Association of South East Asian Nations Enacts New Charter

By Katie Hamann

The charter of the Association of South East Asian Nations now has official status, binding members to an enhanced legal framework. But as Asia begins to experience the full force of the global economic crisis it may be some time before the grouping begins to operate as a European Union-style community.

More than four decades after it came into being the Association of South East Nations on Monday become a legal entity and perhaps a new force for unity for its 10 members.

Speaking at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called the charter's ratification a momentous moment, signaling the transformation of ASEAN.

"The charter can be the basis for speeding up and strengthening our regional interfaces. By virtue of its provisions we can enhance the process by which we are transforming ASEAN from a loose association to an ASEAN community, resting on the pillars of political security cooperation, economic cooperation and socio-cultural cooperation," said Mr. Yudhoyono.

The charter includes commitments to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and good governance and respect for and promotion of human rights.

ASEAN's members are Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

They are home to half a billion people. In terms of development, they range from wealthy modern Singapore and Brunei to impoverished, agrarian Laos and Cambodia. Politically, members include democratic Philippines and Indonesia, and military-ruled Burma.

ASEAN's Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan says that all members have work to do on the charter's commitments.

"Democracy, it's a yo-yo in the system, it's a yo-yo in the region. Some countries used to be ahead of others, now they are behind. They are all in the process of transforming themselves to become more open, more participatory, more democratic. None of them is perfect," he said.

The charter was to have been inaugurated at the annual ASEAN summit in Thailand this month, but a political crisis there forced its postponement. Monday's meeting at the Jakarta secretariat was convened specially to enact the charter.

The charter opens the door to a single ASEAN market within seven years. However, the unfolding global economic crisis may yet block that goal. There are fears that the crisis may slow efforts to negotiate the free trade agreement.

ASEAN has also come under attack for failing to address human rights abuses by its member, particularly in military-ruled Burma.

Political analysts say the group will likely stick to its tradition of not interfering in each other's affairs.

But Secretary-General Surin says human rights advocates now have a legal document to add weight to their claims.

"And those of you out there who are interested in the issue of human rights can always make noise referring to this document. It has to begin somewhere, rooms for improvement. But to say this piece of paper, this document is worth nothing is not true," added Surin.

The postponed ASEAN summit is now planned for next February or March.

Read more!

Cambodian King meets with senior Chinese legislator

PHNOM PENH, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni here on Monday met with visiting Chen Zhili, vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body.

Sihamoni highly praised the achievements of China's 30 years of reform and opening-up, as well as the developments of bilateral relations.

The Cambodian royal family has been committing to strengthen Cambodia-China relations, Sihamoni said, adding that the friendship between the two countries is increasingly striking root in the hearts of the people.

The royal family, the Cambodian government and people appreciate the precious supports and aids provided by the Chinese government and people for Cambodia's national construction, he said.

Cambodia will work together with China to advance bilateral relationship unceasingly, he added.

Sihamoni reaffirmed that the royal family, the Cambodian parliament, government and people would adhere to the one-China policy and support the great cause of peaceful reunification of China.

For her part, Chen said that in the past 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Cambodia, the friendly relations jointly created by leaders of the two countries have sustained the fierce test of international drastic changes, and keeps consolidated and developed, becoming valuable treasure of the two sides.

She said that the comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and Cambodia is enjoying sound development, which serves the fundamental interests of both sides.

She believed that with joint efforts, China and Cambodia will advance the cooperative partnership to a new high.

Chen also said the Chinese NPC would like to strengthen cooperation and exchanges with the Cambodian National Assembly and Senate, so as to contribute to the bilateral relations.

Chen is on a five-day visit to Cambodia starting last Friday.

During this visit, she also met with Cambodian Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and other senior officials.
Read more!

Milton teens back from Cambodian school

By Tricia Pursell

MILTON — Their bus arrived at the Milton Senior High School around 10 a.m. Saturday, and as they were filing out, they shivered against the cold morning air, shared some hugs, gathered their luggage, and hurried to their cars.

After 38 hours of traveling by plane and by bus, eight students and six teachers and chaperones were understandably tired and glad to be home.

“I’m very glad to be home,” Milton student Sarah Haas said. “To have American food again, my own bed again.”

“We crossed the international date line heading east, so we spent Friday, crossed it, and spent Friday again. In theory, we got home before we left,” said Michael Conn, history and world cultures teacher at Milton. It takes a toll on everyone’s body, he added.

But the joy and satisfaction they experienced during the trip to Cambodia far outweighed any fatigue.

“It was truly a remarkable experience,” Conn said. He is credited for planting the dream and inspiration in the hearts of his students to build a school in previously war-torn Cambodia.

