ASEAN experts meet in Cambodia to boost tourism cooperation

PHNOM PENH, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Tourism experts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered here on Tuesday to discuss ways to boost tourism cooperation in order to turn the bloc as a world-class tourist destination by 2015, said a senior Cambodian official.

Speaking at the opening of the 3-day ASEAN Tourism Working Group meeting, Tith Chantha, director general of Cambodia's Tourism Ministry, said the meeting was attended by ASEAN tourism officials, ASEAN's Tourism Association, and ASEAN Secretariat.

He said it focused on ways to promote ASEAN tourism and to enhance ASEAN tourism quality through the establishment of ASEAN tourism standards such as the standards of green hotels, clean tourism cities, spas, guesthouses, and public sanitary facilities.
Besides, it discussed ways to develop ASEAN cultural and natural tourism products and to promote traveling by cruises among ASEAN countries.

"Our ambitious goal is to become the ASEAN as a world class tourist destination by 2015 based on the ASEAN tourism strategic plan 2011-2015," Tith Chantha said.

He said that Cambodia and other ASEAN member states alike have envisaged China as a big market to boost the tourism industry in the future.

The ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Read more!

Cambodian War Crimes Tribunal Under Pressure After Judge Resigns

"The problem here is the U.N. hasn't actually done anything concrete to address the government continuing to try to control the court's docket."

Observers following Cambodia's Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal say this week's resignation of a key judge after only four months on the job risks tarnishing the legacy of the tribunal itself and the possibility of future trials.

The court has been marred by allegations of political interference at the hands of a Cambodian government that is on record opposing new investigations into Khmer Rouge suspects.

With Monday's resignation of international co-investigating Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet, legal observers say the U.N. must take long overdue action to save the reputation of the hybrid tribunal. Clair Duffy is a court monitor with the Open Society Justice Initiative.

"The problem here is the U.N. hasn't actually done anything concrete to address the government continuing to try to control the court's docket," said Duffy. "Last year we repeatedly asked the U.N. to investigate the government's interference in the court and it didn't. All we've seen in recent months is that crisis deepening."

Critics accused Kasper-Ansermet's predecessor, Judge Siegfried Blunk, of incompetence, claiming that he botched investigations into additional cases, under pressure from the government. Blunk has vehemently denied the charges, but when he resigned in October, he said continued government comments warning against future cases fueled the perception of political interference.

Blunk's replacement, Kasper-Ansermet, has declared his intention to investigate the cases, putting him at odds with his Cambodian counterpart, Judge You Bunleng. The pair have traded multiple contradictory messages through the media, with Bunleng and the Cambodian government refusing to even acknowledge Kasper-Ansermet's authority.
In his resignation letter, Kasper-Ansermet said he would continue in his role until early May. Duffy, the court monitor, says the judge should use the time to publicize the actions he has taken as co-investigating judge.

"What kinds of investigations could he carry out and where are there still gaps," said Duffy. "This means that if someone steps in to take his position, they can continue with that and they'll know exactly where things are at."

Kasper-Ansermet’s resignation throws further doubt of moving forward with a group of additional prosecutions known as cases 003 and 004. But case 002, involving the trial of three former senior Khmer Rouge leaders, continues this week in Phnom Penh. Read more!

Conservation Helps Secure Land Rights in Cambodia

His Excellency Im Chhun Lim, Senior Minister for Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. He is speaking with TV cameras in Andoung Kraloeng village, within Seima Protection Forest, after presenting the community members with their land title.

Newswise — MONDULKURI PROVINCE, CAMBODIA (March, 20, 2012) A vulnerable ethic minority village inside Cambodia’s remote Seima Protection Forest today became one of the first in Cambodia to receive a collective land title, which will help villagers fend off threats to their land and culture while also strengthening conservation goals.

The Senior Minister for Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, H.E. Im Chhun Lim, visited the ethnically Bunong village of Andoung Kraloeng village to mark this historic moment. The legal system has been piloted in three villages – the first two received titles last December, but the third is the only one in a protected forest and so sets crucial precedents for similar villages.

It has taken eight years for these first villages to receive their titles, but with the system now in place the rate of issuance is now expected to rise. Hundreds of other villages are eligible and many have begun the application process, including 12 in and around the Seima area. Eventually it is hoped to offer this opportunity to all interested villages around the reserve.

Seima is important for its extensive evergreen and deciduous forests and the high levels of biodiversity, including large populations of endangered primates, wild cattle, Asian elephants and green peafowl. Over 40 species at the site are globally threatened with extinction.

Northeastern Cambodia is home to many indigenous ethnic minority groups. They experience relatively high levels of poverty and often have a high dependence on natural resources, including forest products. The traditional collective land ownership systems, along with poverty and marginal political status make these communities vulnerable to land grabbing by powerful individuals and companies.

The 2001 Land Law enables them to obtain collective land titles which greatly increases land security. The application process also provides a framework for strengthening community technical capacity and social cohesion to address the many threats facing ethnic minorities by establishing and training Indigenous Community Commissions at the village level.

Over the years the village committee and elders in Andoung Kraloeng have grown stronger and more effective. They have successfully repelled many attempts by outsiders to grab land and damage other resources in the village, often in cooperation with law enforcement staff linked to the project.

Since 2003, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has worked to support this process in Seima. The dual aims are to strengthen community rights to manage their natural resources and enhance the conservation of endangered biodiversity. The work is part of a larger conservation program covering the Seima Protection Forest, one of the most important sites for biodiversity conservation in the region. The program is led jointly by WCS and the Cambodian Government's Forestry Administration, with the involvement of the Ministry of Land Management and several other government agencies. The first twelve years of this program have transformed the site – a former logging concession – into one of the most successful protected areas in the region.

Other key technical partners include: International Labour Organisation and GIZ. Critical support has been provided by: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, DFID, Danida, NZ Aid, The McKnight Foundation, and Asian Development Bank, among other key donors. U.S. government support to WCS work in the Seima landscape is provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Asian Elephant and Great Ape Funds.

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the Flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes toward nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth. Visit: http://www.wcs.org/ 

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Special Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a Web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to wcs.org. Read more!

P-Noy going to Cambodia for Asean Summit

By Delon Porcalla

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will be spending the first few days of Holy Week attending the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia but will be back in Manila for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

He told reporters over the weekend in Baguio City that he still has to inspect all ports – airports, seaports and bus terminals – and check on possible weather disturbances during the Holy Week, a period when residents of Metro Manila usually go out of town.

Aquino is also scheduled to go on state visits to Australia and New Zealand, as well as a visit to Washington sometime in May, upon the invitation of US President Obama, which was coursed through Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited the country last November.

Obama himself extended the invitation to Aquino also last November, when they both attended the East Asia Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard extended her invitation to Aquino when they met at the last APEC meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii in November 2011 where they held bilateral talks.

Also included in President Aquino’s itinerary for this year is England, where there is “substantial investment in energy.”

Aquino hinted he may have to go directly to the United Kingdom after the Washington state visit.
Read more!

Cambodia genocide court rifts grow: Second foreign judge resigns

By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com


Laurent Kasper-Ansermet has resigned from Cambodia's U.N.-backed war crimes court


Another international judge at Cambodia’s court tasked with trying Khmer Rouge for their roles in the 1970s genocide has resigned over an ongoing rift with his Cambodian counterpart about how many former members of the regime will stand trial.

International Reserve Co-Investigating Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet said Monday he will step down May 4. He is the second international judge to leave the court in less than one year over disagreements with Cambodian counterparts about the scope of the United Nations-backed tribunal.

“In view of the victims’ right to have investigations conducted in a proper manner and despite his (Kasper-Ansermet) determination to do so … the present circumstances no longer allow him to properly and freely perform his duties,” he said in a statement.

