Britain garment manufacturer moves operations to Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, A major garment manufacturer will move its product development center from the United Kingdom to Cambodia, a sign, according to some experts, that despite the effects of the economic crisis, the Cambodian garment sector continues to remain internationally competitive, local media reported on Monday.

Britain company New Island Clothing is setting up "a high level standards product development center," making the company one of the first to conduct the whole garment-production process -- from development to the placement of orders -- in Cambodia, New Island General Manager Kevin Plenty was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying.

The company, which has been in Cambodia for nine years and produces up to 75,000 men's shirts per week, had decided to set up the center here because it makes "the whole production process quicker for our customers," as the majority of materials come from the ASEAN region, said Plenty.

Kaing Monika, external affairs manager of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) said New Island's strategy showed the factory's "long-term vision and commitment in Cambodia," adding that most Cambodian factories only do "cut, make and trim" -- a production formula in which raw materials and designs are supplied and factories only really stitch the clothes together.

Tuomo Poutiainen, chief technical adviser for the International Labor Organization's garment sector program Better Factories Cambodia, said New Island's decision was "very positive for industry" and showed there was "enough confidence in the Cambodian garment sector to invest even in bad times."

Hundreds of factories have constituted the backbone of the garment sector of Cambodia, which used to generate above 70 percent of its total annual export volumes.

However, due to the global financial crisis and rising labor disputes, at least 60 garment factories have been closed and more than 50,000 garment workers lost their jobs since late 2008 and the sector's export volumes have also seen an obvious slide in the first quarter of this year.

But Plenty said he believed that the industry will see an economic turnaround within six months, and that he is not the only one within the garment industry to feel that way.


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UN chief calls for global compassion, solidarity on Buddhist day of Vesak

UNITED NATIONS, In a message commemorating the Vesak Day, which marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday called upon the world to learn from the spiritual leader's sense of compassion.

"The financial crisis, climate change, pandemics, terrorism and other international threats prove that the fates of all people are linked," the secretary-general wrote in his message.

He noted that a problem for one country can quickly turn into a global threat, saying that "I constantly remind leaders that we must act together or we will fail individually."

It is in the world's best interest to join forces in solidarity, as well as the right thing to do, Ban said. "More than 2,500 years ago Buddha taught that nothing exists in isolation."

Underscoring the idea, Ban noted that Buddha also taught that we "cannot be happy as long as others suffer, and that when we do reach out, we discover the best in ourselves."

"On this day of Vesak, let us resolve to help people who are suffering so that we may secure a better future for all," he said.

Vesak is an annual holiday observed traditionally by practicing Buddhists in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Nepal, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, Pakistan and India.

Sometimes informally called "Buddha's birthday," it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha.

The exact date of Vesak varies according to the various lunar calendars used in different traditions. In Theravada countries following the Buddhist calendar, it falls on the full moon Uposatha day (typically the 5th or 6th lunar month). While the Vesak Day in China, it is on the eighth of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar but falls in April or May. Read more!

Cambodia to strengthen security for ASEAN-EU ministerial meeting

PHNOM PENH, More than thousand of police and military police will be in force in order to safeguard the upcoming ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting to be held here in late May, national media reported on Sunday.

The Interior Ministry will be responsible for the security of the meeting, and military and police will be deployed to have the meeting not be affected by demonstrations and terrorism activities, the Chinese-language newspaper Cambodia Sin Chew Daily quoted Khieu Sophak, the ministry spokesman, as saying.

"Tight security will be in force in meeting-place," said Khieu, but he did not give the details of the deployment of the security force.

Delegations from 40 ASEAN and EU countries will gather here in late May to discuss ways to fight terrorism, human trafficking, drug smuggling, weapon proliferation, according to a statement from the government.

The 17th Ministerial Meeting between ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and EU (European Union) will review previous and future cooperation between the two regional bodies from May 27 to 28, said the statement issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong and Vaclav Klaus, Czech President and current EU President, will be named as co-presidents of the meeting.
The 16th Ministerial Meeting between ASEAN and EU was held in Germany from March 14 to 15, 2007 with the adoption of the Nuremberg Declaration on an ASEAN-EU Enhanced Partnership which sets the direction and the agenda for ASEAN-EU relations in the years to come.

The meetings rotate between ASEAN and EU countries.
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Cambodia bans sand export for environmental protection

PHNOM PENH, The Cambodian government issued a directive signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen here on Friday to ban sand export for the sake of environmental protection.