“My daughter and I went to Cambodia last year, where we saw the level of poverty and the plight of children there, and it just really touched both of us,” Conn said. “When I came back, I felt like I needed to do something. When school started in the fall, I showed my students pictures of what I saw in Cambodia. We started talking, and we decided we wanted to do something to help the children.”

He found an organization that was building schools in Cambodia, and after some research, presented the idea to his students.

“The kids were very excited about it, then went and got the approval of the superintendent. In November, we went to the school board in rural Cambodia, and everywhere we went, there was strong support. It started with the kids; the kids wanted to do something. I presented them with what I saw, and there was genuine concern, compassion, and an outpouring of support for doing something to help the kids.”

Conn calls Larissa Luu, a senior at Milton, the face of Team Cambodia. “Every time I spoke somewhere, she was right there with me, making presentations,” he said. Three other students designed T-shirts, labeled “Educate Cambodia,” the sale of which raised several thousand dollars for the school. The team raised $30,000 in four and a half months, Conn said.

‘There wasn’t a dry eye’

On Thursday, they saw the school firsthand.

“When we got off the bus at the school — which was as rural as a school can be — all the students were lined up, and in uniforms,” Conn said. “As we approached, they all started to applaud. The elders of the village were also there.”

“There wasn’t a dry eye during the ceremony,” said Bryan Noaker, principal of Milton Senior High School.

“It made me feel so proud of everybody back here at home,” Luu said. “It was kind of like a hero’s welcome. Something you can’t experience in the United States.

“Seeing those kids and how appreciative they were of a little schoolhouse,” Luu said, “changes your perspective, makes you rethink everything.” “The happiest moment of my life was when we saw the school,” said Haas. “I will always remember that. Nothing can stop that for me. It made everything so worth it.”

The approximately 150 students at the school, all at the seventh-grade level, had been attending classes there for about a week before this dedication ceremony took place. The school is labeled “Milton School” in both English and Cambodian languages.

“It was so touching. We all cried. All 14 of us cried,” Conn said. “None of us will forget the images of our bus pulling away, many of the children running alongside the bus. None of us will ever forget that experience as long as we live.”

At the killing fields

Just one day earlier, the group had visited the killing fields outside Phnom Pen, where thousands of people were brutally killed during the rule of the Khmer Rouge, firmly set on “ethnic cleansing.” As a result of these killings, Conn said half of the population of Cambodia is 19 years of age or younger.

The location of the Milton School in Cambodia is part of the region hardest hit by this rule.

“These two consecutive days were the most moving days of the trip,” Conn said. “But different emotions.”

When the group visited these killing fields, Haas was ironically celebrating her birthday. “It was so sad,” she said. It was so overwhelming. The places where they were located were so peaceful and so beautiful, but what happened there was so horrible. We can’t imagine.”

“What these people had been though, is almost incomprehensible, but their spirit is still there,” Conn said. “The children are beautiful, bright-eyed. They just need opportunity. These are not people that are incapable of helping themselves. They just have suffered a huge setback. They just need tools.”

Spark of hope

And that’s what the Milton students have given them. The money they raised, matched by other organizations, built the school, supplied solar panels for power, teachers, textbooks, a well for fresh water supply and a computer with access to the Internet.

“We saw the level of poverty, but we saw at least there was a spark of hope that these kids could learn new skills and new knowledge that could provide a better life for themselves and their families,” Conn said. “What a lesson for our kids.”

Every two to three years of the school’s existence, Conn said they will need to raise an additional $2,500 to support the expected growth of the school.

“My hope is, after seeing the school and seeing the need in that part of Cambodia, we can even do more,” Conn said. “I would love for us to take a group back there in the next year or two and stay more at the school, spend more time at the school, do some activities with them.”

But in the meantime, life goes on for the students at Milton Area High School.

“We expect the students back in school on Monday, with some stories to tell, I’m sure,” Conn said. Read more!

Thongchai wins Cambodian Open by 6 strokes

BANGKOK, Thailand: Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand completed back-to-back wins by taking the Cambodian Open on Sunday, shooting a 6-under 66 on the final day to win by six strokes.

Thongchai finished at 24-under 264. Singapore's Lam Chih Bing shot a final-round 65 to finish second, with Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol (67) a further two shots back in the second staging of the Asian Tour event.

A week earlier, Thongchai won the Vietnam Masters, during which his second child was born.

"My son was born on a very good day and I believe he has given me all the luck," Thongchai said.

"I only had four bogeys throughout the four rounds and I know that my game is all coming back now."

The Volvo Masters of Asia, beginning Dec. 18 in Bangkok is the final event on the 2008 calendar. Read more!

Economic crisis unites Asian giants

The leaders of Japan, South Korea and China have called for a regional crisis fund to be set up to help tackle the effects of the global economic downturn.

The three nations also pledged on Saturday not to create new trade barriers over the next 12 months and called for an urgent capital infusion into the Asian Development Bank at the meeting in the Japanese city of Fukuoka.

