Cambodia's growing dispossessed

As the country's economy booms, thousands of people have been evicted from their homes to make way for developments.

Boeung Kak Lake, a 90 hectare expanse of water, has already had three-fourths filled in, while
residents around it are being forcibly evicted [CC - Save Me Jebus]


When armed construction workers turned up at dawn to start pumping thousands of gallons of sand and water into Ly Si Moan's home, her terrified scramble for safety had her joining thousands of others who have recently had to flee developers in Cambodia.

"They started pumping during the night," she says, "while we were sleeping. I think they wanted to eliminate all trace of us."

Indeed, all that remains of the village where Ly Si Moan's house and business once stood is a long sandbank, covering three-quarters of what was once a lake at the heart of Phnom Penh.

Ly Si Moan is also just one of some 20,000 people who have been evicted from their homes either on or around the historic, 90-hectare Boueng Kak Lake during the last few months.

And according to Surya P Subedi, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, what is happening is also "representative of the problems of this nature that exist in the country. Land grabbing by the rich and powerful is a major problem in Cambodia today".

An 'escalating problem'

Indeed, Cambodian rights group Adhoc says that last year alone, 12,389 families in the country became the victims of forced evictions.

Another rights group, housing advocates STT, estimates that around 10 per cent of the population of Phnom Penh has faced eviction in the last decade.

At the same time, the Cambodian Human Rights Foundation (LICADHO) director Naly Pilorge says that in their survey of half the country's provinces "between 2005 and 2009 some 250,000 people were evicted. Last year alone we dealt with 94 new cases of land grabbing involving approximately 49,280 people".

"And the problem is escalating," she adds.

The residents of Boeung Kak are being moved as developers fill in the lake with sand and silt scooped out of a nearby river. Where this lake once spread, a new, residential, commercial and entertainment complex is due to be constructed.

Economic boom

As Cambodia's economy booms, land is becoming more valuable, particularly in the capital, Phnom Penh.

"Cambodia has so much land available for concessions," says Ngnon Meng, the director-general of the Cambodian chamber of commerce. "The government is very willing to do things for foreign investors too … when they come in they don't want to leave."

The economy grew by 5.5 per cent last year, according to government figures, with last year seeing a new law allowing foreign ownership of property. It also saw another new law allowing the government to expropriate land for developments it deems to be in the public interest.

The Cambodian ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries says that the government granted more than 1.38 million hectares of land in concessions to 142 different private companies between 1993 and June 2010.

"When land belongs to the government, they can do what they like with it," says Ngnon Meng. "Although some people are just trying to hold back our country's development with their protests."

Yet Cambodia has some very unique issues when it comes to land and the people who live on it.

Rooted in war

"It all goes back to the war," says Sung Bonna, the vice-president of the Cambodian Real Estate Developers Association. "Everything got completely mixed up back then."

In 1975, the notorious Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia, after years of fighting and US bombing.

One of their first acts was to evacuate the entire population of Phnom Penh. Forced into the countryside, this was the beginning of the horror of the Killing Fields.

Around 20 per cent of the country's population died in that carnage, while the Khmer Rouge also abolished private property, destroying land titles and records.

In 1979, Vietnam invaded Cambodia. Many Cambodians fled to neighbouring Thailand, with conflict then continuing into the 1990s. This left an enormous displaced population, with many survivors moving to areas because they were safe and offered a chance of survival.

Boueng Kak Lake was one such place. Many of those there now were born in refugee camps in Thailand, or remember all too well the horrors of that era.

"In 1979, the Khmer Rouge shot my husband in front of me, by the roadside, as we tried to get back into Phnom Penh," says 67-year-old Ngin Savoeun. Her house was flooded with sand and water last November. "I've lost everything now," she says. "I had no time to take anything away when they started flooding my home. I survived the Khmer Rouge and now this."

Land denied

In 2001, the Cambodian government issued a new land law recognising the problem of land title. If you could show you had lived in a place for five years continuously, and there were no challenges, you could apply for a title.

Many at Boeung Kak, who had been there since the early 1980s, applied.

Yet, "in early 2007, the residents were denied title en masse," according to a January 2011 report on the issue from Bridges Across Borders Cambodia, an NGO advocating for the residents. "In the same month, the Cambodian government entered into a 99-year lease agreement with private developer Shukaku Inc.," the report continues.

A representative of Shukaku declined to comment on this story when contacted.

While this was going on, the World Bank - along with the German, Canadian and Finnish national overseas development organisations - was cooperating with the Cambodian government in a project to assess and award land titles across the country.

Too little too late

Last week, the Bank announced the results of an internal inquiry into this project. The inquiry found that "residents in the Boeung Kak Lake area were denied access to due process of adjudication of their property claims and were displaced in violation of the policies the Bank agreed with the government for handling resettlement".

The Bank admitted failings in the project and called on the government to stop the evictions.

The Cambodian ministry of land management then responded in an official statement that Boeung Kak had been outside the remit of the project and thus was "not under the conditions set for social safeguards".

Now, residents are calling for the Bank - and other international agencies - to take stronger action.

"Only foreign pressure can help us now," says resident and local organiser Tep Vanny. "We believe the companies are tied to the government and when we protest, we are threatened and no one listens. Please, see what is happening here."

Time may also be running out. Last week, Vanny says the remaining residents were given seven days to accept the company's offer of $8,500 compensation and demolish their homes, or get nothing.

"We would rather die here," says Vanny. "People must also understand this. This is our home and we will not leave."


Source: Al Jazeera

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Unions meet over worries in draft law

Cambodian garment factory workers travel together in motor carts to get home from work at the Sala Lek Pram village, Kampong Chhnang province.


Trade unions say they are concerned that a draft law under consideration by the government will be used to attack or dismantle group’s that do not follow the government line.

A coalition of factory unions met Tuesday over the draft law, currently under consideration at the Ministry of Labor.

Concerns over the draft law echo similar worries by NGOs on a draft law to further regulate that sector.

Among their concerns are provisions in the draft that requires a request for registration, a list of dues-paying members or other leaders, and report requirements of an action plan to the government.

The law also allows for unions to be dissolved by court order following complaints by a third party or the government. It also allows for fines of between $500 and $2,500 and jail sentences as high as three years for union leaders in breach of regulations.

“The current draft law is a strong restriction on the rights and freedoms in the establishment and participation of trade union activities,” Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union, told reporters after Tuesday’s meeting. “If the draft is passed without the recommendations of the trade unions, non-government unions will not have a presence in Cambodia.”

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Free Trade Union, said the draft would silence union leaders and seriously restrict the rights of unions. He called the draft in contravention to the International Labor Convention and the Cambodian constitution.

Moeun Tola, an official at the Community Legal Education Center, said the draft law provides a system of permissions for trade unions and hands more power to the Ministry of Labor in approving unions.

However, Huy Han Song, undersectary of state for the Ministry of Labor, said the draft was aimed at “social harmony” and not to pressure any certain group.

Cambodia’s sometimes unruly garment sector has 62 different unions, though some of those stand by government and factory owners, according to union leaders.

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Cambodia ready to join ASEAN-proposed meetings on border conflict with Thailand: PM

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday Cambodia is already prepared itself for the ASEAN- proposed meetings on March 24 on Cambodia-Thailand border conflict near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

"Cambodia has already prepared to depart for Cambodia-Thai General Border Committee and Joint Border Committee on Demarcation for Land Boundary in Bogor, Indonesia on March 24-25 under the presence of ASEAN chair," he said during a graduation ceremony for students at the Royal University of Law and Economics. "Now we are waiting Thai side's confirmation of participation."

Hun Sen repeated that ASEAN chair has to join in the opening ceremony of the meetings, and after Cambodia and Thailand discuss, the two sides have to report to ASEAN chair about the results.

"And if any agreement needs to be signed between Cambodia and Thailand during the meetings, Cambodia will ask the third party (ASEAN chair) to sign together," he said.

Cambodia's General Border Committee will be lead by Defense Minister Tea Banh and the Joint Border Committee will be lead by Var Kimhong, the president of it.

Meanwhile, the premier said that so far, the tension between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border dispute is rather calm and troops from the two sides even played volleyballs together over the weekend.

"However, it's still fragile, I hope that both sides will continue to exercise their most restraints," he said.

The premier announced that Cambodia will no longer allow Thai troops to come to worship at Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak pagoda next to Preah Vihear temple.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Temple of Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia; however, the row over the 4.6-square-km territory around the temple has never been resolved.

Conflict occurred just a week after Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008, since then both sides have built up military forces along the border, and periodic clashes happened, resulted in deaths of troops on both sides.

The latest clashes on Feb. 4-7, unleashed a barrage of artillery shells on both sides of the border, had killed and wounded many soldiers and citizens of both sides, and caused tens of thousands of the two countries' villagers nearby the disputed areas fleeing for safe shelters.

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

Source: Xinhua

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Massive earthquake in Japan harms its economy, aid abroad: Cambodia PM

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday the massive earthquake in Japan on March 11 will not only damage Japanese economy, but also will affect Japanese assistance overseas.

"The destruction by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan were the worst and caused hugely losses both human lives and properties," he made the remarks during a graduation ceremony for students at the Royal University of Law and Economics.

