Cambodia: Former Cambodian Police Chief Sentenced To 14 More Years In Prison

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: A Cambodian court sentenced a former police chief to 14 more years in prison for possession of counterfeit currency after he was slapped with a 26-year term for other crimes, a prosecutor said Thursday (July 19th).

Former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Peo, 49, was already serving a 26-year sentence after being convicted of several crimes, including ordering the assassination of a judge in 2003 and illegal possession of weapons, said prosecutor Sok Kallyan.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court Judge Chey Sovann sentenced Heng Peo on Wednesday (July 18th). His wife Ngin Sotheavy, 39, who is living in exile in Finland, was also sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison on the same charge.

Police seized US$30,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency in a raid of the couple's house in July last year, the prosecutor said.

Heng Peo was once in the inner circle of Cambodia's strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen.

After fleeing Cambodia in July last year, Heng Peo sought refuge in Malaysia, but was deported in December after losing a court battle to stay there while seeking asylum in another country. (AP) Read more!

Japanese company to invest in Cambodia for bio-diesel

A Japanese company will invest 800 million U.S. dollars in Cambodia to plant castor bean and refine castor oil into bio-diesel, company source said here on Friday.

The Biwako Bio-Laboratory Co., Ltd. from Japan will plant castor bean on 48,000 hectares of land in Kompong Speu and Kompong Cham provinces and then establish a factory to refine castor oil into bio-diesel which is expected to replace gasoline, said Mitsuo Hayashi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company.

"Now we are waiting for the result of the oil sample test in the laboratory in Japan. We want to know what kind of seeds will be planted to provide high turnouts," he said.

Some 48,000 hectares of castor plants will yield 100,000 tons of castor oil annually and 40,000 tons of bio-diesel after refinery, he said.

The company needs 500,000 hectares of land for the project in 20 years and the Cambodian government is now helping to find land, he added.

Mitsuo is among the 30 representatives of the Japanese delegation currently on visit to Cambodia. Kozo Yamamoto, Deputy Minister of Economy of Japan, leads the team to find investment opportunities here.

Japan is the largest donor country for Cambodia but has little investment in the kingdom.

Source: Xinhua. Read more!

S. Korea provides 30 mln USD loan to Cambodia to equip gov't IT system

The South Korean company Kisan Telecom Co. Ltd has signed an agreement with the Cambodian government to provide a loan of 30 million U.S. dollars for the public Information Technology (IT) system project in Cambodia, local media reported on Friday.

The loan will be used to equip the government's IT management system, including Internet access for government institutions in 10 provinces and cities of Cambodia, the Raksmey Kampuchea newspaper said.

The agreement was signed by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and Park Byung Ki, CEO of Kisan Telecom company, on behalf of both sides, the newspaper added.

IT system has become a key role in the whole society and Cambodia needs to have and develop IT system management in government institutions, Sok An was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Cambodia also needs more human resources for IT system management, he added.

This is the second time for a South Korean company to provide loan with low interest rate for Cambodia to equip the government IT system. In the previous time, a South Korean company provided a loan of 20 million U.S. dollars for the Cambodian government.

Source: Xinhua. Read more!

AP Exclusive: Former Khmer Rouge leader says he is ready to face trial for genocide

PAILIN, Cambodia (AP) - The top surviving leader of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge, accused of genocidal policies that led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million of his countrymen, said unhesitatingly Thursday he was ready to be judged by an international tribunal.

«I will go to the court and don't care if people believe me or not,» Nuon Chea, the chief ideologue for the communist Khmer Rouge when they held power in the late 1970s, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

He spoke a day after prosecutors in the tribunal examining the deaths submitted a confidential list of five former Khmer Rouge leaders they believe should be tried, along with the evidence to back the charges. Judges will decide whether to proceed with indictments.

«They didn't specify the names of the people, but I know I'm included,» Nuon Chea said at his home in northwest Cambodia near the border with Thailand.

Cambodian and international prosecutors submitted evidence including thousands of pages of documentation and the locations of more than 40 mass graves.

Now an ailing 82-year-old, Nuon Chea _ the former «Brother Number Two» in the Khmer Rouge, right-hand man to the group's notorious leader, the late Pol Pot _ has consistently denied any responsibility for the mass brutality.

«I was president of the National Assembly and had nothing to do with the operation of the government,» he said Thursday. «Sometimes I didn't know what they were doing because I was in the assembly.

Cambodian scholars dispute the claim, and believe he was an instrumental policy-maker.

The prosecutors said the acts allegedly carried out by the five unnamed Khmer Rouge leaders «constitute crimes against humanity, genocide, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, homicide, torture and religious persecution.

«I had no intention to kill my people,» said Nuon Chea. «The tribunal shouldn't rely solely on the law but on intention as well.

Former Khmer Rouge leaders have usually denied knowledge of large-scale killings, despite a preponderance of evidence, most dramatically mass graves around the country.

They sometimes blame neighboring Vietnam _ Cambodia's traditional enemy _ for the killings. After a series of bloody border raids by the Khmer Rouge on Vietnamese villages in late 1978, Hanoi invaded Cambodia to oust the Khmer Rouge and install a puppet government, garrisoning the country for about a decade.

«There are two kinds of war, one to protect your country, one where you invade another country,» said Nuon Chea, in apparent reference to the battles with Vietnam. «I was trying to protect my country.

He said there were more police than usual stationed outside his small house since Wednesday evening's announcement of the legal moves in Phnom Penh, and he had to be careful about what he said.

«It happened 30 years ago and it's very difficult to remember. Some of them (tribunal members) never experienced that. They weren't there, how could they know what was going on.

Marcel Lemonde of France, one of the tribunal's co-investigating judges, declined to discuss when the suspects' names would be made public and when they might be arrested, though he indicated it could be soon.

«We are encouraged by the progress of the (tribunal) and look forward to the day when identified suspects are brought to justice,» said U.S. Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle.

Ros Saroeun, a 53-year-old motorbike-taxi driver, reflected the opinions of many older Cambodians, commenting that «I am delighted they will be brought to trial, because they have caused the death of more than 30 of my relatives.

