus saves" spray-painted on the driveway in orange.

Olmsted County Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Behrns says the crimes are obviously motivated by bias.

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B.C. man guilty of sex tourism

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER - A Burnaby, B.C. man has pleaded guilty to sex tourism charges involving 14 underage girls in Cambodia and Colombia.

Kenneth Klassen appeared in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Friday and admitted to committing the crimes between December 1998 and March of 2002.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of importing child pornography and will be sentenced in July.

Klassen, a father of three, was originally facing 35 charges for the exploitation and sexual abuse of children in Cambodia, Colombia and the Philippines.

He was accused of abusing girls as young as nine and charged in 2007 after a two-and-a-half-year international investigation that netted videos showing a man having sex with young girls.

Klassen challenged Canada's child-sex tourism law in 2009, saying Canadian courts had no jurisdiction in other countries, but a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled the law is internationally valid because many countries have similar legislation.

"In the absence of extraterritorial legislation, Canada would become a safer harbour for those who engage in the economic or sexual exploitation of children," Justice Austin Cullen wrote in his decision.

Canada's child-sex tourism laws were enacted in 1997 and bolstered five years later so the consent of the foreign country where allegations of sexual abuse took place was no longer needed in order to lay charges.

Vancouver hotel employee Donald Bakker was the first Canadian to be convicted under the law in 2005.

He got a 10-year sentence for 10 sexual assaults on girls between seven and 12 in Cambodia, where he videotaped the abuse.

In November of 2008, two Quebec aid workers pleaded guilty to sexually abusing teenage boys while working at an orphanage in Haiti.

Armand Huard was sentenced to three years in prison and Denis Rochefort was given two years.

Read more!

Top 5 off-beaten path Asian destinations

1. Gili Islands, Indonesia

Nestled alongside the Muslim island of Lombac, two hours by boat from the popular tourist island of Bali lie the Gili islands. The largest of the three, Gili Tranwangen, can be circumnavigated in a few hours with a bike. White sand beaches with warm, crystal clear turquoise waters welcome surround each island, collectively known as the turtle capital of the world. No vehicles are allowed on any of the three Gilis, so visitors must travel by foot, bike, or traditional horse-drawn carriage. Many of the beach-side restaurants serve up a fresh seafood bar-b-cue feast each evening with a late-night party three times per week at one of the local bars. Adventure travelers can enjoy stunning scuba diving along reefs, drop-offs and sunken ships with the opportunity to see an elusive sun fish. Kayaks, bikes, and snorkel gear are available for rent along many of the beaches for guests to cycle off to their own private beach for a day of sun.

2. Phu Quoc, Vietnam

Phu Quoc island, an hour flight from Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam, boasts beaches rivaling Thailand's without the resort development. The quiet beaches with their warm, gentle waters are best enjoyed in the winter months, when Vietnam's other beach towns of Hoi An and Nha Trang experience more inclement weather. Find yourself a quiet bungalow on the beach and laze away the days soaking up the sun, snorkeling, diving, or squid fishing in this untouched, lazy beach town.

3. Ulan Bator, Mongolia

The vast steppes of Mongolia, north of China offer some of the most pristine landscapes in the world. Ulan Bator, the capitol city of Mongolia, serves as the jumping-off point for visitors to this largely nomadic nation. Time your visit with the annual summer Nadam festivals and enjoy the archery, horse racing, dancing, and singing. Stay with a Mongolian family, known for hospitality, in a traditional ger, or tent, while you dine on sheep's head soup or fermented mare's milk. Spend the days on horseback traveling through the wide-open plains, or venture by camel into the Gobi desert. For the truly adventurous, visit Mongolia in the winter to experience sub-zero temperatures as you explore the snowy lands by dog sled.

4. Lhasa, Tibet

Lhasa, the birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism, sits at an elevation of over 11,000 feet. Dine on traditional mutton and beef as you explore the palaces and temples of this religious city. Of particular interest is the Potala Palace. The former residence of the Dalai Lama is now a museum. Plan your visit from March to October and give yourself enough time in the city to adjust to the high altitude.

5. Siem Reap, Cambodia

Siem Reap, located in the northern region of Cambodia, is home to the temples of Angkor Wat. The civil war and Khmer Rouge in the 1970s and 1980s made Siem Reap and neighboring Angkor Wat largely inaccessible to tourists, but the country has since experienced a boost in tourism to the famed temple complex. Hire a tour guide and tuk-tuk and spend your days exploring the many temples scattered throughout the Angkor complex. Make sure to see the Bayon, covered with 216 faced of Avalokiteshvara, Ta Prohm, made famous by the film Tomb Raider, and the main Angkor Wat temple depicted on the flag of Cambodia. As the temple grounds close for the evening, head back to the sleepy town to experience traditional Khmer cuisine or a late-night drink at one of the many local watering holes.

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Thai Riots Spark Reporting Via Twitter, YouTube

IDG News Service — The serious riots in Bangkok this week have taken a tragic toll out on the streets, but have also sparked an unprecedented emergence of amateur news gathering, shared over YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, which has proved ideal for the fast-moving situation.

The mainstream Thai and foreign media have been overwhelmed by a small army of individuals equipped with mobile phones and Twitter accounts, who are posting continuously from both sides of the barricades. Such grass-roots reporting may be commonplace in the developed world, but has come as a surprise in Thailand, which still lacks a commercial 3G service.

The appeal of online independent media is easy to understand; the official Thai media is slow and selective, as all the television stations are government-controlled and the message they are required to present is carefully tailored. By contrast, Twitter messages are posted within seconds of incidents occurring, followed a few minutes later by photos posted to TwitPic or TweetPhoto. Videos of street fighting between government forces and the Red Shirt protestors are appearing on YouTube within a few hours of incidents occurring.

The use of social media this week is reminiscent of how Iranians turned to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube last June, during the government crackdown on protesters following the disputed elections.

This intrusion of independent online news distribution into what has previously been a government monopoly is being keenly felt in many quarters. First, the Thai authorities have no way of blocking the online activities of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is widely regarded as both the figurehead and paymaster of the Red Shirts.

Thaksin, a billionaire who made his fortune in the Thai telecom market, has been a regular Twitter user since mid-2009 from his forced exile in Montenegro, and now has 96,000 followers. Although Thaksin has a Web site, a Facebook page, and conducts phone-ins and live-video broadcasts, Twitter is apparently his favorite communication method, providing a fast and convenient channel to local media.

Second, the YouTube videos have become instrumental in holding both sides to account for their actions. Acts of brutality and recklessness from both sides have been published, and government television has been forced into broadcasting special programs each evening devoted to analyzing the videos and highlighting what they describe as acts of terrorism by Red Shirts while absolving the government forces from criticism.

All this activity has thrived despite Thailand having the most outdated mobile phone system in South-East Asia. Alone among its neighbors, Thailand has no commercial 3G service, and will be without one until next year at least. Most of the country relies on GSM technology, with GPRS/EDGE available in the cities. Even impoverished neighbors Cambodia and Laos have 3G networks, supplied by Vietnamese company Viettel.

Thailand has yet to hold 3G spectrum auctions, with regulator National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) having cancelled several auctions over the past few years. The reasons for the cancellations range from complications in details of the bidding conditions, disagreements over pricing, and uncertainties over NTC's authority under the hurriedly written 2007 constitution which followed Thaksin's ouster.

The delay, critics say, is more likely due to the patronage-based approach to business favored by existing telecom companies allied to a confused regulatory environment, both of which are symptomatic of the country as a whole.

The horse-trading over telecommunications licenses is, in fact, exactly the kind of elitist and exclusionary process that the Red Shirt protestors claim to be trying to uproot. Read more!

USNS Mercy Arrives in Guam for Pacific Partnership

WASHINGTON - The Military Sealift Command's hospital ship USNS Mercy is moored in Guam to bring on mission-support teams, supplies and other equipment to prepare for a five-month humanitarian deployment.

The deployment is part of Pacific Partnership 2010, the fifth in an annual series of U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance endeavors. The mission officially kicked off, May 1, when the Mercy left San Diego.

"We have a lot of partners out here," Navy Capt. Lisa M. Franchetti -- Mercy's commodore and commander for the overall Pacific Partnership mission – said yesterday in a "DoD Live" bloggers roundtable. "We have eight partner nations, six host nations and 17 [nongovernmental organizations] that will be sending volunteers throughout the mission."

This year's mission will focus on providing assistance ashore in a variety of ways, including engineering projects, medical and dental care, participating in subject-matter-expert exchanges and conducting programs to provide humanitarian and civic assistance to Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Palau and Papua New Guinea.

Mercy is expected to arrive in Vietnam, May 31, and it will remain on station for slightly more than two weeks. In addition to the current stop in Guam, the hospital ship will re-supply at logistical hubs in Singapore and in Darwin, Australia, during the deployment.

