Supporters of the ruling Cambodian People's Party wave from a vehicle during a commune elections campaign rally in Phnom Penh, Friday, May 18, 2012.
Villagers in Stung Treng province have accused local officials of trying to force them to vote for the ruling party in commune elections next month.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a resident of Keng Nge village, in Siem Pang district, said officials of the Cambodian People’s Party told villagers they would know who they voted for, following a meeting called at the local pagoda. This was intended to push the villagers to vote for the CPP, the attendee said.
Competing parties are in the midst of a 15-day campaign period ahead of the June 3 elections.
Those who attended the meeting in Siem Peng were given CPP hats and T-shirts and told to vote for the ruling party, the attendees said. District Governor Shi Soun acknowledged he had told villagers to vote for the CPP, but he denied breaking the election laws meant to prevent improper influence over voters.
“Most of the villagers are members of the CPP,” he said. Puy Chantha Lak, head of the provincial election committee in Stung Treng, said he was not aware of the incident but would investigate. If party members are pressuring villagers into voting for them, they are in the wrong, he said.
The National Election Committee has so far received 18 complaints of irregularities during the campaign period, said the governing body’s secretary-general, Tep Nitha: three from the CPP, 14 from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party and one from local authorities.
Nine complaints have been resolved by commune election committees, he said. However, Yim Sovann, spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, said the NEC had not settled his party’s complaints.
The party had filed many complaints of irregularities that have been ignored, he said.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Stung Treng Villagers Say They Are Being Pressured to Vote CPP
Saturday, May 19, 2012
UK investment in Cambodian apparel sector to surge
Investments in the Cambodian garment sector from the UK are to get a boost as the UK Trade and Investment Office is set to open a permanent branch in Phnom Penh.
Traditionally, Cambodia’s clothing sector has attracted the largest chunk of UK investment. Last year, the UK was the only European country to invest in Cambodia.
During the past five years, bilateral trade between Cambodia and the UK have risen by more than 300 percent and it was worth US$ 400 million in 2011, as per the data available with the British embassy in Phnom Penh. In the first quarter of the current year, there has been a growth in bilateral trade by over 40 percent year-on-year.
The Phnom Penh branch of the UK Trade and Investment Office is being established in the expectation that the economic ties between the two nations would continue to grow at very fast pace.
The office would facilitate business registration and will also produce market reports. According to the data with the Cambodian Investment Board, the UK was the largest investor in Cambodia in 2011.
The bulk of the US$ 2.2 billion money, however, came in the form of a single investment by a Cayman Islands-based company. In 2010, UK investment in Cambodia was around US$ 10 million.
Meanwhile, Quantum Clothing, the UK’s biggest company in Cambodia, has inaugurated its third apparel factory with an investment of about US$ 10 million. .
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Cambodian, Chinese firms sign co-op MOUs
PHNOM PENH - Cambodian and Chinese firms on Friday signed a number of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on business cooperation in the fields of agriculture, mineral resources, food, garment, and electronic products.
Ten MoUs were signed between Chinese companies and a Cambodia's Power Partner Profit Group under the witness of Serei Kosal, Cambodia's senior minister in charge of special mission.
The Chinese firms engaged in the MOUs including Yunnan Yunmanganese Group doing business in mineral exploitation, water resource and electric power, real estate and rubber; Sinsing Rubber; Sichuan Jingong Chuanpai Flavoring; and Gao Shun Settles Down doing business in cassava.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Lt. Gen. Yim Sawvy, Chief Executive Officer of Cambodia's Power Partner Profit Group, said the 10 MOUs are involved in the business cooperation on natural rubber, rice, cassava, wooden furniture manufacturing, black pepper, mineral resources, electronic projects, industrial equipment products, clothing material, and chicken soup ingredient products.
He said through the MOUs, his group of companies expect to export 60,000 tons of rubber latex, 500,000 tons of rice, 1 million tons of cassava, and 3,500 tons of black pepper to China to supply those Chinese firms.
Vijit Yang, chairman of ASEAN-China Economy and Trade Promotion Association, which coordinated the business cooperation, said that through the MOUs, the bilateral trade and investment between Cambodia and China will be further promoted and the two countries' investors have moved closer.
Meanwhile, Serei Kosal said the cooperation would deepen business relationship and strengthen connection between Cambodia's business people and China's investors.
"Cambodia sees China as a big market for Cambodian products, especially for agricultural ones," he said, "we hope to see more Cambodia's exports to China after the MoUs were signed." .
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Friday, May 18, 2012
Norma Morgan to show Vietnam, Cambodia slides
Norma Morgan, 78, has traveled to 45 countries in the past 30 years. She goes alone, often connecting with group tours in distant places, and hsa a keen intellect.
Chris Jacobs, the science center's volunteer coordinator,, says, "Norma has beautiful pictures from her recent trip to Vietnam and the Angkor Wat region of Cambodia.
"From infamous historical sites to Archeological ruins, Norma invites you to be an armchair traveler with her to see what these two countries offer a curious, intrepid tourist."
Tea and delicious treats will be served following the presentation.
The cost is: Members: $7; NonMembers: $10.
