WORLD BANK GROUP: World Bank Extends Cambodia Country Program, Approves Two New Projects to Help Govt. Fight Poverty

The decision to extend the current CAS three more years resulted from extensive consultations with the Government and other stakeholders, including the donor community, the private sector, and the civil society. These consultations confirmed the continued relevance of the CAS strategy of improving governance through a wide range of development initiatives, said Ian Porter, Country Director for Cambodia. 'The Bank's assistance strategy recognizes the positive changes in Cambodia over the past three years, and the solid progress the Government has made in implementing the ambitious reform agenda,' Porter said. 'This progress has enabled the World Bank and other donors to continue working with the Government to deepen their reform efforts.' First approved in 2005, the Cambodia CAS provides support for tackling some of the critical governance issues threatening the country's ability to reduce poverty and achieve Millennium Development Goals. It aims to improve governance through private sector development for growth; public financial management for better service delivery; land administration, management and allocation for agricultural investments and growth; and decentralization and social accountability for better governance and empowerment of communities.

The Cambodia CAS was the first Bank Group CAS produced jointly with the Asian Development Bank, the UK Department of International Development, or DFID, and the UN system, which have all endorsed the extension.

Together with the CAS extension, the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors also approved two lending projects for Cambodia, aimed at helping the government fight poverty by improving access to roads, as well as providing poor people with land for agricultural development.

Under the Road Asset Management Project (RAMP), the Bank will provide $30 million worth of financial and technical support to help the government perform periodic maintenance on selected sections of the country's road network, as well as establish related systems. Studies have shown that road access helps reduce poverty as it allows poor people easier access to the markets. An improved road system also enables the government to bring social services to remote, rural areas.

This five-year project also receives financial support from the Asian Development Bank, and the Australian Agency for International Development. The Royal Government of Cambodia also contributed toward the project cost, which stands at $56.1 million.

The second project, the Land Allocation for Economic and Social Development Project (LASED) will receive a total of $11.5 million in funding from the World Bank, which complements technical cooperation support from the Government of Germany. LASED will support the Government's social land concession program.

Under the project, local communities will identify appropriate state land, and select poor, landless families to receive land as well as livelihoods assistance within their own communities. The five-year project will be implemented by the local communities, with assistance from the Government's land and decentralization support agencies.

CONTACT: Elisabeth Mealey, World Bank Group Tel: +1 202 458 4475 e-mail: emealey@worldbank.org Read more!

The dark side of Phnom Penh: Cambodia’s capital city is still haunted by the ghosts of the Khmer Rouge

By Jack Souther

Somewhere over the Mekong Delta we crossed from Vietnamese into Cambodian airspace. It’s only a 40-minute flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh but it spans one of the most historically volatile regions in all of Southeast Asia. Back in the 18th century, before the Vietnamese annexed it, the rich agricultural land of the Delta was part of the Khmer Kingdom. Since then Cambodia’s border has been buffeted by war, violated by its Thai and Vietnamese neighbours, and ignored by foreign powers.

As we begin our descent into Phnom Penh I get a fleeting glimpse of the mighty Mekong River that runs through the centre of the city. Moments later a friendly immigration officer welcomes us to Cambodia and takes only a few minutes to process our visas. Kosal, a stocky, dark skinned fellow in his early 40s greets us with a big smile. He will be our guide in Phnom Penh. The trip to our hotel takes us past stately French Colonial houses, some restored, others crumbling into ruin. Built 100 years ago when Cambodia was part of French Indochina, they now stand side by side with Art Deco mansions that once belonged to officials of Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s pre revolutionary government.

The traffic, a mix of tuk tuks, motorbikes, and pickups, is less frantic than that in Ho Chi Minh and, perhaps because it is smaller, the pace of life seems more relaxed. After a sumptuous dinner at the Amoc Cafe we return to the Juliana Hotel, order a drink from the bar, and settle down at a table in the lush poolside garden. It’s hard to imagine that 33 years ago foreigners like us were banned from the country and the people of Phnom Penh were fleeing their city in terror, abandoning their homes, shops, and most of their possessions to a handful of Khmer Rouge soldiers.

In her book First They Killed My Father (Harper Collins), Loung Ung describes the day the soldiers arrived and ordered everyone to leave on the pretense that the U.S. was about to bomb the city. “You can return in three days,” they were told. It was the first of many lies designed to control the terrified people. At checkpoints outside the city the Khmer soldiers offered good jobs to anyone who had worked for the Lon Noi government. Those who identified themselves were killed. The others became virtual slaves in work camps and rural communes where many died of starvation and disease.

I asked Kosal if he remembered that terrible time. “Yes,” he replied, “my experience was very similar to that of Loung Ung. Almost every family in Cambodia was affected one way or another by Khmer Rouge violence. They killed three members of my family and I have lost track of the others.”

The convoluted history that paved the way for the Khmer Rouge takeover and the subsequent tragedy of Pol Pot’s social experiment is a tale of political intrigue, deceit and social collapse. Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953 and for 20 years, under the autocratic rule of Norodom Sihanouk, it enjoyed a period of relative prosperity.

But discontent with Sihanouk’s repressive policies came to a head in 1970 when a military coup led by general Lon Noi overthrew him. After fleeing to Beijing Sihanouk set up a government in exile allied with a revolutionary movement lead by Pol Pot, whose peasant army had been waging a limited guerilla war against the government since 1963. Sihanouk nicknamed them the Khmer Rouge and his support drew thousands of new recruits into the revolution.