The late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 and his former military chief, Ta Mok, died in 2006.

In addition to Nuon Chea, former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and former head of state Khieu Samphan live freely in Cambodia but are in declining health.

Kaing Khek Iev, also known as Duch, who headed the Khmer Rouge's S-21 torture center, is the only former senior official in government custody.

His lawyer, Ka Savuth, said Thursday that he had been informed that his client was soon to be transferred from a military prison to the detention facility at the tribunal's headquarters, an indirect confirmation that he was one of the five suspects named by prosecutors.

He said Duch «welcomed the news and wished for his trial to take place as quickly as possible.

According to tribunal rules, the maximum penalty for conviction of crimes falling within its jurisdiction is life imprisonment.

Cambodia first sought U.N. help in 1997 to set up a tribunal, but it took years of tough negotiations before the two parties signed a pact in 2003 agreeing to hold trials.

Associated Press writer Ker Munthit in Phnom Penh contributed to this story. Read more!

U.S. supports Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear Temple as world heritage site

PHNOM PENH, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States has expressed support for Cambodia's bid to officially register the Preah VihearTemple as world heritage site and will provide aid for its development and management plans, local media reported on Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli here on Wednesday told Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Council of Ministers Sok An that the temple has to be officially registered as world heritage site even if there is opposition from the third side, press official for the Council of Ministers Phan Sithan was quoted by English-language newspaper Cambodian Daily as saying.

The United States will send a group of experts to Cambodia to help organize the development and management plans for the temple's official registration as world heritage site and also provide grant aid to support the plans, he said.

Recently, Long Visalo, deputy minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, told reporters that the world heritage committee of the United Nation's Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) asked Cambodia to organize the development and management plans for the Preah Vihear Temple after receiving the kingdom's request to list it as world heritage site.

The committee promised to decide whether the temple can be registered as world heritage site in early 2008.

The Preah Vihear Temple was built from the 11th to the 12th century on top of the Dorng Rek Mountain in the northern part of Cambodia next to Thailand. Cambodia secured its ownership of the temple in 1962, out of fierce competition with Thailand. Read more!

Local family returns from eye-opening trip to Cambodia

Julie Kirkwood

Between 1975 and 1979, Khmer Rouge guerillas in Cambodia set out to relocate the entire population into agricultural labor camps. In less than four years, roughly 30 percent of the nation's population was killed, either through starvation, torture or execution.

An entire generation of teachers, police officers and doctors was wiped out -- targeted along with foreigners, Christians and Muslims, and anybody who resisted.

Andover doctors Tom and Rebecca Hoerner knew this history when they arrived in Cambodia last month on a medical volunteer trip.

But it didn't hit home until they spent time in Phnom Penh hospitals.

"You don't see any 45-year-old doctors," said Tom Hoerner, an orthopedic surgeon with Essex Orthopaedics in Andover. "They don't have a core of mid-life experienced physicians to educate anybody else."

Rebecca Hoerner, a pathologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Cambridge Health Alliance, said she noticed the same thing.

"There are very few people my age in the hospital," she said.

The couple used two weeks of vacation time to travel to Cambodia through an organization called Health Volunteers Overseas, just returning this month.

Tom Hoerner spent his days doing rounds and operating on broken arms and legs at a free charity hospital in Phnom Penh and at a nearby state-run hospital. His wife visited hospital laboratories and gave the local doctors much needed advice on safety and techniques. Unlike the automated, highly efficient laboratories in the United States, these laboratories are operating at the level of an American lab in the 1950s, with a lot of the tests done by hand, she said.

"There are only five pathologists in the country for a population of 13 million people," she said. "They're starting from scratch. ... Their equipment is quite old. A lot of it is borrowed and donated."

The Hoerners brought their youngest daughter, 17-year-old Hannah. She volunteered at a nearby school, helping a class of third grade students practice English. She also helped her mother inventory laboratory materials and toured a pediatric hospital with her father.

Hannah said she found the Cambodian children to be curious, welcoming and giddy over small pleasures, such as blowing bubbles and singing songs.

She also found the medical conditions sobering, especially in the pediatric hospital where young children were fighting cases of dengue fever and HIV/AIDS.

"I didn't know what to expect going into it," Hannah said. "I'd never been to Asia, let alone to a developing country. ... It just impressed me how gracious the people were. They welcomed me so much."

Cambodia has been politically stable for nine years now, and it shows, Tom Hoerner said. Though the health care system is rebuilding from virtually nothing, he said he left with a great sense of hope and a feeling that he had seen a nation on the path to recovery.

"I think the Cambodians are going to be OK," he said.

Rebecca Hoerner said she went to Cambodia not sure if there would be anything for a pathologist to do, so it was eye-opening to realize how much the people in her profession could contribute.

She said it also made her appreciate her life at home.

"We take a lot for granted in this country," Rebecca said.

And though he was exhausted when he got back, he said the trip was rewarding, just like his trip three years ago with Health Volunteers Overseas to Vietnam.

"Any time you're not doing your usual job, it's reinvigorating," Hoerner said. Read more!

Former Khmer Rouge leader denies role in genocide

PAILIN, Cambodia: The highest-ranking former Khmer Rouge leader still alive denied on Thursday that he was responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians during the party's brutal 1975-79 rule, adding that he was ready to face an international tribunal.

Prosecutors in the tribunal examining the deaths submitted a confidential list Wednesday of five former top Khmer Rouge leaders that they believed should be tried, along with the evidence to back the charges. Judges will decide whether to proceed with indictments.

"They didn't specify the names of the people, but I know I'm included," the former chief Khmer Rouge ideologue, Nuon Chea, said in an interview at his home in northwest Cambodia.

Cambodian and international prosecutors submitted evidence including thousands of pages of documentation and the locations of more than 40 mass graves.

"I will go to the court and don't care if people believe me not," Nuon Chea said. "It happened 30 years ago and it's very difficult to remember. Some of them" - tribunal members - "never experienced that. They weren't there, how could they know what was going on?"

Seeming unperturbed, Nuon Chea sat clutching a walking stick, the legacy of a stroke, and complained of pain in his right leg as he spoke, while his wife served homemade iced fruit juice.

