AUSTRALIAN police suspect a nephew of Cambodia's Prime Minister of involvement in a heroin trafficking and money laundering syndicate targeting Australia.
But a plan to arrest and question Hun To in Melbourne was thwarted because his application for a visa was denied by Australian embassy officials in Phnom Penh, with one official citing the need to avoid a diplomatic incident.
The targeting of Hun To by an Australian Crime Commission inquiry between 2002 and 2004 is one of several incidents that suggest strong and continuing links between local crime figures and Cambodia.
The Age can also reveal that Sydney crime figures have been investing millions of dollars of suspected drug proceeds in businesses in Cambodia, including some tied to influential government and business identities.
The revelations come after The Saturday Age reported that police had uncovered a global crime syndicate importing more than $1 billion of drugs into Australia annually, with connections to government and policing officials across Asia.
The inquiry that targeted Hun To, dubbed Operation Illipango, investigated the shipment of heroin into Australia from Cambodia in loads of timber.
Hun To, a nephew of Prime Minister Hun Sen, is a powerful and feared figure in Cambodia. He was once considered a close business associate of Cambodia's richest man, tycoon Kith Meng, who owns the Royal Group investment and development empire.
Operation Illipango investigated suspected drug funds taken to Crown casino in Melbourne, from where — under the suspected oversight of Hun To — they were then moved to Asia.
Kith Meng had numerous dealings with Hun To during Hun To's suspected crime activity, although The Age is not suggesting Kith Meng is involved in organised crime.
Kith Meng's Royal Group has partnered major Australian companies such as ANZ and Toll Holdings in joint venture projects in Cambodia.
Plans to arrest Hun To were derailed after his visa was cancelled. An embassy official briefed on the police operation targeting him is believed to have raised concerns that his arrest could create a diplomatic incident. An Immigration Department spokesman said privacy laws prevented the department from discussing whether he had applied for a visa or reasons why such an application may have been denied.
The only person charged with drug trafficking in connection to the ACC inquiry was Cambodian national Phenny Thai, a lowly associate of Hun To.
Phenny Thai was described in the Victorian Supreme Court in 2005 as having "strong connections with powerful people in Cambodia which facilitated his business enterprises." He had also "gained the rank of major in the Cambodian army, having paid for that appointment."
Among other Australians with suspected organised crime links to Cambodia are a Vietnamese-Chinese family that owns a well-known Sydney Asian restaurant.
Police have determined that over the past decade, the family has helped send more than $10 million to Cambodia, including suspected proceeds of drug trafficking. Some of the money was used to fund a casino. Other funds were invested in a casino cruise ship.
In 2006, an associate of this Australian crime family told an Asian news service that their casino business maintained "a good relationship with the Cambodian government."
Hun To could not be contacted for comment. Kith Meng said he was too busy to talk to The Age.
Read more!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Drugs: our man in Cambodia
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Cambodia calls for more active participation to fight TB
PHNOM PENH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia celebrated the World TB Day on Saturday, calling for more active participation from all concerned parties to help the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in 2015.
In a message to mark the day, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia has seen success in fighting tuberculosis and the disease treatment services have covered all 1,080 health centers throughout the country.
He said the death rate from TB had also sharply declined from 153 deaths among 100,000 patients in 1990 to 61 deaths in 2010, a drop of 61 percent.
"This figure showed that Cambodia has already achieved the MDG of the 50 percent reduction by 2015," he said.
For the infection rate, the premier said, the tuberculosis infection prevalence rate declined from 1,258 cases among 100,000 people in 1990 to 660 cases in 2010, down 47 percent.
"We almost reach the MDG of the 50 percent reduction by 2015," he said.
Despite the success, Cambodia is still one of the 22 high TB burden countries in the world, he said.
Around 62,000 people are estimated to suffer from TB each year and almost 9,000 Cambodians with TB die annually.
"On this occasion, I'd like to appeal to all ministries, institutions, all levels of authorities, national and international concerned parties, and common people to actively support every activity in fighting against TB in order to help Cambodia achieve the MDG successfully," said the premier.
The Saturday's celebration was presided over by the Minister of Health Mam Bunheng and Pieter van Maaren, the representative of the World Health Organization to Cambodia, and attended by some 400 health officials, TB patients, and students.
At the event, Pieter hailed Cambodia for its strong efforts to reduce the death and infection rates of TB in Cambodia, saying that with the above mentioned results, he believed that the country would be able to achieve the MDG in 2015.
Read more!
