Water beds: a luxury ecolodge in the Cambodian rainforest

There's more to Cambodia than beaches and temples. A luxury waterborne ecolodge offers a wilderness break in style

Four Rivers Lodge on its idyllic bend in the Tatai.

It's pitch black as I set off tentatively in my kayak, the starless sky merging seamlessly into the inky river. The only sound is of my paddle in the water and a faint chirping of cicadas. Suddenly the darkness is broken – a tree decorated in a thousand fairy lights is frantically flickering on the riverbank.

"It's the firefly disco," says Chilly, my guide, pointing at the twinkling display.

I am, it's fair to say, in the middle of nowhere. This is the Tatai river, east of Koh Kong, in the southern reaches of Cambodia's Cardamom mountains. Half-way between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, this is a pristine area of rainforest and coastal mangroves that barely features on the tourist trail.

What's more I'm camping – though it's not exactly pop-up tent and baked beans. I'm staying at the Four Rivers Floating Lodge, which takes glamping to a whole new extreme.

The brilliant idea of Romanian owner Valentin Pawlik, the entire resort is waterborne. You get here by boat, arriving at one of a series of floating wooden platforms. A central pontoon houses bar, restaurant and library. There are 12 huge and super-luxurious South African safari tents (six more are planned), with private decks and sunloungers, double-sinked en suite bathrooms, and flatscreen TVs and DVD players that seem a tad incongruous in the heart of the jungle. But, hey, this is wilderness in style.

It's all very eco-friendly too – largely solar-powered, and staffed mostly by locals – so you needn't have a guilty conscience. Move it away and there'd be little sign that it had ever existed.

Leaving the fireflies to party I paddle slowly back home and feast on spicy shrimp and freshwater fish with coconut, cooked in banana leaves, before heading for a blissful night's rest, lulled to sleep by the gentle bobbing of the water.

Most visitors to Cambodia flock to the revitalised capital of Phnom Penh further east, and the temples around Siem Reap in the north. This coastal region, part of the Koh Kong Conservation Corridor, is home to some of the country's most impressive natural sights. The long civil war kept developers and loggers at bay, and the potential for ecotourism is huge (although the threat of hydroelectric power plants looms).

Four Rivers, with its gorgeous setting on a bend in the river, is magical at all times of day – misty in the morning, glowing at sunset and prettily lit up after dark – and as tranquil a place as you could wish for. I spend much of my time here kayaking through the mangrove maze (spotting those fireflies, and watching monkeys gather at the water's edge at dusk), swimming in the river from steps outside my tent (a pool is planned) and visiting waterfalls, where the pounding torrent gives a great back massage.

There are excursions into the jungle, led by a former poacher, to spot wildlife and to visit villages and fruit plantations (overnight camping is a new option too). As I'm here at the end of the rainy season, when leeches and mud make trekking treacherous, we take a boat downstream instead. Thick mangrove forests line the banks, and dolphins can sometimes be spied in the estuary opening on to the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Kong island appears on the horizon, an as yet undeveloped paradise with pristine beaches and untouched rainforest.

We stop at Koh Sra Lau, an island with one tiny fishing village, and wander around while women sit mending nets and offer us fried fish with tamarind sauce and papaya. There's no tourist fatigue here, just friendly welcomes. A little boy grabs my hand and leads me to the village school, where children proudly sweep the classroom before the teachers appear.

I'm keen to explore more, so the next day head to Chi Phat village, and a community-based project started by conservation charity Wildlife Alliance in the Southern Cardamoms Protected Forest. It aims to preserve the rainforest by helping villagers earn a living from ecotourism, instead of illegal logging or hunting endangered animals, and giving tourists a unique green adventure. It's a winding bus journey down to the port town of Andoung Tuek and a two-hour boat ride along Phipot river to the village. There are several guesthouses, but I choose a homestay on the outskirts of town with Chou and her young family, who sit underneath the stilted wooden house, a cow curled at their feet like a pet dog. A far cry from the luxuries of Four Rivers it may be, but it's clean, comfortable and a great way to see everyday village life.

Chi Phat is all about outdoor adventure: you can trek or cycle into jungle and mountains for days at a time, sleeping in hammocks or rustic campsites, go birdwatching, take boat trips or check out the nearby bat caves and an area dotted with mysterious ancient burial jars. I sign up for a 28km mountain bike tour to O'Malu waterfall. Crossing grassy plains and traditional farmland, we follow Lucky – a 23-year-old from the village who's been trained in everything from bike maintenance to wildlife spotting – up steep paths through the tangled jungle, with gibbons calling high overhead. It's a challenging ride in parts (yep, I end up on my bum in a puddle at one point) but jumping into the cool pool at the base of the waterfall is a great reward.

There's no one else around as we tuck into lunch, sitting on rocks in the sunshine, surrounded by rainforest, the waterfall roaring. Marvellous though the sights of Angkor Wat and the buzz of Phnom Penh are, I can't help thinking that it's Cambodia's more remote natural attractions that offer the best adventure – and one it would be a shame to miss.

• Tents for two at Four Rivers Eco Lodge (ecolodges.asia) cost from $118 a night including breakfast and boat transfers. Information on Chi Phat from ecoadventurecambodia.com. Homestay rooms cost $3 a night. Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com) flies to Phnom Penh (via Singapore) from £687pp return

THREE MORE CAMBODIAN HIDEAWAYS
HanumanAlaya, Siem Reap
In a quiet part of the city, this budget hotel has a great open-sided bar with bamboo blinds and ceiling fans, a swimming pool with fountains, and rooms in traditional style – silky fabrics, polished wood – but with air-con. Spa treatments are available. Doubles from $35.
• i-escape.com/hanumanalaya.php

The Vine Retreat, Kep province
This stylish eco-friendly retreat, on an organic farm that grows pepper and tropical fruit, has a spectacular location that offers the best of both worlds – the jungled mountains of Phnom Vor tower above it, but the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, and its beach-lined islands, is in sight. Airy wooden-floored terraces are dotted with low tables and floor cushions, there's a bar and restaurant, and a group room sleeping five is available along with the doubles. Guests can borrow bikes to explore the area's caves and natural pools, take a tuk-tuk into Kampot town, or head to one of several white-sand beaches. Doubles from $25.
• thevineretreat.com

Song Saa, Koh Rong archipelago
At the other end of the scale, this resort, opening in April, looks set to offer world-class barefoot luxury, with 25 bungalows on two islands, Koh Ouen and Koh Bong, connected by a footbridge over a marine reserve where dugongs, seahorses and tropical fish can be spotted. Bungalows for two from $700 a night.
• songsaa.com
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Genocide Education in Cambodia

A graduate student helps train Cambodian teachers on how to teach the genocide

By Justin Hubbard

Durham, NC -- At a recent teacher workshop in Cambodia, Nguol Sophal submitted her essay "The Human Heart," unveiling painful memories of an entire family, including all her children, lost under the Khmer Rouge regime. Her story of a Khmer Rouge cadre who helped her recover from a deathly illness led her to proclaim the perpetrators were not all monsters, but "humans with human hearts."

For Sarah Jones Dickens, a Duke doctoral student in the department of art, art history and visual studies historical narratives such as these are the foundation of her work with the Cambodian Genocide Education Project (CGEP).

Dickens works with the Cambodian Ministry of Education and Documentary Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) to implement genocide education into all Cambodian high schools and universities. She trains history teachers so they can teach genocide education in their schools.

Dickens received a Fulbright scholarship in 2007 for her work on visual art and trauma in Cambodia. Since then, she has continued work with DC-Cam and has made three trips back to Cambodia during winter and summer breaks.

Dickens, who is now in Durham, hopes to connect with Duke alumni, returned Peace Corps volunteers and other students at the upcoming Duke in Depth weekend, Feb. 24-26. She says she looks forward to learning from their firsthand experiences working on similar issues in the world.

"I think the panels specifically on the roles of art, education women and religion dovetail with my work in Cambodia," Dickens said.

CGEP aspires to promote national reconciliation and individual healing by implementing genocide education in all Cambodian high schools and universities by 2013.

"This is the first time Cambodia has implemented this history since the genocide occurred and teachers are teaching younger generations, who often minimize the stories of their parents," Dickens said.

Between 1975-79, an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians were killed under the Khmer Rouge regime. The trauma was such that afterwards the society experienced what has been termed "a wave of amnesia."

"You need that history in instances of mass trauma. If not, when you say there is no history, no identity, then you have a past that is completely vague. How can you heal or how can you rebuild your identity?" Dickens said.

At the Cambodian workshop this past December, DC-Cam director Youk Chhang, unveiled his "Land and Reconciliation-Building a Peaceful Society through Education" model. The model contains more Cambodian-specific notions for national reconciliation and healing and emphasizes a ground up approach through education and teachers.

Teachers are respected throughout Cambodian society regardless of religious or ethnic differences and are the primary actors in gathering historical narratives.

