India’s deoiled meals would remain in high demand in the overseas markets, as China and Cambodia emerge as the key export destinations for the commodity. According to the details provided by the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), oilmeal exports from India have seen a sharp rise over the past one year, and the trend is expected to continue in the coming months.
According to the SEA estimates, China is now emerging as a key export destination for oilmeals. The neighbouring country is buying large quantities of extractions of rapeseed, soybean and groundnut from India. The total exports from India are expected to be around 500,000 tonnes per annum, valuing over Rs 600 crore.
A SEA delegation, led by its president Sushil Goenka, visited China and Cambodia during April 23 and May 3, with an objective to strengthen the relations with the end users of Indian deoiled meals (extractions). India being a producer of non-genetically modified variety of oilmeal, there were better prospects for overseas demand.
The delegation found China to be a potential market for exports of Indian deoiled meals, particularly for rapeseed. The exports can be doubled in the next three years from the present level of half a million tonne, SEA noted.
In order to promote the export of oilmeals, SEA has decided to participate in various exhibitions being held across China from time to time to create further awareness about Indian oilmeals, as well as create confidence in the minds of the Indian buyers being a serious and regular source of supply for oilmeals.
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Friday, May 13, 2011
China, Cambodia new venues for oilmeal exports
Cambodia to postpone Thai expo slated for next week in Phnom Penh
PHNOM PENH, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia decided to postpone the Thai expo planned for next week in Phnom Penh, saying it is not the right time to hold such an expo.
"Due to recent restrictions on border trade by Thai military region 2, I am of the opinion that this is not the right time to promote Thai products in Cambodia," Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said in a letter to Thai embassy in Phnom Penh on Friday.
Cambodia's decision is a response to the 2nd Thai Army command' s order on Tuesday to halt a further exports of fuel and other products into Cambodia, claiming the Cambodian military may need them to support their troops in operations against Thai forces along the disputed border.
"The export ban will last until the border situation really returns to normal," the Bangkok Post online reported, citing the order letter of the 2nd Army command.
On Wednesday, Thailand announced that it would organize the second largest scale expo of Thai products in Phnom Penh from May 19-22.
"We cannot guarantee the reaction of Cambodian visitors to such exhibitions after Thai's behavior," Cham Prasidh said.
"Therefore, I have issued instructions to the Department of Trade Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce to contact the organizers of the Thai exhibition 2011 to postpone the said event until more favorable time comes," added the minister.
Jiranan Wongmongkol, director of the Thai embassy's Foreign Trade Promotion Office in Phnom Penh, which is the event organizer, said Friday that the embassy has received the letter and agreed to cancel the event.
"We have no choice, we have to postpone the event," she said. "We don't know when it will be re-arranged."
Cambodia and Thailand has border dispute just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was listed as World Heritage site on July 7, 2008. Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 sq km of scrub next to the temple.
Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border, and periodic clashes between the two countries' soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.
The latest flare-up occurred from April 22 until May 3 at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province, leaving 19 people, on both sides, killed and nearly 100, 000 civilians evacuated for safe shelters.
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Aid donor battles Cambodia over forced evictions
Poor residents fight eviction in Cambodia's capital, and the World Bank fights the government
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- A manmade sand dune looms over Cham Pothisak's tin-roof and plywood shack, left by builders who want to transform the sprawling slum-like neighborhoods on the periphery of Phnom Penh's largest lake into fancy villas and office space.
Cham and his family are among 10,000 people who face eviction because of a questionable deal turning over some of the Cambodian capital's priciest real estate to a company reportedly owned by a close associate of the prime minister.
Their predicament stems in part from a flawed $23.4 million World Bank program that was supposed to prevent such land grabs by strengthening people's title to their land. The problems illustrate how difficult it can be for well-intentioned outsiders to bring about change in developing countries plagued by corruption and entrenched interests.
The dispute over Boeung Kak lake has embarrassed the World Bank and led to an unusually tense standoff with Cambodia's government. The bank issued an ultimatum in March demanding a halt to evictions and higher compensation for landowners. A May 8 deadline has been pushed back to next Monday, though the bank is not likely to act immediately.
The 38-year-old Cham likens the situation to life under the Khmer Rouge, the ultra-Marxist regime that terrorized the country for four years in the late 1970s.
"We're angry but we can't do anything against them," he said. "It's like the Khmer Rouge all over again. We're helpless."
The root of the mess lies with the Khmer Rouge, which outlawed private property in a bid to create an agricultural utopia. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians were killed or died of starvation or disease under its brutal rule and failed polices.
Since the Khmer Rouge was ousted in 1979, the United Nations and other international groups have tried to help rebuild the country and its government institutions, with mixed results. Democracy has struggled; Prime Minister Hun Sen consolidated power in a 1997 coup and has not relinquished it since. A real estate boom has driven land-grabbing by wealthy or politically connected developers to new heights, activists say.
In 2002, the World Bank, the Washington-based institution focused on development and poverty reduction, helped set up the Land Monitoring and Administration Program to build a system of paper titles and central registries. Germany, Canada and Finland helped finance the effort.
When the lands in question were marginal, the system appeared to work. Government surveyors interviewed owners, reviewed documents and issued more than 1.2 million titles, a sign of the program's success, the bank says.
But when business interests wanted land -- for logging, sugar plantations or real estate, for example -- the process actually left some more vulnerable to eviction.