Cambodia's ruling party president elected f senate president
PHNOM PENH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Chea Sim, 80, was elected the president of the Senate in the third legislature on Saturday.
All 60 senators, who were present during the session, had unanimously voted for Chea Sim as the president, bringing him as the president of the Senate in three straight mandates since the Senate's establishment in 1999.
The senators had also voted for Say Chhum, chairman of the Permanent Committee of the Standing Committee of the CPP, as the 1st vice-president, and Tep Ngorn of the CPP as the 2nd vice- president.
Speaking after the votes, Chea Sim expressed profound thanks to all the Senators for electing him as the president and the other two CPP's Senators as the 1st and 2nd vice-presidents.
"We'd like to say thanks to all of you for giving confidence in us and let us lead this top legislative body," he said. "We' re committed to working more active in this mandate in order to help the government of Cambodia in building the nation."
The third mandate of the Senate was officially in function on Saturday after the non-universal elections in January, in which the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen won 46 seats and Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the country's main opposition party, gained the remaining 11.
The elections were voted by Members of Parliaments and commune councilors.
The third mandate of the Senate consists of 61 Senators including 46 from the CPP, 11 from the SRP, 2 appointed by the King Norodom Sihamoni, and 2 nominated by the National Assembly.
The Senate, or the upper house, was established in 1999 with a term of six years.
Read more!
Export Assistance Program Cambodia to Offer New Natural Sedge Mats, Eco-Friendly Handbags and iPad Cases at Hong Kong Trade Fairs
Hundreds of quality products featured at Global Sources’ China Sourcing Fairs: Home Products, booth #7L16 Apr. 20-23; Fashion Accessories Apr. 27-30, booth #7S31, Hong Kong AsiaWorld-Expo.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 24, 2012 --(PR.com)-- The social enterprise Export Assistance Program Cambodia (http://www.ExportServiceCentre.com/Cambodia) will showcase new product lines, natural sedge products and eco-friendly reused-net bags at Global Sources China Sourcing Fairs at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo (http://www.chinasourcingfair.com): Home Products show booth #7L16, Apr. 20-23 and at Fashion Accessories booth #7S31, Apr. 27-30.
Products on display will be natural sedge mats, including area mats, exercise mats, placemats and fashion bags in assorted colors all handmade by skilled artisans. Eco-friendly products made from recycled rice bags and re-used nets range from handbags, shoulder bags, and wallets to iPhone, iPad cases and laptop cases. These are all handmade by disabled and underprivileged producers who embrace fair trade principles.
“Products of natural sedge is our new line. We believe buyers will love these lovely products due to the environmental-friendly nature and that they are hand-woven,” said Sokneang Chhour, export manager of the Export Assistance Program Cambodia.
“We welcome mixed orders starting at just $500. Buyers can test our products in their markets before committing to larger orders. Plus, buyers may elect to use our personalized services including sourcing and sampling, QC and door-to-door shipping.”
Easy imports – complete service to buyers
The Export Assistance Program offers a one-stop sourcing hub for quality products handmade in Cambodia.
One buyer, David Adema, an online-shop retailer in U.S. said: “I liked the sedge exercise mats on my first sight. They look unique and very competitive by its nature. I am importing some now to test in my markets.”
Another buyer, Dustin Butler, president of Forest Blends, LLC. in U.S said: “The Export Service Centre has gone above and beyond our customer service expectations. They are very prompt, responsive -- and the products are great quality.
“The bags and ornaments are absolutely beautiful. When retailing to the US markets, the gold standard of quality is always expected, and their products are top notch.”
Global Sources – corporate social responsibility
As one of its corporate social responsibility initiatives, China Sourcing Fair organizer Global Sources (NASDAQ: GSOL www.globalsources.com) donated the booth space for the Export Assistance Program Cambodia. The program is a social enterprise of the Kearny Alliance, and its aim is to create jobs for needy, hardworking people in Cambodia.
About The Kearny Alliance
The Kearny Alliance (http://www.kearnyalliance.org), a US nonprofit 501 (c) (3) foundation, partners with other international organizations to further its mission of Aid through Trade, to advance international development and poverty alleviation through trade-related business, education, training and applied research.
Key programmatic areas include:
* Job creation for small & medium producers: Through the Developing Country Export Assistance Program (http://kearnyalliance.org/sourcingreports), the Kearny Alliance connects smaller exporters in developing Asia with buyers worldwide. Surveys of our supplier-beneficiaries in India, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia show they have received $829,792 in export orders, and expect more than $6,011,169 to develop in the next 12 months.
