Mini Charity Marathon for Kids in Cambodia

Runners gearing up to race to raise money

If you haven't witnessed it yourself then you would have heard the story of a child with his or hands stretched out begging for money, pleading for help, longing for a bit of hope.

A common sight for tourists traveling in Asia and around the world.

The plight of children in poor countries is not something everyone has witnessed first hand. But for those who have, it's something they never forget.

In Cambodia, where half of the population is under 15, the story is no different.

Child prostitution, homelessness, poverty, a paedophile's playground, human trafficking are just some of the horrors faced everyday.

And something two well traveled women saw for themselves and never forgot.

Andrea Kvasnica and Emma Stringer got the chance to help those children they had seen being exploited, neglected and forgotten during a marathon of a fundraising stint at the weekend.

What started out as being a fun 10km run between friends turned into a mini-marathon of English teachers in Daegu raising 2.4million Won ($2,700 Canadian dollars) for children of Cambodia.

Along side the river on the morning of Saturday, June 9th, with a back drop of mountains, and below the roaring traffic overhead, 75 people ran, walked, cycled and rollerbladed all with a common cause. To support children of poverty.

"It was just supposed to be a small run with 10 friends, but more people heard about it and it just escalated from there," says Emma, originally from Leicester, England.

The two pals have lived in South Korea for three years and as keen athletes, running about five times a week, they wanted to do another long distance run having completed a half marathon in April.

Andrea Kvansnica and Emma Stringer with co-worker Mr. Cho never forgot what they saw in Cambodia

"The way it works here is that as the season goes on so the distances get longer, but we only wanted to do a 10km so decided to organize our own," says Andrea, from Ottawa, Canada.

With the help and support of other friends they were able to organize the 10km and 5km mini-marathon in Daegu and from their experiences in the impoverished Southeast Asian country decided the children they had seen stuck in a plight of hopelessness would benefit from their hard work.

The two friends, who met in South Korea while working at a Hagwon in Daegu, traveled to Cambodia in October 2005 with the intention of staying for seven days.

But having experienced the plight of children and families there were forced to cut their holiday short. Something they never forgot.

"We were planning to be there for seven days, but everywhere we went it was like people were breathing devastation," recalls Andrea, 27.

Hearing stories from tuktuk drivers who had lost their family to genocide, murder and poverty and seeing first hand the immense problem of child exploitation by paeodophiles they were shocked by how it left them feeling. Were they also taking advantage of the people by being tourists? Were they feeding the corruption of the poor?

"It was really depressing and we felt really bad because we are mega rich compared to them. We were trying to have a vacation and we felt so guilty because we were rich and they weren't," adds Emma, 26.

Andrea says "To go and visit was really hard because every day you are reminded of how dire the situation is. It's in your face all the time. Any time anyone asks me where's the worst place I have been to, Cambodia always pops into my head. That was humans in their worse situation."

Since their trip the pair have learnt more about the history and politics of the country and discovered the charity Children of Cambodia Fund who they chose to donate the money from the mini marathon to. The money will be used to help rescue children living on the dumps and tips of litter and rubbish everywhere because they have no families, no homes and no money.

The organization is trying to combat the problem with child prostitution by setting up orphanages and projects to get the children off the streets.

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia with 85 percent of the population of 12.5 million people living in rural areas. There is a high infant mortality rate and the average life expectancy is 57 years old. During the notorious regime of Pol Pot in the 1970s around 1.5 million people lost their lives.

"Everywhere has poor places, we know, but it was a massive difference in Cambodia," says Emma.

Andrea adds: "The difference is that in other countries you can see there is some wealth and they can feed themselves and provide houses, but in Cambodia you just don't see it. Everyone is just suffering and the thing is there's no hope. They just don't have the means to move on. Their generation is stumped."

Since starting to organize the mini marathon six weeks ago, Andrea and Emma have realized they are not alone in their experience and know they will not be the last.

"A lot of people told us they had been or were about to go. Cambodia touches a lot of people's hearts from what they have heard or seen," adds Andrea.

The money raised far exceeded the two women's expectations and the support they say was amazing.

"We just want to say thank you to everyone who helped us and we hope it will be of some benefit to the children in Cambodia," Andrea says. Read more!

China donates 200 water pumps to Cambodia

China donated 200 units of small-size diesel-powered water pumps on Wednesday to Cambodia for agricultural use.

Sun Weiren, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, and Sam Sarith, Secretary of State of Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology of Cambodia, signed the certificates of delivery and receipt on behalf of both governments.

Sun said that the Chinese government expects the donation to help beef up the agricultural development of Cambodia.

Sarith expressed his government's appreciation for the donation and hoped to carry out more cooperation with the Chinese side in the field of agriculture, especially irrigation and water conservancy.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodia's Hun Sen tells Japanese he will fight graft

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pledged Thursday to fight corruption to lure more investors from top donor Japan as he tries to wean his government away from foreign aid.
Hun Sen, visiting Japan for his 15th time, met with business leaders and was set to sign a bilateral agreement on encouraging investment.

