PHNOM PENH — Despite a troubled economic slowdown at home, Japanese investment in Cambodia is growing, with nine companies alone starting businesses in the first five months of the year, a report released Monday said.
According to investment statistics provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, by the end of May nine Japanese companies, mostly manufacturers, had Cambodian approval to invest $142 million.
Another 14 Japanese firms have applied to begin business there.
In 2010, only six Japanese companies applied for and received approval for investments.
Yuji Imamura, a JICA expert who also advises the Cambodian Investment Board/Council for the Development of Cambodia, said Japanese investors find Cambodia as well as Bangladesh, Laos and Myanmar attractive.
He said political stability, low labor costs, labor-intensive export processing and domestic market import substitution are factors attractive to Japanese investors.
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Monday, June 13, 2011
Japan investment in Cambodia up
Thai PM rejects Cambodian accusation over spy arrest
JAKARTA, June 13 - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday said last week’s arrest of three men--a Thai, a Cambodian and a Vietnamese--on espionage charges was not a set-up as alleged by Phnom Penh, saying Cambodian consular officials have been in contact with the Thai authorities on the matter since the day of the arrest."Such a response would not have been possible had the story been made up,” the Thai premier stated.
Thai national Suchart Muhammad, 32, Cambodian Ung Kimtai, 43, and Nguyen Tengyang, 37, a Vietnamese, were arrested last Tuesday at a Thai border village in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket on charges of spying on Thai paramilitary bases and bunkers built to shelter Thai villagers in the event of cross-border attacks or shelling.
Regarding the possibility of an exchange of prisoners, Mr Abhisit said the detainees must face legal action under Thai judicial procedures first and that Cambodia should respect the Thai judicial system.
A Cambodian court ruled on February 1 that Veera Somkwamkid, Thai Patriots Network coordinator, and his secretary Ratree Pipattanapaiboon were guilty of espionage, illegal entry, and trespassing in a military zone. Mr Veera was sentenced to an eight-year jail term and a 1.8 million riel (US$450) fine, while Ms Ratree was handed a six-year jail term and a 1.2 million riel (US$300) fine.
Meanwhile, Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the Thai Foreign Minister, asserted Monday that the arrest of the three men was neither politically motivated nor had been set up, and that there were sufficient grounds for the arrest.
Mr Chavanond however did not say whether Thailand would raise the issue in the International Court of Justice or the meeting of the World Heritage Committee which is scheduled to be held next week in Paris.
The foreign ministry's statement released on Monday said the police are investigating the case and will not take legal action if there is no strong evidence. (MCOT online news) Read more!
Tribunal Chamber Suspends Retraction Order for Prosecutor
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Andrew Cayley, British co-prosecutor to the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal, greets the crowd during a meeting with local officials and residents in Pailin, (file photo). |
The investigating judges countered with an order for him to retract portions of the statement they said had revealed confidential information, an order Cayley appealed against.
Judge Prak Kimsan, head of the Pre-Trial Chamber, said in the decision Monday that Cayley’s public statements could not be retracted and were already part of the public domain.
The chamber ordered a suspension of the investigating judges’ order ahead of a full decision on Cayley’s appeal. Tribunal spokesman Dim Sovannarom confirmed the decision.
Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said the decision bolstered support for the prosecution’s work and exposed the “weakness” of the office of the investigating judges.
Meanwhile, local media reported Monday that a group of UN legal advisers for the office have left it dismayed, following the judges’ April 29 conclusion of Case 003.
Critics of the conclusion order say it signaled an unwillingness of the office to fully pursue the politically sensitive case.
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Shake-up at the polls
Cambodian voters are making themselves heard in Lowell
LOWELL — Sovanna Pouv fondly remembers the 2007 ceremony at Fenway Park in which he became a US citizen. Former President Bush, who appeared via a large monitor, said, “Welcome.’’
Pouv, who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand where his mother fled to escape genocide in her native Cambodia, voted for the first time the following year — something he had long wanted to do.
“It was the best thing I could do, because I can choose my leaders and have a voice,’’ said the 30-year-old, who is an administrator at the United Teen Equality Center, a community group that promotes get-out-the-vote drives.
Cambodians who fled the possibility of death in their native country three decades ago and settled in Lowell make up a quarter of the city’s roughly 106,000 residents and form the second-largest Cambodian community in the United States. In recent years, efforts in Lowell to register, educate, and mobilize this large local voting bloc have increased. Thanks to a combination of these get-out-the-vote efforts and the emergence of more Cambodian-Americans running for office, more people in this group are participating in elections.
Lowell community organizers say they have seen a 40 percent boost in the number of Cambodian-Americans voting since get-out-the-vote efforts began less than a decade ago. In the 2009 municipal election, more than 13,400 voters cast a ballot, compared with more than 12,600 in the 2005 municipal election, said Gail Cenik, manager of the city’s Election and Census Commission, who attributes the jump in part to the increase in Cambodian-American voting.
“The community itself is getting quite politically active,’’ Cenik said.
Organizers say more Cambodian-Americans are at least in part deciding to register to vote because they see more people on the ballot who look like them. Total voter registration climbed to more than 52,300 as of May 1, compared with more than 45,600 in 1999, the year Cambodian-American Rithy Uong became the first elected official of Cambodian descent in the country after winning a City Council seat, according to the city Election and Census Commission.
At least two Cambodian-Americans are expected to run for council seats, hoping to be the first on the panel since Uong resigned in 2005. One of them, Van Pech, has already publicly announced his candidacy. And Cambodian-American Sam Meas ran as a Republican last year to challenge US Representative Niki Tsongas for the Fifth Congressional District, but lost in the primary.
“He really got a lot of people motivated to take part in the election,’’ Cenik said. “Even when he didn’t win in the primary, he got a lot of people to vote.’’
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UN staff quit war crimes court as fallout continues over third case
Phnom Penh - At least five United Nations staff in the investigations office at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal have quit their posts since April, national media reported Monday.
The Cambodia Daily newspaper said four full-time staff and one consultant had left following disagreements over the April 29 decision by the investigating judges to close the tribunal's highly politicized third case without allegedly properly investigating the charges.
On Sunday, the Office of Co-Investigating Judges (OCIJ) - Germany's Siegfried Blunk and Cambodia's You Bunleng - released a statement saying they 'welcomed' the departure of their staff since they had questioned the judges' authority to decide on the case.