"In order to protect the balance of nature and environment in areas of sea and fresh water, the government has decided to allow sand business to meet domestic demand only," said the directive.

After examination by experts, sand dredging is only allowed in places where the balance of nature can be restored or water flow is obstructed, it said.

Meanwhile, the directive "terminates any sand export to foreign countries," too.

The Committee of Sand Management has to check sand trade immediately, and report all the involved institutions to the premier, it added.

According to local reports, Cambodia used to export 40,000 to 50,000 tons of sand per month from its coastal province of Koh Kong, and the annual value of this business stood at 35 million U.S. dollars.

Vietnam and Singapore were the major destination countries.

While sand business boomed, sand dredging frequently caused riverbanks and houses to collapse along the Mekong River and the Tonle Bassac River.
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Swede held for child sex crimes in Cambodia

A Swedish man in his sixties has been arrested in Cambodia on suspicions of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy.

The man, who resides in the Stockholm area, was arrested Wednesday night local time, but denies committing any crime.

According to the newspaper, the Swede was the target of an investigation into other child sex crimes, and was a figure in another investigation into child sex crimes in Cambodia which was abandoned in September last year.

Interpol’s division for child pornography crimes learned of the arrest on Wednesday.

“We’ve received information about it, but haven’t been directly involved in the arrest,” said Interpol’s Anders Persson from Lyon, France.

Varg Gyllander, a spokesperson with the Swedish police’s National Investigation Department (Rikskriminalen), confirmed that a Swedish man had been arrested in Cambodia and that they had received information that he was taken to a detention centre in the capital city Phnom Penh.
“What we’re doing now is making sure that the Cambodian police receive the help they need from us. We’ll help them out as best we can,” he said.

Police don’t know of the exact charges against the Swede, but it has something to do with the sexual assault of a child.

“All we can say is that he’s known for similar crimes from before,” said Gyllander to the TT news agency.

Local organizations which against paedeophiles in Cambodia are said to have had the man under surveillance for some time.

He is reported to have been in the country since 2007 and been in contact with small boys, according to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

Seila Samelang from Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), claims that, prior to his arrest, the man was living together with five boys and had launched an adoption bid with local authorities in Cambodia, according to SvD.
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Despite warnings, some travel to potential danger zones

By John D. SutterCNN


CNN) -- A few weeks ago, when violence and kidnappings along the U.S.-Mexico border were all over the news, Todd Sotkiewicz took a group of high school students to Tijuana, Mexico.

The teens' parents had to be warned that the service-oriented spring break trip might go against a federal travel alert, he said. But, in his view, the value of the experience, which involved building homes for impoverished families, trumped any perceived threat.

"These poor families really needed these houses," said Sotkiewicz, a parent of one of the students and also the president of Lonely Planet in the Americas. "We went down there and we took the appropriate precautions like we all should."

While the H1N1 flu virus has stirred fears about international travel and has brought renewed attention to government travel advisories, there remains a hearty group of travelers who say such official advice doesn't dictate whether they will or won't take a trip.

For some, voyages into warned-against places are less motivated by adrenaline and more by a genuine desire to experience the world in a new way. Danger is part of the human experience, some of these travelers say. It's something that can't be avoided entirely and should be assessed by well-informed individuals, not just by governments.

"It was not a draw that there was a dangerous element to it," Sotkiewicz said of the Mexico trip. "The draw was that [the students] wanted to have a transformative experience."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends U.S. residents avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico because of swine flu. The U.S. State Department still has an alert out concerning violence in the country. A spokeswoman for the CDC said travelers should follow official government guidance when making their plans.

Robert Young Pelton, an author who has traveled to 120 countries and seen 36 wars, said people can and should travel wherever they want to, regardless of warnings. Such adventures offer intellectual stimulus and have the potential to draw meaningful connections between people, he said.

"The reason why it's important to go to places that you dreamed of or are intensely interested in is because it matters," he said. "I could send you to Disney World for a week and I don't think you would change a bit, but if I sent you to a Rwandan refugee camp, I think you would change peoples' lives, and you would be changed by it."

He says travel warnings, like those concerning H1N1, are politicized. The hysteria about this strain of flu is driven more by an irrational fear than by actual danger, he said.

"It's a fascinating fear. It's not a danger," he said of the flu. "So when people say, 'Oh, it's dangerous in Afghanistan,' or, 'It's dangerous in Mexico,' what are they basing that on? They obviously haven't been there."

Sotkiewicz said travel deals tend to pop up in destinations that are stigmatized by a health outbreak or a terrorist attack. This was true after the Madrid, Spain, attacks, as well as the SARS and bird flu epidemics, he said.