"By strengthening good governance, we will continue to thoroughly manage public agnecies and to eradicate corruption and reduce costs for investors," Hun Sen said at the luncheon with business leaders.

"I firmly believe that Japanese investment is essential for further development of Cambodia," Hun Sen said. "We are aiming to stabilise the political, economic and security environment so that investments can be made with confidence."

He said the investment agreement, to be signed later Thursday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, should also improve opportunities for Japanese businesses eyeing to invest in Cambodia.

Japan is the top donor to Phnom Penh, but the world's second largest economy accounts for a mere two percent of Cambodia's overall trade, according to Japanese official data.

Donors are meeting in Cambodia next week, but many have expressed deep frustration over the lack of reform in the country including corruption.

Hun Sen earlier this month praised China, which has a growing rivalry for influence with Japan, for handing over aid without any conditions.

At the luncheon, Hun Sen said Cambodia was on a steady growth track, overcoming the regional economic crisis in the 1990s and occassional natural disasters.

Recently discovered natural resources, such as oil and natural gas, should also boost Cambodia's international standing, Hun Sen said.

"Private sector participation is essential. I am convinced that the Cambodian economy will grow further with participation from Japanese companies and investors as we continue to improve Cambodia's investment environment," he said.

"Cambodia historically had had difficulties and struggles. But we have overcome the difficulties with our strong will to develop the nation under democracy," he said.

Hun Sen voiced optimism that growth, which has surged ahead at around 9.0 percent a year since 2000, would help eliminate widespread poverty in Cambodia.

"It is my sincere hope that well thought-out social and economic development will further reduce poverty in our nation," he said.

He thanked Japan's consistant financial and other aid for his nation, adding that more assistance is needed to improve infrastructure, human resources, and business and technological know-how.

Japan pledged more than 100 million dollars at last year's donor meeting, which netted Cambodia some 600 million dollars in aid.

Hun Sen, who arrived late Wednesday and leaves Saturday, also had an audience with Emperor Akihito.

He will travel to the southern region of Fukuoka to observe a project in farm development, a top priority for Cambodia. Read more!

Cambodia PM calls for more investment from Japan

TOKYO, June 14 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday urged Japanese business leaders to invest more in one of the poorest Asian countries which he said could make a new start as a country build on rich natural resources.

"Development of natural gas and mineral resources provide Cambodia with great potential and this means Cambodia will make a new start as a country founded by natural resources in the international community," he told Japanese business leaders.

Japan's direct investments in Cambodia stood at $4 million for the five years from 2002.

"We will improve the environment for investments and I feel confident that investments by Japanese companies and investors will help the Cambodian economy grow stronger," Hun Sen said.

He said Japan's aid had helped Cambodia vastly improve its infrastructure in the last decade.

Japan's aid grants to Cambodia stood at $1.17 billion in the 1992-2007 period and Japan had extended yen loans totalling $137 million in the same period, Hun Sen said..
He said that the Cambodian economy had grown 13.5 percent in 2005 and 10.8 percent in 2006.

He also said Cambodia's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) had nearly doubled to $513 in 2006 from $288 in 2000, and inflation had remained below 3 percent between 2000 and 2006.

He said he would sign a bilateral investment pact with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later in the day.

"I certainly believe that this pact will serve as a source of great confidence for those who invest in Cambodia," he said.

Japan's imports from Cambodia stood at 8.6 billion yen ($70.06 million) in 2005, while Cambodia's imports from Japan were 11.5 billion yen. ($1=122.74 Yen) . Read more!

Judges Approve Rules For Cambodia Tribunal

By Ker Munthit
Associated Press
Thursday, June 14, 2007; Page A22

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, June 13 -- Cambodian and foreign judges announced rules Wednesday clearing the way for a U.N.-assisted genocide tribunal to begin long-delayed proceedings against Khmer Rouge leaders in the deaths of about 1.7 million people between 1975 and 1979.

The rules were one of the judges' last major tasks before they could begin working on the cases, but it was unlikely the trials would start any time soon: No one has yet been indicted. Many Cambodians worry that the aging defendants could all die before they are brought to justice.

The top Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998. The only defendant now in custody is Kaing Khek Iev, also known as Duch, who headed the notorious S-21 torture center in the capital, Phnom Penh.

Their senior-level colleagues, Nuon Chea, the communist movement's chief ideologue; Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister; and Khieu Samphan, the former head of state, live freely in Cambodia but are in declining health.

Cambodia and the United Nations created the genocide tribunal last year under an agreement they reached in 2003. The 17 Cambodian and 12 foreign judges and prosecutors have spent the last six months in sometimes rancorous disagreement on trial guidelines.

After two weeks of meetings, the Cambodian- and U.N.-appointed officials unanimously agreed on a set of rules Tuesday, they said at a news conference in Phnom Penh. "Now that the rules have been adopted, we can move forward," Kong Srim, a Cambodian judge with the tribunal, read from their statement.