'In view of questions by the media regarding recent attempts by certain OCIJ staff members who have obtained new jobs outside of OCIJ, to portray their departure as 'resignation' in protest over the CIJs' decision to close investigations in Case 003, the CIJs emphasize that they welcome the departure of all staff members who ignore the sole responsibility of the CIJs in this issue (...)'
The Cambodia Daily quoted the May 5 resignation email from consultant Stephen Heder, an expert on the Khmer Rouge movement.
Heder said he had quit because the judges had decided to close the case 'effectively without investigating it, which I, like others, believe was unreasonable.'
The Cambodia Daily said three unnamed sources had confirmed that the international legal team wrote to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon prior to the closure of Case Three to express their concerns over the quality of the investigation.
Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky declined to answer questions about that letter.
Case Three reportedly involves two former senior members of the Khmer Rouge military suspected of the deaths of thousands of people.
The Cambodian government has said on many occasions it would not permit Case Three or the court's fourth and final case against another three ex-Khmer Rouge to proceed to trial.
Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at DC-Cam, a genocide research organization, said Monday that news of the resignations showed 'a fundamental lack of confidence' in the work of the court.
'Someone needs to step in and do something drastic,' she said. 'But no matter what might be done, there will now always be disbelief about these cases since they have been so mishandled.'
Last month the international prosecutor Andrew Cayley released a statement saying the investigation in Case Three was deficient.
His comments showed the investigating judges had failed to question the two suspects or visit sites where their alleged crimes had taken place.
In late May the UN rejected allegations it had interfered with investigations at the war crimes tribunal or put any pressure on the investigating judges to scupper the cases.
The court's second case, against four senior surviving leaders of the movement, is scheduled to begin June 27. More than 2 million people are thought to have died during the Khmer Rouge's rule.
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Sunday, June 12, 2011
Second group of suspects in fraud case set to arrive
A group of 100 Taiwanese suspected of fraud will be flown home from Indonesia today in a second round of repatriations following a massive cross-border criminal crackdown, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday.
The 100 suspects, who were rounded up in Indonesia during the past three months in a massive six-country operation against telecommunications and Internet scams, will be repatriated on a China Airlines chartered plane, the bureau said.
On Saturday, a group of 122 Taiwanese fraud suspects was returned to Taipei from Macau on a private EVA Airways flight.
This second group of suspects was arrested in Cambodia in a joint regional crime-fighting operation, code named “0310,” in which a total of 598 suspects, including 410 Taiwanese and 181 Chinese nationals, were arrested.
Saturday’s repatriations marked the first time in Taiwan’s crime-fighting history that a chartered plane was used to transport suspected criminals.
The bureau sent 60 detectives to escort the 122 suspects from Macau. After the suspects arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday, another 40 police officers were dispatched to escort them to Greater Taichung for questioning.
In the “0310” operation, launched on March 10, Taiwanese and Chinese suspects who allegedly used “call centers” to exploit their compatriots were tracked and arrested.
The fraud rings were originally based in coastal cities in Taiwan and China, but they moved their operations to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia after law enforcement authorities from both sides of the Taiwan Strait strengthened their efforts during the past two years to track them down.
Taiwan mobilized more than 800 police officers to join the regional crackdown on the scams.
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Cambodia child labor campaign draws hundreds
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| Young Cambodian girls collect recyclable bottles and cans yesterday on a street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. |
Menacherry Paul Joseph, head of the ILO’s anti-child labor program in Cambodia, said it was “a shame” that young children could be seen begging or selling books and souvenirs to tourists until late at night.
“Cambodia is truly a kingdom of wonder. Let us make it a kingdom without child labor,” he said at the rally, where demonstrators waved banners saying: “Warning! Children in hazardous work — End child labor.”
According to the ILO, about 1.5 million Cambodians under the age of 18 are forced to work, more than 310,000 of them in hazardous jobs such as spraying pesticides or working in brick factories.
Ten-year-old child worker Soth Ousphea, watching the rally, said his mother could not afford to send him to school, and instead he earned about US$0.50 a day collecting plastic bottles and cans.
“I want to go to school,” he said.
Cambodia is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries, with around a third of its 14 million people living on less than US$1 a day. Read more!
Temples treasured by Cambodian Saints
By Kristine Frederickson, For Mormon Times
Seiha sat in his rented house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, eager to talk with fellow LDS Church members, Chelsea and Tiffany, who were in Cambodia from Utah for one month to work in orphanages teaching English and helping the people in any way they could.
Seiha, his mother, older sister, her husband, their son and Seiha’s cousin/adopted sister, all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, share a small, wooden-planked, one-room house that sits on stilts over murky water filled with refuse in a poor part of the capital of Cambodia. A Third-World country, Cambodia is recovering from the rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge — the Communist party of Kampuchea — in power from 1975-1979, responsible for a genocide that left 1.7 to 2.5 million people dead and depleted the nation’s population by 21 percent.
A guide for Global Outreach Foundation, an organization that sponsors Americans who go to Third-World countries to help improve people’s lives, Seiha, his sister and brother-in-law are all returned missionaries. Once young people convert, it is their hearts' desire to serve missions, and without fail every LDS young woman Chelsea and Tiffany met was a returned missionary.
This day, as always, Seiha was eager to talk about the church and especially about temples. In Cambodia today, the LDS Church is seeing great success. In Phnom Penh alone there are four branches, and missionaries are not only baptizing individuals, but they are seeing whole families join the church. There are about 10 baptisms per week in the capital, and each ward has three sets of busy missionaries.
Tiffany and Chelsea noted that the Cambodian people, since Pol Pot, innately care for one another. The brutality of the Khmer Rouge left the nation shattered. And while there are still individuals who were part of the regime and remain brutal and callous to human misery and suffering — sexual trafficking in women and children is a serious problem in Cambodia — the majority of the people were victims of the Communists. As society rebounded from the horrors perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, the way people treated each other changed. They are more caring; they cherish relationships and look out for one another.
It's no surprise that when Seiha talked to Tiffany and Chelsea, he wanted to learn all he could about the Mormon church in the United States and to talk about temples. Seiha explained the sacrifice required for a person to attend the temple, as the closest temples are in Korea (1,100 miles away) and the Philippines (2,256 miles). On average, it takes three years to save the $600 to go to the temple, and many never have the privilege. Yet the desire is great because so many long to make eternal covenants and to do work for loved ones who died under the Khmer Rouge.
