PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A former Cambodian prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison on Tuesday on embezzlement charges filed by members of the royalist political party he once led.
The action should make it difficult for Ranariddh, a once-influential national figure who is the son of former King Norodom Sihanouk, to stage a political comeback. Ranariddh was co-prime minister of the country from 1993-97, and his supporters alleged the move was politically motivated.
The Funcinpec party, which ousted Ranariddh as president in October 2006, had sued the prince accusing him of allegedly embezzling some US$3.6 million (€2.7 million) from the sale of the party's headquarters in August that year.
Judge Sao Meach, of Phnom Penh Municipal Court, found the prince guilty of breach of trust and sentenced him to 18 months in prison.
Muong Arun, Ranariddh's lawyer, dismissed the verdict as unjust. Ranariddh is not in Cambodia, but his exact whereabouts are not clear.
Funcinpec rejected Ranariddh as its leader on Oct. 18, citing his alleged incompetence and frequent absences from the country.
Ranariddh's longtime political rival, Prime Minister Hun Sen, had encouraged the party to eject Ranariddh. Funcinpec is the junior partner in Hun Sen's coalition government.
Since his ouster, Ranariddh has formed his own political party named after himself, the Norodom Ranariddh Party.
Tuesday's verdict would prevent Ranariddh from running for public office in Cambodia unless he serves at least two-thirds of his jail term or receives a pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni, his half brother.
But Hun Sen, in a speech Saturday, made it clear that he would not back a royal pardon for Ranariddh.
"If you are a royal engaged in politics, you are also equal before the law and (liable) to be put in jail. Let's be clear about this," Hun Sen said, without referring to Ranariddh by name.
Muth Chantha, Ranariddh's party spokesman, said the verdict "is politically motivated to prevent the prince from taking part in future elections."
He said the prince will not appeal the verdict because doing so would amount to recognizing it.
"We have believed all along that there is no justice for him in this case. This is a court that serves interest of the government, not the people," Muth Chantha said.
During the trial Tuesday, the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence proving Ranariddh had embezzled the money.
But he said the prince was guilty of intentionally registering the new property under his name, instead of Funcinpec's, therefore "breaching the trust of the party."
He also ordered Ranariddh to pay US$150,000 (€114,000) in compensation to the Funcinpec party.
Ranariddh is also facing an adultery lawsuit lodged against him by his estranged wife, Norodom Marie Ranariddh. He faces up to a year in prison and fines of up to 1 million riel (US$245; €190)
if convicted.
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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Cambodia's former premier dealt political blow with 18-month prison sentence
Dredge/booster barge shipped to Cambodia
The loading of the two large pieces, work boats and other equipment onto the MV WIEBKE in Port Manatee, Florida, required five days. The ship has two cranes with lifting capacity of 340 tons each, plus a third crane with a lifting capacity of 220 tons. Two of the ships heavy lift cranes were married together in order to generate enough lifting capacity to load these heavy pieces.
Cambodia Oil Windfall Sparks Corruption Concern
A study of Cambodia for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2005 warned that Cambodia might follow the path of Nigeria, where new oil wealth turned into a “resource curse.”
Monday, March 12, 2007
U.S. Embassy honors 2 Cambodians with Women of Courage Award
The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia honored two women as the Cambodian winner and runner-up of International Women of Courage Award on Monday.
"Presenting this award to women of courage is an opportunity to celebrate acts of bravery by the extraordinary women in Cambodian who, in transforming their own society, create a more peaceful and prosperous nation for all," U.S. Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli said in a ceremony joined by Cambodian Minister of Women's and Veteran's Affairs H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi.
The winner for Cambodia is Ms. Oung Chanthol, Executive Director and Founder of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC), a press release said, adding that the runner-up is Ms. Ith Mathoura, a trained lawyer currently working for the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC).
These two women have demonstrated outstanding courage and leadership in promoting the political, economic and social advancement of women in Cambodia, it said.