"I can't emphasize enough what a partnership it is," Franchetti said. "That's why they call it Pacific Partnership. [It] really is not purely a military mission in any sense of the word, and we really couldn't do the mission without the support of all our partners."

The crew accompaniment aboard Mercy this year is not exclusively from the Navy. "We have quite a few Air Force and Army personnel, which is very exciting," Franchetti said. "They come from all over the U.S. There is a request that goes out to join the mission, and with some commands, it is a very competitive process."

In addition to the military support during the deployment, Franchetti said, an additional 130 partner-nation personnel will join the crew, as well as 580 volunteers from 17 nongovernmental organizations. "The total number of personnel on board will fluctuate [near] 900, and our maximum number will be right around 1,100," she added.

For this mission, Mercy has been outfitted with humanitarian and civic assistance equipment, supplies and a staff augmented with a robust multi-specialized team of preventive medicine personnel, veterinarians, medical and dental teams and engineering personnel.

"In addition to [performing] surgeries aboard the Mercy, [during] every one of the visits we will provide primary health and dental clinics, biomedical repair opportunities, preventive medicine and veterinarian care, which is a new thing this year for most of our countries," Franchetti said.

Some servicemembers who are a part of the crew will have the chance to be aboard an Australian ship prior to joining with the guided missile frigate USS Crommelin in Papua New Guinea, Franchetti said. In addition, when Mercy arrives in Vietnam and Cambodia, military personnel from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will assist in medical training and subject-matter exchanges to provide quality medical and dental healthcare.

While in Vietnam, the Japanese dock landing ship JDS Kunisaki will provide additional medical support.

"We will have a medical team made up of approximately 40 medical personnel from the Japanese Self Defense Forces, as well as three different Japanese [noncommissioned officers]," Franchetti said. "So we are very excited to have the opportunity to work together in both Vietnam and Cambodia."

The concept of Pacific Partnership evolved from the unprecedented international disaster response for countries devastated during the 2004 Asian tsunami. Follow-up missions recognized the benefits derived from cooperation between national governments, militaries, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations during disaster relief operations, as well as in civic assistance projects, according to the official Pacific Partnership website. Read more!

AsiaRooms.com - Celebrate the Cambodian Queen Mother's Birthday in Siem Reap

PRLEAP.COM) AsiaRooms.com can reveal that people who have booked accommodation in Siem Reap during June could find that their stay coincides with one of Cambodia’s royal holidays.

On June 18th, the country celebrates the birthday of the Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk.

This year, she will be marking her 74th birthday, while her husband will turn 88 at the end of October. Their eldest son Norodom Sihamoni is the current king of Cambodia.

Although this is only classed as a minor celebration, anyone visiting Cambodia will notice that banners and greetings for the queen are rolled out around the country’s cities.

In recent years, it has become known as a family celebration, allowing parents to spend time with their children, Holidays Around the World informs.

People visiting Siem Reap will find that there are a range of activities organised for children on this day.

These are usually centred on parks or malls and many families choose to spend the day together and take part in the festivities.

In Cambodia, the royal family remain an important part of life, with several celebrations dedicated to them each year.

These include the King’s Birthday and Royal Ploughing Ceremony, which take place each May, as well as the King Father’s Birthday, which is marked in October.

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Cambodian royalist parties to merge ahead of 2013 election

Royalist parties of FUNCINPEC and Nationalist Party with former name as Norodom Ranariddh Party have agreed to establish an alliance to compete in 2013 general election, a party spokesman said Friday.

Peng Senga, spokesman of Nationalist Party said his party has held talks four times since last month with FUNCINPEC party and had agreed to establish an alliance, but more party's structures need further talks.

He said as the last meeting was convened on Wednesday, the two parties agreed to have co-presidents of the so-called "FUNCINPEC- Nationalist Alliance" while the position as secretary-general will need more discussion before final agreement to be made.

However, he said, the format for the secretary-general will be likely called as first and second with consensus voice or just first and second.

FUNCINPEC was originally brainstormed and set up as a front by then prince Norodom Sihanouk in 1986, but in 1992, it was transformed to a political party to challenge with Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party.

FUNCINPEC won general election in 1993, but had lost in the following three consecutive elections in 1998, 2003 and 2008.

Prince Norodom Ranariddh was the top leader since FUNCINPEC party was formed, but he was kicked out from the party in 2006, and the party then split into two: FUNCINPEC and Norodom Ranariddh Party, but now changed to Nationalist Party.

Currently, Cambodian People's Party has 90 seats in 123-seat parliament; Sam Rainsy Party gains 26, Human Rights Party has three, FUNCINPEC gains two and Norodom Ranariddh gains two.

Cambodia holds general election every five years and the next election will be held in 2013.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Commentary: Vietnam ousted the murderous Khmer Rouge by force; expecting peaceful change in North Korea is folly

Donald Kirk Los Angeles Times


PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Is the regime of Kim Jong Il the cruelest the world has seen since Adolf Hitler's in Germany or Josef Stalin's in the Soviet Union? For all the world has heard about North Korea and its people's suffering, the answer is no. The dubious distinction of cruelest probably belongs to Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. That regime took over Cambodia in 1975 and ruled from the once-tranquil capital of Phnom Penh until December 1978, when Vietnamese communist troops drove it out. About 2 million people are estimated to have died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, from disease, starvation, executions and torture.

The suffering under the Khmer Rouge is resonant with the plight North Koreans have endured for many more years. Today, however, Phnom Penh is bustling, alive with shops selling an incredible variety of silk, statuary, silver objects and souvenirs. Restaurants offer just about any menu. The streets are swarming with traffic as motor scooters dart in and out and larger vehicles carry people and commercial products. Motorcycles pulling what look like small, old-fashioned carriages offer taxi services. Internet cafes thrive in every marketplace. Casinos and nightclubs lure those in search of higher-priced fun, and the National Museum and Royal Palace offer lush and rich glimpses of Khmer civilization and heritage going back 2,000 years.

So what lesson is there - for North Korea and the world - in the transformation of Cambodia from a frightening dictatorship into a hustling if not exactly democratic society? The revelation of North Korea's role in torpedoing a South Korean navy ship in March, with the loss of 46 lives, suggests why it's necessary to transform rule in the North as urgently as it was to end the Khmer Rouge's rule in Cambodia nearly 22 years ago.

Cambodia's current system, in which Hun Sen has ruled as prime minister, with the backing of Vietnam, almost continuously for 25 years, is not at all ideal. Many of the country's 15 million people continue to suffer economically. And it's fair to assume that torture and killings go on, although not on a mass scale.

In an imperfect world, however, Cambodia gives every appearance of having recovered its erstwhile reputation as an "oasis of peace." That was how Prince Norodom Sihanouk described his kingdom when navigating a treacherous course of neutrality as American and South Vietnamese forces fought the North Vietnamese until the U.S.-backed regime fell in Vietnam two weeks after the defeat of Cambodia in 1975. It was a measure of Sihanouk's incredible finesse that he was able to return to Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, even though a number of his children were killed by the forces that isolated him in his quarters.

Sihanouk has somehow survived, even though he has no real power. He is more or less a king emeritus, a revered figure who is able to appear above the tawdry power politics that periodically shakes up the elite six years after his eldest surviving son, Norodom Sihamoni, was crowned as his successor.

The Pol Pot regime had to fall, and the men around him - those responsible for forms of torture comparable to the security apparatus of North Korea's "Dear Leader," Kim Jong Il - had to flee, be killed or be captured. They had to disappear forever. That should not be lost on South Koreans or their U.S. ally in weighing how far to go in attempting reconciliation or "talks" with North Korea. Someone in responsibility has to face the question: At what point does intervention become necessary?

In that debate, the Khmer Rouge comparison assumes still greater relevance. The question is how was it that the forces of a communist country - against which the Americans and South Vietnamese, supported by two divisions of South Koreans, had fought for a generation - accomplished such a stunning success for the everlasting benefit of the Cambodian people? The answer in part is that Vietnam, after the communist victory in 1975, was never a terrible dictatorship. As Vietnam's leadership went through its own tortuous policy shifts, market capitalism began to flourish. Vietnamese gained a level of cultural and economic freedom that had not appeared possible in 1975. Moreover, Ho Chi Minh, who led Vietnam's communist regime until his death in 1969, never gained a reputation for pervasive cruelty over his own people, even as he ruthlessly suppressed opponents.

It's difficult to compare such different societies and cultures as those in Cambodia and North Korea, but the lesson is clear. There can be no real compromise with the Kim regime. The history of regimes such as Cambodia's under the Khmer Rouge is that they do not willingly yield, do not suddenly adopt humanitarian policies and do not give up the props of their rule, notably their weapons. It's wishful thinking to expect North Korea to shift its policies or honor any agreement on much of anything, including its nuclear weapons program. It took an upheaval to bring about relief from suffering in Cambodia, and it will take another on that scale to reform North Korea.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Donald Kirk, based in South Korea, covered Cambodia and Vietnam in the late 1960s and early '70s for newspapers and magazines. He is the author of several books, most recently "Korea Betrayed: Kim Dae Jung and Sunshine." He wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.
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Asian culture and community events in the Dallas area

In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, members of the Asian American Association of City Employees recently held a cultural program at Dallas City Hall that focused on Cambodia.