In the meantime the Vietnamese war was spilling over the border, and in 1969 U.S. president Nixon authorized the secret bombing of suspected communist bases in Cambodia. Over the next four years an estimated 250,000 Cambodian civilians, mostly peasants, were killed by B52 carpet-bombing. The survivors, bitter and displaced from their land, flocked to join the Khmer Rouge and, with aid from China, Pol Pot’s guerrilla skirmishes escalated into full-scale civil war. On the 17th of August 1975 truckloads of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge soldiers stormed triumphantly into Phnom Penh and replaced the Lon Noi government with a regime even more brutal and horrific than the war that brought them to power.

Our brief stay in Phnom Penh was an emotional roller coaster that took us through the depravity of the Pol Pot years to the measured optimism of modern Cambodia — from the unspeakable horror of the killing fields to the tranquility of the Royal Palace.

“We will go first to Tuol Sleng Museum,” Kosal tells us as we pile into a tuk tuk and head off in a cloud of exhaust from the aging motorcycle towing us. The sprawling low buildings of the museum were once occupied by a high school but, with the addition of razor wire, barred cells and long rows of leg shackles chained to the floor, the Khmer Rouge converted it to a prison. Security Prison 21 (S21) became the largest centre of detention and torture in the country — the place where those suspected of being a threat to Pol Pot’s regime were brought for interrogation. Few of them left alive. Between 1975 and 1978 more than 17,000 people were trucked from S21 to the killing fields of Choeung Ek.

It’s 15km from S21 to Choeung Ek, a deceptively tranquil place where tree shaded paths wind past 129 mass graves now muted by greenery. The skulls of more than 8,000 victims are displayed in a memorial stupa, but no one knows how many thousands of hapless people were executed and dumped here by the Khmer Rouge.

This, I thought, is Pol Pot’s legacy — the grisly remnants of a mad man’s dream. Brother number one, as he referred to himself, had the vision of a self-contained agrarian society, a pure Khmer society without foreign influence where hard working peasants would replace the decadent upper and middle classes of the cities. As soon his troops entered Phnom Penh he set the country’s clocks to year zero and the all-powerful Angkar (organization) of Pol Pot’s Democratic Kampuchea set out to change society through relocation, forced labour and purges.

Driven by paranoia and absolute power the Angkar executed anyone perceived to be a present or future threat to the regime. Employees of the former government were the first to go, followed by the intelligentsia. According to Kosal even wearing glasses, a sign of wealth and intelligence, could be a death sentence.

The purges soon escalated into full-scale genocide and many of those not killed outright by the Angkar died of starvation or disease, in a country that had killed most of its doctors and had no medicines. Before it was over at least two million Cambodians, almost a fifth of the population, had died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. And those remaining were barely able to feed themselves.

The nightmare of Pol Pot’s dream came to an end in 1979 when the Vietnamese, fed up with border incursions and Khmer Rouge attempts to retake the Mekong Delta, launched a full-scale invasion of Democratic Kampuchea. They drove the Khmer Rouge out of Phnom Penh, replaced the Angkar with a new government, and maintained a military presence in the country for the next 10 years. But Pol Pot and the remnants of the Khmer Rouge retreated into the jungle and continued sporadic attacks on the government until they were finally defeated in 1998, the same year that Pol Pot died of a heart attack at age 70. Like most of his Khmer Rouge henchmen he was never brought to justice.

As we left Choeung Ek my mind still carried the image of thousands of skulls staring at me through empty eye sockets. It’s a tribute to the human spirit that Kosal and those of his generation who survived the genocide are able to put the horror behind them and live normal lives.

Although Cambodia is still plagued by factional infighting and corruption it has come a long way in the last 20 years. We stop for lunch at “Friends,” a restaurant that not only serves great tapas, but also provides former street kids with training in the hospitality industry. Outside, a group of school children is painting murals and as I watch them I think of their parents. When they were the ages of these kids they were being trained as child soldiers. They witnessed the deaths of their families and had neither schools nor enough to eat.

Later on the grounds of the Royal Palace I found a quiet place to sit and unwind. Watching the saffron-robed monks strolling serenely through their manicured gardens I try to put the genocide out of my mind. If I had not actually seen the torture chambers of S21 and the killing fields of Choeng Ek the whole thing could have been just a chilling dream.

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Thousands of poll agents to guarantee fair election in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Two hundred and forty trainers from Cambodia's four major political parties are preparing to train tens of thousands of poll agents who will watch the National Assembly Election Day process to ensure that votes are counted fairly and that their opponents play by the rules, a press release said Thursday.

Members of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), the Funcinpec Party, the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) will attend a party poll agent training conducted by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) in Phnom Penh from May 26 to 31, an NDI press release said.

The party trainers will in turn train tens of thousands of their own party's polling agents, it added.

NDI's training will equip the political party trainers with the knowledge and skills to conduct systematic observation of the polls and report based on a standard polling agent manual and observation checklist based on the National Assembly election laws, regulations, procedures and code of conduct, the release said.

The NDI will invite all political parties that have officially registered for the National Assembly election to receive the party poll agent training, it said, adding that other political parties will be trained in a second batch.