"The natural disaster will impact both Japanese economy and Japan's internationally obligatory implementation abroad including Cambodia."

The premier said that tomorrow (Tuesday), Masafumi Kuroki, ambassador of Japan will still sign up to provide a grant aid package of 94 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia for flood protection, water distribution system, and demining activities.

He confirmed that so far, there is no report on Cambodian students were killed or injured in the massive earthquake in Japan.

A total of 1,598 people have been killed and 1,720 others are still missing by 8:00 a.m. (2300 GMT) Monday in Japan following Friday's catastrophic earthquake 9.0 magnitudes on the Richter scale and ensuing enormous tsunami, said the National Police Agency.

Source: Xinhua

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Riel deal for new bourse

CAMBODIA’S stock exchange will require listings in riel but will initially allow dual currency settlements, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia.

“The issuing of securities shall be completed in riel and the quotation of securities in the [Cambodia Securities Exchange] shall be conducted in riel,” it said in a statement issued late last week.

Settlements between buyers and sellers, however, will be allowed in both dollars and riel during the first three years of the bourse’s operation, it said.

Government policy is to promote usage of the domestic currency in order to facilitate economic development, said SECC Director General Ming Bankosal. The dual options for settlements reflected the widespread use of the dollar, he said.

“We will use the riel, but we also recognise [there is interest in] widely using US dollars in the Cambodian securities markets,” he said yesterday.

The Cambodian economy is currently highly dollarised. The National Bank of Cambodia has estimated the greenback accounts for more than 90 percent of currency in circulation, but has also stated it is committed to dedollarisation.

Private sector officials said yesterday they were supportive of the decision.

ACLEDA Bank CEO and President In Channy said yesterday that initially allowing bourse settlement in either dollars or riel would invite more participation in the exchange, which is due to launch this July.

Banks currently more deposits than outstanding loans, meaning there was excess liquidity available which could be invested in securities, he said. “The stock exchange does allow small investors the great opportunity of owning a portion of … a large corporation,” he said.

Leopard Capital Managing Partner Scott Lewis said most countries – including neighbouring Laos – successfully used local currencies for listings. “The government has a clear policy to encourage use of the riel and I think it’s appropriate to list the stocks in riel,” he said yesterday.

Although there could be concerns over currency risk, the government does keep the riel in a fairly tight band against the United States dollar, he said. He also hoped companies would continue to be allowed to disclose financial results and complete accounting in dollars.

Leopard has two interests in the Cambodian exchange – it has a few companies in its portfolio that may list, and could also pursue opportunities to buy shares in some of the first companies to list.

Scott Lewis also stressed that it was important that companies were ready to float and the regulatory framework was in place for the exchange to succeed.

“If that takes six months or it takes three years, I’m indifferent. I’d rather have them do it right, and more time allows more companies to become mature and become listing candidates,” he said. “So I don’t think there’s any rush.”
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Cambodia approves rubber plantation—in national park

The Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has approved a 9,000 hectare (22,200 acre) rubber plantation in Virachey National Park despite its status as a protected area, reports the Phnom Penh Post. The park is also listed as an ASEAN Heritage Park.

Spanning 332,500 hectares in Ratanakkiri province, Virachey National Park, is Cambodia's largest.

The concession to clearcut the forest and establish a rubber plantation was awarded to Srun Sovannaphoum Investment Co Ltd.

"It is good because that area is uninhabited, so when the company comes to invest they will also construct a road,” Ratanakkiri provincial governor Pav Hamphan told the Phnom Penh Post. Villagers in another region of Cambodia are protesting the loss of their forest, known as Prey Lang, to rubber plantations.

“Cutting some part of Virachey National Park may not affect villagers, but it seriously affects the forest and this province will lose even more forest land,” Pen Bonnar, coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, told the Phnom Penh Post

The World Bank has invested $5 million into managing Virachey National Park, which has suffered from illegal logging.

The rubber plantation concession is not the first time Cambodia has handed parts of the park over to private industry. In 2007 the government granted Australian gold-mining company, Indochine Mining, rights to exploratory mining in half the park.

The wildlife of Virachey National Park have been little studied, but a Rapid Assessment Survey (RAP) in 2007 found evidence of healthy populations of dholes—listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List—inhabiting the park, in addition to gaurs, yellow-cheeked gibbons, stump-tailed macaques, Asiatic black bears, Malayan sun bears, and Asian small-clawed otters. The short survey also found a number of species that may be unknown to science. Read more!

Thai Villagers Sue Cambodia

Following the Thailand-Cambodia dispute, villagers from Thailand border, petitioned to sue Cambodian government for the damages caused by the cannon and Missile-BM21 fires from Cambodia, requesting over 2 Billion Baht in compensation.

Srisaket, 10th March 2011 [PDN]: Mr. Weerayut Duangkaew, Sub-district Chief of Saothongchai, Kantaralak, Srisaket stated that villagers from 7 sub-districts, including Poomsaron village, have united together to sign a petition for the damages caused by the Thailand-Cambodia dispute. The village people planned to sue Cambodia reaching various levels of authority – first to the World Court or ICJ, proceeding through to the District Chief Officer of Kantaralak, forwarding to the Governor of Srisaket, then to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to the Prime Minister respectively.

About 50,000 villagers joined together and calculated the requested compensation amount. The costs were the multiple of the people by their daily income (100 Baht/day) by 30 days. The estimated reimbursement was a grand total of 150 million Baht. Furthermore, farming total damage costs for 600 Rai were around 9,000,000 Baht at 15,000 Baht per Rai.

Personal compensation was also evaluated. 1 million Baht compensation was requested for each of the 7 houses burnt. Partial house damages was priced at 300,000 Baht per house. One dead person was worth around 1,500,000 Baht. The compensation amount was a grand total of approximately 2,239,905,000 Baht.
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Cambodia and Thailand agree to UNESCO meeting over damaged temple site

Representatives of Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to a United Nations-sponsored meeting to discuss ways to safeguard the Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage List site that was damaged during border clashes between the South-East Asian neighbours earlier this year.

The two sides will meet at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 25 May, the agency reported this week.

The agreement follows a recent mission to Cambodia and Thailand by Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Preah Vihear, who met with the prime ministers of the two nations and other senior officials.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement that the main aim of the discussions on 25 May will be “further dialogue on the effective conservation of Preah Vihear.”

An 11th-century Hindu temple, Preah Vihear was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008 in recognition of its outstanding universal value. Considered an outstanding example of Khmer architecture, it consists of a complex of sanctuaries linked by pavements and staircases on an 800-metre-long axis.

Ms. Bokova said she has also been briefing both Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the latest developments.

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Paedophile who ran Cambodian Orphanage jailed for abusing children

By James McCarthy, Western Mail


A PAEDOPHILE in charge of an orphanage has been jailed in Cambodia for abusing the children he was looking after.

Nicholas Patrick Griffin was arrested last October after leaving the UK in 2006 and setting up the Cambodia Orphan Fund in Siem Reap a year later.

Griffin, 53, from Llangollen, has now been sentenced to two years, one suspended, for offences against children.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) said officers worked with the Cambodian National Police (CNP) to bring Griffin and another man Matthew Harland, 38, to justice.

Peter Davies, lead police officer at CEOP, said: "Two convictions in two days shows that like never before this crime will not be tolerated, no matter where in the world you think you can go to escape capture.

"Any offender who thinks they can come to such wonderful places as Cambodia and target young, vulnerable children for sexual gratification should think again.

"These are major convictions and show the severity in which we all view this crime.

"I am here at the moment seeing at first hand the work we have been doing building an International Child Protection Network all dedicated to forming partnerships, sharing expertise and working collaboratively to bring such offenders to justice.

"That work continues at pace and underpins the successes we see today.

"Our message is clear the world is smaller for offenders who think they can hide in order to abuse children.

"You will not go off our radar."

Griffin was arrested in a dawn raid last year that saw dozens of officers rescue as many as 100 youngsters. They were moved to a safe house.

He had been under investigation for more than two years following suspicions surrounding the fortress like orphanage, which housed youngsters up to the age of 18.

Griffin ran several centres for deprived and vulnerable children in one of south-east Asias poorest countries.

In a statement on the Cambodia Orphan Funds website posted during the investigation Lidia Linde, of the fund, said she wanted to guarantee that this nightmare would never happen again.

She said she was working to close down the orphanage and open a new body called Together for Cambodia.

Sun Bun Thorng, of Siem Reaps anti-human trafficking department, claimed Griffin faced several charges of child molestation in 2008. These were dropped due to lack of evidence.

CEOP said Harland will spend seven years in prison, after buying sex from two young girls.

He fled to the Asian country in 2005 after jumping bail in Hampshire on charges of possession of child abuse images.

In May last year, CEOP received intelligence from childrens organisation Action Pour Les Enfants saying Harland had surfaced in Cambodia.

He was arrested weeks later with reports saying he was living in a rented house with two young girls. CEOP then deployed officers to the country following a request for assistance from the CNP. He was arrested on May 20.

Cambodia is engaged in a major drive to net foreign paedophiles.

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Cambodia expresses deep sympathy to Japan over massive quake

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday expressed a deep sympathy to Japan over the massive earthquake that struck Friday and donate 100,000 U.S. dollars as relief to the victims.