The leaders of the Northeast Asian powers, which account for 75 per cent of the region's economy and two-thirds of its trade, agreed to "strengthen co-operation" at the summit, the first between the three nations alone.

Taro Aso, Japan's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, Lee Myung-Bak, South Korea's president, said in a joint statement issued after the meeting that Asia was "expected to play a role as the centre of world economic growth in order to reverse the downward trend of the world economy".

Currency swaps

The three countries, along with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), had in October agreed to create an $80bn joint fund by next June to avert regional financial turmoil.

The fund would supercede the Chiang Mai Initiative, a system of bilateral currency swaps set up after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

However, much of the significance of the meeting was symbolic as China and South Korea refused to have high-level meetings until 2006 with Japan over disputes related to the second world war.

"Co-operation between ... our three countries to overcome difficulties will have real significance as the financial crisis has a big impact on economies around the world," Wen told Aso before they were joined by Lee.

China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to hold similar meetings every year in the future.

Subramaniam Pillay, an associate professor in international finance with Nottingham University in Malaysia said that the summit was historic.

"Prior to this, the countries had only met on the sidelines of other summits, like Asean summits," he said.

"It is a good move because these
countries are the
engines of growth for the rest of east
Asia.""Co-operation
between ... our three countries to
overcome difficulties will have real
significance as the financial crisis has a
big impact on economies around
the world" Wen Jiabao, Chinese
premier

Economic co-operation

Out of the three North Asian economies, South Korea has been hit hardest by the global financial crisis, with the country's central bank saying that the country is set for its slowest growth in over a decade.

Seoul has committed $130bn to prop up its banking system and another $25 billion in fiscal spending and tax cut plans to stave off a recession.

Japan said on Friday that it will boost its existing stimulus plans and increase its reserve fund for bank rescues to $131bn.

But the package may not be enough to tackle the recession in Japan, Jan Friederich, a senior economist with the Economist Intelligence Unit, told Al Jazeera.

"I think the additional stimulus that Japan has announced is not really that strong. Japan has a very large public debt burden and therefore is quite reluctant to increase that burden much more. It is really not enough to prevent the economy from further recession."

Tokyo has not said whether it will act to stop a surging yen from pushing the Japanese economy deeper into recession.

China, which is also facing a slowdown of its hitherto surging economy, on Wednesday said it will boost public spending and cut taxes.

Beijing has already launched a four trillion yuan ($586bn) stimulus plan but Liu Mingkang, China's senior banking regulator, said on Saturday that the country may experience outflows of capital and could face deflation.

Territorial disputes

The Northeast Asian nations also discussed territorial matters.

Aso told the Chinese prime minister that Japan was concerned by the entry of Chinese boats into waters near disputed southern islands known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese, a Japanese official said.

Wen said that the territory belonged to China but said that dialogue would solve the issue.

Tokyo had protested to Beijing on Monday after the ships spent nine hours near the islands, which are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan.

South Korea and Japan are also in dispute over a group of islets which lie near fertile fishing grounds and possible maritime deposits of natural gas.

However, the subject of Japan's pre-1945 colonisation of Korea and its aggression on the Asian mainland in the first half of the last century have not made the summit agenda. Read more!

Vietnam boosts legislative ties with Laos and Cambodia

This is another cooperation that Vietnam hungry for. A one or two cooperation agreement is enough all countries in the Triangle. But all of cooperations are never been good for Cambodia. Vietnam is always insisting for any thing from Cambodia.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam will continue its legislative cooperation with Laos and Cambodia , including exchange of experiences and mutual assistance in policy making and encouraging people to support commitments made by the countries.

The idea was shared by Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tong Thi Phong with her guests, Deputy Prime Minister and MP of Cambodia Men Sam An, and Vice Chairman of the Lao NA’s Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs Pholsena Phonethep, during their meetings in Hanoi on Dec. 13.

The two foreign officials are leading delegations to attend the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) which is held in Hanoi from Dec. 13-14.

Phong and her guests exchanged views on social affairs of common concern, such as gender equality, childcare and protection.

She appreciated the Cambodian and Lao delegations to the AFPPD and the role of Cambodian and Lao MPs in boosting the traditional relationship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia .

The guests expressed thanks to the Vietnamese NA, Government and people for their wholehearted assistance to the national construction and development of both Laos and Cambodia.
Read more!

Perils of Pakistan -- Will It Prove to be Obama's Cambodia?

President-elect Obama has committed himself to stepping up the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is not an overstatement to say that he will risk his whole presidency, and perhaps even unwittingly put nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists who might use them to attack the United States, if he leaps too far into neighboring Pakistan in pursuit of elusive victory.