Ms. Oung Chanthol is a lawyer who has been a leader in the fight against violence against women, particularly trafficking, rape and domestic violence, Mussomeli said, adding that Ms. Oung Chanthol founded the CWCC in 1997 which has helped several thousand victims of gender-based violence.
"This award is not just a proud moment for CWCC and for me, but for all, our whole nation, all women in Cambodia, and our government, which sees women as crucial partners in the development of our nation," Ms. Oung Chanthol said after receiving the award from Mussomeli.
The first annual "International Women of Courage" awards program was inaugurated by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in honor of International Women's Day 2007, the press release said, adding that the award is the State Department's only continuing awards program exclusively for emerging women leaders.
Source: Xinhua
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Dubai Donation Begins Rescue Of WFP Food Aid Operation In Cambodia
The United Nations World Food Programme today welcomed an urgently needed contribution of US$1 million from the Government of Dubai in response to its appeal to end drastic food aid cuts affecting 700,000 poor Cambodians, including HIV/AIDS and TB patients. But at the same time WFP warned that more donations were desperately needed to ensure the full resumption of operations in the country.
In January, key WFP activities in Cambodia were suspended due to lack of funding. Now, thanks to this generous contribution, food aid to 70,000 people affected by HIV/AIDS and 18,000 TB patients, will resume earlier than originally expected. "At stake are the lives of thousands of HIV/AIDS patients receiving anti-retroviral drugs whose effectiveness depends upon proper nourishment," said WFP Executive Director, James Morris. "And then there are the TB patients whose incentive to complete their treatment is often the food aid they receive at treatment centres.
All these people are desperately poor - this helping hand from Dubai is truly lifesaving." In a poor country like Cambodia where 35 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, hundreds of thousands of children are dependent on WFP meals provided by the agency's food for education programme.
WFP is already starting to see the negative impacts of the suspension of its activities: declines in school attendance rates; reduced attention spans of children in class and worsening health of HIV/AIDS and TB patients as well as, in some cases, a drop in treatment adherence.
The donation by the Government of Dubai will be used to prioritize HIV/AIDS and TB patients but more donations are needed to resume the food for education programme. "We are extremely grateful to the Government of Dubai for their valuable and timely support, which is part of a growing commitment to development aid from the governments in the Gulf region." said Morris. "We appeal to others to follow."
WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency: each year, we give food to an average of 90 million poor people to meet their nutritional needs, including 58 million hungry children, in at least 80 of the world's poorest countries.
WFP -- We Feed People. WFP Global School Feeding Campaign - For just 19 US cents a day, you can help WFP give children in poor countries a healthy meal at school - a gift of hope for a brighter future.Visit our website: http://www.wfp.org
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Cambodia Calls On ASEAN To Present A United Front On Land Mines
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen Monday called on four Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) nations which have so far not signed the Ottawa Treaty banning land mines to conform and help the bloc set an example to Asia and the world.
Speaking at a three-day conference on mine action in the capital, Hun Sen said ASEAN should form a united front and all member governments should sign and ratify their entry to the treaty, the signatories of which agree to prohibit the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and support their destruction. He said Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Singapore were the members of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc which had so far resisted signing, adding that if Asia was to become land mine-free, ASEAN should set the example for the continent.
"ASEAN has already declared Asia should be free of nuclear weapons and has asked other nations to sign on this, so ASEAN should also be the leader on the prohibition of the use, production and stockpiling of landmines," he said. He said land mines were a serious obstacle for the development of Cambodia and other Less Developed Nations and were a hidden killer that ordinary Cambodians had been forced to live with for too long.
Cambodia remains one of the most heavily mined nations in the world after 30 years of civil war. Hun Sen said Cambodian Red Cross figures put the number of land mine casualties in the country at 60,000 and counting, with 30 per cent of these fatalities and the rest forced to live as invalids for the rest of their lives. "Of course, this is the right of each country to decide, but I believe ASEAN should unite on this issue," Hun Sen told the conference.