"These rules enable us to hold fair, transparent trials before an independent and impartial court," said Robert Petit, a U.N.-appointed prosecutor from Canada, also reading from the statement.

The tribunal is an unprecedented hybrid. It will operate under the Cambodian judicial system, which is often criticized as weak, corrupt and susceptible to political manipulation. Decisions require support from a majority of the Cambodian judges, backed by at least one U.N.-appointed judge. Read more!

Shopping mall developer moves into Cambodia

An American property mogul whose Cambodian-born wife survived the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge is looking to raise up to $600 million on London's AIM market to build shopping centres and flats in Vietnam and Cambodia.

JSM Indochina is the brainchild of Craig Jones, a 41 year-old from Santa Monica, whose Californian-based JSM firm already sits on $1.5 billion worth of US shopping malls. Now Mr Jones has turned to the AIM market to pull in investors to back his plans to bring US-style malls from Pnom Penh to Ho Chi Min City and Hanoi.

JSM is already planning for Pnom Penh a 325,000 square feet mall where it has signed a pre-let to Parkson, the Malaysian department store, to become its anchor tenant taking about two thirds of the space. Land permits are also in place to add onto the site a 600 place car-park and 100 serviced appartments.

The Pnom Penh project and a handful of other early stage assets worth an esimated $35 million will seed the JSM Indochina fund. The fund intends to partner with local Vietnamese and Cambodian developers for its building projects.

Mr Jones who said he was born "at the height of the American involvement in the the Vietnam war" said: "I am so proud of what I and my wife are doing for South East Asia.We are helping with jobs and the distribution of wealth. The distribution of goods in the country is not very good as there are not many high quality retail outlets. We will help all the people. Hypermarkets are for everybody."

Mr Jones' wife and family lived under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the regime which was responsible for the death of an estimated one million of its own people under the brutal dictatorship of Pol Pot who assumed control once the Americans left. "They left Cambodia in 1982, ending up in California two years later. She lost her father and three sisters. We are really helping the country by building malls and replenishing the housing stock. This will be a multi-billion dollar company."

JSM has hired Lehman Brothers and Evolution Securities to raise new money for the Indochina fund. It is understood they already have commitments of about $300 million with 25 per cent of investors hailing from the US and UK.

Asked why he had chosen the AIM market to raise funds and not the US markets, Mr Jones said: "We have a global investor base and London is the centre of the global financial world. It would be wrong to use and American bourse."

The company told investors today in an intention to float prospectus it will "pursue a further pipeline of prospective investments in excess of $300 million over the next 12 months."

The new fund will be chaired by Mike Tanner, currently a non-executive director with Berkeley Group Holdings, London's largest housebuilder, and who spent 10 years until retirement in 2004 as managing director of George Wimpey's southern division. Read more!

UN to determine status for Cambodia's centuries-old monument

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A U.N. committee is expected to rule on Cambodia's request for «World Heritage» status for a well-known 11th century temple during a meeting later this month, an official said Tuesday.

Cambodia began seeking the status five years ago for Preah Vihear temple from World Heritage, a committee of the U.N. cultural organization UNESCO. Such status encourages conservation and usually helps attract funds for preservation, in addition to raising the tourism profile of the site.

The committee will decide on the Cambodian bid during its meeting in New Zealand that is scheduled to start June 23, said UNESCO director in Cambodia Teruo Jinnai.
«It's now up to the committee. You have to wait,» he said.

The temple deserves to be given World Heritage status, he said, because of its unique historical and cultural value.

Preah Vihear temple is located on the top of a cliff in the Dangrek Mountains, about 245 kilometers (150 miles) north of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. It is more easily accessible from Thailand, however.

The two countries have been at loggerheads in the past over ownership of the temple, which was held by Thailand until the International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.

The World Heritage list currently includes Cambodia's Angkor archaeological site, where the famed Angkor Wat temple, the country's main tourist attraction, is situated.

On the Net
World Heritage: whc.unesco.org Read more!

Cambodia sets genocide trial rules

A panel of Cambodian and international judges on Wednesday approved rules clearing the way for the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal to put suspects on trial for genocide.

The decision, which ends months of infighting, is the first concrete step toward prosecuting one of the worst genocides of the 20th century since court officials were sworn in last July.

"These rules will ensure us ... fair and transparent trials," co-prosecutor Robert Petit told reporters, adding they had been adopted unanimously.

"Now that the rules are adopted, we can move forward."

The rules are essential because they govern every aspect of the tribunal's operations, but previous agreement had been held up because of wrangling over legal fees and other procedures.

Jurists at the tribunal praised the agreement and vowed to get quickly to work.

"We are aware that the world's eyes are on these cases," Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang said.

Concerns about the rights of suspects — particularly whether steep legal fees would limit their access to lawyers — were among the issues that had held up adoption of the rules.

Rules ensure a fair trial

But Richard Rogers, with the office of the defence, said the rules would ensure a fair trial for the suspects in the genocide that left up to two million dead.

"The rules include all the fundamental rights that those accused need for a fair trial. That's a very good start for the defence," he said.

