Cambodians hold buffalo race to honour the dead

VIHEAR SOUR, Cambodia — Thousands of Cambodians descended on a small village northeast of the capital Friday to cheer on the annual water buffalo race that marks the end of the 15-day festival for the ancestors.

"We hold the race to ask the Neakta Preah Srok (pagoda spirit) to protect us and to keep the people and animals in the village from illnesses," said farmer Sam Sen, who was also a judge in the race.

Around 20 villagers rode their buffaloes up and down a short stretch of road leading to the pagoda, to huge cheers from the crowd.

The buffaloes were adorned with colourful masks, their horns carefully bandaged to keep them from injuring anyone.

"I am happy, it was fun," said 23-year-old contestant Chan Ny after the race, still sitting on his buffalo. "I will be back next year."

The number of buffaloes taking part in the race has steadily declined over the last few years.

Sam Sen said this was because "many big buffaloes have been sold off" by families struggling to make ends meet.

Some of the village's buffaloes had also been struck by disease, organisers said.

Cambodians believe their dead ancestors emerge to walk the earth during the Pchum Ben festival, and they honour and remember them with prayers and food offerings at Buddhist pagodas.

Vihear Sour village, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, began holding the race more than 70 years ago. It is followed by a traditional wrestling match.
Read more!

Cambodian efforts to promote silk weavers

Cambodian handmade silk remained the centre of attraction at a conference organized by the National Silk Centre on the outskirts of Siem Reap at Pouk District, with funding from the European Union.

The main aim behind organizing the Silk Day was to foster the quality of handmade silk items, while giving an idea about the industry and the issues confronting it. The occasion also commemorated conclusion of a project for establishment and promotion of silk sector in Siem Reap and Bantey Meanchey districts.

The project that came along with the EU funding was executed by the Khmer Silk Villages and Chantiers-Ecoles de Formation Professionelle.

Experts at the conference informed that, Khmer silk all in all produces 19 different items for exports.
Also that, the US $25 million worth Cambodian silk industry, provided employment to around 20,500 weavers, this year.

Experts even said that, visitors get drawn towards the Cambodian silk items as it is handwoven.

The silk industry in the country is a vital source of employment for women in Cambodia, and even helps to scale down poverty in rural provinces. Customarily, the silk production task is being carried out by women weavers, who constitute 99.54 percent of the workforce.

The country uses around 400 tons of imported industrial white silk yarn, each year to churn out three tons of superior quality handmade golden silk.



Read more!

Cambodia: Abysmal Lawlessness, Powerless Citizens

Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

WORLD: Cambodia --Abysmal Lawlessness And The Powerlessness Of The Citizens

(Part One)

The first election in post Pol Pot Cambodia was held in May 1993. The new constitution promised a liberal democracy and a system of governance based on the rule of law. However, the country is still in a state of abysmal lawlessness and ordinary Cambodians are powerless. There are no institutions in the country which can offer them any kind of protection. The Cambodian police is in a rudimentary stage of development, is known to be corrupt and completely under the political control of the regime and those who are rich and powerful. Cambodian courts are also known to be corrupt and are used as instruments of political control by way of jailing opposition politicians; people resisting land grabbing; those who express independent opinions and civil society activists who express solidarity with victims of abuse of power. There are no institutions that people can turn to make any complaints or to turn to any kind of help when faced with injustice. And the injustices that the people face are many.

The major complaint everywhere is that of "Land Grabbing". Having a title to a plot of land is normally the ultimate guarantee of some security in this poor country. However, having a title to land is of little use when the same land can be allotted to some company by a government authority, who does not even inform the original title holder when such allocations are made. It is only when the company begins the operation to redevelop the land that the original owners get to know that the land they rightfully own has been given away.

Naturally they protest and at that stage security forces enter the scene and harassment is the result. As the people literally have nowhere to go, they fight back. Then they are brought to courts on all kinds of charges and many are detained. There are thousands of reports of such happenings from around the country. "In the capital, Phnom Penh, 133,000 people -- more than 10% of its population -- are believed to have been evicted since 1990." (This is according to a report of reliable civil society organization).

The result of such land evictions is that those who are displaced are excluded from any benefits, and lose their source of income, they are exposed to poor health and their young face lack of education. In a country, with so little opportunities, eviction from land implies a transformation which ends in destitution. Hopes for stability and a future ends for many. Naturally the women and young and the elderly suffer the most. Naturally, prostitution and other similar problems are on the increase in today's Cambodia.

"The Cambodian courts continue to act on behalf of rich and powerful interests, ignoring the evidence, the Land Law and other relevant legislation, enforcing eviction where ownership remains undecided and imprisoning those who dare to protest", states a report from well known LICAHDO, a human rights organization. This view is confirmed by many other organizations and almost everyone.

Cambodian courts are not able to protect land titles. Their function is not the protection of the individual but the interests of those who are in power. The idea of the balancing of interests is an alien concept in Cambodia. The role of the authorities is to protect the state, not the people.

ENDS

Read more!

Burma, Cambodia & Laos: Juggling trade and diplomacy

Heavy Chinese investment in its southern neighbours has been a boon as well as a diplomatic challenge for Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam.

Even as these governments welcome Chinese investments in everything from dams to bauxite mines and rubber plantations, they have also made an effort to roll out the red carpet for other investors.

Laos, for instance, has made a move towards strategic diversification. Earlier this year, it scrapped a plan to let Chinese investors convert farmland and wetlands outside Vientiane into a new city.

The Chinese investors were said to have baulked at the cost of compensation and relocation, but there were other factors at play. Kham Ouane Boupha, the Laotian minister for land management, was quoted as saying the marshland had been designated a protected area.

As senior officials began a two-day meeting yesterday (October 7) in Vientiane to discuss land policies, it was clear that while China was the country's largest foreign investor - having put in US$340 million in the first half of this year alone - other players, such as Viet Nam and Thailand, had entered the field.

Likewise, in Cambodia, a huge investment in water infrastructure has drawn interest not just from China but also from India, Kuwait, Qatar and South Korea.

Governments need to decide whether they want to broker stronger alliances with Japan, Europe and the United States, noted a Laos-based analyst specialising in natural resources who asked not to be named. He pointed out that America's Lower Mekong Initiative - announced last year and aimed at Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam - was clearly meant to counterbalance China.

Burma balances China's influence against that of India, which also has ventures there. Moreover, Burman nationalism provides a natural damper. Nevertheless, the regime is limited by its fraught relations with many Western powers.

Says historian Thant Myint U: "Western sanctions have been China's best friend. Though intended to promote democratic change, the net effect of the embargoes and boycotts has been far greater Chinese economic domination."

China is the country's largest investor, pumping in US$8 billion this fiscal year, according to official Burma data released in August. Still, Myanmar has no problem welcoming Thai, Japanese, Indian, Malaysian and Korean investment. Since 1988, Thailand has invested US$9.6 billion there.

Read more!

Troubled Water

Southeast ASIA is the battleground for international dispute over a group of islands in the South China Sea

Southeast Asia is the battleground for an international war being waged over a group of floating political symbols – the disputed islands of the South China Sea.

China has aggressively staked its claim over the 3,500,000 square km territory that encompasses a string of more than 200 islands of various sizes, including the Spratly and Paracels, even going as far as planting a flag via submarine on the ocean floor 3,760 metres below sea level.

Control over the islands is an important issue, as almost every Asean country has claimed ownership over one or more island, yet the real motive for Asean is maintaing dominance of the sea over China.

The South China Sea is a vital shipping route for whichever country (or countries) can hold territorial rights over it, in addition to its rich commercial fishing areas and oil and natural gas fields. It also plays an important role for Northeast Asia which relies heavily on the flow of oil and commerce through South China Sea shipping lanes, which includes 80% of the crude oil to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

China claims complete sovereignty of up to 80% of the South China Sea, which includes the Spratly and Paracel Islands, intentionally stepping on the toes of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Yet in July, at a meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Hanoi, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton boldly stated that the US "supports a collaborative diplomatic process for resolving the various disputes" over the South China Sea, despite Chinese repeated requests not to broach the issue. Clinton also elaborated that the US could offer its services as a mediator and that they oppose "the use or threat of force by any claimant".

Vietnam appeared to embrace the olive branch offered by the US, conscripting them as an unlikely ally against China’s increasingly aggressive role in the South China Sea. The two countries staged a joint military exercise in August, sending an authoritative message to Beijing. Coming 35 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the visit officially marked the 15th anniversary of the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

Not surprisingly, the Chinese media, alarmed at the bold moves made into Southeast Asia by Washington after being warned to stay out of the region, was clearly put on the defensive. The China Daily called the exercise the start of a US effort to create an “Asian NATO” to quash Beijing’s rising influence in the region. The US Navy's plans to step up its maritime presence in the South China Sea for the foreseeable future in order to ensure free navigation through its vital sea lanes, didn’t help calm China's image of the US as a threat – especially since the they plan to include their nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS George Washington in future exercises.