In a message to Prime Minister of Japan Naoto Kan on Saturday, Hun Sen wrote: "I feel extremely saddened to hear about the loss of hundreds of lives, many injuries and colossal damages in the most powerful earthquakes and Tsunami that struck your country in the afternoon of March 11."

Hun Sen further said, "On behalf of the government of Cambodia and Cambodian people, may I convey to Your Excellency and the people of Japan, particularly the victims and members of the bereaved families my deepest sympathy and profound condolences on the tragic losses and great suffering brought about by this natural disasters."

The government of Cambodia would also like to make a very modest contribution of 100,000 U.S. dollars for the relief of the victims, he said.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong also sent a message to his Japanese counterpart Takeaki Matsumoto to express his deepest sympathy and condolences to the people of Japan on their losses and suffering due to this natural disaster.

Hundreds of deaths and extensive devastation have been reported since the earthquake, measuring 8.8 magnitudes on the Richter scale, hit northeastern Japan on Friday afternoon and triggered a massive tsunami in the Pacific Ocean.

Source: Xinhua

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Cambodia to use local currency on stock exchange

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA will use the local currency for trading on its soon-to-be-launched stock exchange, officials said on Saturday, in a bid to boost the use of the riel in the heavily dollarised country.

Stock quotations must be in riel only, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) said in a statement on its website, ending a debate about whether listings on the bourse, set to open in July, should be in riel, US dollars or a combination of both.

But for the first three years, 'if buyers and sellers both agree, then they can arrange to settle payments in US dollars", Chan Narith, director of the SECC's securities market supervision department, told AFP.

Cambodia has a long-term goal to reduce reliance on the greenback, which according to the Asian Development Bank makes up more than 90 per cent of all currency in circulation in Cambodia.

The country signed an agreement in 2008 with representatives from South Korea's stock exchange, the Korea Exchange (KRX), Asia's fourth-largest bourse operator, to establish a stock market in 2009 but the launch date has been pushed back twice.

While still among one of the world's poorest countries, Cambodia has emerged from decades of conflict as one of the region's rising economies. -- AFP

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Cambodia and Thailand agree to UN-sponsored meeting over temple damage

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) — Cambodia and Thailand on Friday agreed to a United Nations-sponsored meeting over the damage caused to an historic temple during the recent border clashes.

Representatives from both countries will meet to discuss ways to safeguard the Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage List site. The meeting will be held at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on May 25.

The meeting was the result of the efforts from Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Preah Vihear. The UN body sent a mission to assess the damage caused to the temple which dates back to the 11th century and is located on the Cambodian side of the border.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said that the upcoming dialogue will focus on the effective conservation of Preah Vihear. In February, clashes between the two countries resumed as both sides claimed the disputed territory in which the temple is located.

Tensions first escalated between the two countries in July 2008 following the build-up of military forces near the Preah Vihear temple. The United Nations Security Council urged both sides to establish a permanent ceasefire after at least 10 people were killed.

In 2008, the Hindu temple, Preah Vihear, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in recognition of its outstanding universal value. It is considered an outstanding example of Khmer architecture and consists of a complex of sanctuaries linked by pavements and staircases on an 800-metre-long axis.

“World Heritage sites are the heritage of all humanity and the international community has a special responsibility to safeguard them. This requires a collective effort that must be undertaken in a spirit of consultation and dialogue,” said Bokova.

The temple dedicated to Shiva, was built in the first half of the 11th century AD. The site is exceptional for the quality of its carved stone ornamentation and its architecture, adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple.

“Heritage should unite people and serve as an instrument of dialogue and mutual understanding and not of conflict,” added the UNESCO Director-General. Read more!

Thailand non-committal to joining proposed border meeting with Cambodia: FM

By Sinfah Tunsarawuth

BANGKOK, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Thailand has been non-committal to joining meetings with Cambodia later this month as proposed by Indonesia to discuss the two countries' border dispute, according to a Thai Foreign Ministry statement.

Meanwhile, the nationalistic "yellow-shirt" People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) on Thursday submitted a letter to the Indonesian ambassador in Bangkok in protesting against a planned Indonesian observer mission to the Thai-Cambodian disputed border.

PAD said in the letter that the coming of the Indonesian observers would amount to "a foreign military operation to control Thai military operations defending Thai sovereignty, which has been deliberately violated by Cambodia."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, the current ASEAN chair, has proposed that Thailand and Cambodia meet later this month to solve their border dispute under the existing General Border Committee (GBC), co-chaired by the defense ministers of both nations, and separately under Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC), co-chaired by the two countries' senior officials, according to media reports.

Natalegawa made the proposal in a letter sent on Wednesday to Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and other ASEAN foreign ministers. The GBC and JBC meetings were proposed on March 24-25 in Bogor, Indonesia.

Natalegawa also said in the letter that Cambodia has responded positively to the Terms of Reference (TOR) in sending the Indonesian observers.

"I am looking forward to hearing positive responses from Thailand," he was quoted as saying in his letter.

The sending of Indonesian observers was a result of the informal meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations on Feb. 22 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said in the statement on Thursday that: "Thailand welcomes Cambodia's readiness to attend the said meetings as it has all along been trying to convene bilateral negotiations with Cambodia."

Thani said the proposed GBC meeting would allow the two countries to discuss the TOR of the Indonesian observers.

However, he said in regard to the GBC meeting, "details with regard to the dates, venue and appropriate engagement of Indonesia remain matters to be discussed further."

He continued: "It is noted that at this juncture Cambodia has proposed that Indonesia attend the opening ceremony, and that, after the conclusion of the said meeting, both countries would share its outcome with Indonesia."

For the JBC meeting, Thani said Thailand had wanted to hold such a meeting in February "a proposal which Cambodia had first agreed to in principle before subsequently changing its position."

He continued: "However, it had been the Cambodian side which maintained that the three draft agreed minutes of the previous JBC meetings be approved by the Thai Parliament first before the said meeting could be convened."

A joint sitting of the House of Representatives and Senate is expected to deliberate and vote on the three draft minutes, seen as agreements that could affect Thai territory, later this month.

Thani's statement did not say clearly whether Thailand was prepared to join the GBC and JBC meetings on March 24-25 in Bogor.

PAD, which has been protesting against the government on its alleged mishandling of the Thai-Cambodian border dispute since Jan. 25, said in its letter to the Indonesian ambassador that the proposed sending of the Indonesian observers would not comply with the bilateral arrangement of Thailand and Cambodia on solving the border dispute, which is involved with a 4.6-square kilometer piece of land around the Preah Vihear temple.

The PAD letter also said the TOR of Indonesian observers could be seen as an agreement that would alter Thailand's sovereign border and, hence, require an approval from the bicameral parliament first.

In launching its rally in January, PAD wanted the Thai government to scrap the existing memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Thailand and Cambodia in 2000 as the framework for settling the two countries' border dispute.

They also urged the government to move out Cambodians who are occupying the disputed areas, and to pull out as a party to the World Heritage Convention, under which the Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage site by Cambodia in July 2008.

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Thai embassy in Phnom Penh seeks Veera's signature for royal pardon petition

BANGKOK, March 10 - The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh will ask two Thai Patriots Network activists convicted and detained for espionage to endorse the letters seeking royal pardon for them from the Cambodian monarch on Friday, the secretary to the Thai foreign minister said today.

Chavanond Intarakomalayasut, secretary to the Thai foreign minister, disclosed the information after the mother of Veera Somkwamkid met with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Wednesday seeking the government’s help to secure the release of her son. She said Mr Veera was "seriously ill" while serving jail sentence in Preysar Prison as he has not been given appropriate medical treatment and nutrition.

Mr Veera and his secretary Ratree Pipattanapaiboon were convicted by a Cambodian court on Feb 1 for espionage, illegal entry, and trespassing in a military zone. The 53-year-old activist was sentenced to an eight-year jail term while Ms Ratree was handed a six-year jail term.

Mr Chavanond said the lawyers of Mr Veera and Ms Ratree have finished drafting the royal pardon documents in the Cambodian language and forwarded them to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh for translation into Thai.

Embassy officials will bring the letters to the two detainees on Friday so that they could read the details and endorse the papers.

The embassy would be able to send the royal pardon letters to the Cambodian foreign ministry within next week, said Mr Chavanond, adding that the Cambodian ministry will have to forward the letters to the Justice Ministry and then the Cambodia's Office of the Prime Minister.

Following recommendations regarding a prisoner exchange, the secretary stated the foreign ministry already considered that approach but later learned that such transfers do not cover national security cases and that both Mr Veera and Ms Ratree must first serve at least one-third of their jail time.

"Moreover, with the prisoner exchange, they would also have to [continue] imprisonment in Thailand," said Mr Chavanond. "So the ministry advised them to seek a royal pardon, an option which can proceed immediately. The two detainees agreed with the idea and have signed documents expressing their will to use such as approach."

Mr Chavanond added that he will visit Phnom Penh seeking to take Mr Veera from jail for medical treatment and is now awaiting a reply from the Cambodian authorities whether they will allow him to visit the convicts.

The prime minister asserted Thursday that Mr Veera's health problem is a cause of concern for his government, and that seeking a royal pardon is the better option to help them. (MCOT online news)

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Thailand wants talks wIth CambodIa on observers

By The Nation


Thailand wants to discuss plans for Indonesian observation of the border conflict with Cambodia during boundary committee meetings in Indonesia later this month, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

As Asean chair, Indonesia has proposed hosting the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) on demarcation and the General Border Committee (GBC) in Bogor from March 24-25.