The first trials of the leaders of the 1970s regime had initially been expected this year.

However, the delays mean the trials are unlikely to start before early 2008, officials say.

Cambodian and foreign prosecutors who have been building cases since last year would probably send those files to investigating judges within weeks, Petit said.

The rules dispute had dragged on since November, with international and Cambodian jurists failing three times to come to an agreement before meeting for a final session last week.

The tribunal's opening last year had already been delayed by years of protracted negotiations between the United Nations and Cambodia.

The repeated deadlocks among the Cambodian and international judges raised concerns that the long-stalled tribunal would ultimately fail.

Quick trials are the last chance for Cambodians to find justice for crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge more than 30 years ago, with rights groups and legal advocates concerned that ageing former regime leaders will die before being brought to justice.

One defendant is in custody

So far only one possible defendant is in custody — former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Khek Iev, also known as Duch — while several live freely in Cambodia.

The only other person to have been arrested for crimes committed during the regime, military commander Ta Mok, died in prison last July. Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998.

Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed during the communist regime's 1975-1979 rule.

The Khmer Rouge abolished religion, schools and currency, exiling millions onto vast collective farms with the aim of creating an agrarian utopia. Read more!

Vietnamese, Cambodian armies build up cooperation

The armies of Vietnam and Cambodia have vowed to continue exchanges of experience and visits of military delegations in the future to foster their cooperation.

The consensus was reached by Senior Lieutenant General Le Van Dung, General Director of the General Politics Department of the Viet Nam People’s Army, and visiting General Neang Phat, Secretary of State of the Ministry of National Defence of Cambodia, at their talks held in Hanoi on June 11.

General Neang Phat is head of a delegation from the General Military Services Department of Cambodia, who started their official visit to Vietnam on June 10.

The two sides informed each other of the recent development of their armed forces and agreed to continue cooperation in those areas put forward in a protocol signed between the two Defence Ministries.

They also committed to carry out joint sea patrols and increase efforts in locating and repatriating Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who had died during the wars in Cambodia.

Earlier, at a reception for the Cambodian delegation, Sen. Lt. Gen. Dung applauded their visit to Vietnam, saying that it would help to boost mutual understandings between the two countries.

On the same day, the Cambodian military officials paid a courtesy visit to Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Phung Quang Thanh. Read more!

Cambodia launches construction of Prek Kdam Bridge over Tonle sap River

The Cambodian government held ground breaking ceremony on Monday for the construction of the Prek Kdam Bridge over Tonle sap River, which is under preferential buyer's credit loan from China.

The bridge will become a transportation hub of Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen said while addressing the ceremony, adding that it will help promote the economic development of this country.

According to the project information, the Prek Kdam Bridge is 975 meters in length and 13.5 meters in width, with a designed traffic speed of 60 km per hour.

The construction period of the 28.78 million U.S. dollars project will last 50 months, it said. The contractor of the project is Shanghai Construction (Group) General Company from China.

The China Eximbank signed an agreement with the Cambodian government on Jan. 22 to offer 207 million U.S. dollars of loans to develop Cambodian infrastructure construction, including the construction of the National Road No. 8, the National Road No. 76, the Prek Tamak Bridge over Mekong River and the Prek Kdam Bridge.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodia asks UN status for border temple

Phnom Penh (dpa) - The Cambodian government has renewed efforts to have Unesco classify the ancient Preah Vihear temple (Khao Phra Viharn in Thai) as a World Heritage site, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith confirmed Monday.

Kanharith confirmed reports in the Khmer-language Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper that the important 11th to 12th century temple, which lies in the far north of the country perched on the Thai border, should be recognised as a World Heritage monument to help assure its continued preservation.

"This is not the first time the government has attempted to have Preah Vihear listed as a World Heritage site, but now several people in the government understand the procedures necessary to put this case much better," Kanharith said by telephone.

He said Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Deputy Prime Minister Sok An were leading the new push for World Heritage classification. The government last attempted to have the key religious and architectural site classified in 2001.

Khao Phra Viharn was formally recognised as under Cambodian sovereignty in 1961 by the International Court of Justice after both Thailand and Cambodia had claimed jurisdiction.

Royal decrees passed by Cambodia with guidance from Unesco since 2002 have helped the Cambodidan government model ways to better manage and preserve the remote and partially ruined temple, assisting its current chances of finally being granted World Heritage listing.

However the site remains only easily accessible from the Thai side of the border despite its huge significance to Cambodians.

The Angkor Wat temple complex, 200 kilometres south of Preah Vihear near the northern city of Siem Reap, was granted World Heritage status by Unesco in 1992. Angkor Wat is the not only the country's largest tourist draw but its most important religious and cultural symbol. Read more!

Thailand, seemed ichy for more Muslim trouble, monkies around neighbour Muslim

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday angrily dismissed reported comments by a top Thai aide that Cambodian Muslims had been involved in terrorist activities, ordering his Foreign Ministry to carpet the Thai ambassador over the claims.