"They have proven to be highly effective and efficient in collecting these stories. At the training we asked all the teachers to collect two stories from their villages so they can write the people's history to then be disseminated across the country in monograph forms, " Dickens said.

Another important component of CGEP is government support. In addition to its efforts with the international community to conduct the Cambodia genocide tribunals, the Cambodian government has also set aside land for DC-Cam's Sleuk Rith Institute, a permanent center that will function as a museum, research institute and a university for master degree programs in human rights and law. Read more!

20,000 troops ready to head to the border

Siamese troops in total 23,641 are ready to be slaughtered by machine guns of Khmer Rouge Troops

Army wants B200m for 'Preah Vihear mission'

More than 20,000 soldiers will be deployed along the Thai-Cambodian border as part of a national defence plan and an incident action plan approved by the army commander, an army source says.

The source yesterday said army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha approved the plan last Friday and it will remain in effect until March 30.

Under the plan, a total of 23,641 troops will be deployed at the border.

The army has also submitted a request for more than 200 million baht to support an army mission codenamed "Preah Vihear battlefield" from the cabinet, the source said.

The source said the army has also sought cabinet approval for the procurement of additional ammunition because a lot of ammunition was used in clashes with Cambodian troops between Feb 4-6. The army is also seeking an additional budget to pay for allowances for army personnel at the border.

However, the source said not all of the more than 20,000 troops will be stationed in the disputed border area.

Some will be deployed at the front lines of defence while others will be placed along the border at Sa Kaeo, Surin, Ubon Ratchathani and at the Preah Vihear temple near Si Sa Ket, the source said.

They will be given different tasks to perform in command units, combat forces, logistics units, and other units under the national defence plan.

Second Army chief Thawatchai Samutsakhon said yesterday Thai soldiers will remain at the border until peace talks between the Thai and Cambodian governments achieve results.

"I hope the talks between the government, the Foreign Ministry and the Joint Boundary Commission will improve the situation. But now, the army must continue to maintain a military presence," Lt Gen Thawatchai said.

Lt Gen Thawatchai rejected accusations by Cambodian authorities that Thai troops used cluster bombs during the border fighting.

The armed forces have adhered to an international law which bans the use of such bombs, he said.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday held a teleconference with the 2nd Army chief and Si Sa Ket governor Somsak Suwansujarit to assess the border situation.

It was agreed at the meeting that the more than 21,000 villagers who fled their villages during the border clashes and who were staying at 37 temporary evacuation centres in Si Sa Ket can return home today. Lt Gen Thawatchai said Thai soldiers are ready to ensure their safety after they go back home.

Mr Somsak said although there is no guarantee that fresh fighting will not erupt at the border, the villagers have to return home because conditions at the evacuation centres are uncomfortable and the heat unbearable.

Many villagers also wanted to get back to their jobs to make money, Mr Somsak said.

The navy has also put its forces on full alert at the maritime border with Cambodia off Chanthaburi and Trat after reports that Cambodian naval vessels have entered the area. Read more!

Cambodian Government Approves Controversial Titanium Mine

The Cambodian government has approved a titanium mine which will lead to the deforestation of over 50,000 acres of rain forest.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia/WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 11, 2011 – Prime Minister Hun Sen has approved a land concession to United Khmer Group, a private mining company. The prime minister’s approval came ahead of a meeting on Friday, February 11 at the Council for the Development of Cambodia that was meant to discuss the proposed mining project. United Khmer Group had exploration rights to search for titanium in 20,400 hectares of densely forested land in the Southern Cardamom Mountains.

The decision to approve the mine threatens to devastate one of the last remaining elephant corridors on the continent, put more than 70 endangered and vulnerable species at risk, and degrade one of the world’s largest remaining carbon sink reserves. Months after local villagers initially discovered construction workers bulldozing access roads in June 2010, the Cambodian government’s decision will allow the mining company to exploit the land.

Suwanna Gauntlett, Wildlife Alliance CEO, led the fight against the mine, representing the views of local communities and other environmental groups. Local villagers recognized the mine as a threat to the growing ecotourism industry, agricultural initiatives, forests, and a habitat for one of Cambodia’s largest wild elephant populations.

This is Cambodia’s natural heritage, its national heritage, and it could all be eliminated by 20,400 hectares of strip mining,” Gauntlett says.

“This is Cambodia’s natural heritage, its national heritage, and it could all be eliminated by 20,400 hectares of strip mining,” Gauntlett says.

The United Khmer Group projects revenues of more than $1.3 billion a year, numbers that far outpace the market rate for titanium. To date, a comprehensive study to determine the size and concentration levels of the titanium ore deposit has not been conducted.

“Without scientific research to prove the economic viability of the proposed mine,” Gauntlett says, “bulldozing the rainforest is simply destructive and does not even make good business sense.”

Wildlife Alliance calls on United Khmer Group to work closely with communities, the Forestry Administration and environmental groups to minimize the mine's impact on local residents, waterways, and wildlife. Further, we request UKG submit a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment and strictly abide by the regulations laid out in Cambodia’s laws on forestry and mining.

“We recognize that development is essential to Cambodia’s future, but that development must be conducted in a coordinated matter that respects conservation initiatives,” says Suwanna Gauntlett. “We ask that all industrial developers work closely with conservation partners in the Southern Cardamom Mountains to minimize environmental damages associated with economic development. Together we can find solutions to maximize the earning potential of local people while diminishing the harm to wildlife and habitats, local rivers, and downstream fisheries.”

Wildlife Alliance is a non-profit organization based in Cambodia and Washington, D.C., working directly with communities and governments to improve forest management and institute good governance to comprehensively address the devastation of ecosystems and combat the illegal wildlife trade. We actively empower local communities by promoting diversified agriculture, community-based ecotourism, and reforestation. Visit Wildlife Alliance on the Web at: http://www.wildlifealliance.org/.

Contacts:
In Phnom Penh — John Maloy, Chief Communications Officer
+855 78 809 70
jmaloyonline.com.kh

In Washington, D.C. — Andrea Kaufmann, Director of Communications and Marketing
+1 202 368 1746
kaufmannwildlifealliance.org Read more!

Cambodia's orphan tourism

With more than 600,000 orphans in Cambodia, we look at the booming business behind the country's orphanages.


Cambodia's beautiful temples and dark history attracts tourists from across the world.

But many of today's holidaymakers want to do more than sightseeing, with a growing number volunteering their time, energy and skills for free.

From schools to orphanages, they hope their efforts will have a positive impact on the country. But critics claim that such good intentions are having a negative impact, with some orphanages creating a booming business trading on guilt.

There are reports of orphanages using children with parents to pose as orphans, of wealthy tourists depriving local workers from getting much-needed jobs, and of orphans forming emotional attachments to volunteers and facing more trauma when they leave.

On this edition of 101 East, we ask if volunteer tourism does more harm than good for the people of Cambodia.

This 101 East episode can be seen from Thursday, February 10, 2011 at the following times GMT: Thursday: 2230; Friday: 0930; Saturday: 0330; Sunday: 1630. Read more!

Thailand, Cambodia Border Fight Moves to UN

Thailand and Cambodia plan to present their positions next week to the United Nations Security Council over recent fighting on their border.

A ceasefire held Friday along the Cambodian-Thai border, though the armies of both governments remain on alert.

Latest fight

A week ago, fighting erupted near a 900-year-old Hindu Khmer temple on the border. Several died before fighting halted Tuesday, and thousands on both sides were forced to flee their homes.

On Monday, Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Thailand’s Kasit Piromya appear before the United Nations Security Council to set out their respective positions. Each country blames the other for starting the battle.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled the temple was in Cambodia, but a main access route is on the Thai side. The two sides have disputed the exact border in places around the temple, known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Phra Viharn in Thailand.

Possible rights violations

Sunai Pasuk, a representative for Human Rights Watch in Thailand, says the U.N. will provide a forum for debate over the clashes, and could help determine human rights violations.

"But the basis for conflict resolution is still within bilateral process," noted Sunai. "A presentation at the U.N. Security Council will be an opportunity to both Thailand and Cambodia to [outline] further allegations of human rights violations to international laws as the use of cluster ammunitions can only be resolved with independent observation of the affected area."

Both countries have accused the other of using banned cluster bombs in the fighting.

ASEAN presence at meeting

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natelegawa, whose country is currently chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, also will attend the U.N. meeting. ASEAN officials have offered to mediate negotiations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

In Thailand, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says the temple should be de-listed as a United Nations Scientific and Educations Organization World Heritage site.

Mr. Abhisit says doing so and scrapping a proposed Cambodian management plan would defuse the border conflict. However, Cambodia is expected to oppose the idea.

Interior pressure

The border dispute first flared up in 2008, after Cambodia received World Heritage status for Preah Vihear. Thai nationalists, many of whom say the temple belongs to Thailand, protested, and both governments reinforced troops along the border.