That's because government officials running the program would simply reject claims from poor landowners or deny them the right to appeal, said David Pred, whose organization Bridges Across Borders Cambodia advocates for landowners.
"Meanwhile, the wealthy and well-connected have little difficulty in acquiring land title in high value areas in which poor communities reside due to their connections or their ability to pay the high 'unofficial fees,'" Pred wrote in an email.
A 2006 report done for the German government's aid agency found that 20 percent of households surveyed were refused the right to prove ownership of their property, according a land-use consultant with firsthand knowledge of the report. The consultant spoke on condition of anonymity because the report is not public.
Many landowners around Boeung Kak -- a 330-acre (133-hectare) bowl of sewage-filled water and trash-littered marshes in the shadow of high-rise banks and government ministries -- expected to have a chance to argue their claims after workers began surveying their properties in May 2006.
But in January 2007, authorities surprised residents, activists and foreign donors by refusing to acknowledge any records of the residents' properties, essentially pre-empting any ownership claims.
The next month, the government announced that a company called Shukaku Inc. had acquired the development rights to the lake under a $79 million, government-backed 99-year lease. The land was worth far more, residents say.
Shukaku's chief is widely reported to be Lao Meng Khin, a ruling party senator, reclusive businessman and close associate of Hun Sen.
By August 2008, workers had started pumping sand into the lake, creating berms like the one menacing Cham's house. Torrents of sand and water flooded some homes almost instantly, sometimes in the dead of night. The World Bank and many foreign embassies complained.
In September 2009, the government abruptly canceled the land title program, citing what Hun Sen called "complicated conditions."
Most of the lake is now filled, the sand all but destroying its ecology. More than 2,000 families have already moved. The remaining landowners complain that the compensation being offered is laughable, particularly given skyrocketing real estate values.
Authorities "aren't stupid, they're just corrupt. They just have no conscience," said Tep Vanny, who faces eviction from her house on the lake's east side. "It's a way to keep the people poor, and for them to stay in power."
Neither Shukaku officials nor Lao Meng Khin responded to written requests for interviews.
Government officials, including the Phnom Penh governor and the national government's chief spokesman, either refused to comment or take a reporter's repeated phone calls.
In an internal report released March 8, World Bank inspectors concluded the land title program was flawed in its design, violated bank social and environmental policies and may have made it easier to evict landowners.
The bank also warned that it would reconsider both current and future projects in Cambodia if the government doesn't help resolve the Boeung Kak controversy. Bank President Robert Zoellick took the unusual step of publicly criticizing the government on the day the inspectors' report was released.
Aid experts say the government does not want to be seen as being pushed around by a foreign institution and may be using the fight as a signal to keep other donors in check. For the World Bank, its credibility is at stake if a strong-arm government can ride roughshod over bank policies to protect the poor.
Sia Phearum, head of a Cambodian housing rights organization, said that people in many countries welcome development projects and the hope they bring for better lives -- but not in Cambodia.
"In Cambodia, people who have no land have no hope," he said.
Read more!
Cambodia war crimes judge threatens suit against prosecutor
Phnom Penh - A German judge who jointly heads the investigation office at the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia has threatened to file contempt-of-court charges against the tribunal's international prosecutor.
The unprecedented development that two senior UN staff might face off within the tribunal's system came days after the prosecutor, Andrew Cayley, said an investigation by Judge Siegfried Blunk's office was deficient.
Blunk did not reply Friday to emailed questions, but the Cambodia Daily quoted him as saying it could 'write any story you like' after he declined to say what lay behind the contempt-of-court charges.
Cayley said Monday that he had reviewed the file prepared by Blunk's team on the third case in the prosecution of leaders of Cambodia's former Khmer Rouge regime and would request the investigating judges do more work on it.
His comments seemed to confirm long-standing rumours that the judges have done little on the case.
Cayley, a British national, told the German Press Agency dpa Tuesday that case three still needed 'a substantial amount' of investigation and called on Blunk's office to notify the suspects they were under investigation and to interview them.
'And [there are] a number of other steps, including investigation of crime sites also originally named by the prosecution in the introductory submission, which haven't been investigated at all,' Cayley said.
Tribunal observers have long feared the investigating judges are trying to shelve the tribunal's third and fourth cases. That would suit the Cambodian government, which has repeatedly said it would not permit those cases to go to trial.
Asked whether the court was indeed trying to bury cases three and four, Blunk responded with a threat.
'The use of the word 'bury' is insolent, for which you are given leave to apologize within two days,' Blunk wrote in an email Tuesday without specifying a penalty.
Blunk's actions come at a critical time for the court as it prepares for its second case against four senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders this year.
Cases three and four involve five unnamed former Khmer Rouge, who between them are thought to be directly responsible for tens of thousands of deaths.
But the investigating judges have refused to make public any details about either case, including which crime sites were under investigation, leading to accusations that they have deliberately excluded victims.
Tribunal monitor Clair Duffy of the Open Society Justice Initiative, which is funded by US billionaire George Soros and monitors the tribunal, said Friday that the case-three investigation had already done substantial damage to the tribunal's reputation.
She said news of possible contempt-of-court proceedings was 'potentially very damaging.'
'The potential message is that those seeking to act independently of political will and to act with integrity in the pursuit of justice will be laying themselves open to criminal sanction,' Duffy said.