When someone is able to go, upon returning, virtually the entire three-hour block of Sunday meetings is altered so temple attendees can share their experiences. A recently returned Cambodian sister described the temple as the “most peaceful place on earth.” Often overcome with emotion, she explained that for three days she was in the Philippines doing baptisms, initiatory work, sealings and endowments. She eagerly entered the temple when the doors were first unlocked and stayed until they shut, never taking time from her precious experience to eat until the temple closed. She expressed the joy she felt when sealed to relatives who lost their lives under the Khmer Rouge. Seiha stated that every general conference the Cambodian Saints eagerly listen to the announcement of new temples, hoping that someday soon one will be built in Southeast Asia.
It is hard for Seiha to believe that in Utah there are so many temples, yet “not everyone who is Mormon acts Mormon.” Aware that temples dot the Wasatch Front, he told Chelsea and Tiffany, “Sisters, I don’t understand that some people do bad. Don’t they see temples all around them? How could they do bad?”
Chelsea and Tiffany were also struck by the fact that although the Cambodian people have little, and the orphanages are packed with children who have virtually nothing, the people are happy. They smile and laugh and appreciate what they have.
Being a member of an international church, it is lovely to observe the faith of converts throughout the world who do not take their membership in Christ’s church lightly. In Cambodia, the Saints appreciate their baptismal covenants, treasure temples and understand that true joy lies in knowing Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. They understand that it is a great privilege to make covenants with God and to worship in the temple.
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Saturday, June 11, 2011
Fraud suspects returned to Taiwan on charter flight for 1st time
They were all arrested in Cambodia in a joint regional crime-fighting operation on Thursday, in which a total of 598 suspects, including 410 Taiwanese and 181 Chinese nationals, were nabbed.After they arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, another 40 police officers were dispatched to escort them to the central city of Taichung for questioning.
Some CIB agents said the in-flight escort mission was reminiscent of the Hollywood action-thriller film "Con Air, " in which a newly released ex-con and former U.S. Ranger found himself trapped on a prisoner transport plane when the passengers seized control.
Police sources said the CIB would send another chartered plane to Indonesia in the next couple of days to fly back the 100 suspects arrested there in the June 9 operation.
It marked the first time that law enforcement officers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait simultaneously collaborated with their counterparts in Southeast Asian countries in a cross-border crime-fighting operation.
Taiwan alone mobilized more than 800 police officers to join the massive crackdown on telecom and Internet scams.
National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun said Friday that the operation had dealt a heavy blow to the fraud rings and should help reduce fraud cases in Taiwan.
Moreover, he said, it was the first time that Taiwanese and mainland Chinese police had jointly investigated fraud cases in a third country.
"We believe the operation has set a new trend in joint crime-fighting," he added.
Taiwanese fraud rings have reportedly relocated to Southeast Asia since an agreement was singed two years ago between Taiwan and China to work more closely to bust such operations, police
Cambodia slams Thai 'spy' arrests
PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodia has accused Thailand of "deceitful fabrication" after Thai police arrested three men on suspicion of spying near the neighbours' disputed border.
"The Royal Government of Cambodia wishes to assert that the above fabrication is only a pretext to justify future aggression against Cambodia," said a foreign ministry statement released on Friday.
Thailand and Cambodia are locked in a bitter dispute over their shared border that has seen 28 people killed in two outbreaks of fierce fighting this year, and the row has since moved to the United Nations' highest court.
On Friday Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the alleged spying activities were unacceptable and accused Phnom Penh of "violating Thai territory".
One Thai, one Cambodian and a Vietnamese man were picked up in Thailand's northeastern Si Sa Ket province on Tuesday evening carrying maps with military facilities marked on them, according to Thai police.
The suspects have denied they were spying in the area, the officer who made the arrest told AFP.
Cambodia said it "categorically rejects this deceitful fabrication by the Thai authorities and prime minister, intending to mislead the public and malign Cambodia", adding it had no need to spy.
Last month the country launched a legal bid at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague seeking to force Thailand to pull troops from a disputed strip of land near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple.
The court ruled in 1962 that the temple itself belonged to Cambodia but both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) patch of nearby territory.
In April Cambodia asked the ICJ to clarify its initial ruling.
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PM: Thai FM will clarify on spy case to concerned agencies
Mr Abhisit told journalists the clarification would be made after the Phnom Penh government reportedly issued a statement saying that it has never sent spies to gather intelligence in Thailand and alleged that the ongoing charges were made up by the Thai government on a pretext to invade Cambodia.Although he had not yet seen the statement, Mr Abhisit said he has ordered Mr Kasit to clarify the matter to concerned offices.
On Friday, Mr Kasit said his ministry had informed the Cambodian and Vietnamese embassies in Bangkok about the arrest of their nationals for alleged spying, affirming that legal action would be taken under Thai law. The trio were identified as Suchart Muhammad, 32, a Thai national; Ung Kimtai, 43, a Cambodian national, and Nguyen Tengyang, 37, a Vietnamese national, and were arrested Tuesday evening at a Thai border village in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket.
Mr Kasit said on Saturday the Thai government is willing to exchange the arrested Cambodian and the Vietnamese with two Thai activists now detained in Cambodia on espionage charges, but under the Thai law a prisoner must serve at least two-thirds of jail term before an exchange of prisoners could be possible.
A Cambodian court ruled on February 1 that Veera Somkwamkid, Thai Patriots Network coordinator, and his secretary Ratree Pipattanapaiboon were guilty of espionage, illegal entry, and trespassing in a military zone. Mr Veera was sentenced to an eight-year jail term and a 1.8 million riel (US$450) fine, while Ms Ratree was handed a six-year jail term and a 1.2 million riel (US$300) fine.
Thailand has always cooperated with Cambodia, Mr Kasit said, adding that it would be better to wait for the Thai judicial process regarding the apprehended three men proceeded before the government issued further statement. (MCOT online news) Read more!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Cambodia trip crosses racial divide
By Erin Spandorf
All study abroad programs are designed for the purpose of education, but not all are done for humanitarian reasons. From Jan. 10-24, five Cal State Long Beach students went to Cambodia to improve not only their own academic experiences, but also the lives of impoverished citizens.