Sushil Mathew, association president, welcomed guests.

"There are city employees from more than 20 Asian countries who work for the city of Dallas," Mathew said. "This is an opportunity to learn from each other and build a stronger workforce that appreciates and embraces diversity."

Council member Dwaine Caraway read a proclamation, and City Manager Mary Suhm also spoke.

"Diversity is a major goal of our City Council," Suhm said. "Thank you for bringing unity to the city of Dallas through your diversity."

The event included an exhibit of Cambodian arts and a fashion show of traditional costumes.

Organizers presented Caraway and council member Carolyn Davis with scrolls showing their names in Cambodian characters.

After the presentations, guests enjoyed a lunch of noodles, rice and other Cambodian dishes.

To learn more about the association, visit www.aaace dallas.com.

Flower power

At the 2010 DFW Dragon Boat, Kite and Lantern Festival on Sunday, rowers from four teams tossed pink carnations into Lake Carolyn in Irving. The flowers symbolized remembrance and hope.

"We remember our loved ones who lost their lives to breast cancer," said Frances Leung. "We celebrate the survivorship of breast cancer patients."

Leung, community outreach manager for Asian Breast Health Outreach Project, organized three teams to participate in the breast cancer awareness division of the races. The teams were KOI and Mudzilla 1 and 2. The Organization of Chinese Americans-DFW sponsored the fourth team.

To learn more about the Asian Breast Health Outreach Project, visit www.asianbreast health.org.

Sunnyvale council

Saji George was sworn in Monday as a council member in Sunnyvale. He received the highest number of votes in the May 8 election, which also placed Ronnie Henderson Jr. and Pat Wiley on the council.

Born in India, George received an engineering degree from Texas Tech University and an executive master's degree from Southern Methodist University. He has about 20 years of experience in engineering and management.

He and his wife, Jaya George, have two children, Anne, 14, and Andrew, 11. The family said they are active members of St. Paul's Mar Thoma Church in Mesquite.

Sunnyvale, with a population of about 4,000, has an Asian population of about 25 percent, said Terry Reid, president of the Sunnyvale chamber.

"This is a great and historic event," Reid said of George's victory. Visit www.sajigeorge forsunnyvale.com.

Summer camp

The Crow Collection of Asian Art will hold "CampAsia: Summer Camp for Kids" in June and July. The four weekday camps are for ages 6-12. Registration ends June 1. The cost is $300 per weekly camp for members and $350 for others. A CampAsia Overnight is $125 per child for members and $150 per child for nonmembers. All fees include supplies and snacks. Call 214-979-6435 or e-mail education@crowcollection .org.Upcoming events

Today and Sunday

The Dallas Opera presents Madame Butterfly at 7:30 p.m. at the Winspear Opera House, 2401 Flora St. in Dallas. 214-443-1000. www.dallasopera.org.

Friday

Crow Collection After Dark will be from 6 p.m. to midnight. The event will focus on Korea and feature Korean-inspired fans and sampling of ice cream (flavors include green tea and red bean), tasting Korean beers and tours of "New Vision" and "Modern Twist: Bamboo Works From the Clark Center and the Art of Motoko Maio" exhibits. The museum is at 2010 Flora St. in Dallas. Free. 214-979-6430. www.crowcollection.org .

Saturday

The Crow Collection of Asian Art unveils "New Vision: Ballpoint Drawings by Il Lee." Lee is a New York artist of Korean heritage. The show includes eight large-scale works and 50 small works on paper.

The museum is at 2010 Flora St. in Dallas. 214-979-6430. www.crowcollection.org.

Gospel for Asia will hold a fundraising yard sale for a youth mission trip from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1800 Golden Trail Court in Carrollton. 972-371-4045.

The Chinese Institute of Engineers/USA-DFW will hold its 2010 Youth Engineering Fair from noon to 5 p.m. in the Student Union at the University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Road in Richardson www.cie-dfw.org.

Sunday

The Kimbell Art Museum presents a film, The Story of India; Ages of Gold, at 2 p.m. Free. The museum is at 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth. 817-332-8451. www.kimbellart.org .
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Cambodia marks annual Day of Anger against Khmer Rouge

Phnom Penh - Hundreds of Cambodians marked the annual Day of Anger against the Khmer Rouge regime Thursday at a former killing field outside the capital.

The cornerstone of the ceremony was a play in which a dozen Cambodians dressed as Khmer Rouge soldiers acted out executions in a reminder of the mass killings that characterized the regime that ruled from 1975 to 1979.

Pa Socheatvong, the deputy governor of Phnom Penh, said the purpose was to remember those who died during the Khmer Rouge regime.

The movement was led by Pol Pot, also known as Brother Number One.

"Pol Pot betrayed the country by using the people's blood as capital, so people are very angry with the Pol Pot regime," Pa Socheatvong told the German Press Agency dpa.

The event was first held in 1984, five years after the Khmer Rouge was driven from power.

Pa Socheatvong said the May 20 date was selected since it was on that day in 1976 that the Khmer Rouge leadership took the decision to kill people.

"They made it the strategy of their genocidal regime," he said.

Thursday's ceremony was held at Chhoeung Ek, which was where thousands of Cambodians from the regime's main security prison known as S-21 were executed. Both Chhoeung Ek and S-21 are popular sites for tourists visiting the capital.

Last year, S-21's commander, Comrade Duch, appeared before a joint UN-Cambodian tribunal charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Judgement in Duch's case is expected in the coming months.

Four former Khmer Rouge leaders are currently in detention in Phnom Penh ahead of their trial which is likely to start early next year.

An estimated 1.7 million people died during the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia from execution, overwork, starvation and illness. Read more!

ASEAN Regional Forum security policy meeting held in Vietnam

HANOI, May 19, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- A meeting on security policy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum was held in Vietnam's central city of Danang on Wednesday, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The meeting drew delegates from 26 countries, the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat.
At the meeting, participants focused their discussions on ways to promote further the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)'s potential in dealing with non-traditional security challenges in the region. They also exchanged views on regional and international security situations.

The ARF Security Policy Conference is an annual meeting among deputy defense ministers from ARF members.

The meeting aims to promote cooperation on measures to build trust in the military area within the ARF framework, and open new channels for dialogue and exchanges among defense officials, diplomats and other important military figures, said the report.

The ASEAN Regional Forum was officially established in 1994. The current participants in the ARF includes Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste, the United States and Vietnam.
Read more!

Magic tattoo business is slow in Cambodia

By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Phnom Sruoch, CambodiaPeace has not been kind to practitioners of the 2,000-year-old tradition, which holds that magic tattoos can make you invisible, divert bullets and boost your net worth.

In a haze of incense, clients approach Kol Sambo and humbly request his help, sometimes seeking rush jobs for an imminent crisis. He listens and asks why they require added force. If he thinks they'll abuse the power, he turns them down "in a nice way."

Kol is a practitioner of magic tattoos, a 2,000-year-old tradition some call the "soul of the nation." They can make you invisible, divert bullets and boost your net worth, he says, but only if you believe.

The 50-year-old has traveled the Cambodian countryside for the better part of two decades decorating people's bodies with gods, geometric patterns, supernatural creatures and characters in Sanskrit and Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism.

.
Some images appear to move as the wearer's muscles ripple; on others, rounded Khmer script, softened by age, appears to melt as the lines grow fuzzier.

Kol says most clients prefer the more efficient made-in-China tattoo machine he bought a few years back, but, if asked, he still will use the traditional method to ink the skin: two or three sewing needles tied together.

Once applied, by whatever method, a tattoo must be blessed to activate its supernatural powers.

There are "fake" magic tattooists out there, Kol says disdainfully. He was born with the talent, he says, and honed it after becoming a monk and retreating into the mountains to meditate, ponder visions and study ancient texts under a spiritual master.

Grateful clients will periodically return, having survived a war or two, and offer thanks.

Chan Ngeuy, 60, a rail worker who was a soldier during the 1970s, took off his shirt to reveal a line of lacy symbols running the width of his chest, down the outside of his arms and the length of his back bracketing his spinal cord.

"I was shot at, but the bullet missed," he says. "My tattoo made all the difference."

Peace, however, as welcome as it may be to Cambodians after decades of bloodshed, is not a friend of the magic tattoo business.

"During wartime, everyone wants one," says Kong Taing Im, 38, a store owner visiting Kol hoping to safeguard her grandchildren's future. "Without war, mostly gangsters want them."