The Thai government is facing pressure from the nationalists, who demand that Bangkok revoke a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia on resolving border disputes. Nationalist groups want their government to push for Cambodians off disputed lands. The government has rejected these calls.



Read more!

Cambodia To Seek French Maps of Border

In this photo taken Nov. 7, 2008, a Cambodian deminer, holds a map of a disputed border at an entrance of Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple in a world heritage site near the Cambodian-Thai border.


Cambodia’s ambassador will seek to accept a French offer to make maps available from the French-colonial period that could clarify border disputes at the heart of military clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.

On Wednesday, France offered its maps to help resolve border disputes that have simmered over on multiple occasions since July 2008, when the border temple of Preah Vihear was inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage site, leading up to intense fighting over the weekend that left at least 10 dead.

Thailand disputes Cambodian claims to border areas surrounding the temple. But Cambodia has maintained the borders were clearly staked out under a French treaty with the government of what was then Siam at the turn of the 20th Century.

Thailand claims that it does not recognize some of the maps and instead uses its own surveys of the border area. That leaves a critical 4.6-kilometer stretch west of the 11th-Century Preah Vihear temple as an area of contention where three days of fighting erupted on Feb. 5.

On Thursday Cambodia ordered its ambassador in Paris to reach out to the French Foreign Ministry to discuss the maps, said Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters in Paris on Wednesday France would provide the maps “to any country that asks us to consult them or to make a copy of these documents,” Agence France-Presse reported.

Thai authorities dismissed the offer on Thursday, the Bangkok Post reported.

Koy Kuong said the French maps are “internationally recognized” and accused Thailand of an “ambition to capture Cambodian territory.”

Read more!

Historic temple caught in Thai-Cambodia crossfire

An overview of Cambodia's 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple, UNESCO's World Heritage, is seen in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometres north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

The Associated Press

Date: Thursday Feb. 10, 2011 10:01 AM ET

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia — High on a cliff overlooking the jungles of northern Cambodia, heavily armed troops crouch in fortified bunkers on the grounds of an ancient temple turned modern-day battlefield.

The stone remains of Preah Vihear, built nearly 1,000 years ago, are supposed to be a protected UN World Heritage site. Instead they are at the heart of a dangerous tug-of-war between Cambodia and Thailand — one that has taken at least eight lives and forced 15,000 to flee in four days of clashes recently.

The battle over a hilly patch of land in this remote countryside is rooted in a decades-old border dispute that has fueled nationalist passions and been driven by domestic politics and conspiracy theories on both sides.

A fragile truce has held since Monday night, but the dispute remains unsettled, and troops are digging in for another round of combat.

The Cambodians filled fresh sandbags earlier this week, stacking them meticulously in 10 bunkers along one of the temple's low outer walls. It looks out over a ravine toward Thailand's sandbagged foxholes on the other side.

"We're just praying in our hearts for this to be over," said Hun Demong, a Buddhist monk who fled into a Cambodian army bunker after the fighting broke out on Feb. 4. "We only hope it will not start again."

With ornamental panels dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, Preah Vihear was a stunning achievement of the Angkorean empire, whose realm once took in parts of modern-day Thailand and Vietnam.

When the latest firing stopped, the great stone temple itself stood as a silent victim, small chunks of its darkened gray walls blown off by shrapnel from shells fired from Thailand.

The tail of an exploded rocket lay at the feet of a squatting Cambodian soldier atop the 160-step stairway at the temple's entrance. Along a stone causeway leading farther into the complex, an empty gun battery looked out over a charred hillside, its shredded trees and gnarled saplings bearing testament to the ferocity of the fighting.

A pool of dried blood spattered the floor under a sandstone archway, the spot one mortally wounded soldier was carried to by comrades after being hit by an artillery blast.

There is no simple answer to what sparked the latest fighting.

The temple has been the subject of an intense boundary dispute since French colonial forces withdrew from Cambodia in the 1950s.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled the cliff-top structure was inside Cambodia. However, sovereignty of the land surrounding it -- an area less than five square kilometres -- has never been resolved.

Tensions rose in 2008 after UNESCO accepted Cambodia's bid to list the temple as a World Heritage Site — a move that stirred nationalist outrage and protests in Thailand.

Since then, armies from the two nations have clashed five times; the latest battle, the most intense and sustained so far, was the first time artillery and mortars were used.

"I don't know what started it, but both sides are edgy, self-righteous and heavily armed," said David Chandler, a Cambodia expert at Monash University in Australia.

Domestic politics also appear to play a role.

In Bangkok, the Thai capital, the so-called Yellow Shirt protesters have launched a sit-in outside government buildings, in part to demand the country take a tough stand on Preah Vihear. The group is widely seen as playing the patriotism card in a bid to exercise more influence over politics at home.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, in power since 1985, also is able to harness the dispute to build political support. Even the leading opposition party issued a statement condemning Thai "aggression" and supporting Hun Sen's plea for U.N. intervention.

Amid the fighting last weekend, Cambodia wrote to UNESCO condemning the damage caused by Thai artillery and rockets, which hit some walls and snapped steel belts helping to hold up fragile archways but don't appear to have caused major structural damage.

Thailand's foreign minister shot back with his own letter to the UN body, warning that Cambodia's use of the area as "a military base ... would expose the temple to grave danger and destruction."

Gen. Chea Tara, who commands the Cambodian troops at the temple, defended their presence.

"If we were not here to defend it, Thailand would overrun it," he told The Associated Press. "Our objective is only to protect our land. We do not want war."

UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova said she would send a mission to assess the situation. Thailand opposes the visit, saying it will make the situation worse.

Even if there is no more combat, the presence of the Cambodian army, which has patrolled the temple complex for at least two years, risks degrading the site further.

Beside a "Do Not Touch" sign, one Cambodian soldier lay on a hammock tied to heavy wooden beams meant to keep the temple's stone pillars from falling.

Some troops squatted in stone windows, flicking ashes below. Dozens sat on temple ledges, cooking rice and laying meat on stone slabs to dry. A few bathed with jugs of water at the foot of what was once a luxurious pool, now stacked with green crates of ammunition. Gas-powered generators powering cell phones and radios hummed.

Cambodia had hoped Preah Vihear would attract more tourists to the impoverished nation. It was built about 100 years before the country's famous temples of Angkor Wat, just a few hours up the road and crowded with hordes of camera-snapping tourists.

Preah Vihear gets only a handful of visitors -- and none now.

Read more!

UN Council to hold closed meeting on Thai-Cambodia clashes

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will hold a closed meeting on Monday on border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia with the foreign ministers from the two nations, diplomats said.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, Cambodia's Hor Namhong and Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who has been trying to mediate in the dispute, are expected to speak to the council, diplomats said.

A spokesman for the Brazilian mission, which holds the Security Council presidency for February, said Monday's meeting would be behind closed doors.

Thailand and Cambodia have blamed each other for the clashes around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, which have left at least eight dead in the past week.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen sought an urgent Security Council meeting and called for a UN buffer force to be put in place. Thailand has said the dispute should sorted out between the two countries.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday again offered new UN help to negotiate a peace deal.

- AFP/de
Read more!

Task force denies Thai troops used cluster bombs

The Suranaree Task Force has strenuously denied an accusation that Thai troops used cluster bombs during the border clashes with Cambodia.

Chinnakaj Rattanajitti, the task force's field spokesman, said yesterday the allegation that cluster bombs were used was misinformation.

The Cambodian government's demining agency, Cambodia Mine Action Centre, claimed earlier this week that its staff had discovered the controversial bomblets in Cambodian territory near the Preah Vihear temple following the clashes with Thailand that began last week, leaving at least eight people dead.

The Thai officer said the military strictly followed the rules of engagement and other related United Nations charters.

"No such weapon is used. It is not part of military operations," Col Chinnakaj said.

Cluster bombs, launched from the ground or dropped from the air, split open before impact to scatter multiple bomblets over a wide area. Such bomblets often lie dormant for years before exploding, maiming or killing civilians who happen upon them.

Col Chinnakaj yesterday warned residents of violence-torn villages to be careful about chemicals from rocket fragments when they cleaned up.

He said some villagers and troops suffered blisters after they came into contact with chemicals from the fragments of rockets fired from BM21 launchers by Cambodian troops.

He said the Thailand Mine Action Centre had been asked to collect shrapnel from the rockets and artillery shells for examination.

Meanwhile, the air force yesterday admitted that fighter jets taking part in the Cobra Gold exercise flew too close to the border during a drill.

Two F16 fighters were spotted yesterday afternoon near the border in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district where border tensions remain high.

Fighter jets should not fly within 10km of the border under the rules of engagement.

Air force chief-of-staff Prajin Jantong said there was a misunderstanding about the flight plans by the participating countries.

He said the fighter jets did not cross the border or enter the 4.6 square kilometre area and were alerted as soon as they neared the border.