However, not all countries in the region are quick to align with the US. Representatives from the Philippines said in early August that Southeast Asian nations did not require US involvement in solving territorial disputes with China over the potentially resource-rich waters.

Alberto Romulo, the foreign secretary of the Philippines, told reporters that negotiations should be strictly between Asean and China, without any foreign interference, especially from the US – which, geographically speaking, is nowhere near the disputed territory. When asked if he supported Clinton’s earlier comments that hinted at increased US involvement in the South China Sea debate, Romulo bluntly replied “No.”

“It’s Asean and China. Can I make myself clear? It’s Asean and China. Is that clear enough?” Romulo asked.

Yet just days later another military PR gesture, dubbed the Philippines-US Mutual Defence Board meeting, took place in Manila, in which Admiral Robert Willard, the head of US Pacific Command, commented on China's "assertive" behaviour in the South China Sea.

"We discussed the assertiveness that we're experiencing by the Chinese in the South China Sea and the concerns that that has generated within the region," he said at a news conference.

"It's very important that the governments in the region invest in sufficient militaries and security apparatus to protect their respective territorial waters.
"This is about preventing conflict, not allowing any of the circumstances in the region to lead up to a shooting war," said Willard.

Though most, if not all, Asean countries don't have the military capabilities to adequately defend their claims of island ownership in the South China Sea. The Philippines' military chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David said that due to the country's outdated ships and airplanes, their presence and defence capabilities in the disputed area is "almost negligible".

At the Asean Regional Forum in Hanoi in July, Clinton stressed that the US position isn't necessarily to become the judicator of free trade and open navigation of the South China Sea and its mineral resource deposits. Instead, it hopes these goals can be achieved through multilateral discussion between China and Asean. China, however, is vehemently opposed to this approach, preferring to negotiate claims on an individual basis, which would help them gain strategic leverage over the territory by applying specific political pressure to each individual country.

So why is the US so adamant in its efforts to maintain a presence in the region while urging Asean countries to build-up their militaries for future preventative measures?

The reason is that China has been systematically modernising and expanding their military arsenal behind closed doors, in a move that the US sees as intentional intimidation, which then forces them to take premeditative diplomatic action in the region. In a report released by the Pentagon in August titled Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2010, the US Department of Defense characterised the military expansion as "extended-range power projection".

The main concerns in the report are that China is developing a large arsenal of medium-range ballistic and cruise missiles, electronic attack warfare, effective long-range air defence systems, computer network attack capabilities, advanced fighter aircrafts, counter-space technology and submarines equipped with advanced weaponry. The People's Liberation Army Navy, which is the largest naval force in Asia, has also been modernising its nuclear force, which now has a range in excess of 11,000km, with most of continental US under potential threat.

One weapon in particular is of great concern to the US Navy due to its devestating capabilities in the South China Sea – the anti-ship ballistic missile, which is also called the "carrier killer" for the damage it can inflict on aircraft carriers in particular.

A successful anti-ship ballistic missile could have a range of 1,500km, is armed with a manoeuverable warhead and when combined with advanced control systems, could be launched from the mainland coast of China, with the disputed islands of the South China Sea well within scope. Admiral Willard stated in an August press conference in Tokyo that the US would not be deterred from deploying vessels in the region because of the missile, but the development of this weapon has become a clear threat that the US doesn't want to take a chance on.

"Many uncertainties remain regarding how China will use its expanding military capabilities," reads the Pentagon report. "The limited transparency in China’s military and security affairs enhances uncertainty and increases the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation."

One can only hope that a diplomatic, balanced solution can be reached before the potential powder keg of uncertainties is realised.

“[The US-China] relationship has not been without disagreement and difficulty," says US President Obama. "But the notion that we must be adversaries is not pre-destined.”

Read more!

Fanged Fish Among New Species Found In Greater Mekong

Scientists discovered an average of three new biological species each week in the Greater Mekong region of Asia, including such unique life forms as a fish with vampire-like fangs and a 22-foot tall carnivorous plant, international conservation group WWF announced on Wednesday.
According to WWF officials, a total of 145 new species were found in 2009 in the area near the Mekong River, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan Province. Joining the fanged minnow and the massive meat-eating vegetation as the more intriguing discoveries are the only bald songbird in Asia, a sucker-fish that uses its body to stick to rocks in order to move upstream in quickly-moving waters, and a completely new genus of fangless snakes.

"This rate of discovery is simply staggering in modern times," Stuart Chapman, the Conservation Director of WWF Greater Mekong, said in a statement. "Each year, the new species count keeps going up, and with it, so too does the responsibility to ensure this region’s unique biodiversity is conserved… These new species are a timely reminder of the extraordinary biodiversity in the Greater Mekong."

In an interview with AFP, Chapman attributed the rate of discovery "to the enormous geographical and climatic range within the region, going from high altitude to dense tropical forests through to some of the richest freshwater in the world… Undoubtedly this region is one of the richest in terms of its biodiversity, but it's also one of the most threatened."

According to the WWF, the Greater Mekong houses some of the most endangered species of wildlife on Earth, including tigers, the Asian elephant, the Mekong dolphin, and the Mekong giant catfish--one of the largest freshwater fish in the world which the WWF says is threatened by proposed hydropower dams along the river. The conservation group also points to the now-extinct Javan rhino of Vietnam as "one tragic indicator" of the threats facing animal life in the Mekong valley.

"We need to keep one of the treasure troves of the world properly conserved," Chapman told AFP.

Read more!

Cambodian information minister to visit Thailand

The Cambodian minister of information will pay a visit to Thailand later this month as part of the plan to boost Thai-Cambodia ties, said an senior official.

Thanom Onketpol, secretary to the Prime Minister's Office minister, said on Wednesday the Cambodian information minister was visit Thailand along with a group of Cambodian reporters during October 18-22.

The visit was a result of an agreement made with Cambodia during Prime Minister's Office Minister Ong-art Klampaiboon's recent visit to the neighboring country, he said.

According to the agreement, the two countries will exchange information and arrange mutual-visit of news reporters, and will carry out a cultural exchange program after the ties between two countries have been approved after the resignation of Thailand's ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinnawatra as economic advisor to Cambodian prime minister late August.

Source:Xinhua Read more!

Relations with US snagged over debt issue

DESPITE signs of progress in areas ranging from military cooperation to development aid, comments in recent weeks from Cambodian and American officials underscore the fact that bilateral relations remain snagged on an issue some three decades old: Cambodia’s wartime debt.

Before the US-ASEAN summit two weeks ago, Prime Minister Hun Sen called upon the United States to cancel the debt, calling it “dirty”. But a US State Department official said last week the US would not do so for fear of setting a “bad precedent” for countries in similar positions.

The principal sum of the debt, according to the US State Department and the International Monetary Fund, is US$162 million for shipments of cotton, rice, wheat flour and other agricultural commodities in the 1970s. Interest has ballooned the total debt to $445 million.

The Kingdom had an overall debt burden of $3.2 billion in 2009, according to the IMF, which noted in an assessment that year that Cambodia is at “moderate risk of debt distress”.

In congressional testimony Friday, Joe Yun, deputy assistant secretary for the US state department’s bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs,
said the US would not forgive Cambodia’s debt because it considers Cambodia both able to pay and obligated to do so under international law.

Officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance did not respond this week to requests for comment about the debt.

Beyond the debt issue, Yun observed a “generally positive trend” in bilateral relations in his remarks last week, noting that the US has been Cambodia’s top trading partner since 1998. Moreover, under President Barack Obama, he said, the US would provide US$72 million to Cambodia this year, making it the fourth-largest recipient of foreign aid in the East Asia-Pacific region. But the debt could be a “spoiler” in the countries’ relationship, said Carlyle Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy who called on the US to forgive it.

Cambodia incurred the debt under Lon Nol, who came to power in a 1970 coup d’etat. The US subsequently supported Lon Nol with economic, food and military aid, including an infamous bombing campaign.

Historians have long said that the bombs, believed to have killed tens of thousands of civilians while devastating the Cambodian countryside, may have slowed the Khmer Rouge in the short term, but also likely strengthened them as well.

Kenton Clymer, a professor at Northern Illinois University and an expert on US-Cambodia relations, said in an email yesterday that a reduction of the debt would be appropriate in view of the countries’ tumultuous history. “I suspect that the American legal position is correct, that a change of government does not relieve a country of previous debts. On the other hand, US bombing of Cambodia and American policy during the Khmer Republic did help create conditions that made a Khmer Rouge victory more likely,” Clymer said.

The US dropped 2,756,941 tons of ordnance in Cambodia, according to historians Ben Kiernan and Owen Taylor. William Shawcross put the cost of the bombing at $7 billion.

But an argument based on the historical injustice of the debt in view of the American legacy in the region was “not going to work politically” in negotiations with the US, Thayer said.