The NDI provided a similar training prior to last year's Commune Council elections, in which more than 100,000 party poll agents watched the polling process.
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High food prices forces WFP to cut number of beneficiaries

BALINDONG, Lanao del Sur -- Because of high food prices in the world market, the World Food Program (WFP), the United Nation's food assistance arm, has announced that it will reduce the number of beneficiaries for its food-for-education project in Mindanao.

"It's even more important today for the WFP to provide the food assistance," Valerie Guarnieri, country director for the Philippines, told a gathering of parents and teachers in Lilud-Raya village here early this week.

But Guarnieri said the WFP has to cut back on the number of beneficiaries for the 2008-2009 school year owing to the pressure of rising food prices on its resources.

She hoped the reduction in the number of beneficiaries would be temporary as the WFP has intensified its campaign for more donations.

The WFP purchases rice in the international market, where the price of the staple grain has gone up by 40 to 60 percent, explained Guarnieri.

Guarnieri's announcement about the reduced number of beneficiaries was made after a discussion with the parents and teachers about the food supply situation in the town and their difficulties in coping with the rising prices of rice.

In this mountainous town on the side of Lake Lanao, rice is sold at P45 per kilo. Traditionally, the rice comes from Marawi City.

"It is very disturbing to hear how much high [rice] prices are affecting you," Guarnieri told the gathering.

Residents also told of their difficulties in finding cheap National Food Authority rice, since this is sold only in Marawi City, a 30-minute ride away.

"Back when rice was still cheap, they even had difficulty having adequate food," Guarnieri later told reporters in a press conference in Marawi.

The WFP, which aims to reduce the effects of high food prices among the poor and those caught in conflict and natural disasters, has described high food prices as a "silent tsunami threatening to plunge more than 100 million people on every continent into hunger."

Guarnieri worried that hungry families would, among others, most likely decide against sending their children to school.

The WFP cited a study showing that 40 percent of parents who do not send their children to school cited lack of food as a big contributing factor.

The food-for-education program, the WFP's major program in the country, focused on conflict-affected areas in six Mindanao provinces. It seeks to help bring and keep children in school.

The program provides 12.5 kilos of rice each month to every pupil from Grade 1 through Grade 6 on the basis of 80 percent proven school attendance.

Over two years -- from July 2006 to April 2008 -- the program was able to assist nearly 187,000 children in 800 primary schools. It has also provided hot meals onsite to 16,000 children in 277 schools and daycare centers.

Another change in the program is its focus on fewer geographical areas, usually towns, but intensified coverage of the population within an identified target area.

Mishael Argonza, WFP's national program officer, said they would choose, based on a set criteria, towns in conflict-affected areas to be covered by the program and then pour its food assistance for as many deserving people as possible, to give the efforts focal impact.

Guarnieri visited Lanao del Sur along with popular television personality KC Concepcion, WFP deputy country director Alghassim Wurie, and Cetin Yalcin, country general manager of the global express delivery service firm TNT, in a bid to raise public awareness and understanding about hunger.

Concepcion is WFP's national ambassador against hunger in the Philippines, while TNT is its global partner in food assistance operations.

The visit to Lanao del Sur is a prelude to the launch on June 1 of "End Hunger: Walk the World," a global advocacy by the WFP in partnership with TNT to raise more resources for food assistance to Mindanao.

Guarnieri said the experience of the villagers of Lilud-Raya opened her eyes to the reality that the rice crisis has been affecting not only Metro Manila and urban centers but rural areas as well.

Last year, the WFP, the world's largest humanitarian agency, handed out food to 88 million people, mostly women and children, in 78 of the world's poorest countries.

After closing its 24-year operations in the country in 1996, the WFP returned in 2006 to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Mindanao by addressing the food security needs of vulnerable people in conflict-affected areas.

Copyright 2008 INQUIRER.net and content partners. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Ex-Khmer Rouge minister in court

The Khmer Rouge's former social welfare minister has made her first appearance at Cambodia's UN-backed genocide court.

Ieng Thirith, 76, is seeking bail on charges of crimes against humanity relating to the regime's brutal four-year rule in the late 1970s.

Three of the five former Khmer Rouge leaders held by the court have already had their requests for bail denied.

One of them, 76-year-old Khieu Samphan, was taken to hospital on Wednesday morning with high blood pressure.

A spokesman for the tribunal, Reach Sambath, said that his condition not urgent "but necessitated attention".

The former head of state's efforts to write a book had led to stress, he said.

Starvation

Ieng Thirith was one of the Khmer Rouge's founding members and its most powerful woman.

Her husband, Ieng Sary, was foreign minister and her sister was married to the movement's leader, Pol Pot.

Prosecutors say that as social welfare minister, she knew that tens of thousands of people were dying from starvation and disease on brutal collective farms - but did nothing to stop the disaster.

Ieng Thirith denies any wrongdoing. In court her lawyer argued that she required regular treatment for both mental and physical conditions.

A ruling on bail is expected next month. The trials themselves are expected to begin later in the year.

The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. During this period an estimated 1.7 million people died from starvation or overwork as leaders tried to create a classless agrarian society.

Hundreds of thousands of the educated middle classes were tortured and executed.

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Three opposition parties compete with ruling CPP

Three opposition parties in Cambodia are competing with the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) for the parliamentary election on July 27, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday.

They are competing with his CPP sharply and they are also competing with each other for gaining votes, Hun Sen told a graduation ceremony at the National Institution of Education.