About 50 fighter jets from the US, Thailand and Singapore are taking part in the annual exercise which is based at Wing 1 in Nakhon Ratchasima. Read more!

Thai-Cambodia Fighting Slows Border Trade, Traffic

Cambodians displaced by the Thai-Cambodia border clashes take shelter at a temporary camp at Wat Srenoy, in Siem Reap province' Varin district, around 70 kilometers from Siem Reap on February 09, 2011.


The Thai-Cambodia border is at an uneasy calm after recent deadly clashes near disputed territory left several people dead and scores injured. Thousands on both sides have fled the area. The fighting led to a dramatic drop in the number of tourists and traders crossing the border.

At the Chong Jom market on the Thai-Cambodia border, Cambodian shopkeeper Kaew Yungurn squeezes auto polish onto a rag. He demonstrates his product for a couple journalists and onlookers on a sample piece of a car hood.

As he works, Kaew says sometimes you have to apply two coats of the white liquid, which cost $6 a bottle. But now he shows how it can repair minor scratches.

Unfortunately, the normally busy market that brings together Thai and Cambodian traders is almost empty and Kaew has no customers.

When fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops broke out last Friday, hundreds of shops were abandoned as people fled for safety.

On Wednesday, most shops remained closed.

He says he wants both sides to hold talks so he can get back to business as soon as possible.

At the Chong Sangum immigration checkpoint, the number of people crossing the border has dropped from 50 to fewer than 10 a day.

Immigration Bureau Deputy Commissioner Pansak Kasemsant says there have been no tourists since Friday.

He says the number of tourists decreased because of the unclear situation. But actually, he says, there is no fighting here. The place where the problem occurs is 90 kilometers from this checkpoint.

The clashes erupted near disputed territory surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu Khmer temple known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Phra Viharn in Thailand.

Thailand and Cambodia have soldiers stationed near the temple, leading to occasional exchanges of fire.

The weekend fighting was the worst in years with both sides shooting artillery and machine guns.

Several people were killed, scores injured, and thousands of villagers fled the border.

In 1962, the International Court ruled the temple lies in Cambodia, but a key access point is in Thailand. A dispute over the border near the access point lay dormant for decades, until in 2008, when the United Nations granted the temple World Heritage status, at Cambodia’s request.

The designation angered some Thai nationalists, and there have been periodic military clashes around the area since then. Disputes over other parts of the border also have flared up.

In Bangkok, a group of nationalists is holding a protest around the main government offices. They demand that Thailand abandon a memorandum of understanding it signed with Cambodia in 2000 on settling border disputes.

Despite the tensions, at least one group of Thai visitors on Wednesday crossed into Cambodia.

Thaveesilp Suvwattana is a history professor at Thailand's Mahasarakham University.

He is taking his master's degree students to learn about Thailand and Cambodia's shared culture and history.

"If you want to know about Thai history, [as] part of that you should know about Cambodia, the Khmer, I can say Khmer history, too, because they used to control our land in Thailand, you know, before. And a lot of things, ruins, things, and other things, you know, just come from Khmer culture," he said.

Thaveesilp says the border dispute is about politics and nationalism with people on both sides interpreting history for their own hidden political agendas.

He says Thailand and Cambodia should accept the past, move on from historical disputes, and hold talks to build a peaceful future as neighbors. Read more!

Business to aid local youth water effort in Cambodia

By Allison Wall

A group of local youth is embarking on a mission trip, and a local business is stepping up in a big way.

Twelve youth and four adults from the First Baptist Church will be heading to Cambodia from March 1 to 15.

"(We) have partnered up with Samaritan's Purse and we are going to work alongside some local people in manufacturing and installing bio-fan filters," said Darren Bute, youth pastor at First Baptist Church. "We'll also do some eye clinics while we are there and bringing some prescription glasses over to people."

While the youth have raised money for the past several months, they are still shy of their goal, but Bute said Quizno's is stepping up on Saturday to help out with the fundraising.

"Quizno's is actually giving us their store for a day this coming Saturday," said Bute. "We're super excited by that. We thought that was an amazing deal. It's great seeing people pitch in and help out. Our goal, or Quizno's, is hopefully $10,000. We are probably about $20,000 shy right now so we are trying to raise that money. (We're) going around and trying to do everything we can to drum up some donations."

Quizno's located at Suite 102-7701 44 Street will donate food and operational costs on Saturday, Feb. 12.

"Basically it's because there are three teenagers that have been working here almost since I opened and … they are all going on the trip to Cambodia so they were asking if we would donate bottles," said manager Thane Burgoyne. "I thought I could do something a little more and so I just organized it through Darren Bute, the youth pastor from the church there. They are all coming in. They are volunteering their time and Quizno's is foregoing their royalties for that day, and then I'm donating the food and they are turning it into money for their trip."

The youth will also have a donation booth set up at Quizno's on Saturday. Read more!

Big 3 top leaders to go to Cambodia for 'peace talks'

HONGKONG, Feb 10: Top leaders of the three major political parties in Nepal are scheduled to reach Cambodia to discuss the peace process that has been marred lately by political misunderstandings.

Newly-elected Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal along with Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala are going to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, to take part in ´peace talks´ related to Nepal being organized jointly by the Cambodian government and the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAP) at February-end.

It is learnt that representatives of Japan, China and India will be present as observers at the talks between the three senior leaders.

Prime Minister Khanal has already said that his first visit abroad after assuming the post of prime minister would be to Cambodia. Khanal had received an invitation in his capacity as chairman of the CPN-UML prior to his becoming prime minister.

Sources said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is sending a separate invitation to Prime Minister Khanal to make his visit an official one.

Outgoing prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had also visited Cambodia some two months ago to take part in the sixth general assembly of ICAP.

ICAP, in its official website, has termed the talks on Nepal ´informal´ and claimed that the date of the meeting was scheduled to suit the convenience of all three top leaders. Details of the program, however, have not been disclosed.

This will probably be the second such talks in a foreign land after political party leaders inked a 12-point deal in New Delhi, India, back in 2005. Though the New Delhi talks included only representatives from India, the talks in Cambodia will have representatives from India, China and Japan as observers.

A three-member ICAP delegation that arrived in Kathmandu on January 19 had fixed the date and venue of the talks after holding consultations with the political party leaders concerned. Senior UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal is the representative from Nepal in the South Korea-based organization.

A Standing Committee meeting of ICAP held two months ago had decided to organize peace talks in order to resolve the deadlock in the ongoing peace process in Nepal. Accordingly, ICAP sent a delegation to Nepal to fix the date and venue for the talks.

ICAP is also planning to organize similar talks in some other countries for the leaders of India and Pakistan to resolve the long running stand-off between the two neighbors. . Read more!

Ethiopia Seeks to Keep Trade Restrictions While Joining WTO

Ethiopia is asking to join the World Trade Organization without meeting WTO standards for liberalizing key sectors of its economy. The move is an attempt to kick-start Ethiopia’s WTO accession process, which has been stalled for seven years.

Senior World Trade Organization officials joined a delegation from Ethiopia’s Trade Ministry this week for a U.S.-government sponsored workshop. The objective was finding a middle ground between Ethiopia’s refusal to open sectors such as banking and telecommunications to foreign competition, and the WTO open trade regime.

Reuters news agency quoted State Minister for Trade Yacob Yalla as saying that surrendering sensitive areas such as banking and telecoms would harm national interests. He expressed confidence Ethiopia’s accession would be finalized, but said "we expect them to respect our sensitivities”"

But the head of the WTO working party on Ethiopia, Steffen Smidt, says the country’s future trading partners would likely insist on an end to restrictive trade practices.

"When you enter into a trading arrangement, you automatically get access to other countries’ trade, based on the principle we called MFN. Most Favored Nation," he said. "Similarly, other countries get access to yours. So in that sense there is automatically in some areas some opening up, or liberalization."

But the WTO representative said Ethiopia’s position as one of Africa’s poorest and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) might warrant consideration from trading partners.

"Those are the future partners in the WTO who would insist on having some sort of access in this area," he said. "So that they will respect that Ethiopia is a Least Developed Country, and Least Developed Countries have special principles people should adhere to, sort of guidelines that speak about restraints from other partners, so yes, there will be a deep negotiation on this."

The two-day workshop featured presentations by representatives of Cambodia and Yemen who led their countries’ WTO accession process. Cambodia’s Sok Siphana said his country has been transformed since emerging from economic isolation on joining the WTO in 2004.

"We knew what isolation means, we knew what poverty is, we went through a very difficult period, so for us, we want to be part of the world trading community, and we felt that the WTO gave us that overarching development objective, and from there on, we never looked back," he said.

Siphana told Ethiopians at the conference that opening Cambodia’s banking sector triggered a surge in rural development.

"Our banking sector is thriving, now they are in position to move to rural areas, to start lending to rice millers, rice exporters, not something you would see from a banking sector that is cash poor," he said. "[They are] cash rich, they see the country developing. "

He says Cambodia has dreams of becoming one of Asia’s information technology centers.