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, indicated yesterday that the government viewed debt forgiveness as a potential way to move beyond their contentious past.

“We don’t want to put the blame and point a figure at each other,” he said. “Right now we have a new chapter.” Read more!

Biodiverse Mekong Region Needs Protection

The area around the Mekong River, the 12th largest body of running water in the world, is extremely diverse in terms of species, but is also endangered by encroaching human influence, a report shows.

The Mekong springs from the heights of the Tibetan Plateau, on the roof of the world, and passes through China before heading out into Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The Greater Mekong area is extremely widespread, considering that the drain basin for the 4,350-kilometer (2,703-mile)-long river covers 795,000 square kilometers (307,000 square miles).

In this amazing region, scientists discover new species at the staggering rate of three per week, which means that the Mekong is one of the most biodiverse places on the face of the planet.

Some of the discoveries made here include the now-famous fish with vampire fangs (Danionella dracula), a cricket-sounding frog, as well as a carnivorous plant standing 7 meters (22 feet) tall.

In 2009 alone, more than 145 new species of animals and plants were discovered near the Mekong, and this again reaffirms the tremendous importance of the region, ahead of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan.

“This rate of discovery is simply staggering in modern times,” explains researcher Stuart Chapman, who works as the Conservation Director for WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Greater Mekong.

“Each year, the new species count keeps going up, and with it, so too does the responsibility to ensure this region’s unique biodiversity is conserved,” the expert argues.

But the extreme diversity of the Mekong's habitat and species is also what makes the entire ecosystem so fragile and in need of attention.

“Biodiversity is not evenly distributed around the globe. These new species are a timely reminder of the extraordinary biodiversity in the Greater Mekong,” Chapman says.

“Therefore a greater allocation of funds is needed to ensure these valuable ecosystems are conserved,” he adds further. As an example of the threats to the area, he gives the example of the Javan rhino, in Vietnam, which are now about to go extinct.

The WWF now urges the governments of the six countries in the Mekong basin to take firm actions for protecting the area, by requesting funds through the CBD financing mechanism called the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The organization also plans to be very active at the new meeting, so that all relevant actors become aware of the importance of keeping Greater Mekong ecosystems stable and protected.
Read more!

Hun Sen talk with Abhisit

PRIME Minister Hun Sen met with Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva at a summit in Belgium, where the two leaders affirmed their commitment to a demobilisation of troops stationed along their contentious border.

According to state television channel TVK, Hun Sen and Abhisit met for about 15 minutes on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting on Monday. The two-day summit was set to conclude yesterday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said Cambodian officials welcomed further talks aimed at resolving the border dispute. Hun Sen and Abhisit are slated to meet again later this month at an ASEAN meeting in Hanoi.

“Cambodia’s position remains that we can use bilateral or multilateral mechanisms,” Koy Kuong said yesterday. “We are prepared to resolve the dispute by any means necessary.”

Abhisit said he and Hun Sen had “exchanged views over the dispute in an effort to press ahead for progress in tackling the issue apart from current efforts being made through parliamentary procedures”, Thai state media reported yesterday.

The countries are working to demarcate their border through a bilateral committee, though the process has been stalled since last year pending approval of the latest round of talks in the Thai parliament.

Chea Dara, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces stationed at Preah Vihear temple, said yesterday that commanders from the two sides were slated to meet next week to discuss a redeployment of troops stationed at the Cambodian border.

“This is a great sign, and the purpose of the meeting will be to prevent military confrontations,” Chea Dara said.

“The two militaries from both sides have good cooperation, and we shared lunch and ate cakes together recently.” Read more!

Charming City: City Hall launch new site

Charming City

CITY Hall launched the redesign of its official website, www.phnompenh.gov.kh, yesterday, rebranding the capital “the Charming City”.

Kim Savuth, deputy municipal cabinet chief and the website’s director, said City Hall hoped to use it to share information that would attract domestic and international tourists and investors.

“Currently, we published information in the Khmer and English languages, and we plan to publish in French soon,” he said.

He added that the website would offer information on development projects, local businesses and tourism.

A description of ‘‘Phnom Penh today’’ describes the capital as ‘‘charming, relaxing and harmonious’’. Read more!

Appeal of Sam Rainsy case heard

The Kingdom’s Appeal Court has heard the case of opposition leader Sam Rainsy and two villagers from Svay Rieng province who were convicted earlier this year in connection with a protest against alleged Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian territory.

Judge Kun Leang Meng said the verdict had been delayed until next Wednesday due to limited time and the “complicated” nature of the case.

In January, Svay Rieng provincial court sentenced Sam Rainsy to two years in prison for racial incitement and destruction of public property after a protest last year in which he allegedly led villagers in uprooting Vietnamese border posts.

Meas Srey, 40, and Prum Chea, 41, received one year in jail each for their alleged roles in the incident. During a hearing of roughly four hours at the Appeal Court, both villagers denied playing a direct role in uprooting the posts.

“Sam Rainsy just held the post, but he did not uproot it, and neither did I,” Meas Srey said.
“A lot of people pulled on it.”

Under questioning from government lawyer Chan Sok Yeang, Prum Chea said he was unaware of the official status of the border posts.

“I only know that the posts were on my land,” he said.

Choung Choungy, Sam Rainsy’s lawyer, said the opposition leader had only been doing his duty as a parliamentarian in bringing attention to the border issue.

“My client had only two aims: to respect the people’s rights and defend territorial integrity,” Choung Choungy said. Chan Sok Yeang said, however, that Sam Rainsy’s protest last year was an attempt at unlawful incitement that came as the government was preoccupied with its dealings with Thailand.

“The government has been worrying about the western border, but he has made problems at the eastern border with Vietnam,” Chan Sok Yeang said Read more!

Thailand and Cambodia to meet on border again in Hanoi : PM

Brussels - Thailand and Cambodia will hold talks on border dispute on the sidelines of the Hanoi Summit late this month, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday.

The Thai premier said he had discussed with Hun Sen about the unsettled border dispute. The two countries would prepare information related to the conflicts and would hold talks again when they meet on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Hanoi between October 28 and 30.

Abhisit was speaking after meeting his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) summit, currently being held in Brussels until October 5.

"The framework to tackle the problem is in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Thailand and Cambodia on demarcation for land boundary 2000. We must look back to the intention (in the MoU)", State-run Thai News Agency quoted Abhisit as saying.

The talks (in Brussels) is a good thing and frequent talks will help prevent misunderstanding that could lead to a possible clash which no one want to see, Abhisit said.

He noted that the bilateral relations now are gradually improving as the heads of both governments could hold talks and put efforts to drive concerned agencies to foster healthy relations which is considered a positive sign
Read more!

Union claim more than 600 dismissed

Union leaders have said that more than 600 garment workers have been dismissed from their jobs in connection with unrest in the industry last month, a figure disputed by industry representatives.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union said 131 union representatives were still suspended pending court rulings on the legality of strikes last month to protest the garment industry’s new minimum wage.

Six hundred and one workers who protested the suspensions of these representatives have seen their contracts terminated because they ignored court orders requiring them to return to work within 48 hours, the statement said.

But Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said just 358 workers had seen their contracts terminated, and that several factories had recently allowed workers to return based on court orders.

“I don’t know whether they’ve updated their figures, but in any case, they likely inflated the numbers anyway, just like there were 200,000 striking workers, which we all know there weren’t,” Loo said.

The CCAWDU statement said that 13 factories had failed to comply with court orders allowing workers and union representatives to return to their jobs.

“These factory owners are ignoring the courts,” said Un Visal, labour dispute officer at CCAWDU.

GMAC and union representatives signed a memorandum of understanding last week calling for greater use of the collective bargaining agreements that ban strikes and lockouts throughout their terms. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KHOUTH SOPHAK CHAKRYA AND JAMES O’TOOLE

Read more!

Sex trend surprising

The vast majority of former child sex workers surveyed on behalf of a local NGO said their main clients were Cambodian men.

The executive director of the NGO that commissioned the study described the finding as “very surprising”.

A report detailing the findings of the study states that paedophiles “tend to be Cambodians, rather than foreigners, contrary to the usually held assumption that paedophilia is a Western problem and that Cambodians are not engaged in such activities”.

Chin Chanveasna, executive director of End Child Prostitution, Abuse and Trafficking in Cambodia, said that local demand for commercial sex with children was often overlooked, as NGOs and other stakeholders focused on foreigners.

In the study, done earlier this year and presented at a conference on trafficking, all but one of 43 former child sex workers surveyed in Phnom Penh said their regular clients were Cambodian men.

Of the 13 respondents who reported having sold their virginity, 68 percent said their clients had been Cambodian, according to the study.

Chin Chanveasna said the study, which also surveyed 47 Cambodian men from “male-frequented establishments” such as beer gardens and snooker clubs, found many local men preferred child sex workers.