In a statement to CNN, Expedia, the travel Web site, said a travel warning like the one for swine flu "ultimately creates travel values for consumers."

"As the swine flu subsides in Mexico, we expect travel suppliers in the area to offer significant deals to increase demand for the region," Expedia said.

When asked if some people might wish to travel to Mexico despite the advisory, perhaps for a hotel deal, CDC spokeswoman Shelly Diaz said travelers should heed the warning.

"Your health should come before your wallet. There's nothing more valuable than your health," she said. "We are recommending that people avoid travel to Mexico unless it's essential. I don't know that a really good travel bargain makes it essential."

Melvin Francisquini, a 31-year-old from Miami, Florida, who is volunteering in Mexico City, said this actually wouldn't be a bad time to visit Mexico except everything is closed. On Tuesday, only a handful of people were still wearing flu masks in the subway, he said. Follow Francisquini's video posts on iReport

"Come if you're fine with everything being closed," he said. "I mean, even museums are being closed, but don't be afraid of the flu. It's nothing out of the ordinary." Avoiding Mexico specifically because of the flu is ridiculous, he said.

People who travel into potentially dangerous places seem to have their own rules for deciding what's safe and what isn't. Several said they factor in government warnings and news reports. Others consider crime rates and statistics.

The trend seems to be for people to look for online information that comes directly from travelers in the country where they want to go.

These on-the-ground observations are important because U.S. news stories about foreign countries tend to focus on crime and terrorism and not what life is actually like for people, said Pelton.

"Millions of people get up every morning and go through their entire day with nothing actually happened to them, but the media will never write a story that says, 'Nothing happened, everything's fine,' so we tend to be inundated with stories about" violence, he said.

He added: "Yes you can order a latte in Kabul and Somalia has hotels for 40 bucks a night."

Gary Arndt, a 39-year-old who sold his assets and has been blogging about his world travels since 2007, said many American travelers have a "fear of the unknown."

Arndt was in Israel when swine flu broke out. He said he would have no qualms about traveling to Mexico because of the swine flu.

He recently traveled to a region of Cambodia that is considered dangerous by some. He also went to Thailand at a time when most travelers were "freaked out" by government protesters. Prices for hotels at the time were lower because the country was emptied of tourists, he said.

"I'm not the kind of person that is an adrenaline junkie," he said. "I did bungee jump once [but] I've never gone skydiving, I don't go rock climbing. It's not like I want to go into these places because they're dangerous. Read more!

Cambodia's poor fight for their homes

Despite 'good' law to protect needy landowners, developers gain increasing amounts of property

FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER

In a rundown enclave of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, hundreds of poor people can't sleep at night. They're afraid to go to work in the morning for fear their homes will be gone when they return.

Today the clock has run out for the community of 150 families, slated to become the latest victims of clearance projects that have rolled across Cambodia since its land became a prize for developers.

The 26-year-old community is to be evacuated, according to a notice from the municipality dated yesterday. Although residents are appealing, they have seen the dire results of other forced eviction orders, which human rights groups say are contrary to Cambodian law.

A recent clearance in the community of Dey Krahorm left the majority of families homeless after some 250 police and contractors for the company claiming to own the land arrived in the early hours, drove out the residents with threats and tear gas and levelled the village.

Now the Phnom Penh community – known as Group 78 – is facing a similar fate.

"The authorities have offered them compensation of $5,000 (U.S.) and a plot of land, without shelters, 20 kilometres outside the city where there are very limited job opportunities," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher, who is monitoring the eviction site.

"There is no clean water supply, no electricity or sanitation," she said in an email to the Star, adding the residents turned down the offer – "to travel to the city from their current work places would cost them more than their expected daily earnings."

Human rights groups say the community has a strong claim to ownership under a 2001 land law passed after genocide and civil war left many Cambodians landless. The Khmer Rouge destroyed public documents, so few had papers to prove ownership. But in 2003, the government brought in a "social land concession plan" to give the poor more secure land tenure.

In spite of fines and jail terms for those who violate the land laws, developers have managed to take over increasing amounts of farm and urban land. In some cases they have made deals with corrupt community leaders to seize the land, pushing the residents out to remote areas without shelter or transportation.

"Cambodia's land law is good," said Mekh Sokhan of the NGO Forum on Cambodia in the newsletter of the Danish charity DanChurchAid. "But the law is not implemented by the authorities."