* Education & skills development: The Kearny Alliance offers stipend support for students from Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao and mainland China to study in Hong Kong, Thailand, The Philippines and the US. The dozens of Kearny Alliance Scholars receive internships and on-the-job training in export-related companies and organizations in ten countries.
* Trade policy research: We believe that the health of the global economy and peace between nations depend on countries having productive trade relationships, which requires open, fact-based dialogues. Our approach is to encourage dialogue by promoting fact, infusing clarity, and explaining why trade issues matter to individuals, communities, nations, and the world. One major initiative is www.FutureofUSChinaTrade.Com, an online center for data, analysis, and insightful discussion on U.S. - China trade.
Read more!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Conservation Helps Secure Land Rights in Cambodia
A vulnerable ethic minority village inside Cambodia’s remote Seima Protection Forest recenlty 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.
Read more!
Cambodian Opposition Leader Blasts Tribunal Interference
Sam Rainsy told VOA's Khmer service Thursday that officials in the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen "fear a serious investigation."
"Any serious and in-depth investigation would show that several members of the current government were involved in the Khmer Rouge crimes," said Sam Rainsy. "It is why several members of the current government have refused to testify to respond to summons."
Khmer Rouge tribunal judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet quit in protest earlier this week, citing repeated challenges to his authority by his Cambodian counterpart on the tribunal. Kasper-Ansermet's predecessor, Swiss Judge Siegfried Blunt, quit the tribunal earlier this year after complaining of similar interference from You Bunleng.
Sam Rainsy said unless such interference ends, the tribunal's legacy will be one of continued violence.
"If all the people who are, who were responsible for the death of millions of people are not duly prosecuted, then subsequent leaders will feel free to kill other people like the current government is doing," he said.
The tribunal has already sentenced one former Khmer Rouge official to life in prison, and is currently hearing a second case against the group's three top surviving leaders. The trio face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians who died under Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge member, has repeatedly said there should be no further prosecutions. He and other Cambodian officials have voiced fear that further cases could spark civil war in the tiny Southeast Asian nation.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is in the United States meeting with officials from both the U.S. and United Nations.
He says many U.S. and U.N. officials compare Cambodia and Burma, but that unlike Burma, Cambodia is going in the wrong direction.
"The leader of the opposition is not allowed to go back to Cambodia, is not allowed to take part in any election because of a politically subservient court that has sentenced the opposition leader, preventing him to go back and preventing him from running," said Rainsy.
Sam Rainsy called on the U.S. and the U.N. to push for free and fair elections in Cambodia, saying corruption and incompetence are eroding the standard of living for many Cambodians.
Last year, a Cambodian court sentenced Sam Rainsy in absentia to two years in prison on charges of defaming Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
Sam Rainsy, who is living in exile in France, already faced 12 years in prison on two previous convictions which his supporters charge are politically motivated.
Sam Rainsy supporters charge the cases were brought to prevent him from leading his party into elections expected in 2013. Read more!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Carr plans South-East Asia visit
Foreign Minister Bob Carr will travel to Cambodia, Vietnam and Singapore.
While Senator Carr visited New Zealand as foreign minister-designate, this will be his first trip since being formally sworn in last week.
Senator Carr wants the trip to highlight the priority Australia places on its relationship with South-East Asia.
'This region is critical to Australia's long-term national interest - politically, economically and for regional and global security,' he said in a statement.
'The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been central to the development of a prosperous and stable region and to the increasing stature of regional institutions, particularly the East Asia Summit (EAS).'
Senator Carr will leave Australia on Saturday for Cambodia, the current chair of ASEAN and the EAS.
He will meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and visit some Australian-funded aid projects.
In Vietnam, he will meet Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and open the new Australian Consulate-General premises in Ho Chi Minh City.
In Singapore, he will meet Foreign Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam for talks on reforms in Burma and other topics.
Read more!
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!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Cambodian War Crimes Tribunal Under Pressure After Judge Resigns
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
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!
Monday, March 19, 2012
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.
Cambodia outraged at plans for Angkor Wat replica in India
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!
Friday, March 16, 2012
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.
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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.
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Cambodia: Right to Freedom of Assembly has Been Severely Violated
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| H.E. Ang Vong Vathna, Cambodia's Minister of Justice, and H.E. Sar Kheng, Cambodia's Minister of Interior |
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).
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Wednesday, March 14, 2012
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.
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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..."
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.”
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
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.
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