In its first case, the tribunal last year convicted the Khmer Rouge's head of security, Comrade Duch, of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
More than 2 million people are thought to have died under the movement's rule of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.
Read more!
Wichit offers himself as border problem solver
Army veteran seeks seat in House to end clashes
Newspaper section: News
Gen Wichit Yathip, the former deputy army chief, hopes to enter politics so he will have a chance to take part in solving the conflict at the Thai-Cambodian border.
About 300 soldiers of the 2nd Army carry out an exercise at a military training field in Nakhon Ratchasima’s WangNamKhieo district. Live ammunition was used during the exercise, with six F-16 jet fighters taking part. PRASIT TANGPRASERT
Gen Wichit, who is also a close aide of former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who is known to have close ties with Cambodia, said he is considering what party he will join for the July 3 election.
Last month Gen Chavalit resigned from Pheu Thai party as its chairman.
Gen Wichit, 63, told the Bangkok Post that he was ready to offer himself as a problem-solver in the Thai-Cambodian spat.
He decided to enter politics because he felt deep sorrow about the fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops.
Calling Thais and Cambodians "brothers", Gen Wichit said when Thai and Cambodian soldiers kill each other, the confrontation could escalate into long-lasting "hatred and nationalism".
Gen Wichit said the clashes were the saddest he had faced.
The two countries enjoyed a much better relationship when he served in the army and was assigned to deal with Thai-Cambodian issues, he said.
He would work with any party which appoints him to solve the Thai-Cambodian problem.
"I want to see Thais and Cambodians love each other again," he said.
He had met Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva recently to discuss the conflict over the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre overlapping border area near Preah Vihear temple. He gave Mr Abhisit some recommendations on the issue.
Before clashes broke out in February, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen talked to Gen Wichit and suggested a three-point solution.
They were that both countries should withdraw troops from the area, jointly manage the 4.6-square kilometre overlapping border area, and have Thai and Cambodian monks live together at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, which is in the disputed area.
He believes Hun Sun was keeping a close watch on whatever government takes shape after the July 3 election.
"If the Democrats return to power, there will be further fights, but if Pheu Thai heads the government, talks are likely to go more smoothly," Gen Wichit said.
He had recently called Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh and found he was unhappy with Mr Abhisit's approach to dealing with the border conflict.
"We have to understand how Gen Tea Banh might feel, because he has to listen to Hun Sen," he said.
Read more!
Indonesia's peace solution proposal approved by Cambodia: official
JAKARTA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- An Indonesian government official said on Friday that the Cambodian government has approved the peace solution proposed by Indonesia to settle the armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.
"Thailand government has yet to approve the package solution. The approval would wait for its cabinet meeting scheduled within the next few days," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Micahel Tene said here.
Michael added that the package solution was in the recent trilateral meeting between Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia foreign ministers here on May 9, following tough discussions on the issue during the 18th ASEAN Summit recently.
The meeting among foreign ministers of the three countries was mandated by the previous trilateral meeting among President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia in the summit.
As the implementation of the proposal Indonesian Observer Team (IOT) would be deployed in the disputed border area according to a timeline inside the package, monitoring efforts and condition in the fields that favoring to peace solution.
Besides that the quick announcement of the establishment of General Border Committee (GBC) and Thailand's approval on the terms contained in the Terms of Reference (TOR) towards the deployment of IOT was also part of requirement to the package solution.
Thailand and Cambodia agreed that conflict between them be settled in ASEAN-facilitated measures with Indonesia, the ASEAN chair this year.
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Laos Plans New Study on Dam Effects
Laos says it will conduct new research on the environmental effects of a hydropower dam it wants to build on the lower Mekong River, bowing to requests from neighboring nations for more study on the project.
Daovong Phonekeo, the deputy director general of the country's Department of Electricity, said Tuesday the country will hire advisers to do the study, and will ask a Thai construction company that is playing a leading role in the project to fund the study.
He says construction work on the project will be delayed for the study.
The Xayaburi dam will be the first hydropower dam on the lower reaches of the river, although China has built dams on the upper stretches of the river.
Last month, at the Mekong River Commission, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, which the Mekong also flows through, asked for more information on the dam's possible effects on wildlife, fish stocks and farming along the river.
Vietnam has asked that all planned hydropower dams on the river be delayed for 10 years for further study. The commission, which aims to build a regional consensus for sustainable development of the river, does not have the power to block any dam projects.
Laos plans to build a series of dams on the river to generate electricity, which it can sell to other countries. Thailand earlier had agreed to buy 95 percent of the power from the project.
About 60 million people depend on the Mekong directly or indirectly for their livelihoods. Environmental groups, including the WWF, have expressed concern that dams on the Mekong could endanger rare fish and wildlife, and could damage farms along the 4,800-kilometer river.
The WWF on Tuesday urged that international best practices be used in any studies to evaluate the dam's effects.
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Urgent Measures Needed on Food Prices in Asia, Warns UN
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says food prices in Asia remain high despite a brief drop in April.
According to the FAO, the retail cost of wheat and rice in Asia declined slightly last month, the first drop in nine months.
The price of rice, Asia’s staple, dropped two percent in Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and about half a percent in Bangladesh, it says. In India, the price of wheat declined seven percent.