"We even have as recently as two-three months ago formation of all IT companies in Cambodia, and their vision is in five years, they want to position Cambodia as one of the Asian Silicon Valleys," he said. "Now that’s bold."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a former Marxist rebel leader who seized power 20 years ago, said in 2009 he hoped to complete WTO membership within three years. WTO representative Smidt expressed hope the accession could be done promptly, but cautioned that the process is still in a preliminary stage after a seven-year hiatus.

. Read more!

Villagers rally to call on PAD to stay away

Chamlong insists visit will go ahead

SI SA KET : Plans by the People's Alliance for Democracy to visit a village bordering Cambodia tomorrow are running into stiff opposition from local people.

Villagers from Ban Phum Srol staged a rally yesterday to denounce the visit.

"You have created the war. You troubled us. We don't welcome you," said Wichit Duangkaew, 46, yesterday of the PAD, attributing the latest skirmish between Thai and Cambodian soldiers to the yellow shirts' rally being held in Bangkok.

The PAD began its street demonstration on Jan 25 to pile pressure on the Abhisit Vejjajiva government to submit to several demands including the ejection of Cambodians from overlapping border areas that the group claims belong to Thailand and the revocation of the memorandum of understanding signed in 2000 with Cambodia on border demarcation negotiations.

A clash between Thai and Cambodian soldiers erupted on Friday last week near Phum Srol village in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district. One villager was killed and many buildings in the village were damaged.

The clash forced villagers to flee for their safety, leaving the village almost deserted.

"When Cambodian solders fired missiles and artillery pieces at us, were you [the PAD] with us?" Mr Wichit asked.

The PAD has announced it planned to visit Thai soldiers and villagers in Kantharalak district to boost their morale and hand out aid supplies.

Key PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang insisted yesterday his group would not cancel its visit tomorrow. Members of a PAD-appointed committee on territorial defence would take relief supplies to Kantharalak district office about 5pm.

Chokchai Saikaew, head of Sao Thongchai tambon administration organisation, believed the villagers would not oppose the visit if it was aimed at helping victims. But they would lose patience if the PAD set up a stage and talked about the border conflict.

The PAD-affiliated Thai Patriots Network decided early last month to call off a rally near the border with Cambodia in Sa Kaeo province after it ran into fierce opposition from villagers in Khok Sung district.

The group planned to mobilise people, including PAD supporters in the province, to join the rally aimed at putting pressure on Phnom Penh to release seven Thais arrested in December on charges of illegally entering Cambodia.

Villagers in Khok Sung, the district close to the area where the Thais were arrested, staged a counter-rally to oppose the group's move.

Like the Ban Phum Srol villagers, residents of Khok Sung did not want the network to worsen the border conflict.

The dispute involving the detained Thais caused them a great deal of trouble. The border was closed and Cambodian labourers were unable to report to work in Sa Kaeo.

Five of the seven detainees have been convicted of illegal entry and released. The government is finding ways to help Thai Patriots Network coordinator and PAD key figure Veera Somkhwamkid and his secretary, Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who remain in a Cambodian jail after they were convicted of espionage.

Read more!

UNSC to hear border claims

Cambodian PM accuses Abhisit of war crimes

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to address the UN Security Council on Monday as part of efforts to resolve the border conflict.

M60A1 tanks are transported to Si Sa Ket’s Kantharalak district to reinforce troops along the Cambodian border following clashes over four days starting last Friday near Preah Vihear temple. JETJARAS NA RANONG

The meeting is expected to present an opportunity for Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to come face to face with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong to discuss a solution.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said the UNSC had invited the Asean chairman, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Mr Kasit and Hor Namhong to clarify events surrounding the recent military clashes and the issues dogging efforts to find a solution to the border problem.

Mr Kasit would take the opportunity to discuss solutions with Hor Namhong on the sidelines of the meeting, Mr Thani said.

The spokesman reiterated the UNSC was not acting as a mediator but both sides had agreed that if they present the facts directly to the world body, it would be useful for the council.

Despite apparent headway in diplomatic efforts, tensions remained evident on both sides of the border near Preah Vihear temple yesterday.

More heavy armament was seen being deployed along the border by both countries which has raised concern over possible renewed fighting.

More than 30 M60A1 tanks from the Lop Buri-based 5th Cavalry Battalion rolled into Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district yesterday morning, much to the excitement of local residents.

A large number of troop reinforcements were mobilised in the province under what the army called a "territorial defence plan".

An army source said the mobilisation of extra forces was intended to send a signal to Cambodia and back the Foreign Ministry's and the government's planned talks with Phnom Penh.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen indicated yesterday he had no intention of backing down soon, accusing Thailand of committing war crimes in the four days of cross border shelling that resulted in at least eight deaths and scores of injuries on both sides.

He and Cambodia's deputy army chief, Gen Hing Bunheang, also accused Thailand of using cluster bombs during the clashes, according to the Phnom Penh Post. Thai army sources furiously denied the claims, saying only conventional weapons were being used.

"Thailand is making this war, not Cambodia, and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva must take responsibility for these war crimes," Hun Sen said, adding the conflict was not just an armed clash but a "real war".

"The shelling at the temple and pagoda are one among the war crimes," he said. "We have to take prolonged action, not just one or two days to finish it ... We have to make a long-term strategy to struggle with Thailand ... To struggle with Thailand takes not one day, one year, [but] many years," the Cambodian leader was quoted by Phnom Penh Post as saying.

Prime Minister Abhisit said yesterday he affirmed with United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon that Thailand exercised the right to defend itself when the border clashes erupted.

He said Thai retaliation was proportionate with Cambodia's use of force and it did not target civilians in the military offensive.

He told the UN chief in a telephone call that over 10,000 villagers were evacuated for safety reasons.

He said he was ready to send photos to the United Nations to prove that Preah Vihear temple was being used to mount attacks on Thailand.

The UN chief inquired about the damage to Preah Vihear and agreed to discuss the issue with Unesco, Mr Abhisit said.

"I reminded him of what I told him last year. The listing and the management plan would intensify the tension. The UN chief agreed to discuss the matter with Unesco," he said.

Mr Abhisit said the dispute could still be resolved through bilateral talks as widely anticipated.

"The defence ministers of both countries have agreed to hold talks. So the efforts to resolve the issue at the bilateral level, as the UN wants to see, are still on," he said.

Mr Abhisit expressed confidence that the UN was likely to support attempts to resolve the border conflict at the bilateral level.

Read more!

High farce at the Thai-Cambodian border

A Cambodian Buddhist monk walks toward the Cambodia's 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple on Tuesday.

By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent

BANGKOK, Thailand – It’s not so much High Noon as High Farce at the Thai-Cambodia border.

The current border spat would be almost laughable if it were not for the suffering it’s inflicting on villagers on both sides of the disputed frontier, thousands of whom have been forced from their homes.

The conflict ostensibly is about the ownership of an 11th century temple called Preah Vihear, described by UNESCO as an “outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture.”

But in reality it has more to do with the sorry state of Thai politics than an ancient Hindu relic.

Arguing over a 1962 decision

The area in dispute was quieter Tuesday after four days of skirmishes between the Thai and Cambodian armies that are reported to have killed several people and damaged the very temple they claim to hold so dear.

Both sides have blamed each other for starting the conflict.

A Cambodian soldier polishes his boots at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday.

The two countries have argued over their border for years, though the World Court was supposed to have put the temple dispute to rest in 1962 when it was awarded to Cambodia.

Thailand grudgingly accepted the ruling, but the two countries have continued to squabble over land surrounding the temple.

The spat would probably have remained low key had the issue not been embraced by Thailand's "yellow shirt" nationalist movement, whose more hard line members are demanding Thailand take the temple – and much else – by force.

‘Yellow shirts’ take center stage, again
The yellow shirts are formally known as the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), they are middle-class denizens looking to protect their own interests – a vocal minority in a country where most people are poor farmers.

They shot to prominence when they led street protests in 2008 that were instrumental to bringing down the then-Thai government (remember the occupation of Bangkok’s airports?).

The current Thai administration of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva owes its existence to them, and there are strong links between the yellow shirts and members of his party (the foreign minister is a former yellow shirt supporter).

In 2008, the yellow shirts were backed by Thailand's royalist elite and the Bangkok middle class. More recently, its influence has waned and the movement has split. The border agitation is being led by a nastier rump, which is organizing fresh anti-government protests – in effect, turning on the government it helped create.

A Cambodian Buddhist monk, center, stands with other refugees who fled from disputed border, as they sit on roadside about 12 miles east of the famed Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia on Tuesday.

Even before the current flare-up, the yellow shirts sent their own supporters on provocative incursions across the border.

The prime minister, though now an object of their scorn, appears unwilling to stand up to them, though their border crusade seems to enjoy little popular support. Instead, he has been upping his own nationalist rhetoric.