The tribunal, a hybrid of international and Cambodian judges, has seemingly been mired in internal tussles since it began operations in 2007, following a decade of halting negotiations between the government and the U.N. over the court's structure and functioning.

Kasper-Ansermet said his authority to investigate what is known as cases 003/004 – or the investigation of five unnamed suspects – has been “constantly contested” by National Co-Investigating Judge You Bunleng. At a recent meeting with him, You Bunleng “refused” to discuss the cases and issued a “written order” that he stop.

“Judge You Bunleng’s active opposition to investigations into cases 003 and 004 has led to a dysfunctional situation within the ECCC (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia). A description of the situation will be published,” Kasper-Ansermet said, adding that he had opened further internal queries for “interference with the administration of justice.”

Under the Khmer Rouge, nearly one quarter of the country’s population – or at least 1.7 million people – died from execution, disease, starvation and overwork, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

The ultra-Maoist group strived to create an agrarian utopia (and called their effort a return to “Year Zero”), forcing city dwellers to rural areas to work on large farms, destroying money, shuttering schools and prohibiting religious worship in the predominantly Buddhist country. Intellectuals, or those with an education, were often deemed their enemies and targeted for execution.

The investigation of cases 003/004 has been troubled since it began in 2009, with allegations of political interference by the Cambodian government and a lack of judicial independence.

An international judge tasked to work on that investigation -- Siegfried Blunk -- resigned last year after government ministers made statements about the court not pursuing more trials following the completion of those of four of the regime’s top surviving leaders. Those trials are ongoing.

Kasper-Ansermet –- who said he has been appointed under court rules to replace Blunk, though You Bunleng disputes that -- said in early February that he would order the judicial investigation into case 003 to resume. That case was closed last April, sparking an outcry over how far the tribunal's examination of the regime would go.

He has issued a number of decisions in those cases, informed the suspects of their rights, and will conduct interviews with civil parties starting March 19.  

You Bunleng responded to Kasper-Anserment’s criticism in February, saying he had “ill intentions” for issuing the statement without his knowledge and claimed he was trying “to confuse public opinion” over his alleged opposition to further investigations. He also noted that the Swiss judge was not authorized to undertake any procedural actions while no one has been named to the post of International Co-Investigating Judge.

Former Khmer Rouge jailer's sentence increased to life

One former Khmer Rouge official has been tried, convicted and sentenced by the court: Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, a prison chief who oversaw a torture center where at least 12,000 people died. He received a life sentence.

Read more!

Cambodia outraged at plans for Angkor Wat replica in India

We are Khmer, sure we are not happy with those crooks who always are trying to do anything to destroy our cultures.  Indians had criminal history with Angkor Wat in 1997 and 1998.  Those days when they were cleaning Angkor Wat and preserving her, they took some dangerous Chemical to clean the stone and causing the stones to rot and crack.  They intended to destroy Angkor Wat of Cambodia.  Those culprites we never forget them.

A DIPLOMATIC confrontation is looming over the building in India of a replica of Cambodia's massive Angkor Wat, the country's most popular tourist attraction and its national symbol.

The Cambodian government has described the building of a replica to create the world's largest Hindu shrine on the banks of the Ganges as a ''shameful act'' that could affect its future relationship with India.

An Indian religious organisation, Mahavir Mandir, has already held a ceremony to purify the land on which the temple, to be called Virat Angkor Wat Ram Mandir, will be built in the state of Bihar. Work is scheduled to begin next month and be completed in 10 years.

The director of Sydney University's archaeology project at Angkor Wat, Damian Evans, said Cambodians are predictably outraged about the project, ''as I am sure Indians would be if a nearby country decided to build a clone of the Taj Mahal''.

Dr Evans said building a replica showed a ''remarkable lack of cultural sensitivity by this group in India, considering how central Angkor Wat is to Khmer [Cambodian] national identity''.

Angkor Wat was built by King Suryavarman II as his state temple and capital city in the 12th century. Originally the 82-hectare temple complex was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu before being used for Buddhist worship after the monarchy converted to Buddhism.

The main sandstone temple is depicted on Cambodia's flag and is a source of great national pride.

India has many experts to call upon to build the replica, which will be higher than the original and will stand 68 metres above the Ganges near the Bihar capital, Patna. Archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on Angkor Wat between 1986 and 1992.

The secretary of the Mahavir Mandir Trust, Kishore Kunal, said Angkor Wat was the ''most marvellous monument ever made by mankind and I just want to make the largest Hindu temple in the world''.

A Cambodian government spokesman, Phay Siphan, said building a full-scale replica of Angkor Wat was a ''shameful act'' and a deliberate attempt to undermine its ''universal value''. Read more!

Volunteering in Cambodia was a real education

How the experience of teaching English in Cambodia gave our blogger the strength to pursue her dreams


Geography Catrin Griffiths was deeply inspired by the pupils and teachers she met in Cambodia. Photograph: BUNAC


My certificate finally arrived telling me that I had achieved fully qualified teacher status. Getting here has been one the most satisfying and gratifying experiences I have ever had. But it nearly didn't happen!

Three and half years ago my university housemate and I went to an appointment at the careers office. I had always been pretty sure I wanted to teach but I had a big question, whether it should be secondary or primary and I didn't know how to apply for the training.

After an hour of being baffled by pamphlets, information and "useful" links we returned to the house and hid in our rooms with a cup of tea.

After a short lived panic I decided to look at the pamphlets. One was about volunteer experiences abroad, including teaching projects in Cambodian schools and communities, with a company called BUNAC. My housemate joined me 10 minutes later and we both started to research different companies who offered these "experiences". Eventually we were torn between heading to Kenya or Cambodia and chose the latter because of the "volunteers' house" where we would live together with other volunteers.

By 4.00pm the same day we had e-mailed BUNAC and paid a deposit for the trip. It was one of the easiest decisions I have ever made. My student loan had just gone into my account so I had the deposit money. I was sure I could fund-raise and earn enough during the summer for the balance. The only factor I hadn't considered was telling my parents. Dad was fine. Mum went into over-protective loving mother mode initially, but then calmed down and two months later booked herself and Dad on a trip around South East Asia. Problem solved.

We left the UK on 4 September 2008 and spent two weeks travelling through Vietnam before flying into Siem Reap, Cambodia's third city, the location of the Angkor Temples and our home for the next few months.

On my first day I was taken to Krousar Thmey (new family) Protection Centre in a tuk-tuk (a cart which is pulled by a motor bike) where I met Madame, the head teacher. She showed me around the centre where we spoke a mixture of French (her) and English (me) and introduced me to the children, who were aged between four and 20. I was then taken to the other Krousar Thmey locations by Mr Dee who ran one of the orphanages we saw.

During the day I found out that one of my pupils had been taken away from his family because his father was an alcoholic who had cut off two of his toes and four of his fingers with a knife. I discovered that there were four siblings who had nearly died of starvation because all the family income was spent on alcohol. I also learnt that until Krousar Thmey opened its door in 1991, blind and deaf children in Cambodia weren't educated at all.

After a few days I had settled into my new routine. I had a two hour class at the protection centre in the morning then cycled the 20 minutes for a one hour session teaching adults at the deaf and blind school. I then returned to the protection centre for another two hour session before heading back to the deaf and blind school to teach English Braille.

I became more aware of the problems of the children and realised that they were so eager to learn that I could possibly make a small difference to their lives.

When I returned home I was accepted to do a PGCE course and was very excited. However, this was a short lived feeling. The tutor was a bully who tried to fail me three times throughout the year. I was in tears every day and one weekend I decided the stress wasn't worth it and I'd give up.

Fortunately, at the placement school, I had amazing mentors who told me that I should at least try to finish the course as I only had two months left. My family and friends reminded me of the difficulties faced by the pupils I had left in Cambodia and that I should fight for what I wanted as they had done. I dragged my way through to the final day and passed!