In Phnom Penh, highrises have sprung up in the last five years with hotels, condos and restaurants sprouting from the once devastated landscape. Prices have doubled, and in spite of the economic meltdown, the wealthy continue to boost the real estate market.

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Cambodian PM to visit S Korea early next month

PHNOM PENH, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will visit South Korea early next month in the hope of strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation, a government official said here Wednesday.

Hun Sen will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to discuss investment, tourism and trade cooperation, said Koy Kong, spokesman and undersecretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Prior to his presidency, Lee Myung-bak once worked as economic advisor for Hun Sen, which helped establish deeply-rooted friendship between the two.

"Cambodia needs more investment from South Korea, and also urges those who have already invested here to speed up development of their projects," the spokesman said.

South Korean investors started to build skyscrapers in Phnom Penh last year, which are expected to become future landmarks of the capital city.

However, most of these projects have recently become stranded due to shortage of funds and the global financial crisis.

In 2007, South Korea became the largest foreign investing country in Cambodia, according to official statistics.
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Cambodia appeals for more mobile phone investment

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia's telecommunications minister called on Wednesday for more foreign firms to invest in the country's mobile phone sector to satisfy demand that has been growing 40 percent a year in terms of the number of users.

"We want more foreign firms because we want a better service, cheaper, and higher quality," So Khun told reporters at a seminar on mobile phone technology, adding that the government also wanted to extend reliable coverage to the whole of the country.

Cambodia has an estimated 4 million mobile phone subscribers out of a population of about 14 million people, 80 percent of whom live in the countryside.

Khun said mobile phones had helped integrate people living in remote areas, particularly those in parts of the country still covered with land mines from the country's civil war, which only formally ended a decade ago.

"Our people, they love to talk over the phone for business communication. They talk until their phone batteries go dead," Khun said.

The southeast Asian country has eight mobile phone firms, all foreign-owned except market leader Mobitel, which works in partnership with Luxembourg-registered Millicom International Cellular (MICC.O).

"We want the existing companies to set up more antennas, but don't build them near or on historic sites," he said, recalling how in the past one foreign firm caused outrage by siting an antenna on an ancient temple. (Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Alan Raybould)

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Cambodia sees higher sex trafficking during crisis

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Cambodia expects an increase in prostitution and human trafficking as the unemployment rate climbs during the economic downturn, the country's secretary of state said on Wednesday.

"More women and more girls will be entering the entertainment business and will also face issues on sexual exploitation," Chou Bun Eng, whose portfolio includes anti-trafficking, told reporters during a visit to Singapore.

Cambodia's economy could shrink 0.5 percent this year due to a slowdown in garment exports and a drop in the number of tourists, the International Monetary Fund said in March.

Chou said the economic crisis has forced many female factory workers to return home and look for "riskier jobs."

Chou said there were about 13 to 18 cases of human trafficking reported in Cambodia last year, but it was difficult to spot because many women were leaving of their own free will after being promised good jobs abroad.

"It's hard to identify the cases as they do not look at themselves as trafficked women," Chou said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in February human trafficking for the sex trade or forced labor market appears to be getting worse because many countries are ignoring the globalized problem, but it gave no figures.

(Reporting by Laurence Tan; Editing by Neil Chatterjee and Paul Tait)

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Cambodia: End Threats to Opposition Lawmaker

One of Parliament’s Few Women Faces Criminal Defamation Suit

New York) - Prime Minister Hun Sen and other senior members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) should stop threatening to orchestrate the removal of lawmakers' parliamentary immunity in order to silence government critics, Human Rights Watch said today.
In a speech on April 29, 2009, Hun Sen said that it would be "as easy as ABC" to have the parliamentary immunity lifted for Mu Sochua, a National Assembly member. This would permit the government to bring criminal charges against her and prosecute her for publicly criticizing the prime minister. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has summoned Sochua to court on May 7.

"This is yet another blatant attempt to silence the political opposition," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "By threatening to prosecute opposition members of parliament on bogus charges, Hun Sen shows once again that his goal is elective dictatorship, not a genuinely pluralistic democracy."

Under Cambodia's Constitution, members of the National Assembly are immune from prosecution unless the assembly lifts their parliamentary immunity. The CPP has a long history of lifting the parliamentary immunity of opposition figures, though, in order to bring politically motivated criminal charges against them.