Nayeli Barragan, Monica Cardenas, Tina Flores, Petry Rivera and Liliana Zepeda did not know what to expect, but what they experienced left a massive impression on them.
According to Barragan and Zepeda, when they arrived in Cambodia after the 16-hour plane ride from LAX to Taiwan, their first thought was that it reminded them of Mexico. They could see the poverty around them, but even in that condition the people of Cambodia were calm and smiling. The girls felt welcome and even developed a sense of belonging while in the country.
"Many people asked me and the girls why we were so involved with this Cambodian culture when we are, in fact, Hispanic," Rivera said.
"What I learned during those two weeks is that ethnicity and race shouldn't affect how much you care about a child's life." Rivera added. "Just because I am Mexican and these children are Cambodian does not mean I will care for them any less. We are all humans struggling to survive; and unfortunately some more than others."
The language spoken in Cambodia is Kumai, but most people there speak English. The girls had Cambodian translators with them to help them communicate with people who did not speak English.
They traveled through about six or seven towns and visited temples. They got to experience the culture of Cambodia through the food, environment and religion of the country.
The five girls worked with their professor, Alex Morales, as he helped them to get in contact and work with the volunteer organization Hearts Without Boundaries. Through this organization the girls delivered food to villages, handed out school supplies at elementary schools, helped with donations and even met with and interviewed teachers and principals while visiting different schools.
"It was easy to flow into their lifestyle," Barragan said.
While in Cambodia the girls also visited with the family of a three-year-old boy named Bunlak Song. Song has a severe heart condition where there is a hole in his heart. His birth mother had abandoned him at the hospital and afterward another woman had adopted him. Song was the fourth child she had helped and the girls were able to visit the three surviving children as well.
Song's adoptive mother said he brings her luck. She owns a small gasoline store in the village.
"When I came back home, volunteering was the only thing on my mind," Rivera said. "Bunlak Song is a wonderful child. Even with the language barrier the girls and I have connected with him on such an emotional level and cherish every moment we get to see him. He really needs help from both the organization and the community."
After the girls returned home in March, Song came to the U.S. where the girls greeted him at the airport.
Since their return to the U.S., the girls have put together a fundraiser for Song with the help of Hearts Without Boundaries. They were able to raise $1,500 for the cause by selling bracelets.
"It kind of put into perspective what I'm going to be doing as an educator," said Zepeda, who plans to return to CSULB in the fall to work on her credential.
The five girls still meet at least once a week and are planning to try to go back to Cambodia in January 2012. They are currently staying in contact with Song and keep working with Hearts Without Boundaries to promote awareness and organize fundraisers for the organization. They are currently planning a fundraiser in June for Song, which will be planned by the five girls and Hearts Without Boundaries.
Barragan said that she started out with an open mind and the desire to leave her comfort zone. In the end she made a lot of connections, gained an appreciation for the Asian culture and was even able to say that Cambodia felt like home.
"I learned that we need to put our differences aside to truly care and help one another no matter the race, ethnicity or culture," Rivera said. '"Many people need to realize that it doesn't take a millionaire to contribute to the cause, a dollar or even a penny can go a long way when it's from the heart."
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Time Again To Think About Elections, Democracy: Advocate
“Voters must remember that we are the owners of power,” said Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, as a guest of “Hello VOA.” “So those who own the power must actively work, not just think that we are the owners of power, than abandon our obligations, our duties. We all have to participate.”
Elections for commune leaders are slated for 2012, with parliamentary elections to follow the year after. But there are already issues the electorate must be thinking about, Koul Panha said.
That includes maximizing the inclusion of opposition candidates, media equity programs and more transparency, especially in funding, he said. Campaigning and voting systems also need improved, he said.
Comfrel, which was an election monitor until 1998, how works to educate voters on democracy issues, he said.
“We let the people and the political parties observe for themselves whether it’s free and fair,” he said. “For us, we just try to highlight irregularities.”
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Opposition Still Hopeful After Hun Sen Speech
An official for the Sam Rainsy Party says that recent rhetoric about the opposition in a speech by Prime Minister Hun Sen may signal a willingness to find a political solution to the exile of the country’s main opposition leader.
Cambodia is gearing up for local elections in 2012 and parliamentary elections the year after, but the Sam Rainsy Party has been operating with its leader abroad and facing criminal charges he says are political.Hun Sen has previously said he will not broker a compromise to bring Sam Rainsy back, but Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, said Thursday that a speech the premier gave earlier this week may signal a shift in that position.
He noted that Hun Sen had told students at a graduation ceremony on Monday that Cambodians must solve their problems peacefully, among Cambodians.
“We must talk mutually,” he said, “which is better than chopping and stabbing.”
“Each country must have democracy, pluralism, and allow the establishment of parties, give the to set up NGOs and to have press freedom,” he said.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy remains in self-imposed exile and is facing 12 years in prison on charges he says are political if he returns.
Cheam Yiep, a lawmaker for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, said Sam Rainsy’s return ahead of elections could be possible.
“So far there has been tolerance and forgiveness from [Prime Minister] Hun Sen, who has been sympathetic,” he said.
However, he noted, Sam Rainsy is now engaged in a campaign to file charges against Hun Sen in international courts.
Sam Rainsy has said he considers military campaigns led by Hun Sen in the 1980s led to unnecessary deaths of civilians near the Thai border, as government troops fought the Khmer Rouge.
Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said he hoped Sam Rainsy will be allowed to return, which would signal a type of “maturity” in Cambodia’s democratic system.
“This is the process of a good culture, or good behavior, for politicians to compromise and mutually and politically forgive each other,” he said.
He added that the charges against Sam Rainsy—linked to his uprooting of border markers near Vietnam in 2009—are not serious and can likely be ironed out.
. Read more!
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Interpol Set to Join the Hunt for Nunun
Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said on Thursday that all 188 member countries of Interpol would soon be notified of Nunun’s status as a fugitive."The KPK sent the red notice to the National Police yesterday, which will be forwarded within a day or two to the Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France," Boy said.
"If any of the Interpol members receive information about Nunun, then we, as the country who requested the search, will be actively updated," he said.
Insp. Gen. Anton Bahrul Alam, another spokesman for the National Police, said the report was to be forwarded at the KPK's request.