Nowadays, a tradition that migrated from India centuries ago and endured through numerous Cambodian wars and rulers is being chipped away by technology and an education system that encourages people to be literal-minded, says Miech Ponn, advisor on mores and customs at Phnom Penh's Buddhist Institute.

"Traditional tattoo artists are very few these days," the scholar says. "It's like a living museum."

This spread of modern skepticism is rather shortsighted, argues Cambodian heavyweight kickboxing champion Eh Phuthong, a national hero who credits the supernatural imagery spreading over his muscular body and onto his right fist for his winning record.

"Magic tattoos make me feel more confident, focused, allow me to punch harder and avoid my opponent's blows," Eh says, sporting a phoenix, a symbol of rebirth; the Hanuman monkey king, a force of life, agility and learning; and Vishnu god imagery, meant to provide strength. "They really work."

But even Eh says he's getting more snickers lately from young boxers who shun a practice once considered de rigueur for up-and-coming fighters.

Cambodia's few remaining magic tattoo artists these days tend to work in rural areas, where superstition is enduring, education less common and medical care limited.

Believers say the indelible marks, favored by soldiers, boxers and businessmen, ward off evil. They've also been something of a dead giveaway. During the mid-1970s Khmer Rouge reign of terror, when 2 million people died, the brutal regime targeted anyone who had been associated with the ousted government, many of whom were posing as farmers.

"Not many men with magic tattoos survived," Miech says. "If you had one, you were probably a soldier from the old regime and promptly executed."

It's not enough to simply get a magic tattoo. You must also tend its power. "It's like a mobile phone," says Chan Trea, 46, one of the few magic tattooists still operating in bustling Phnom Penh. "Without maintenance, it won't work."

To keep a tattoo's power, one should shun adultery, alcohol, insulting opponents while fighting them or eating star fruit.

Star fruit?

"Since ancient days, it's well known that people with tattoos or talismans should not consume this fruit," he says. "If it wasn't true, the warning wouldn't last so long."

These days, Chan Trea supplements his income with fashion tattoos.

"If I was only doing magic tattoos, I'd go broke," he says, leaning on the battered dentist chair his customers settle into for their needling sessions.

Magic tattoos are traditionally applied to the part of the body in need of protection, with anti-landmine tattoos placed on the legs, anti-fever tattoos near the heart. Sometimes, however, even the tattooist doesn't understand what he's applying.

Chan Trea says that a few weeks ago a monk asked him to tattoo a particular pattern but refused to say what it meant.

"In Cambodia, there are lots of secrets. People guard things jealously," he says, unfurling a copy of the mystery pattern he furtively kept.

Tattoo artists say women rarely indulge, partly for aesthetic reasons and because they fear they may be mistaken for prostitutes, but Kol sometimes blesses women's perfume bottles, protecting their aura that way.

"These foreign women wearing big tattoos, that looks rather strange to us," said Kong, the grandmother.

(Actress Angelina Jolie recently had a magic tattoo done on her left shoulder blade meant to protect her and her Cambodian son, Maddox, from bad luck and accidents. The translated Pali incantation reportedly reads in part: "May your enemies run far away from you; if you acquire riches, may they remain yours always.")

Cambodia's few remaining magic tattoo artists recognize that they're fighting an uphill battle but say they haven't lost hope.

"Granted, more and more people believe in rationality, technology and the Internet," Kol said. "But, you watch. As soon as the next war or crisis hits and they need us, they'll come running back." Read more!

Thailand unravelling

Red Shirts' anger has its root in deep-seated inequalities

By ERIK MARTINEZ KUHONTA, Freelance

Despite some 18 coups in its contemporary history, Thailand has long been a bastion of stability in Southeast Asia. It has avoided bouts of mass violence that have marred regional neighbours like Indonesia and Cambodia, and has become a major destination for tourists and an economic dynamo in Asia.

However, the current crisis that has parts of Bangkok looking like Beirut has the potential to unhinge Thailand from its stable moorings. Since the first clashes erupted in April, 67 people have been killed, and more than 1,700 have been injured. This degree of violence is unprecedented in Thailand.

At its core, this crisis has its roots in deep-seated inequalities between the rural sector and the ruling institutions and social groups based in Bangkok. The conflict between the Red Shirts and the Thai government stems from the September 2006 coup that ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Red Shirts, primarily rural people from the poorer areas of Thailand in the north and northeast, are avid supporters of Thaksin.

Incensed by the coup as well as by recent court rulings and backroom deals that eliminated governments led by Thaksin allies, the Red Shirts have been pushing to force out the current government of the Democrat Party, which took charge of government in 2008 when a number of Thaksin's parliamentary allies switched sides to give the Democrats a majority. That shady deal and repeated efforts to oust Thaksin and his allies are what so enrage the Red Shirts.

At a deeper level, the Red Shirts' support for Thaksin and visceral opposition to the Democrat-led government is a result of Thaksin's pro-poor policies. These policies, often called populist, included a universal health-care program known as the 30-Baht (75-cent) policy, a debt-moratorium program for farmers, and a Village Fund scheme that would have given every village in the country 1 million baht ( $25,000) to jumpstart small-scale entrepreneurial projects.

The record of these policies in alleviating poverty has been mixed, although the health-care scheme has been the most successful. But the actual success of these policies is less important than their political effect. The policies have created a powerful social base for Thaskin's party and a devoted following for his leadership. Unlike any prime minister in Thailand's history, Thaksin has successfully created a bond with the rural poor, established a track record of policy innovation in favor of the rural sector, and mobilized them to political action. This has created a major challenge for elites in Bangkok.

The Bangkok elite - the aristocratic class, the military, and large parts of the middle class - remain deeply opposed to Thaksin and the Red Shirts, especially because they view Thaksin as a corrupt prime minister who used his public office to protect and advance his capitalist interests.

But opposition to Thaksin is also due to his attempts to challenge King Bhumipol Adulyadej's traditional role as supreme leader of the nation. Since his accession to the throne in 1946, 82-year-old Bhumipol has been one of the most successful and unifying monarchs in Thailand. But the monarchy has also shown little tolerance for politicians who could displace its position as patron and builder of the nation. This is exactly what Thaksin sought to do through the force of his charisma, as much as through his pro-poor policies.

Thailand now finds itself on the brink of civil war. In the past, when Thai politics appeared to have reached a point of no return, Bhumipol was able to step in and bring the conflict to an end. This is no longer possible because the conflict involves the monarchy's role in the polity, but also because the king has been ailing for much of the past year. A recent effort by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to negotiate was rejected by the Red Shirts, pushing the government to use military force to dislodge the protesters. But a military strategy will only inflame rural discontent in the long-run. Both sides need to submit to an impartial negotiator, whether from within Thailand or from abroad, so that negotiations can be credible and earnest.

Once the violence subsides, the larger issue that Thailand needs to confront is the deep marginalization of the rural poor. The Bangkok elite has long ruled on the assumption that the rural poor would accept their fate and would never pose a serious challenge to the state and to society's conservative norms.

This is no longer the case and puts the burden on the elite to change its thinking if it wishes to remain relevant in the midst of political and social change.

Erik Martinez Kuhonta teaches political science at McGill University.

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Cambodia found more than 2,000 ghost civil servants

Cambodian government has found more than 2,000 irregular civil servants (simply called as ghost civil servants) who got government payrolls, a government report showed Tuesday.

The report said since the third census on civil servants began early last month, more than 2,000 irregular civil servants have been found at national level, which accounts for the loss of about 2 million U.S. dollars per year from the government budget.

Average salary for civil servants is about 80 U.S. dollar per month.

It remains unclear how many more of irregular civil servants will be found until this third census to be ended by the end of this month while there remain six more government institutions that need to be reviewed with.

After a new Royal Cambodian Government was formed in 1993, Cambodia held its first census on civil servants in 1995, and the second of its kind in 2001.

Source: Xinhua
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Cambodia Upstream Oil & Gas Fiscal Regime: 2010

Cambodia upstream oil and gas fiscal regime report is an essential source for information related to the upstream fiscal system enacted in Cambodia's oil and gas industry. This report contains information related to various types of payments that are to be made by any oil and gas producing company to the host government. The report provides the most recent laws and tax policies in the country. Each fiscal report is supported by a fully editable and interactive Excel model, where all the fiscal terms are applied on a hypothetical base asset. This interactive Excel model, with the latest fiscal term information, is the most appropriate tool to evaluate the profitability of operating oil and gas fields under the country's fiscal environment.

Scope

- The report provides detailed information on governing laws, licensing authorities, type of contracts and licensing information in country's upstream oil and gas industry.
- The report provides information on the latest fiscal terms applicable in the country's upstream industry. These range from exploration obligations, relinquishments to royalties and taxes.
- Deductions, depreciation and amortization related information is also covered in the report.
- Covers sample cash flows and the methodology to apply a fiscal system on an oil and gas field in the country.
- Base asset valuation with government take, contractor take, gross revenue split is provided in the report.
- Sample asset NPV sensitivities to discount rates are also provided in the report.
- Interactive Excel models can be used to derive valuations, sensitivities and cash flows based on the custom inputs by the user in the model. These custom inputs vary from field production data, cost information, price information and fiscal terms information.