Each party is trying to get the position as the main opposition party in Cambodia when they aired on radios before the election campaign starts, he added.

The three opposition parties are the Human Rights Party (HRP) of former senator Kim Sokha, the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) of Prince Norodom Ranariddh and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), Hun Sen said.

He reclaimed that if the co-ruling Funcinpec party does not have a seat in the National Assembly during the general election, his CPP will lead the government alone.

The SRP is the main opposition party in the current National Assembly of Cambodia.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Egat considers coal venture

Subsidiary may invest in Indonesian mines

YUTHANA PRAIWAN

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is considering investing in a coal mine in Indonesia through its wholly owned subsidiary Egat International Co to secure fuel for power generation.

Egat governor Sombat Santijaree said the state utility had been approached about acquiring the mining licences of several coal mines, mainly located in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Egat is now looking into the mines' commercial viability.

''Some mines have finished the exploration process and some are being explored and we will have to make an in-depth study to find the exact figure of coal reserves. If [the mines] prove viable, we hope to obtain the output to use in coal-fired power plants in Thailand,'' Mr Sombat said.

Egat would seek local partners to help operate the mines in order to reduce financing risk and other uncertainties.

Mr Sombat also said that Egat expected to finish selecting sites by the end of this year for four coal-fired power generators in Thailand with a total output of 2,800 megawatts. It expects the plants to start operating between 2015 and 2017.

Coal prices have risen dramatically over the past two years as power producers worldwide seek to reduce their reliance on more costly fuel oil and natural gas. Mr Sombat said it was becoming increasingly difficult to secure long-term contracts to buy imported coal.

He said many coal exporters were likely to reduce long-term purchase contracts to between three and five years from 10 years. This is forcing power generators to seek more supplies in the expensive spot market, where prices are likely to rise further from current levels of US$100-110 per tonne.

''If Egat fails to prepare to secure fuel for coal-fired power plants, power tariffs [by the time the new plants start operating] would be higher than expectations,'' Mr Sombat said.

The coal mined in Indonesia is the sub-bituminous grade, which has low sulphur emissions and is well suited to new cleaner-burning technology.

Egat is preparing to seek permission for a study from Indonesian government mining regulators and will send its own technical staff to the country to study the operations.

In any case, attempts to build new coal-fired power plants in Thailand are likely to be opposed by community and environmental activists, despite plant operators' attempts to persuade the public that new technology can greatly reduce the environmental impact of the plants.

Mr Sombat said that if Egat could not build plants in Thailand, it would shift to buying power from a coal-fired plant on Kong Island in Cambodia.

Koh Kong Power Light Co, a joint venture involving Italian Thai Development Plc, Egco Group Plc and Ratchaburi Power Generating Holding Plc, is scheduled to sell a total of 3,600 MW to Egat starting between 2019 and 2021.

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No bull for pop heartthrob

Phnom Penh - Cambodia's leading pop heartthrob has backed down on threats of legal action against a farmer who named a stud bull after him, the singer said on Friday.

The nation's most popular singer-actor, Preap Sovath, 36, had threatened legal action against the owner of a $10 000 (about R80 000) Brahman breeding bull he named after the sex symbol.
Sovath was quoted in a range of local media to be taking action to protect his wife, who had reportedly become distressed after seeing advertisements offering the services of the bovine Preap Sovath for $100 per mating, with satisfaction guaranteed.

But Friday the Cambodian equivalent of Ronan Keating said he would not be taking any action.

"No, no, no. I don't care anymore and I am too busy," Sovath said by telephone.

Theories for the change of heart abound, including a rumour it was partly due to the unsuitability of alternative names offered by the farmer.

A moniker such as 'Little Preap' was unlikely to enhance the careers of either the bovine or bopping version of the star, fans admitted. - Sapa-dpa Read more!

Cambodian court sentences Austrian man to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing boys

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: An Austrian man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing two Cambodian boys, a judge said.

Olaf Achleitner, 64, was also ordered to pay 4 million riel (US$1,000; €650) in compensation to each of the boys following his conviction on charges of committing indecent acts against minors, said Ke Sakhan, a Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge.

The judge said the Austrian sexually abused the boys, aged 12 and 15, in two separate incidents in September.

The defendant's Cambodian lawyer, Dun Vibol, called the verdict unjust. He said the verdict was based merely on the boys' testimonies to the police with the prosecution offering no evidence to back up their claims.

He said Achleitner has consistently maintained his innocence.

"He was never caught in the act of doing what he has been accused of. Police just took him into their office for questioning after receiving complaints from the boys. There he was arrested, detained and sent to the court," Dun Vibol said.

It was not clear if Achleitner will appeal the verdict, the lawyer said.

The name of Achleitner's home town in Austria was not immediately available. Read more!

Cambodia Plans To Open Nine Hydropower Dams By 2019

PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Cambodia will construct controversial Chinese-funded dams as part of a plan to feed its electricity-starved economy, according to government documents obtained Monday by AFP.

The Southeast Asian country will open nine dams of various sizes between 2010 and 2019 to generate 1,942 megawatts of power, according to a government report to parliament obtained by AFP. At least four of the dams will be backed by China.

The US-based International Rivers Network last year said that two Chinese- funded hydroelectric dams already under construction threatened to flood huge swathes of Cambodia's protected forests.

The group said the Kamchay and Stung Atay dams, unchecked by public scrutiny, will wreak havoc on local communities and slow development.