Cambodia recently sent a demining team to Sudan and Hun Sen said that his country was happy to help another nation which would struggle to meet development goals because of the insidious factor of mines. Canadian Ambassador to Cambodia Donica Pottie agreed, and used the opportunity to urge the United States, arguably the most significant nation to so far refuse to join the treaty, to relent and lead by example.
"Canada welcomes the Cambodian appeal ... however, it depends very much on these countries themselves," she said in an interview after Hun Sen's address. "The US has a huge commitment to demining programmes around the world," she said. "We would definitely welcome the US to join (the treaty). We appreciate US demining efforts and ... the US spends a lot of resources on demining, including Cambodia." ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
© 2007 DPA
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Jolie Overwhelmed at 1st by Refugee Work
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 11, 2007; 8:04 PM
NEW YORK -- Angelina Jolie says her work as a humanitarian ambassador for the United Nations at first left her tearful and overwhelmed.
"The first two years I just cried constantly," the actress told Newsweek. "I couldn't really talk about the situation without being emotional. And I went through a period of just complete lack of hope."
During her February visit to the Oure Cassoni camp on the border between Darfur and Chad she came across a disturbed 7-year-old boy whose family had tied him to a pole to stop him wandering away or banging himself. The boy had spent 48 hours hiding in the bush after his village was bombed.
"I talked to him for like half an hour and just kind of looked at him for a long time before he touched me," Jolie told the magazine, "and there was a little boy in there who was open to a kind sound."
Jolie has visited camps in Africa, Pakistan and Cambodia as part of her work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She said she travels unaccompanied on commercial flights, and doesn't care about people who describe what she does as celebrity tourism.
"I don't know if anybody saying that has spent the last six years of their life going to over 30 camps and really spending time with these people," said Jolie, who wants to return to Cambodia.
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Cambodia arrests senior officer in war against land grabbers
A major colonel from the border unit of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (CRAF) has been arrested, becoming the first senior officer arrested during the government's high-profile campaign against land grabbers.
"We arrested Te Haing in Banteay Mean Chey province according to the warrant from the Phnom Penh Municipal Court" on Saturday, Sao Sokha, military police commander of Cambodia, told Xinhua here on Sunday.
In addition, an official at the court told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that Te Haing was arrested for encroaching state land and cutting forestry to take about 1,567 hectares of land in Banteay Mean Chey province.
"Because he worked there, it was difficult to investigate the case. After checking the case, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued the arrest warrant and then transferred his case to Phnom Penh," he said.
Te Haing, also registered as owner of the Te Haing Development Co. Ltd., was accused under Article 97 of the Forestry Law and might be jailed for five to 10 years, he said, adding that all his properties will be confiscated by the state.
On Thursday, Chao Phirun, director general of RCAF's technical and material department, said that he had handed over more than 200 hectares of land to the government after Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to fire him on Monday in the war on land grabbers.
"I already gave the land to the government (on Tuesday). Hun Sen has written to thank me," said the general, who is from Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
"I am not sad. This is a contribution to help the government," he said of the 215 hectares of land in Kampot province's Chhuk district.
He insisted that he was unaware that he was the target of Hun Sen's threat, as the land was bought by his wife in 1999 from 46 families rather than being grabbed from their hands.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told reporters that Chao Phirun will not be fired as he returned the land.
Earlier, a top government official from CPP called Hun Sen to inform about his withdrawal from a land dispute in Koh Sla area in Kandal province.
Hun Sen said on Monday that he will purge perverse land grabbers out of the government and CPP, who might otherwise cause social instability or even trigger off riots.
"The government is going to fight against illegal land grabbing at any cost. The war against land grabbers is starting right now," he told hundreds of diplomats and high-ranking government officials at a national forum.
They should withdraw from land disputes by themselves, and if they don't, they will be fired from the government and expelled from the party, he said.
"I am not going to tolerate anyone any longer on this issue," he added.