Reasons to buy

- The report provides a detailed scenario of upstream oil and gas laws and their impact on the cash flows.
- The report will allow you to value a prospective investment target through a comprehensive and real-time fiscal analysis and focused methodologies.
- The report with interactive model will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner
- Decide on market entry strategies in specific markets and understand the impact a country's fiscal policies on your future assets. Read more!

History Can Help National Healing: Professor

A scene from the Play Breaking the Silence

The teaching of Khmer Rouge history through books, radio and other new methods can help the spirit of national reconciliation, a leading historian said Monday.

Sombo Manara, a history professor at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said teaching the history of Democratic Kampuchea through such new initiatives as the radio play “Breaking the Silence,” was a path to peace, healing and reconciliation.

“Breaking the Silence” urges victims and perpetrators—many of whom live in the same villagers together but may never speak to each other—to address their collective trauma.

Sombo Manara said the radio play, which also toured as a live performance earlier this year and last year, can prompt memories and healthy debate.

“To have reconciliation in society for those people to apologize, that’s not to create a new fault and not to educate children to act with such wrongdoing,” he told “Hello VOA.” “That is a proper apology for those who were victimized.”

Sombo Manara also said apologies to victims from perpetrators not currently held by the Khmer Rouge tribunal would show the next generation a better way of doing things.

If apologies are made at the local level, it will help explain morality to the young, where the old can teach the rule of Buddha and merit and avoidance of sins, “in order to prevent such actions again,” he said.

Sombo Manara was responding to questions from guests about the Khmer Rouge tribunal, which is now seeking to prosecute its second case against jailed leaders of the regime. But so far only five have senior-most leaders been detained.

Low-ranking cadre will not be targeted by the tribunal’s prosecutors and judges, but Sombo Manara said they still bear some responsibility for helping the country overcome the atrocities of the regime.

Meanwhile, teachers who give lessons about the regime in history must make sure they are not producing new fault lines in the next generation through embittered or vengeful instruction, he said.

Read more!

Ambitious Monk Mixes Business With Buddhism

Monk, Hoeurn Somnieng recieves a degree in Business Management from the St. Ambros University in Iowa, USA.

One determined monk says he wants to use his education and experience from the US to help fund a number of projects, including a network that helps combat child trafficking.

Hoeurn Somnieng is the deputy head of Wat Damnak pagoda in Siem Reap. He studied at St. Ambrose University in Iowa in 2008. He says now he plans to return to Cambodia with a degree in business management and ideas to help his home country.

“I want to use my education to represent people in need and to represent the poor and powerless,” Hoeurn Somnieng told VOA Khmer in a recent interview. “This education gives me a louder voice.”

Hoeurn Somnieng is the founder and executive director of a junior high school, a boarding house for girls, a vocational training program, an orphanage and the Life and Hope Association.

The Life and Hope Association is the umbrella organization for his school, partially funded by foreign aid programs in the US, Australia and Germany. The program pays for student transportation and meals and supplements salaries of government teachers.

The association also works to improve the lives of disadvantaged Cambodians, particularly children and women, through education, vocational training, and health services. Many of those students who attend the school are victims of domestic abuse, orphans or street children. Many of them live in misery; some are trapped in the sex trade.

Hoeurn Somnieng heads the NGO Network in Siem Reap, as well as the Chamber of Social Service Network Against Child Labor. He is a program director for the Salvation Center Cambodia, where he worked on HIV and AIDS, including as a provincial monk core trainer on the disease and drug prevention.

What has all this taught him?

“You can change your future,” he said. “Bring hope into your life and keep working hard. Your future will be bright.”

He’s even developed a mathematical formula. “Life plus hope equals change,” he said. “And life plus hope plus education equals a great change.”

John Hawry, who teaches at the nursing department of Black Hawk College and is a colleague of Hoeurn Somnieng, said the monk remains dedicated to his country and has as strong work ethic.

He “helped establish a small shrine for the Buddhist community that lived around us,” Hawry said. “We have many people that migrated from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos that lived in our town, so that was the first time that they had a shrine.”

Another colleague, Adam Vilmont, a graduate student at St. Ambrose, said Hoeurn Somnieng taught him meditation.

“It was a very profound experience for me,” he said. “In a period of great suffering, I was kind of not knowing what to do, and I just sat and closed my eyes and focused on my breathing.”

Another support of the monk’s work, Vivian Norton, said she organized a fundraiser for enough money to purchase 12 tons of rice—about a year’s supply—for the Life and Hope Association.

“I went to Cambodia three and a half years ago at a volunteer center that Venerable Somnieng established for young girls,” Norton said. “I met him at the sewing center and saw he had a project that worked and found him to be a very effective administrator for the project. But at the same time he certainly stands by Buddhist principles, and he is very devoted to his project and to his people.”

Read more!

Work starts on Vietnam-Cambodia joint hospital

Construction work was started on May 15 for the Cho Ray – Phnom Penh multiclinic hospital, a joint project between Vietnam ’s Saigon Medical Investment Joint Stock company and Sokimex company of Cambodia.

The US$42 million hospital covers an area of 50,000 sq.m in Meanchey district, around ten km from Phnom Penh . It has two five-storey buildings with 500 beds.

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony, Vietnam ’s Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong said the project is new, vivid evidence of the good neighbourly ties and time-honoured friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia.

After coming into operation, the hospital will help improve health care services for Phnom Penh city dwellers in particular and Cambodian people in general, Trong added.

The hospital is expected to be complete in the next two years and create employment for more than 300 people.

Cambodian PM Hun Sen also praised the project and the cooperation of the Vietnamese government and Ho Chi Minh authorities to realise the project.

The hospital not only helps Cambodian people save money and time that they would have had to spend on treatment abroad, but also create an opportunity for local doctors to work with doctors of Cho Ray hospital in Ho Chi Minh city, thereby improving their professional skills, he added.

Earlier on May 14, the Vietnamese-invested Bank of Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC) handed over a floating school on Bien Ho lake to overseas Vietnamese living in Chhnok Trou commune, Boribo district of Kong Pong Ch’nang province.

Cambodian Deputy PM Men Sam On praised the Vietnamese community in Bien Ho area for their contribution to the local economuc development as well as to the preservation and enhancement of the Cambodia-Vietnam friendship.

The BIDC is owned by a Phnom Penh-based affiliate of the Bank of Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the Investment and Development of Cambodia Company (IDCC). (VNA) Read more!

Market Development Project Adviser, Cambodia

Voluntary Service Oversea

HELP MAKE MARKETS WORK FOR THE POOR IN CAMBODIA

VSO's overarching goal is to eradicate poverty in its widest sense; our vision is of a world in which people of all cultures are seen as equal, learn from each other and share a common sense of rights and responsibilities as global citizens.

If you have experience of market and value chain development in a pro-poor setting and strong capacity building and coaching skills, VSO would like to hear from you. We are looking for an experienced project manager to support the Cambodia Secure Livelihoods Programme Team in the start-up and implementation of a market development project, whose aim is to improve access to and participation in markets for poor and marginalized people.

The post is a key resource in implementing the Cambodia element of a global Making Markets Work for the Poor (MMW4P) project and will help to build the capacity of the VSO Cambodia secure livelihoods programme to act as a learning hub on market development approaches for other VSO programmes in the Asia region. Working closely with the Secure Livelihoods Senior Programme Manager, the Market Development Project Adviser will oversee the project activities, planning, implementing and monitoring these in line with the agreed aims and objectives.

The post-holder will also provide coaching and mentoring support to staff, volunteers and partners, helping them to understand and embrace market development approaches and integrate these into their work. In addition, he or she will develop and maintain relationships with key organisations and networks to support market development initiatives and take responsibility for project and financial reporting in accordance with donor requirements.

Salary / benefits:

£19,480 per annum pro-rata
Type of work:

Location:

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Languages required:

Closing date:

24.05.2010
Date job appeared on the site:

17.05.2010

To apply:

7For further information on this and all of our other vacancies, and to apply online, please visit http://www.vso.org.uk /about/work-for-vso/current-vacancies/ quoting reference 34BR.

Read more!

Cambodia Urges Thailand To Resume Peaceful Talks To Restore Peace

PHNOM PENH, The Cambodian government Monday urged all parties concerned in Thailand to resume peaceful talks in order to achieve a political settlement to the current stand- off.

In a statement released on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said that Cambodia, as a neighbouring country and a member state of ASEAN "is very concerned by the increasingly severe violence in Thailand."