The new government report said the Kamchay hydropower plant will open in 2010, while Stung Atay hydroelectric dam will open in 2012.

"By 2020, all villages will have electric power. (And) by 2030, at least 70 percent of the families countrywide will have electricity use," the report said.

The government also plans to build nine coal-powered plants between 2011 and 2020, the report said.

Only some 20% of Cambodian households currently have access to electricity.

Spiralling utility prices, driven by this lack of supply, are a major obstacle to attracting foreign investment, and the government has struggled to find a way to bring down the cost of power.


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Cambodia to demarcate border with Thailand clearly

PHNOM PENH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is to install more markers along its border with Thailand for a clear demarcation of the state line, English-Khmer language newspaper the Mekong Times on Monday quoted official as saying.

"We have to install more border poles because the 73 (colonial-era) markers installed by France are inadequate," Var Kim Hong, chief of the National Border Committee, told the paper.

"We are examining markers planted by the French in Pailin and we hope to finish this task soon," he said, adding that it is not clear when the work will begin or how many markers will be needed.

Cambodia should emulate Malaysia which has planted over 10,000 markers along its border with Thailand, he said.

Cambodia has an 805-km border with Thailand with only 73 markers now. The absence of markers has made quarrels common.
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Cambodia confiscates 'Burma Daily' publication

Those idiots Hun xen government never understand what is supposed to be licensed or not. They are a group of former Khmer Rouge soldiers who are still notorious. They don't even know how to manage their own home.

Phnom Penh (dpa) - The Cambodian government on Monday confiscated the Cambodia Daily newspaper from newsstands over a supplement called The Burma Daily, the Information Ministry and the newspaper's publisher said.

The official ministry explanation was that the confiscation was ordered because The Burma Daily, which had appeared since last week as a four-page insert with an identical masthead as its sister publication, was not licensed.

But publisher Bernard Krisher argued that the paper did not need a license because it was a supplement and the decision to confiscate the English- and Khmer-language daily, which has a circulation of about 5,000, reflected badly on the government.

He vowed to continue to print The Burma Daily for several more days as planned even if it were confiscated. After its printing is finished, it is to become an online and mail publication for distribution in Burma.

"The Burma Daily has no political agenda," he said by telephone. "It is designed to introduce to the Burmese people what a free and responsible newspaper looks like."

Krisher said he had not spoken to the ministry about the reasons for confiscating the paper, which is viewed by expatriates as a primary source of daily news in English.

"I don't have to explain to anyone," he said. "The New York Times does not explain to President [George W] Bush."

Media analysts speculated that the government might fear that the often anti-government Cambodia Daily might embarrass it by taking a similar approach to the Burmese military junta.

Cambodia and Burma have maintained warm relations despite an international outcry over the junta's appalling human rights record.

The nation's largest journalism association, the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said it was investigating the confiscation of the newspapers.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith was not available for comment Monday.

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Vietnamese worldwide celebrate President Ho Chi Minh birthday

VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnamese communities in France, Russia and Cambodia on May 16 held celebrations of President Ho Chi Minh’s 118th birth anniversary, which falls on May 19.

In Paris, the Vietnamese embassy staff paid a floral respect to the nation’s first President at Compoint alley where President Ho lived in 1920s.

The celebrations continued with a memorial ceremony at the Montreau Park, Montreuil city, 15 kilometres off Paris, where Ambassador Le Kinh Tai was joined with the municipal Honourable Mayor and Congressman Jean-Pierre Brad and deputy mayor Patrick Petitjean. They laid a floral wreath at the Monument dedicated to President Ho in the presence of representatives from local authorities and people.

The two French dignitaries said it is an honour for their city to hold the Vietnamese people’s beloved Uncle Ho statue.

President Ho Chi Minh is a brilliant man of history and the father of the heroic Vietnamese people in the struggle against colonialists and turning Vietnam into an independent and sovereign nation, they said.

They also expressed satisfaction at the recent fine development of the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two nations.

In Moscow, Russia, the Vietnam Literature and Art Association in Russia joined the Vietnamese embassy and Vecsa Company to hold a poem night under the theme “Ho Chi Minh - the most beautiful name.”

In Phnom Penh, the Vietnamese-Cambodian Association in the Cambodian capital city held a ceremony for the same purpose, where they launched a movement to follow President Ho’s example among the Vietnamese community.

(Source: VNA)
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Don't make preah vihear a political football

Competing claims to area around temple must not devolve into nationalistic one-upmanship

Funny things happen during election time and Cambodia is no exception in this regard. Vietnam used to be on the receiving end of vitriol from Cambodian politicians (those on the royalist side of the house) looking to score quick political points. But with overlapping claims to Preah Vihear Temple currently the centre of attention, there is a growing concern that Thailand will replace Vietnam as the preferred target for verbal attacks.

The two countries took their dispute over the temple to the International Court of Justice in 1962. Thailand lost as the court ruled that the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia. Thailand accepted the ruling with a heavy heart. But the point of contention that has yet to be resolved concerns the 4.6 square-kilometre area around the temple.

Cambodia last year put the Preah Vihear Temple forward as a potential Unesco world heritage site. The UN body will decide on its status in July, which is about the same time that Cambodians will go to the polls. What has been eating Thailand about the proposal is that it includes the 4.6 square-kilometre area around the temple.