“Cambodian men prefer beautiful, fair-skinned and younger-looking sex workers – basically minors,” he said, and added that they were often willing to pay a premium for virgins.

“Especially the powerful, the rich people, spend thousands of dollars to have sex with children,” he said.... read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.

Read more!

Five break out of Jail

Five inmates at Kratie provincial prison escaped in the early hours of morning with the aid of a saw.

Four remain on the run, including three killers.
Thim Narin, a provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, which monitors conditions at the prison, say the five inmates used the saw to cut through the wooden walls of their room before escaping over the wall.

The prison break took more than four hours, she said, and added that it was unclear how the inmates obtained the saw. Eight other prisoners who were sharing the room with the escapees did not attempt to flee.

A prison official said yesterday that three of the escapees had been convicted of intentional murder. The official, who could not provide details of the case against the men, identified them as: Yen Nara, 26, who was sentenced to 18 years; Thoun Nal, 22, who was sentenced to 15 years; and Saom

Soknang, 27, who was sentenced to 10 years. All three remain at large.

Chhoung Seng Hak, the provincial police chief, said Ith Samean – a 35-year-old escapee who was being held in pretrial detention on robbery charges – was caught.... read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours. Read more!

Russia and Poland look to Cambodia for rice

A CAMBODIAN trade delegation to Russia and Poland has attracted buyers to discuss deals that could see 40,000 tonnes of rice exported to the two countries in 2011.

Composed of government officials and industry representatives, the Cambodian delegation visited the two nations in September, leading to further discussions planned for January to finalise the deal, according to Thon Virak, director general of state-run Green Trade Company.

“If there are no obstacles, we will make the contract for delivery at that time,” he said at a Ministry of Commerce press conference on Friday. The buyers from Russia and Poland are expected to order at least 4,000 tonnes per month, he said.

“I hope the number of rice export to Europe market will increase in the coming year, and we have enough quantity for exports,” he said.

Representatives of nine rice millers, including two private companies; and four government representatives from the Ministry of Commerce visited Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland from September 22 to 24 in search of opportunities for rice exports.

The visit also allowed industry insiders to meet with European rice traders and distributors to learn more about the regulations and quality standards required to access the European market, he said.

The delegation found that trust and reliability was the most important issue for European buyers, especially with regard to filling deliveries on schedule. Ensuring quality standards and competitive pricing were also primary concerns for European dealers.

“Before the visit to Europe we had no real idea of what the market required, but now after seeing it with our own eyes and talking directly to the buyers we know what EU consumers want,” Norng Veasna, a rice miller from Kampong Cham province said in a statement.

Lim Bun Heng, a representative from Loran Import Export, added that local rice millers need to improve processing technology to become more competitive regarding both quality and quantity.

Mao Thora, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce said improving milling capacity would greatly boost future exports.

Local millers are able to process a maximum of 100,000 tonnes per year at present, he said. If milling capacity was not improved, it would be difficult to meet the Kingdom’s goals for rice exports.

Many donors are funding developments in the agriculture sector. Agence Francaise Development had allocated between $10 million and $15 million for the local millers to improve capacity, but more was needed, Mao Thora said. Read more!

Efforts Against Drug-Resistant Malaria Along Thai-Cambodian Border Show Progress, But More 'Aggressive' Approach Needed, Health Officials Say

Main Category: Tropical Diseases
Also Included In: MRSA / Drug Resistance


Efforts to prevent the spread of drug-resistant malaria along the border between Cambodia and Thailand are showing signs of progress, but additional work is needed to contain the new strain, health officials said on Friday, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports.

In Cambodia, only two cases of Plasmodium falciparum malaria were identified in the province of Pailin as of mid-September, according to the Thai health ministry's Bureau of Vector Borne Disease. A total of 5,686 people were screened. "In the adjacent Soi Dao and Pong Nam Ron districts of Chantaburi province, there was a similar trend, with incidence dropping from 16 to seven from 2008 to 2009," the news service writes.

To prevent the spread of the drug-resistant strain of malaria, the WHO has been working on a containment effort with the Thai and Cambodian governments. The effort has received $22.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "But more collective regional efforts are needed to make a difference in addressing the malaria problem on the border, the WHO said in a press release Thursday," according to the news service (10/1).

"We have to be more aggressive against the deadly Plasmodium falciparium parasite, develop new interventions, improve and encourage human resource engagement, come up with new therapies, and secure the best drugs," said Charles Delacollette, coordinator of the the WHO's Mekong Malaria Programme, Bernama reports. "Winning the war against this parasite is a challenge," he said in a joint statement issued by the WHO and Thailand's Bureau of Vector Borne Disease.

Delacollette "said it was important for [ASEAN countries] to show strong commitment and ownership in the regional containment and elimination of multi-drug resistant falciparium malaria," the news service writes (9/30).

Experts Discuss Malaria Vaccine Prospects At D.C. Conference
At a malaria vaccine conference this week in Washington, D.C., Stephen Hoffman, the founder and CEO of Sanaria, discussed the "disappointing results" of the company's experimental malaria vaccine, which protected five of the 80 people who volunteered for its first clinical trial, Reuters reports.

"Tests in animals suggest that perhaps giving the vaccine intravenously might provide better protection, and Hoffman ... is planning ways to test the idea in people," the news service writes. Sanaria has used up the money it receives from the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, but Hoffman plans to continue testing with money from NIH and maybe government agencies, according to the article."

The vaccine was used to immunize 80 volunteers and it was safe and well tolerated," Hoffman said in an interview. "It did, as expected, stimulate an immune response against the malaria parasite - just not nearly as much as Hoffman had hoped," according to Reuters. He said, "Right now I do need to get a lot more funds."

Groups at the malaria vaccine meeting also "presented ideas for new ways to deliver vaccines - such as Pennsylvania-based Inovio Biomedical Corp, which is using its so-called electroporation delivery-DNA vaccine approach to try to make a vaccine against malaria, as well as flu and AIDS vaccines," the news service reports. The approach makes tiny holes in the skin instead of using a needle (Fox, 9/29).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. Read more!

Two drown fleeing Thai border police

TWO women from Battambang province who were seeking work in Thailand drowned while fleeing Thai border authorities last week, a Cambodian border official said.

Dy Phen, deputy director of the Cambodia-Thailand Border Relations Office in Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet town, said the two women crossed into Thailand illegally with about 20 other migrants on the night of September 30th to look for work in Pattani province.

Thai soldiers tried to stop the car at a checkpoint about 10 kilometres inside Thailand, Dy Phen said, but the car drove through the checkpoint and then stopped after another kilometre because of a flat tyre. Thai soldiers fired warning shots into the air, and the migrants fled, he said.

Dy Phen said officials believed two women – Muon Saroeut, 59, and her daughter, 15-year-old Soeun Chantrea – leaped into a canal in an attempt to escape. “They are illegal migrants who were brought into Thailand by a broker, so they feared arrest”, he said. Both women drowned, and Thai authorities cooperated in arranging for their bodies to be repatriated yesterday, Dy Phen said.

Taing Lay, a 25-year-old prospective migrant from Kampong Cham province, and her 5-year-old daughter also dove into the canal and nearly suffered the same fate but were saved by Thai soldiers and sent back to Cambodia over the weekend, Dy Phen said.

He said that the other 20 or so migrants remain in hiding somewhere in Thailand.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday that consular officials in Sa Kaeo province were negotiating with Thai officials to seek compensation for the families of the women who died, but that they “have yet to have any result”. He said a medical examination had confirmed that the two women had drowned.

Also repatriated yesterday was the body of a 27-year-old Cambodian man, Lam Thy, who died on Saturday from injuries suffered during a fight in Sa Kaeo province, Dy Phen said. The man had been working as a guard at a market. Read more!

China's top legislator meets Cambodian King

Wu Bangguo (R), a chairman of the standing committee of China's National People's congress, meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni in Shanghai, east China Oct.2, 2010.

SHANGHAI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) - China and Cambodia pledged to further cooperation and bilateral ties as top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo met with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni in Shanghai Saturday.

"China attaches importance to relations with Cambodia and hopes to deepen and advance the mutually beneficial cooperation to lift bilateral ties," Wu told Sihamoni.

Wu, chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said China cherished the special friendship with the Cambodian Royal Family.

The friendship nurtured by Chinese leaders and former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk had weathered the changing international landscape, said Wu.

Bilateral relations had seen frequent high-level visits, increased political mutual trust, and mutually beneficial trade cooperation and support on international and regional issues, said Wu.

Wu also thanked the king for his support to the Shanghai World Expo and presence at the celebrations of China's National Pavilion Day at the Shanghai World Expo Friday.

Sihamoni said the progress in bilateral relations was in the line with the two peoples' aspirations and the Cambodian Royal Family was committed to boosting bilateral cooperation.

Read more!