The oil factor
But the FAO attributed the fall in food costs to a brief, sharp drop in the price of crude oil.
Despite the price drop in some places, the cost of rice from one year ago is still higher by 29 percent in Bangladesh, 25 percent in China and 40 percent in Vietnam and Laos.
The FAO's representative for the Asia-Pacific region, Hiroyuki Konuma, told reporters Wednesday that food prices across the region remain high and are hurting the poor most.
“So, negative impact of the retail price hike of food commodities, particularly of staple food like rice and wheat, it’s affecting the poor households which spend as much as 70 percent of their income for food,” Konuma said.
World food prices hit a record high in February as the cost of crude oil was driven up by political instability in the Middle East and North Africa.
The price of oil is closely linked to the price of food through transportation and processing costs.
Precautions
Konuma says countries need to take urgent precautions to prevent a repeat of the 2008 food price crisis when costs of some staples doubled in a matter of months. He recommends countries establish social security nets for the poor and emergency food reserves.
“And, improving the availability of food security and market information. This is one of the factors that create unnecessary speculation and also panic buying,” he said.
The FAO expects about a two percent increase in rice production in 2011 but a slight decline in wheat production.
Despite rising prices, Konuma said food production is expected to meet global market demand but is still falling short of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goal of halving the hunger rate by 2015.
The World Bank says since October rising food prices have pushed more than 40 million people into extreme poverty. Read more!
New species of lizard that has no eyes or legs discovered in Cambodia
A new species of lizard that has no eyes or legs has been discovered by scientists in Cambodia.
The reptile tried to flee from the sudden light, but Dr Thy noticed its peculiar attributes and swiftly took a photo of it.
It has now been officially identified as a new species and named the Dalai Mountain blind lizard - Dibamus dalaiensis - after the mountain on which it was found.
Dr Thy, who works for conservation charity Fauna and Flora Interational (FFI), said: 'At first I thought it was a common species, but looking closer I realised it was something I didn't recognise.'
These cryptic species of reptile are easily overlooked and previous to this discovery there is no record of a blind lizard in Cambodia. Read more!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
PM Abhisit takes border peace one step back with new conditions
By Piyanart Srivalo,
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva took the Indonesia-brokered peace solution back to square one yesterday as he insisted that Cambodia withdraw its troops "before" a team of observers can be accepted and added an extra condition by requesting that Jakarta dispatch an advance survey team to the border area.
Foreign ministers from Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand met in Jakarta on Monday and agreed to combine all conditions and demands from both sides into one package. However, under the package, all parties must refrain from setting prerequisites before the package is implemented.
"We talk about who must do what in advance before taking the next step. It is a process, not an event-by-event thing," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.
To be more precise, he said it would happen when Thailand had formally agreed with the terms of reference (TOR) of the team of Indonesian observers, and at the same time Phnom Penh had announced the meeting of the military-run General Border Committee (GBC).
Initially, both sides agreed to the text of the TOR, but Thailand would not officially accept it until Cambodia withdrew its troops from the disputed areas and the Preah Vihear temple. Bangkok wants the troop withdrawal to be discussed by the GBC.
For its part, Cambodia has rejected the condition and is refusing to call the GBC meeting until Thailand formally accepts the team of observers.
In the Cabinet meeting yesterday, Abhisit said he would have the new peace package considered by the Cabinet as well as propose that Indonesia send an advance survey team to the border before the TOR and troop withdrawal is discussed.
Premier's proposal of an advance team is a modification
Abhisit's proposal of an advance team is a modification, because the four-page TOR - a copy of which was seen by The Nation - does not mention any advance teams. The TOR mostly indicates the role of the team of observers and the location where they will be stationed.
The prime minister also said he wanted the conflict in the border areas of Ta Muen Thom and Ta Khwai in Surin province, where a serious military clash broke out in late April, to be included in the peace package.
Cambodia has not put any additional conditions in the package because, as Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told Kyodo News, his government was ready to accept the package, which involves a series of steps to be taken by the two countries under a specific timeline.
Speaking to reporters upon arrival from the Jakarta peace talks, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said there would be no implementation of the peace package until Cambodia withdrew its troops from Preah Vihear and adjacent areas.
Thailand has been consistently calling for the withdrawal of Cambodian troops, because a military presence goes against the spirit of the Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property and the memorandum of understanding signed in 2000 by both countries, he said.
Read more!
US-Cambodian Group Prepares Lobbying Effort
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| US congress, located at Washington DC |
“We will educate the members of Congress about what the Cambodian people are facing,” said Theanvy Kuoch, founder of the National Cambodian American Health Initiative.
Cambodians who survived war and made it to the US are not well understood, she said. “We work together in the United States to meet congressional members and educate them who Cambodians are. If not, they don’t know us.”
About 15 US-Cambodians will talk to lawmakers May 24 and May 25 to discuss issues ranging from diabetes and high blood pressure to mental trauma and psychosomatic conditions, she said.
The group will also organize about 500 Cambodians to hold a candlelight vigil in front of the White House in Washington this fall, she said.
Dani Morton, a grassroots activist from Seattle, Wash., who has worked closely with Theanvy Kuoch, said Cambodians are often heard at the national level.
“There are all kinds of consequences we see in Cambodian communities, which are mainly language and cultural barriers,” she said.
Both Morton and Theanvy Kuoch traveled to Washington last week to join the 32nd anniversary of Refugees International.