It said the current awful situation in Thailand has gravely affected not only Thailand's image, but also that of ASEAN as well, according to China's Xinhua news agency on Monday.

Moreover, the statement urges all parties concerned in Thailand "to resume peaceful talks in order to achieve a political settlement to the current stand-off and restore peace and normalcy to the Thai people, thus stability in the region."

"The Cambodian people's only wish is to see the friendly Thai people enjoy a normal and peaceful life," the statement said.

Violence in Thailand has escalated in recent days, and more than 30 people have died and several hundreds people suffered injuries since the protests began.

-- BERNAMA Read more!

Mobile phones on rise in Cambodia

The use of mobile phones in Cambodia is remarkably popular and increased year by year, a government data showed on Monday.

The data of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication showed that the number of mobile phones used by the end of 2009 was 6.3 million, an increase from 3.8 million a year ago.

And by the first quarter of 2010, it estimated the mobile phone users at about 7.1 million, or about half of the country's total populations of 14.7 million.

Currently, there are nine mobile phone companies running in the country with Mobitel, owned by local tycoon Kith Meng of Royal Group, known as leading in the sector and followed by the new investment from Vietnam, known as Metfone or Vietell

The other seven are Hello, Mfone, Star Cell, Beeline, Smart Phone, QB, and Excell.

The number of mobile phone users in the country had risen over past years, and competition is also growing as users have choices to select which one is his/her favorite.

Many suggest that the boom of mobile phone users in the country is partly contributed by the economic growth and business demands in Cambodia's markets.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodia says Thailand's political unrest affects ASEAN's image+

PHNOM PENH, May 17 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The Cambodian government said Monday the political unrest in Thailand has affected the image of ASEAN as a whole and urged the Thai government and antigovernment protesters to reach a political settlement through dialogue.

"The current awful situation in Thailand has gravely affected not only Thailand's image, but also that of ASEAN as well," the Cambodian government said in a statement.

Cambodia "urges all parties concerned in Thailand to resume peaceful talks in order to achieve a political settlement to the current standoff and restore peace and normalcy to the Thai people, thus stability in the region," the statement said.

The death toll from four days of clashes between troops and antigovernment protesters in Bangkok rose to 36 Monday following overnight violence in which an air force officer was shot dead and a luxury hotel was hit by grenades.

Since antigovernment protests began in mid-March, 59 people, including five soldiers and two policemen, have been killed and more than 1,100 others wounded, mostly in the April 10 clashes between security personnel and protesters.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.


Read more!

Cambodian king makes first Japan visit

TOKYO — Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni arrived in Tokyo Sunday for his first state visit to Japan, where he will meet the Japanese royals and the prime minister.

Sihamoni will meet Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Monday at the start of his five-day visit, Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong told AFP.

"The state visit by the king to Japan will strengthen the relationship and cooperation between the two countries," he said.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will hold talks with Sihamoni on Tuesday. Read more!

Even in liberal-leaning Mass., GOP eyes US House

STEVE LeBLANC
The Associated Press

(AP) — BOSTON - Four months after Republican Scott Brown won the U.S. Senate seat held for half a century by the late Edward Kennedy, liberal-leaning Massachusetts is rife with Republican candidates hoping to flip even more Democratic seats into GOP hands.

With all 10 congressional offices now occupied by Democrats, Republicans are confident one or two are ripe for the picking.

Topping the list is the 10th Congressional District seat held by Democrat William Delahunt, who won't be seeking re-election. The district, which includes Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, handed Brown 61 percent of its vote in January.

State Rep. Jeffrey Perry is one of several GOP candidates hoping to appeal to that base. Like Brown, who endorsed him, the Sandwich Republican is counting in part on the backing of Tea Party activists.

"The people who have been supporting me as a state representative for the most part are the same people who are involved with the Tea Party," said Perry, who has pushed legislation he said would make it harder for illegal immigrants to obtain public benefits.

Perry faces a crowded GOP primary that includes former state Treasurer Joseph Malone.

Malone, who has the backing of former GOP governors William Weld, Paul Cellucci and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said voter anger about the economy could boost Republicans in Massachusetts, which last elected a GOP member to a U.S. House in 1994.

"It's a one party system at the state level. It's a one party system at the federal level and it's harming people," Malone said. "People see the American Dream slipping away."

A third Republican candidate, Cohasset public accountant Ray Kasperowicz also said fiscal worries, as opposed to social issues like abortion or gay marriage, were driving voters.

"People are really upset about the financial burden Washington is putting on future generations," he said.

Two Democrats, Norfolk District Attorney William Keating and state Sen. Robert O'Leary, are also running.

Another closely watched race is in the state's 5th Congressional District, where Niki Tsongas is running for her second full term after winning a special election in 2007 and running unopposed in 2008.

Four Republicans say they've collected the 2,000 signatures needed to get on the primary ballot, including Jon Golnick, a reseller of Boston College merchandise. The Carlisle father of two said he jumped into the race because Democrats like Tsongas have failed on the economy.

"We wasted 12 months on health care when we should have been focusing on creating private sector jobs," Golnick said.

Robert Shapiro, a former math teacher and software engineer, said Kennedy's death robbed Massachusetts Democrats like Tsongas of their mystique.

"She's following along with the party line," he said. "Whatever (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi puts on her desk, she goes along with."

Two other candidates-Sam Meas, a research analyst from Haverhill, and Tom Weaver, a small business owner from Westford-are also in the running.

Meas, who came to the country as an orphan from Cambodia in 1986, faulted Tsongas for not reducing unemployment.

"The people in my district, they need jobs, jobs, jobs," Meas said.

For Weaver, the top concern is the effect the national debt will have on Americans like his youngest son.

"I wonder what type of freedom he's going to have if we don't correct the course we're on," Weaver said.

Tsongas' campaign manager Nick Clemons said Republicans shouldn't underestimate the Lowell Democrat. He said Tsongas has been coming back to the district every weekend to meet with voters.

"What she's hearing is that people are hurting," Clemons said. "That's why she's focused on job creation."

Tsongas has donated her last few pay increases to charity and sponsored legislation for lightweight body armor for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Clemons said.

Tsongas also has a fundraising edge. She had $380,660 in her campaign account at the end of March compared to $133,396 for Golnick, who loaned his campaign more than $100,000, and $1,898 for Shapiro. Meas showed a negative balance of more than $6,000 and there was no filing for Weaver.

The National Republican party is keep an eye on both races.

Perry and Golnick are on the radar of the Republican National Congressional Committee's "Young Guns" recruiting program-although the committee has yet to promise funds.

Committee spokesman Tory Mazzola said Brown's victory showed Republicans can win even in Massachusetts.

"It's still an uphill climb. but in this environment, no Democrat is safe," said Mazzola.

State Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh said Massachusetts is no rush to bolster GOP ranks in Washington.

"The forces of 'do nothing' and 'no' in Washington are looking for reinforcements and I don't think the voters of Massachusetts are interested in sending in more," he said.

Nearly every other Democrat incumbent, with the possible exception of U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, are also facing possible Republican challengers.

Sean Bielat, a former Marine Corps lieutenant from Brookline, and Earl Sholley, a former landscape company owner from Norfolk are hoping to oust U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a favorite GOP target.

In western Massachusetts, U.S. Rep. John Olver is being challenged by William Gunn of Ware while U.S. Rep. Richard Neal could face either former U.S. Navy pilot Tom Wesley from Hopedale or Jay Fleitman, a doctor of internal medicine from Northampton.

Hopkinton Board of Selectmen Chairman Brian Herr and Holliston lawyer Marty Lamb are competing to take on U.S. Rep. James McGovern while Saugus attorney Rob McCarthy and Boxford attorney Bill Hudak are trying to dislodge U.S. Rep. John Tierney.

Business analyst and combat photojournalist Keith Lepor of Boston's Roslindale neighborhood and Braintree small business owner Vernon Harrison are eyeing incumbent U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch while Woburn doctor Gerry Dembrowski is hoping to oust longtime U.S. Rep. Edward Markey. Read more!

Calgary Journalist shot mid Thai prptester

Anti-government "red shirt" protesters assist Nelson Rand after the photojournalist from Calgary was shot three times -- in the leg, wrist and abdomen -- while covering clashes in Bangkok on Thursday. Rand is expected to re-
Photograph by: Adrees Latif, Reuters, Calgary Herald


Parents relieved after son's four-hour operation

By Jason Van Rassel, Calgary Herald May 15, 2010


T elling stories that have gone untold has taken Calgary native Nelson Rand to the jungles of Cambodia and into the middle of political violence now gripping Thailand, where he was seriously wounded by three bullets Friday while reporting on anti-government protests.

Rand, 34 , is in stable condition at a Bangkok hospital after a four-hour operation to treat bullet wounds to his leg, abdomen and wrist -- news that offered his shaken parents some measure of comfort on Friday.