Mu Sochua, a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) representing Kampot province, is one of the few female members of the National Assembly. On April 23, she and her lawyer announced her intention to file a defamation complaint against the prime minister after he publicly accused an unnamed woman from Kampot of "inciting" problems and acting like a gangster (cheung klang, literally "strong leg," a term considered especially derogatory for women). Sochua had said she was physically manhandled by a CPP military general during the 2008 election campaign. But Hun Sen, in his remarks, contended that she had instead acted provocatively by "rushing to embrace someone" and then complaining that the person had ripped open several of the buttons of her blouse.

The day after Sochua announced her lawsuit, a senior prime ministerial adviser, Om Yentieng, told the press that Hun Sen would counter-sue Sochua, and that all CPP National Assembly members would support lifting her immunity.

Five days later, Hun Sen confirmed that he was suing "a lady," whom he described as "stupid," as well as her lawyer. The lawsuit against Sochua was filed on April 27 by Hun Sen's lawyer, Ky Tech, former president of the Cambodian Bar Association. Ky Tech has also filed a complaint with the Bar Association against Sochua's lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, accusing him of violating the lawyers' code of ethics in this case.

Opposition figures convicted on politically motivated charges after their parliamentary immunity was lifted include Cheam Channy, an SRP member convicted in a biased trial in 2005 on unsubstantiated charges of creating a rebel army, and the party leader, Sam Rainsy, the same year for allegedly defaming government leaders.

"Punishing Mu Sochua is no idle threat as Hun Sen continues to find ways to intimidate the opposition," said Adams. "Threats to prosecute government critics and lawyers are especially difficult to counter in Cambodia, where the courts are controlled by the government. No judge in Cambodia would stand up to Hun Sen."

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Cambodia puts 3,000-year-old pre-Angkor relics on show

PHNOM PENH, The National Museum here on Wednesday opened an exhibition to demonstrate some archeological findings prior to the Angkor Era (802-1432), which was the most glorious period in the history of Cambodia.

The "Angkor Ancestors" show mainly features a recreation of an excavation site at the Angkor Wat area in Siem Reap province, complete with pottery shards and a 3,000-year-old skeleton.

Organized by a French research institution and the museum itself, the exhibition is the first ever held in the kingdom on the pre-Angkor period, said museum director Hab Touch.

"This is an opportunity for scholars as well as the public to understand prehistory. We know so little about it," he said.

The artifacts on display were found at two sites within the Angkor Wat area, a 2,000-year-old village location and a 3,000-year-old burial place.

Currently, the Angkor Wat is the most welcomed tourist destination in Cambodia.

Before the Angkor Dynasty, there were two dynasties governing Cambodia, respectively called Funan and Chenla.
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Cambodian Red Cross to mark 146th anniversary of WRC

PHNOM PENH, The Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) will carry out serial programs to mark the 146th anniversary of the establishment of the World Red Cross (WRC), which falls on May8, national media said on Wednesday.

These programs, with the theme of "For Our World," aim to motivate people to participate in humanitarian work, help prevent and alleviate disasters, enhance public managerial capability and provide aid for accident victims, Chinese-language newspaper the Jian Hua Daily quoted CRC officials as telling a press conference here on Tuesday.

During the recent days, CRC will also commemorate the 54th anniversary of its own establishment and accession to WRC, the official said.

For example, a grand ceremony will be held in this regard on May 8 at the CRC headquarters in Phnom Penh, which Prime Minister Hun Sen himself will attend to highlight the organization's merit, they added.

Currently, CRC mainly undertakes various tasks for humanitarian salvation, such as containing bird flu and influenza A/H1N1, as well as poverty reduction and natural disaster alleviation, according to a CRC statement.
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Princess Eugenie to continue travels despite robbery in Cambodia

Princess Eugenie is to continue her gap-year travels despite falling victim to a gang of muggers in Cambodia. Sources said yesterday that there was no suggestion that her plans would change after a friend of the 19-year-old Princess had her purse snatched.

Royal protection officers looking after the Princess, the younger daughter of the Duke of York, tackled the thief and pinned him to the ground.

When an accomplice pelted them with rocks, though, the two officers let the robber go to ensure the Princess’s safety. Eugenie and her two friends were escorted to safety.

A source was quoted in The Sun newspaper saying: “They feared the incident was escalating out of control and took the decision to focus on the safety of their principal.”

The incident happened two weeks ago in Phnom Penh, and since then the Princess’s gap-year trip has proceeded without interruption. “I have to stress it was Eugenie’s friend, not her, who was mugged,” a royal source said.

The Princess — who is sixth in line to the throne — has already visited Thailand and South Africa during her year out.