Cambodia has said it agrees to the proposal and will attend the meetings of the two bodies.

Phnom Penh insisted the meetings could not be bilateral discussions between the two parties, asking for Indonesia to act as a "referee" over the matter.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said Thailand regarded the meetings as bilateral although Indonesia would observe proceedings.

Thailand wants discussions on the terms of reference (TOR) for Indonesian observers on the border between the two countries at the disputed area adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, he said.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thailand was ready to discuss the border matter with Cambodia and hoped the border meetings in Indonesia could ease border tension.

"But we have to look at the form of the meetings since there will be a third country to engage with the issue," he said.

"The JBC and GBC have their own mechanisms but it would be no problem if anybody sat in as a witness," he said. "Indonesia, as the chair of Asean, will acknowledge the meetings but it will not intervene in the content of the meetings."

Thailand and Cambodia have long been at loggerheads over the boundary issue. The latest clashes took place from February 4-7 and claimed around 10 lives including three civilians on both sides.

Cambodia brought up the issue with the United Nations Security Council and Asean last month.

The UN urged Asean to enforce a "permanent ceasefire" at the border areas. Indonesia came up with a plan to dispatch observers to the disputed border. The TOR has been sent to the two for consideration. Phnom Penh has agreed to the terms, though Thailand is still studying them.


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World Bank urges Cambodia to stop mass eviction

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – The World Bank called on Cambodia Wednesday to halt a mass eviction taking place in the capital amid mounting criticism over forced displacements in the country.

"We are deeply troubled and frustrated about the people who are being forced from their homes," World Bank president Robert Zoellick said in a statement.

A private company headed by a ruling party politician is filling in a lake in central Phnom Penh for commercial development, a controversial project that will eventually displace some 4,000 lakeside families.

Half the residents living on the shores of the Boeung Kak lake have already left, but they received only limited compensation from the company, according to a local housing rights group.

The remaining residents have held frequent protests in recent weeks, urging the company and the government to provide adequate compensation or allow them to stay in their homes.

The Bank is offering the Cambodian government "financing and technical advice to find practical solutions," Zoellick said. "We have repeatedly called on the government to end the evictions."

Cambodia has faced mounting criticism over a spate of forced evictions in recent years.

Last month the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, Surya Subedi, said he was "deeply concerned" about land rights violations.

In 2009 alone, at least 26 cases of mass evictions displaced approximately 27,000 people across the country, according to a UN report issued last year.

Land disputes have been a major problem in the country since land ownership was abolished during the 1975-1979 rule of the communist Khmer Rouge. Many legal documents were lost during that time.

The World Bank started a land titling programme in Cambodia in 2002 to address these issues, but it failed to include the Boeung Kak lake residents.

The government cancelled the programme in 2009, saying it was "too difficult".

A investigation by the World Bank later found that the lake residents were displaced in violation of policies it had agreed with the government for handling resettlement.

The Bank recognised it had been too slow to respond to the evictions, however.

A spokeswoman for the Cambodian Ministry of Land Management refused to comment on the statement but said a government response was expected shortly.

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Custom red tape criticised

Cambodia’s customs procedures put the country at a disadvantage to its neighbours and require updating to encourage economic development, according to experts.

Domestic infrastructure is improving, but unnecessary regulations in Cambodia were hindering potential investment, said Paul Apthorp, board member of the Greater Mekong Subregion Business Forum.

“Freight cargo is like water – it takes the line of least resistance. If the easiest route is that way, that’s the way you’ll go,” he said.

“Transport has to do with time. If you want to send cargo, you send it [by] the quickest, most efficient route, not the shortest route.”

The Asia Development Bank has organised a two-day symposium in Phnom Penh on attracting investment and promoting growth on its Southern Economic Corridor project, which is envisioned initially as a transport and logistics route through southern Thailand, Cambodia and southern Vietnam.

Minister of Commerce official Cham Prasidh said in an opening speech that the Southern Economic Corridor had strong potential for development, but added this would not happen overnight.

ADB Southeast Asia Department official Arjun Goswami told The Post action had started on building the corridors project, though the SEC lagged behind other similar regional projects.

“I think what we now need is a clear, set timetable, an agreement on indicators and a sequence of steps to get the full implementation going,” he said.

Some infrastructure projects require completion – such as the Neak Leoung bridge spanning the Mekong river on the road between Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City, which is set for a 2015 finish.

Conversations were required to discuss why the Southern Economic Corridor lagged behind other corridor projects in Southeast Asia, he said, adding it could be due to such reasons as incomplete transport links, issues over trade facilitation, or other problems.

Apthorp said the single biggest thing Cambodia can do to improve its transport and logistics industry is to recognise electronic transmission of documents.

“Remove the need for original documents for transit. Yes, have the original document for final clearance,” he said, adding this was commonplace in most countries.

“The law [in Cambodia] has not been updated for the modern trade experience.”

Apthorp – who is also a strategic development official at TNT Express Worldwide (HK) – said he preferred to send Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh freight via Laos as it is quicker than shipping through Cambodia.

He estimates unnecessary paperwork means freight costs 40 to 50 percent higher when shipping in Cambodia than it would if procedures were streamlined.

Although “tea money” payments were commonplace across the developing world, he said it was important to differentiate between tea money – which he likened to a tip at a restaurant – and flat-out bribery to cover illegal operations.

Sok Chheang, executive director the Cambodia Trucking Association, said that he would like to see an agreement in place for Cambodian trucks to cross the border with Thailand, and vice versa.

He claimed customs clearance was not a large problem, though at the Economic Corridor symposium he said he planned to ask the government to reduce time and costs at the border.

Customs officials could not be reached for comment today.

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Uncovering the treasures of Siem Reap

By Albert Alvarez

COMMON descriptions I have heard about Siem Reap have been, exotic, tranquil, serene and even sublime.

With all these good reviews about Siem Reap in Cambodia, I think it was worth taking a trip to see what the hype was all about.

Siem Reap has become a popular destination, because of the famous Unesco World Heritage site, Angkor Wat. You may have seen this temple in a movie or in documentaries on TV, but seeing the complex up close can be overwhelming. And to my surprise, aside from the Angkor Wat, there was so much more to see and do, in this very exotic and exciting destination.

To date, there are no direct flights from Cebu to Siem Reap, so allow travel agents or your own resourcefulness to check routes with airlines of choice, based on budget and schedules.

Like any trip, I would suggest that you read up on some basic facts about Siem Reap and Cambodia. Try to familiarize yourself with the popular destinations, lay out of the city and even the customs of the country. The question of where to stay is something important to me, based on the area, type of accommodation and price. For more information, try to check out these websites, http://www.siemreap-town.gov.kh and http://www.tourismcambodia.com/

Fortunately, Siem Reap is not as big as I thought it would be. I managed to walk a good portion of the city in a day. A small walking tour could take you to certain interesting points of the city. You could start at the heart of the city, which for me, would be Old Market. There are some interesting good deals to be made here.

Drop by Pub street, during the day and at night, to see what the social life is like in Siem Reap. Nearby, you can check out the Wat Preah Prom Rath, Wat Bo and Wat Damnak temples. Take a stroll along the Siem Reap River and make your way to the Royal Residence, the Royal Independence Gardens and the Angkor National Museums.

Then, when the sun goes down, make your way back to the Old Market via Sivutha Boulevard, passing by the Central Market, Noon Night Market and Angkor Night Market.

If you are not much of a shopper, check out the Khmer restaurants, other bars and cafes, where you can sample all sorts of food. My favorites were the chicken amok and the banana blossom salad.

Finally, the major attraction in Siem Reap is the Angkor Archeological Park. There are different day passes, such as the one-day, three-day or the seven-day pass. You can hire a guide, to give you a better understanding of the area and a vehicle as well, since the park is enormous. Due to the many number of temples,

I would probably suggest to see the Angkor Wat and the Angkor Thom (Bayon) first. If you have more time, check out Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and Phnom Bakheng. There are more temples such as Prasat Kravan, Bantay Srey, Neak Pean, Ta Som and so on. But you can make your own list of which temples you wish to see based on your own interest and schedule.

Like always, I would advise anyone going on a trip, to always note some important facts about your destination, such as telephone numbers and hotlines of the police, hospitals, banks, credit card companies, ports, airport, bus stations and the tourist office.

Siem Reap, for me, is now a destination I would recommend to anyone who wishes to see a bit of adventure as well as have some rest and recreation. The people are extremely friendly, the food is amazing and the places of interest possess a certain charm that is quite endearing.

I wish that you too will experience the treasures I have found in Siem Reap.

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World Bank project tied to forced evictions in Cambodia

Complainants won their case at the Inspection Panel

The World Bank’s Inspection Panel found that the Bank breached its operational policies by failing to properly design and supervise the Cambodia Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP), contributing to the forced eviction of some 4,250 families.

On all counts, the World Bank’s Inspection Panel found that the Bank breached its operational policies by failing to properly design and supervise the Cambodia Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP). These failures contributed to the forced eviction of some 4,250 families living around Phnom Penh’s iconic Boeung Kak Lake. Residents were unfairly denied the right to register their land ownership shortly before the government leased the area to a private developer and began a campaign of intimidation and pressure to force families living in the area to leave.