"We are very optimistic," said his father, Serge Rand.

The day didn't start that way for Serge and Barbara Rand.

A telephone outage Friday morning meant rather than a phone call from an official, the first indication they had their son had been hurt was an e-mail from a friend asking about his "condition."

The query prompted them to search the Internet, where they quickly found news articles about the shooting.

"We were broken up," Serge said of their reaction.

They were still waiting to speak to Nelson on Friday, but had received enough information through his friends and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs to ease their minds.

Rand has lived in Asia for about a decade and was based in Bangkok, where his most recent job was working for the TV network France 24.

Sixteen people have died and 141 have been hurt in clashes between the Thai army and so-called "red shirt" protesters who have occupied portions of central Bangkok for the past six weeks.

The political instability that gave rise to the current unrest goes back even further and is rooted in a divide between mainly monarchist urban elites who support Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The "red shirts" are mainly poor urban and rural dwellers who support former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a populist billionaire ousted in a 2006 coup.

Rand, who has lived in Bangkok for several years, didn't shy away from danger, said George McLeod, a longtime friend and fellow journalist.

"He's one of the few people who gets on the front line and is willing to put himself in harm's way," McLeod said. "It worries me, but I would put his bravery as a journalist far ahead of mine."

McLeod, a freelance journalist who is currently based in Bangladesh, said he met Rand in 1998 and discovered they had a common objective: to seek out and report on the last remnants of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s.

After its ouster in 1979, the Khmer Rouge retreated to the jungle and continued to wage a guerrilla war against the government.

Since then, Rand has spent two months in the jungles of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, with the ethnic Karen people, and has journeyed to southern Thailand, where a long-simmering -- and largely unreported -- Muslim insurgency has been escalating since 2005. Last year, he wrote a book about his experiences with rebel armies and persecuted ethnic minorities in countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

"He's devoted his life to highlighting these issues that don't get reported in the western media -- and I think that's admirable," McLeod said.

The jungles of Southeast Asia are a long way from Alberta, where Rand spent his early childhood in Red Deer, and later years in Calgary.

His parents said his interest in Southeast Asia was fuelled by a trip he took to Vietnam during a year off following high school.

After obtaining bachelor and master's degrees in Asian studies from the University of British Columbia, Rand returned to Asia -- and for the most part, hasn't left.

Rand once worked as a contractor for the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok, but has carved out a reputation as a passionate journalist who goes to great lengths to tell stories that are often overlooked in the West.

"We have always kept in touch and we're very proud of what he's accomplished," Serge said.

Because of the instability in Thailand, Rand's parents have been advised not to go there.

They're now waiting to meet him in another country -- and are hopeful he might come back to Canada, if even temporarily.

"He has to decide whether he comes back. We'd like him to recuperate here, if possible," Serge said.

jvanrassel@theherald.canwest.com

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Heikki Kovalainen bids big at Monaco charity auction

(Reuters) - Lotus Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen was the biggest bidder at a Monaco Grand Prix charity auction, shelling out 300,000 euros ($381,100) toward an AIDS project in Cambodia.

The auctioneer did not name the Finn but the former McLaren driver told Reuters after the event on Friday night that he had made the bid, although multi-millionaire team principal and Air Asia airline boss Tony Fernandes was also present.

"It is my money but Tony pays my salary," said Kovalainen. "I have been looking to do something for a long time. This is a good cause."

The sum will cover half the budget of a project to provide 320 permanent homes for 1,760 people living with AIDS/HIV in the country.

Organizers said the Elton John AIDS foundation would contribute a matching donation.

The seven lots at the Amber Lounge auction raised a total of 520,000 euros for the charity, including 50,000 splashed out by an anonymous bidder on a pair of black and white diamond cufflinks.

Formula One drivers, led by McLaren's 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, took part in a fashion show before the auction, attended by celebrities including former tennis great Boris Becker and actress Elizabeth Hurley.
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Is Cambodia Dredging its Rivers to Death?

By Christopher Shay

Paul Ferber was scuba diving in Cambodia's Sre Ambil River shortly after ships had finished dredging the area. As director of Marine Conservation Cambodia, Ferber was used to seeing the Cambodian estuaries teeming with marine life. He was shocked: Over 15 kilometers of river, he saw exactly one fish and two shrimp. "It was crazy to dive and see nothing," he says.

This isn't just happening to Cambodian rivers. Cambodian fishermen say fish stocks have plummeted off the coast of the province of Koh Kong, and that they now need to travel further and further to feed their families. Residents say the timing of these changes points to one main culprit: the sand industry, for which dredgers suck up more than 25,000 tons of Cambodian sand a day to export primarily to Singapore, according to a report released this week by Global Witness, a London-based environmental watchdog.

Along the Kampot River in February, angry residents destroyed nearby dredging equipment after a collapsing riverbank threatened their village. Mu Sochua, an opposition party parliamentarian, said the villagers had already tried pressuring their provincial leaders and sending letters to the Prime Minister and that the villagers "had no other choice." Phay Siphan, a spokesman from the Cambodian Council of Ministers, dismissed Mu's complaints, saying, "From my experience, the opposition party never does the job. They sit down and wait to hear from outside reporters and then take the opportunity to insult the government."

Cambodia does regulate its sand exports — at least on paper. After a host of protests and a raft of bad press, the Cambodian government banned the export of river sand a year ago. But the Global Witness report claims that dredging operations have actually expanded since then and that the dredging of river sand continues unabated. A search of alibaba.com, a Chinese business-to-business e-commerce site, still reveals a number of companies purporting to sell Cambodian river sand.

This booming Cambodian trade, according to the report, is fueled by Singapore's voracious appetite for sand. Since splitting off from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore has become one of the world's wealthiest countries, and as its importance has grown, so, too, has the country. According to Global Witness, since the 1960s, the island of Singapore has increased its size by 22%, or 130 square kilometers (50 miles), and the country has plans to expand at least another 50 square kilometers (20 miles). This has made Singapore one of the world's biggest importers of sand. After Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam limited or banned sand exports because of the environmental impact of dredging, Singapore has increasingly relied on Cambodia, the report says.

The result has been "ecologically and socially devastating," says the Global Witness report. The NGO accuses Singapore of "hypocrisy on a grand scale" for presenting itself as a leader on green issues — even hosting the World Cities Summit with the theme of "Liveable and Sustainable Cities of the Future" — while burying its head in the sand, so to speak, and ignoring the environmental consequences in Cambodia. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Singaporean Ministry of National Development countered, "The report suggests that the Singapore government seeks to import sand without due regard to the laws or environmental impact of the source country, in this case, Cambodia. This is not true. We are committed to the protection of the global environment, and we do not condone the illegal export or smuggling of sand." The statement added that sand is supplied by private entities that are contractually obliged not to cause adverse impact to the environment of the source country and must comply with its laws.

Dredging picked up in Cambodia after Indonesia abruptly banned sand exports in 2007. Prior to the ban, more than 275,000 tons of sand were being exported every month from Indonesia's Riau Islands, according to the Global Witness report, and two islands — Nipah and Sebaik — nearly vanished because of extensive dredging. The Indonesian government had to go back and fill in Nipah in order to save the island, which helps determine Indonesia's maritime border with Singapore. Even with the bans and export restrictions, sand remains big business in the region. Sand smuggling has become a problem in Indonesia with more than an estimated 300 million cubic meters of sand being exported illegally every year, according to the Telegraph. In Malaysia, 34 government officials were arrested in a sex-for-sand scandal in January, where officials allegedly received bribes and sexual favors to help smuggle the sand out of the country.

In Cambodia's Koh Kong province every month, dredgers extract more than 850,000 tons of sand, according to Global Witness, which valued a year's worth of Koh Kong sand at nearly $250 million on the market in Singapore. A Cambodian government-sponsored website claims that dredgers remove only between 40,000 and 60,000 tons of sand per month in Koh Kong, and that the sand mining operations "remain small-scale." Global Witness acknowledges their numbers are only estimates but stands by their claim that the numbers are far greater than the government is reporting.

Exact numbers are hard to come by since the wheeling and dealings of Cambodia's sand trade go on behind closed doors, Global Witness says. The report claims two Cambodian senators with close ties to both Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian military are at the center of this trade. In response to Global Witness, the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in London released a May 11 statement slamming the study, calling it a "cheap and rubbish report" containing "malicious and misleading claims by an international> troublemaker."

It isn't the first time Global Witness has picked a fight with Cambodia's ruling elite. After the release of a 2007 report alleging links between high-ranking members of the government and illegal logging, the Cambodian government denied all charges, the head of the Forestry Department called the report "laughable," and a provincial governor — who also happens to be the Prime Minister's brother — promised that if members of Global Witness ever set foot in Cambodia, "I will hit them until their heads are broken."