The attack highlights the controversy over the cost of protecting the Queen’s granddaughter during the trip, which is said to be in the region of £100,000. Critics point out that the Princess Royal’s children have no Scotland Yard protection. When the question of protection for younger members of the Royal Family was raised a few years ago, the Duke of York is said to have insisted on round-the-clock security for his daughters.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on the incident, nor on its security arrangements. Scotland Yard also refused to comment.

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Cambodian Villagers Block Last Leg of Trans-Asia Highway

By Luke Hunt Kien Svay, Cambodia


A group of Cambodian villagers are blocking construction of a 13-kilometer section of a new highway that will link Singapore to Hong Kong and beyond. The villagers demand better compensation for their land.

Five years ago, then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared that the new Trans-Asia Highway would link 32 countries with 141,000 kilometers of all-weather roads.

The highway will end decades of overland isolation and significantly bolster cross-border trade in Asia. But here in Kien Svay, in southeastern Cambodian, villagers are refusing to give up their land and make way for a final missing link in the highway. They say they have been offered too little for their land.

Kim Lorn, a 72-year-old grandmother, says she was offered just $200 to walk away from her home and business of 26 years.

Many living in one home

Community meetings have turned into rowdy protests. Photo shop owner Kong Heng says the government refuses to take into account how many people are living under the same roof.

He says some people are upset when their houses are affected and they get little compensation because they have a lot of family members. He has three families living in his house so when if they get little compensation there is nothing they can do, and they are disappointed.

The villagers' defiance resonates across Cambodia, where land grabbing and forced evictions dominate headlines. Poor land records and a high level of official corruption have meant that over the past several years, tens of thousands of poor Cambodians have lost their land to developers building hotels, golf courses and other lucrative projects.

Project could take another year to finish

Cambodian officials say the protests mean that final link connecting the Malay Peninsula with Vietnam and China through Cambodia will not be completed on schedule by the end of this year.

They say nagging resettlement issues mean it will take at least another 12 months to finish.

Villagers here in Kein Svay hope this means vastly improved compensation packages in return for their homes. Read more!

Massage Offers Blind Cambodians Way Out of Poverty

By Rory Byrne, Phnom Penh0


Blind people in Cambodia face an uphill struggle. Discrimination against the blind is widespread and educational and employment opportunities are few and far between. One way out of their predicament is through "Seeing Hands" massage shops that offer employment and educational opportunities to the blind.

Cambodia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world. There are about 144,000 blind people in the country representing 1.25 percent of the population.

Cambodia's poor health care system means that common diseases like chicken pox and measles leave many people blind. Traffic accidents, crime, and accidents with unexploded mines and bombs left over from decades of war are other leading causes.

Not many opportunities for employment

For the blind in Cambodia, educational and employment opportunities are few and far between.

Boun Mao, the Director of the Association of the Blind in Cambodia (ABC), lost his sight in 1993 when robbers threw acid in his face. He says Cambodian's belief in karma leads to widespread discrimination against the blind.

"The Blind People in Cambodia are most facing with the discrimination because the public and the family believe in karma - that the blind have sinned in the past life," explained Boun Mao. "When you are born blind until you die you do nothing useful in society - even in the family."

Opportunities are essential

Boun Mao says the key to ending discrimination against the blind is by giving them access to employment and educational opportunities.

"We want to see the blind people in Cambodia get access to employment, health care, education and accessibility. We need to show more [role] models of blind people who are really successful in their lives and their jobs," Boun Mao said.

One such role model is 22-year-old Vi Rak. He lost his sight from chicken pox when he was a baby. Five years ago he set up a blind massage shop in Phnom Penh.

He says that he has a lot of blind friends and that he had the idea that they could all get together and work in a group. So, he says, he learned massage and then he taught his friends how to do it so that they could all earn a living. He says that today things are much better and he and his employees are like one big family.

What are blind massage shops?

About a dozen blind shops have opened in Phnom Penh and other cities in recent years.

Blind massage shops are run on a cooperative basis. About half of the profits go to salaries with the rest reinvested in the employee's development such as teaching them how to use computers and how to read braille.

Blind land mine survivor So Pary, 24, says that becoming a masseur changed his life.

He says after he became blind his family picked on him a lot because he could not do any work. He says that something had to change and then he discovered this organization that taught him massage. He says that now he is happy because he can work again and help his family.

A better massage?

Many customers say blind masseurs and masseuses are better because they have a better sense of touch.

Tourist Tony Rice from London, England enjoyed the experience.