He said there were more police officers than usual stationed near his house since the announcement Wednesday evening of the legal moves in Phnom Penh, and he added that he had to be careful about what he said.

Now an ailing 82-year-old, the former "Brother Number Two" in the Khmer Rouge has consistently denied any responsibility for the mass brutality that engulfed Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge held power.

"I was president of the National Assembly and had nothing to do with the operation of the government. Sometimes I didn't know what they were doing because I was in the assembly," he said. "I had no intention to kill my people.'

Marcel Lemonde, a tribunal's co-investigating judge who is a native of France, declined to discuss when names of the suspects will be made public and when they might be arrested, though he indicated it could be soon.

A statement from the tribunal said the prosecutors - a joint Cambodian-foreign team - submitted 25 cases to the judges involving "murder, torture, forcible transfer, unlawful detention, forced labor and religious, political and ethnic persecution." All five suspects were senior leaders, it said.

Pol Pot, the late Khmer Rouge leader, died in 1998 and his former military chief, Ta Mok, died in 2006. In addition to Nuon Chea, former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and the former head of state, Khieu Samphan, live freely in Cambodia but are in declining health. Kaing Khek Iev, who headed the Khmer Rouge's S-21 torture center, is the only former senior official in government custody.

Cambodia first sought help of the United Nations in 1997 to set up a tribunal, but it took years of tough negotiations before the two parties signed a pact in 2003 agreeing to hold trials. Read more!

Cambodia Town is now on the map

A stretch of Anaheim Street in Long Beach has the new designation, and its immigrant merchants are happy for the historic recognition.

By Anna Gorman, Times Staff Writer
July 18, 2007

Sithea San fled the killing fields in Cambodia as a teenager and found refuge in Long Beach, where she attended college, got married and bought a house.

Now, more than a quarter-century later, San finally has a place that she and thousands of other native Cambodians say they can call home.

A strip of Anaheim Street was officially named the nation's first "Cambodia Town" earlier this month — the most recent cultural designation in a county that is home to Little India, Little Tokyo and Historic Filipinotown.

City and community leaders say the designation not only will recognize the contributions of Cambodians, but also will help revitalize the neighborhood by attracting more businesses, visitors and tourists to the area. San and others are making plans to put up Cambodia Town signs and set up a business improvement district and are considering building a community center and a memorial to those who died under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.

"Now we have the name," said San, chairwoman of Cambodia Town Inc. "Now we have to make it happen. We have the responsibility to make the place nice."

Long Beach, known as the Cambodian capital of the United States, is believed to have the largest concentration of Cambodians outside of the home country. Some of the first Cambodians in the United States were students who attended Cal State Long Beach in the 1960s as part of an exchange program. Waves of refugees followed in the 1970s as they escaped the Khmer Rouge regime, which took the lives of more than 1 million people. According to 2000 census figures, about 20,000 Cambodians live in Long Beach, but community leaders estimate a larger population.

Cambodia Town runs along the Anaheim corridor, from Junipero Avenue to Atlantic Avenue. There are already scores of Cambodian-run businesses on the street, including jewelry stores, restaurants, travel agencies and fabric shops.

At Monorom restaurant Tuesday, a lunchtime crowd ate Cambodian noodle soup while Khmer-language music videos played on a television. Owner Sopha Nhoung, who came to the area more than 20 years ago, said he was proud to finally be recognized.

"They have Chinatown, Koreatown, Thai Town," Nhoung said. "We've been living here for a long time. We deserved this."

Down the street at Angkorwat Art, Sopheap Samrieth said he signed a petition that supported the designation. But his main reason was to draw customers.

"It will bring more people here," said Samrieth, as he pointed out paintings depicting the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. "It will generate more business."

The drive to get a Cambodia Town began in 2001, when a few community members began meeting to talk about the possibility.

The leaders brought the issue to the City Council last year. Some critics expressed concerns that the designation could lure more gangs to the area and that it would exclude Latinos and African Americans.

But Cambodian leaders argued that the title would help the entire city by making the street safer and cleaner and by developing the neighborhood into a regional destination.

Naming the area Cambodia Town would also highlight immigrants' cultural heritage and encourage youths to get involved helping their community, San said. In June, the city of Long Beach commissioned a survey that showed wide support for the cultural designation. On July 3, the City Council voted 8-1 in favor of naming the stretch Cambodia Town.

Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, who voted for the designation, said the new name is a welcome mat for Cambodians, as well as for others who want to experience something different in Long Beach.

"We are leveraging a very unique destination," she said. "What makes Anaheim [Street] different is this collection of shops, stores and businesses that happen to be mostly Cambodian American owned."

Not all of the businesses on Anaheim Street are Cambodian. Manny Caldera, manager of La Bodega Market, said the name wasn't important to him.

"As long as the business is good, it doesn't matter," said Caldera. His store caters to Latinos. "They can name it Cambodia Town or any other."

Veasna Kiet, 40, who runs Phnom Penh Express travel agency, said the new name makes him proud. "We live far away from our country," he said. "Now we have a hometown here." Read more!

5 defendants proposed in mass killings in Cambodia

BANGKOK: Prosecutors in Cambodia announced Wednesday that they had submitted to a special tribunal a list of five potential defendants in a long-delayed trial for the mass killings by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.

Although the five names were not made public, the submission was one of the most significant leaps forward in a case involving crimes committed more than 20 years ago. It has been delayed by legal and political disputes for a decade.

Under the tribunal's rules, the evidence will now be studied by investigating judges who will then decide on any formal indictments.

"This is the moment the victims have been waiting for," said Youk Chhang, who directs a documentation center that has collected some of the strongest evidence. "This is a turning point toward justice."

The radical communist Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, when 1.7 million people were killed by torture, disease, overwork and starvation.

The Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998, and his military chief, Ta Mok, died in 2006, but a number of elderly former leaders are living quietly in Cambodia. Only one is in custody.

No Khmer Rouge leader has ever been brought into court to face charges for crimes that resulted in the deaths of as many as one-fourth of the population and left the country in ruin and trauma.

The announcement Wednesday said the prosecutors had submitted for investigation 25 "distinct factual situations of murder, torture, forcible transfer, unlawful detention, forced labor and religious, political and ethnic persecution."