Senior immigration official Muhammad Indra said that since Nunun's passport has been revoked, it should become easier to track her down, since she cannot flee from country to country without her passport.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should notify other countries, especially Asian countries, that this person's passport is no longer valid and that she should be banned from entering any country," he said.
However, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar on Monday said that Thai authorities informed him that Nunun had left the country for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in March.
Separately, Nunun’s husband, lawmaker and former National Police deputy chief Adang Daradjatun, maintained that his wife was still in Singapore. The KPK has urged Nunun's family to persuade her to return to Indonesia.
Adang had earlier told the KPK that his wife was undergoing medical treatment in Singapore for an illness that caused memory loss. However, it is alleged that she had been making frequent trips between there and Thailand to extend her stay in Singapore.
He also said the intense media coverage of the case had “terrified” her.
“This is unfair. When she was getting treatment from a doctor in Singapore, a reporter went there to check and then she was denied the medical treatment because [the doctor] thought she was a fugitive,” he said. “At the time, she was still a witness.”
Adang refused to reveal his wife’s whereabouts, dismissing new reports she entered Cambodia on March 21. “I can’t confirm that she is in Cambodia,” he said. “It’s up to her where she wants to go to get medical treatment.”
Nunun has been named a suspect in a bribery case involving several lawmakers in relation to the election of Miranda Goeltom as senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, the central bank, in 2004. She had allegedly distributed bribes in the form of travelers' checks among lawmakers shortly after the House of Representatives endorsed Miranda's candidacy for the BI post. Read more!
Toms Shoes takes next step
This week, company founder Blake Mycoskie announced that the popular California-based Toms Shoes brand will be taking its talents to eyewear. So now, in addition to supplying shoes to needy kids around the world, Toms will be helping people in developing countries with their eyesight.
If you don't know the Toms business model, for every pair of shoes sold the company gives a pair of shoes to a child in need, primarily in the U.S., Argentina, South Africa and Ethiopia. Now they'll be applying that same concept to eye care, selling stylish sunglasses in order to give prescription eyeglasses and sight-saving medical treatment to people in need. These efforts will be done with the Seva Foundation, starting in Nepal, Tibet and Cambodia.
The glasses they're selling range from $135 to $145 with a few different styles. Two basically look like Ray-Ban aviators or Wayfarers, except with colourful hand-painted stripes on the arms, while the third option for women has more of a Jackie O vibe. They aren't the first company to sell shades for charity (Warby Parker launched in 2010) but in its short 5-year existence, Toms has built a near bullet-proof brand.
As branding stories go, it's tough to beat Toms. Could you even make it up? It's enough to make any cynic
Mycoskie and his sister were contestants on The Amazing Race in 2002, then took vacations back in some of the destinations. In Argentina, he came up with the idea of selling the local-style canvas shoes as a brand to help needy kids in that country get proper footwear. Started in 2006 with $500, so far Toms has given away more than 1-million pairs of shoes and is available in more than 500 stores internationally.
At the launch event Tuesday, Mycoskie said the new shades will be available everywhere Toms shoes are sold. No word yet on possible marketing campaigns, but something tells me "A Day Without Glasses" will be a little bit tougher to pull off. Read more!
Cambodia struggles to play China off against its other neighbours
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| Vietnamese wave fages for China |
TWENTY kilometres (12½ miles) down the Mekong river from the capital, Phnom Penh, a new container terminal is taking shape on a 30-hectare site. Upstream, two new ports are planned. Whereas other countries that share the mighty waterway favour dams and power plants, the Cambodians are turning the Mekong into a commercial highway. As Sam Olan, the deputy director of the container terminal argues, the project is tailored to the war-ravaged country’s needs: transport by water is cheaper than by road and requires less maintenance—and there are not many good roads anyway.
Like much else in Cambodia today, the new port is being built by the Chinese; 50 or so Chinese engineers and technicians live on site. The Cambodians are confident they will get their new port quickly and on time (it is due to open next year)—one of many reasons why the Chinese are welcome there, as in other poor countries.
As one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia struggles to end its dependence on foreign aid, the Chinese presence has become pervasive. Just down river from the new container terminal is the huge Chinese-built Prek Tamak bridge, which opened last year. The Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, recently broke ground on a $46m Chinese-built road linking the capital to the coastal province of Kampot. There, a new Chinese-built hydroelectric power station is about to begin operation—supplying, by one official estimate, half of Cambodia’s demand for power. The Chinese plan to build three more. Overall, China accounts for almost half the foreign investment in the country.
China is everywhere, of course. What makes Cambodia unusual is that China has a rival there. Neighbouring Vietnam has had a prickly relationship with Cambodia. Few Cambodians forget that Vietnam invaded their country in 1979, overthrowing the murderous regime of Pol Pot, and then occupied it for ten years. Yet Vietnam is now devoting a lot of time and money to investing in its neighbour. Trade between the two countries expanded from $950m in 2006 to $1.8 billion last year. In the first two months of this year two-way trade reached $382m, up 65% compared with the same period in 2010. Vietnamese investment is now worth around $2 billion, spread over a bewildering variety of industries, including retailing, agriculture and telecoms. A subsidiary of Viettel, the Vietnamese state telecoms operator, started operations in Cambodia in 2009 yet already has 42% of the mobile market. The company, Metfone, has built many of Cambodia’s mobile masts and laid 16,000km of fibre-optic cable, 80% of the network. It also provides handsets to the army.
Other Asian countries are also coming in. Until Vietnam elbowed its way up the league table, South Korea was the second-biggest investor, mainly in construction and banking. It has a vast new trade hall on one of Phnom Penh’s smarter boulevards. Thai investors have been buying hotels, and Taiwan has a toehold.
More commercial investment must be good news for Cambodia. But in a country that has for centuries been squeezed by bigger neighbours, the scramble raises concerns about sovereignty—and these are exploited to the full by the small but vocal opposition. It uses Vietnam’s projects to attack Hun Sen, the prime minister who (it claims) owes his career to Vietnamese political meddling. And it argues that China’s vast presence risks turning the country into a vassal of the Middle Kingdom.