Read more!
Cambodians must join to oust Hun Sen
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| A. Gaffar Peang Meth |
Several thousand Cambodian youths taken in 1954 by the Viet Minh for education, indoctrination and training in Vietnam -- by 1979 in their forties and fifties and fully acculturated in Vietnam -- were brought back to Cambodia.
The puppet government leaders and their Vietnamese masters allowed Vietnamese citizens unrestricted access to live in Cambodia in support of Hanoi's long-term economic and expansionist goals. The immigrants, like the Hanoi-backed Cambodian regime, were illegally installed in Cambodia.
These illegals were integrated into different aspects of Khmer society. There are Vietnamese who speak Khmer and act Cambodian, and many Cambodians who speak and enjoy Vietnamese ways, as this helps get them closer to privileges. An officer of Premier Hun Sen's army told me it's no longer easy to tell who is Vietnamese and who is Cambodian.
Nationally conscious Cambodians hate what has happened in the country, acknowledging their fear that Cambodia and the Khmer race may be subsumed by the country's eastern neighbor. As Cambodian anger mounts, Vietnamese who migrated and have lived in Cambodia since France ruled Indochina, who have families who have lived all their lives in Cambodia, also are threatened by the new arrivals. The "old" Vietnamese know no other place but Cambodia; the "new" Vietnamese are exploiters of Cambodia's resources.
Cambodians called on the Vietnamese to leave Cambodia and for Premier Hun Sen to step down. But the Cambodian-ized Vietnamese are not going anywhere, nor is Hun Sen, elected again and again.
Some Cambodians call for the "reactivation" of the 1991 Paris Peace Accord to restore individual rights, freedom and democracy in Cambodia, and protect her independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The international community's $3 billion U.N.-managed peace initiative never required the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese-propped Heng Samrin/Hun Sen factions to disarm, nor created a politically neutral environment essential for the accords to work. The naïve nationalist KPNLF/KPNLAF and royalist FUNCINPEC/ANS were happy to empty their pockets, in the name of "national reconciliation," with hungry alligators to get closer to the seat of power.
Recall the wide-eyed international community, which thought it could make Cambodia a "success" story, leaving town after the first U.N.-organized elections in 1993.
Today, in the midst of economic crises and world political upheavals, which government would step in to implement the accords?
Hun Sen is now a recipient of so-called Chinese "aid without strings attached" -- no strings so long as Hun Sen agrees to a "one China" policy, deports the Uighurs seeking political asylum and allows unfettered Chinese investment in Cambodia. He and his ruling party can do what they please with the land and national wealth, and thumb their noses at Western financial donors and the U.N.
Frustrated, some bloggers have chided me for not providing a "solution." Actually, they wanted an ABC manual to bring Hun Sen down; ideas and thoughts seem too complicated. Yet, in my column last week, "Stop giving Hun Sen power to rule," I suggested what to do, and not do -- to converge the different efforts by individuals and groups, to disintegrate a dictatorship. A reader emailed to tell me not to "bark" too much and return to Cambodia "to fight" and he will join me. Oh dear.
Last month, an email from a friend from a different continent referenced the necessity to create a "critical mass" in Cambodia to bring a long-lasting change and led me to write on the subject.
Last week, an old Cambodian friend emailed from Phnom Penh to urge continued "fighting" on two main fronts: education and economy. "At least 80 percent of the population (of 14 million) must have at least 10 years of schooling; at least 40 percent of the population must be college graduates, and at least 10 percent must have Ph.D. degrees, ... and the GDP per capita must be at least $10,000," he wrote. Ah, the man of my dreams, I said to myself as I scratched my head. When will we reach that level of education and economic development?
Unless we do, Cambodians have every reason to worry about the disappearance of Cambodia and the Khmer race.
Only last week I quoted statistics by the U.N. Children's Fund that recorded Cambodia's net secondary school enrollment for 2005-2006 at 36 percent for males and 32 percent for females. My questions were: Out of these enrollees, how many actually attend school (which is open only a few hours per day), how many actually graduate from secondary school, how many go on to high school, etc.
So my friend's email made me want to cry to heaven for help. And when I think of the finding that nearly 40 percent of the Cambodian people live under the poverty line of $2 a day -- many live on 50 cents a day -- the suggested $10,000 GDP per capita makes me look for my spiritual balance.
Yet I cannot accept despair. And so I keep on writing and hoping more readers will not remain complacent and will join with others to do something, do many things, which will converge to create a tipping point to cause Hun Sen's government to disintegrate.
A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com. Read more!
Government, Adhoc To Form Land Investigation Team
The government’s human rights committee and Adhoc, a local rights NGO, have agreed to establish a joint working group for investigating land disputes, which have become an increasingly thorny problem nationwide.
Om Yentieng, head of the government’s Human Rights Committee, said the working group will investigate land disputes together and issue a joint report, even if both sides are not in total agreement.
“It does not mean that the working group must have only one voice in a joint report, but that the working group works on the same case,” he said, opening a land dispute workshop in Phnom Penh Tuesday.
Om Yentieng, who is also a senior adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen and the head of the Anti-Corruption Unit, said the working group made for a “concrete step” in addressing the problem of land disputes, where the rural poor are often ousted from their land by powerful business interests.