It listed allegations that it said constitute crimes against humanity, genocide, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, homicide, torture and religious persecution.

While names were not disclosed Wednesday, a half-dozen former leaders have often been mentioned as the most likely defendants.

They include Nuon Chea, the movement's chief ideologue; Khieu Samphan, the former head of state, and Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister, all of whom were members of the Khmer Rouge central committee.

Kaing Khek Iev, also known as Duch, the commandant of the main torture house, Tuol Sleng, is the only major figure in custody, but not under the jurisdiction of the special tribunal.

The mandate of the tribunal is to prosecute senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge movement as well as those "most responsible" for the crimes. There is no limit to the number of cases that can be brought.

The prosecutors' announcement described the Khmer Rouge atrocities as a criminal enterprise with far-reaching political aims.

"These crimes were committed as part of a common criminal plan constituting a systematic and unlawful denial of basic rights," they said. "The purported motive of this common criminal plan was to effect a radical change of Cambodian society along ideological lines."

In support of their submissions, the prosecutors said they had transmitted more than 1,000 documents totaling more than 14,000 pages of evidence. Large troves of files have been uncovered over the years, some with meticulous records of tortures and killings.

The documents include the statements of more than 350 witnesses, a list of 40 other potential witnesses, thousands of pages of Khmer Rouge government documents and the locations of more than 40 undisturbed mass graves, the statement said.

The tribunal, set up jointly by the United Nations and the Cambodian government, is a complex balancing act between Cambodian and foreign judges and lawyers, and between Cambodian and international standards of justice.

It has been criticized by some human rights groups for falling below those international standards and leaving room for political manipulation by the Cambodian leader, Prime Minster Hun Sen.

Cambodian and foreign judges have teamed together at all levels of the process, with decisions carefully calibrated by a supermajority system intended to resolve disputes between the two camps.

The submission Wednesday was made by two co-prosecutors, a Canadian and a Cambodian, and is now in the hands of co-investigating judges.

The cultures and legal systems clashed earlier this year in a stalemate between Cambodian and foreign judges over procedural rules, and the atmosphere between the two camps was described by participants as acrimonious.

The dispute, which involved national pride as well as legal standards, was the latest of many delays since Cambodia formally sought the help of the United Nations in 1997 to set up an international tribunal.

Because of delays, one year has already passed since the tribunal was inaugurated and only two years remain on its mandate, budgeted at $53 million. Experts said that could be extended if progress was being made.

Earlier on Wednesday, the tribunal announced another step forward - the inauguration of a small, red-roofed detention building, ready to receive any defendants once they are indicted. Read more!

Happy Football to bring Cambodia's homeless teenagers to world arena

The non-governmental Happy Football Project has selected a team to represent Cambodia in the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne in 2008, which is organized by the European Football Federation, local media said on Wednesday.

"It is about small steps toward big dreams," Paraic Crogan, co- founder of the project, was quoted by English-language newspaper the Cambodian Daily as saying.

Khun Sokhrin, 37, coach of the group of homeless, orphaned, or otherwise disadvantaged children said he is not expecting immediate miracles from all the teams under the project.

Coaches from Inter Milan, current Italian football Serie A champions, have also committed to coming to Cambodia to give workshops to the Happy Football players sometime next year, said Sokhrin.

The Happy Football Project is one of a growing number of projects aimed at building a network of football talents in Cambodia, while providing opportunities to disadvantaged children.

Source: Xinhua. Read more!

Russia set to sign WTO accession protocol with Cambodia soon

MOSCOW, July 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia intends to sign documents on its accession to the World Trade Organization with Cambodia in the near future, a government official said Tuesday.

Russia signed a protocol on the conclusion of bilateral talks for its entry into the global trade body with Guatemala on June 26, with Vietnam on July 6, and now has to complete negotiations with Cambodia, and reach agreements with Georgia and Saudi Arabia.

"We have agreed with Cambodia and we'll sign all the documents in coming weeks," said Andrei Kushnirenko, director of the department for trade negotiations at the Russian Ministry for Economic Development and Trade.

Russia, the largest economy outside the 150-member bloc, expects membership to boost market reforms and ensure better transparency, while providing a secure business environment for trade and investment. Membership will also help the country diversify its economy, participate in projects to develop future common trade rules, and safeguard its interests.

Kushnirenko also said a new round of Russia's WTO accession talks with Saudi Arabia would take place in Geneva on July 23. Read more!

Cambodia issues directive limiting activities of Christian groups

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's government has issued a directive limiting proselytizing and other activities by Christians, officials said Tuesday.

Christians are not allowed to promote their religion in public places, or use money or other means to persuade people to convert, the directive says. It does not mention other religions.

"They can do any activity inside their institutions, but are not allowed to go door-to-door," said Sun Kim Hun, deputy minister of cult and religion.

He said the directive, dated June 26 but distributed Tuesday, follows similar proclamations in 1999 and 2003 and is a reminder to Christian groups not to conduct activities against the law.

There were fewer than 70,000 Christians and about 170 churches in Cambodia in 2006, according to government figures. More than 90 percent of Cambodia's nearly 14 million people are Buddhist.

Cambodian Buddhists are generally tolerant of other religions. But last year, about 300 Buddhist villagers, apparently angered by a rival faith within their community, razed a partially built Christian church.

The mob chanted "Destroy the church!" and "Long live Buddhism!" as it descended upon the unfinished Protestant church near Phnom Penh.

Also last year, a group of Christian worshippers was caught distributing candy and cakes to young poor people in the countryside and trying to convert them, Sun Kim Hun said. Such activities are illegal under the directive.

Nhean Song, a Cambodian pastor with the Union Church in Phnom Penh, said none of its 300 members has broken the directive, but he knows members of other churches have.

"We will follow the directive, we have no purpose to do anything against the Cambodian government," he said. Read more!

Curtain call for an icon of Cambodia's artistic recuperation

Cambodian artists training at the burnt-out Basac theather in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh's Bassac Theatre has been drummer Nop Sambona's home since the Khmer Rouge were pushed from power 28 years ago, leaving behind a ruined country, its singers, dancers and musicians among the 1.7 million people murdered by the regime.