Now I have a job at Cove School where I am settled and happy. My NQT year flew by. The school had a system in place to support me and I found friendship among my colleagues. Since becoming a full time form tutor I have realized that I can use what I learned in Cambodia to teach pupils about how lucky they are. My knowledge of life in different conditions has helped them to be more grateful for what they have and appreciate that they get their education for free. I also use my photos from the trip to teach about how tourism impacts a developing country. Today I am in my second year at Cove, confident and happy with what I do.

• Catrin Griffiths is a geography teacher at Cove School. In 2008 she spent time teaching abused children and blind students in Cambodia with BUNAC.

Find out more about volunteering with BUNAC
BUNAC offers volunteer programmes with an English teaching focus from four weeks to sux months in Cambodia, Chile, China, Ghana, India, Nepal, Peru and South Africa. Relevant teaching experience enables volunteers to take on classroom responsibility from day one. There's a programme for everyone, whether you're considering going into the teaching profession, in the process of teacher training, or an established teacher keen to broaden your horizons and apply your skills where help is most needed. Programmes in China and Chile include TEFL training.

BUNAC's latest addition to the portfolio, Volunteer Chile, is sponsored by the Chilean government as part of its initiative to make EFL more accessible to all school-age Chileans.

Find out more about volunteering here. Or find out more about volunteering in Cambodia. You can find out about all English teaching opportunity with BUNAC worldwide here.

This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Sign up to the Guardian Teacher Network to get access nearly 100,000 pages of teaching resources and join our growing community.
Could you be one of our bloggers?

Do you have something you want to share with colleagues – a resource of your own and why it works well with your students, or perhaps a brilliant piece of good practice in teaching or whole school activity that you know about it? If so please get in touch. If you would like to blog on the Guardian Teacher Network please email emma.drury@guardian.co.uk  and please don't be shy about commenting on blogs on this page. Read more!

Cambodia may find new rice market in Manila

Low international rice prices have further stymied Cambodia’s milled-rice exports, millers reported yesterday, but large orders – reportedly the first ever – from the Philippines have encouraged at least one of the Kingdom’s biggest rice exporters.

Mega Green Imex Cambodia this year to date has received orders for 50,000 tonnes of milled rice from the Philippines, Managing Director Outh Renne said yesterday.

That’s 13,000 tonnes more than Mega Green’s total orders from the European Union last year, he said.

The orders, the first ever from the Philippines and during a time when Cambodian rice prices are higher than other regional exporters, represented a shift in Cambodian rice trade from Western markets to buyers in its own backyard, Outh Renne said.

“Cambodia should understand that the biggest market for rice is in the Philippines and Indonesia,” he said, adding that the government-brokered deal was an attempt on the part of the Philippines’ National Food Authority to diversify its imports.

Cambodia exported about 173,000 tonnes of milled-rice last year, a 226 per cent increase on the year before, according to Ministry of Commerce figures.

The majority of the shipments went to the European Union.

The Philippines and Indonesia are expected to import an annual 4 million tonnes of rice a piece, Outh Renne said, markets well suited for the 1 million-tonne export goal Prime Minister Hun Sen set for milled rice in 2010.

The Philippines may buy a fourth of this year’s planned rice imports from either Vietnam or Cambodia through a government-to-government deal, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said in Manila on Wednesday.

The Southeast Asian nation plans to import 500,000 tonnes of rice this year, with 380,000 tonnes to be secured by private companies and farmer groups.

The remaining 120,000 tonnes will be purchased by the government, Alcala said.

Cambodia has lobbied the Philippines for rice trade agreements since 2010.

Mey Kalyan, a senior advisor to Cambodia’s Supreme National Economic Council, said he travelled to the Philippines to promote rice trade at the time.

“We were working very hard on this. This would be a great thing for Cambodia’s rice trade,” he said, although he said he was unaware of the recent orders at Mega Green.

International rice prices would continue to go down for some time, Mey Kalyan said, a trend that stalled new orders of milled rice during the first two months of the year.

The high price of milling and transportation, among other factors, led a significant slowdown of forward orders at four of the Kingdom’s biggest exporters as rice prices in India, Pakistan and Vietnam fell in January and February, the Post reported.

Rice millers and exporters yesterday said falling rice prices abroad continued to delay orders this year, and confidence in trade with the Philippines was low.

Lim Bun Heng, president of Loran Import-Export Company, confirmed that orders had been delayed.

The company has exported 2,000 tonnes of milled-rice this year to Europe and Russia, he said, although he declined to give a figure on forward orders.

Unstable rice prices in the Kingdom had kept an otherwise interested Philippines from signing contracts with Loran, Lim Bun Heng said.

“[The Philippines] asked for a one-year contract, but we wanted a one- or two-month contract. We were afraid of signing a one-year contract because the price of rice changes so quickly in Cambodia,” he said.

Phou Puy, president of the Federation of Rice Millers Associations and the Baitong Rice Export Company, said Cambodia’s high rice prices should prevent rice exports to the Philippines this year.

“There is no export at all from Cambodia to the Philippines,” he said yesterday. Read more!

Cambodia: Right to Freedom of Assembly has Been Severely Violated



H.E. Ang Vong Vathna, Cambodia's Minister of Justice,
 and H.E. Sar Kheng, Cambodia's Minister of Interior

 (HONK KONG) - As a nation with a history of terrible violence, Cambodia needs to quickly and thoroughly address a very alarming situation; the shooting of three female garment workers in the Bavet town of Svay Rieng province on 20 February 2012.

Information indicates that the shooting took place as 6,000 workers gathered in solidarity in front of the Kaoway Sports Ltd factory; peacefully demonstrating to demand for better working conditions. They are asking for a minimum living wage of US$61/month and lunch allowance. During the demonstration, three unarmed women were shot; two suffering wounds to their arms or legs, and one was seriously injured as the bullet ripped through her thoracic cage.

Our goal with Eye on the World is to illustrate and highlight politically oriented problems and tragedies that traditional media channels don't have time or interest in covering.

The world has its own set of laws that were agreed upon by the ruling nations in 1948, and many people are not aware of this simple fact. At the root of the concept of world citizenry itself, is the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an overriding and supreme law that ensures many essential human rights that governments today fail to observe. Also central to any hope of human success, is the understanding of the human hierarchy of needs, as defined by Abraham Maslow- more information on this at the conclusion of this entry. We must use the Internet as a tool of justice at every junction, and we need to assist all human beings, everywhere, and not allow cultural, racial or religious preferences as determiners.

In this letter to H.E. Ang Vong Vathna, Minister of Justice; and H.E. Sar Kheng, Minister of Interior in Cambodia, William Gomes asks for the assurance that the victims in this case are provided with an “effective remedy notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons in an official capacity” - determined by a competent judicial authority, and that the government takes necessary steps to protect the fundamental right to freedom of assembly in Cambodia, which has been subjected to increasing restrictions. Mr Gomes strongly urges that the government ensure the victim's appearance in court, protect witnesses from intimidation, and issue a guarantee, that in the future, legal process will be carried out in a free, fair and impartial manner meeting international standards. He asks that those who violated the law be properly investigated and prosecuted.

“


March15, 2012
H.E. Ang Vong Vathna
Minister of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia
Fax: +855 23 364119

H.E. Sar Kheng
Minister of Interior
No 275 Norodom Blvd
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia
Fax: +855 23 721905, +85523 726052/721190

Re: Cambodia: Right to freedom of assembly has been severely violated

Your Excellencies,

I write to you to express our grave concerns regarding the shooting of three female garment workers in the Bavet town of Svay Rieng province on 20 February 2012.

I have received information that around 6,000 workers gathered in front of the Kaoway Sports Ltd factory in a peaceful demonstration to demand for better working conditions, including a minimum living wage of US$61/month and lunch allowance. While the demonstration was taking place, three unarmed women were shot; two suffered wounds to their arms or legs, one was seriously injured as the bullet ripped through her thoracic cage.