Local media have reported recently that military officers and high-ranking government officials used to stand behind land disputes across the kingdom, causing much anger among the people, especially the deprived farmers.
In February, Hun Sen said that illegal land grabbing will destabilize the country.
"Our government has made tremendous efforts to build many roads, but it is sad to see that after the road is built, many people from the city rush in to buy or capture land (beside the road), squeezing the local community out of their property," he said. All provincial governors, district chiefs and commune councils are held responsible for the situation of landlessness and land grabbing in their territories, he said.
"I promise to punish any officials who are found to be involved in land grabbing and clearing of state land for personal use," he added.
Land disputes have been frequent across Cambodia in recent years, resulting in hundreds of death and injury, according to official reports.
Source: Xinhua
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Sunday, March 11, 2007
CAMBODIA: JUDICIAL COMMITTEE MEETS TO DISCUSS KHMER ROUGE TRIALS: UN SPOKESPERSON
press released UN-news centre
In a further effort to resolve differences that have stalled the long-awaited trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders, accused of mass killings and other horrific crimes during the 1970s in Cambodia, a judicial review committee is again meeting this week and next in the capital Phnom Penh, a United Nations spokesperson said today.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) Review Committee, which is made up of both international and national judges, is discussing various outstanding issues that have so far held up adoption of the Internal Rules for the conduct of the trials, spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters.
This meeting is scheduled to conclude on 16 March at which time it is hoped a date for the official adoption of the internal rules can be announced, Ms. Montas added. This latest session of the Review Committee follows an earlier one in January. The UN is funding most of the $56.3 million three-year budget for the Khmer Rouge trials.
Judges and prosecutors for the trials were sworn in last July. Under an agreement signed by the UN and Cambodia, the trial court and a Supreme Court within the Cambodian legal system will investigate those most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979.
The UN will pay $43 million of the $56.3 million budget for the trials, with the Government of Cambodia providing $13.3 million.At a pledging conference in 2005 to support the UN assistance to the trials, former Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the crimes committed under Khmer Rouge rule "were of a character and scale that it was still almost impossible to comprehend," adding that "the victims of those horrific crimes had waited too long for justice."
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Spanish psychologist evaluates Cambodia's 'jungle woman'
Ker Munthit news associate
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A Spanish psychologist met with Cambodia's "jungle woman" on Tuesday, hoping to unravel some of the mystery surrounding the woman who emerged from the forest, naked and unable to speak, after possibly 18 years in the wild.
Hector Rifa, a doctor of psychology from Spain's University of Oviedo, said his priority was to ensure the woman was receiving proper treatment for whatever traumatic experience she has undergone.
But it is also possible he may find clues to the woman's true identity - whether she is indeed a local girl who disappeared in 1988, as claimed by the family in northeastern Cambodia who has taken her in as their long-lost daughter.
Rifa said he plans to spend several days at the home of village policeman Sal Lou, who claims the woman is his daughter Rochom P'ngieng, who disappeared while tending water buffalo when she was eight.
Sal Lou's family, members of Cambodia's Pnong ethnic minority, say they are certain the woman is Rochom P'ngieng because of a childhood scar on her right arm.
With no other evidence supporting their claim, however, others have speculated that the woman may have a history of mental troubles and had simply become lost in the jungle much more recently.
In any case, her inability to communicate and evident attempts to escape from Sal Lou's family indicate she is in a difficult psychological situation.
Rifa has been working with indigenous people in Rattanakiri province over the past four years for the Spain-based group Psychology Without Borders.
In an interview earlier Tuesday, he told The Associated Press he thinks the woman's behaviour showed she was having difficulty adapting to normal life, as would be expected if she had been lost in the jungle for an extended period of time.
"It is not extraordinary . . . or anything coming from another world," he said, referring to concerns by superstitious villagers that the woman may be possessed by a jungle spirit.
"From the point of view of psychology, I suspect that this is like for us, if we have stayed one week in the forest and came back to the world, you are a little out of it. So if we have stayed 18 years out of the office or of the world, when we come back we need some time" to readjust, he said.