Both sides comfort themselves by saying that Unesco's acceptance has no bearing on national sovereignty. But in reality, Thai policy-makers, especially the military, which oversees the disputed areas, think an unwanted precedent would be set if Unesco accepts the proposed boundaries.

In political terms, it would be another feather in Cambodia's cap in its effort to claim the entire disputed area.

Given the fact this is an election year in Cambodia, it would be damaging for any politician to back away from this. They can't be seen as giving in to Thailand or anybody else for that matter.
Moreover, the fact that Thailand is experiencing political turmoil doesn't help.

But regardless of the political atmosphere in the two countries, this dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is still an important issue. After all it's about national sovereignty, a human-invented notion that boxes citizens inside political borders. Modern nation states demand loyalty from their citizens and unquestioning respect for these man-made political boundaries.

Problems surface when these boundaries overlap with those of neighbouring countries. Nations have gone to war and friends have turned into foes because of it.

Fortunately for Thailand and Cambodia, there is no lingering mistrust between the two countries, so there should be plenty of political will from both sides. But what is needed is a demonstration of sincerity from both sides to address this dispute in the spirit of friendship.

At the moment, all kinds of proposals are being floated, but so far Phnom Penh has yet to show any sign that it favours one over another - if it is even interested at all. Any sign of willingness could be translated as the country softening its sovereign claim to the disputed 4.6 square kilometres. Both countries could, for a start, begin to look for ways to demilitarise the areas, as this would send a positive signal to all sides that the two countries are sincere in looking for a peaceful solution to the problem.

Moreover, the two sides need to shelve nationalism for now and put the interests of the Hindu temple first. After all, this was an important historical site for local people centuries before there was such a thing as the International Court of Justice, or Thailand and Cambodia for that matter.
There are a lot of hang-ups from many Thais who still remember the day when the International Court of Justice ruled in favour of Cambodia. It doesn't help anybody if we are still clinging to the bitter past.

Most importantly, we need to de-link Preah Vihear from politics on both sides. Unless this is done, there will be no peace for the temple.
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Thailand, Cambodia to discuss disputed temple's World Heritage status in Paris

BANGKOK, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Sunday he would travel to France on May 22-23 to meet with Cambodian and UNESCO officials to discuss the Cambodian government's plan to register the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

Noppadon said he had met Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An recently and discussed the plan, with the Cambodian official becoming more flexible and wanting to settle the dispute with Thailand amicably, according to state media Thai News Agency.

He emphasized that both countries would receive equal benefits and that the Thai government would not give away overlapping areas claimed by both countries.

Thailand has said it welcomed the Cambodian government's move to register the historic Phreah Vihear temple complex as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but also said the Phnom Penh government must settle a disputed 4.6 square kilometer area surrounding the temple, so that both countries could jointly manage the area.

UNESCO's stance is that the two neighbors must first settle their differences before the registration of the heritage site can take effect.

The issue regarding the ownership of the historic site, dated back to the 9th century, has been long disputed between the two neighbor countries. Previous rulings by the International Court of Justice, commonly known as the World Court, in Hague have recognized the temple as belonging to Cambodia.

It is widely understood by both sides that the Preah Vihear temple building itself stands atop a cliff inside the Cambodian territory, but the only convenient access to the temple lies on the side of Thailand in Kantharalak district of the northeastern Thai province of Si Sa Ket.
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Habitat for Humanity's Annual 'Carter Work Project' Headed to Mekong in 2009

Habitat for Humanity International's 26th annual "Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project" will be held in the Mekong River region in November 2009. The Carters will join thousands of volunteers in building houses and bringing attention to the need for decent and affordable housing to countries along the Mekong River. The event will also launch a five-year Habitat for Humanity campaign to assist families across the region.

The Mekong region - defined to include Vietnam, the Yunnan Province in China, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia - has seen significant economic growth in the past 20 years. Yet it is still home to some of the poorest families in Asia. Nearly one third of the population (80 million out of 250 million) live in poverty, many living on less than a dollar per day.

"Rosalynn and I are pleased to travel to the Mekong region to join volunteers from around the world in 2009," said President Carter. "Together during the week, we will help hundreds of families into decent housing and bring attention to an area where many people live in deplorable poverty."

The week-long building project will secure homes in partnership with an estimated 300 families. It also will begin a five-year Habitat for Humanity initiative to assist 50,000 families across the five countries by engaging corporations, individuals and partner organizations in the fight to end poverty housing.

"The need for affordable housing is immense in the Mekong region," said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. "We look forward to bringing worldwide attention to this issue through the Carter Work Project and to working alongside these 300 families and assisting thousands more throughout the five-year campaign to improve lives through homeownership."

Plans for the event include builds in northern Thailand, where Habitat for Humanity Thailand runs a successful program working with tribal families; in rural communities in Yunnan, southwestern China; in southern Laos; in slum areas of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, and in communities along the Mekong delta in southern Vietnam.

"Habitat for Humanity has a strong and growing presence in all the Mekong countries through a wide range of housing solutions," said Richard Hathaway, vice president for Habitat for Humanity International's Asia/Pacific region. "This project will provide a significant boost to those programs to serve even more families in need of decent shelter."

The 2009 Carter Work Project will mark the fourth time the former U.S. president and his wife have built with Habitat for Humanity in Asia. Previous Carter Work Projects were held in India in 2006, in South Korea in 2001 and in The Philippines in 1999.