In a speech broadcast on national media, Hun Sen assured Cambodia's minority ethnic Muslim population that the government would stand firmly behind it and dismissed the claims as having no basis in fact.

His retort followed a report Saturday in the Bangkok Post quoting General Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, a close aide to Thai Prime Minister Surayad Chulanont, as saying the Cambodian Muslims had infiltrated Thailand's restive south and were involved in terrorist activities there.

The report quoted the general as linking some Cambodian Muslims to the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terrorist group. The story was widely picked up by Cambodian media.

"Please do not make your [Thai] internal problems international ones by painting this colour on Cambodian Muslims," Hun Sen said at a groundbreaking ceremony just outside the capital.

He demanded that Surayad correct his aide's allegation and said he had ordered the Cambodian Foreign Ministry to summon the Thai ambassador to explain the matter.

"The Thai military and police are weak," Hun Sen charged. "I am disappointed on behalf of Cambodia when they mistakenly accuse Cambodian Muslims of this. They are good people. Cambodian Muslims are not stupid like this to work as soldiers."

During the speech, Hun Sen pondered aloud whether Thailand "did not think it had enough trouble with its own Muslims" and perhaps wanted to add to its problems by insulting more Muslims in the region.

"All Cambodian Muslims, do not worry," he said. "The government will stay with you on behalf of all your compatriots, even though you are a different religion."

He said the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok would also request the Thai government provide evidence for the allegations and pledged to cooperate with the Thai government at all levels if it could prove there was a basis for the claims.

Wattanachai has previously made the same allegations, but backed down on similar claims last month. Thai authorities were also reported as claiming that deadly New Year's bomb attacks in Bangkok had been fuelled by materials provided from Cambodia, but those claims, too, were never proven.

Cambodia, like neighbouring Thailand, is a majority Buddhist country, with far less than 5 per cent of its population identifying itself as ethnic Cambodian Cham Muslims.

Although there have been allegations of infiltration of some Cham communities by more radical Islamic elements from overseas in the past, at present the Cham live peacefully within the Cambodian community. Read more!

Chinese firms study rail route from HCMC to Cambodia border

Two Chinese firms have submitted a feasibility study for building a rail route in Vietnam linking southern hub Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Phuoc to its northwest.
The China Railway Construction Corporation and the China Machinery Import and Export Corporation have forged a partnership for the project.

The study for the 128.5-km route to the Vietnam-Cambodia border has been submitted to Vietnam’s Transport Ministry.

It is estimated to cost US$438 million.

The track will allow passenger trains to run at up to 120 km per hour.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2010 or earlier if funding is secured.

The route will be part of the 5,500-km Trans-Asia railway beginning in Kunming in China’s Yunnan province, and traveling through Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia before terminating in Singapore.

The project, initiated by Malaysia in 1995, is expected to be completed in 2015. Read more!

Army: Casinos serving as drug storage points

The army suspects Cambodian casinos near the Thai border are laundering money and serving as a storage point for illegal drugs destined for Thailand.

Drug traffickers are thought to be using casinos as a new channel to smuggle goods to Thailand. The drugs could be sent from Burma to Laos and then Cambodia, or produced in Cambodia itself, where they are hidden in casinos, according to the army.

The gangs just wait for the right time to send the drugs into Thailand, its big trade partner.

"These casinos are threatening our national security," said deputy Burapha Task Force

commander Walit Rojanapakdi. The casinos are just opposite the border provinces of Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi and Trat.

Nine casinos are near the Poipet-Klong Luek checkpoint in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district; one near the Ban Laem checkpoint in Chanthaburi's Pong Nam Ron district; and three near Trat's Khlong Yai district, according to the Burapha Task Force report.

Col Walit said the government had tried to warn Thais against gambling in the casinos, but they did not pay attention to the warning.

"We can do nothing more," he said. "What we're doing now is gathering information on drug smuggling [from the casinos] into Thailand," he said.

Thais are the biggest group gambling in the casinos, followed by Vietnamese, Malaysians, Taiwanese and Filipinos. About 1,000 to 3,000 Thai gamblers visit casinos at Poipet in Cambodia every day. The Chanthaburi-Trat task force suspects some casinos opposite Chanthaburi province are a favourite hideout for criminals. Read more!

Cambodia's oil bonanza muted by uncertainties

PHNOM PENH, June 10 (AFP): Two years after discovering oil off its coast, uncertainty clouds Cambodia's nascent petroleum sector, with analysts saying it is impossible to gauge the extent of the country's fuel deposits or their impact on one of the world's poorest economies.

Predictions of vast new wealth are now being reconsidered, with some international institutions already drastically scaling back previous estimates of a billion barrels of oil.

Even Prime Minister Hun Sen has tempered earlier claims that the country would begin tapping oil by 2010, saying last week that Cambodia's petroleum prospects were now "uncertain".

"Oil under the sea is still a dream," he said Wednesday.

Diplomats have reacted with caution to Cambodia's possible petroleum windfall amid rising hopes that annual revenues would dwarf the current budget and pull the country out of poverty.
"Whether Cambodia will ultimately benefit from its future oil revenue is uncertain," said US Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli.