The perpetrator was later identified as being Bavet town’s own governor, Mr. Chhouk Bandit. Although the Minister of Interior, Mr. Sar Kheng, said publicly that Mr. Bandit was the sole suspect, the Court – under the direction of provincial chief prosecutor Hing Bun Chea – declined to issue an arrest warrant and instead settled with a summons on allegations that the report the police submitted was incomplete. He was briefly questioned by the police last week and later released. Mr. Bandit is expected to appear in court on 16 March 2012.

I deeply regret that the exercise of the fundamental right to freedom of assembly has been severely violated by the use of excessive force, which resulted in the serious injuries of three of the demonstration’s participants.

I note that there is much fear concerning the safety and security of the three victims and their families. These concerns are well grounded since the victims were approached on numerous occasions by officials from Bavet, including the police chief and commune chiefs, attempting to silence them through bribes since the shooting incident. [1] The most severely injured victim, Ms. Buot Chinda, was allegedly approached by the town governor himself. [2] I believe that the government of Cambodia must protect these young women and their families. They should be immediately placed under witness protection. Individuals who came forward in helping identify the perpetrator should also be placed under protection. I also stress that these attempts to influence witnesses in the ongoing investigation could constitute an obstruction of justice and are criminal offences punishable under Cambodia’s Criminal Code. [3] Those attempting to influence the witnesses must be held accountable under the existing laws.

Although Mr. Bandit was dismissed from his position as a Bavet town governor on 8 March 2012, there remain concerns that he will enjoy impunity as he is a member of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The successive chain of events fails to reflect the gravity of the crimes: there was a notable delay in the police investigation as well in making the information about his involvement public. The recent refusal to issue him with an arrest warrant despite the culpatory evidence highlights the flaws present in the Cambodian legal and judicial systems. I strongly believe that the state is obligated to combat impunity for attacks and violations against its own people, by ensuring prompt and impartial investigations into allegations and appropriate redress and reparation to victims. In this regard, an arrest warrant on the alleged perpetrator should be issued without delay to ensure the safety of the victims, and to prevent him from influencing the investigation and legal proceedings of this case.

I would like to draw your attention to the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Mr. Surya Subedi, which highlighted concerns over the politicization of the judiciary and called for a separate entity to be solely in charge of the prosecutors – as opposed to being attached to the courts. [4] The unfolding of unfortunate events in the town of Bavet and the subsequent flawed investigation processes, have highlighted the cause for continued concerns in this regard.

As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) , the Government of Cambodia must ensure that the three victims are provided with an “effective remedy notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons in an official capacity” [5] and that it be determined by a competent judicial authority. We therefore strongly urge that the Government will ensure his appearance in court, protect all witnesses from intimidation, and guarantee that the upcoming legal process be carried out in a free, fair and impartial manner that meets international standards.

I further urge the Cambodian government to take the necessary steps to protect the fundamental right to freedom of assembly in Cambodia, which has been subjected to increasing restrictions. In this particular case, the Cambodian government’s ability to ensure justice for those whose rights have been severely violated and to hold the perpetrator accountable serves as a serious test of the Cambodian government’s will to uphold human rights, consistent with its own Constitution, the human rights principles of the ASEAN Charter, and international human rights law.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

William Nicholas Gomes

William’s Desk


www.williamgomes.org

Footnotes



[1] “Victim rejects ‘pay-off’”, The Phnom Penh Post, 8 March 2012, http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index….

[2] “Court avoids warrant for governor of Bavet”, The Phnom Penh Post, 6 March 2012, http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index….

[3] Article 527 of the Criminal Code of Cambodia prohibits intimidation in order to prevent filing of complaint: “Any threat or intimidation made against a victim with a view to persuading him or her not to file a complaint or to withdraw it shall be punishable by imprisonment from one to three years, and a fine from two million to six million Riels. It shall be punishable by imprisonment from two to five years and a fine from four million to ten million Riels if the act is effective.” Whereas Article 548 of the same law prohibits bribery of witness: “The direct or indirect giving of a gift, offer, promise or interest by a person to a witness in order: (1) not to testify; (2) to provide a false testimony; shall be punishable by imprisonment from five to ten years.”

[4] UNHRC, Report for the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Surya P. Subedi, 16 September 2010, A/HRC/15/46, para.71: “There should be a separate and independent office of the Prosecutor General with powers to supervise prosecutors at all levels and all prosecutors should belong to an independent office rather than be simply attached to the courts concerned.”

[5] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 2(3).
Read more!

Successful International Auction Raises Hopes for Cambodia's Artists

"We're trying to take the art of the ancient time and also the modern society to come together and create something new.”


Peap Tarr stands in front of a painting he has up for sale as part of Cambodia's first high-level auction, which took place on March 11, 2012.


Cambodia has held its first international art auction, with the backing of the well-known art house, Christie’s. Though Khmer antiquities are highly sought-after on the global stage, the country’s modern art remains relatively unknown.

Madeleine de Langalerie has watched the country’s art scene slowly grow over the last decade and a half. When the French journalist first moved there about 15 years ago, she saw talent in the work of young artists, but originality was more difficult to find.

“I think at the very beginning they try to copy, because it is the only thing to do," Langalerie said. "But with the television, with the influence of the outside, of Thai, of Vietnamese, of Japan, mainly Japanese, I think they start to see other things.”

These days, new boutique galleries have sprung up throughout the city, showing homegrown work by local talent. A handful of Cambodian artists are already gaining notice abroad.

But what many young artists need is an extra push for international buyers to take notice.

That was the idea behind staging an international art auction here in Phnom Penh. On March 11, an auctioneer from Christie’s presided over the country’s first high-level art auction. Proceeds from the charity auction will be donated to a local arts group.

But de Langalerie says the real value will be the exposure for the country’s lesser known artists and the local galleries that support them.

“I think this push should be in help to try and put Phnom Penh as a good place for artists," she said. "If you think about artists, maybe you should come and see galleries in Phnom Penh.”

Artists like painter Peap Tarr stand to benefit. The Cambodian-New Zealander has two collaborative works for sale, including an intricately detailed acrylic-on-canvas piece measuring more than four square meters.

Tarr started out as a graffiti artist in in New Zealand, where he grew up. But he gradually began to fuse styles and elements from his Cambodian ancestry into his work.

“There is a uniqueness that comes out of Cambodia. There is a long heritage," Tarr explained. "Over a 1,000 year heritage here of art and culture. Hopefully people will learn that. In some ways I think it gains more respect for the Khmer culture. And also I think it gives back more pride to the Khmer people. Culture and art, it does in some way give culture and dignity back to a people.”

On this afternoon, the busy hotel ballroom is almost full, but most are onlookers watching as a handful of buyers bid on the artwork. At the front of the room, auctioneer Lionel Gosset playfully encourages the buyers to inflate their bids.

The crowd applauds as the most sought after piece, a large morning glory plant sculpted in rattan wood, sells for $9,000.

By the end of the afternoon, buyers have snapped up about 40 works of art, at a cost of $40,000 in all. Gosset says, it is a promising sign for the Cambodian art scene.

“I think the room was crowded. It's a good signal for Cambodia. That means that Khmer are very interested by art," Gosset said. "And the results are good. It's a good result.”

For painter Lisa Mam, it was the first time she has sold her work at auction. She says she wants to show that her country’s artists are able to fuse their well-known traditional art with a new vitality.

“Cambodian art would be something really fresh," Mam declared. "Just like what I’m doing right now is fresh and new. We're trying to take the art of the ancient time and also the modern society to come together and create something new.”

For now, Mam wants to use the exposure from the auction as a springboard for her career. And she hopes her work will play a role in growing Cambodia’s modern art scene. Read more!