The rub, as the Vietnam and Iraq wars showed us all, is unintended consequences. Our military leaders can, and almost certainly will, make a strong case to Obama that there is no way to defeat the Taliban and their allied tribes in Afghanistan without cleaning out their sanctuaries just over the Afghan border in Pakistan.

I can hear frustrated U.S. commanders on the ground in Afghanistan making the same kind of argument to Obama's team tomorrow that I heard yesterday in Vietnam when I was a combat correspondent there.

I could empathize with this lament, for example, that I heard in 1968 from a 9th Division infantry battalion commander, whose mission was to rid his area -- South Vietnam's rice bowl, the Delta -- of the stealthy Viet Cong guerrillas: "I can have my kids chase the Viet Cong all day and all night. But whenever they catch up to a good number of them, they just run over the border into Cambodia where we can't go. All I'm really doing down here is buying time with my kids' lives for the diplomats to settle this thing."

His was among the impressive military arguments I heard for either invading Cambodian border sanctuaries or getting the United States out of the otherwise unwinnable Vietnam War.

President Lyndon Johnson resisted invading Cambodia. He had concluded that this would only widen the war, infuriating an already skeptical Congress. Early on in Johnson's presidency he confided to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, but not the public, that he saw the war as a no-win. Secret tapes of Johnson's conversations, since made public, document him saying this to McNamara on Feb. 26, 1965: "I don't think anything is going to be as bad as losing, and I don't see any way of winning."

His successor, Richard Nixon, who took office in 1969 after the Vietnam War had ruined Johnson's presidency, including his dream of building a Great Society, rushed into Cambodia where Johnson had feared to tread.

First, Nixon authorized, without telling the public, secret bombings of Cambodia, which had tried to stay neutral. Then on April 30, 1970, Nixon announced he had ordered the invasion of Cambodia with U.S. and South Vietnamese troops to "clean out" the enemy's border sanctuaries.

Now think "Pakistan" to hear the same ring. Four days later -- on May 4, 1970 -- National Guardsmen killed four student anti-war protesters on the campus of Kent State in Ohio.

Those two events, coming right on top of each other, mobilized anti-war lawmakers in Congress to curb the president's war-making powers and to cut off the money the South Vietnamese army needed to continue fighting the war after U.S. troops left the field under Nixon's Vietnamization strategy.

The military defeat Johnson had feared all along, without saying so publicly, came in 1975 when Communist North Vietnam conquered capitalist South Vietnam.

Nixon's invasion of Cambodia, even though his announced purpose was just to clean out the border sanctuaries, contributed to Cambodia's political turmoil.

The invaders also failed to achieve the military objective of finding and destroying the Communist headquarters in Cambodia known as COSVN for Central Office for South Vietnam.

The Communist Khmer Rouge in the aftermath of the invasion toppled the pro-American leader of the country, Lon Nol, and wiped out the upper classes in a bloodbath that some reports estimated murdered 2 million Cambodians. Again, unintended consequences.

Fast forward to Pakistan today. President Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Benazir Bhutto, a Muslim moderate who was assassinated in December while campaigning in parliamentary elections, is already complaining about U. S. military strikes against alleged al Qaida and Taliban targets in Pakistan's border regions.

An American-led ground invasion of Pakistan under the same "clean out" rationale Nixon used could cause such political turmoil that the bad guys might get their hands on one or more of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates Pakistan has at least 60 nuclear weapons.

Imagine a worst case scenario of terrorists sneaking just one nuke into New York City and setting it off at lunch hour. Thousands of people could be incinerated, skyscrapers toppled and the air poisoned for years.

The Bush administration, Congress and the media have been rightly faulted for not worst-casing the American invasion of Iraq before it was ordered in 2003. History warns that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Obama needs to look long and hard at the worst unintended consequences of leaping into Pakistan. While he's at it, the new president should consider what would happen if U. S. forces captured or killed Osama bin Laden. Osama's deputies would feel compelled to retaliate against the United States in a spectacular way. Does Obama want another 9/11? Better to keep American fingerprints off the deed if it is done.

Read more!

Singaporean group introduces "floating" toilets in Cambodia

CAMBODIA: In rural Cambodia, only 16 per cent of residents have a proper toilet -- the lowest rate in Southeast Asia.

However, one Singaporean group is working to change that.

On Cambodia's great lake, Tonle Sap, water stretches for miles in every direction.

But getting clean drinking water and proper sanitation is another story entirely.

Homes here are floating platforms and must move seasonally, and outhouses are simply a wooden plank over the open water.

Water and sanitation issues are of crucial importance to people who are on Tonle Sap, where safe drinking water comes at a price and toilet facilities are rudimentary.

People have no choice but to contaminate the very same water they use for drinking and washing.

Singaporean non-governmental organisation Lien Aid aims to make a difference in this community of about 10,000 people.

They are introducing the concept of "floating" toilets which are affordable, locally-made, and therefore sustainable.