Today, the Bank Board of Executive Directors are meeting to decide what action to take in light of the findings of the Bank’s Inspection Panel that a $28.8 million land titling project in Cambodia flagrantly disregarded Bank policies, leaving more than 20,000 people facing forced eviction from their homes in central Phnom Penh.

The outcome of the Board meeting will signify how the Bank will demonstrate its accountability to some 2,000 families who have already been evicted and forced to accept a fraction of the market values for their property. As the deliberation on Panel Report and Management Response is happening today, the remaining 10,000 people living around the lake are served with a seven-day deadline to accept the compensation on offer or face bulldozers and get nothing.
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Accelerating the Global Health Initiative: Cambodia's HIV/AIDS Efforts Put Women in the Driver's Seat

U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.), center left, visits a SmartGirl Club and interacts with beneficiaries in a Karaoke parlor in Phnom Penh during a recent visit to Cambodia.


The exchange of sex for money remains a major driver of the spread of HIV/AIDS throughout Southeast Asia, but the karaoke bars, massage parlors, beer gardens, and other settings where these transactions are brokered remain some of the most viable employment venues for vulnerable women.

In Cambodia—where more than 10 percent of female entertainment workers are infected with HIV, and more than 25 percent of these women and girls report having no education—USAID programming supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is implementing a new approach to reducing HIV risk by focusing on the central principle of the Global Health Initiative: that the health and well-being of women is key to the health of all.

Instead of exclusively focusing on distributing condoms and conducting risk-reduction education for high-risk women, the SmartGirl program aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health of its beneficiaries more broadly through linkages to personal counseling, voluntary family.

Late last year, the program received a PEPFAR Heroes award from the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator for its efforts to reduce the risks associated with entertainment work, while also supporting women in the pursuit of other employment.

"We're committed to having women in the driver's seat," said Michael Cassell, the coordinator of the PEPFAR initiative in Cambodia. "SmartGirl is largely designed and run by entertainment workers to address their own felt needs. And the skills they acquire in the process help many of them to consider and pursue other careers, including ones in HIV and reproductive health service delivery."

Avoiding "Message Fatigue"

Previous HIV/AIDS programs have focused on raising awareness of HIV, and educating people about how to avoid getting infected. But by demonstrating that staying healthy is key to the pursuit of education, wealth, happiness, and other personal objectives, SmartGirl strives to engage beneficiaries while sidestepping some of the "message fatigue" and monotony associated with more didactic approaches. Education sessions are run by peers, cover a broad range of topics that are updated regularly, and offer referrals to free HIV testing, family planning, and other services.

During a recent visit to a SmartGirl club in Phnom Penh, U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) was inspired to join program beneficiaries in a rousing karaoke rendition of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," noting her appreciation for the leadership of club members in providing health education and referrals to health care, vocational training, and legal services to other entertainment workers.

"I am so proud of you," Richardson told the club members.

The SmartGirl program, which is implemented by USAID-partner Family Health International, currently provides services to 12,600 of the estimated 35,000 women working in clubs and night spots in Cambodia. The program is funded by PEPFAR but is consistent with the overarching objectives of the Global Health Initiative, the U.S. government's six-year, $63 billion commitment to help partner countries strengthen their health systems, with a particular focus on improving the health of women, newborns, and children.

"Almost 30 percent of entertainment workers in Cambodia report having an abortion in the past year, suggesting inconsistent condom use and unmet needs for family planning," said Cassell. "By linking these women to sexual and reproductive health services, we stand to prevent new HIV infections while also reducing maternal mortality—the latter arguably being Cambodia's biggest public health challenge."

A Model Approach

Cambodia is home to one of the most renowned national success stories in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Late last year, the country received international recognition in the form of a Millennium Development Goals country award for cutting adult HIV prevalence in half, from 2 percent to 0.9 percent between 1998 and 2006, while extending HIV-related care to more than 70 percent of HIV-infected adults, and HIV treatment to more than 90 percent of eligible individuals.

The estimated proportion of sex workers infected with HIV is down to around 10 percent from over 21 percent in 2003, according to the 2006 HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS). However, the maternal mortality ratio in Cambodia remains the second highest in East Asia.

"We're particularly excited about the potential of this program to serve as a model for the scale up of higher quality and more holistic approaches to address the needs of populations at high risk for HIV infection," said Cassell. "Many of the service delivery and referral protocols pioneered through SmartGirl are now being implemented as part of Cambodia's national program with support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria."

In the past decade, the U.S. government has invested more than $150 million in HIV/AIDS programs in the Southeast Asian nation, providing almost 40 percent of the resources available to the national response.
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Unhappy holidays for Cambodia's economy?

People march past Hun Sen park during a protest on Human Rights Day in December last year


Workers across the Kingdom will enjoy a day off on Tuesday to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Next month will bring three days off for Khmer New Year, and after six more public holidays in May, June will begin with a day off for Children’s Day.

All told, Cambodians will enjoy 26 public holidays this year, a total among the highest of any country in the world.

While workers will assuredly enjoy the break tomorrow, some observers are raising questions as to whether this surfeit of days off is introducing a hurdle to Cambodia’s development.

“It’s a clear economic impediment,” said Stephen Higgins, chief executive officer of ANZ Royal Bank.

“Any reduction in economic activity means that Cambodia is not meeting its growth potential.”

Regional powerhouses Hong Kong and Singapore enjoy 17 and 11 holidays, respectively, while workers in neighbouring Vietnam and Laos earn just nine and 10.

Holiday totals in Western countries, by and large, are similarly low, with the United States and the United Kingdom enjoying 10 and nine public holidays this year, respectively.

In the Philippines – which, at 21, still has 19 percent fewer public holidays than Cambodia – a group of seven foreign chambers of commerce released a study in December arguing that the large number of holidays was raising costs for employers by millions of dollars while serving as a deterrent to foreign investors.

"Every paid holiday goes to the bottom line of the balance sheet, and, like minimum wages, can pressure firms that operate on low profit margins to reduce their work force, close, or move into the underground economy," the study said.

Significant underemployment and informal economic activity mitigate the effect of Cambodia’s holiday glut, said Michael Smiddy, a former senior consultant at Emerging Markets Consulting in Phnom Penh.

Many businesses choose to stay open during some holidays, while other key sectors are largely unaffected, he added.

“You can’t harvest more rice just because there are less holidays,” he said.

“The same number of tourists would still come and spend the same amount.”

Other industries, however, feel the effects of public shutdowns more acutely.

Sjaak de Klein, the country manager for transportation and logistics firm TNT, said importers and exporters whose shipments require processing by the government see their activities in many cases delayed unnecessarily by the excess of holidays, reducing the Kingdom’s competitiveness.

Public holidays also typically create a multiplier effect in slowing down work, de Klein added, as many employees choose to take annual leave around their official days off.

“Especially with a middle class arising, this could be a big impact on a rapidly expanding economy,” he said in an email.

In manufacturing, too, the excess of holidays is felt in the form of either stalled production or increased labour costs, as employees earn overtime pay on the many public holidays they choose to work.

“This is an issue that we have been grappling with for a long time and we have reflected to the government on numerous occasions,” said Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia.

Chea Peng Chheang, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said he did not believe the issue posed a challenge to Cambodia’s growth.

“I think that the high number of public holidays in Cambodia does not affect the Cambodian economy, because these days have been set out in the government’s laws and schedules with clear planning,” he said.

Ye Samphy, manager of training and communications at the Labour Ministry’s Arbitration Council Foundation, noted that other countries have annual leave requirements that bring their overall amount of days off closer to the total seen in Cambodia.

Under Cambodian law, full-time employees in the Kingdom are entitled to 18 days of annual leave, plus one extra day for every three years of continuous service.

This total is roughly in line with the personal leave provided in many other countries, though above nations such as Singapore, where employees who have worked for five years at a particular company get just 12 days leave.

TNT's de Klein said a reduction in public holidays could be balanced with annual leave increases in the private sector, thereby allowing workers the same amount of days off while reducing the number of overall economic “shutdowns” over the course of the year.

Higgins, meanwhile, said a simple glance at the calendar suggested obvious starting points for reform.

“Some of these international days do not require a public holiday to celebrate them, whether that’s International Women’s Day, International Human Rights Day – I don’t understand why they need a holiday to celebrate that,” he said. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Read more!

Cambodia’s derivative trade ban evokes partial response

PHNOM PENH (Commodity Online) : Cambodia’s decision to stop five companies from trading in derivatives markets evoked positive responses.

The Southeast Asian nation is yet to launch its first commodity exchange.

Five domestic firms trading in derivatives have been ordered to suspend their operations by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia.

The SECC ordered five companies to halt operations. They were named as Gold Financial Global, First State Gold Investment Company, Global Gold and Forex Investment Consultant Company, CMDK Gold Company, and International Gold Market Company.

In a statement, SECC said Cambodian firms offering derivatives trading had operated without the necessary regulatory framework being in place.

The SECC was cooperating with the firms to prepare the necessary regulations, but the emphasis for the regulatory body was currently on launching the Cambodia Securities Exchange, which is slated for July, the statement said.