This year, the event was held in the U.S. Gulf Coast to help with the ongoing recovery efforts after 2005's hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Habitat's annual project also was renamed the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project to recognize the former first lady's years of dedicated service.

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 250,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1 million people.


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Cambodian village gets mosque

TRAMOUNG CHRUM, Cambodia — When residents of this poor Cambodian village need something built, they call on the Lightmans.

The Jewish-American family's latest gift: a mosque.

"We never had such a beautiful mosque in our village," said 81-year-old Leb Sen, a toothless village elder with a wrinkled face. "The young people said to me that I am very lucky to live long enough to see one now."

Flashing a broad grin, Leb Sen brought his palms together and bowed repeatedly in gratitude toward his American donors — Alan Lightman, his wife, Jean Greenblatt Lightman, and their daughter, Elyse.

Alan Lightman, a 59-year-old humanities professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said building the mosque was not part of his family's original plan to improve education in the village, about 44 miles northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.

"It's too much to comprehend. We never imagined that we would build a mosque in a remote village in Cambodia," said Lightman, author of the best-selling novel "Einstein's Dreams."

"It was so strange for us to be there ... halfway across the planet, and it's a religion that's far from our religion," he said.

The Lightmans first learned about the village in 2003, when a friend introduced them to various rural education projects. Two years later, the Harpswell Foundation, an organization founded by Lightman to help children and young women in developing countries, built a four-room concrete school, the village's first.

Some of the 600 villagers came to Lightman in 2006 asking him to fund a new health center, a popular choice among the women, and a mosque, which the men favored. He told the villagers they would have to choose one. In the male-dominated community, it was a mosque.

"The men have won again, but the mosque is also very important for preserving our culture and tradition," said 50-year-old Sit Khong, one of the five women in the village who were part of a committee to pick the project. "We will never find enough money to build it ourselves anyway."

The mosque, with the gold-colored inscription "Funded by Loving Gift of Lightman Family" above the front door, opened May 9. It can accommodate about 200 people and replaces a tiny building on wood stilts that held only 30 worshippers.

The villagers follow Imam-San, a small Islamic sect that incorporates Buddhism, Hinduism and animism. The Imam-San makes up about 3 percent of Cambodia's 700,000 Muslims, who themselves represent only 5 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people, according the U.S. State Department annual report on religious freedom.

Besides mixing in elements of other religions, Imam-San followers pray only once a week, not the traditional five times a day. "In the view of the real teaching of Islam, they are not pure," said Tin Faizine, a 24-year-old Muslim student who was interpreting for the Lightmans.

Elyse Lightman, who is writing a book about Imam-San culture and traditions, said she was happy to help a community that is not fully embraced by either mainstream Muslims or Buddhists, Cambodia's majority religious group.

"You can see why Muslims don't consider them to be their own," she said. "And then Buddhists say, 'Well, you pray to Allah.' So, they're caught in the middle."

She noted that the Imam-San, like the Jews, have faced persecution over the centuries, most recently when the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia from 1975-79 and abolished all religion.

"I think there is part of me that felt some sort of kinship in this," she said.

About 500 followers of Imam-San from around the country came to this village of wooden houses and mango trees to celebrate the opening of the new mosque.

Sem Ahmad, 57, said he wanted the Lightman family to help build a mosque in his village in Battambang province in northwestern Cambodia.

"It is beautiful. I'd love to have the same mosque because we do not have one like this in our village," he said.

But Lightman said this would be his "first and last" mosque, because "I don't think I have the resources or the time to build more mosques."

The mosque was built with $20,000 from his family's savings, not the foundation's funds, he said.

In the future, he plans to focus on education for underprivileged Cambodians, which is his foundation's main goal.

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Events to aid children in Cambodia; Yoga teacher hopes to raise $30,000

In the early part of the decade, Kingston yoga teacher Amanda Daniels spent close to two years touring Cambodia. She returned home profoundly affected by the poverty and suffering she had witnessed.

Daniels recently pledged to raise $30,000 by December for the Cambodian Children's Fund, a registered charity that provides poor and abused children with health care, education, food and job training.

On Monday, Daniels is holding the first of a series of events to kick-start her campaign. A "full moon Yoga for Cambodia" celebration will take place from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Feel Yoga Studio, 80 Princess St. Suggested donation is $10 or more.

On Friday, the Spencer Evans Trio, along with Chris Brown, will perform at the Grad Club on Barrie Street in support of Daniels' campaign. Tickets cost $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Music begins at 9:30 p.m.

Daniels said in a release that her goal is to support the children's fund and urge all Kingstonians "to remember our fundamental interdependence and to act from this awareness," and to foster world citizenship by connecting Kingston with Cambodia.

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Feature: Cambodia actively donates for China's quake-relief efforts

PHNOM PENH, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia and the Association of Qingtian County People (of Zhejiang Province of China) in Cambodia here on Friday evening donated 31,340 U.S. dollars to the Chinese Embassy for the Chinese government to carry out relief works in the earthquake-affected areas, thus chalking up the total donation in the kingdom to some 250,000 U.S. dollars.

"You are the first batch of Chinese organizations in Cambodia to donate for China's quake-relief efforts. The devotion tells your close connection to our motherland," Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng told their representatives.

Not only the Chinese, but also the Cambodian government, the ethnic Khmer people and the Chinese Cambodian, have shown enthusiasm to support China in its fight against the wide-ranging disaster that has killed about 20,000 people so far, she added.