Danville man charged in marriage scheme

By TODD KLEFFMAN
tkleffman@amnews.com


LOUISVILLE — A Danville resident is among 35 people from three states who have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly being part of a conspiracy to smuggle Cambodian citizens into the United States by way of fraudulent marriages.

Kong Cheng Ty, 43, is charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. Ty is one of the leaders of the alleged scheme which involved paying U.S. citizens to travel to Cambodia to engage in sham marriages to Cambodian citizens in order to help them come to America, according to court records.

“He is what they consider one of the organizers of the conspiracy,” said Christopher Francis, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Louisville.

Ty is a foreign-born Cambodian citizen who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005, Francis said. He is among six other organizers who, working through nail salons in Kentucky, paid Americans to travel to Cambodia to participate in phony engagements and marriages.

$7,000 exchanged

Court records allege that Ty met with Christopher James McAlister at a Steak and Shake restaurant in Versailles in November 2005 to discuss the marriage scheme.

Ty allegedly paid McAlister more than $7,000 and arranged for him to fly to Cambodia to meet Sokunthy So. McAlister and So posed for pictures during an engagement ceremony and at other locations before McAlister returned to the United States, court records show.

In 2006, McAlister met with an attorney in Louisville to fill out visa paperwork for So. McAlister traveled back to Cambodia in 2008 to get So and bring her to America.

In February 2008, McAlister and So participated in a civil marriage ceremony in Louisville “knowing that the marriage was not entered into in good faith but was in exchange for something of value, and that the purpose of the marriage was to enable So to obtain permanent legal resident status in the United States,” according to court documents.

Ty is listed as a witness at the marriage ceremony.

The larger marriage conspiracy began in 1999 and continued through April of this year. The 35 people indicted are from Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee.

Eleven of the people who were among the first charged in the conspiracy already have pleaded guilty.

An arraignment date for Ty, who was indicted earlier this week, has not yet been set.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Claire Phillips, and it was investigated by the Immigration Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security. Read more!

PoliSci class take trip to Cambodia

By Adam Trodell


Members of the Cambodia Service Learning Project took a trip to Cambodia from July 10-26, which included sightseeing, learning about the culture and history of the country, visiting Commerce's sister city Pailin, and helping some local schools.

Political science department head and associate professor Dr. JoAnn DiGeorgio-Lutz is the instructor of the Cambodia Project course, PSCI 497, and she said the trip helped students get the full experience of studying a country.

"This is the first time I had been to Cambodia, and it was amazing," DiGeorgio said. "We got to put context to what we were studying in the abstract. You can learn about something, you can look at a country on a map, you can look at pictures of a country and read about its history, but when you're there experiencing it, it becomes very real. It becomes something you can attach meaning to."

Senior political science major Kaycie Clark said the trip was a revealing experience.

"It was life changing, seeing people in a society that is completely different than what you're used to, a developing world," she said. "It changed my perspective on life. I realize how lucky I am to be here."

DiGeorgio said she feels most of the students who visited Cambodia came away with a similar feeling.

"I think, for most of them, it really opened their eyes to the developing world and situations in the developing world," she said. "Cambodia is what we would call a war-torn society rebuilding after years of war and a genocide that basically eradicated anything, any education, any infrastructure, and so on."

The Cambodian Civil War lasted from 1967-1975, and led to the Khmer Rouge, or Communist Party of Kampuchea, rising to power and instigating the Cambodian Genocide. During their four-year reign, millions of Cambodians were killed or imprisoned, and the Cambodia Project members spent some of this trip learning about those darker times in the country's capital.

"The first few days it was all learning about the genocide," Clark said. "During the first four days in Phnom Penh we went to the S-21 museum, the political prisoner museum. It was a political prisoner camp where they executed thousands of people."

Also during those first few days, the class met Youk Chang, who was named in Time Magazine's Most Influential People of the 20th Century. Chang is the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which, according to DiGeorgio, is tasked with tracking all the testimonies of anyone affected by the genocide.

"We also got to visit the international criminal tribunal that's trying the leaders for war crimes and genocide, and met with the U.N. special prosecutor there," DiGeorgio said.

While these remnants of the war still exist, Clark said she felt the people as a whole seem to be getting past it.

"Cambodia is making strides to advance themselves," she said, "but after a whole generation died, they're still trying to pick up the pieces from the Khmer Rouge destruction."

After their time in Phnom Penh, the group went to Battambang and met with people from Dewey International University, a partner of A&'M-Commerce.

"We met with students there, they had a big welcome for us, and we got to interact with university students in Cambodia and see what life is like for them there," DiGeorgio said.

Education was one of the main focuses for members of the Cambodia Project, as this is one of the aspects of society the country is faced with rebuilding.

"The GDP per capita, the income, is about $300 per year," DiGeorgio said. "So, families are oftentimes faced with the choice of paying $15 a year to send a kid to school and you only have $300 a year."

Among the multiple schools the group visited was Hometown School in Siem Reap. The Cambodia Project is working to help this school buy a computer, bikes for their 5 teachers, and school supplies for the students, according to the group's website, thecambodiaproject.com. They also delivered supplies to Elizabeth School in Lak 62, a village settled by refugees from the war.

"We got involved with a village close to Thailand, actually on the border, where we delivered school supplies," Clark said. "That was a big part of the trip, delivering school supplies to these kids. It was really cool."

Toward the end of their trip, the group visited government officials from Pailin, which became Commerce's sister city on Nov. 19 of last year. Commerce City Councilman and Cambodia Project member Doug Rohrabaugh got the chance to meet with his counterparts.

"[The trip was about] a cultural exchange," group member and Student Government Association senator Adam Haney said. "A lot of southeast Asia, especially Cambodia, after Vietnam, was really ignored and forgotten about by the west. It's to try and re-establish some of these ties with regimes and peoples like the Cambodians that want to re-engage with the rest of the world."

Some of the students who took this trip are looking to go back along with new Cambodia Project members. DiGeorgio is already starting to plan her return, as well.

"I'm going back in December and going to be to be developing the service learning program for Dewey International," she said. "I'll be helping them to created programs like I have here for service learning. Then I'm going back in May mini and doing a small mini-mester for credit. I can only take about 10 students, and I've got some graduate students already signed up."

Clark said she is one of the members hoping to return and do volunteer work, and she is also planning on doing the same in other developing countries.

"I'm actually looking at going this summer to Guatemala, and Dr. DiGeorgio actually compares Guatemala to Cambodia as far as development," Clark said. "I think I'm going to go for two months; learn Spanish for a month and teach for a month."
Read more!

City's thirst for groundwater threatens ancient temples

SIEM REAP, Cambodia: The five-star hotels around the ancient temples of Angkor are oases of green - sleek new buildings ringed by tropical forests and sprawling lawns.

But the water used to keep them so is being sucked from groundwater under the nearby city of Siem Reap, threatening the stability of the centuries-old World Heritage-listed landmark.

The widespread, unregulated pumping of groundwater throughout Siem Reap has raised concerns that the temples, including the world's largest religious monument, Angkor Wat, could crack or crumble if too much water is drained away.

The temples and towers of the 400-square-kilometre Angkor site sit on a base of sand, kept firm by a constant supply of groundwater that rises and falls with the seasons, but which is now being used to supply a burgeoning city.

With the number of visitors approaching 2 million a year, increasing pressure is being put on the scarce water resource. Thousands of illegal private pumps have been sunk across the city, pulling millions of litres of water from the ground each day.

UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nations, says that no one knows just how much water is being drawn from the ground, or how much can be taken safely.

Water is a precious commodity in Siem Reap, particularly during the dry season, when tourist numbers are highest. And the population of the city, barely five kilometres from Angkor Wat, has doubled in a little more than a decade to about 200,000.

The government-run Siem Reap water supply authority has the capacity to pump nine megalitres of water a day from underground, its director general, Som Kunthea, said.

But Mr Som estimates the city, even at its current size, is already using more than 50 megalitres daily. Authorities believe there are more than 6000 private pumps and 1000 wells sunk across the city.

The deputy director of water management for the Cambodian government's Angkor conservation body, Peou Hang, said the pumping was unregulated and almost impossible to police.

The Cambodian government has commissioned the Japanese government development agency JICA to investigate future water options for Siem Reap.

Its report, now in draft stage and to be completed by the end of the year, is likely to recommend regulating the pumping of groundwater as well as bringing water from other sources, including Tonle Sap, a lake 20 kilometres south of Siem Reap, an option that Mr Som would ''cost a lot and make water more expensive''.

Mr Som said the government's water authority does not have the capacity to supply all of Siem Reap with drinking water.

''Right now, there is no sign of impact on the temples,'' he said. ''But if we don't move now … if we keep letting people pump water and the population continues to increase, it will have an impact.''
Read more!

US Official Says Cambodia Must Repay a Debt Portion

Cambodia will have to pay at least some of its war-era debt before the US can consider forgiving the rest, a State Department official told Congress on Thursday.