Thailand Human Trafficking Problems Continue to Draw Scrutiny

“Human trafficking has to be understood in the context of the migration of as many as two- to three-million migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia, and Burma who are in Thailand..."

Cambodian trafficked fishermen return from Indonesia after being freed or escaping from slave-like conditions on Thai fishing vessels, talks to journalists at the Phnom Penh International airport on December 12, 2011. Thousands of men from Myanmar and Cambodia set sail on Thai fishing boats every day, but many are unwilling seafarers -- slaves forced to work in brutal conditions under threat of death. Rights groups say Thailand's multi-million dollar fishing industry relies on forced labour to provide seafood for restaurants and supermarkets around the world.

Thai authorities are bracing themselves for a possible downgrade on the U.S. State Department’s watch list of countries with the worst records in combating human trafficking.

Thailand was initially classified as a Tier Two country on the Trafficking in Persons list in 2010 for not complying with minimum standards required to address the trafficking of people. If a country shows no sign of improvement after two years at that level it automatically drops into the bottom, or Tier Three, list alongside North Korea, Cuba and Burma.
This can potentially trigger non-humanitarian sanctions.

Groups like Human Rights Watch and the Mirror Foundation say Thailand has experienced an increase in trafficking, in particular young girls, in recent years, putting it in jeopardy of joining the world’s worst offenders.

Human Rights Watch Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson told a panel discussion at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand that authorities have passed laws that should be sufficient to stem the tide of human trafficking, but there has been a reluctance to defend the rights of victims.

“Human trafficking has to be understood in the context of the migration of as many as two- to three-million migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia, and Burma who are in Thailand, many without documents and have no access to any sort of system that works for them," Robertson said.

Robertson says even those charged with breaking up trafficking rings are complicit in abuses against illegal workers. “The police themselves are frankly predatory. They see migrant workers as an opportunity to extort, abuse," he explained. "We have stories of instances where police have been involved in human-trafficking issues.”

Criticism has been particularly harsh after a preliminary report was released last year by the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Trafficking in Persons. It criticized Thailand for a weak and fragmented legal framework on trafficking, deep rooted corruption among law enforcement officers, and poor victim identification.

The report was backed by Eaklak Loomchomkhae from the Mirror Foundation.

He told the panel through an interpreter that there has been an increase in girls between age 11 and 15 being trafficked into prostitution. Because they are underage, they are not being forced to work out of brothels or karaoke bars and instead they are being ferried directly to the homes of clients.

He says this has made it difficult to detect the true extent of the problem. “These children’s clients, many of them are government servants or are well known people in their local area, so it is very difficult, hard, to follow them or do anything to them,” Loomchomkhae stated.

Thailand Ministry for Foreign Affairs Deputy Director General for International Organizations Chutintorn Gongsakdi defends the government’s anti-trafficking efforts, while facing a broad range of challenges in recent years.

“We are an upper middle-income country, according to the members of the committee on the rights of the child, and with that status comes greater expectation and we are finding it is not so easy to live up to those expectations," Gongskadi said. "But we have a willingness, we know we have those responsibilities.”

Gongskadi added his government has also accepted more than 130 recommendations from the U.N. report by the Special Rapporteur. But analysts say those steps may not be sufficient to sway the U.S. State Department from relegating Thailand to Tier Three status in its 2012 report, expected in June. Read more!

PHL eye Vietnam, Cambodia for rice imports

MANILA is considering the possibility of negotiating with the governments of Vietnam and Cambodia for the purchase of as much as 120,000 metric tons (MT) of milled rice, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday.

The 120,000 MT of milled rice is part of the 500,000 MT initially approved by the National Food Authority (NFA) Council for importation this year. In its meeting last week, the NFA council reduced the volume and approved the tender for a total of 380,000 MT.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, however, said the government is not deviating from its plan of bringing in 500,000 MT of rice into the Philippines this year.

“Resorting to government-to-government negotiations is one of the options we are considering. We have not reduced the volume that we will import. At the end of the day, [the volume of rice imports for 2012] would still total 500,000 tons,” said Alcala at the sidelines of the Food Security Strategies Forum held in Quezon City on Wednesday.

The keynote speaker during the forum was Harvard University professor Dr. Peter Timmer of the Center for Global Development who talked about the “broad-based strategies” for achieving food security.

He said the government may go the government-to-government route if only to ensure the NFA will have enough buffer stock prior to the lean months. The food agency is mandated to stock around 30 days’ worth of rice, or around 1 million tons by July.

The Philippine government has an existing rice supply agreement with Vietnam for the purchase of as much as 1.5 million metric tons (MMT) of milled rice at a negotiated price.

The agreement will expire in 2013 when the Philippines is expected to become self-sufficient in rice.

Alcala said Cambodia is keen on forging a memorandum of understanding with the Philippine government for the sale of rice.

“Cambodia is offering to sell rice at very competitive prices,” he said.

Gilbert Lauengco of the NFA’s Bids and Awards Committee said the tender for the second tranche of 190,000 MT will be held on March 26.

“It was the NFA Council’s decision to tender [a total of] 380,000 MT of rice. It’s up to the council to decide on what to do with the 120,000 tons,” said Lauengco in a telephone interview.

The NFA council is an inter-agency body that approves the volume and the manner of importing rice in a given year. Alcala chairs the council while NFA Administrator Angelito T. Banayo sits as the vice-chairman.

In December last year, the DA declared that the private sector was allowed by the NFA council to bring in the entire 500,000 MT. The NFA, which used to import the bulk of the country’s requirements, would only serve as “a clearinghouse.” Read more!

Toll to quit Cambodia rail plans

By Lindsay Murdoch
AUSTRALIAN company Toll Group is set to pull out of a controversial $145 million project to rebuild Cambodia's railways, reliable sources in Cambodia say.

Under an agreement signed in 2009, Toll and a Cambodian joint venture partner were to operate the railways for 30 years.

The project, partly funded by the Australian aid agency AusAid, has been at the centre of claims that up to 4000 people living along the tracks are not being fully compensated for having to move. A Toll spokesman declined to comment.

The rebuilding of two decrepit rail lines linking the capital, Phnom Penh, with a southern port and with the Thai border in the west is strategically important.

They were seen as part of a planned inter-country rail network linking Singapore and China through Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The Toll Group had a 30-year contract in a joint venture with well-connected Cambodian businessman Kith Meng through his Royal Group of companies.

In November last year, Fairfax Media reported that a 13-year-old girl and her nine year-old brother drowned in a deep pool four days after their family was uprooted from their home and moved to a resettlement site so work could begin on the railway. Read more!

China to continue helping Cambodia with infrastructure

BATTAMBANG - China will continue to help Cambodia with its infrastructure and raise living standard of its people, said Pan Guangxue, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia here Monday.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Cambodia's 57 national road Battambang-Pailing section in Battambang, Pan said "The completion of the road will help elevate the country's regional economic development, especially in terms of agricultural product export, and also heighten the local people's living standard."

He noted that the 103-kilometer road, which links Battambang with Pailing on the borders with Thailand is seen as one of the traffic arteries in the kingdom's northwestern region.

The populous Battambang province, some 280 kilometers northwest of the capital city of Phnom Penh, is a major rice and fruit producer in the kingdom, better transport facilities will make farm products from the area more readily available to neighboring countries, including China, the ambassador said.

On behalf of the Cambodian government and Prime Minister Hun Sen, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng expressed gratitude to China's assistance in the kingdom's infrastructure construction.

The Cambodian government has given high priority to infrastructure construction, including road, electricity, and irritation facilities, in a bid to promote regional economic development and people's living standard, he said.

"The completion of the No. 57 national road with China's assistance will surely upgrade the transportation and communication with neighboring nations and reduce the local people's transport costs," he added.

Started in November 2008, the construction of 103-km road is financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and undertaken by China Road and Bridge Corporation. Read more!