The center is at 48 Jacobs Lane, off Route 123.
Call 781-659-2559. Or visit the website. . Read more!
Prey Lang Forestry Activists Lobby Washington for Help
“It destroys their livelihoods and their income from resin and other forest secondary products.”
Phouk Hong, a Kuy ethnic minority who led a three-member team, told VOA Khmer in an TV interview that concession companies have destroyed the forest and do more harm to local culture than good.
Environmental activists from Prey Lang forest have brought their concerns to Washington seeking international support to end deforestation in Cambodia. Phouk Hong, a Kuy ethnic minority who led a three-member team, told VOA Khmer in an TV interview that concession companies have destroyed the forest and do more harm to local culture than good.
“The forest concession affects us a lot, especially those in the Prey Lang community,” said Phouk Hong. “It destroys their livelihoods and their income from resin and other forest secondary products.”
For Samoeun Vuthy, a Prov ethnic minority from Stung Treng province, keeping his ethnic group’s dignity and culture intact are key objectives. That means, in part, not working as labor for rubber plantations or other companies.
For Samoeun Vuthy, a Prov ethnic minority from Stung Treng province, keeping his ethnic group’s dignity and culture intact are key objectives. That means, in part, not working as labor for rubber plantations or other companies. “Land concessions do not serve the interests of indigenous groups in those areas,” he said. “Traditionally, we don’t want to work for others.
We want the freedom to make a living from forest products. We don’t want anyone to have control over us.” The delegation was invited to Amnesty International’s Washington office, where members presented their concerns over concessions and the role of the national government of Cambodia.
They want authorities to discuss concessions with locals before approving them, and they want the international community to support them.
“We are working to push the US government and the UN to address the Prey Lang and human rights issues,” said Prom Saunora, US-based Cambodian rights activist, who attended the presentation. “This is a violation of the communities of Prey Lang, a real violation of human rights.”
Many thousands of Kuy ethnic minorities are working to prevent the destruction of Prey Lang, a large primary forest that touches four provinces in the northeast of Cambodia. But land concessions have meant violent clashes between villagers and companies, as well as government security forces.
One such clash in Kratie province this week led to the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl by government security forces in an incident that has yet to be fully investigated.
“Amnesty is concerned all over Cambodia with forced evictions along with other things, but forced evictions are a real violation of international human rights law,” said Claudia Vandermade, Amnesty’s coordinator for Southeast Asia.
The delegation also brought its concerns to the Cambodian Embassy in Washington. Cambodian Ambassador Hem Heng said the government “has issued many laws and regulations to protect the forest.”
“Forest destruction is caused by individuals,” he said. “And the government is taking measures to review concession companies that do not comply with what they have agreed with the government.”
The delegation also met with UN officials in New York last week and were scheduled to talk with the US State Department Friday. .
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Monday, May 14, 2012
Old colonial villas boost Cambodia's tourist industry
Cambodia's old colonial villas are getting new life. And their restoration looks set to bring a new wave of tourism into the Country.
The seaside resort of Kep is a region blessed with unspoiled natural beauty, cooler weather and famous seafood. But the town has remained underdeveloped ever since the Khmer Rouge captured it 1969 - beating the French into retreat.
And many of the town's Art-Deco holiday villas were destroyed by the fighting and later looting. But now developers are breathing new life into the around 100 villas still-standing. Romonea villa is among them. Following its opening in 2010, today it serves as a boutique hotel.
Stephane Arrii, Property Manager of Villa Romonea Hotel, said, "Since 2007 a lot of owners, both foreigners and Khmers, have purchased land and renovated some of the houses or they bought, or built, houses of their own. It's a marvelous place with a lot of natural energy and simplicity. "
The artwork and furnishings inside Villa Romenea are from a style that was popular in Cambodia in the 1960's.
David Konenberg, Belgian tourist, said, "It's really a big villa with a very distinct style from that era. The grounds are quite big with a nice view of the Gulf of Thailand and there is everything you need to relax, to rest, in a very special place with a very special energy."
A billion dollar resort is also under construction at nearby Bokor Mountain, and a ferry now connects Kep with the popular Vietnamese resort island of Phu Quoc. This should spell good news for businesses in Kep for the coming years.
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Saturday, May 12, 2012
Cambodia's trade with S. Korea, Vietnam surges in Q1
PHNOM PENH, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Bilateral trade between Cambodia and South Korea had surged by 35 percent in the first quarter of 2012, according to statistics of the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency in Phnom Penh on Saturday.
During the January-March period this year, the total trade reached 160 million U.S. dollars, up 35 percent at the same period a year ago, it said.
Cambodia's exports to South Korea were 30 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year, up 76 percent; and the country' s imports from South Korea 130 million U.S. dollars, up 29 percent. Cambodia's main products shipped to South Korea are garments, steel and metal products, and agricultural and forestry products. In return, the country imported garment and textile raw materials, automobiles, electronic goods, and chemical products.
Meanwhile, the Trade Office at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh reported that the two-way trade between Cambodia and Vietnam had amounted to 919 million U.S. dollars during the first quarter of this year, up 43 percent from 644 million U.S. dollars at the same period a year ago.