The evidence so far is that Cambodia is using the largesse without being swamped by it. Unlike many other countries that China invests in, tiny Cambodia, with a population of just 14m, has no oil or minerals to trade in return, so China’s interest seems to be to gain an ally in ASEAN, the regional block. China claims that its help comes with no strings attached, and so far there has been only one recorded instance of China exploiting its economic presence for political ends (it persuaded Cambodia to return 20 Uighur asylum-seekers in 2009). The Vietnamese foray might be partly strategic too. Vietnam wants to counter the expansion of China which is seen as having hostile ambitions in the disputed South China Sea (see Banyan). If so, Cambodia is enjoying being fought over, and plays one off against the other.
It helps that some of the new influences in Cambodia are not exclusively Asian. The new Cambodian elite looks westward more than it has done for a long while, especially to America. English is more widely spoken than in any other country in the region, and the hundreds of English-language schools that have opened up are packed. Two deputy prime ministers sent their sons to college in America, and Hun Sen’s eldest son (and probable successor) went to the West Point military academy.
For the moment Cambodia seems unlikely to fall into any particular sphere of influence. Given its neighbours’ size and clout, that is a remarkable—and remarkably difficult—balancing act.
Police detain hundreds in alleged Asia money scam
By SOPHENG CHEANG
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Police in Cambodia and other Asian countries arrested several hundred suspects Thursday in coordinated raids to bust a gang that swindled victims through phone calls over the Internet.
Cambodian national police spokesman Lt. Gen. Kiet Chantharith said 166 Chinese and a Vietnamese woman were arrested nationwide, while similar arrests took place in Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Police in Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand confirmed making arrests but provided few details. A spokesman for Malaysia's Federal Police said he was unaware of any operation, though Kiet said 37 people were arrested there.
Police Maj. Gen. Panya Mamen of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau said in Bangkok that gang members based in Thailand obtained details of banking and credit card accounts, and used the information to trick victims they phoned in other countries into transferring money, which ended up in Taiwan.
It was not clear what charges would be pressed in any of the countries. Cross-border crime is difficult to prosecute, and laws are hazy concerning crimes conducted over the Internet.
Kiet said those arrested had entered Cambodia as tourists and businessmen but then began operating their scheme to call people outside Cambodia over Internet phone services. He said the gang was well organized, and that Cambodia had received complaints from several victims.
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Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Cambodia’s rice exports grow double in 4 months: commerce data
Cambodia has seen 100 percent rise in processed rice exports in the first four months of this year versus the same period last year, showed the statistics from the ministry of commerce on Wednesday.
From January to April 2011, the country had exported 42,669 tons of milled rice to European markets and other countries, 100 percent increase from 21,322 tons at the same period last year, while the export value was 24.5 million U.S. dollars, 101 percent up from 12.2 million U.S. dollars.
Kong Putheara, director of the commerce ministry’s statistics department, attributed the increase to the tax exception for Cambodian rice by the European countries.
“Without paying import tax to Europe, Cambodian exporters can save up to 150 U.S. dollars a ton,” he said.
Cambodia has 3.9 million tons of rice paddies, in equivalent to 2.5 million tons of milled rice, left over for exports this year, according to the government report.
However, this country can export only the small amount of its milled rice to overseas markets due to the lack of sophisticated post-harvesting technology.
The government said it needs roughly 350 million U.S. dollars to invest in hi-tech post harvest technology and to purchase rice paddies from farmers for processing in order to achieve its self- opposed target of one-million-ton rice exports by 2015.
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Tuesday, June 07, 2011
No withdrawal of Preah Vihear temple case at ICJ: Cambodia PM
Cambodia will not withdraw its request for the interpretation of the Court's judgment of 1962 on the case concerning the Preah Vihear temple, said the Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday.
"For the temple case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Cambodia will not withdraw its complaint at any cost, even in this government's mandate or next mandate, let's the Court to proceed it," he said during a graduation ceremony at the Royal School of Administration.
The premier made the remarks after the Bangkok Post online newspaper reported that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on June 5 Cambodia should withdraw all border dispute cases from international bodies and return to talks with Thailand.
"Cambodia should first show good will by withdrawing his country's request that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) interpret its 1962 ruling on Preah Vihear temple," said Abhisit.
He also insisted that a joint management plan for the disputed area near Preah Vihear temple must be made, and that Cambodia must also withdraw the temple from world heritage listing.
Hun Sen said: "It's impossible for the joint management plan for Preah Vihear temple with Thailand."
"Cambodia has never known and heard about the overland overlapping areas with Thailand; Cambodia does not know where the 4.6 square kilometer area is."
He reiterated that the dispute between Cambodia and Thailand on the border dispute near Preah Vihear temple has already reached the hands of international bodies--the United Nations Security Council, the ASEAN and the Hague, "it is no way to return to bilateral talks as insisted by Thailand."
"Cambodia cannot withdraw its troops from its own territory in order to exchange with the deployment of a few Indonesian observers," he said.
Cambodian and Thai border has never been fully completed. The conflict occurred just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.
Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple.
Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border and periodic clashes have happened, resulting in the deaths of troops and civilians on both sides.
The latest flare-up between the two countries' troops from April 22 to May 3 at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province have left 19 people dead on both sides as nearly 100,000 civilians fled homes for safe shelters.
The two sides agreed to accept Indonesian observers to monitor a ceasefire on their respective border side on Feb. 22 at the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Jakarta, but the deployment was always delayed because Thailand demanded that Cambodian soldiers and locals be withdrawn from the disputed area of 4.6 sq km near the temple first.
Source: Xinhua
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Graft suspect Nunun, now in Cambodia, eludes KPK hunt
Welcome to Cambodia, the place for all crooks to get pampering. Nunun Nurbaeti has found her big brother Hun Crook Sen. Buying the vote had always been tradition his CPP.
Nunun Nurbaeti, a graft fugitive her family claimed suffered from “severe forgetfulness”, seems to have kept one step ahead of Indonesia’s anticorruption body.
Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar told reporters on Monday that Nunun was no longer in Thailand as reported earlier by several media outlets.
“According to the immigration office report, she’s not in Thailand anymore but in Phnom Penh [Cambodia],” the minister said, adding that Nunun traveled from Thailand to Cambodia two months before his ministry revoked her passport on the request of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Last month, the commission announced it had named Nunun a suspect in the high-profile bribery case centering on the 2004 election of Miranda S. Goeltom as the central bank’s senior deputy governor by the House of Representatives.