John A. Pike joins Cambodian law firm

UK barrister to drive growth at Sciaroni & Associates

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Mar 12, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- John A. Pike has joined Phnom Penh-based Sciaroni & Associates as Managing Partner, Senior Partner Bretton G. Sciaroni announced today.

Pike has extensive experience in commercial and investment banking and in the shipping industry in London, Tokyo, and Frankfurt, and for the last 10 years has been a practicing barrister-at-law in London. He has lived and worked in Cambodian since 2009 as an adviser to on agricultural development with VSO UK, a UK non-governmental organization.

Pike has business experience in most European countries, Asia, South and North America and also worked for the UK Government's Serious Fraud Office.

An Oxford-educated economist with practical knowledge and experience of international investment, among other experiences he has advised on a $150 billion portfolio for a major international bank. He is registered with the English Bar Council and is a member of Lincoln's Inn, specializing in commercial law, banking law and fraud.

"We are extremely fortunate to have a legal expert of John's caliber join our firm at a pivotal moment in the growth and expansion of our business," said Sciaroni.

"His expertise in key areas of law, particularly in all areas of banking, capital markets and dispute resolution, provides Sciaroni & Associates with valuable tools which will prove to be enormous assets to our clients and their business interests in Cambodian, and throughout Southeast Asia.

"John's qualifications in law, economics, arbitration, financial management and mediation add powerful skills to the firm."

Pike's published academic work includes a groundbreaking analysis of the English anti-Trust Law on 'price-fixing' criminal cartels that was extensively reviewed in high profile international cases in the British Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. In 2013, he is due to publish a lengthy academic volume on the historical origins and credibility of international law, in the context of international relations and 'realpolitik'.

In addition to his business and law experience, Pike has over two years' experience working for several NGOs in the agricultural sector, advising on commercial, management, and legal matters in a dozen provinces in Cambodia. He also served as a member of the training team that helped prepare the new Cambodian government's Anti-Corruption Unit prior to the enactment of the Anti Corruption Law 2010.

"I am delighted to be joining Sciaroni & Associates, with its strong track record of providing local knowledge combined with international excellence in legal advice to blue chip global corporations," said John Pike. "I look forward to working with partners Bretton Sciaroni and Matthew Rendall and a wonderful team of Cambodian and international professionals in extending the range and quality of legal services for new and existing clients in Cambodia's dynamic economy, as well as in Laos and Myanmar."

About Sciaroni & Associates

Sciaroni & Associates is a leading legal and professional services firm based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, providing advice and business insight since 1993 to many of the world's leading companies as well as to the Royal Government of Cambodia. Senior Partner Bretton G. Sciaroni has nearly 20 years of experience advising clients in Cambodia and is a leading contributor to the development of the Cambodian economy. Managing Partner Matthew Rendall has worked in Cambodia since 1994 and has extensive property and labor law expertise as well as in general investment structuring. Managing Partner John Pike has more than 25 years of banking, investment and legal experience in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. The firm provides guidance in all facets of law and investment, including capital markets, infrastructure investment, banking and finance, oil, gas and mining, dispute resolution, company creation, licensing, labor, property and government relations. Additional details may be obtained via the firm's website at www.sa-cambodia.com .

SOURCE: Sciaroni & Associates
Read more!

Cambodia Hands Document on Disputed Area with Thailand

As ordered by the International Court of Justice last year, Cambodia has submitted additional document on disputed area with Thailand to the world's top court at The Hague in Netherlands, a senior Cambodian official said Friday.

Koy Kuong, spokesman of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong had already submitted the additional document, the follow-up papers required by the ICJ after oral arguments were made by both Thailand and Cambodia last year.

He said Cambodia was given time to present the additional document by March 8 this year while Thailand was given time to do so late last year.

Hor Namhong left Cambodia on Monday and will return home on Saturday, Koy Kuong said.

Thailand and Cambodia had fierce military conflicts following Cambodia's ancient Temple of Preah Vihear was listed as World Heritage Site in 2008. Thailand has claimed 4.6 square km of land near the temple.

The conflicts resulted in many deaths and injuries, mostly soldiers from both sides.

Following the fighting, Cambodia has sought interventions from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the United Nations Security Council and as well as the ICJ.

Cambodia was requesting for ICJ interpretation of the 1962 verdict that ruled in favor to Cambodia.

The ICJ, however, has not yet set any date when the interpretation will be pronounced, but government sources said that it will be within this year. Read more!

India to Replicate Cambodia’s Angkor Wat

By Preetika Rana



Tang Chhin Sothy/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Built during the reign of Hindu King Suryavarman II,

 Angkor Wat is one of Cambodia’s prime tourist destinations.

 Indians who haven’t yet seen Cambodia’s 12th-century Angkor Wat temple have reason to cheer: the World Heritage site is being recreated on the banks of holy River Ganges, in the eastern state of Bihar.

To be built by the privately-run Bihar Mahavir Mandir Trust, the temple will have five stories and stand 222-feet tall. It will be taller than Tamil Nadu’s Brihadeeswarar temple, making it the “tallest Hindu temple in the world,” the trust announced Monday. The estimated cost of the 10-year long project is about $20 million, or one billion rupees, the trust says.

So what inspired this initiative?

“I have always been fascinated by the beauty and grandeur of Angkor Wat,” Acharya Kishore Kunal, secretary of the trust, told India Real Time. “Recreating the masterpiece would be a tribute to India,” he added.

Built during the reign of Hindu King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat is one of Cambodia’s prime tourist destinations.  Spread across a sprawling campus of 203-acres, the temple was chiefly dedicated to Lord Vishnu, one of the Hindu Gods, until the late 13th century. In the years ahead, the temple became dedicated to Lord Buddha.

Its Indian replica, “Virat Angkor Wat Ram Mandir,” will be built on a 40-acre campus on the Hajipur-Bidupur road, about 20 kilometers from Bihar’s state capital, Patna, the trust says.

The place where the temple will be built is, “no ordinary site,” Mr. Kunal says. Legend has it that Hindu deity, Ram, and his brother Lakshman set foot here, he adds. Lord Ram is chiefly worshiped by Hindus across the globe and believed to be an earthly incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Mr. Kunal claims that the temple venture will “drastically boost” tourism in India, although the country’s tourism officials appear oblivious of the initiative.

“We have not heard or seen any news reports of the temple,” a spokeswoman for India’s Ministry of Tourism said. In Bihar, Priteshwar Prasad, the assistant director of tourism, said he had, “no knowledge” of the shrine. After India Real Time informed Mr. Prasad of the venture, he was quick to add that the project will, “definitely put Bihar on the global map.”

The Ministry of Tourism in Bihar may be pleased with the venture, but not everyone welcomes the move.

An official from the Cambodian embassy in New Delhi said the trust has not gotten permission to replicate Angkor Wat. “We are quite unhappy with this development,” she said, adding that the Cambodian government may request the Indian government to stall the project.

“We won’t let anyone confuse the world that there are two Angkor Wats,” Phay Siphan, a Cambodian government spokesman, told the New Zealand Herald.

Mr. Kunal, of the trust, said his group, “did not deem it appropriate” to communicate with the Cambodian government since the temple will, “not be an exact replica” of Angkor Wat. Three key differences will distinguish the Hindu temple from its Cambodian counterpart, he added.

First, the temple’s central tower will be 222-feet long, 12 feet higher than the one at Angkor Wat, he said.

Why 222-feet? According to ancient Hindu belief, the number 222 is auspicious and brings good fortune, he says.

The second distinguishing feature, Mr. Kunal says, is that the shrine will be built using concrete and granite, not the sandstone that was used to erect Angkor Wat. “We believe the material is far superior to sandstone,” he adds.

Third, the temple will house colossal marble idols of several Hindu deities, he says. These include Lord Ram and his consort Sita, Lord Krishna and companion Radha and Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Angkor Wat, on the other hand is chiefly dedicated to Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

“The Cambodian government should understand that we are not competing with Angkor Wat in any way,” he asserted.