On Monday, two Cambodian human rights groups expressed concern that the woman may be suffering due to the spotlight cast on her since she emerged from the wild, and offered to provide medical and psychiatric treatment.
Curious villagers and journalists have flocked to see the woman, who was found Jan. 13 walking bent over rather than upright. She pats her stomach when hungry and uses animal-like grunts to communicate.
"The important thing is to try to help the family, if they don't know how to manage (her)," Rifa said.
Mao San, the Oyadao district police chief, said Tuesday the investigation into the woman's case has "hit a dead end" because she cannot communicate.
"Only when she starts speaking can we ask her where she might have been or whom she might have been with the whole time," he said, stressing the need to do DNA tests to confirm she is the child of Sal Lou. Sal Lou has said he is willing to undergo DNA testing "to clear any doubts that she is my child."
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Saturday, March 10, 2007
Cambodia human rights violations rampant: UN report
The government's human rights record remained poor. Government agents committed extrajudicial killings, and security forces acted with impunity. There was little political will to address the failure by government authorities to adhere to the rule of law.
Cambodia ruled through rights abuse: UN
March 9, 2007
Ghai, who is expected to return to Cambodia next week, regretted that "instead of responding to the concerns raised by the special representatives and United Nations bodies, a frequent response of the government has been evasion or accusation, scapegoating and intimidation," it added.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Festival showcases Mekong region traditional artisans
The two-day festival will feature 14 artisans including eight from China, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia, besides six from Vietnam.
Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the similarities and specific features of the weaving traditions in the Mekong region.
On show will be tools to net fish made by the Lao people from Thailand, Kho Mu from Laos, Khmer from Cambodia and Vietnam, and other ethnic groups from Vietnam's southern Dong Thap province, baskets woven by Vietnamese people in Can Tho, and other bamboo products made by the Thai people living in Yunnan, China.
Children can also try their hand at several activities designed exclusively for them at this outdoor festival.
The event, organized jointly by the Culture Heritage Department and the Vietnam Ethnology Museum, will get technical support from the Center of Folk Life and Cultural Heritage of the US’s Smithsonian Institute, and financial support from the US’s Rockefeller Fund through the Thailand Royal Center of Human Studies.
It is a prelude to participation by Vietnamese artists in the 41st annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C, the US, in June this year. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival program, themed Mekong river: Connecting Cultures, will give an insight into the complex connections among ethnic groups, languages, and traditions of peoples living along the mighty river.
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Vietnam, Cambodia to boost cooperation in health care
VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to boost cooperation and exchange of experience in developing health care services, especially those for children. An agreement to this effect was signed in Phnom Penh on March 6 during a Cambodia visit by a delegation of Vietnam's Committee for Population, Family and Children led by its Chairwoman Le Thi Thu from March 5-9.
Thu and Ith Somheng, Cambodian Minister of Social Affairs and War Veterans, agreed to intensify and diversify their collaborative activities through the exchange of delegations and the training of management cadres relating to population, family and children.
The Vietnamese delegation then met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who appreciated their visit and expressed his wish that the two sides would implement well their cooperation agreements.
The delegation will also visit several Cambodian localities to learn more about family planning and other related activities.
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Cambodia court sentences two Germans to prison for child sex abuse
The associated press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Two Germans who worked as English teachers in Cambodia were among five people sentenced Friday to prison terms for sexually abusing four Vietnamese girls, a crime that one of the girl's mothers was an accomplice to.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Karl Heinz Henning, 61, to 28 years in prison on charges of human trafficking and debauchery — a Cambodian legal term for sexual offenses against minors.
Police arrested Henning after they observed him bringing the girls, aged 10 to 14, to his Phnom Penh apartment. While police were searching the apartment, he tried to escape by jumping from his balcony to the ground, some four meters (13 feet) below, but crashed into a metal canopy and was arrested.