"It is actually a simple system… We're going to use locally available buckets where they can collect the faeces. We are going to use some locally available agent to dry the faeces, that is, using ashes and other local material," said the CEO of Lien Aid, Sahari Ani.

One key to the project is that locals will have to source and build their own toilets, to ensure that all parts of the community are involved.

"The toilet that we introduce to the community -- they are very happy to get that one and they try to find their own resources to contribute to the project," said the director of the Department of Rural Health Care, Ministry of Rural Development, Chea Samnang.

A young couple, who has two children with another on the way, says they are happy to have a simple and hygienic toilet.

They worry that people's lifelong habits will be difficult to change.

But they hope the affordable toilets will catch on with the lake's residents, just like other modern conveniences that have done so.

And it is testimonies like theirs that makes this project look set to be flush with success.

Read more!

Cambodia confirms new human case of bird flu

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's Health Ministry confirmed on Friday the country's eighth human case of virulent bird flu since 2005.

The ministry said in a statement with the U.N.'s World Health Organization that a 19-year-old man from Kandal province, southeast of the capital Phnom Penh, was confirmed to have the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus in laboratory tests Thursday.

The case, the first this year in Cambodia, comes a day after a senior World Health Organization official warned that Asian nations must remain vigilant against the disease.

The World Health Organization says there have been 246 confirmed fatal cases of the disease in humans worldwide since 2003.

The man is being treated at Calmette Hospital in the capital. Cambodian health and agriculture ministry officials have been sent to the victim's village to ensure that there is no further spread of the disease.

Ly Sovann, a health ministry expert on bird flu, said the victim became sick after touching a dead chicken that had been raised at his home.

"The boy is being treated at hospital now but his health is getting better day by day," Ly Sovann said. "If nothing changes with his health, he will be released from hospital soon."

The seven previous Cambodian victims of the disease had died.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization's regional chief urged Asian governments not to let down their guard against bird flu, saying a new outbreak among poultry in Hong Kong showed the disease still poses a threat.

"This is an indication that we have to remain vigilant," Shigeru Omi said in Malaysia. "Constant vigilance is the key."

Omi said the outbreak in Hong Kong was "not unexpected because the virus is still circulating in the world, and certainly in this part of the world."

Twenty countries had outbreaks of the disease during the first nine months of 2008, down from 25 during the same period last year, U.N. officials have said.

Some officials worry that the public has largely lost interest because the virus has so far not mutated into a much-feared form that could spread easily among people. It remains hard for people to catch, with most human cases linked to contact with infected birds. Read more!

'Frost/Nixon' Langella brilliantly transforms into disgraced president

By Bill Goodykoontz

Say the name Nixon to most people older than 45 and all sorts of images are conjured up, most of them unpleasant: Watergate, resignation, the 18-minute gap, Cambodia, etc.

Say the name to most people younger than 45 and . . . who? President or something?

Frost/Nixon ought to change that. Not saying it will, but it should.
Ron Howard's film adaptation of Peter Morgan's play is outstanding, boasting a tremendous performance by Frank Langella as Richard M. Nixon. Somehow it turns a series of televised interviews between a disgraced former president and a lightly regarded, on-the-way-down television host into an outright thrilling drama.

A neat trick, and Howard pulls it off with aplomb.

It's all the more impressive given that Frost's interviews, which took place in 1977, three years after Nixon resigned, weren't exactly earth-shattering news - then or now. Nixon saw them as a way to rehabilitate his image but was, to some degree, exposed again by the medium that had long plagued him (the televised debates with John F. Kennedy in 1960 helped lead to his defeat). Plus - and this is certainly true in the film - Nixon wanted the money, the then-unheard-of $600,000 that Frost ponied up for the chats.

Frost, too, had an ulterior motive. Considered a lightweight (particularly by the Nixon camp), he wanted to establish legitimacy - and, as portrayed by Michael Sheen (like Langella, reprising his stage role), to reclaim a regular table at Sardi's.

The film begins with Nixon's resignation. After coming offstage from the taping of a vapid TV show in Australia, Frost catches a TV broadcast of Nixon leaving Washington and, nothing if not savvy, immediately wants to know how many people watched the resignation the night before.

So begins an odyssey, back-and-forth negotiations between Frost's people - he hires researchers, played by Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt, both good but underused - to get him up to speed on Nixon's career, though Frost shows a decided lack of interest in playing along. Nixon, meanwhile, is buoyed by loyal aide Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon), who choreographs a performance that will allow the former president to use Frost as a stooge, basically having his say unimpeded.

Ever crafty, Nixon isn't above knocking Frost back a step with a quip or a comment just before the cameras turn on. Clearly out of his depth, Frost is steamrollered - until a fateful, drunken call inspires Frost to up his game and get to work.