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Those who survived the apocalypse unleashed by the Khmer Rouge, which was particularly brutal in pursuing of Cambodia's artists, trickled back into the city and began trying to rebuild their lives.

The theatre became the soul of this battered community, a bright spot in an otherwise dead world that evoked a cultural richness which would never be fully revived.

Nearly three decades on that bright spot is dimming as the site on which Cambodia's national theatre sits has been leased to a private developer and the building doomed to be razed.

Its artists, who have soldiered on against darkness, wet and neglect since a fire gutted the auditorium and stage area in 1994, were offered 300 dollars each and told last month to leave.

"This place has produced hundreds of artists. The theatre produced the nation's great culture," says Nop Sambona, taking a break from what will be one of the last rehearsals to resonate through the Bassac's now derelict performance hall.
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"It's a landmark. We're so sorry that we've lost it," he says, gesturing over his shoulder at the Bassac's flame-blackened foyer.

Constructed in 1966, the 1,200-seat Bassac was designed by Vann Molyvann, Cambodia's most famous modern architect, as a monument to Cambodia's thriving performing arts scene.

It is not hard to imagine the capital's elite, dressed in elegant evening wear, gliding through the Bassac's imposing triangular foyer and up the cantilevered staircases suspended over shallow pools of water, about to view a performance of the Royal Ballet.

The Bassac was one of dozens of gems built by Vann Molyvann, whose wide boulevards and stunning public buildings transformed Phnom Penh from a tiny backwater into a graceful capital during Cambodia's short period of prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s.

The era, known as the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, or Cambodia's "golden age," also spurred on a strong revival in performing arts, with the Bassac at its heart.

Cambodian artists were training at a burnt out Basac theater.

"During the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, the government considered the theatre a part of our national heritage," an angry Vann Molyvann says. "Heritage cannot be sold, changed or denied -- now they are destroying it. Now they've sold our national heritage to a famed businessman."

Khim Sarith, secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture, says the site had been leased to Cambodian tycoon Kith Meng, who plans to develop a "cultural building".

In an earlier deal struck in 2005, Cambodia's culture ministry ceded land around the Bassac on the condition that the theatre be renovated, retaining its original name and architecture.

Kith Meng was to get an undisclosed amount of property around the theatre in exchange for building a conference centre and office blocks.

But Khim Sarith explains that the government is unable to afford the "millions of dollars" it would cost to restore the Bassac.

"The theatre will be knocked down because it is burned and is old," he says.

"There is nothing there," he says, adding the new theatre that Kith Meng has agreed to build elsewhere in exchange for the property "will be better than the old one".

Buth Choeun, chief of administration at the culture ministry's performing art department, says the theatre's state of decay has made it increasingly dangerous to work in.

"If we stay here it will be difficult for us -- we fear the old walls will fall on us," he says.
The Basac Theater in Phnom penh ot Cambodia thought to be sold to rich businessman.

Vann Molyvann is not satisfied by the deal.

"They do not care about heritage," he says. "I am very worried. I have no hope that Cambodian artists can spread our culture anymore -- Cambodian culture will die.

"The land prices at that site have reached more than 1,000 dollars per square metre (yard). So it's no longer about national heritage."

Ieng Sithul, director of the Khmer Actress Association, says the proposed site for the new theatre is "not suitable," suggesting instead that the Bassac be restored.

"If the old site has a beautiful theatre, it will help add value to our culture," he says.

But like all of those facing eviction, he is heartbroken about the end of the Bassac.

"We have nothing but regret. We have only sympathy for the theatre and can only say goodbye to our poor home."

In the background Nop Sambona has begun rehearsing again, his drumming heard from behind a glass window on which someone in a desperate effort to stave off the inevitable has scrawled" "Please help to preserve, don't destroy." Read more!

Trial set in overseas child sex case

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA - Seven years ago, Russian courts convicted a wealthy American motel owner of molesting children, sent him to prison, then expelled him from the country.

Bianchi, 44, of North Wildwood, N.J., faces trial beginning Monday under a controversial federal law aimed at thwarting "sex tourism." He is accused in this country of committing crimes — assaulting nearly a dozen minors — on foreign soil.

So far, however, only one federal appeals court — the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — has reviewed the law, upholding it in a 2-1 ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal of that decision.

"It is a very unusual theory to say that you can prosecute an American citizen in this country for actions taken completely in another country," said Rory Little, a former federal prosecutor and Justice Department official who is now a University of California law professor. "This is not a crime against America, although it‘s a crime against universal morality."

The 9th Circuit case involved Michael L. Clark, a 70-year-old Seattle man who in 2004 became the first person prosecuted under the law. He pleaded guilty to molesting boys in Cambodia, while reserving the right to challenge the law itself, and is serving a 97-month sentence.

"To do this in a foreign country, you have to send an investigator over there, and that person has to make contacts in the community. That may not be possible, given the language differences and cultural differences," said Michael Filipovic, an assistant federal public defender in Seattle.

"Americans go to these countries and create a pretty bad image," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Levy said. "A hundred dollars can buy a lot of food for a pretty long time for a lot of these families. ... This is the kind of case that shows why there‘s a need for this (law)." Read more!

Air Asia flight lands safely in Cambodia after circling with stuck landing gear

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - An Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur landed safely in the Cambodian capital Monday after being forced to circle around the airport for about 10 minutes when its landing gear initially failed to deploy, an aviation official said.

There were 130 passengers on board the Airbus A320 which landed at about 4:30 p.m., said Keo Sivorn, head of Flight Safety Operations at Cambodia's Secretariat of Civil Aviation.

«The plane had to circle, flying for about 10 minutes around the airport before its landing gear worked properly,» he said. «Now it has landed safety and all the passengers are fine.

The plane was operated by Malaysia-based Air Asia.
Four fire trucks were standing by in case the plane had trouble on landing, Keo Sivorn added.

He said technicians were inspecting the plane to find out why the landing gear failed and see if it had any other problems.