Joseph Yun, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, told a House of Representatives subcommittee that the US administration does not have a policy to cancel debt, for fear that it sends the wrong message in debt management.

Cambodia owes the US some $300 million, plus fees, in debt incurred during the Lon Nol regime of the 1970s, but current officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, say they should not have to pay back money borrowed by the pre-Khmer Rouge government.

Cambodia and the Paris Club group of creditors agreed to restructure the debt in 1995, but Cambodia has yet to ratify the agreement, Yun told the Foreign Affairs Committee's Asia, Pacific and Global Environment Subcommittee.

“The administration has therefore urged the Cambodian government to sign the bilateral agreement and re-establish a track record of timely repayment under that agreement,” Yun said in official testimony.

“We have communicated to the Cambodian government that if it makes scheduled payments for at least one year, the US government would signal to the IMF that efforts are underway to resolve the country's official arrears,” he said. “Should Cambodia then obtain an IMF program and a future Paris Club debt treatment, the action could pave the way for generous rescheduling of the accumulated arrears owed to the United States.”

The total amount owed the government with fees climbed to $445 million in 2009, Yun said.

However, Eni Faleomavaega, a Democrat from American Samoa and chairman of the subcommittee, said precedents exist for debt forgiveness, including with Iraq and Vietnam, whose debts were much greater.

In those countries, the debt was canceled and the funds diverted to education, he said.

"Greater engagement with Cambodia could help the United States achieve our foreign policy goal in the region and counter adverse influence requiring a payment of debt,” Faleomavaega said during the hearing. “Requiring a payment of a debt incurred by an illegitimate government more than 30 years ago, without consideration of Cambodia's historical drama, will run counter to the need for greater engagement.”

The US has sought to expand its influence in Southeast Asia, where China holds much sway and provides aid packages and infrastructure without some of the Western benchmarks for human rights and democracy.

Cambodia, which benefits greatly from both Chinese and Western aid, has insisted the debt be forgiven, saying it could better spend the money on education and health programs.

Hem Heng, Cambodia's ambassador to the US, said it was “not reasonable” to expect Cambodia to sign onto a debt repayment schedule only to review it a year later.

“Once we sign it, we must be obliged to pay a certain amount per year,” he said. “It is not possible that we implement this for one year and then review it.”
Read more!

State Department says Cambodia has ability to pay off US debt

WASHINGTON - The State Department says that cancelling Cambodia's debt would set a bad example because the impoverished country has the ability to pay what it owes the United States.

Joseph Yun, a deputy assistant secretary of state, said Thursday at a congressional hearing that even as Cambodia has accumulated debt with the United States, it has paid off other creditors on time.

Yun says the debt stems from low-interest loans in the 1970s for U.S. agricultural commodities. He says it was about $445 million by the end of 2009.

Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, chairman of the House of Representatives Asia subcommittee, says other countries have cancelled debt for Cambodia, while the United States insists on "squeezing this little, least developed country."
Read more!

US Subcommittee To Hold Hearing on Old Debt

Cambodian Prime minister Hun Sen right talked with US congressman Eri Faleomavaega ,left, during a meeting in Phnom Penh Jan. 7, 2010. Faleomavaega will oversee the hearing.

A US House of Representatives subcommittee is scheduled to discuss Cambodia's war-era debt on Thursday.

Cambodia has repeatedly sought the elimination of $300 million in debt from the Lon Nol era, without success. Prime Minister Hun Sen called it a “dirty” debt that should not be repaid.

The Foreign Affairs Committee's Asia, Pacific and Global Environment Subcommittee will discuss the debt Thursday, according to the committee's website.

According to a position paper to be given by Cambodia at the hearing, the government is seeking a wave of the debt due to a “multitude of challenges and constraints facing the country after the adverse impacts of the global economic and food crisis.”

“We seek the understanding and goodwill of the honorable members of the Congress, the US administration, and the people of the USA in granting a favorable consideration of our request for the cancellation of the related debts,” according to a copy of the paper.

Eni Faleomavaega, a Democrat from American Samoa and chairman of the subcommittee, will oversee the hearing. Joseph Yun, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, will be the witness.

Read more!

Union Rep Hospitalized After Assault

Hundred of Cambodian garment workers Monday held a strike to demand their monthly salary raise to US 93 dollars from current $61.

A factory representative for the Free Trade Union was severely beaten and hospitalized on Thursday, union officials and police said.

Phao Sak, 26, was in serious condition in Calmette hospital in Phnom Penh following the assault.

Union representatives said Phao Sok had tried to bargain for worker bonuses at the Generation clothing factory in Samrong Thong district, Kampong Speu province, ahead of the Pchum Ben national holiday.

Phao Sak was driving on his motorcycle from school to the factory when two unidentified men attacked him near the factory, according to the union, which cited witnesses in a statement Thursday.

The two men hit him repeatedly over the head with boards, the statement said.

“This is not an accident,” Chea Mony, president of the union, said Thursday. “It is an attempted assassination of a Free Trade Union representative.”

Free Trade Union representatives are repeatedly beaten for confronting factories over conditions and incomes, he said.

No suspects have been arrested.

Samrong Thong District Police Chief Khuth Sophal denied the case was an attempted murder. “I think maybe it's because of a drunken altercation. However, police will investigate.”

The Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia was not among those who participated in a general strike last week, but it is among the most powerful unions in Cambodia's garment sector.

In 2004, the union's president, Chea Vichea, was shot and killed by unknown assailants. At least three other union leaders have been killed since then.

Tensions between factories and workers have run high for weeks, with employees demanding better incomes in the face of rising living costs and factories facing competition in a shrunken global marketplace.

Read more!

Hun Sen Weighs In on Labor Disputes

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday made a public appeal for the courts to drop charges against workers participating in a general strike earlier this month, in a move that proved popular with labor leaders.

His appeal came after the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia ruled out a request from the Ministry of Labor that factories walk away from cases they filed against the leaders of the strikes, where thousands of workers demanded better incomes to offset the rising cost of living.

“I would like to request the court to drop charges against workers and the trade union leaders and to request all factories to take the workers back to work,” Hun Sen said, speaking at the graduation ceremony for the National Education Institute. “This is a win-win resolution.”

GMAC officials declined to comment on the statement Wednesday, but they have said in the past the factories have the right to file against the strikes, which they called illegal.

Hun Sen said Wednesday that if the court complaints went forward, the strikes would continue. He urged factories to find ways to better compensate their workers—who belong to Cambodia's top-earning industry—and he urged employees to “work hard for the gain of the companies.”

“This is a fair gesture by Prime Minister Hun Sen to take care of the workers,” said Ath Thun, president of the Cambodian Labor Confederation and a leader of the strikes.

He said around 150 workers from 17 factories had not been allowed back to work, following four days of strikes that cost factories as much as $15 million.

A Kandal provincial court official said he would hold a “legal examination” of the cases in light of Hun Sen's remarks.

Meanwhile, both managers and labor leaders have been working on improving negotiations. Both have agreed to send five members each into a commission, and they have signed off on a nine-point agreement to improve negotiations. Read more!

The Cancer is in Kabul's occupation and not anywhere else

The White House fulminations against Pakistan seem to display an increasing level of impotence and frustration stemming out of assured defeat in Afghanistan.

The White House’s defeatism is palpable from the threats and rhetoric emanating from the emissaries that make their rounds around the world.

A bankrupt policy, a misguided adventure, and misdirected anger at allies display a level of panic sen in the days before the end game in Vietnam.

It is pedagogical to read the threats from the White House against the non-combatant state of Cambodia

“President Richard M. Nixon, April 30, 1970

Good evening my fellow Americans:

Ten days ago, in my report to the Nation on Vietnam, I announced a decision to withdraw an additional 150,000 Americans from Vietnam over the next year. I said then that I was making that decision despite our concern over increased enemy activity in Laos, in Cambodia, and in South Vietnam.

At that time, I warned that if I concluded that increased enemy activity in any of these areas endangered the lives of Americans remaining in Vietnam, I would not hesitate to take strong and effective measures to deal with that situation.

Despite that warning, North Vietnam has increased its military aggression in all these areas, and particularly in Cambodia.

…For the past 5 years – as indicated on this map that you see here – North Vietnam has occupied military sanctuaries all along the Cambodian frontier with South Vietnam. Some of these extend up to 20 miles into Cambodia. The sanctuaries are in red and, as you note, they are on both sides of the border. They are used for hit and run attacks on American and South Vietnamese forces in South Vietnam.

These Communist occupied territories contain major base camps, training sites, logistics facilities, weapons and ammunition factories, airstrips, and prisoner-of-war compounds…

…Tonight, American and South Vietnamese units will attack the headquarters for the entire Communist military operation in South Vietnam. This key control center has been occupied by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong for 5 years in blatant violation of Cambodia’s neutrality.

This is not an invasion of Cambodia. The areas in which these attacks will be launched are completely occupied and controlled by North Vietnamese forces. Our purpose is not to occupy the areas. Once enemy forces are driven out of these sanctuaries and once their military supplies are destroyed, we will withdraw.”