Of the figures, Cambodia's export to Vietnam was 201 million U. S. dollars, up 57 percent, whilst Vietnam's export to Cambodia increased by 78 percent to 718 million U.S. dollars.
Cambodia's products to Vietnam are unprocessed agricultural products such as rice, tobacco, corn, cassava and rubbers, whilst Vietnam exported petroleum, construction materials, IT equipment, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, and consumer products to Cambodia.
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Friday, May 11, 2012
Hundreds mourn killed Cambodian activist
VEAL BEI, Cambodia — Hundreds of Cambodians held a memorial service Friday in a remote forest where a prominent environmental activist was shot dead two weeks ago, vowing to keep his legacy alive.
Some 300 villagers whose lives have been affected by deforestation and land grabs lit incense and paid respects at the spot where Chhut Vuthy was gunned down by a military policeman on April 26.
Many of the mourners also held up photographs of the activist with the caption: "I am Chhut Vuthy".
Vuthy, 45, was killed after he refused to hand over photographs of illegal logging to the military policeman. His death rocked the country, turning a spotlight on the increasingly violent nature of land disputes.
Vuthy's supporters said they were determined to protect Cambodia's rapidly dwindling natural riches despite the risks and pledged to continue forest patrols -- an initiative spearheaded by the late activist.
"The people will work to create more Chhut Vuthys, his death is not a threat to us," said Doung Deoum, a farmer from the northwestern province of Siem Reap.
"We will step up our activities against forest crimes," the 60-year-old said, wiping away tears as he watched mourners lay incense sticks and small branches at the site of the activist's death in Veal Bei commune, southwestern Koh Kong.
Vuthy's eldest son Chheuy Oudom Reaksmey, 19, said he was still coming to terms with recent events. "It's painful to see the spot where my father was killed. He died with honour," he told AFP.
The officer who shot Vuthy was then himself accidentally killed with his own weapon when a private security guard tried to disarm him, according to a government probe. The guard has been charged with involuntary homicide.
Campaigners say Cambodia has recently seen a rise in violence against citizens involved in land conflicts, often at the hands of armed government security forces acting in the interests of private companies.
Not including Vuthy's death, the UN human rights office in Phnom Penh has investigated four shooting incidents at protests since the start of the year.
"It's a worrying trend to say the least," Surya Subedi, special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, told reporters in Phnom Penh at the end of his seventh visit to the kingdom during which he focussed on land conflicts.
He blamed the recent spike in violence partly on "an ongoing issue of impunity" in the country.
Subedi added that he was "shocked" by Vuthy's death, and that he had visited his grave earlier in the week and paid his respects to his family.
The government announced on Monday it was temporarily suspending the granting of new land concessions to firms to put the brakes on deforestation and forced evictions, a move Subedi called a "step in the right direction".
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UN Rights Envoy Warns Against Continued Landlessness
Surya Subedi, the UN’s human rights envoy to Cambodia, expressed concern Friday over land concessions provided to private companies that are forcing people from their land in the provinces.
The envoy, who addressed reporters Friday, visited the northeastern provinces of Kratie, Ratanakkiri and Stung Treng in his seventh fact-finding mission to the country.
He urged the government to find a “workable solution” to the ongoing problem of land displacement, including the “right to remedy” for those who pushed from their land for economic developments.But he also said the government should not have to go it alone.
“Clearly the royal government has the primary responsibility for respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of its people,” he said. “However business also has a role to play.”
Land concessions could play a positive role in the economy if done properly, Subedi said. However, communities are rarely included in decisions or notified of economic concessions.
An estimated 2.3 million hectares were given over as concessions to private companies in recent years, the rights group Adhoc recently reported. Many of the concessions push families from their homes, often leading to demonstrations.
“The level of protests linked to land disputes—which are often violent—is a great cause of concern to me,” he told reporters. “Protests create enormous challenges for the authorities, particularly the provincial authorities. Some forms of protest, for example road blockages by communities, greatly impact on other individuals who have no involvement in the dispute.”
Prime Minister Hun Sen said earlier this month he was imposing a temporary halt on new concessions, to make way for greater scrutiny of their approval. However, critics say that such measures will do little to curb the ongoing practice.
Subedi said Friday the measure was a “step in the right direction” but needed to be properly implemented. . Read more!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
More Than 80 Percent See Country Going in Right Direction: Survey
A survey by the US-based International Republican Institute found 81 percent of people who think Cambodia is heading in the right direction.
The survey questioned 2,000 people in face-to-face responses in November and December last year. Critics say the responses were positive because the public is not fully informed of the country’s situation. The numbers were a bump up from the 76 percent of surveyed Cambodians who said the same thing last year.
Respondents cited more construction projects, including roads, bridges, schools, pagodas and irrigation projects as reasons for their positive views. Other factors were the greater availability of technology and products and continued peace.
Government supporters say the survey accurately reflects the attitude of the general population.
“There is no country in the world whose leaders do no wrong,” said Cheam Yiep, a lawmaker for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. “But we have now reformed all kinds of government sectors.”
However, Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said the survey did not reflect the true attitudes of Cambodians, as respondents may have been answering with their own safety in mind. He cited surveys from Iraq and North Korea with similar results.
“In terms of pressure on freedoms of the press and expression, I think people can’t reveal the right answer,” he said.
Ou Virak, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the survey results do not necessarily mean the people are fully supportive of the current government, only that they think the country is moving in the right direction.
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Cambodian Land Deals Raise Human Rights Concerns
A United Nations-appointed rights watchdog is calling on Cambodia to bridge the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Surya Subedi, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, says the government must do more to ensure that marginalized groups are not suffering from its practice of granting land concessions to developers.
Unfair practices
During a visit to Cambodia that focused on how land grants are issued to private developers, Subedi looked into allegations of rights groups who say the practice is unfair to tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes with little or no compensation.
“So there seems to be a lack of transparency, due process and the communities affected have not been offered any alternatives," Subedi explained. "They have been told that so and so company will come and start bulldozing the land with a view to clearing the way for agribusiness activities or some other activities on the land. But these people who have been farming that land for generations--what are they going to do, what is their livelihoods going to be?”
In 2004, the government designated the area as a social land concession to a local company. The deal was contingent on the developer building on-site housing for more than 1,700 families living in the area at the time. But the company reneged on the deal, and by the start of 2012, rights groups say almost one-quarter of the families were homeless.
Subedi visited the community this week. He says he was shocked by what he saw. “Indeed quite appalling conditions they have been living in. Some of them seem to have been living on top of a dump site," he said. "Basically a rubbish heap. I visited them, it was just the condition--unacceptable. I thought it was not only a human rights matter, but also a humanitarian matter.”
Economic and land concessions
Subedi says economic and other land concessions can be a positive tool for growth in what is still one of the least developed countries in the region. But he says the government must ensure there is a public debate on how such policies are enacted.
“My concern is more to do with the procedure, rather than the need -- whether the country should grant economic land concessions or not. If it is a well thought-out policy, if the legal framework is a sound one, then the country can benefit from economic land concessions. When I say the country, even the rural poor, the indigenous communities will benefit. People can benefit. We can create a win-win situation.”
This week, the government announced it would temporarily stop issuing new land concessions, though it has done little to publicly explain how the process will be improved. Subedi sees the moratorium as a positive step; the government must now show that it is serious about reforms, he says. "But it remains to be seen whether the law will be implemented appropriately. In Cambodia there are quite good laws in a number of areas, but the implementation has been a problem," he added. "I hope this particular regulation will be implemented thoroughly and properly."
Subedi says he will meet with government officials to express his concerns. His trip concludes on Friday. Read more!
Friday, May 04, 2012
Cambodian rights group: Security guard faces charges related to case of slain environmentalist
By Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A private security guard is accused of murdering a military policeman who had just fatally shot a prominent environmentalist in Cambodia, a human rights worker said Friday.
Military policeman In Ratana shot and killed Chut Wutty on April 26 during a confrontation near a logging camp that the activist was investigating. The policeman was then shot himself.
Logging company security guard Ran Boroth faces charges of “unintentional murder” in the death of the policeman, said In Kong Chet of the rights group Licadho.
Ran Boroth, 26, appeared before the Koh Kong provincial court Friday. The charge said he tried to grab In Ratana’s gun away from him when it went off, killing him.
Human rights groups have condemned and called for a thorough investigation into Chut Wutty’s killing at a checkpoint after he had taken two journalists to investigate illegal logging in a protected forest area. Activists in Cambodia commonly face intimidation and violence in the course of their work, which often targets official corruption.
Suspicions about the circumstances of Chut Wutty’s killing were also raised by the conflicting accounts of the incident. Military police first said the environmentalist had killed In Ratana, and then claimed the officer had killed himself.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday ordered an investigation.
The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia on Thursday issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” about the incident.
“We urge Cambodian authorities to undertake a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation into this matter. Furthermore, the United States encourages authorities to prosecute anyone found responsible in a similarly transparent and credible manner,” it said.
The prosecutor and investigating judge in Koh Kong could not be reached for comment.
Thong Narong, a military police commander in Koh Kong, said Friday that Ran Boroth had been arrested and sent to court, but he refused further comment.
According to Licadho’s In Kong Chet, who said he learned the details of the case from court documents, Ran Boroth could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Ten Cambodians killed during police chases in Thailand
Ten Cambodians were killed and 20 injured in two high-speed police chases in Thailand over the weekend, officials said yesterday.
Pich Vanna, deputy chief of the Cambodian-Thai border relations office, said the victims had crossed the border illegally for work.
During the first accident in Chonburi province on Saturday night, an exhausted driver sped from police, he said.
“The driver was sleepy and [his van] smashed into a tree, killing four people – two men and two women,” Pich Vanna said.
On Sunday night, police were chasing a van full of Cambodian and Thai workers when it crashed in Chachoengsao province, he said.
“Their van crashed while they tried to avoid Thai police. In this second accident, there were six people who died – four men and two women.”
About 20 people were sent to hospital and officials were preparing yesterday to send bodies back to Cambodia, Pich Vanna said.