On June 25, a Russian-made An-24 plane crashed during a storm while flying to the southern coastal town of Sihanoukville, killing all 22 people on board. It had taken off from Siem Reap, the country's main tourist hub and site of the famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

The plane was operated by PMT Air, a small Cambodia airline that began flights in January from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, a new route launched to spur the country's burgeoning tourism industry.

The last major air accident in Cambodia was in 1997, when a Vietnam Airlines TU-134B crashed while trying to land during a rainstorm at Phnom Penh International Airport, killing more than 60 people. Read more!

Govt welcomes Cambodian anti-terror laws

The federal government has welcomed news that the Cambodian government has passed anti-terrorism laws.

In a joint statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the Australian government had provided advice to Cambodian officials on drafting the law.

"This is an important step for Cambodia and the region in the fight against terrorism," said Mr Ruddock.

"This is an important step for Cambodia and the region in the fight against terrorism," said Mr Ruddock.

"The law will provide a comprehensive legislative basis for counter-terrorism efforts in Cambodia."

Mr Downer said the law complemented the extensive counter-terrorism assistance Australia was delivering to its South-East Asian allies.

The law passed Cambodia's national assembly on June 26 and its Senate on July 10, and has to be signed by the King before coming into effect. Read more!

Cambodia to host its first international golf tournament

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The impoverished nation of Cambodia will host its first international golf tournament at a course near the famed Angkor temples, the Asian Tour announced Monday.

The inaugural US$300,000 (€217,000) Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open will be played at the newly opened Phokeethra Country Club, which is also a main tournament sponsor. The event, slated to run from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 in the northwestern province of Siem Reap, is likely to draw many of Asia's top golfers, organizers said.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han said the tournament, which is one of seven new events on the schedule this season, proved that the game was thriving in the region.

"The game continues to prosper in Asia and with a new initiative in Cambodia, our next plan of action will be to help new golfing nations to develop the game," Han said.

"One of the best ways to attract new golfers is to expose them to international-class competitions and I believe the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open will provide a launch pad for exciting talents to emerge from Cambodia," he said.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon, present at Monday's ceremony in Siem Reap announcing the tournament, said it would boost tourism.

"When we have a golf tournament like this, we can show the world and all the tourists that we have something new for them at the Angkor Wat site," he said. "Before, if golfers wanted to visit Angkor Wat, they were hesitant to come, but now they are happy to come to see the temples because they can see the temples and can play golf too."

Touted as the only international-standard course in Cambodia, Phokeethra is part of a campaign by the Cambodia government to boost its tourist revenues. The 18-hole, 72-par course is 23 kilometers (14 miles) outside Siem Reap town.

Cambodia now has three golf courses, including two near Phnom Penh, the capital. A fourth, also in Siem Reap, is under construction.

Tourism is a major foreign currency earner for cash-strapped Cambodia. There were 1.4 million foreign arrivals last year, with the largest number of visitors from South Korea, Japan and the United States. More than half of the tourists visited the Angkor temples.

Cambodia is one of the poorest in Asia, which is in part a legacy of the years when the communist Khmer Rouge ruled the country in the late 1970s, imposing radical communist policies that led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodian through execution, malnutrition, medical neglect and overwork. Read more!

In Iraq bills, a Vietnam echo

By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff July 16, 2007

WASHINGTON -- In December 1970, Congress passed historic legislation revoking the 1964 Tonkin Gulf resolution, which had authorized military force in Vietnam, and banning the deployment of ground troops in Cambodia. War opponents hoped Congress was on the verge of forcing a quick end to the bloody quagmire in Indochina.

"The president, in our judgment, now lacks legitimate authority to keep on prosecuting the war," said Senator Frank Church , Democrat of Idaho, in a 1971 speech. "Under these circumstances, a great opportunity is presented to Congress -- the chance to fill this constitutional vacuum with a disengagement policy that could help unite the country again."

War opponents' hopes were dashed. Despite signing the bills, President Nixon said he had independent authority as commander in chief to keep combat in Vietnam going. For the next two years, Congress failed to agree on further restrictions, and nearly 3,000 more American soldiers died. Nixon finally ended the war on his own terms with a cease - fire agreement in January 1973.

In the coming months, some 34 years after the Vietnam War shuddered to a halt, Congress will again attempt to do something unprecedented: stopping a war before a president is ready. Scholars agree that Congress has the power to force a shift in the conduct of the Iraq war, but the path will be difficult in the face of uncompromising opposition from President Bush.

Julian Zelizer , a Princeton history professor, said that there has always been a gap between what Congress can theoretically do to end a war and what is politically achievable. The ugly consequences of withdrawals, coupled with procedural rules that allow a group of 40 senators to block votes, have proved to be steep obstacles to winning enough votes to stop combat.

"Once you are in a war, it's hard to get out of it," said Zelizer. "When the messiness of war is combined with the messiness of Congress, the result is that it is very hard to get congressional opposition under way."

Congress is considering such proposals as repealing the Iraq war authorization, moving troops out of cities, narrowing their mission from policing the sectarian strife to hunting terrorists, and limiting troop rotations. Last week, the House passed a measure that would require a withdrawal to begin within 120 days and be completed by April .

But such measures face additional hurdles in the Senate, where Republicans can use the procedural tactic known as a filibuster to block a vote on anything that does not have the support of 60 senators. On Wednesday, for example, 41 senators blocked a vote on a proposal to require troops to receive additional time at home before being redeployed.

There is ample historical precedent for Congress imposing limits on what presidents can do with US troops in the midst of a war, specialists say. But in all previous such cases, Congress was working with a president who was willing to sign its bills into law, usually as a negotiated compromise.

In Vietnam, for example, Congress banned ground combat troops from Laos and Thailand in 1969, and from Cambodia in 1970. And in July 1973, when the combat in Vietnam was over anyway, lawmakers cut off funds for further military action in Indochina -- a gesture that prevented the United States from restarting the war after the North Vietnamese broke the cease-fire agreement in 1975.

Congress has also repeatedly imposed limits on what presidents can do with forces on peacekeeping missions. In 1983 and in 1993, it imposed deadlines for pulling out of Lebanon and Somalia, respectively. Congress also banned further covert paramilitary aid to anti-Marxist fighters in Angola in 1976, and in Nicaragua in 1984.