The court also handed a 12-year prison term to Thomas Sigwart Eugen, 42, on debauchery charges. Eugen was arrested after police saw him having sex with two of the girls on a videotape confiscated from Henning.
"The two Germans committed the crimes because they figured Cambodia is a poor country and that they could just use their dollars to buy sex to fulfill their urges," Judge Ke Sakhan said. "These are illegal acts Cambodia cannot tolerate."
Both men worked as private English teachers in Phnom Penh.
The Germans denied sexually abusing the girls during their trial March 1. Henning said the four girls had come to his house to learn English and computer skills from him.
A Vietnamese couple that acted as sex brokers for the Germans received 17-year prison terms each on charges of human trafficking. The couple worked with one of the girl's mothers, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail, also on human trafficking charges.
Phnom Penh's anti-human trafficking police arrested the two Germans in separate raids of their rented apartments in the capital, Phnom Penh, in August.
Eugen, speaking to reporters at the court Friday, said he was "quite shocked" by his prison sentence.
Child rights advocates say Cambodia's lax law enforcement has made it a destination for foreign pedophiles. However, police have recently stepped up action against offenders.
On Tuesday, the same court sentenced a Swiss man to 11 years in prison for sexually abusing a 12-year-old Cambodian girl.
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Thursday, March 08, 2007
U.S. funding for Cambodia to drop by quarter in 2008
The United States funding for Cambodia is slated to drop 25 percent in fiscal year 2008 to 40.9 million U.S. dollars, from 54.9 million U.S. dollars in fiscal year 2006, local media said on Thursday.
"The projected cuts in funding in fiscal year 2008 are unrelated to conditions in Cambodia and are a function of a tight budgetary environment in Washington and realignment of global development priorities," U.S. Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle told the Cambodian Daily.
Funding for anti-human trafficking, promotion of labor rights and political party development after the 2008 national elections will no longer be focus areas for the U.S. assistance, he said.
It will turn to focus on developing democratic institutions, strengthening peace and security, establishing a health system that can respond to infectious disease outbreaks and encouraging market-driven economic growth, he said.
Meanwhile, Cheam Yeap, lawmaker from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), said that the proposed cut will not be felt deeply, as the U.S. doesn't provide much direct assistance to the Cambodian government.
"The U.S. cutting funds will not affect the government's programs and the government's budget," he said.
He also said that Cambodia has a wealth of other donors that it can turn to for assistance.
"China also gives us a lot of money for infrastructure," he added.
The proposed reduction comes amid a warm-up of the U.S.- Cambodian relations.
The U.S. has decided to resume direct aid for the Cambodian government after a decade of hiatus and a U.S. Navy vessel just paid an official visit to the kingdom's port city Sihanoukville.
In addition, under the terms of the 2007 U.S. budget resolution passed on Feb. 15, Cambodia will likely receive about 56 million U. S. dollars of aid this fiscal year, without any restrictions on direct government assistance.
Source: Xinhua
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UNICEF donates 140,000 USD for demining in Cambodia
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has donated more than 140,000 U.S. dollars for demining and landmine education in the western provinces of Cambodia for this year, an official said on Thursday.
The fund will be used for demining, education about danger of landmine and UXO (unexplosive ordnance), organizing spots for broadcasting on TV, building network to educate villagers in communities of landmine areas, Khem Sophoan, head of the Cambodia Mine Action Center (CMAC), told Xinhua on phone.
The money is for 26 districts in the western provinces of Cambodia, including Battambang, Preah Vihear, Oddar Mean Chey, Banteay Mean Chey and Pailin, where mines pose great danger for the communities, he said.
UNICEF has donated over one million U.S. dollars for CMAC since 1995, he said.
In the past two months of this year, mines killed over 10 people, including seven deminers of CMAC, he added.
According to official statistics, there were more than 400 human casualties over mine and UXO explosions in 2006 in Cambodia, or 50 percent decrease over the average number of the previous six years.