The fulminations coming out the current White are very similar to the Nixon esclation which carried out massive bombing raids to destroy the alleged “Ho Chi Minh Trail”. Nixon lied when he said that he would target the so called “sancturies” a few kilometers inside the border. The US massively bombed almost all of Cambodia. A map of Cambodia which displays the bombing raids shows a map specled with pin pricks all over Cambodia. The rapid rise of the Khemer Rouge is analogous to the rise of violence in Pakistan.

Three major revelations can be discerned from Bob Woodward’s transcription of White House:

1) The US has resigned itself to failure in Afghanistan. Jackson Diehl in the Washington Post describes the impotence as follows: “As Woodward recounts it, by last spring — just six months after President Obama announced the dispatch of 30,000 additional U.S. troops, along with a modified counterinsurgency strategy — virtually every civilian official at the National Security Council and in the vice president’s office had concluded that the plan was doomed.”

Take retired Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the chief advisor for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the NSC. Woodward quotes him as saying in a meeting that Obama’s plan to gradually transfer security from U.S. and NATO forces to the Afghan army is a “house of cards,” destined to collapse. Lute, like several others on the NSC, argues that there has been no “proof of concept;” military commanders in Afghanistan, they argue, have yet to transfer even one Afghan district or town to local forces — and may never be able to do so.”

2) There is almost total consensus in the US Administration that the Afghan Government is totally inept, corrupt and incapable. Karl Eikenberry describes Mr. Karzai as “an unreliable partner Karzai was.”
“He’s on his meds, he’s off his meds,”

3) The third issue is inane indictment of Pakistan. Hence the rhetoric of bombing 150 sites in Pakistan and blaming Pakistan for the “cancer” in Afghanistan. The front pages of the Washington Post are full of diatribes against Pakistan. Those who have any doubts about Bharat’s intentions and feelings towards Pakistan can find the worst of the allegations replicated with embellished venom in most of the Bharati papers. Sify news, and th Indian Express are the most vitriolic. The Deccan Herlad, Times of India and The Hindustan Times lead the middle pack. The Hindu despite its name is the most liberal and in many ways talks sanity. One thing is certain–all of them are Pakistanphobic and cannot dare to publish positive stories about Pakistan. Its not that the Pakistani establishment is obsessed with India, as the residents of the White House think–the Pakistani establishment wants to defend itself from the constant Bharati onslaught waged on international forums, Pakistani borders and the media.

The US is obsessed by “sanctuaries”. How could there be sanctuaries if 9% of Afghanistan is in the hands of the Afghan National Resistance (Haqqanis, Hikmatyars and Taliban etc).

Jackson Diehl quotes NATO’s chief civilian representative in Kabul, Mark Sedwill “points out that the campaign plan drawn up by former U.S. commander Stanley McChrystal didn’t anticipate that they would be wiped out. Contrary to Jones, McChrystal and other NATO commanders on the ground concluded that their goals in Afghanistan can be reached even if Taliban leaders still find refuge in Pakistan.”

Bob Woodward’s revelation are orchestrated and planned. Bruce Riedel and Rahm Emanuel know exactly what they would get if they allowed Woodward into selected meetings what they could expect. They fed Woodward with the disinformation and propaganda that they wanted published. The purpose of this exercise is to forward their own agenda–which is not a hidden secret. Riedel made the right noises at the beginning of Obama Administration–however he quickly turned. He believes in India and wants a strong US-Indian alliance. Riedel wants Kashmir resolved with the LOC as the permanent border and he wants to “convince” the Pakistanis into supporting US misadventures in Afghanistan and in Central Asia. The “CIA Murder Army” is part of that “convincing”.

President Obama has misdiagnosed the problems in Afghanistan. It is not Cancer, it is treatable. The problems can be fixed if he can identify the malady in the right place–the problem resides in Washington and Kabul–not anywhere else Read more!

US Providing $51 Million in Health, Education and Other Aid

The US on Tuesday provided more than $35 million to Cambodian health and education, part of more than $51 million in funding expected this week.

The US will provide $33.55 million in grant funds to reduce HIV and AIDS and prevent major diseases like tuberculosis and other dangers such as maternal and child health, officials said. And it will provide another $1.55 million for Cambodia's “education objectives,” including improving basic education and access to education.

Cambodia's economic growth and future development rely on “an educated and healthy population,” US Ambassador Carol Rodley said in Phnom Penh at a signing ceremony Tuesday.

Long Visalo, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, accepted the funding Tuesday, calling health and education “the two highest priority sectors” for reducing poverty and increasing economic development.

The US is expected to provide another $16.44 million to Cambodia in a ceremony Wednesday, in a separate initiative to improve the country's business environment and enhance its agricultural capabilities.
Read more!

Cambodia's Kep: Sleepy seaside town begins to stir

By MIKE ECKEL
The Associated Press


KOH TONSAY, Cambodia — Ask for the crab. In black peppercorn sauce.

The proprietor of the thatched-roof and bamboo-walled island restaurant will acknowledge the order in sign language and broken English. She'll shuffle across the seaside grass over to the dock where the crab cages sit, steeping in the Gulf of Thailand's tepid waters.

She'll return with a bucket of crustaceans and fry them in an iron wok over a charcoal fire in her open-air kitchen, searing them in a sauce made largely from sweet, fiery Kampot peppercorns. She'll bring you a heap of steaming seafood, pepper sauce, paper napkins and beer to the shaded picnic tables. You'll eat the crab — soft-shells and all — sucking the sauce from your fingers, drinking the beer to blunt the fiery pepper and thank the stars that few people have discovered the culinary and aesthetic pleasures of this southern coastal region.

While Cambodia's Angkor Wat temples are its biggest tourist draw, beach-bound tourists — particularly those looking for more than the backpacker-on-a-shoestring itinerary — are waking up to the unexplored beauty that this muggy country has to offer. The low-key beach town of Kep and the riverside village of Kampot, a three-hour drive south of the capital Phnom Penh, offer rough edges but simple charms, along with nearby islands like Koh Tonsay, where the crab in peppercorn is served.

The Kep-area beaches also offer alternatives to better-known regional beach resorts like Thailand's Phuket and even Cambodia's own Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville was a favorite of jet-setters (Jackie Kennedy visited in the '60s) before the country was beset by the horrors of wars, coups and the Khmer Rouge. These days, Sihanoukville's luxury resorts have plenty of attitude, having been rediscovered by growing numbers of nouveau-riche Cambodians and others. Sleepy Kep, in contrast, seems to attract a clientele that spurns Sihanoukville's swagger.

The town of Kep consists of a collection of modest residences and hotels tucked into the foliage off crumbling pavement and dusty roads, along with rows of motley shacks and several grand villas, many of which still show the ravages inflicted by the Khmer Rouge who sneered at Kep's bourgeois trappings. Kep Beach is mostly a stretch of rocky sand directly under the main road, though that doesn't stop the locals from swimming along the stony promenade. Notable local landmarks include an unusual nude statue of a fisherman's wife and a monstrous statue of a crab. The 16-room Beach House hotel and its tiny swimming pool hides just above the beach in the tropical hillside foliage, offering sweeping views of the gulf.

Bending around the promontory to the west and north is Kep's main drag, the Crab Market: a line of bamboo and thatch shacks where you can find crab, fish, prawns and squid, not to mention laundry service, tourist trinkets, boat rides, motos (mopeds), cold beer, cheap drugs, Internet connections, massage services and just about anything else you can imagine. The circus mix of locals, backpackers and proper tourists is a prime spot for people-watching.

Farther up the coast are Kep's nicer accommodations. Inland and up in the hills, there's the Veranda, with a wooden restaurant and bar on a slope with a vista of stunning sunsets over the water. Waterside, Knai Bang Chatt has the swankiest lodgings in town with an emerald infinity swimming pool and stylish, modernist building. The hotel's Sailing Club next door has a dining room perched on piers over the water and a small sandy beach where you can sip vodka tonics while the waves lap your toes. Kep Malibu Estates, despite the unusual name, is also perched inland, its swimming pool and grassy yard up a dusty road past rundown shacks and the disconcerting sight of impoverished farm families tending ragged plantings and staring blankly at passing tourists.

For many, the islands just off of Kep are the real draw. Phu Quoc is the largest, but it belongs to Vietnam and it's some distance away. For that reason, Koh Tonsay — translated as "Rabbit Island" — is arguably the most popular. Like many things in Cambodia, getting there is not entirely for the faint-hearted. Most hotels have connections with boat operators, or you can arrange a boat ride at one of the Crab Market shacks. The skinny boats, built mainly for fishing, are powered by crate-sized outboard engines with propeller shafts the length of a small tree. Their narrow width means they pitch and yaw more than most people feel comfortable with. That said, they move fast, and the 30-minute ride to Koh Tonsay (about $10) takes you out into a bay past poetic scenes of fishermen tending lines and seine nets.