This may be partly realpolitik. The red shirt opposition movement supposedly vanquished in an army crackdown last year is back on the streets with large protests, the size of which have shaken Abhisit and his army backers.

Elections are due later this year, and Abhisit may think wrapping himself in the flag is a useful electoral tactic.

Army may flex its muscles

The army itself is the real power in Thailand, its clout enhanced by last year’s red shirt crackdown. Some 89 people died during the upheaval.

The royalist yellow shirts have had strong links to the army, which now has a new commander who isn't shy in his contempt for elected politicians.

It’s significant that the Thai army began an artillery barrage last Friday just as Thailand's foreign minister was sitting down for talks in Cambodia.

There have been dark murmurings about the possibility of yet another military coup, a "coup to end coups," as one newspaper described it. That's dangerous mumbo-jumbo to most people, but the fact that some are taking it seriously is a sad reflection on Thailand's politics.

It’s against this background that the border drama is being played out.

The yellow shirts are threatening to take their protests to the border Friday, though local Thai village leaders have made it known they are not welcome.

Cambodia waits it out
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen appears to be enjoying himself. He is a veteran political street-fighter, always happy to pick a fight with his bigger neighbor.

He is now calling for outside intervention, apparently aware that the weight of international law appears to be with Cambodia.

Thailand has often been applauded for its deft and low key diplomacy. Not this time, and the kingdom risks being labeled as a petulant regional bully, its prime minister in thrall to yellow-shirted extremists and an unaccountable army.

Read more!

Thailand-Cambodia Border Uneasy Calm After Clashes

Daniel Schearf Si Sa Ket, Thailand February 08, 2011

Thai offcials say they have resumed discussions with Cambodia to try to establish a ceasefire in a disputed border area. Military clashes over the weekend left at least seven people dead and sent thousands of villagers fleeing the area.

Thai and Cambodian authorities say there has been no new fighting in their disputed border area for more than a day after four days of heavy shooting.

Thai officials in Si Sa Ket province say the two sides also resumed talks and have agreed to stop the fighting.

Colonel Chinnakaj Rattanajitti is a Thai military spokesman for the area.

He says they had talks and agreed to stop the shooting. To avoid [further] violence, both parties will think twice before taking any actions. Before doing anything, he says, they will consult and coordinate with supervisors at all levels.

Cambodian authorities were not immediately available to confirm any agreement.

Colonel Chinnakaj added despite what he called an oral agreement to stop fighting, there is no formal ceasefire.

Cambodian and Thai soldiers exchanged artillery fire during the weekend in territory surrounding the 900-year-old Hindu temple known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Prah Vihar in Thailand.

At least seven people on both sides were killed and scores injured in the worst fighting there in years. Both sides blamed the other for starting the fighting.

The border line was never settled and both Thailand and Cambodia claim the area around the temple and have soldiers stationed near it, leading to occasional shoot-outs.

Cambodian authorities say the temple, a United Nations World Heritage site, was hit by Thai shells and damaged. The exchange of artillery fire also damaged homes and schools near the border and sent thousands of villagers fleeing for safety.

At the Kantharalak district office a camp is set up for villagers who fled the fighting.

Fifty-eight-year-old Juntee Patthapin says she and her children have been here since Friday when shrapnel rained down on her village, damaging houses and setting a rubber plantation on fire.

She says her husband goes back to the village daily to feed their fish and chickens and guard their home, but she and the children will go back only when Thai authorities say it is safe.

She says it is risky to go back because they do not know when the Cambodian military is going to start shooting.

Like many of the Thai villagers she supports Thailand's claim to the disputed territory, but also wants the fighting to stop.

For now, villagers welcome the uneasy calm and express hope that it will last so they can return to normal life. Read more!

Better today, gone tomorrow: is charity doning more harm than good in Cambodia?

Our hearts are in the right place, but is our charity doing more harm than good? What we learn from our work with HIV and poverty in Cambodia.

A Fire in the Middle of the Night

In 2001, Ek Sam Ol (pictured on right, with our translator Him Sothea and volunteer Ruth Hobson) and his wife woke up in the middle of the night to the cries of fire consuming their slum neighborhood of corrugated metal, reused wood, and dried palm leaves. In a matter of minutes, the couple found themselves packed in a lorry with scores of other residents in this shantytown less than a mile away from Phnom Penh's royal palace and touristy riverfront. By the time the lorries drove off, bulldozers were already leveling the land.

The lorry transported Ek Sam Ol and his wife to a remote, unused tract of land called Samron Meanchey, about 15 miles outside of Phnom Penh. With only the few kitchen items they had grabbed as they ran from the fire, along with $12 and a 50 kg bag of rice given to them by the government, the couple and everyone else began constructing a new shantytown. Their shacks had to be built over a slimy, green canal, for they were forbidden to use the land that spread out on either side of the canal. It all seems a great violation of human rights.

Still, I suppose Ek Sam Ol and his neighbors never had legal rights to their land in Phnom Penh.

I suppose there's good reasons why people like Ek Sam Ol are extremely guarded about revealing who set those devastating fires. After all, fear had gripped the country for decades ever since the Khmer Rouge overran Phnom Penh in 1975.

And I suppose it's ironic that where Ek Sam Ol's shantytown was is now a gleaming hotel and casino complex -- into which non-foreign passport holding Cambodians are not allowed to enter. That is, unless they have connections, or bribe the security guards at the back entrance.

A Shantytown Over a Canal

A few weeks ago, I visited Samron Meanchey with the Salvation Centre Cambodia (SCC), our Cambodian, on-the-ground partner organization whose mission is to raise the quality of life for people affected by HIV and poverty. That mirrors the mission of my nonprofit, the Brooklyn-based Face-to-Face AIDS Project. In the last few years, SCC has transformed the muddy paths of Samron Meanchey into passable roads, brought in clean water systems, built walkways over the canal, installed latrines, and established vocational training programs and a vibrant school for children too poor to afford the uniforms, books, and petty bribes needed to attend the state's public schools. Crime is down, and most people have food.

At first glance, a visitor might think that Samron Meanchey looks pretty awful. The water is terribly polluted, homes are falling apart, and there's garbage everywhere. Ek Sam Ol, who now serves as a commune leader, told me that finding work is challenging, because they're so far removed from the city. Just the transportation fees negates most of the few dollars they could make in one day in Phnom Penh. I inquired about the arable land on either side of the canal, but was told that this was all private land, and growing crops or keeping animals there was strictly prohibited.

Still, Samron Meanchey is much better off than it was just six months ago, thanks to SCC. My organization is hoping to support the 83 kids studying at the school, and developing the school into a community center. For less than $10,000 a year, it's a worthwhile endeavor, and gives a tangible, accountable return on one's charity investment. Our grants go to SCC, who report every penny that's spent -- and I'm not kidding. They've even returned unused grant monies to us, because they've saved by renegotiating construction contracts when the recession hit. SCC has received the highest praise from the international audit firm, KPMG, a result perhaps from their strict anti-corruption and open book policies. They also are beloved by the communities, who appreciate that SCC is made up of people who for the most part come from poverty themselves, and so understand and sympathize with those they're trying to help.

Better Today, Gone Tomorrow

There's one issue about our work at Samron Meanchey that bothers me a lot. It concerns sustainability, and how through good work we're actually weakening sustainability.

Here's what I mean. As the quality of life is improved in Samron Meanchey, developers come in and see the potential of the land. So they purchase lots on either side of the canal. Houses are built, and some of them look pretty fancy too -- three or four stories high, balconies, tall fences. (Photo: other side of road has fences, yards, and nice houses. Photo courtesy of Ruth Hobson, Face-to-Face volunteer) Roads are being paved, and a few businesses have already popped up.

Maybe that's good for the neighborhood, but there'll come a day when the bulldozers will appear once again. The new homeowners don't want to live next to a shantytown, not even if it's a clean one. So someone will make a deal with the government to relocate the residents of Samron Meanchey. SCC expects that to happen sometime in the next few years. Ek Sam Ol thinks it might happen even sooner, for already, people are not allowed to rebuild or improve their homes.

"Why would the government not allow us to renovate our homes, if they didn't have plans to force us out again?" he points out.

This kind of relocation is already happening to us in Phnom Penh, where students at our school for orphans and vulnerable children are being forced to relocate far from the city. In this case, the relocated families must sometimes scatter to distant areas, which means we lose contact with the students. And that loss of contact is very troubling for us.

We go in to places like Samron Meanchey, help improve the quality of life of its people, make the area look better... And then someone sees profit in the area and in come the bulldozers and out goes our people. Better today, gone tomorrow -- and gone without a trace.

Hard Questions for Charities

That leads us to question if our charity is doing more harm than good -- are we supporting an environment where charities like SCC and Face-to-Face are helping others make profits, while they leave us to support their own peoples?