The end objective, he says, is not to supersede the grandeur of the Cambodian shrine but to, “create a magnificent Hindu temple for our land.”

The trust plans to begin construction of the Hindu temple this May. Read more!

Chinese firms increase investment in Cambodia at cost of environment

It was once the unspoiled jungle home for tigers, elephants, bears and gibbons. But today Botum Sakor National Park in southwest Cambodia is fast disappearing to accommodate a much less endangered species: the Chinese gambler.

“This was all forest once,” says Chut Wutty, director of the Natural Resource Protection Group, an environmental watchdog based in the capital, Phnom Penh, gesturing across a near-treeless landscape.

“But then the government sold the land to rich men.”

He means Tianjin Union Development Group, a real-estate company from northern China, which is transforming 340 sq km of Botum Sakor into a city-sized gambling resort for “extravagant feasting and revelry,” its website says. A 64-km highway, now almost complete, will cut a four-lane swathe through mostly virgin forest.

National parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Cambodia, an impoverished country known for its ancient temples and genocidal Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s, could soon vanish entirely as deep-pocketed Chinese investors accelerate a secretive sell-off of protected areas to private companies, warns Chut Wutty and other activists.

The land sales also point to another trend: the expansion of Chinese economic interests in Southeast Asia’s undeveloped frontiers, which comes at a delicate time as tensions simmer over China’s sovereignty claims in the disputed South China Sea and the United States vows to re-engage with the region.

Last year, the Cambodian government granted so-called economic land concessions to scores of companies to develop 7,631 sq km of land, most of it in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, according to research by the respected Cambodia Human Rights and Development Organisation.

The area of concessions granted has risen six-fold between 2010 and 2011, partly a reflection of booming Indochina trade as China’s economic influence spreads deeper into Southeast Asia. Foreign conservation groups in the country have remained silent about the sell-off for fear of wrecking their relationship with the government of mercurial Prime Minister Hun Sen. But Cambodians dislodged from concession areas are starting to find their voices.

Fishing families in Botum Sakor say that Union Group is using strongarm tactics to relocate them deep inland.
“It’s been my land since my grandparents’ generation,” says Srey Khmao, 68, from Thmar Sar. “I lived peacefully there until Union Group threatened the villagers and told them to remove their belongings.”

Such protests could ratchet up anti-Chinese sentiment in Cambodia, where China is both the largest foreign investor and source of foreign aid. That aid, often in the form of no-strings-attached infrastructure projects, has made Hun Sen less reliant on Western donors, who generally demand greater transparency and respect for human rights.

It has also eroded the influence of foreign conservation groups in Cambodia, many of whom work in the same protected areas now being sold off. Their criticism has remained muted for fear Hun Sen will do what he did to British environmental watchdog Global Witness in 2005, and kick them out.

“The days of donor-dependency are over," says a foreign conservationist working in Cambodia, who asked not to be identified. “Much more money is coming into this country through direct investment, especially from Chinese companies, so the carrot-and-stick incentive that NGOs might have had 10 years ago isn’t as powerful these days."

Land-grabbing, illegal logging and forced evictions have long been common in Cambodia. But by granting land concessions, the government has effectively legalized these practices in the country’s last remaining wilderness, say activists.

Companies from Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries are also exploiting the land sell-off, mainly to develop rubber plantations and other agribusinesses. But the most lucrative projects —mining for gold and other minerals — are dominated by the Chinese, says the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. Read more!

Angkor Wat? Cambodia fears replica will hit tourism sector

It is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Not so, perhaps, when it comes to ancient Hindu temples.

This week, officials in eastern India announced their plan to build a replica of Cambodia's spellbinding 12th-century temple, Angkor Wat, on the banks of the Ganges in the state of Bihar.
A religious group, the Mahavir Mandir Trust, said that when it is completed, the £13 million ($25 million) project will not only be a major attraction in its own right, but will be the tallest Hindu temple in the world.

As he laid the foundation stone, Kishore Kunal, the trust's secretary, told local media the temple's name will be Virat Angkor Wat Ram Mandir.

"The site is blessed as Ram, Lakshman and Vishwamitra were welcomed here on their arrival by King Sumati of the Vaishali kingdom," he added, referring to Hindu deities.

But while people in Bihar may be excited about the project, not everyone is happy. Officials in Cambodia yesterday said they believed the move was a shameful act that would undermine the value of the country's best-known tourist attraction which has been a World Heritage Site since 1992.

Three million foreign tourists a year visit the Cambodian temple near the town of Siam Reap.

Such is the importance of the site to the largely Buddhist nation, both culturally and in terms of the revenue it generates, that it features on the national flag.

"Angkor Wat is Angkor Wat - it is unique," Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said. "They are raising this to be confrontational and it is provocative of the World Heritage principle. We won't let anyone confuse the world that there are two Angkor Wats."

The location of the Indian temple, or Angkor Nagar as some are calling it, is about 40km outside Patna.

Indian officials say it will stand 67m high. While the Cambodian temple was built to worship the Hindu god Vishnu, the replica will also invite worship of Shiva and other deities. Siphan said officials in Phnom Penh would raise its concerns with the Indian Government to try to resolve the matter.

"[The two nations] have good relations and good co-operation, so we are looking for that to solve this issue," he said.

"The tourists who come to visit Angkor Wat are not seeing it simply as a stone building. They come here to see the culture and to learn."

The Indian Angkor will have five storeys and five "shikhars" or pinnacles, like the Cambodian original. It is estimated that work on the main structure, which will sit on a 16ha site in Vaishali district, will take up to five years, while completing the project could take a decade.

- Independent

By Andrew Buncombe . Read more!

China gambles on Cambodia's shrinking forests

BOTUM SAKOR, Cambodia (March 7, 2012): It was once the unspoiled jungle home for tigers, elephants, bears and gibbons. But today Botum Sakor National Park in southwest Cambodia is fast disappearing to accommodate a much less endangered species: the Chinese gambler.

"This was all forest once," says Chut Wutty, director of the Natural Resource Protection Group, an environmental watchdog based in the capital, Phnom Penh, gesturing across a near-treeless landscape.

"But then the government sold the land to rich men." He means Tianjin Union Development Group, a real-estate company from northern China, which is transforming 340 sq km of Botum Sakor into a city-sized gambling resort for "extravagant feasting and revelry", its website says.

A 64-km highway, now almost complete, will cut a four-lane swathe through mostly virgin forest. National parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Cambodia, an impoverished country known for its ancient temples and genocidal Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s, could soon vanish entirely as deep-pocketed Chinese investors accelerate a secretive sell-off of protected areas to private companies, warns Chut Wutty and other activists.

The land sales also point to another trend: the expansion of Chinese economic interests in Southeast Asia's undeveloped frontiers, which comes at a delicate time as tensions simmer over China's sovereignty claims in the disputed South China Sea and the United States vows to re-engage with the region.

Last year, the Cambodian government granted so-called economic land concessions to scores of companies to develop 7,631 sq km (2,946 sq miles) of land, most of it in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, according to research by the respected Cambodia Human Rights and Development Organization (ADHOC).
The area of concessions granted has risen six-fold between 2010 and 2011, partly a reflection of booming Indochina trade as China's economic influence spreads deeper into Southeast Asia.

Foreign conservation groups in the country have remained silent about the sell-off for fear of wrecking their relationship with the government of mercurial Prime Minister Hun Sen. But Cambodians dislodged from concession areas are starting to find their voices.

Fishing families in Botum Sakor say that Union Group is using strongarm tactics to relocate them deep inland. "It's been my land since my grandparents' generation," says Srey Khmao, 68, from Thmar Sar.

"I lived peacefully there until Union Group threatened the villagers and told them to remove their belongings." Such protests could ratchet up anti-Chinese sentiment in Cambodia, where China is both the largest foreign investor and source of foreign aid.