Ouk Keo Ratanak, a spokesman at Banteay Meanchey provincial hall, said Thai officials were still trying to identify all the workers, but believed most had been cheated by brokers.
“Most of the illegal workers always leave to Thailand at night time, that’s why they face dangers like this,” he said.
Three Cambodian men were killed in a road accident in the same province on April 23, he added.
Sem Chausok, a human rights monitor at Licadho, said migrant workers who crossed illegally into Thailand often found themselves in dangerous situations.
“They don’t have a company to help them, or legal documents . . . and are always scared of and avoid Thai police officials,” he said, adding that many were also abused by brokers.
An International Labour Organization spokesman said Cambodia’s labour market was increasing by 300,000 people every year and “irregular migration” was still the cheapest, simplest and fastest option for crossing the border for work. Read more!
Toll Royal derails regional projects
The unclear future of Cambodia’s national railway, following Toll Royal Railways’ suspension of operations on March 31, has cast doubt not only on the oft-delayed redevelopment project but also on a larger build-out expected to connect much of Asia. Toll Royal, a joint venture by Australian logistics firm Toll Group and Cambodian conglomerate Royal Group of Companies, had halted operations after continued setbacks in the redevelopment prevented the company generating sufficient revenues, sources familiar with the matter told the Post in March.
But the stoppage also will affect the completion of the so-called Singapore-Kunming, China line, which has been under discussion for nearly 20 years and in which Cambodia is expected to be one of three key links.
“Obviously, this has implications well beyond the borders of Cambodia. It’s a major setback,” Pierre Chartier, a transportation expert at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia, said from Bangkok yesterday.
Slower progress on Cambodia’s rail lines could mean a slowdown for regional connectivity in general.
If rehabilitation and operational efforts decelerate on the Cambodian side, efforts to restore connecting tracks in Thailand and Vietnam could also lose momentum, Chartier said.
The Cambodian rail model was a unique one, not only in the region but also in the world, Chartier said.
While most governments look internally for rail operators, Toll’s concession was a bellwether for privatisation in the industry, he said.
“It was an interesting model for development. This could have created a best-practice example for other countries. The fact that [the Toll concession] is causing a lot of problems is not going to be good for the cause of privatisation.”
Domestically, delayed rail progress would mean more traffic on the roads, more pollution and more vehicle accidents, Chartier noted.
But more than six weeks after Toll Group notified Cambodian officials of its imminent suspension of rail operations in the Kingdom, neither the government nor the company has issued a statement formally announcing the freeze.
The Cambodian government has placed the burden on Toll Group to make clear its intentions and future in the Kingdom.
“I don’t think there will be an official comment from the government because Toll did not make an official comment,” Council of Ministers spokesman Ek Tha said yesterday.
“It is Toll’s responsibility to make this announcement.”
Toll Group spokesman Andrew Ethell said in Melbourne yesterday the company had yet to release an official statement on its Cambodian operations and did not offer a time frame for a potential announcement.
Rehabilitation of the railway was “well behind schedule” and did not comply with Toll’s business plans, Paul Power, a consultant at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) said in March.
Other inside sources had said that frequent delays in the project had frustrated Toll. The suspension on operations, which reportedly will last a year, has perplexed the government.
Cambodia’s integral role in the Singapore-Kunming rail line made Toll’s 30-year concession a keystone for rail lines that were hoped to link all of peninsular Southeast Asia. “I can’t understand why they would pull out. Cambodia is the centre of this rail network,” Ek Tha said. According to a report prepared for the World Bank in July last year, the lack of rail transport could also stymie rice exports.
“Indeed, several of the leading exporters express the view that exports could stall at 250,000 tons before rail improvements and port improvements are in place two-plus years hence,” the report states. “The sole reliance on containers will preclude reaching the 1-million-tonne export target for 2015 for both logistics and marketing considerations.”
Transporting Cambodian rice costs US$15 per 100 kilometres, three times higher than in Thailand, Sok Muniroth, an agro-business adviser at Agricultural Development International, said yesterday. Rail development was closely linked to the competitiveness of Cambodia’s milled-rice exports, he said.
“This is still a big issue in Cambodia.” Toll Royal sent letters to officials at the MPWT and Asian Development Bank on March 16, the Post reported at the time.
The company halted operations on Cambodia’s only functional line – a stretch between Phnom Penh and Touk Meas, near Kampot – on March 31. Half of the company’s Cambodian staff were reportedly laid off the same day, although Toll has so far been mum on the exact number of domestic workers that were let go. Read more!
Chea Vichea and Cambodia's shame
Next month, American filmmaker Brad Cox will travel from his base in Bangkok to New York, where he will receive a prestigious Peabody Award for a documentary he made on the assassination of the Cambodian trade union leader Chea Vichea in 2004. Two men – Bom Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun – were charged with the murder, but a confession was later retracted amid claims they were tortured. Both men also had alibis and witnesses who said they were somewhere else at the time of the killing.