Due to 30 years of armed conflicts, Cambodia has become one of the world's most heavily mined countries with an estimated 4-6 million of such "hidden killers" buried underground in areas as extensive as 2,900 square kilometers.
It may take the kingdom another 150 years to clear out all the mines and UXO, statistics say.
Source: Xinhua
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Rare Mekong dolphin making a comeback
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Reuters) -- Cambodia's rare Mekong dolphin is making a tentative comeback from the edge of extinction after net fishing was banned in its main habitat, Cambodian and World Wildlife Fund officials said on Wednesday.
There are now about 160 dolphins, up from only 90 before net fishing was banned last year in the upper Mekong River in the eastern provinces of Kratie and Steung Treng borders, they said.
The absence of gillnets strung in the river, allowing dolphins from other reaches of the river to move in, was the main reason for the sudden jump in numbers, the officials said.
"We should have about 20 new babies born every year if the current trend continues," Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Commission for Mekong Dolphins Conservation, told Reuters.
"Within five years, we'll be worried we will not have enough fish for dolphins to eat because humans also need fish," he said.
Fishing was banned in the area last year and local people encouraged to grow crops or work in the growing tourism industry instead of fishing.
"The awareness, conservation and provision of alternative livelihoods to fishermen, have helped reduced adult mortalities," the WWF said in a statement.
Conservationists believe an estimated 1,000 dolphins, also known as Irrawady dolphins, live in India, Myanmar and Thailand.
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Talks to save Khmer Rouge trials
Cambodian and international judges have begun talks to prevent the possible collapse of the Khmer Rouge trials.
The trials - which aim to put the surviving leaders of the brutal Maoist regime in the dock - have ground to a halt over procedural differences.
Foreign judges want full international legal standards, while the Cambodians say local law must take precedence.
About two million people died during the years that the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia in the 1970s.
Aging defendants
Trail hearings are theoretically due to start later this year.
But according to the BBC correspondent in Phnom Penh, Guy De Launey, there is a real possibility that the trials will collapse before they have even started.
The international judges have made it clear that they see this week's meeting as the final chance to make sure the trials meet international standards.
"All the judges are mindful that the upcoming... meeting is of vital importance," tribunal officials said in a recent statement.
If an agreement cannot be achieved, the foreign contingent will ask the UN to pull out.
But local officials have been equally adamant that Cambodian law has to have prime importance in the special courts, and according to our correspondent, they feel they have been unfairly portrayed as being the sole cause of the delays.
There are more than 100 items under discussion at this week's talks, but many have already been resolved after lengthy informal negotiations.
Those involved admit that time is of the essence, if they are to bring elderly Khmer Rouge members to court.
"There is one point on which the international judges are unanimous - these trials should take place quickly or not at all," French judge Marcel Lemonde of France told AFP news agency.
The death of military commander Ta Mok late last year heightened fears that more key defendants and witnesses could die before facing justice.
Pol Pot, the founder and leader of the Khmer Rouge, has already died, in a camp along the border with Thailand in 1998.
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ADB approves 42 mln USD of loan to restore railway for Cambodia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved 42 million U.S. dollars of loan for Cambodia to restore its railway, local media said on Wednesday.
This is part of the efforts to complete the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) railway network which also connects China, said daily newspaper the Rasmey Kampuchea.
The agreement of providing the loan was signed by Minister of Finance and Economy Keat Chhon and C. Lawrence Greenwood, vice- president of ADB here on Monday.
The loan will be spent on restoring 254 km of railway road from Phnom Penh to seaport city Sihanoukville and also on 383 km of railway from Phnom Penh to Poipet town of Banteay Mean
Chey province next to the border with Thailand, the paper quoted Keat Chhon as saying.
The whole budget for restoring railway is worth about 73 million U.S. dollars, with 42 million from ADB, 13 million from the OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) Fund, 2.8 million as grant aid from Malaysia and the rest 15.2 million from the Cambodian government, he added.
Source: Xinhua .
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