Nunun is accused of distributing traveler’s checks to legislators to buy votes for Miranda. This case has implicated 25 politicians from the country’s major parties, including the Golkar Party — a gadfly in the ruling coalition — and the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Nunun, however, fled to Singapore when the graft scandal arose last year. She ignored the KPK’s subpoena, saying she suffered from acute amnesia and needed medication in the neighboring country.
She was reportedly apprehended by the Thai authorities after failing to show a valid passport when she was about to leave the country last week. The KPK later sent a team to the neighboring country to coordinate her extradition.
The Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok has filed an extradition request to the Thai Foreign Ministry. But the effort was two months late.
Patrialis said Nunun left Thailand for Cambodia on March 21, while her passport was revoked on May 27.
Bambang Irawan, the director general of immigration at the ministry, confirmed Nunun had fled to Phnom Penh. “We received the information from our counterpart in Bangkok early this month that Nunun was recorded to have left for Phnom Penh,” he said.
Bambang said his directorate had cooperated with the related institutions to bring Nunun home to face questioning. But the fact that she is currently in Cambodia has made it more difficult for the law enforcers to extradite her.
Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with Cambodia. The KPK was hoping to nab her in Thailand because Jakarta and Bangkok have signed such a treaty. “We have coordinated with the Foreign Ministry and our representative offices abroad, including in Cambodia,” Bambang said.
“Once we know where she is, we will cooperate with our representative offices and issue a travel permit for her to come home.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene declined to comment further on the development of Nunun’s case. “One thing for sure is that we always cooperate with all government and law enforcement institutions,” he said.
As of Monday, the KPK still did not know where Nunun had been hiding.
KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the commission had no information on Nunun being in Cambodia. “I learned of this from media reports,” he said. (rcf)
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Monday, June 06, 2011
Cambodia, Thailand to strengthen cooperation despite border row
PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) – Cambodian and Thai information officials met here on Monday to strengthen and expand cooperation on information and broadcasting between the two neighboring countries despite ongoing bitter border row.
Ladavan Bua-aim, deputy director general of the public relations department at the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand, said that despite the border dispute, Cambodia and Thailand still have enjoyed close cooperation at all levels in terms of economic and social development.
"As ASEAN members, I am confident that our two countries are working together to realize an ASEAN community by 2015, and we will move even closer together," he said in the fourth meeting of Cambodian and Thai information officials.
Cambodia and Thailand signed the Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) on the cooperation in the field of information and broadcasting in February 2006.
"Although the MoU has not produced a very high result, but it helps foster better understanding and relations between the peoples of the two countries," said Thach Phan, a secretary of state for Cambodian ministry of information.
Cambodia and Thailand have border conflict just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.
Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border and periodic clashes have happened, resulted in the deaths of troops and civilians on both sides.
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Friday, June 03, 2011
Cambodia warns Thailand for airspace violations along border: defense statement
PHNOM PENH, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian ministry of defense on Friday evening issued a statement warning Thailand for "repeatedly violating" Cambodian airspace along the disputed border areas.
The statement said that Thai forces on May 31 and June 1 flew a military surveillance aircraft L19 over Cambodian territory along the border in Banteay Meanchey province, and also on the morning of June 3, a group of black-uniformed Thai troops rode an engine- driven parachute to spy along the border in Cambodia's Battambang province.
"The repeated airspace violations by Thai troops can be considered as a provocative act in an attempt to renew armed clashes," it said. "With this provocative act, Thai troops must be responsible for any eventual accident at the present time and in the future."
"The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces call for Thai troops relevant to the violations to stop this provocative act," it said.
The statement said that the situation along the border of Cambodia and Thailand is still "quite fragile" and armed clashes may happen at any time.
Cambodia and Thailand has border dispute just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.
Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers of scrub next to the temple. The two sides have since built up military forces along the border and periodic clashes have happened, leading to deaths of troops and civilians on both sides.
The latest flare-up between the two countries' troops occurred from April 22 till May 3 at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province, leaving 19 people on both sides killed and nearly 100,000 civilians evacuated for safe shelters.
The two sides agreed to accept Indonesian observers to monitor a ceasefire on their respective border side on Feb. 22 at the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Jakarta, but the deployment has not been implemented.
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Cambodia Lags on Land, Freedom of Speech Rights, Says UN Official
The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia Surya Subedi wrapped up his fifth visit to Cambodia on Friday expressing concern about the lack of progress on land rights and freedom of speech in the country.
The main purpose of the visit - his fifth --was to assess how well parliament functions in upholding the rights of ordinary Cambodians.
On that score, he said that while human rights had improved in some areas, it had noticeably failed to do so in others such as land rights and freedom of speech.
Cambodia’s ruling party holds more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament. The opposition complains that allows it to push through legislation without taking anyone else’s concerns into account.
Opposition MPs that have spoken out on a number of issues in the past have found themselves stripped of their parliamentary immunity and even convicted for talking about issues of national importance. Subedi said that sort of action is not what democracy is about.
Subedi said he had discussed the topic of stripping parliamentary immunity with the head of parliament, the ruling party’s Heng Samrin, who replied that the legislature was merely following its own internal rules.
“But I am examining the internal rules and procedures themselves to see to what extent they are compatible with Cambodia’s international human rights obligations,” he said.
Subedi said there were some positive developments, such as the fact that government had consulted with civil society and trade unions on pending laws that would affect them.
But he warned that talking was not enough, adding that the government needs to demonstrate that it is incorporating the concerns of others.
During his stay, Subedi met senior government officials, as well as donors, representatives from civil society, members of the political opposition and ordinary Cambodians. He stressed that land and housing rights had been one of his major concerns since he took up the post of U.N. human rights envoy two years ago.
“The problem has not gone away," he said. "Land grabbing by the rich and powerful has been a problem, and economic and other forms of land concessions have affected the rights of the indigenous people living in rural areas.”
Subedi said he had met with citizens threatened by eviction, including residents from a site in Phnom Penh that was awarded to a ruling party senator.
“I am aware of their problem. I am sympathetic to their problem. I have made my representation at the highest level possible with the government. That was one of the reasons why I included in my recommendations that when people have a land dispute they should be able to go to court and receive fair and impartial justice," he said. "That was the reason why my last report was focused on the judiciary, on strengthening the independence and capacity of the judiciary.”
Subedi said a great deal of work was still needed in that area.