Both are widely held to be innocent, but the government insists they got the right people, prompting Cox to produce “Who Killed Chea Vichea?” The movie is banned in Cambodia. Nor is the Cambodian government impressed with the award, claiming Peabody is “a politically motivated” institution, and that Cox’s film is little more than “propaganda.” (The Peabody Awards are the oldest electronic media awards in the world).
But as Cox was having a suit made for the big night, word had filtered through that another prominent environmental activist, Chut Vuthy, had been gunned down after photographing forests in Cambodia’s remote south, which is known for illegal logging.
“He reminds me quite a bit of labor leader Chea Vichea. Both were outspoken, both were willing to stand up for what they believe despite threats and harassment, and both paid the price for their convictions,” Cox said.
“I think there’s a message in this for Cambodians, and that’s to keep your head down and your mouth shut. Most people take this message to heart. There are very few that don’t and that’s what makes guys like Chut Vuthy and Chea Vichea special.
“They gain the admiration of the Cambodian people, but also the ire of the powers that be. And as much as I hate to say it, I doubt this tragedy will be the last.”
The Chut Vuthy killing is having explosive ramifications, and the parallels with the killing of Chea Vichea are enormous. Chut Vuthy had been prominent in uncovering the secret sell-off of state forests, illegal rosewood harvesting and land grabs in the area where a Chinese dam is being built.
His family, human rights groups and long time observers are troubled by the official explanation: That the military police officer who killed Chut Vuthy, after realizing what he had done, turned an AK-47 on himself and pulled the trigger twice.
Also present when Chut Vuthy was confronted by the group of military troops demanding his camera were two journalists. Neither saw who shot who, and they were eventually lucky to get out unscathed after the intervention of outside police. But the simple fact that such killings still take place speaks volumes about Cambodia. Sadly, the likes of Brad Cox have no shortage of subjects to work with. Read more!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Rubber Gives New Bounce to Economy
Cambodia plans to expand rubber production to beef up its agricultural sector.
Blocks of rubber latex on display at national workshop by the Ministry of Agriculture, April 12, 2012.
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen announced plans Thursday to encourage rubber smallholdings in a bid to expand production as the country promotes the cash crop as the number two commodity after rice.
Hun Sen said the government will support not only large-scale rubber plantations but also smaller producers.
“We must continue to promote smallholding rubber plantations and promote rubber plantation on economic land concessions,” he said.
Cambodian Rubber Department Director Ly Phalla told RFA that family-based rubber plantations have increased in Koh Kong, Sihanoukville, and Kampot provinces in the country’s s southwest.
According to government targets, Cambodia plans to increase the area of land used for rubber plantations to 400,000 hectares (1 million acres) and to export 300,000 tons of rubber latex by 2020.
Cambodia, whose leading cash crop is rice, currently has about 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres) of rubber plantations, but most of the trees have been planted in recent years will not be ready in the immediate period. Rubber trees take about five to six years before they can produce white, milk-like rubber latex.
Last year Cambodia exported about 46,500 tons of rubber, double the year before. The exports generated about U.S. $200 million dollars and made Cambodia the world’s ninth-biggest producer.
All of its rubber is for export and most is sold to Vietnam, Malaysia, China, and Singapore, where it is used in manufacturing
Cambodia has welcomed foreign investment, especially from Vietnam and China, giving companies 99-year land concessions to establish rubber plantations.
Of the land used for rubber plantations last year, over two thirds were land concessions to companies, while the remaining were small-scale family and private plantations.
At least 77 companies are investing in the crop in the country, covering 17 percent more land than the year before.
‘Just like gold’
At the same time as increasing production, Cambodia is moving to increase the quality rubber produced. Most of the rubber produced currently are low grade..
“We must ensure the quality of cultivation and of the variety because inferior varieties return low yields and result in revenue losses,” Hun Sen said.
He warned that failure to upgrade rubber quality could boomerang on the expansion plans, resulting in losses valued at about U.S. $600 million annually from 2020.
Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun said that the government is working on improving rubber grades to make them acceptable in international markets.
“We must guarantee our quality, including planting, selecting seeds because bad seeds will [dampen yield],” he said.
He forecast a great future for Cambodia’s rubber industry, likening planting rubber to “making gold.”
Cambodia’s biggest cash crop will remain rice, its primary agricultural export, he said.
Environmentalists in Cambodia have campaigned against rubber plantations in protected forest areas.
In the Prey Lang forests in the northeastern part of the country, activists have combated illegal logging and other abuses which they say stem from government concessions for opening up the land to rubber plantations.
The Prey Lang network says more than 40,000 hectares (98,840 acres) in the forest have been granted for rubber plantations alone.
Reported by Sok Serey for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
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Cambodia May Lure Up to 10 IPOs a Year, Korea Bourse Says
By Saeromi Shin
Cambodia’s stock market, which is set to open next week after several delays, may be able to lure five-to-10 initial public offerings a year, according to Korea Exchange Inc., the Cambodian government’s partner in the bourse.
State-owned Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) will start trading on April 18, while Telecom Cambodia and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port are preparing to go public, Kim Bong Soo, Korea Exchange’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in an April 9 interview at his Seoul office. Telecom Cambodia may list as early as October, according to Tong Yang Securities (Cambodia) Plc, which is managing the share sale.