The island reportedly was used at one point as a prison colony by the country's long-ruling monarch, Norodom Sihanouk. Today, however, its dense interior foliage keeps most visitors limited to the crystalline waters that slosh the whitish sands on its north side, where simple wood platforms are dotted with hammocks and thatched roofs. Just inland are the open-air kitchens and shacks of the half-dozen families who cater to tourists. For overnight stays, many families rent bungalows that are nothing more than enclosed shacks with wooden sleeping platforms and mosquito nets.

For most visitors, lounging on the beach platforms, alternating between swimming in the bathwater sea and drowsy contemplation of swaying palms is the most activity one can muster. Occasionally, wiry, naked-to-the-waist Cambodian men shimmying high into tree canopies, hacking at bushel-sized bunches of coconuts with machetes and letting the green fruit thud to the ground, spooking unsuspecting tourists. For less than a dollar, they'll trim off the husks for you, lop a hole into the top and pop a straw in it for the freshest coconut milk you could possibly hope for.

But when hunger truly strikes, it's best to find crab. The size of golf balls, these crustaceans are caught by traditional hook and lines, and left in cages in the water until mealtime. For less than $5, the cook/hostess prepares a mound of the animals, cooked in oil and peppercorns of the Kampot — a once-famous Cambodian agriculture export — and beer for two. The instinct is to equate crab with lobster, use your teeth to dismantle the shell and suck the meat out. But the shells are so soft, you realize it takes less effort to just eat the crab, meat, shell and all. With pepper sauce tingling on your tongue and cold beer washing it down, gorge yourself on Kep's finest culinary offering — and enjoy a place while it remains untrampled by the crowds.




If You Go...

KEP AND KOH TONSAY, CAMBODIA: http://bit.ly/9WqOPt

TIMING: The best time to visit Cambodia is in the rainy reason (roughly late September through February), when the daytime temperatures aren't sweltering. The rains, while heavy, are brief in their duration and awe-inspiring in their intensity. This is considered high season for many hotels and other tourist services.

GETTING THERE: Fly to one of Southeast Asia's hubs — like Bangkok or Singapore — then take a budget carrier — Air Asia, Silk Air, Dragon Air, Jet Star, to name a few — to Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. Regular bus service between Phnom Penh and Kep is cheap (around $7; http://www.ppsoryatransport.com) but getting tickets and finding the right departure point in Phnom Penh's chaotic streets can be difficult, so best to ask your hotel or a travel agent for help. Renting a taxi to make the three-hour drive is also possible. Cost varies depending on whether you use a private car ($20-35 a day; http://www.lyna-carrental.com/) or a shared taxi or car ($40 and very subject to change with no notice)

ACCOMMODATIONS IN KEP:

—Knai Bang Chatt: http://www.knaibangchatt.com. Located waterside, about a minute by moto or tuk-tuk (motorized rickshaw) from the Crab Market. Rates $150-$350 high season, $110-$225 low season.

—Veranda Natural Resort: http://www.veranda-resort.com/index.php. Located inland, up a steep hill at end of dirt road, about three minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from Crab Market. Rooms and bungalows $40-$210, high season,; $35-$195, low season.

—Kep Malibu Estates: http://www.malibuestatesbungalows.com/. Located inland, up a short dirt road, about three minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from the Crab Market. Rooms or bungalows, $35-$120, high season, $30-$80, low season. Camping is also available.

The Beach House: http://www.thebeachhousekep.com/. Located on a steep hill overlooking Kep Beach, 3 minutes by moto or tuk-tuk from Crab Market. Rooms $40-$55.
. Read more!

Workers, Factories Agree to Negotiation Commission

Trade unions and garment manufacturers have agreed to establish a government-brokered commission in order to break an impasse over increased income for workers, after thousands went on general strike earlier this month.

Union and factory representatives met with government officials on Monday, agreeing to establish the commission, with five members each from workers and manufacturers, in order to reach some kind of agreement over monthly income that workers say does not enable them to meet a decent standard of living.

Thousands of workers from one block of unions went on strike earlier this month to demand more negotiations, after manufacturers said they would not increase salaries beyond a $5 raise, for a monthly total of $61, in July.

The strikes cost factories millions of dollars, and some companies have brought lawsuits in its wake. Despite agreeing to the negotiation commission, companies said they would not be deterred from legal action against some strike leaders.

Ath Thun, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union, said Tuesday his unions had submitted the names of its five commission members to the Ministry of Labor in preparation for the meeting. That list includes himself and four other leaders of unions.

Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, said the group will send its names forward on Wednesday, after which a meeting date can be scheduled.

The general strike, which last four days, comes as Cambodia is looking to rebound from the global financial crisis. Garments remain the country's main earner, ahead of tourism.

The strike also prompted some major clothing distributors, including the Walt Disney Company and Levi Strauss, to issue a call for reconciliation.

“We urge all parties to respect the process and engage in good faith dialogue to find a solution, show commitment to constructive action for a long term solution and refrain from any inflammatory action or counterproductive rhetoric, and find a solution that is inclusive of all parties’ concerns and provides a long term stability for the industry,” they wrote in a letter to the government, unions and GMAC.
Read more!

Corruption battle has begun: govt

THE newly established National Anticorruption Commission has established a five-year plan to fight corruption in Cambodia, and has said that it is in the process of investigating 10 complaints against government officials.

NAC spokesman Keo Remy said the Anticorruption Unit, the NAC’s investigative arm, had made significant progress during its roughly three months in operation.

“We have started our work and we don’t want to give detailed information that exposes the investigative procedure, but right now, senior officials at the ACU have started examining all of the complaints,” Keo Remy said.

The five-year plan, Keo Remy said, included such previously announced measures as anticorruption education, forced public-asset disclosures by government officials and the establishment of a website to publicise the work of the ACU.

Om Yentieng, head of the ACU, said in July that as many as 100,000 officials could be required to declare their assets.

On Monday anti-corruption officials met representatives from civil society organisations to discuss the process of filing complaints with the ACU.

The Kingdom ranked 158 out of 180 in anti-graft group Transparency International’s world corruption index last year. Read more!

Boy, 16, convicted of sleeping with a 14 year old

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court has sentenced a 16-year-old boy to four years in prison after finding him guilty of having sex with a 14-year-old girl twice at a guest house in Daun Penh district’s Psar Thmey commune in April.

Huot Ly Hour, 16, was arrested on April 27 from a local guest house after the girl’s parents lodged a complaint with police.

The complaint accused the boy of sleeping with their underage daughter the night before.

Presiding judge Din Sivuthy also ordered Huot Ly Hour to pay 16 million riels (US$3,809) in compensation to the victim.

Defence lawyer Ong Sileth said the decision was unjust, and that the court lacked the evidence to convict her client.

“There was no family document that specified the girl’s exact age,” she said. “She said at the police station that she was 16, but then told an investigating judge that she was 14.”

She said that her client would decide whether to lodge an appeal against the verdict.

During a September 10 hearing, the 16-year-old confessed to having sex with the girl, though he said that the pair were “sweethearts” who had been seeing each other for more than a month before his arrest.

“I had sex with her twice in separate guesthouses with mutual consent,” he said.

He told the court that the night before he was arrested, he drove the girl to the riverside to hang out and eat, before taking her to a guesthouse where he asked her to stay overnight.

“The girl was afraid to go home because she feared that her parents would be angry; that’s why she agreed to spend the night with me,” he said.
Read more!

Cambodia sets out plans to fight corruption

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodia on Monday laid out plans to tackle graft in one of the world's most corrupt nations, in an attempt to reassure foreign investors.

The National Council for Anti-Corruption, a new body, said it had adopted a five-year plan that would include mandatory asset declarations for more than 100,000 state officials.

Council spokesman Keo Remy said the asset declarations would start early next year.

Cambodia was ranked 158th worst out of 180 countries on anti-graft organisation Transparency International's most recent corruption perception index.

It was also ranked the second most corrupt Southeast Asian nation after Indonesia in an annual poll by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy earlier this year.

Keo Remy told AFP that the council aims to improve "the national economy and the standard of living for the people, as well as to gain confidence for foreign investment."

Rampant corruption has harmed the country's image in the eyes of foreign investors and donors.
In an effort to change a culture of corruption that has permeated levels of society, the council said it wants to organise anti-graft lessons in schools and universities across the country.

It also plans to launch ways for the public to report corruption and extortion attempts by government officials, such as a hotline and a website.

"Under our crackdown nobody will be forgiven for corruption," Keo Remy said.

In March, the government approved a long-awaited anti-corruption law that could see officials jailed for up to 15 years if convicted of accepting bribes.

The law allowed for the creation of the anti-corruption council and an anti-corruption unit to oversee investigations, but critics said it was unlikely either body would be effective because both would be controlled by the ruling party. Read more!