Some analysts said to allow some companies the opportunity to start trading in derivatives in commodities including gold, metals and oil would have been the financial equivalent of sprinting before learning to walk in Cambodia’s case.

One of the main challenges Cambodia faces with the forthcoming stock exchange is educating the general public to avoid stock trading turning into a sophisticated version of gambling.

The problem with derivatives trading is that it is infinitely more complex than stock trading. By its very nature, you trade in a value derived from an asset and not in an asset itself.

As instruments that allow hedging and speculation, derivatives offer security for companies against foreign exchange volatility and fluctuating commodity prices as well as a lucrative source of revenue for investment banks.

Indeed, big banks were considered the driving force behind deregulation of derivatives markets dating back to the late 1990s in the United States, a move many financial experts consider to be the root cause of the financial crisis.

Financial products that led to the high leverage that sparked the crisis in the US, including subprime mortgage-backed securities and credit default swaps, are all derivatives.

No-one is suggesting these five Cambodian companies could cause a similar financial meltdown but recent lessons the world has learned from derivatives trading should be clear.

If regulated appropriately, companies in Cambodia will in the future be able to hedge on insurance, oil prices and foreign exchange, all of which represent considerable and often unpredictable costs here.

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Huge potential for Indochine in PNG

It has been a case of back to the future for Stephen Promnitz, the chief executive of the south-east Asia and south-west Pacific copper/gold explorer Indochine Mining (ASX:IDC).

Indochine raised $20 million in its December float on the strength of a big copper/gold exploration tenement package in little-explored Cambodia. The float attracted the backing of the mighty fund manager BlackRock and hedge fund Och-Ziff as substantial shareholders, with holdings of 7 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

Drilling gets under way at the Cambodia properties later this year. In the meantime Promnitz has secured an option for Indochine over the Mount Kare gold project in Papua New Guinea.

As a young geologist with CRA (which has since merged with Rio Tinto), Promnitz witnessed one of the great alluvial gold rushes in the modern era at Mount Kare.

The 1988-89 rush left an impression. ''It was the most astounding thing I have ever seen,'' Promnitz told Garimpeiro. ''There was more gold than you could poke a stick at. So much so that I thought I would never be looking for gold again.

''The locals were shaking gold nuggets from the roots of the grass. Some of the nuggets were the size of goose eggs.

''It was on for young and old.

''We saw the place go from having nobody there to having more than 6000 people with picks and shovels in the space of six weeks.''

Gold was well understood in the region, given Barrick's 25 million ounce Porgera deposit some 20 kilometres away.

Porgera hadn't been developed by then, but it had been a gold exploration project for 30 years. What eventually got Porgera into production was the discovery of zone 7 with its amazing grade of 40 grams of gold a tonne.

In the end, the locals that swarmed to Mount Kare plucked more than 1 million ounces of gold from very thick, sticky clay. The alluvial gold eventually petered out but the underlying hard-rock potential remained. And there was plenty of work for everyone at Porgera.

Books can and have been written on the Mount Kare alluvial gold rush. Fascinating stuff it is too, as you would expect given conmen were quick on the scene. They love a gold rush as much as anybody else.

For today's purposes, all we need to know is that CRA walked away from Mount Kare following the forced abandonment of its Panguna copper mine on Bougainville island because of attacks by secessionist rebels at around the same time, which led to the company exiting PNG completely. (Rio's listed subsidiary Bougainville Copper still harbours ambitions of returning Panguna to production.)

Canadian groups eventually secured the title to Mount Kare and in the late 1990s and early 21st century set about assessing the hard-rock potential of the site.

The Canadians outlined, under their national reporting requirements, a 1.7 million ounce hard-rock gold resource (1.9 million ounces if you give the silver in the mineralisation a gold equivalent value).

But the global financial crisis in 2008 clipped their wings and Mount Kare ended up for sale in the hands of a liquidator. Indochine has now secured an option over the deposit in a deal with the private Australian-PNG syndicate that acquired Mount Kare from the liquidator, with an initial payment of $4 million made by Indochine last week.

Full details of the expected shares and cash deal that will give Indochine control of Mount Kare are expected to be released within 21 days or so.

On that happening, stand by for a re-rating of the stock.

At Friday's closing price of 30¢ a share, Indochine was being valued at $82 million.

Compare that to the fancy market values of any number of ASX-listed West African gold explorers with similar-sized projects to Mount Kare and you'll see why the re-rating potential is there.

PNG can be a hairy place, as can West Africa. But if Garimpeiro had to be dropped into either of them, PNG would be his choice, because of the $20 billion being pumped in to developing PNG's gas export business by Exxon Mobil and others.

It is transformational stuff for PNG in terms infrastructure that will make the country less difficult to get things done. Things like telecommunications, air services, technical and legal support, not to mention the new casino and hotels that are going up in Port Moresby.

Once the Indochine option over Mount Kare is bedded down, the plan is to start work on an ASX-compliant resource.

Given the estimate by the Canadians was largely in the drill-indicated category, the swap from their assessment to one that suits local reporting requirements should be plain sailing.

More to the point is that the Canadians' assessment was based on a gold price of just $US300 an ounce and a silver price of only $US5.50 an ounce.

Both metals now trade at multiples of those prices, meaning there is now the potential to add a sizeable open-cut resource to the underground resource.

It is also worth noting that while ''near-ology'' is a dangerous practice, Mount Kare does share similar geology and geological setting to the Porgera deposit.

Whether or not Mount Kare too has a zone 7 that will be uncovered by further exploration remains to seen.

What is known is that the current Canadian resource estimate (it has a high-grade portion of 740,000 ounces of gold in 4.6 million tonnes of material grading 5 g/tonne gold) is good enough for Indochine to get working on a feasibility study into Mount Kare's development.

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Cambodia, Laos, VN discuss joint website management

Representatives from Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam gathered in Ha Noi yesterday to discuss a draft co-operation agreement on the management and operation of their joint website.

The website was initiated by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment to promote co-operation and development between the three countries, particularly in the triangle development area. The draft focuses on regulations for administrative procedures, editing and provisions and checks on information and data posted on the website.

Under the agreement, information provided by each country will be in line with the website's purpose as well as the laws and regulations that pertain to each country. In addition, posted information will not bring harm to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country.

The website is on a trial run at http://clv-triangle.vn in English, Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese. It will introduce the development triangle and the potential of the provinces in it, provide and share information on activities relating to the triangle, deliver news on the investment climate and opportunities and promote tourism among other things.

The Cambodia-Laos-Viet Nam development triangle initially covers 13 provinces, including Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc in Viet Nam, Sekong, Attapu, Saravan and Champasak in Laos, and Stung Treng, Rattanakirri, Mondulkiry and Kratie in Cambodia.
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Cambodia waiting for Thai parliament's endorsement before next boundary talks

Phnom Penh will wait until Thailand's parliament ratifies the previous memos of Joint- Boundary Commission (JBC) meetings before it will accept Bangkok' s proposal on the next JBC meeting, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman said Saturday.

Thailand has proposed to hold the next JBC on March 7-8 with its neighboring Cambodia in order to discuss border demarcation.

The issue so far has not yet been submitted for approval of Thai parliament; therefore, it is uncertain the next JBC would be held in Indonesia during March 7-8, Thani Thongpakdi, FM spokesman said.

The Article190 of Thailand's 2007 Constitution regulates that any treaty to be signed with other foreign countries and may bring about territorial changes requires parliament's ratification before it will be implemented.

The spokesman insisted that the meeting would be carried out bilaterally not multilaterally as Cambodian preferred. There might be the third country to facilitate talks but only Thailand and Cambodia would be at negotiating table, he added.

The two neighboring countries share a common border approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) long but demarcation has never been fully completed. The 11th-century Preah Vihear temple has been the subject of age-old border dispute for decades. Although the International Court of Justice awarded the Hindu temple to Cambodia in 1962, the dispute over area adjacent to the temple has never been solved.

Listing of the temple to Unesco's World Heritage Site in 2008 fueled tensions between the two countries, resulting in military build-up with sporadic skirmishes. The latest deadly clashes on Feb 4-7, when both countries exchanged small arms firing and shelling, caused loss of lives of civilian population and soldiers on both sides as well as massive evacuation of residents along the border.

Source: Xinhua. Read more!

ASEAN chair to set up meetings for Cambodian-Thai border dispute

PHNOM PENH, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia, in the status of ASEAN chair, is arranging meetings for Cambodian-Thai defense ministers and border chiefs in Jakarta, said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday.

"Indonesian foreign minister (Marty M. Natalegawa) is preparing to have the meetings of Cambodia-Thai General Border Committee and Joint Border Committee on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) in Jakarta, Indonesia," Hun Sen said during a visit to about 500 disabled soldiers and their families in Chhouk district of Kampot province.

"Cambodia welcomes Indonesian foreign minister to set the dates for the meetings of the two countries' defense ministers and border chiefs," he said. "And Indonesia, the host, will be the referee, and whatever points Cambodia and Thailand agree, Indonesia has to take a note of every agreement between us."

Hun Sen said that Indonesia foreign minister Marty M. Natalegawa has sent a letter to Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers and other foreign ministers of ASEAN members on Friday.