Complaints have been lodged that playwright Morgan plays fast and loose with the facts. So what? Sometimes fiction is the best way to get at fact, something that is evidenced by Langella's performance. Though he's clearly worked on perfecting the awkward gait, the jowly voice, he doesn't look especially like Nixon. Yet he embodies him - his essence, the paranoid intelligence, the need for approval. It's not an impersonation, it's a transformation, and it's brilliant.

Howard keeps the pace brisk, light when it needs to be, heavy when that's called for. Along with Langella, he turns Frost/Nixon into one of the most entertaining history lessons imaginable.

Read more!

China-Cambodia Friendship Radio launched

Wang Gengnian (R), president of China Radio International (CRI) and Tan Yan, president of Radio National Kampuchea (RNK) touch the location points of Beijing and Phnom Penh on a map with painting brushes to inaugurate the Phnom Penh China-Cambodia Friendship Radio in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Dec. 11, 2008. The Chinese-Cambodian joint-venture FM radio started broadcasting on Thursday. (Xinhua Photo)

Wang Gengnian (R), president of China Radio International (CRI), is interviewed by local reporters after inaugurating the Phnom Penh China-Cambodia Friendship Radio in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Dec. 11, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The China-Cambodia Friendship Radio (CCFR), a joint FM radio service between China Radio International (CRI) and Radio National of Kampuchea (RNK), was formally launched on Thursday in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia.

The launch of the radio service is part of the activities that have been designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cambodia, Zhang Jinfeng, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia, said at the launching ceremony.

With the new radio service in place, its programs will help transmit information and further promote exchanges between the two nations, she added.

Listeners in Phnom Penh and surrounding areas will easily enjoy CCFR programs ranging from news on China and the world to Chinese and Cambodian music programs, according to a press release from CRI.

The CCFR, with a frequency of FM 96.5 MHz, broadcasts from 6 a.m. (2300 GMT) to 24 p.m.(1700 GMT) local time everyday, the release said.

The programs are in Cambodian, Chinese and English, it added.

Read more!

Anti-corruption measures needed to strengthen Cambodia genocide court: UN

[JURIST] UN and Cambodian government officials said Wednesday in a statement [UN News Center report] issued after a series of high-level meetings that they needed to address ongoing problems facing the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia [official website] in its efforts to try former Khmer Rouge officials suspected of crimes against humanity by "enhancing its human resources management, including anti-corruption measures." The statement, however, provided few details and a UN Secretariat delegation led by Assistant-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen cancelled a scheduled press conference [Asia Times report] before leaving Phnom Penh.

In September a New Zealand judge serving on the court warned colleagues and prosecutors [JURIST report] at a meeting of court officials that its upcoming genocide trials "are so important for the people of Cambodia [that they] must not be tainted by corruption." The court has thusfar received little funding from international donors partly due to allegations of kickbacks for positions and other irregularities [Phnom Penh Post report]. Outgoing US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli [official profile] said in September that the US will begin providing direct financial aid to the ECCC once the tribunal takes adequate measures against corruption .

The ECCC plans to try as many as eight suspects [JURIST report] for their roles in the Khmer Rouge regime, which is generally held responsible for the genocide of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians [PPU backgrounder] between 1975 and 1979. In June, court officials announced plans [JURIST report] to complete operations a year early because of limited funding but said they would still be able to prosecute all the suspects. Read more!

Golf: Davies grabs opening lead in Cambodian Open

SIEM REAP, Cambodia: Welshman Rhys Davies carded an eight-under-par 64 on Thursday to take the first round lead in the 300,000-dollar Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open and promised to make amends for last week's heartbreak.

Two-time Asian Tour winner Anthony Kang of the United States was a shot further back on 65 while Indonesia's Rory Hidayat posted a 66 to take third place. Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol was in fourth place on 67.

Compatriot Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant together with Australia's Gavin Flint, Malaysia's Airil Rizman and Korea's Park Jae-bum are bunched together in fifth on matching 68s.

Davies came agonisingly close to his maiden win on the Asian Tour last week when he lost in a play-off to Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee at the Hana Bank Vietnam Masters.

But after his strong start Thursday, with nine birdies against a single bogey, the Welsh rookie is hoping it will be his turn to be rewarded this week.

"I played really well today. I just went out there, got very focus, hit a lot of good shots and was rewarded with a low score today," said Davies.

"Last week was a great week too. But I can't dwell over one little shot which I couldn't control and missed in the play-off. It's a new week, great start and I hope it continues," he added.

Meanwhile, Kang who is seeking to end his Asian Tour title drought since 2001, also impressed by firing eight birdies against a lone bogey to finish a shot behind Davies at the Phokeethra Country Club.

"I'm really happy with my iron shots, my distance control and I hope it continues for the next three days. I've two more events left for the year and I hope to end it well," said Kang.