Analysts agree that it is too early to tell how oil could impact Cambodia, where 35 per cent of the population lives on less than 50 US cents a day.

"The exact size of the reserves, how much is entirely recoverable, is still unknown," said International Monetary Fund advisor Jeremy Carter.

"One has to hold off from making very large-scale assumptions about what will happen," he said.
Momentum, however, is building after the US energy giant Chevron announced two years ago that it had struck oil in four of five wells dug in the waters off Cambodia's southern coast.

While Chevron confirms the presence of oil and continues drilling, the company has not released any data from Block A, one of six open to exploration in Cambodia's water in the Gulf of Thailand.

But the sheer size of estimated deposits-the government has tentatively put petroleum reserves in Block A alone at 700 million barrels-has other internationals rushing into talks for exploration and production rights.

The government has divulged very little about these negotiations.

But companies from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Kuwait, as well as China's state energy giant CNOOC, have all bid for rights in other blocks, said Te Duong Tara, executive director of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA), at a conference in February. Read more!

Bloggers are still skeptical of Khmer Rouge after agreement

After continuous delays in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia’s (ECCC’s) tribunal proceedings, the United Nations and the Cambodian Bar Association reached an agreement last week on how much the CBA can charge volunteer tribunal attorneys. Although this is a step forward in securing transitional justice for Cambodians, international bodies and the Cambodian government are still debating over when the actual trial will begin.

Cambodian bloggers, in response, are still skeptical over promises of reconciliation.

According to Details are Sketchy, the ECCC’s endeavors will never be good enough to heal the trauma so engrained in Khmer society. The trial, likewise, should be considered purely a justice initiative, rather than a form of emotional therapy for victims.

Can a trial at this late stage ever hope to ease such venomous hatred? Probably not. For all the KRT hopes to contribute, it will never be able to completely slay the demons of Cambodia’s past. Only time can do that.

KI Media, citing Stanford Review writer Allison Rhines, notes that this agreement is merely a small step towards a grander agreement on the tribunal, and that more pressing issues sit on the table.

The registration fee dispute has been only one in a long string of many minor issues that have stalled progress toward an international trial for the last decade. Agreement on whether to organize a court to try the leaders of the Khmer Rouge was reached only in 2003, at the culmination of five years and eleven rounds of negotiations. Last summer, the UN officially allotted three years for the undertaking; almost a full year of that time has already been spent on bureaucratic hang-ups.

Rhines also observes a possible “foot-dragging” strategy on the part of the Cambodian government—perhaps a tactic for former Khmer Rouge officials currently in the government to avoid accountability for their crimes. She argues that the political rhetoric of “justice” is hindering any real push for reconciliation.

Since this latest milestone, all sides have publicly stated their commitment to justice; however, in the face of continued bureaucratic and political maneuvering, it is unclear just how genuine their commitments are.

The coming task is monumental: the ECCC’s future meetings between international and local judges entail combing a list of over 100 laws, as tribunal blogger Stan Starygin notes in a recent Voice of America article. Cambodian judge You Bunleng assured the public that future talks are merely “technical discussions,” but bloggers are still questioning the extent of these discussions.

Similar meetings have failed to reach full agreement on the rules, which are imperative for the functioning of the courts. The latest round of talks only became possible after the Cambodian Bar Association relented on high fees for the participation of foreign lawyers, which had caused the UN-appointed international jurists to cancel a meeting at the end of May.

Political opposition leader Sam Rainsy also spoke out against the continued delays—perhaps a reflection of the current government’s affiliation with the Khmer Rouge regime—when he said that the Cambodian people require large-scale justice to move forward. According to Rainsy, Cambodia’s genocidal shadow will not disappear as long as the CPP is in power.

…I have a little hope that our current Khmer leaders are willing to allow the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to proceed fairly. It means that only democrats and people who are not linked to the Khmer Rouge crimes and are not absorbed in Khmer Rouge ideologies can urge for the proceedings of the tribunal for the prosecution of the former Khmer Rouge leaders whose hands are stained with blood of Khmer citizens to move forward with transparency.

Time is running out for justice, Rainsy argues, because most older Khmer Rouge leaders will die soon. Read more!

Poor Cambodian women are hoping for the worst from their government

Women work in a garment factory in the outskirts of Phnom Penh June 9, 2007. Cambodia has approved new labour laws allowing night shift work, a move that should boost its garment industry, which accounts for two thirds of the impoverished southeast Asian nation's exports. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea.
Cambodian women who are working in garment factory will get slashed of their pay salary. they are poor and they will get more difficult and also get beat up by their society,especially from the riches and high ranking government officials.

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A woman works in a garment factory in the outskirts of Phnom Penh June 9, 2007. Cambodia has approved new labour laws allowing night shift work, a move that should boost its garment industry, which accounts for two thirds of the impoverished southeast Asian nation's exports. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA) Read more!