“Cambodia is going to be a very attractive market as investors benefit from the nation’s economic development,” Kim said. “Many inquiries are being placed for possible listings.”
Cambodia is developing a capital market to lessen its reliance on aid that is equal to a 10th of the nation’s $11 billion economy. Growth may be around 6.5 percent this year, according to the Asian Development Bank, compared with an average of 8 percent between 2001 to 2010. The nation has said it’s seeking to spur economic development by privatizing its state-owned companies and encouraging private enterprises to expand with new funding.
Cambodia’s financial system was fractured in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh during the final stages of the Vietnam War. Its Communist guerrillas blew up the central bank, declared its currency worthless and outlawed private property and trading. During leader Pol Pot’s reign, Cambodia’s fertile countryside became the killing fields where 1.7 million people, or 20 percent of the population, perished.
Phnom Penh Water
Plans for a bourse in Cambodia have been delayed several times since 2009, derailed by the global financial crisis, technical issues and lack of readiness among the nation’s companies.Phnom Penh Water (PPWSA) raised about $21 million in Cambodia’s first initial public offering after pricing the shares near the high end of a marketed range, Han Kyung Tae, managing director of sale arranger Tong Yang Securities (Cambodia), said by phone on April 9. The firm is a unit of a Seoul-based Tong Yang Securities Inc. Phnom Penh Water’s IPO was priced at 6,300 riel ($1.58) a share.
“I believe dozens of companies will list their shares within five years,” Korea Exchange’s Kim said. “Listings of five-to-10 companies are possible a year.”
The Cambodian government, which offered the site and building for the bourse, holds a 55 percent stake in Cambodia Securities Exchange Co., while the Korean bourse operator, which provided information-technology systems, owns the rest.
Myanmar Exchange
Korea Exchange, which oversees the world’s 13th-largest stock market, is helping Asian countries set up exchanges in return for stakes in the bourses and is seeking cross-trading partnerships in a bid to respond to mergers among global bourses. The Seoul bourse operator helped Laos open its stock market last year and is hoping to do the same for Myanmar.Myanmar President Thein Sein has sought to reconcile with political foes and open the economy since taking power after 2010 elections that ended five decades of military rule. This month, the government floated its currency and held by-elections that included dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, prompting the U.S. and European Union to reconsider sanctions.
Tokyo Stock Exchange Group Inc. and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. had negotiated a “memorandum of understanding” to establish a stock exchange and develop the country’s capital markets, the companies said in an April 11 statement.
Cross Trading
Korea Exchange said in an e-mail yesterday that it will do its best to win the Myanmar government’s confidence until the Southeast Asian nation makes a final decision and enters into a binding agreement for the establishment of its exchange.Last year, the South Korean bourse and Tokyo’s exchange began listing prices of each other’s equities and agreed to develop the technology to allow for cross trading, aiming to promote mutual-listing of exchange-traded funds and derivatives. Korea Exchange has proposed cross-trading partnerships with Turkey, Greece and Brazil, Kim said.
“Those countries are highly interested in our offer,” he said. “Securing many cross-trading deals is a necessity for our survival amid growing global competition among exchanges,” he said.
The Korean bourse is also contacting companies in Turkey, Greece, Brazil, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan about listing their shares in South Korea, according to Kim.
To contact the reporter on this story: Saeromi Shin in Seoul at sshin15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net Read more!
US Government, Sotheby's Battle over Ancient Khmer Warrior Statue
A federal judge in New York says that a 10th century Cambodian statue will remain in the custody of Sotheby's auction house while a dispute over its ownership plays out in court. U.S. District Judge George Daniels says that because all parties agree that the statue is safely housed in a Sotheby's warehouse, it should not be subjected to the risk of being moved unnecessarily.
U.S. prosecutors and the Cambodian government say the 1,000-year-old sandstone statue, depicting a warrior in the Hindu saga The Mahabharata, was looted from the temple of Prasat Chen in the 1960s or 1970s and should be repatriated. The feet of the statue remain at the temple at Koh Ker, which was briefly the capital of ancient Cambodia.
In a civil complaint, federal prosecutors said that Sotheby's knew the statue had been stolen when it offered it for auction last year on behalf of a Belgian client who had bought it in 1975, the first time it was sold publicly. The U.S. filing reads like a magazine story, quoting at length from email exchanged between a Cambodian art expert and Sotheby's.
In a later email, however, the scholar wrote Sotheby's that it did not appear that Cambodia was requesting the return of all looted artifacts owned by foreign individuals and museums, saying "[I] think that legally and ethically you can happily sell the piece." Sotheby's subsequently featured the statue on its catalog cover. It was expected to sell for up to $3 million.
Peter Neiman, an attorney representing Sotheby's, said the statue was purchased legally by the Belgian collector. "We vigorously dispute the government's allegations," he said after the hearing. "Sotheby's acted in good faith and compliance with the law at all times here, and we expect the evidence is going to show that this is not stolen property, that it belonged to the consignor, and Sotheby's acted perfectly appropriately in consigning it for sale."