The Cambodian government on Thursday donated 100,000 U.S. dollars for the relief works in China.

On behalf of the Cambodian government, Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, handed over the donation to Zhang Jinfeng, along with a letter of condolence from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

"I feel extremely saddened that your country has suffered the loss of thousands of lives, injuries and extensive damages due to the powerful earthquake in Sichuan province, central part of China," Hun Sen wrote in the letter dated May 14.

"On behalf of the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, may I convey to Your Excellency and the People of China, particularly the victims and members of the bereaved families my deepest sympathy and profound condolences for the tragic loss and great suffering brought about by this natural disaster," he wrote.

On Wednesday, the Cambodian Red Cross donated 10,000 U.S. dollars through the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh to the Red Cross Society of China to facilitate its humanitarian activities in the earthquake-affected areas.

"We, therefore, would like to ask your kindness in conveying the message of condolence to the families of the dead and our sharing of the hardships and difficulties being struggled over by the survivors and the rescuers," said Bun Rany, wife of Hun Sen and president of the Cambodian Red Cross, in a letter to Peng Peiyun, president of the Red Cross Society of China.

On Tuesday, a deputy of the royal family of Cambodia presented 50,000 U.S. dollars and two letters of condolence to the Chinese Embassy to express the family's support for China to carry out relief works in the earthquake-affected areas.

King Norodom Sihamoni and king's father Norodom Sihanouk respectively wrote letters to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to express their sympathy for the victims and their families, as well as their support for the Chinese government to salvage the survivors.

Meanwhile, Sihanouk donated 50,000 U.S. dollars for China to beef up its relief works.

In regard of the Cambodian government's generous help, Zhang Jinfeng on Thursday told reporters that "we don't think about the amount of money, but the amount of kindness. This is strong support for China."

Meanwhile according to the embassy, Khmer citizens in Phnom Penh are also active in donating money to China.

In recent days, each time a Khmer entered the office for visa affairs, he would usually ask a question first: is this the right place to donate?

To meet their charity and enthusiasm, the embassy has put a donation box at its consulate office.

"They come. They drop money. Although not too much, it shows their affection for our country and people," said an embassy official.

As to the Chinese Cambodian, they surely came no later than the others, said Ambassador Zhang.

A major-shot Chinese Cambodian businessman donated some 80,000 yuan RMB (about 11,500 U.S. dollars) in condition of anonymity.

"It is convenient for the people in China to use RMB. I sent my men to all the money exchange shops in Phnom Penh and this is all they can find," the ambassador quoted him as telling her.

A Chinese Cambodian woman, with her baby still less than one month old, donated the 400,000 riels (about 100 U.S. dollars) that her father-in-law had given her for nourishment and recuperation.

"My affection for China is much more important than my health and body," the ambassador quoted her as saying in a letter for the embassy.

In addition, local media is also focused on the help that Cambodia has extended to China in the most sincere way.

The Commercial News, the longest running Chinese newspaper in Cambodia, will start to publish articles on Saturday to appeal for its readers to donate for China's relief works.

Its publisher and banking tycoon Pung Kheav Se has already offered 10,000 U.S. dollars to spearhead the campaign.

Meanwhile on Friday, almost all major Khmer-language newspaper printed the news about the Cambodian government's donation and Ambassador Zhang's speech at the donation ceremony was even published word by word.

"I have to extend my heart-felt thanks as today Cambodia is at a crucial stage in strengthening the economy, but it has still provided 100,000 U.S. dollars to help China," she was quoted as saying.

A 7.8-magnitude quake rocked Wenchuan county, 159 km northwest of the southwest Sichuan province's capital of Chengdu, at 14:28 (0628 GMT) on Monday, killing thousands of people in eight affected provinces.


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Activists press Cambodian lawmakers for anti-corruption law

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN social activists presented evidence of widespread support as they pressed lawmakers on Friday to take concrete steps to enact a long-awaited law to combat corruption in the impoverished Southeast Asian country.

Describing themselves as a coalition against corruption, they presented a petition to parliament after collecting more than 1 million thumbprints and signatures from people in support of their anti-graft drive.

Corruption 'has been occurring almost everywhere and at every hour, and there is no sign that would lead us to believe it will slow down', said the petition of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations against Corruption, which comprises more than 40 nonprofit groups.

It said corruption is 'getting worse gradually' while legislation needed to fight it has remained mired in draft form for 15 years.

'Without even starting to enact the law, corruption will surely not decrease, and corrupt individuals will continue quietly sucking away the nation's wealth,' the petition said.

The coalition said it has collected 1,098,163 thumbprints and signatures since it began its nationwide campaign last November.

About 100 campaigners hauled the petitions to Parliament in 12 bundles. Security guards prevented them from bringing in all the forms, allowing only 10 activists in to deliver a three-page petition to a parliamentary office.

'We accepted the petition but not the copies of the thumbprints and signatures. Their quantity is huge, and we do not have space for storing them,' said Khuon Sodary, chairwoman of the parliamentary committee for human rights and reception of complaints.

The activists claimed symbolic success in making their case on behalf of the public.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's government has been persistently slammed by foreign aid donors and other critics for failing to tackle corruption. In 2007, Cambodia was ranked 162nd among 179 countries in a survey by Berlin-based Transparency International, a non-governmental group tracking corruption worldwide. -- AP


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