Cambodia's constitution provides for freedom of speech, but that right is often squashed by what authorities say is a need for public security. Earlier this year, Subedi expressed concern that the space to express government criticism was narrowing. He said he did not see the situation improving.
“The situation I am afraid has not changed in this country with regard to freedom of speech. That is where I would like to see some progress made,” he said.
Subedi will submit his report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva in September.
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Thursday, June 02, 2011
Tribunal Controversy Hurting Its Work: Rights Advocate
Pung Chhiv Kek, founder of the rights group Licadho, told “Hello VOA” that disclosures made by the prosecutor, Andrew Cayley, regarding controversial Case 003 were “the right thing to do.”
Cayley issued a public statement claiming judges Siegfried Blunk and You Bunleang should do more investigation into the case, including interviewing its two unnamed suspects and visiting alleged crime sites.
The two judges rebuked his statement, saying he had exceeded his duties as prosecutor and divulged confidential information. Cayley has filed an official appeal to the judges’ order that he revoke portions of his statement.
Pung Chhiv Kek, however, said Monday that the tribunal was suffering from a lack of transparency and information, especially in its function to bring national reconciliation to victims of the Khmer Rouge.
“Many people who are Khmer Rouge victims want to get more information so that they can participate as civil party,” she said. “The victims have the right to know.”
The court’s work on cases 003 and 004, which Prime Minsiter Hun Sen opposes, has been shrouded in mystery, unlike the much-publicized work in Case 001, which tried prison chief Duch, and Case 002, which is moving toward trial for four jailed Khmer Rouge leaders.
Case 003 “had been in the dark, until it was broken out by Andrew Cayley,” Pung Chhiv Kek said. “They were not sure if the case was being looked into or not. We didn’t even know the names of the possible suspects. That was completely different from cases 001 and 002.”
Disagreement between the prosecution and investigating judges had been anticipated from the early stages of the tribunal, she said, but the current controversy could harm the mobilization of funds that the court needs to keep functioning.
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State Department Sees More Engagement on Horizon
The US wants to see a peaceful solution to the current border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, a senior US State Department official said Tuesday.
Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told a forum at the Center for International and Strategic Study in Washington, that the US also encourages more dialogue between the two sides, and Indonesia, which has acted as an interlocutor in the dispute since February.
Campbell’s remarks were part of a renewed engagement effort by the US in Southeast Asia, including initiatives with Asean. However, he acknowledged that the US has had less engagement with Cambodia and Laos than other countries, but he said he hoped to see an increase in coming years.
“We have put in place a schedule of strategic engagement which frankly has been remarkably productive,” he said. “We look to take these to the next step in the course of the next year or so.”
The US has worked “closely” with Indonesia, he said, to help solve a the border dispute, which has led to two sides to deadly clashes in February and April.
As the current head of Asean, Indonesia has tried to mediate the dispute and to send a monitoring mission to the border.
Meanwhile, officials are now awaiting a clarification from the International Court of Justice on a 1962 decision over Preah Vihear temple that could help delineate disputed border areas.
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Delay on Sesan River Hydrodam Unlikely: Officials
Government officials say any delay on the construction of a hydropower dam on the Sesan river in Stung Treng province is unlikely, even though residents along the river say they want more impact studies conducted.
Prach Sun, secretary of state for the Ministry of Environment, told VOA Khmer the government has already conducted an impact study, but that it would still deal with river communities on the issue of compensation.
Last month, representatives of communities living on the Sesan in Ratanakkiri province, 40 kilometers from the proposed dam site, appealed to the government to delay construction of the dam, saying they were concerned about their livelihoods and the amounts of resettlement packages.
However, the project, a joint venture between Vietnamese company EVN International and Cambodia’s Royal Group, has already been approved, with construction expected to begin later this year or early in 2012.
That would force more than 1,500 families to resettle, according to reports by the 3S Rivers Protection Network. But even more could be affected in other ways.
The Rivers Coalition in Cambodia reported in 2009 that at least 38,000 people in 90 villages, including a large number of ethnic minorities, could lose fish resources, as the dam would block migration between the Mekong river and the Sekong, Sesan and Srey Pok tributaries.
“At our downstream community, the company did not come down to do any studies on the dam’s impacts,” Phat Sunith, chief of Kampun commune in Sesan district, told VOA Khmer. “They did come ask our people what we do for a living, so we received no information.”
Tek Vannara, program manager for the Culture and Environment Preservation Association, a member of the Rivers Coalition, said resettlement plans are “crucial” for communities that will be affected by the dam.
“If they know the information clearly, they can make clear decisions as to whether they should build their houses, get their children married or farm on their land,” he said.
Representatives of both companies have been tight-lipped so far on the proposed dam’s construction.
However, Danh Serey, deputy director of the environmental impact assessment department of the Ministry of Environment, said the companies had followed all the requirements set by the ministry when they conducted their impact studies.
He said Cambodia needs energy to boost its economy. The electricity generated at the Lower Sesan 2 would supply the provinces of Ratankkiri and Mondolkiri before it is transmitted to Vietnam, he said.
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Former Khmer Rouge Prisoner Finds Herself in Photo
On an organized tour through the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum last week, a woman from Kampong Cham province had a startling surprise. Among the photos that many people presume to be executed prisoners from Tuol Selng, know to the Khmer Rouge as S-21, the woman found a photograph of herself.
In fact, she had been a prisoner at another Khmer Rouge site, S-24, the functional government prison now known as Prey Sar.
“In fact, she is alive,” said Dim Sovannarom, a spokesman for the UN-backed tribunal, which organized the tour. “She is a living witness. This means that not all photos seen at the [Tuol Sleng] museum are dead.”
The 57-year-old woman, Mom Kim Sein, said she was kept by the Khmer Rouge at S-24, where prisoners were tortured, forced to work and given meager food rations. She remembers the day her photograph was taken there.
Last week, she had attended a court-sponsored tour with about 400 people from Kampong Cham province. It was then that she saw her own photograph, she said.
Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said many people mistakenly assume the photographs in Tuol Sleng are those of prisoners who were later executed after a stint at the prison.
In fact, he said, the Vietnamese forces that ousted the Khmer Rouge in 1979 gathered photographs and other materials from other prison sites and gathered them at Tuol Sleng.
More than 60 people have so far been able to identify themselves in the photographs, he said.
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