Findings by the working group would be put forward to the National Authority for Land Dispute Resolution, members of the government and the courts, he said. “But we do not need others to respect our decisions, because our recommendations or points of view are not a verdict. Our decisions are a light.”
Thun Saray, president of Adhoc, which has a vast network of rights workers across the country, told reporters Tuesday that a joint working group would be more productive than to have his group and the government at odds with each other.
“We want to provide the authorities our findings, testimony and recommendations for solving land disputes,” he said, adding that the courts or national land resolution committee would ultimately be responsible for solving any one issue.
Adhoc received more than 200 land dispute cases in 2010, accounting for more than 300 victims.
“We’ll work jointly to find the facts,” he said. “We’ll help to solve some complicated cases. It is good. This cooperation will not silence us from speaking out.”
Yem Ponhearith, lawmaker for the Human Rights Party, called the working group a good step toward resolving land disputes, but its success would depend on both sides’ gathering of the facts.
Read more!
Monday, May 09, 2011
Cambodia rejects Thai temple demands
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong rejected a Thai demand to withdraw troops from an 11th-century Khmer temple at the disputed border, saying Bangkok was not sincere about peace.
'We never can withdraw our troops from our own territory. That should be very clear,' Hor Namhong told reporters on Friday after a meeting in Jakarta with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.
The Indonesians are trying to broker a ceasefire and the deployment of neutral military observers to the flashpoint area on the Thai-Cambodia border where some 18 people have died in fighting in recent months.
The issue is likely to be discussed at a summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders in Jakarta starting on Saturday.
Both countries have accused each other of sparking the violence, which centres on territory surrounding the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, the most celebrated example of ancient Khmer architecture outside Cambodia's Angkor.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6 square kilometre surrounding area. The temple was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008.
Cambodia has previously denied it has troops stationed at Preah Vihear itself, although it has soldiers in the contested area.
The neighbours agreed in late February to allow Indonesian observers near Preah Vihear, but Thailand has been dragging its heals on their deployment as fighting continues.
'The problem is the willingness of Thailand to accept the observers or not, that is the real problem,' Hor Namhong said.
Indonesia holds the current chair of ASEAN and has been trying to use its position to broker an end to the hostilities, which are undermining ASEAN's ambitions to create a closely integrated community by 2015.
Natalegawa said Cambodia had agreed to the terms of the observer mission but Thailand was insisting on the withdrawal of Cambodia's troops from the temple.
'We're ready (to send observers) but Thailand is saying that before the deployment of observers can be made, they require the redeployment of Cambodian troops out of the temple,' he said.
'This issue is not governed in the terms of reference. It's outside the terms of reference proper. This is where we are now.'
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a ceasefire and said the neighbours should launch 'serious dialogue' to resolve the dispute, which temporarily displaced about 85,000 people.
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Gen Prawit: Troop withdrawal first
Thai Siamese crocodile Gen. Prawit cried for Khmer Troops to withdraw from Khmer Preah Vihea land. He forgot that he is living on Khmer land.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has supported Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's demand that Cambodia withdraw its troops from the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area around Preah Vihear before Indonesia sends its observers there.
"The prime minister has spoken clearly about this and the armed forces are of the same opinion," Gen Prawit said on Monday.
"Cambodian soldiers must withdraw from the disputed area before any other steps can be taken."
Gen Prawit said that there should be a meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) first, to explore ways of enabling Thai and Cambodian troops to both stay in place before an agreed terms of reference is signed to allowed the Indonesian observers into the disputed area.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong were today due to meet in Jakarta to try and find a way out after the two sides remained deadlocked because Cambodia insisted in not withdrawing the troops from the disputed area, which it terms its "own territory", as demanded by Thailand.
Gen Prawit said he hoped the two sides could finally reach a common ground.
A Defence Ministry source said Gen Prawit will attend the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) in Indonesia on May 18-21.
He is expected to discuss with Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh preparations for the 8th GBC meeting, even though Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wants Thailand to allow Indonesian observers into the disputed area before proceeding with bilateral meetings, said the source.
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Sunday, May 08, 2011
PMs' face-to-face meet fails to resolve conflict
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
A tripartite meeting called by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to setฌtle the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia yesterday made no progress as the conflicting countries remained extremely indifฌferent.
Indonesia's plan to dispatch its observers to the borderdisputed area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple has not materialised as Thailand insists it would not sign a letter of acceptance to the Indonesian observers' term of reference (TOR) unless Cambodia withdrew its troops from the Hindu temple and its vicinฌity.
Cambodia rejected the condition- saying it would not withdraw troops from its own territory.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva proposed to discuss the troop withฌdrawal in a militaryrun General Border Committee (GBC) meeting - but his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen disagreed, saying the GBC meetฌing would not be convened before the Thai letter of acceptance to the TOR was formally submitted to Indonesia.
"Once Thailand has signed the TOR, the meeting of the GBC could start immediately," Hun Sen told a press conference on the sideline of the Asean summit.
Seeking a solution
As the issue came into deadlock, Indonesian President Yudhoyono, who is facilitating the peace process, recommended foreign ministers of the two nations stay one more day in Jakarta to work with Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa and seek a solution. The ministers are in Indonesia for an Asean summit meeting which ended yesterday.
The border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia came to the attention of Asean following a major clash in February at the Preah Vihear temple. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), as requested by Phnom Penh, entrusted Asean to implement a permanent ceasefire.