In a statement, Sotheby's added that the statue might have been missing from its site for as long as 1,000 years. It said that "condemning a public sale process inevitably drives those owners of antiquities toward private transactions, an outcome deeply disadvantageous to any and all who claim to be on the side of sensitive and careful handling of this material."
Davis, however, said that much of Cambodia's ancient art was looted during the upheaval surrounding Cambodia's civil war, and sold to foreign collectors and museums. "I doubt that anyone who has been working in the field of cultural heritage preservation is very surprised by this court proceeding," she said.
The statue, known as the Duryodhana, stood facing another warrior figure, the Bhima, whose feet also remain at the Koh Ker temple site. Davis said challenges to the ownership of that figure, now in the collection of the Norton-Simon Museum in California, might also be raised. Read more!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Cambodia sees sharp rise in internet subscribers in past year
PHNOM PENH, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Approximately 1.69 million people in Cambodia have subscribed internet services as of December last year, almost 8-fold increase from only 194,000 users in 2010, according to the statistics of Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication on Tuesday.
It said the country has 27 internet service providers by last year, up 7 companies if compared to a year earlier.
The Minister of Posts and Telecommunication So Khun attributed the huge increase to good internet infrastructure, competitive service fees, and more people's awareness of internet usage.
He said the development of Information and Communication Technology is one of the government priority sectors to contribute to the country's economic growth and poverty reduction. "We have been putting all our efforts to develop the ICT sector to be as developed as that in advanced countries," he said.
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The Lineup: Adidas, MLS announce 'smart tracking system'; workers faint at Nike-contracted factory in Cambodia
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| This drawing suggests the capabilities of the micoach data system |
The technology will be built into the apparel, said Michael Ehrlich, a spokesman for Adidas America, which is based in Portland. (Original version of this post mistakenly said it would be built into jerseys.)
But the company released few other details about the system on Tuesday, saying more would be announced in advance of the July 25 All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
The system, a news release says, "provides coaches with real time performance metrics on the field of play including player position, power output, speed, distance covered, intensity of play, acceleration and GPS heat mapping."
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| Players pose in the 32 uniforms that Nike designed for the league. Only the Seattle Seahawks significantly altered its design. |
In other words, now fans may have irrefutable proof whether a professional athlete is, indeed, dogging it.
The introduction of the system follows last October's announcement at Adidas America of the micoach SPEED_CELL that can be attached to soccer shoes to record a variety of data. The SPEED_CELL was introduced at the same time as a soccer shoe to carry the device, the adizero f50 micoach.
"Our leading innovations help athletes and coaches on the field of play and we are finding ways to use these innovations to create more immersive sporting environments and experiences that will revolutionize the way we view sports and engage and excite fans," Patrik Nilsson, Adidas America president, said in a news release.
Because it is the officials supplier of uniforms, aka "apparel," for the MLS, Adidas will have no issues with every player -- who has an individual choice of shoes -- taking part in the micoach tracking system.
The team-tracking technology was developed at Adidas AG headquarters in Germany, which presents the intriguing possibility that it could be introduced into apparel worn in the National Hockey League. Adidas AG-owned Reebok is the NHL's uniform supplier.
The tracking system has been tested and developed with MLS and its clubs, multiple
national teams, and clubs in Europe, according to the news release.Following All-Star Game, the new technology will be rolled out globally in the coming seasons.
Cambodia factories: Nike has issued a statement in response to mass fainting episodes at one of the company's contract apparel factories in Cambodia.
More than 300 workers fainted at a Sabrina Manufacturing plant last week in Kampong Speu. Also, 28 workers fainted at Mirae Apparel in Phnom Penh.
Nike's statement says:
We have been made aware of a potential violation of the health and safety provisions in Nike's Code of Conduct. We take these matters very seriously and have sent in Nike's Sustainable Manufacturing auditing team to conduct an investigation and speak with workers. At the conclusion of that audit, Nike will determine next steps. The audit should be concluded soon. Nike has requested ILO Better Work Cambodia, the industry supply chain governance body in Cambodia, to include this incident in their current research into the causes behind mass faintings in the region.A politician, meanwhile, is calling for a boycott of Nike products.
UniWatch word: It's been a week since Nike unveiled its interpretation of what an NFL uniform should look like. So the last word on the subject – that being Nike's introduction, but certainly not the subject of NFL uniforms -- should go to the dean of team athletic apparel, Paul Lukas of UniWatch. He was among the first to predict Nike would play it safe -- because it had no other choice -- with its NFL uniforms designs.
25 percent cut: Not much is available on this on the Web, but Adidas AG chief executive Herbert Hainer apparently told German-language publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the company will slash its 47,000 products by 25 percent. "We just have too many products," Hainer said.
Rules change urged: Some companies, including Nike, are urging India's government to relent on some of the rules governing foreign companies opening wholly-owned 'single-brand' retail stores, says The Times of India.
Social media and the Summer Olympics: Britain’s Olympic hopefuls, says the Daily Mail, "are shamelessly advertising everything from cars to breakfast cereal on Twitter after signing lucrative sponsorship deals – without declaring they have a relationship with the brands." Read more!