In other words, shouldn't Cambodia be striving to develop itself so that it's able to help its own? And shouldn't nonprofits like us be working toward a future where we're no longer needed?

Yes, yes, and well, definitely yes.

Now that's settled, the question is how to go about doing this. I'm thinking that Face-to-Face and SCC should place more emphasis on nurturing a culture of charity in the places we work. Take our poorest of the poor, and as we raise their quality of life just a bit, we also nurture them to develop into future role models who help their own.

Some might say this is capacity building. Others might say that it's not holding the reins of charity mission so tightly.

I say it's about changing our charity attitudes. Better today, gone tomorrow. Well, we might just be able to turn that into a good thing.

(For more about my thoughts on how to implement programs that focus on the future, please continue reading my posts, which will appear every two or three days for the next few weeks.)


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For further information about the Face-to-Face AIDS Project and how you can help, or to donate to the Face-to-Face AIDS Project, please visit the Contact & Donate page at www.facetofaceaids.org. Read more!

Thai-Cambodia clashes kill 1 more before new truce

By Sopheng Cheang

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Renewed fighting between Cambodian and Thai troops along the countries' disputed border killed a Thai soldier Saturday and sent thousands of people fleeing before military commanders agreed on the second cease-fire in two days.

The fiercest border clashes in years also damaged a landmark 11th century temple near a strip of disputed land that Thai nationalists have seized on as a domestic political issue.

There are conflicting casualty tolls, but as many as four have died in two days - one civilian each from Thailand and Cambodia, and one soldier from each nation, according to officials from the two countries. Each side blames the other for starting the fighting.

Tensions between the Southeast Asian nations have risen in recent days because of demonstrations by influential Thai nationalist groups in Bangkok demanding that the government oust Cambodians from land near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple. The nationalists claim the land is actually part of Thailand.

The demonstrators - from the same group, the People's Alliance for Democracy, that in 2008 occupied the Thai prime minister's offices and Bangkok's two airports in a bid to force out two previous governments - have said they will escalate their pressure on Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The rally by the PAD - also known as the Yellow Shirts - has raised tensions in a country still recovering from political violence last year in which about 90 people died.

While full-blown war is unlikely, nationalist passions are inflamed in both countries - with no clear way to settle the long-standing territorial dispute surrounding the temple, built during a time when Cambodia's Khmer empire ruled over much of Thailand.

Thai Army Spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said 2nd Region Army Commander Lt. Gen. Tawatchai Samutsakhon met with Cambodian generals after Saturday's fighting to agree on a cease-fire and not to deploy more troops to the area.

The two sides also agreed that Thailand would suspend construction of a road to the disputed area, which covers just 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km), according to the private Cambodian Television Network, which is close to the government.

"Everything depends on the Thai side. New fighting will erupt if Thai soldiers enter our territory, but there will be no fighting if they do not enter," Cambodian Maj. Gen. Srey Doek told reporters after the meeting.

The latest round of fighting began Friday on land near Preah Vihear temple, a U.N. World Heritage site that belongs to Cambodia under a 1962 World Court ruling disputed by many Thais.

Several mortar and artillery shells exploded just yards (meters) away from Preah Vihear, slightly damaging its walls and setting grass and several trees nearby ablaze, said Gen. Chea Tara, the deputy commander of Cambodia's armed forces.

Thailand's Foreign Ministry said at least 3,000 people have fled their homes, while Sar Thavy, deputy governor of Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, said 1,000 families had been evacuated.

Thailand initially said the flare-up could have been caused by a misunderstanding, but Cambodia described it as a deliberate "Thai invasion," claiming that as many as 300 Thai soldiers advanced Friday on a small pagoda to try to take down the Cambodian flag.

Ath Vicheth, a Cambodian soldier in the area, told The Associated Press by telephone that Saturday's began after a group of Thai soldiers tried to cross the border in search of missing soldiers.

Thai Army Spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, however, denied the claim and said no Thai soldiers were missing or captured. He said eight Thai soldiers have been wounded since Friday and 13 homes were either burned down or damaged. One Thai soldier was killed Saturday, he said.

The Preah Vihear issue was virtually dormant until Cambodia successfully applied in 2008 to UNESCO to have the temple declared a World Heritage site, an application backed by the government in power in Thailand at the time.

Thai nationalists have argued that the action threatened Thailand's sovereignty, though their protests were seen mainly as a way of rallying criticism to help oust the Thai government. Both countries' leaders, defending their patriotic credentials, then built up military forces at the border.

___

Associated Press Writer Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report from Bangkok, Thailand.

Read more!

Cambodia and Thailand Continue Armed Clash Over Temple

By Seth Mydans

THNAL BEK, Cambodia — Refugees clustered around cooking fires at a schoolhouse here as Cambodia and Thailand prepared for the possibility of further violence after a fourth day of shelling on Monday at their disputed border.

The Cambodian Army cleared out military vehicles and construction equipment and evacuated villagers from the foot of a steep cliff that is the site of an 11th-century Hindu temple claimed by both sides.

The dispute involves a century-old French colonial map, a ruling by the International Court of Justice and a decision in 2008 by Unesco, the cultural arm of the United Nations, to list the temple, Preah Vihear, as a Cambodian World Heritage site.

It has become tangled within the complex knot of Thai politics as well as simmering enmity between the two neighbors that has erupted into violence near the temple several times since the World Heritage listing.

The current fighting is the most sustained engagement between the two nations. As many as five civilians and soldiers have been killed on both sides, according to Thai and Cambodian news reports.

Cambodia urged the United Nations to send peacekeepers to the border area one day after asking the Security Council to convene an urgent meeting to “stop Thailand’s aggression.”

“We will go to the Security Council whether you like it or not,” Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, said in a speech on Monday, addressing his counterparts in Thailand. “The armed clash is threatening regional security.”

Thailand has always taken the position that the dispute is a bilateral issue and that there is no need to involve outside organizations.

The Thai Foreign Ministry sent its own letter to the Security Council on Monday formally protesting what it called “repeated and unprovoked armed attacks by Cambodian troops.”

Each side has accused the other of initiating the conflict and of shooting first in each exchange of shelling.

“Thai soldiers had no choice but to exercise the inherent right of self-defense,” said Thailand’s prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The Cambodian government said Thai shelling had damaged part of the temple, but reporters were barred from the conflict area and the report was impossible to verify.

Late Sunday, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned” by the fighting and urged both sides “to exercise maximum restraint.”

In the dispute, each side offers a different interpretation of a French colonial map drawn up at the beginning of last century.

The temple is most easily accessible on the Thai side. It can be reached only up a steep cliff on the Cambodian side.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia. Read more!

Fresh clashes at Thai-Cambodia border: Cambodia PM

By Suy Se Suy Se

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Troops from Thailand and Cambodia clashed Monday for a fourth straight day, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said, as tensions again surged in a border dispute that has left at least five people dead. "The firing has started for the fourth time," Hun Sen said at a graduation ceremony in the capital. A Cambodian military commander who did not wish to be named said both sides traded fire just after 8:00 am (0100 GMT). He was unable to say what kind of weapons were involved.

News of the fresh fighting follows accusations by Cambodia that claim Thailand damaged an 11th-century temple during recent military attacks and has appealed to the United Nations to halt the "aggression".

The Cambodian premier had earlier urged the United Nations Security Council to hold an urgent meeting "so as to stop Thailand's aggression" which has "gravely threatened peace and stability in the region".

But Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn rejected the accusation that his country was the aggressor, saying: "Thailand has clear policy that we will not invade any country."

The ancient Preah Vihear temple, which is surrounded by disputed territory, was damaged by Thai artillery fire on Sunday, according to Cambodia, which said one wing of the building had "collapsed" as a result.

Ties between the neighbours have been strained since Preah Vihear was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008. Thailand and Cambodia have each accused the other of starting the ongoing clashes.

Violence had erupted for the third day in a row on Sunday, ending a ceasefire agreed after earlier fighting.

Hun Sen said "many" artillery shells had been fired into Preah Vihear temple on Sunday, in a statement addressed to the current president of the UN Security Council.

He said some shells fired by Thailand had landed around 20 kilometres (12 miles) inside Cambodian territory.

Thai television showed images of bloodied soldiers and people being evacuated clutching blankets.

Thousands of people fled their homes as villages were evacuated on both sides of the frontier after the fighting first erupted on Friday.

Observers say the temple dispute had been used as a rallying point to stir nationalist sentiment in Thailand and Cambodia.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear itself belonged to Cambodia, although its main entrance lies in Thailand and the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area around the temple is claimed by both sides.

Cambodia said two of its soldiers and one civilian were killed in Friday's fighting, while Thailand said a villager on its side of the border also died.

A Thai soldier was killed in a brief resumption of hostilities on Saturday morning.

The media in both countries have said the toll could be much higher, however, with Thai newspapers suggesting 64 Cambodian soldiers were killed. Across the border, it was reported that at least 30 Thai troops had died.