Dredging sucks up sand a few feet below the marine floor, disturbing the water. Even temporary increases in turbidity can interfere with spawning and suffocate coral reefs, according. Ferber from Marine Conservation Cambodia dove along a dredging pipe and told TIME the sea was thick with sediment. Overdredging in waterways can lower stream bottoms and disrupt the natural sedimentary processes, leading to the erosion of riverbanks. In Cambodia, the marine life is particularly rich; the seagrass beds of Kampot are the largest in the region and shelters endangered dugongs and dolphins. Chourn Bunnara, a program coordinator at the Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT), says he's seen dredging in only 10 meters of water that has "completely destroyed" an area, killing nearby mangroves and emptying the waters of fish.

Not everyone has given up on putting a stop to dredging in Cambodia. Chourn knows it will be difficult to end unsustainable sand dredging in Cambodia because of the "rich people and the power men behind it." But his organization, FACT, is nonetheless putting together a workshop in hopes of educating the country's politicians about the dangers of dredging. "We've learned about other countries and the negative impacts that happened there," he says. For her part, Mu says she won't stop fighting but admits, "Civil society has already done everything possible," and says Singapore needs to take more responsibility. Singapore "leads the world in good business that protects the environment." But, she adds, "any country that is part of this is part of the destruction of the environment."

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Human Rights leader Samantha Power on the life of United Nations Icon

If Samantha Power -- who was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, acclaimed journalist, and popular Harvard lecturer on human rights before becoming a close advisor to President Obama -- says that she has a story to tell about a "man of action and a man of reflection," who had "a thirty-four-year head start in thinking about the plagues that preoccupy us today," we would all do well to listen.

The story of longtime U.N. diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello has become a centerpiece of Power's public discussions on the importance of the U.S. taking a principled stance on human rights in its foreign policy, the shortcomings of the United Nations, and how to confront, or better yet prevent, mass atrocities and genocide. From her book Chasing the Flame grew the film "Sergio" by director Greg Barker, which after making the rounds at international film festivals, debuted on HBO last week. Following the screening, Power and Barker joined a public conference call moderated by a veteran of African conflict zones, John Prendergast.

Their candid conversation, which lasted well into the night, is a rare gem, and I wanted to draw attention to it today. You can listen to this podcast after the jump, at the bottom of this post.

When Sergio Vieira de Mello died in the rubble of the bombed out U.N. compound in Baghdad, the United Nations lost one of its most experienced and talented diplomats. Power eloquently described how she channeled her grief over his death into an effort to examine and immortalize his legacy. And she found that, beyond simply an intriguing biography, the tragedy of Vieira de Mello's death was a metaphor for the vexing, even debilitating, challenges the United Nations faces around the world.

Power first met Sergio Vieira de Mello when their paths crossed in eastern Europe in 1994. She was a young journalist covering the war in the former Yugoslavia and Vieira de Mello was a top U.N. diplomat dispatched to work on ending it. Though it would be another 10 years until Power began researching Vieira de Mello's life for the biography, she recounts their first dinner meeting with a level of detail that conveys the significance of those first impressions. He was "a cross between James Bond and Bobby Kennedy," she wrote.

Vieira de Mello did indeed travel with the headlines of the day; a timeline of significant dates over the last 30 years of the U.N.'s history mirrors the major promotions and moves of Vieira de Mello's career since he was 21. As he rose through the U.N. ranks, he continuously reflected on his decisions from both a philosophical and a practical standpoint. As Power wrote in Chasing the Flame:

At the start of his career he advocated strict adherence to a binding set of principles. (...) He was deeply mistrustful of state power and of military force. But as he moved from Sudan to Lebanon to Cambodia to Bosnia to Congo to Kosovo to East Timor to Iraq, he tailored his tactics to the troubles around him and tried to enlist the powerful. He brought a gritty pragmatism to negotiations, yet no amount of exposure to brutality seemed to dislodge his ideals.

At times, Vieira de Mello's approach flirted with moral lines, such as when he chose to negotiate directly with the Cambodia's Khmer Rouge while the rest of the world isolated the genocidal regime, and certainly he was responsible for his share of mistakes. But the profile Power paints is of a leader who challenged himself to translate failures into lessons. He understood that his engagement -- the U.N.'s engagement -- would not always, or perhaps even not often, move mountains. But he understood that even a small improvement made the effort worthwhile. Vieira de Mello personifies Power's concept of an upstander, someone who doesn't simply stand by when injustices occur.

It's remarkable to have the chance to hear Samantha Power, a woman many people regard as a hero in her own right, describe the inspiration she found in one of the fallen heroes of our time. Listen to this podcast; the lessons she draws from Vieira de Mello's life are central to the work all of us do as human rights advocates.
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Government of Canada Supports Western Canadian Food Processors Accessing Asia-Pacific Markets

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, Food processors based in Western Canada will soon access new markets across Asia-Pacific countries, thanks to an investment from the Government of Canada.

An announcement was made today in Saskatoon by the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification Canada, to support international trade opportunities for western Canadian food processers. The Government of Canada is providing $961,000 to help increase the availability of Western Canadian value-added food product exports in Asia-Pacific markets.

"Western Canadian producers process some of the best food in the world, and today's announcement will help them grow and create jobs by expanding their market opportunities," said the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification.

Saskatchewan Food Processors Association, Inc. (SFPA), as the lead organization in partnership with similar associations in Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, and with Food Beverage Canada, will direct the trade missions to and from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. This is an ideal opportunity to market existing food products to these countries and also develop new value-added food products based on the needs of Asia-Pacific consumers.

"This funding will be instrumental in developing and implementing a multi level strategy for assisting and growing the Western Canadian Food Processing industry in Western Canada," said Darrell Schneider, Chief Operating Officer of the Saskatchewan Food Processors Association, Inc.
This marketing initiative is projected to return approximately $13.5 million in sales and foreign direct investment from Asia-Pacific countries to Western Canada over the next four years. This represents a direct benefit to over 900 food processing companies associated with the SFPA and its partners, their employees and their communities. Many of these member companies are small and medium sized businesses who might otherwise not be able to market their products on this scale.

Western Economic Diversification Canada works with the provinces, industry associations and communities to promote the development and diversification of the western economy, coordinates federal economic activities in the West and represents the interests of western Canadians in national decision making.

A stronger West. A stronger Canada to news releases and keep up-to-date on the latest from WD

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Master Bronze Works on Display in Washington

On the metro platform, in Washington DC, a billboard highlights the “Gods of Angkor” exhibit.

Thirty-six master bronze works from Cambodia are being exhibited now at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery in Washington, part of a collection of 7,000 bronzes from the National Museum.

Curators of the exhibit say they hope “Gods of Angkor” will raise international awareness of the richness of Cambodia’s artwork, and possibly convince more tourists to visit the country.

The bronze works are from prehistory—somewhere between 300 BC and 400 BC—and from the Angkorian period—from about the 9th to 13th centuries AD.

“Despite it’s title, ‘Gods of Angkor,’ even before Angkorian time we were advanced in bronze work,” Chea Socheat, deputy chief of the conservation office at Cambodia’s National Museum, told VOA Khmer Wednesday.

The exhibit is meant to celebrate “the accomplishments of the Khmer bronze casters” as well as the conservation work of the National Museum, Julian Raby, director of the Freer and Sackler galleries, told reporters.

“I am happy that Cambodian culture is being shown here, and the benefit from this will be more tourists coming to Cambodia,” Chea Socheat said.

The bronzes represent Buddhism and Brahmanism and are set amid three linked galleries. They include an urn, bell, a naga-protected Buddha, Ganesh, Shiva, and other ritual objects.

Some are on display for the first time, such as a group of seven bronzes that were only unearthed in 2006.

The exhibit will be open to the public from May 15 to Jan. 23, 2011, before it moves to the J. Paul Getty Gallery in Los Angeles in February 2011.

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Chamkarmon Governor to Retain City Position

Phnom Penh’s governor says he will not investigate a district official who was nearly implicated in two illegal karaoke clubs earlier this month.

Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema told VOA Khmer on Friday there was “no need” to investigate Chamkarmon District Governor Lo Yuy because of the structure of city government.

If he were removed, Kep Chuktema said, it would not be publicly. Kep Chuktema said he had not found bribery among any of the city’s eight district governors.

Kep Chuktema was quoted by the English-language Phnom Penh Post as saying in a meeting last week he wanted to fire Lo Yuy, after police raided two illegal karaoke clubs in his district.

“I did not accuse Lo Yuy of taking bribes from karaoke clubs,” the governor said Friday. “I only said, ‘The drug problem and sex abuse was happening in your area. So what does that mean that it still happens in your area? You don’t know, or you pretend not to know?’”

Kep Chuktema said he had phrased his words this way because residents in the area had complained of illicit drugs, prostitution and child sex crimes in the district, which could lead them to assume bribery by the district’s leader.

Instead, Lo Yuy will remain at his post. He declined to comment Friday. Read more!