That aid, often in the form of no-strings-attached infrastructure projects, has made Hun Sen less reliant on Western donors, who generally demand greater transparency and respect for human rights.

It has also eroded the influence of foreign conservation groups in Cambodia, many of whom work in the same protected areas now being sold off.

Their criticism has remained muted for fear Hun Sen will do what he did to British environmental watchdog Global Witness in 2005, and kick them out. "The days of donor-dependency are over," says a foreign conservationist working in Cambodia, who asked not to be identified.

"Much more money is coming into this country through direct investment, especially from Chinese companies, so the carrot-and-stick incentive that NGOs (non-governmental groups) might have had 10 years ago isn't as powerful these days."

Land-grabbing, illegal logging and forced evictions have long been common in Cambodia. But by granting land concessions, the government has effectively legalised these practises in the country's last remaining wilderness, say activists.

Companies from Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries are also exploiting the land sell-off, mainly to develop rubber plantations and other agribusinesses. But the most lucrative projects -- mining for gold and other minerals -- are dominated by the Chinese, says the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

Cambodia's 2001 land law forbids economic land concessions greater than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres). But China's Union Group won a 99-year lease thanks to a 2008 royal decree which carved out 36,000 hectares from Botum Sakor and redefined it.

In the same year, a contract was signed by Minister of Environment Mok Mareth and the chief of Union Group's board of directors Li Zhi Xuan. The company was granted a further 9,100 adjoining hectares last year to build a hydroelectric dam.

Union Group has big ambitions for the area, including a network of roads, an international airport, a port for large cruise ships, two reservoirs, condominiums, hotels, hospitals, golf courses and a casino called "Angkor Wat on Sea", according to the contract and its website.

It will sink $3.8 billion into its Botum Sakor resort, a figure quoted to rights groups in February by Bun Leut, governor of coastal Koh Kong province . It covers an area almost half the size of Singapore. People in the area say it will be called either "Seven-headed Dragon" or "Hong Kong II".

"Those are just rumours. It hasn't been named yet," says Cheang Sivling, a Chinese-speaking Cambodian manager for Union Group's road-building operations.

The four-lane highway, built at a cost of about $1.1 million a mile, is part of a system of roads Union Group will run across Botum Sakor, adds Cheang Sivling.

This alarms Mathieu Pellerin, a researcher with the Cambodian human rights group Licadho, who notes that newly built roads give logging operators greater access and could accelerate the destruction of forests.

"Botum Sakor is melting away," he says. The worksites along the highway house a number of Chinese engineers, and are guarded by Cambodian soldiers.

Access to the resort area itself is blocked by a provincial park ranger who, when Reuters tried to pass, threatened to radio for back-up from military police, who along with the police routinely provide security for big concessionaires.

"This is China," he says firmly. Nearby, at the picturesque seaside village of Poy Jopon, people were preparing to leave after signing away their property to Union Group -- under duress, they say.

"I'm upset, but there is nothing I can do about it," says Chey Pheap, 42, a grocery store owner. "This is the way society works." He and the remaining villagers will soon be moved to houses some 10 km (six miles) inland.

When asked to describe the new area, one of Chey Pheap's neighbours says: "No work, no water, no school, no temple. Just malaria." Nhorn Saroen, 52, was among hundreds of families who have already been moved from another fishing village, called Kom Saoi.

"We were told it was Chinese land and we couldn't cut down a single tree," he says. "Some people refused to leave. Their land was taken and now they have nothing."

He was provided with a house in a purpose-built village far inland, robbing him of his main livelihood: fishing. The houses surrounding Nhorn Saroen's are deserted. Many families cannot make ends meet in the remote area and have moved away, he says.

Passing just behind his house was a moat which delineated Union Group's land. It was three metres deep (10 ft) and twice as wide, and ran for many kilometres. For the villagers, it symbolised China's power and remoteness. "Even though we hate the Chinese, what can we do?" says Nhorn Saroen.

Union Group's website praises Cambodia for its "sound public order" and "simple and honest" people. Allegations of forced evictions are "a problem between the Cambodian government and its people", says a company spokeswoman, who declined to be identified.

Union Group obeyed Cambodian laws and worked closely with the Chinese government, she adds. Its road network was welcomed by people in the area.

"Residents said they finally saw real roads and cars," she says. "In this regard, I think we have contributed to Cambodia." She confirmed that Union Group is spending "billions" of dollars on the project.

The government granted a record number of economic land concessions in 2011, says Pellerin, but keeping track of them is impossible. Information on hard-to-reach concessions or the firms leasing them is not systematically maintained.

The government's contract with Union Group is "shocking", says Pellerin. "Cambodia is giving away 36,000 hectares to a foreign entity with little if any oversight or obvious benefit to the people."

As part of that contract, Union Group deposited $1 million with the Council for the Development of Cambodia, but pays no fees for the first decade of its lease.

Leasing protected areas generates minimal money, insisted Sem Saroeun, director general of finance and administration at the Ministry of Environment.

The government charged even deep-pocketed Chinese firms a mere $1 per hectare per year. "This is a voluntary price and the funds go to the protection and conservation of the environment," he says.

New anti-graft laws prevent additional under-the-table payments, he adds. But Seng Sok Heng of Community Peace Network, a group which helps track land concessions for the pro-transparency website Open Development Cambodia, says the government is charging up to $10 per hectare per year, and that additional bribes were common.

Environment official Sem Saroeun said he didn't know the total area leased out by the government, but added that concessions were only granted on land surrounding protected areas.

"The core areas are still protected," he says. But this claim is upended not only by Reuters' trip to fast-shrinking Botum Sakor, but also by satellite images and research by groups.

Maps produced by Licadho show huge leaseholds at the heart of wildlife sanctuaries such as Boeng Per and Phnom Aural, while 19 concessions have swallowed up almost all of Virachey national park on Cambodia's remote border with Laos and Vietnam.

With Chinese investors fanning out across fast-growing Southeast Asia, festering resentment over land-hungry projects could spell trouble for Beijing, especially after the United States signalled last year that it would strengthen economic and diplomatic influence in the region.

A new generation of Chinese multinationals is facing pockets of resistance in a region they once dominated without question. Myanmar's reformist government apparently bowed to popular discontent by cancelling a $3.6 billion Chinese-led dam project in September, marking a turning point in relations with its giant neighbour.

A similar movement opposes trans-Myanmar pipelines that will transport oil and gas to China. Through all this, Cambodia has been a reliable ally for China. Foreign direct investment from China was $1.19 billion in 2011, almost 10 times that of the United States, estimated the government's Council for the Development of Cambodia, which Hun Sen chairs.

China has also been generous with aid, pledging more than $2 billion since 1992, mostly in soft loans, according to Finance Minister Keat Chhon in February.

This "blank cheque diplomacy" threatened to "erode donor efforts to use assistance to promote improved governance and respect for human rights", a U.S. diplomat said in a cable released last year by the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks.

"There is a growing sense -- and this is not unique to Cambodia -- that Chinese investors and employers are problematic," says Sophie Richardson, Asia Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch.

"At the same time, it's not as if the Cambodian government is stepping up to defend its own citizens." Hun Sen has publicly praised China for placing no conditions on its aid, but the U.S. diplomat noted in the cable that Chinese companies had been rewarded with non-transparent "access to mineral and resource wealth".

And land: leaseholds offer potentially strategic locations for expanding Chinese interests. Union Group's vast concession has easy access to both the Gulf of Thailand -- the traditional backyard of U.S. military ally Thailand -- and the hotly contested South China Sea.

For activist Chut Wutty, Union Group's activities smack of colonisation. "You think after 99 years that this land will be returned to Cambodia? You think they'll kick the Chinese out? No way. It's forever." - Reuters Read more!