But Bush has promised to veto any legislation that limits his flexibility in how to conduct the Iraq war -- as he did in May when he vetoed a funding bill that included a timetable for withdrawal. And, analysts note, Bush is in a far different political situation than were Nixon in 1971, Gerald Ford in 1976, Ronald Reagan in 1983 and 1984, or Bill Clinton in 1993.

In those prior cases, presidents had years of governing ahead of them -- or at least believed that they did. But Bush's presidency will soon be over and Vice President Dick Cheney is not running to replace him. Thus, the White House has less reason to compromise with Congress -- or to worry about public opinion polls.

"No one in that White House is destined for an accountability moment," said Harvard law professor David Barron . "Under normal circumstances a president would have incentives to bring [a war] to a close -- consistent with the wishes of the legislature, but somehow still on his own terms. But there doesn't seem to be any interest in doing that."

Bush's lame-duck status, Barron said, also may make GOP lawmakers more willing to break with the White House because their political futures are no longer entwined with the president's.

Such a dynamic raises the possibility that Congress could pass some kind of war restriction over Bush's veto -- only to see Bush defy the law anyway.

Prompted in part by Cheney, the Bush administration has championed an aggressive view of executive power under which Congress cannot restrict the commander in chief's options, short of cutting off funds for the troops. This constitutional interpretation, which is disputed by many legal scholars, has surfaced repeatedly in recent months.

On May 1, when Bush vetoed the Iraq timetable bill, he told Congress that it was unconstitutional "because it purports to direct the conduct of the operations of the war in a way that infringes upon the powers vested in the presidency by the Constitution, including as commander in chief of the armed forces."

Last Tuesday, Bush sent Congress a letter threatening to veto any defense bill that restricted his options not only for dealing with Iraq, but also with Iran. His letter asserted that the Constitution "exclusively" commits to him alone the power to decide how to use military or covert force in such national security situations.

And in a news conference Thursday, Bush repeated again his view that Congress can only decide whether to fund the war -- but that all other decisions were for the commander in chief.

In that news conference, Bush also said he would not want to establish a precedent by agreeing to let Congress share in setting troop levels. If Bush refuses to obey laws restricting his conduct of the war, scholars said, it could take months for Congress and the courts to strike back -- a process that might take too long to complete before he leaves office.

"If the executive branch is determined to push its powers to the brink of what they can get away with, the problem for the other branches is that any response they can make within a system of checks and balances takes time," said Peter Shane , an Ohio State law professor.

Added Barron: "It's a perfect storm for a constitutional crisis."

History has shown that it can be politically difficult to force presidents to obey restrictions on their use of the military. In May 1975, for example, the Cambodian Navy seized an American freighter called the Mayaguez and kidnapped its crew. Without consulting Congress, Ford ordered US Marines to attack an island where the crew was believed to be held.

Ford's move drew fire because of the ban on using ground troops in Cambodia, as well as a 1973 law requiring presidents to consult with Congress before sending troops into combat. In an Oval Office meeting, Speaker of the House Carl Albert , Democrat of Oklahoma, told Ford: "There are charges on the floor that you have violated the law."

But, a transcript shows, Ford cited his power as commander in chief to say that he had acted within his legal rights: "It is my constitutional responsibility to command the forces and to protect Americans."

The Mayaguez crew was rescued. The operation was portrayed by the media as a feel-good victory in the wake of the humiliating fall of Saigon. Congress lacked the political will to challenge Ford.

Months later, after the controversy faded, it emerged that the rescue operation was not such a success. Instead of one Marine dead and 13 missing, as early reports said, 41 died assaulting the island. Worse, the crew had already been released and was floating out to be picked up by the Navy when the assault began.

In his memoirs, Ford said he "felt terrible" about the "high toll," but believed he had done the right thing. He wrote: "We had recovered the ship, we had rescued the crew, and the psychological boost the incident had given us as a people was significant."

Read more!

Gravel Responds To Harsh Criticisms

Long-Shot Democratic Hopeful Shoots Back At McCain And Biden

At times taking notes and chuckling, Mike Gravel watched – for the first time – video of harsh criticisms made against him by fellow presidential contenders on the Senate floor the previous day.

During a Senate debate Tuesday over the defense reauthorization bill, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, read remarks made on December 15, 1970 by then Sen. Gravel, D-Alaska. McCain said the current push for a "precipitous withdrawal" from Iraq in order to protect American forces is reminiscent of the argument Gravel made for U.S. withdrawal from Cambodia.

"Yeah, there was an argument that prohibited the United States from being involved in Cambodia," McCain said. As a result, "three million people were slaughtered, one of the great acts of genocide in modern history."

Repeating the phrase, "I've seen this movie before," McCain said he had "seen this movie before from the liberal left in America" who "share no responsibility for what happened in Cambodia."

In his rebuttal of McCain's remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, rejected McCain's use of the term "precipitous withdrawal" to characterize the stance of those in favor of withdrawing from Iraq. Biden also took issue with McCain's use of Mike Gravel as a representation of the Democrat's stance on the war. Drawing from his recollections as a young senator, Biden said, "Nobody agreed with Gravel! Give me a break! Quoting Gravel as a voice of the left! He was the voice of his voice!"

After watching the video at CBS News on Wednesday, Mike Gravel said McCain had taken a debate he had with Senator Bob Dole out of context.

"I embarrassed the heck out of Dole," said Gravel. "For a very simple reason, which I pointed out. We're the ones who invaded Cambodia. We're the ones who bombed them and caused 8,000 deaths ... We deposed their legitimate leader King Sihanouk. We overthrew him, put in our puppet."

Gravel continued, "All I got to do is say ... John McCain, go back to the beginning of the movie to understand what's happening. 'Cause he wasn't there to see the beginning – well he was there to see the beginning of the movie. He was bombing people, and he was shot down. Well, what have we accomplished by bombing Agent Orange in Vietnam? What have we accomplished? You as an American can now go to Hanoi and buy Baskin ice cream, Baskin Robbins ice cream."