The letter mentioned Cambodia's absolute acceptance of the terms of reference for the Indonesian observers to the border disputed areas.

Also, in the letter, the foreign minister wrote, "I am aware that Thai side does not oppose to the observers, but it is taking it into consideration," Hun Sen said.

Cambodia has arranged 14 places for the observers and for the period of 12 months, and it said the time could be extended and the 14 points could be added further. "Nothing is mysterious for Cambodia," said Hun Sen.

Cambodia and Thailand on Feb. 22 agreed to receive Indonesian observers to monitor the border disputed areas near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple in order to ensure a permanent ceasefire

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

Although the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Temple of Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia, the row over the 4.6-square-km territory around the temple has never been resolved.

The conflict has occurred just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008, since then both sides have built up military forces along the border, and periodic clashes happened, resulted in deaths of troops on both sides.

The latest clashes on Feb. 4-7, unleashed a barrage of artillery shells on both sides of the border, had killed and wounded many soldiers and citizens of both sides, and caused tens of thousands of the two countries' villagers nearby the disputed areas fleeing for safe shelters.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Editor: Tang Danlu

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Cambodia takes attaches to disputed area

The Thai government is outraged by a visit from foreign attaches to the disputed border areas in Cambodia, an army source says.

But the source said: "If we open fire, this will play into the hands of Cambodia and it will show the world that we started the fight."

Cambodian troops have taken foreign military attaches on a visit to Preah Vihear temple and the surrounding disputed border area in what is seen by Thailand as a violation of an agreement made in 2000 between the two countries governing the disputed border site.

The army source said Cambodian troops yesterday led a group of military attaches from 12 countries from Phnom Penh to visit the temple.

The military attaches came from the US, France, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, Burma, Vietnam and Laos.

The source said they were visible to Thai troops through binoculars on the other side of the border on the mountaintop of Pha Mo I Daeng.

"The Suranaree task force has written to the Cambodian side protesting against the move, which violates an agreement governing the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area also claimed by Thailand," the source said.

"Their visit did not have permission from Thailand."

The source said Cambodia claimed it had a plan to take the military attaches to visit Cambodia's Viharn province to inspect disputed border areas on Thursday and Friday.

The areas included Keo Sikha Kiri Savara pagoda sitting in the disputed area near the 11th century Hindu temple, as well as other surrounding disputed areas claimed by Cambodia.

The source said the military attaches could be seen visiting Preah Vihear temple.

The source said the move by the Cambodian side was an act of defiance and could only reignite border tensions.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday the government was "trying every means" to secure freedom for Thai Patriots Network co-ordinator Veera Somkwamkid and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon.

A Cambodian court on Feb 1 convicted the two to eight and six years in jail respectively for spying and illegal entry into Cambodian territory. Read more!

Cambodia appeals Hindus for help to safeguard landmark Preah Vihear Shiva temple

Nevada (US), March 05 : Cambodia has sought the help of the Hindus worldwide to help safeguard the landmark Preah Vihear Shiva temple, which was reportedly damaged recently due to Thai-Cambodia border clashes.

Ros Borath, President of Cambodia's National Committee for the World Heritage, in a emailed letter to distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, wrote with the hope that "Hindu world will soon take notice of this place, most sacred to Shiva, and help people of Cambodia to safeguard this world heritage monument with universal spiritual value as propounded by Lord Shiva".

"Preah Vihear is Mount Kailash of South East Asia in the Dangrek range. Bhadreshvara-Shiva arrived here from Vat Phu via India to radiate his Shiva Teja over people of South East Asia flourishing under the Angkor kingdom. Preah Vihear is the open air theatre for the cosmic dance of Shiva. The colossal dancing image of Shiva is sculpted on the door frame (Pediment) of the mandapa of the main temple", Borath argued.

Describing the Temple, Committee President Borath further wrote: "Besides the central temple where this dancing image of Shiva is sculpted, there are four other temples at the four levels of the plateau (gopura II-IV). These gopuras are in reality mandapas where the gods of the family of Shiva (parivara devata) are depicted. Images of Brahma, Vishnu, Krishna and Shvia are all carved in bas-reliefs on the lintels and pediments over the doors of these five temples. Sanskrit and Khmer inscriptions found from Preah Vihear inform us that this temple complex was a great hermitage center for meditation, following the path of Shiva. There were a number of hermitages at the foothills of Dangrek, and the networking of these ashramas was done from Mount Preah Vihear, Kailash of mainland Southeast Asia."

"Since the sculpture of Shiva is above the door of the mandapa of the main temple, its safety is in great danger. All the images of parivara devata of Shiva, as they are sculpted out side the structure on the doorframes, are in great danger", he added.

Pictures of the Preah Vihear Shiva temple were also attached, indicating damages to Gopura (towered gateway found at the entrances to temples) I, II, III, IV, and V resulting from Thai-Cambodia border clashes.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged various Hindu organizations world over to raise public opinion about this Shiva (Bhadreshvara) Temple, claimed to be one of the world's biggest temple complex dedicated to Shiva.

Expressing serious concern at the reported damage, Rajan Zed said that international community, UNESCO, and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) should immediately provide funding to bring back this Lord Shiva temple to its original shape as it was before Thai-Cambodia clashes began February four. These organizations should not shy away to shoulder their responsibility of saving the important heritage of the world and respecting the feelings of Hindus worldwide, Rajan Zed said and added that besides temple repairs, some infrastructure in the area should also be provided for devotees and other visitors.

Zed stressed that this landmark age-old and revered Preah Vihear Hindu Shiva temple complex was important to Hindu heritage and must be preserved to pass it on to the future generations. Damage to 11th century Shiva temple was shocking and hurtful to the Hindu community world over. Lord Shiva, one of the major deities in Hinduism forming great triad with Brahma and Vishnu, was focus of worship of the Hindus, and it was important for them that Preah Vihear Hindu Shiva temple be protected. It was a world heritage and it was moral duty of the world to keep it intact for the coming generations.

Known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, this remote temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia, which had reportedly not been clearly demarcated, had been a source of tension for generations. Preah Vihear was said to even predate Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex by about 100 years and its stunning setting made it finest of all the ruins left from the mighty Khmer civilization, Rajan Zed stated.

Zed pointed out that world should not let this sacred site dedicated to Lord Shiva (situated where Preah Vihear province of northern Cambodia touched Sisaket province of eastern Thailand) be further damaged to advance political agendas of some as there appeared to be a no clear solution to settle the long-standing territorial dispute surrounding the temple, which was already a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and whose history could be traced to 9th century when the hermitage was founded.

Moreover, Temple of Preah Vihear, an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture mostly created by Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II, was a unique architectural complex of a series of sanctuaries and was said to be exceptional for the quality of its architecture and carved stone ornamentation. It was reportedly dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva in his manifestations as Sikharesvara and Bhadresvara. It was also said to be marking representation of sacred Mount Meru, the abode of the gods, and showing a depiction of Churning of the Ocean, a Hindu scriptural episode, Rajan Zed said.

Cambodian Government's Committee describes Preah Vihear as: The site serves as a sacred place worshipping to the Hindu god Shiva manifesting as Sikharesvara (the Lord of Peak) and his figures are depicted on pediments and lintels.


--ANI Read more!

Degar-Montagnards: Cambodia Must Uphold Asylum Rights

Despite the fact that the UN refuge centre is now closed, according to international standards Montagnards basic right to seek asylum cannot be denied and must be protected.


Cambodia should provide safe asylum for Montagnards fleeing Vietnam’s Central Highlands even after it closes the United Nations’ refugee centre in Phnom Penh for Montagnards on 15 February 2011, Human Rights Watch has said.

Ongoing government crackdowns in Vietnam against Montagnard Christians make it imperative for Cambodia not to deny Montagnards their basic right to seek safe asylum, Human Rights Watch said. As a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, Cambodia is obligated to protect the rights of all who seek asylum within its borders.

“Cambodia has a clear obligation to ensure that future Montagnard asylum seekers are permitted to enter a refugee screening process that is fair and based on international standards,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Closing the Montagnard refugee centre doesn’t change those obligations.”

In December 2010, the Cambodian government ordered the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to close the Montagnard refugee centre by 1 January 2011. The Cambodian government subsequently agreed to an extension of the deadline to 15 February to allow time to resettle or repatriate the Montagnards remaining at the centre.

Human Rights Watch expressed concerns that after the refugee centre closes, the Cambodian government will screen future Montagnard asylum seekers under a procedure that does not meet international standards.

A Cambodian government sub-decree passed in December 2009 allows Cambodia’s Interior Ministry, not UNHCR, to make the final decision about a refugee’s status. Human Rights Watch’s analysis of the sub-decree finds, however, that it fails to incorporate the UN Refugee Convention’s definition of what constitutes a refugee and lacks provisions to fulfil Cambodia’s other obligations as a party to the convention. The sub-decree provides Cambodian authorities great leeway to reject and expel asylum seekers, with insufficient procedural protections in place to prevent unlawful forced returns that are in violation of the Refugee Convention.

Just days after the sub-decree was passed, Cambodian authorities deported 20 Uighur asylum seekers who were at risk of torture and mistreatment to China.