The armed conflict extended to other areas near Ta Mouan Thom and Ta Kwai temple in Surin in late April. The latest clash which caused more casualties prompted Cambodia's move to have the International Court of Justice (ICJ) interpret the scope and meaning of the 1962 ruling on the Preah Vihear case.
Prime Minister Abhisit charged Cambodia with igniting the military conflict to internationalise the issue, although the two countries already had many bilateral mechanisms, including the GBC, to settle the conflict.
Abhisit rejected Cambodian preฌmier Hun Sen's accusation of being an obstacle to a peaceful solution, saying it was the government in Phnom Penh that had made the issue more complicated, calling for differฌent solutions to the problem.
Cambodia called for a third party from international organisations to intervene in the Preah Vihear case but was willing to settle the conflict in areas of Ta Mouan bilaterally.
'Two areas, two approaches'
"Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterฌated two areas needing different approaches which I find hard to understand as people along the borฌder areas need equal attention and long lasting solutions," Abhisit said in another press conference.
Thailand's position was consisฌtent in having a longlasting soluฌtion and prevent further conflict, he said.
Hun Sen defended his idea that a third party was needed for the Preah Vihear, as the issue had already been submitted to the UN and the Asean had a UN mandate to participate.
"We necessarily have to respect the role of Asean, we cannot talk together secretly or quietly, he said.
"The acceptance of Indonesian observers had been agreed in the meeting of Asean foreign ministers in February and the TOR has been modified seven times already - and there were no demands for troop withdrawal and no demands for a GBC meeting before the signing of the letter of acceptance," he said.
Abhisit argued that the message of troop withdrawal had been conฌveyed to Indonesia at the beginning, not a new condition, since the presฌence of troops at the temple and in its vicinity is against the spirit of the Hague convention and world herฌitage guidelines.
"Cambodia cannot deny this conฌdition as its request to ICJ also wantฌed to have the withdrawal of Thai troops from the temple. So I find it hard to understand why Cambodia cannot accept there is a need for disฌcussion for both sides to talk about troop withdrawal from sensitive areas," Abhisit said.
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Thai PM: Cambodian troops must leave border to solve disput
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) — Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday said the border conflict cannot be solved if Cambodian troops remain at the ancient Preah Vihear temple, MCOT Online reported.
“I think the problem lies in Cambodia’s refusal to withdraw its troops from the disputed area around Preah Vihear temple,” Vejjajiva said.
Prime Minister Vejjajiva held talks with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on the sidelines of the two-day summit of 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The one-hour meeting, also attended by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the host of the ASEAN summit, ended without progress, as both ministers are meeting again on Monday.
Prime Minister Vejjajiva said Cambodia’s Hun Sen wants Thailand to sign an agreement allowing Indonesian observers to be posted at the disputed border area before bilateral talks could start. He added that Cambodia wants to ask the International Court of Justice for “temporary protection” of the Preah Vihear temple by demanding the withdrawal of Thai troops.
Both Cambodia and Thailand claim the 4.6 square kilometer area near the ancient Preah Vihear temple on their shared border, which has never been formally established. Cambodia requested Indonesian observers to mediate in the conflict but Thailand denied.
Tensions first escalated between the two countries in July 2008 following the build-up of military forces near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. The United Nations Security Council urged both sides to establish a permanent ceasefire after at least 10 people were killed.
Clashes resumed in February as both nations claim the lands surrounding the ancient Hindu Temple, which has been damaged due to the conflict. The Preah Vihear temple dates back to the 11th century and is located on the Cambodian side of the border.
In 2008, it was inscribed on the World Heritage List in recognition of its outstanding universal value. It is considered an outstanding example of Khmer architecture and consists of a complex of sanctuaries linked by pavements and staircases on an 800-meter-long axis.
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Thailand, Cambodia fail to resolve border dispute
By Kathy Quiano, CNN
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Leaders from Thailand and Cambodia failed to reach an agreement Sunday in a meeting aimed at mediating a longstanding border conflict over an ancient Hindu temple.
No resolution was reached after Indonesia's president led a meeting between the neighboring nations on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
However, the leaders of both countries agreed that their foreign ministers would stay another day for more talks facilitated by Indonesia.
Fighting along the turbulent border has raged since last month. Clashes around the Preah Vihear temple prompted displacement of thousands on both sides and caused at least 20 deaths.
Indonesia, which chairs the summit this year, has been trying to mediate talks between Thailand and Cambodia.
Thailand has refused to agree to a proposal that would send Indonesian observers to the disputed territory, saying Cambodia must first withdraw its troops from the area. Cambodia has rejected that demand, insisting that a team of Indonesian observers needs to be sent to the region.
Both issues are important and should be addressed together, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters Sunday
"Because, after all, the objective of what we are doing should not be about scoring political points -- thinking that there is some kind of technical victory on one issue and another -- but the ultimate objective must be to achieve lasting peace," he said.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he hopes both countries "can come up with a more comprehensive solution, that's real and more effective. This is what ASEAN supports and what has been agreed upon by both Thailand and Cambodia."
Such security and territorial disputes overshadowed this year's summit, as the Asian leaders highlighted their efforts to achieve economic integration by 2015 and make the bloc more relevant and accessible to the 500 million people who live in its 10 member countries.