"Well I would recommend a blind massage to anyone really," said Rice. "It is intense, accurate - they found a weak spot I have got and it is a really good thing for people to come and do when they are in Cambodia."

A massage at a "Seeing Hands" massage shop typically cost about $5 for one hour, but with fewer tourists around these days, better deals are often available.

So as well as being great value for money, having a blind massage allows you to feel great while at the same time helping some of Cambodia's most vulnerable people.
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Cambodia steps up conservation measures near Preah Vihear temple

By Xia Lin

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia recently stepped up its culture and nature conservation efforts near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, while its dispute with Thailand over border issues still remain unsolved.

Construction of the Samdech Techo Preah Vihear Museum will begin in one week in Chom Ksan district of Preah Vihear province, which is expected to bring more tourists to the disputed area bordering Thailand, said Chinese-language daily newspaper the Commercial News on Tuesday.

"The museum is for national and foreign researchers to study and learn about the history of the Preah Vihear temple and the Cambodian history," said Suos Yara, undersecretary of state at the Cambodian Council of Ministers.

The museum will house artifacts from the temple complex, as well as from other nearby temples, he added.

Japanese and Cambodian donors have provided some 145,000 U.S. dollars to build the museum, but more cash will be needed to finish the project, he said.

"The money is not enough, but we will do it step by step. When we get more money, we will keep on working on it," he added.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian government is preparing to relocate the Kor Muy village near the temple for the sake of conservation, village chief Bun Leng told Xinhua by phone on Monday.

"Up to now, we have not seen the formal notification of the government yet, but the whole village will be moved 20 kilometers away from the temple, because this area is under conservation control of the Preah Vihear Temple Authority," he said.

The land circling the temple will become a belt of development, management and conservation, as it is a World Heritage Site recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), he said.

"There are about 600 families in my village. Some of them are unhappy when they heard the news because their usual business will be affected," he said.

On Sunday, Phay Siphan, secretary of state and spokesman of the Cambodian Council of Ministers, confirmed to local media that Kor Muy village will be moved in order to make way for the government's conservation work.

The Preah Vihear temple became a World Heritage Site of UNESCO in July 2008, which immediately drew criticism and protest from Thai nationalists who claimed the ownership of the temple by their own motherland.

Although the International Court in The Hague decided in 1962 that the temple and its surrounding area should belong to Cambodia, Thailand has never stopped coveting its archeological and sovereignty value.

To make things worse, temple obsession is ever increasingly combined into the bilateral border dispute.

Cambodia and Thailand have never fully demarcated their 800-km-strong land border. Demarcating work cannot be carried out, as both sides have different interpretations of historical maps and worry about the landmines left there from years of civil war in Cambodia.

Both troops have been built up within the border area since July 2008, and brief military encounters in October 2008 and April 2009 have sparked concerns of possible war between these two countries.

Gunfire exchange during the armed clashes led to bullet pits and other slight wound of the temple, which has prompted UNESCO to study the loss and non-governmental organizations (NGO) to ask for payment.

In the meantime, some 147 Cambodian families living near the temple also urged Thailand to pay for the damages of their houses as a result of the April armed clashes.

Rocket bombs hit their houses and then led to total damage, said the Khmer Civilization Fund, a NGO representing the compensation seekers.

The fund had submitted the request letter to the Cambodian government, who later presented it to the Thai Embassy.

So far, the Thai side has not responded to the demand yet.
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Cambodian dance troupe's US tour comes to an emotional close

By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer

INGLEWOOD - As Ray Chum looked at the face of the son she hadn't seen since 2003 displayed on the wall via a computer screen projection, her voice broke and the tears flowed.

The son, Tuy "KK" Sobil, whose image was being broadcast from an Internet cafe in Cambodia, was also speechless in tears.

The exchange brought an emotional climax to what has been an amazing tour of the United States by a dance troupe KK founded and comprised of street kids from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Dabson Tuy, KK's brother, took the microphone from his mother and talked to his brother.

"Mom just wants you to be a better person," Dabson said. "To see what you're doing today, we're just so proud of you. Just keep it positive. I'm sorry you had to see all that pain."

However, the heart rending pain underscored a success story that has been nothing short of miraculous. It is a story that would never happened but for KK's fall.

About 150 people had gathered at Chuco's Justice Center in Inglewood to see the final U.S. performance of Tiny Toones, a hip-hop dance crew, and Cambodian rapper Chan Samnang, also known as K-Dep.

The story of KK and Tiny Toones has received national and international recognition in recent years.