South Korean company donates to help Cambodia train footballers

The Korean Technology Company ( KTC) from South Korea has decided to donate 105,600 U.S. dollars each year from 2007 to 2009 to help Cambodia train its national footballers, a sports official said on Friday.

"The finance will be used for paying salary for the players and purchasing materials," said Sao Sokha, president of the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC).

The consecutive donation will help strengthen Cambodian footballers' capacity, said Sokha, adding that the players used to have financial difficulties which led to unsatisfied match results.

In addition, he said, KTC will spend 100,000 U.S. dollars annually to hire South Korean coach to train Cambodia's national football team and qualified footballers will be sent to South Korea for further improvement.

Cambodia now has some 30 functional football clubs. It stays almost at the bottom of the International Football Federation's ( FIFA) world ranking.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodia to cut pay for garment workers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

Cambodian lawmakers Friday approved reducing the nighttime pay rate for garment workers in a labor law amendment the government called necessary to boost jobs in the industry.

Currently dayshift garment workers earn about $50 a month, and those working the nightshift earn about $100 a month. The amendment sets pay for nightshift workers at only 30 percent more than dayshift workers, or about $65.

Eighty-two lawmakers from Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling coalition voted in favor of the amendment. Seven lawmakers from Cambodia's main opposition Sam Rainsy Party abstained from voting in protest.

"The amendment will contribute to creating more jobs for young people, whose number grows every year," Labor Minister Vong Soth said during the session of the National Assembly, Cambodia's lower house of parliament.

He said that up to 200,000 new garment factory jobs would be created by the amendment. The country currently has 300 garment factories that employ 355,000 workers.

Son Chhay, an opposition party lawmaker, said the amendment was unacceptable because, "it pleases only the factory owners and disregards difficult circumstances facing the workers."

Chea Mony, president of Cambodia's Free Trade Union which claims to have 74,000 members, condemned the amendment.

"I am very unhappy after hearing this unfortunate news ... It seems like, in approving it, those lawmakers are killing the workers by poking a knife into their throats," he said.

Workers from his union could protest at their respective factories, he said.

Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said last month only about 10 factories run night shifts because of the costs associated with high nighttime pay.

Last year's garment exports from Cambodia were worth about $2.8 billion, with 70 percent of the shipments going to retailers in the U.S. market, he said.

The amendment will come into force after it is approved by the upper house of parliament, the Senate, and signed by King Norodom Sihamoni. Read more!

Cambodia govt, AIDS Foundation to dedicate AIDS treatment center

Royal Government of Cambodia and AIDS Healthcare Foundation to Dedicate Newest AIDS Treatment Center in Partnership in Romeas Haek

(Full text of a statement. Contact details below.)

Svay Rieng Province, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - After dedicating and opening its fifth free collaborative antiretroviral treatment center in Cambodia on Saturday, June 2nd in Koh Thum, Kandal Province, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest AIDS organization in the United States, which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, and Asia, is pleased to announce the opening of the sixth such free AIDS treatment centers in Cambodia, which will open Thursday, June 7, in Romeas Haek, Svay Rieng Province, with a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony.

The six clinics have resulted from a partnership between AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Cambodia and Cambodia's National Center for HIV AIDS, Dermatology and STI Control (NCHADS). The partnership aims to provide life-saving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to people living with HIV/AIDS in care centers in the Operational Districts (OD) of several provinces in Cambodia; other ARTC center locations include in Phnom Penh and in the Provinces of Kandal, Kampong Thom, Kampot and Stung Treng.

"AHF, the Cambodian Ministry of Health and NCHADS are pleased to have successfully opened our fifth collaborative ART center in Koh Thum on Saturday, and we are honored and deeply humbled to also now announce we will open our sixth facility in Romeas Haek later this week in Svay Rieng Province, bringing relief, positive changes, better quality life and above all hope of life" said Dr. Chinkholal Thangsing, Asia Pacific Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

"Working together over the next five years, we will expand and increase our collaborative initiatives in Cambodia, and AHF will continue to provide technical support and strengthen the antiretroviral treatment roll out and scale up of ART delivery services in Cambodia. It is our sincere hope that this ongoing collaboration between AHF and NCHADS will not only improve increased access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment throughout Cambodia but be a shining example of a comprehensive model of care for people living with HIV/AIDS."

At Saturday's Koh Thum clinic dedication ceremony in Kandal Province, Dr. Mean Chhi Vun, Director NCHADS, and Advisor to the Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Cambodia, expressed his gratitude to AHF for standing alongside NCHADS and the people of Cambodia to help bring lifesaving services to its people. Dr. Vun also expressed gratitude to AHF for working together with his team at some of the more remote sites, situated in the country -- as the new Romeas Haek site is. He added that, "...together with AHF, we will make greater positive changes for people with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia."

"This newest antiretroviral treatment clinic being dedicated Thursday was first established by NCHADS in January 2007 and is located in the compound of the Romeas Haek Referral Hospital, Romeas Haek Operational District in Svay Rieng Province," said Dr. Chhim Sarath, AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Country Program Manager for Cambodia.