Thailand's Chawalit also bolstered his chances of winning his third Asian Tour title after grabbing the early morning lead.

"I'm quite pleased with how I've played today. If there's any aspect of my game which I can credit to, it'll be my putting and tee shots," said Chawalit.

Defending champion Bryan Saltus of the United States began his defence with a 72 to end the day in tied-43rd place.

Leading first round scores:

64 - Rhys Davies (WAL)
65 - Anthony Kang (USA)
66 - Rory Hidayat (INA)
67 - Chawalit Plaphol (THA)
68 - Thaworn Wiratchant (THA),Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Gavin Flint (AUS), Airil Rizman (MAS), Park Jae-Bum (KOR)
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Cambodian economy to slow in 2009: World Bank

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's economic growth will slow to 4.9 percent next year amid the global financial crisis, less than half the country's expansion
pace of previous years, the World Bank said Wednesday.

"Cambodia, compared to many other countries in the region, is even more open to the external environment," Stephane Guimbert, the World Bank's senior economist for Cambodia, told a press briefing.

The Bank said Cambodia's economy averaged 11.1 percent growth from 2004 to 2007, but due to lower demand from other countries for its main industries - garments, construction and tourism - it has slowed to 6.7 percent this year.

Vikram Nehru, the World Bank's chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific, said the financial crisis has also come at an unfortunate time for the impoverished country's banking system.

"This particular crisis hit when bank credit was growing very rapidly, and now with the sudden decline of tourism and export earnings this is going to obviously hit the banking system as well," Nehru said by video from Tokyo.
"Cambodia was unlucky to be caught in the crisis at this particular time."

Unveiling the World Bank's update on the economies of East Asia, Guimbert said he believed the Cambodian government had been right to address slowing growth by including fiscal stimulus in its national budget for next year.

The Cambodian parliament this week approved a 1.8-billion-dollar budget for 2009 which included increased spending on education, infrastructure and agriculture.

Guimbert added that he thought Cambodia needed to improve the competitiveness of its garment industry by addressing labour disputes and facilitating trade, and that the country must invest more in agriculture.

"Although the price of rice has declined since May and June, it is still higher than before," Guimbert said, recommending farmers invest in fertiliser to increase their crop yields.

Despite the recent double-digit economic growth, underemployment, where someone's work earns only a meagre return, remains high in Cambodia, one of the world's poorest countries. Some 35 percent of the country's 14 million people live on less than 50 cents a day. Read more!

Cambodia to fight corruption at genocide tribunal

Hybrid Tribunal is made from Human element of white men and Cambodians, hopefully the Khmer Rouge Tribunal will be cleaned of corruptions. But so far any White men who didn't know about acting corruption, Cambodia had taught them and they had been adapting very well. The UN should look into those white men who are in the Tribunal very closely.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The United Nations and the government of Cambodia have agreed in principle to strengthen measures to prevent corruption among staff at the country's genocide tribunal.

The partners said in a statement Wednesday that they would meet to ensure the tribunal is administered in a "transparent, fair and efficient manner."

Cambodian personnel at the U.N.-assisted tribunal have been accused of graft twice in the past two years.

The tribunal will try senior members of the communist Khmer Rouge, whose radical policies caused 1.7 million deaths when the group was in power in 1975-79.

The statement was issued after a meeting Tuesday between U.N. legal affairs expert Peter Taksoe-Jensen and Cambodian officials.
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Russia cancels 70 percent of debt to Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Russia has agreed to cancel most of Cambodia's $1.5 billion debt owed to Moscow since the 1980s, an official said Tuesday.

The vice chairman of Russian Parliament, Valery A. Yazev, told the Cambodian government during a visit last month that up to 70 percent of the debt was being canceled by Moscow, said Cheam Yeap, the chairman of the Cambodian parliament's finance commission.

Cheam Yeap was replying to questions by lawmakers in parliament during a debate on Cambodia's $1.8 billion national budget for 2009, which was approved Tuesday by the parliament's lower house.

During the 1980s, Cambodia was a close Russian ally and relied heavily on Moscow for weapons, food and infrastructure equipment.

Cambodia is one of the world's poorest countries and is heavily reliant on foreign aid.

Cambodia also owes the US government over $300 million, Cheam Yeap said, adding that most of it was borrowed in the 1970s.

He said Cambodia has asked the US government many times to reduce the debt or cancel it, but there has been no response from Washington.

Deputy Finance Minister Ouk Rabun, also speaking during the budget debate, said Cambodia owed more than $2.3 billion to various countries. This amount does not include the amounts owed to the US and the forgiven Russian debts.

In addition, the International Monetary Fund also canceled last year an $82 million debt owed by Cambodia.

Ouk Rabun said most of the debt, which is in the form of soft loans, was spent on infrastructure and social welfare projects.

"We can't leave those broken roads without repairs," he said.