The organization also has made food and energy security top priorities. A recent report by the Asian Development Bank says rising international food prices could push 64.4 millions into poverty.
"We all agreed to conduct regional cooperation in facing the threat of food insufficiency and energy security," Yudhoyono said.
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Cambodia police 'beat striking garment workers'
PHNOM PENH — Rights groups in Cambodia accused police of using disproportionate violence on Sunday, alleging they beat protesters at a rally by 2,000 garment workers in the capital.
Around 100 officers, armed with anti-riot shields, electric batons and guns, moved in to disperse the mainly female crowd that had formed a roadblock near Phnom Penh's airport, according to a joint statement by three rights groups.
It said the police fired warning shots into the air, deliberately drove motorbikes into the crowd, arrested two female workers and left another eight women in need of hospital treatment for their injuries.
But Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth said just one person was arrested, who is still in custody, and that he had seen just "one or two" of the crowd wounded, while nine of the security force were injured.
"The use of violence by police was totally disproportional to the workers? actions," said Am Sam Ath, monitoring supervisor at the LICADHO, the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights.
"The government should be supporting unions on the issue of expressive rights, rather than systemically cracking down on every form of rights activism," he said.
The statement was also issued by ADHOC, the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, and CLEC, the Community Legal Education Center.
The workers? dispute stems from the loss of jobs following a fire at a factory on March 30. The owner offered severance pay of $20 per year worked, which workers felt was insufficient, the statement said.
Sunday's action was intended to temporarily block the road to draw the attention of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was scheduled to return from abroad via the airport, to the workers' situation.
"Ordinary Cambodians have no leverage, no voice and no legal recourse in situations like this. They are simply brushed aside," said Moeun Tola, Head of CLEC's labour programme.
"People are increasingly resorting to acts of desperation. Police violence is not the way to resolve the problem."
Naruth insisted police were "trying to help" the people, but said the crowd did not understand and started to throw rocks. "They cannot block the street on which all VIP people are travelling," he said.
Cambodia has come under fire from activists and observers in recent months for stifling free speech and cracking down on opponents after it introduced laws that increase the risk of arrest for voicing dissent.
In a crackdown last month on a Phnom Penh rally against mass evictions, 11 protesters were detained and others were beaten by baton-wielding police, according to rights groups.
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Saturday, May 07, 2011
Southeast Asian leaders wade into deadly Thai, Cambodian border dispute
Niniek Karmini, The Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Southeast Asian leaders sought to help Thailand and Cambodia end deadly clashes along their disputed border, saying peace and stability were the prerequisite to larger goals of regional economic integration and security.
The two sides agreed to hold talks Sunday — mediated by Indonesia's president — as part of efforts to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.
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But with acrimony high, it was unclear just how much could be accomplished.
Other topics on the agenda of the two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, summit included Myanmar's bid to take over the rotating chair of the 10-member regional grouping, spiraling food and energy prices, and maritime security in the South China Sea.
The main tensions there are over the potentially oil-rich Spratly islands, claimed in whole or in part by China and four ASEAN members — Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam.
The smaller nations, together with the U.S., worry that China may use its military might to seize the area outright or assume de facto control with naval patrols.
That could threaten one of the world's busiest commercial sea lanes.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario raised the need for ASEAN to end a nine-year disagreement with China that has prevented the two sides from completing the guidelines of an accord aimed at preventing armed conflicts over the disputed islands.
The guidelines would allow all five of the countries to pursue joint development projects to ease tensions in the South China Sea region.
The summit that wraps up Sunday is supposed to focus on steps needed to create an integrated regional economic zone by 2015.
But Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in his opening statement that little can be accomplished without peace and stability between member countries.
To that end, he will host a meeting between the Cambodian and Thai prime ministers to try to end repeated outbreaks of fighting that have claimed nearly 20 lives in the last two weeks and sent 100,000 people fleeing from their homes.
The dispute — allegedly over control of ancient temples claimed by the two nations — has stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides.
But analysts say domestic politics is fanning the fire, especially in Thailand, where the military that staged a coup in 2006 could be posturing ahead of elections expected as early as next month.
Though agreement to accept mediation was a good sign — Thailand has previously said the matter must be resolved directly between it and Cambodia — tensions remain high.
The two sides came up with preconditions Friday for sending Indonesian observers to the border, but Cambodia quickly lambasted a request by Thailand to first remove troops from its own side of the frontier.
"Can you imagine that Cambodia withdraw from their own territory? It's nonsense!" Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters at the summit Saturday.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva insisted, however, that his country had no ill intention toward their eastern neighbour.
"We have a number of bilateral mechanisms that are functioning," Vejjajiva said, referring to Cambodia's attempt to seek a settlement through the International Court of Justice.
"This is something that we should talk about ... and prove to the world that as members of ASEAN, this can be resolved."
Myanmar's president, Thein Sein, who heads the military-backed party that overwhelmingly won general elections late last year, was expected to ask for the right, meanwhile, to chair ASEAN in 2014.
Some countries say Myanmar is ready, but others argue that, despite the recent release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the government has not yet done enough to improve human rights.
Myanmar still has more than 2,000 political prisoners.
The regional grouping is supposed to rotate its chair every year between member countries — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
However, Myanmar was forced to skip its turn in 2005 after coming under heavy pressure from the international community over slow progress on national reconciliation and human rights.
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