KK was born in a Thai refugee camp and later became a gang member in Long Beach after emigrating to the U.S. with his family. In 2003, after serving a conviction for armed robbery, he was deported to Cambodia, a country he had never visited.

After KK's arrival, kids began asking him to show them dance moves. Eventually, he relented, put his personal despair aside and formed Tiny Toones.

The lure of hip-hop has since been used not only to teach kids break dancing, but provide English language education, HIV/AIDs awareness, gang prevention and other arts and life skills. Through the help of donors and other charities, Tiny Toones now has a drop-in center for impoverished teens and children in Phnom Penh.

The U.S. trip was just the latest remarkable event in the rise of Tiny Toones. Supporters here in the United States were able to secure an invitation and funding to bring six dancers and K-Dep to the U.S. for an international hip-hop dance competition in Madison, Wis., followed by trips to perform in New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and the Southland.

Although the fund-raiser in Inglewood was the group's last performance, plans are already afoot to bring them back next year.

For the dancers, the trip has been magical. Dyrithy Sovann, who goes by the stage name Fresh, said he never dreamed he'd ever see the United States.

Sovann, 17, is particularly adept at one-hand stands and head spins. On Sunday, he was learning the excitement of skateboarding, which the group was first introduced to several days ago.

Sovann met KK four years ago after going with some friends to watch him dance.

At Saturday's performance, Sovann played a lead role in the Monkey Dance, which has become the group's signature piece.

In the dance, the troupe begins with Keo Srey Leak, aka Diamond, the lone girl in the troupe dancing in classical Cambodian style. Gradually, traditional music gives way to hip-hop and the entire troupe launches into a full-fledged tumbling, spinning, hip-hop routine.

In addition to the performances, Tiny Toones dancers have engaged in impromptu cultural exchanges.

In Seattle, they met with a group of first-generation Cambodians from a group called Khmer In Action.

Grace Kong of KIA said the two groups learned much from each other.

Kong said the dancers feared they would be looked down upon and shunned when they came to the U.S.

Instead they have been overcome by the welcome they have received.

"We wanted them to see that no matter what, they have our support, they have Khmer Americans who love them," Kong said.

Information on Tiny Toones can be found online at www.tinytoonescambodia.com.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291 Read more!

Princess Eugenie mugged in Cambodia

Princess Eugenie and her friends were mugged while in Cambodia, according to reports

The Queen's granddaughter, 19, who is holidaying in the country as part of her gap year, was rescued by two bodyguards who tackled a gang of bandits.

The incident happened as the Duchess of York's daughter and two gap-year friends were walking at night in Phnom Penh.

When one of her friends got a purse out, the mugger grabbed it. The officers were just feet away.
The two officers rugby-tackled one of the bandits as he tried to flee with the princess's purse.

According to reports, they grappled with the man before another robber started throwing rocks at them. The officers, fearing for the princess's safety, let the thief go, grabbed the purse and led the royal away.

A Buckingham Palace source told The Sun: "They feared the incident was escalating out of control and took the decision to focus on the safety of their principal."

It is the first time in 10 years that SO14 officers have stopped a direct threat to a Royal.

Questions have already been asked over the amount of money spent to keep the princess safe while on the trip. Reports suggest the cost of flights, expenses, accommodation and overtime for the officers will amount to around £100,000 for the six-week stay.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman would not comment on the incident, nor on the princess' security arrangements.

Read more!

JAPAN TO HELP CAMBODIA IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

TOKYO, May 04, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- The Japanese government has pledged to help Cambodia in information communication technologies, a move Japan said will help boost economic growth.

The pledge was made by Kunio Hatoyama, Japanese minister of internal affairs and communications, at a meeting with So Khun, Cambodian's minister of posts and telecommunications in Phnom Penh on May 1, according to Kyodo News.

During the talks, Hatoyama credited ICT with contributing about 40 per cent to Japanese economic growth.

''Japan will implement a feasibility study by Japanese experts, make a presentation on new technologies for next generation IP (Internet protocol) networks, and give advice on a Cambodia broadband master plan,'' Kyodo reported, citing a record of the discussions.

To achieve the goal, Hatoyama said his ministry will detach experts to draft and implement relevant rules and provide instruction materials based on Japanese experiences, while at the same time facilitating training programmes, workshops, seminars and study exchanges.

In a separate meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Hatoyama said his government has decided to donate 20 firefighting trucks to Cambodia and will respond to Hun Sen's request for help if swine flu affects the country, the agency said, citing Eang Sophalette, PM Hun Sen's spokesman. Read more!