Cambodia's 2009 budget includes about $400 million to be spent on health, education, agriculture and other social welfare projects. More than $200 million will be spent on national defense and security. - AP Read more!

Cambodian Prince Ranariddh appointed chief advisor to King Sihamoni

PHNOM PENH, Cambodian Prince Norodom Ranariddh has been appointed King Norodom Sihamoni's chief advisor, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily on Wednesday quoted royal sources as saying.

King Sihamoni appointed his half-brother in a royal decree dated Dec. 6, with the prince's new position holding a rank equivalent to prime minister, said Oum Daravuth, member of the Royal Palace cabinet.

The appointment came as the culmination of months of speculation that the prince would abandon his political career fora role in the Royal Palace.

Ranariddh used to head the royalist Funcinpec Party and served as prime minister of the first government of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

He was dumped as party president in late 2006 and then sued by Funcinpec for embezzling money while selling party estate.

He received sentence over the lawsuit, stayed overseas for months, and finally escaped imprisonment due to a pardon from the king.
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Cambodia arrested 50% more human traffickers in 9 months

PHNOM PENH -- In the first nine months of this year, Cambodian police brought 75 cases of human trafficking to court and arrested 107 traffickers, a 50 percent increase compared with the same time period last year, national media reported Tuesday.

The police have strengthened enforcement and successfully worked with local authorities nationwide, Bith Kim Hong, director of the Anti-human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying.

"We hope that we will keep the human trafficking situation under control in the next few years with the continued cooperation of law enforcement and local authorities," he said.

"Each human trafficker was sentenced to 10 to 28 years in prison," he added.

While the police celebrated these numbers, opposition party members said more needs to be done to end human trafficking in Cambodia.

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua told the Post that, too many Cambodians are still falling victim to human traffickers.

"We have many good laws, but if we do not find out the real issue, we will not combat trafficking well," Mu Sochua said.
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Cambodia supports moving ASEAN summit

PHNOM PENH - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday backed a proposal for crisis-hit Thailand to relinquish hosting a summit of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN originally scheduled for this month.

Thailand said last week it was delaying the meeting until March due to its ongoing political turmoil, which saw anti-government protesters occupy both of its capital's airports.

Speaking at Cambodia's national assembly, Hun Sen strongly backed a suggestion from Singapore that the bloc consider staging the summit in January at the Jakarta-based secretariat of the 10-member ASEAN.

"We understand Thailand's difficulties, but Thailand should understand the other nine members of ASEAN -- they should not become hostages of Thailand's political crisis," Hun Sen said.

"So I think the proposal of the Singaporean prime minister is a good way to resolve the problem."

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last week said postponing the summit was a setback for all of Southeast Asia.

He added that the meeting should not be delayed too long during the current global financial crisis, which he said is affecting all ASEAN members.

Thailand currently holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, which groups it with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

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Thai commitment to resolving the Thai-Cambodian problem concerning the Temple of Phra Viharn and its adjacent areas through peaceful means and existin

With reference to the press conference by Mr. Sompong Amornvivat, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, on 13 November 2008 regarding the outcome of the Third Thai-Cambodian Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Siem Reap on 12 November 2008, at which Mr. Sompong notified that Thailand and Cambodia were able to agree on most of the issues on the table with only two issues pending due to the deviation in substance from the negotiating framework already approved by the Thai Parliament ,and as a result, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would have to seek the Cabinet's decision to submit the two pending issues for Parliament's consideration at the earliest opportunity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to report on the progress made on this matter as follows:

1. The Cabinet decided on 19 November 2008 to submit the outcome of the Third Thai-Cambodian Foreign Ministers' Meeting, in particular the two pending issues namely (1) the question of how the temple should be called in the Provisional Arrangements between Thailand and Cambodia - the name used by the Thai side being "Phra Viharn, while that used by the Cambodian side "Preah Vihear", and (2) the details of troop redeployment, to which Cambodia had proposed certain changes. The Parliament scheduled to consider the outcome of the Third Thai-Cambodian Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 24 November 2008. However, due to some inconveniences to the Parliament, the matter has not yet been taken up as scheduled.

2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had consultations with a number of members of the parliament both from the government and opposition parties. The main objective of the consultations is to provide the Parliament a better understanding of the outcome of the Third Thai-Cambodian Foreign Ministers' Meeting, in particular the two pending issues, and of the necessity and urgency of its consideration. It is expected that the matter would be among the top priorities when the Parliament resumes its session.

3. The current situation in Thailand does not in any way affect Thailand's firm commitment to pursuing peaceful settlement of the matter through the existing bilateral framework and boundary mechanisms, especially the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC). The JBC held its special meeting in Siem Reap on 10-11 November 2008, the results of which were submitted by the Cabinet for Parliament's consideration at the same time as those of the FM III.

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