Gravel has repeatedly said Congress should make it a felony to stay in Iraq, which could enable the Senate and House to override the President's veto and withdraw U.S. forces. Gravel said he isn't advocating for a precipitous withdrawal, but what he calls a "proper withdrawal."

"If we're going to withdraw, let's withdraw," said Gravel. "Because, what happens to the Americans between now and next year? What do you tell those families? 'Oh, we want to withdraw. We just didn't want to do it in a hurry to save your son or your daughter's life'."

Regarding Biden's comments, Gravel acknowledged that he does not make popular decisions. Gravel said that when he filibustered for the draft and released the Pentagon papers, he "was marginalized by the American media. And now, when we look back, 'my, wasn't the senator courageous'."

Gravel said it was the "Communist government of Vietnam who came in and had to deal with the Pol Pot killing fields" after the U.S. withdrew. He said that Iran could have a similar role in stabilizing Iraq.

"Most Americans forget, including Joe Biden, that Iran helped us two years ago to get the Taliban in Afghanistan," Gravel said. "And after they did that, after they helped us, George Bush calls them the Axis of Evil. These people want stability in the area more than we do. We want an empire."

Asked about whether he thinks he can win the presidency, Gravel responded, "That's up to the American people."

"I will carry it as a badge of honor the fact I haven't raised these multi-million dollars from the insurance industry, from the pharmaceutical industry, from the military industrial complex, from the trial lawyers," said Gravel. Read more!

N.J. businessman set for trial in test of ``sex tourism'' law

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA -- Seven years ago, Russian courts convicted a wealthy American motel owner of molesting children and sent him to prison, but later decided to just expel him.

The experience did little to keep Anthony "Mark" Bianchi stateside. Over the next few years, he traveled to Moldova, Romania, Cambodia and Cuba _ trips all designed, U.S. officials say, to recruit destitute boys for sexual trysts.

Bianchi, 44, of North Wildwood, N.J., was scheduled to go on trial Monday on charges he assaulted nearly a dozen minors on foreign soil. And this time _ under a largely untested 2003 law designed to thwart "sex tourism" _ he will be tried in federal court in Philadelphia.

More than 50 cases have been brought under what's known as the Protect Act, and so far, more than 30 of the defendants have been convicted, the Justice Department says. But only one federal appeals court has reviewed the law, upholding it in a 2-1 ruling.

Critics, including dissenting 9th U.S. Circuit Judge Warren J. Ferguson, charge that Congress reached too far in giving international police power to the U.S. government. Ferguson asked if U.S. agents should likewise round up Americans who buy marijuana in Amsterdam or Cuban cigars in Timbuktu.

"It is a very unusual theory to say that you can prosecute an American citizen in this country for actions taken completely in another country," said Rory Little, a former federal prosecutor and Justice Department official who is now a University of California law professor. "This is not a crime against America, although it's a crime against universal morality."

The majority in the 9th Circuit case found the law to be an appropriate extension of the Constitution's Foreign Commerce Clause, since money changed hands.

The case involved Michael L. Clark, a 70-year-old veteran from Seattle who in 2004 became the first person prosecuted under the law. Clark pleaded guilty to molesting boys in Cambodia, while reserving the right to challenge the law itself.

Beyond the constitutional issues, defense attorneys say the cases are a logistical nightmare to defend, in part because they lack the diplomatic and political clout of the U.S. government.

Before Clark's plea, the defense traveled to Cambodia to interview the reported victims.

"To do this in a foreign country, you have to send an investigator over there, and that person has to make contacts in the community. That may not be possible, given the language differences and cultural differences," said Michael Filipovic, an assistant federal public defender in Seattle.

Investigators believe Clark may have molested as many as 50 children. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal of the 9th Circuit ruling, leaving him to serve a 97-month sentence.

Other Americans charged to date include a teacher, an anesthesiologist, a Peace Corps volunteer and an 85-year-old man in a wheelchair, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

Bianchi's trial, before U.S. District Judge Bruce W. Kauffman, is expected to last three weeks. It is being held in Pennsylvania rather than New Jersey because he flew out of Philadelphia for the alleged sex trips.

Prosecutors charge that Bianchi, through a local translator who helped procure the boys, assaulted nearly a dozen teenagers in exchange for money, liquor, gifts and trips, including trips to Cuba and Romania.

The translator, Ion Gusin, is serving a 20-year sentence in Moldova on related charges, and won't be available to testify in person in Philadelphia.

Prosecutors do plan to bring about 20 potential witnesses to the downtown courthouse from remote parts of Moldova and Romania, seven time zones away. Few speak English.

"Americans go to these countries and create a pretty bad image," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Levy, a prosecutor in the case. "A hundred dollars can buy a lot of food for a pretty long time for a lot of these families. ... This is the kind of case that shows why there's a need for this (law)."

Mark Geragos, the high-profile lawyer representing Bianchi, said the discovery process has shown what defense attorneys are up against in trying to secure a fair trial.

"The majority of potential defense witnesses live in a Moldovan village where indoor plumbing is a luxury, and much of the transport is by horse and carriage," he wrote in a pretrial motion.

"The idea of coming to the U.S. would be akin to an American citizen contemplating a voyage to the moon," he said.

Records make it difficult to even verify the age of the reported victims, he said. He plans to argue that several of the boys recanted their accusations.

Prosecutors said it was Geragos who canceled recent depositions in Moldova that the U.S. government had arranged for him, after a hurried exchange of diplomatic letters. Geragos said authorities had not arranged a video hookup for his jailed client.

Bianchi asked the U.S. to pay his investigative costs. He said the case has left him penniless after 19 months in prison. But prosecutors charge he was worth $2 million before he starting moving assets to family members.

The judge apparently agreed, ordering Bianchi to bear most of his discovery costs.

Little, the law professor, believes defendants face real challenges under the Protect Act that Congress may soon have to sort out, perhaps through new rules of criminal procedure.

Filipovic, the public defender from Seattle, offered another solution.

"I've always wondered why it wouldn't be more efficient to simply help the foreign governments to address these problems themselves," he said.

"The statement you're making when you don't do that is that the governments are so corrupt they can't do it. To me, that's sort of paternalistic." Read more!