“The Cambodian government has a dismal track record when it comes to deporting recognised refugees and asylum seekers under UNHCR protection – particularly those from countries such as China and Vietnam, with whom it has close relations,” said Robertson. “The UN and concerned governments should press Cambodia to make sure the Montagnards don’t suffer the same fate as the Uighurs and others who have been unlawfully deported.”

In defending the closure of the Montagnard refugee centre, Cambodian officials have declared there is no longer any need for Montagnards to flee to Cambodia, citing Vietnam’s economic progress and lack of armed conflict in Montagnard areas.

“It is time for us to close the refugee center because Vietnam has no war or armed conflict, and it is not necessary to have the refugee centre in our country,” Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters in December.

“The Cambodian foreign minister and other officials have grossly mischaracterised the definition of a refugee,” said Robertson. “A refugee is a person with a well-founded fear of being persecuted, whose flight can occur irrespective of armed conflict or economic factors.”

Since 2001, thousands of Montagnards in Vietnam have fled harsh government crackdowns to Cambodia, where most have been recognised as refugees and resettled to the United States, Sweden, Finland, and Canada.

Under a 2005 agreement between the UNHCR and the Cambodian and Vietnamese governments, the UNHCR handled the protection and refugee screening process for Montagnard asylum seekers in Cambodia. The agreement called for Montagnards whose asylum claims had been determined to be either resettled abroad or repatriated to Vietnam.

Human Rights Watch continues to receive credible reports of persecution of Montagnards in Vietnam, where more than 300 have been imprisoned since 2001 for peaceful expression of their religious or political views, or for trying to seek asylum in Cambodia.

“Montagnards will continue to try to flee Vietnam as long as the Vietnamese government systematically violates their basic rights,” said Robertson. “It’s imperative that the Cambodian government live up to its international obligations and not force asylum seekers back to a place where their lives and their liberty will be at stake.”

Read more!

Cambodia's Isolated Villagers Change Their Lives With Lower-Cost Solar

By Coco Liu of Climatewire


ROU HAL, Cambodia -- With a desire to one day become a doctor and save lives, 12-year-old Phat Sopwa devotes most of his time to study. After dark, though, his dream grew dim.

Living in this typical Cambodian village without electricity, Phat used to do homework by a kerosene lamp that emits no more light than a cigarette lighter. The dim ray hurt his eyes, made him drowsy and forced the boy to quickly give up his tasks.

That dark homework time ended in February with a gift from his aunt. What Phat received is a small solar array, which powers three light bulbs and made his wooden hut fill with bright light for the first time.

"Solar is much better [than the kerosene lamp]. I can now see characters in my textbooks clearly," said Phat, while happily flipping on and off the light switch.

Phat isn't the only Cambodian who is excited about solar. In a nation deprived of electricity infrastructure, yet rich in sunlight, rural families are increasingly adding solar products to their shopping lists.

What's driving the trend, according to solar companies, is that Cambodia's rising economy has coincided with a continuing drop in the cost of solar energy. Meanwhile, financial incentives have been rolled out to help the rural poor harness the sun.

Although electricity grids from dams, neighboring countries and fossil fuel power plants are expected to reach more than two-thirds of Cambodia's households by 2030, some villagers don't want to wait for another two decades.

Last month, three families in Phat's village already switched on solar energy. "Many other villages around here are also using solar," said Phoeuy Phen, a tourist driver on his way to Angkor Wat, a centuries-old temple complex where Angelina Jolie filmed the movie "Tomb Raider."

Where the grid peters out in the coconut trees

Modern energy is a luxury in Cambodia, where millions of rural residents live beyond the reach of the nation's power grid.

Outside Siem Reap, one of Cambodia's more developed cities, electric lines are tangled like giant spaghetti on wooden poles -- sometimes on coconut trees -- to reach scattered villages. After a few miles, the lines peter out. Then, a vast kingdom running on kerosene and batteries begins.

There, roughly half of the people spend their nighttime with smoky kerosene lamps, a fire hazard to their wooden huts. Most can name a neighbor who lost a house and even children because of one careless moment.

This risk led some to a second popular solution. Richer Cambodians get access to electricity by using automobile storage batteries. Those batteries can do the job for a few days, and then it's time to take a bumpy journey.

In early morning, villagers load these batteries on bicycles and ply the rocky roads to diesel-powered charging stations, where they drop their empty battery off for a refill. At twilight, they come again, leave about 50 cents and take the recharged battery back home.

An Oach, who runs such a charging station, greets dozens of customers every day. Although the charging fee has gone up by 25 percent over the last six months, along with rising diesel prices, An says she believes villagers are likely to stay with her, rather than be lured away by some solar salesmen.

"For now, the price of solar is still too high, and not many know what solar is," An said, almost shouting in an attempt to be heard over the rat-a-tat-tat of her sputtering generator.

Solar isn't chicken feed to a farmer

It turns out that she isn't entirely right. A dozen miles up the road, in a small farming village called Chouk Saw, a chicken grower tells the story the other way around.

Three years ago, Bum Ma Sarith got convinced by a solar salesman and risked $1,500 from his savings to buy an Italian-made solar power system. Although his hope was simply to end tedious recharging journeys, Bum found out solar energy did more than that.

Unlike batteries, the solar power system never runs down, providing reliable and long-lasting light to his chicken farm, said Bum. Thus he was able to increase the farm's annual output by 30 percent. And every year, Bum also saves at least $500 on battery costs and enjoys an extra bonus: powering a small television and watching movies with his family.

The result whetted Bum's appetite for the technology. He now plans to buy a solar-powered pump that will fetch water from his backyard well.

Surprisingly, the popularity of solar energy is also emerging among the poorer families who can't even afford batteries.

Nouk Sarou, a 39-year-old mother of two, recently took a relative's advice and cut off her dangerous relationship with kerosene lamps. She bought a solar lantern equipped with a high-efficiency LED light.

Charged by a palm-size solar panel, the lantern provides safe light while it costs one-third of what Nouk spent on kerosene. Moreover, it also changed other aspects of her life, including the experience of going to the toilet.

Like most villagers in Cambodia, Nouk uses the forest for her private needs. But that is a scary thing to do at night, she said, adding that she used to pick up a burning branch from her cookstove and brave into the dark woods with it. Today, however, "with [bright light from] the solar lantern, there is no worries about going to the toilet," said Nouk, laughing and blushing.

A rent-a-lamp scares away the ghosts

Nouk said she is saving money for a solar power system that can operate a television -- a key channel for her to gain knowledge. Decades of war in Cambodia meant she never had a chance to go to school. Luckily for Nouk, she might not need to wait too long.

Kamworks, a solar startup in Cambodia, is making it easier for the rural poor to afford solar energy. Under its recently launched lending scheme, families can use solar products first, and gradually pay back with what they save on batteries or kerosene expenditures.

So far, more than 20 families have benefited from the pilot service, according to Jeroen Verschelling, a director at Kamworks. And the company is in talks with local banks, aiming to expand the reach of the scheme to cover half of the country, he added.

Still, despite Kamworks' efforts and complementing services from its peers and the government, the mission to power rural Cambodia with solar energy is eclipsed by three missing links.

It is hard to grow distribution networks in the remote lands, industry players noted. And investors show little interest in expansion plans, as they view solar energy and rural Cambodians a poor mix.

Other than that, generating electricity from the sun sounds too good to be real, making solar energy a hard sell to 4 out of 5 villagers who have never heard of such technology, according to Anthony Jude, an energy expert from the Asian Development Bank.

Solar entrepreneurs have been scrambling for ways to close the knowledge gap. They let solar energy be heard on radios, seen on handed-out T-shirts and also taken home without buying it.

Last year, Kamworks began renting out solar lanterns at a daily price of 8 cents -- roughly what villagers spend on kerosene. The rental business became so popular that the company plans to increase its rental outlets to 80, up from three right now, said Verschelling.

Designed by Dutch college students, the solar lantern is a favorite among rural families. According to its product leaflet, its functions include providing light to cook, study and scare ghosts -- a major need here after dark. Read more!

Sam Rainsy Says No Apology on Criminal Charges

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy says he will not apologize to the government for his stance of the border issue with Vietnam, despite losing a Supreme Court appeal on criminal charges this week.

Political observes say the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold charges against him for uprooting markers near the Vietnamese border means a political solution is the only way to bring him back for 2012 and 2013 elections.

Sam Rainsy remains in exile abroad and faces 12 years in prison on a raft of charges stemming from his contentions that Cambodia is losing land to Vietnamese encroachment.

Political opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party have received royal pardons in the past, but only at the behest of the premier to the king.

“On the issue of an apology, I do not need to apologize to anyone at all,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer. “In the country, there are only the current Cambodian leaders who need to apologize to the people.”

Sam Rainsy is accused of racial incitement and destruction of property for uprooting border markers in Svay Rieng province in 2009, as well as charges of disinformation for publishing a map on his party’s website he claims shows encroachment. The courts have so far sided with government claims the map is a fabrication.

Sam Rainsy maintains the charges against him are politically motivated, and he remains confident a political solution can be reached. “It is moving forward,” he said.

CPP lawmaker Cheam Yiep told VOA Khmer Sam Rainsy’s return depends on him writing Hun Sen and whether the premier will decide to allow him to come back.

Hun Sen has said in public speeches Sam Rainsy’s cases are matters for the courts. Read more!