"The ART clinic is operating in a new building provided by UNICEF, and since January 2007, 56 people living with HIV/AIDS have registered at the clinic. Among them, 26 have already started on antiretroviral treatment, and we are honored to partner with NCHADS and the Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Cambodia to help bring treatment to many more Cambodians who may be in need of access to such lifesaving
care and treatment."

The partnerships were first formalized in March 2006 in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between AHF and the Cambodian Ministry of Health, and in a letter of agreement (LOA) with AHF, the Ministry of Health, and the National Center for HIV AIDS, Dermatology and STI Control. Through these partnerships, AHF, the Cambodian Ministry of Health and NCHADS plan to work together on ART scale up in several Cambodian Provinces -- now including both Kandal and Svay Rieng Provinces -- with the goal of bringing 3,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia into treatment over the next five years. In mid-January of this year, a new clinic in the partnership also opened in Stung Treng Province.

One key aspect contributing to the success of AHF's work with its partners in Cambodia includes the linkage of clinic services provided together with other community and home-based services. In addition, the Cambodian partnership focuses on integrating the delivery of services under a Continuum of Care (CoC) approach, an approach that recognizes the complexities surrounding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in order to improve prevention efforts and optimize use of the oftentimes limited resources available in the successful care and treatment of those living with the disease.

Background on Svay Rieng Province

Svay Rieng Province, one of 20 provinces in Cambodia, is located in the eastern part of Cambodia. Romeas Haek serves as one of the Operational Health Districts (OD). Svay Rieng is located about 122 kms from Phnom Penh, and the population of the surrounding area is around 525,472. The Province consists of three (3) Operational Districts and 32 Health Centers (HC).

The Romeas Haek Operational District consists of one Referral Hospital and nine (9) individual Health Centers. Romeas Haek is in the northern part of Svay Rieng Province on the border with the country of Viet Nam.

The objectives of this latest collaboration in Svay Rieng is similar to the partnerships' other projects in Kandal, Kampong Thom, Kampot and Stung Treng Provinces as well as in the capital of Phnom Penh, and are as enumerated as below:
-- Capacity and skill building of the doctors and healthcare providers at the Romeas Haek Referral Hospital in collaboration with NCHADS.
-- Establishment of an ART Clinic at the hospital and provision of free ART to PLHAs -- including treatment of both adults and children.

The initial collaboration between AHF and these respected Cambodian institutions first began and were celebrated in March and April 2006 with formal ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the first two other free AIDS treatment facilities (Kampong Thom Province and Phnom Penh). The Phnom Penh facility is located at the Preah Ket Mealea Hospital, and that collaboration was also formalized in a separate MOU between AHF and the Preah Ket Mealea Hospital of the Royal Government of Cambodia.

The goal of that facility is to bring medical care and ART to an additional 300 Cambodians.

The first case of HIV infection in Cambodia was reported in 1991 and was followed by a rapid rise in its transmission.

Cambodia's national HIV/AIDS prevalence rate -- around 3% in 1997 but decreasing to 1.9% in 2003 -- is still understood to be one of the highest in Southeast Asia. According to a recent AFP/France 24 News Report (as cited on Kaiser Family Foundation's Daily HIV/AIDS Report), "Almost 10,000 Cambodians die of AIDS-related illnesses annually, according to government statistics. About 1.9% of Cambodia's 13.8 million people are HIV-positive."

"This growing collaboration between AHF and our esteemed Cambodian partners includes the delivery of innovative medical and non-medical interventions; providing technical support and training resources to increase and strengthen the diagnostic and treatment capacity and skills of HIV/AIDS and ART treatment services providers in Cambodia -- all of which will now also take place in Romeas Haek," said Henry E. Chang, AHF's Chief of Global Affairs.

"AHF has significant expertise and experience in ART service delivery and skills and capacity building related to HIV/AIDS treatment and care, and we are therefore well-positioned to complement the Cambodian Ministry of Health in its efforts to enhance access to prevention, treatment and care at these facilities in Cambodia."

"It is an honor for AHF to be associated with such a successful and practical ART program as in Cambodia, and I thank our partners at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Vun and his team at NCHADS, as well as our own dedicated staff at AHF's Asia Pacific Bureau for helping contribute to making greatly stepped-up treatment availability in Cambodia a reality which increases significantly as each new clinic opens," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

SOURCE AIDS Healthcare Foundation
CONTACT: United States, Ged Kenslea, Communications Director of AIDS
Healthcare Foundation (AHF),
+1-323-860-5225, mobile, +1-323-791-5526,
gedk@aidshealth.org; or
India, Chinkholal Thangsing, MD,
Asia Pacific Bureau Chief,
+91.11.(0) 98.1827.0687,
chinkholal.thangsing@aidshealth.org; or
Cambodia, Chhim Sarath, MD, Country Program Manager,
+1855.12.912.124,
chhim.sarath@aidshealth.org; or
The Netherlands, Henry E. Chang,
Chief of Global Affairs,
mobile,+1.917.400.8900,
henry.chang@aidshealth.org, all of AHF Global Read more!