Tensions have flared in recent weeks in the wake of the arrest of seven Thai nationals for illegal entry into Cambodia in late December.

Two of them were sentenced to lengthy jail terms for spying, in a case that has caused outrage among the nationalist "Yellow Shirts".

Around 5,000 "Yellow Shirts", an influential force in Thailand's colour-coded politics, gathered outside the government compound in Bangkok on Saturday calling for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's resignation.

It has been suggested that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations could move to mediate in the row and sources in the Cambodian foreign ministry have said Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa will visit the country on Monday.

Indonesia is the current chairman of ASEAN.

But the subject of the meeting is unknown and Abhisit on Sunday dismissed ASEAN intervention as "unnecessary".

Read more!

Cambodia Urges UN Action After Accusing Thai Army of Damaging Hindu Temple

By Daniel Ten Kate and Anuchit Nguyen


Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called on the United Nations Security Council to convene an urgent meeting after accusing Thailand of damaging an 11th century Hindu temple in a “full-scale armed aggression.”

The attack last night followed a breakdown in ceasefire talks after three days of gun battles at the UN World Heritage Site that killed at least two soldiers. Thailand said Cambodia started the three hours of fighting by firing artillery shells, rockets and bullets across the border.

“Cambodia initiated the fighting, so it’s their responsibility now whether they want to return to the negotiating table,” Thai army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said by phone today from Bangkok.

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia soured in 2008 when a Thai court ordered a government linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to withdraw support for Cambodia’s bid to list the disputed Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site. Gun battles in the area since 2008 have killed at least eight soldiers and prompted civilians to flee the area.

“This fresh onslaught by Thai armed forces has resulted in more human casualties and damages to the temple of Preah Vihear as well as other properties,” Hun Sen said in the letter addressed yesterday to UN Security Council President Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.

As many as 12 Thai soldiers and two villagers were injured in last night’s clashes, Sansern said. The border situation “has eased” since then, Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said today.

‘Trying to Coordinate’

“We want the situation to be resolved as soon as possible,” Panitan said in an interview broadcast on Money Channel today. “We are trying to coordinate with them, but it will take some time as we already had agreements and Cambodia broke them.”

Thailand’s $264 billion economy is more than 26 times the size of Cambodia’s. The Cambodian army spent $123 million in 2008, compared with $4.1 billion for the military in Thailand, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said before the clashes yesterday that the army acted to protect the country and wouldn’t invade Cambodia. He condemned the shelling of civilians and called for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

“We will solve the border issue with peaceful methods,” he said. “This is the right way to benefit people and solve the problems for the long term.”

Yellow Shirts

The flare-up comes as about 2,500 yellow-shirted Thai nationalists blocked a Bangkok street for a second week to pressure Abhisit to take tougher measures against Cambodia in a border dispute. They are demanding that Thailand drop out of the UN World Heritage Committee, cancel a 2000 agreement with Cambodia on border negotiations and urge Cambodians to withdraw from disputed border areas.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled in a 9-3 vote that Cambodia had sovereignty over Preah Vihear. The court didn’t rule on the disputed land near the temple.

“A wing of our Preah Vihear Temple has collapsed as a direct result of the Thai artillery bombardment,” Cambodia said in a statement yesterday, citing an unidentified military commander based near the border. In Thailand, the temple is known as Phra Viharn.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net .

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg in Hong Kong at phirschberg@bloomberg.net
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Cambodia UNESCO Site Hit in Border Clash

By AP / THANYARAT DOKSONE and SOPHENG CHEANG

Cambodian soldiers rest at the Preah Vihear temple, some 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Saturday, February 5, 2011


(PHNOM PENH, Cambodia) — The Cambodian government said part of a historic 11th-century stone temple collapsed Sunday due to heavy shelling by the Thai army as the two sides battled across their disputed border for a third day.

Both countries accused each other of instigating the clashes, which continued across the darkened mountainous border for more than three hours Sunday. The extent of the damage to the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was not immediately clear.
(Read about the most recent eruption of fighting.)

A Thai army spokesman said about 10 soldiers were wounded in Sunday night's fighting. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the clashes Sunday resulted in "more human casualties and damages" but did not elaborate.

On Sunday, Hun Sen sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council calling for an emergency meeting to help end the fighting.

At least five people have died in the border clashes — some of the fiercest in years — which erupted Friday and continued for a third straight day Sunday despite at least two cease-fires.

The crumbling stone temple, which sits several hundred feet from Thailand's eastern border with Cambodia, has fueled nationalist sentiment on both sides of the disputed frontier for decades.

In 1962, the World Court determined that the temple belongs to Cambodia, a ruling disputed by many Thais. Thai nationalists have seized on it as a domestic political issue, and the conflict has sparked sporadic, brief battles between the two neighbors over the last few years.

The lastest fighting broke out Friday in an area close to Preah Vihear, and shelling Saturday caused minor damage to the temple's facade. There were reports that Sunday's fighting had spread closer to the temple itself. There was no independent confirmation of the damage.

"A wing of our Preah Vihear Temple has collapsed as a direct result of the Thai artillery bombardment," the government quoted a Cambodian military commander based near the temple as saying. It did not say how large the wing was.
(See a photo essay over the border dispute.)

Built between the 9th and 11th centuries, Preah Vihear is dedicated to the Hindu diety Shiva and revered partly for having one of the most stunning locations of all the temples constructed during the Khmer empire — the most famous of which is Angkor Wat. It sits atop a 1,722-foot (525-meter) cliff in the Dangrek Mountains about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of the Cambodian capital.

UNESCO calls the site "an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture." The Khmer empire, which once encompassed parts of Thailand and Vietnam, shrank to the size of present-day Cambodia. The country was plunged into civil war, and the temple fell into disrepair.

Hun Sen said the latest fighting "gravely threatened peace and stability in the region."

"Thai armed forces launched a full-scale armed aggression against Cambodia, using heavy sophisticated weapons including many ... artillery shells which were fired into the temple of Preah Vihear," Hun Sen said in a letter which was read aloud on state television shortly before midnight.

Thailand accused Cambodia of firing first on Sunday and denied knowledge of damage to Preah Vihear.

"I haven't received any report about the damage and doubt it is true," said Thai army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, contacted by telephone from Bangkok. He dismissed reports of damage to the temple as "propaganda," but said Sunday's fighting was more intense than the previous two days.

"We have to return fire to wherever the attacks come from," he said. "The prime minister has told the army to open all communication channels in case the other side wants to talk. Meanwhile, we have to take self-defense and react accordingly."

Tensions have risen in recent days because of demonstrations in the Thai capital, Bangkok, demanding that the government oust Cambodians from the area near the temple.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called earlier Sunday for a peaceful solution to the border dispute, but warned that Thai soldiers would defend national sovereignty if attacked.

"I insist that the dispute on the border issues must be solved through nonviolent means," Abhisit said in his weekly address to the nation. "Thailand never thought of invading anyone, but if our sovereignty is violated, we have to protect it ultimately."

Associated Press writers Thanyarat Doksone, Todd Pitman and Jocelyn Gecker also contributed to this report. Read more!

Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia resumes at disputed border despite cease-fire

BANGKOK — Fighting erupted Sunday between soldiers along Cambodia's disputed border with Thailand near an 11th century temple for a third day, shattering a shaky cease-fire.

A Cambodian soldier at the front line, Lt. Pen Song, said troops exchanged artillery and mortar fire along the Phnom Troap mountain range, about 3 kilometers from the historic Preah Vihear temple, a U.N. World Heritage Site that belongs to Cambodia under a 1962 World Court ruling disputed by many Thais.

A Thai official in the border area, Nakorn Siripanyanant, confirmed that clashes had resumed Sunday evening and said some villagers who had returned to their homes were again evacuated.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The renewed fighting started just hours after commanders stationed on both sides of the border met Sunday afternoon and said they would continue to respect a Saturday cease-fire and pledges not to deploy more troops to the area.

The fiercest border clashes in years erupted Friday and Saturday between troops along the border. Sporadic artillery fire in those clashes left at least five people dead — one civilian and one soldier from Thailand and one civilian and two soldiers from Cambodia.

Both sides have blamed each other for the fighting, which also caused minor damage to the Preah Vihear temple near a strip of disputed land that Thai nationalists have seized on as a domestic political issue.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhsit Vejjajiva called earlier Sunday for a peaceful solution to the border dispute, but warned that Thai soldiers would defend national sovereignty if attacked.

"I insist that the dispute on the border issues must be solved through nonviolent means," Abhisit Vejjajvia said in his weekly Sunday address to the nation. "Thailand never thought of invading anyone, but if our sovereignty is violated, we have to protect it ultimately."

Tensions between the Southeast Asian nations have risen in recent days because of demonstrations in the Thai capital, Bangkok, demanding that the government oust Cambodians from land near the Preah Vihear temple.

Sopheng Cheang reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Read more!