Michael Costello: Sometimes all you can do is wait

Sometimes there is nothing that can be done to stop the horror unless outsiders are prepared to use force
29,dec.06

AS the carnage in Somalia continues, matched by horrors in Sudan and elsewhere in the world, common humanity cries out for somebody, anybody, to do something to stop the starvation, the rape, the torture, murder and war and, especially, to spare the innocent, who seem to suffer the most, whatever side they're on.These calls reflect a natural human feeling that if we could just get people around the table, good conflict-resolution skills would work these things out to the reasonable satisfaction of all parties.

Unfortunately, human history shows that this is simply not so. Often for strategic reasons, but just as frequently because parties to a dispute would rather fight, kill and die than compromise, many conflicts will not be resolved in the short or medium term. Only when those strategic relationships change, or when one of those parties is prepared to surrender dearly held positions, can there be a solution.

An example in Australia's recent experience is the effort in the 1980s and '90s to solve the Cambodian issue.

Bob Hawke, soon after his election as prime minister in 1983, asked Bill Hayden, then the foreign minister, to take the lead in seeking a solution to the Cambodian dispute.
Hayden worked hard on this for several years, culminating in a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City with Hun Sen, then foreign minister of the Soviet and Vietnamese-backed regime in Phnom Penh. That meeting so incensed the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that it seriously jeopardised Australia's relationship with them, and Australia had no choice but to back off.

Gareth Evans, who succeeded Hayden as foreign minister, accepted a proposal in late 1989 to try again. By September 1990, the deal was effectively done.
What changed between 1987 and late 1989 that allowed the Australian initiative to succeed where it had earlier failed?

What happened was that in those two years, the whole global and regional strategic situation changed because of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Remember what Hayden faced in 1983. The Soviet Union was Vietnam's close ally, supplying aid and weapons to it and to the regime in Phnom Penh. It did this to pressure its neighbour and antagonist, China.

China, in turn, pressured the Soviet Union and Vietnam by supporting the Khmer Rouge, which had undertaken armed incursions against Vietnam. Vietnam drove the Khmer Rouge out of Cambodia, into camps in Thailand on the Cambodian border. The Chinese also supported the deposed King Sihanouk and his forces.

The Americans, still burning with rage over Vietnam's victory over them and keen to support China as a balance to the Soviet Union, also recognised the Khmer Rouge as Cambodia's legitimate government and supported the Lon Nolists, who worked in a military alliance of convenience with their enemies, the Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk. In the region the issue was ASEAN solidarity with Thailand, which was terrified by the threat on its border from the fearsome Vietnamese army.

Australia supported ASEAN and the US. But with the Soviet Union's collapse and the withdrawal of its material support for Vietnam and the Cambodian regime, everything changed. China no longer feared the threat of Soviet encirclement, so the Khmer Rouge was no longer needed to pressure Vietnam.

The US no longer needed to support China against the Soviets and Vietnam, and without this the political stench of supporting the Khmer Rouge became too much. With the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces from Cambodia, the threat on Thailand's border was gone.
What had looked set in concrete suddenly became completely fluid. The timing was perfect for Australia, trusted by all sides, with good ideas and high energy.

The point, however, is that good ideas, high energy and high moral purpose will not solve a conflict if the strategic environment is hostile, or one or more of the parties to that conflict are not sufficiently exhausted by the fight.

As the foreign minister of Vietnam during that period, Nguyen Co Thach, used to say: "You do not win at the negotiating table what you have lost on the battlefield." So the next time you hear good people like George Clooney say "the world must do something" about Darfur, remember this. Often negotiation, mediation and goodwill won't work unless the facts on the ground are changed, as the US eventually did by its intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Sometimes there is nothing that can be done by outsiders to stop the horror if antagonists would rather fight than settle, unless the outsiders are themselves prepared to use force.
China, usually supported by Russia, will prevent UN use of force. And the international mood - and the mood now in the US - is that it's better to allow all the horror in the world to go unchecked than to support intervention by an American-led coalition.

In the absence of this willingness to intervene by force, with all its attendant risks (including the risk of failure) and huge financial costs, we should recognise that in many, many situations, the most we can do is offer what humanitarian assistance we can, seek to prevent the contagion spreading, and wait until better times come.

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Cambodian NEC asks candidates to appoint agents to observe election

The National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia here on Thursday issued a notification to ask the candidates of the ongoing commune councils elections to appoint agents to observe the process.

"Political parties who register candidates for the commune councils election in any commune and wish to send agents as observers, have the right to send one accredited observer and selected one substitute observer, in order to monitor in polling stations and counting ballot in the stations where parties' candidates are running," the notification said.

Political parties who have above intention shall get ready by preparing their agents' lists and applications within seven days after the publication of the official candidates lists, it said.
"Political parties who have no candidates in given communes and wish to observe the election, can send their member(s) where they are eligible to vote. The procedures for accreditation are those of national observers," it added.

The notification was signed by NEC Chairperson Im Suosdey.
Village chiefs, deputy village chiefs and villagers will attend the 2007 commune councils election, whose process started on September 21, 2006 and will end up on May 23, 2007.

The registration of candidates will start from the beginning of January until the middle of February. The election campaign will take place from March 16 to 30, 2007. April 1, 2007 will be the polling day, ballot counting, and publishing of results at polling stations.

The commune councils election is prelude to the general election in 2008, which will elect a new government for the country.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodia's Angkor battles for new world wonder spot Wed Dec 27, 2:08 PM ET

Wed Dec 27, 2:08 PM ET

Cambodia called on its citizens to vote online to support the kingdom's bid to get the famed Angkor Wat temples named one of the new seven wonders of the world.
Officials hope the Angkor complex, capital of the powerful Khmer empire from the ninth to the 15th century, will win the "New 7 Wonders of the World" campaign, launched by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber.

"Cambodian citizens inside and outside the country, please vote and help to have relatives and foreign friends... vote to select Angkor temples as one of the world wonders," said the government's Apsara Authority, which manages the ancient complex.
But Angkor will have to compete with other aspiring wonders such as the Acropolis in Athens, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and India's world-famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal.

The "New 7 Wonders" campaign was launched in 2000 by Weber, and aims to choose seven sites to replace the original wonders, which were selected more than two millennia ago.
Public voting and deliberation by the "New 7 Wonders" panel whittled about 200 nominations from around the world down to 21 short-listed candidates, including Angkor Wat.

The public now has until July 6 next year to vote by internet or phone. The new seven wonders of the world will be announced in the Portuguese capital Lisbon on July 7, 2007 -- 07.07.07.
"When our Angkor temple is selected... we hope more and more foreign tourists will be interested and come to visit the temple bringing more revenue for the country," Soeung Kong, deputy director general of the Apsara, told AFP.

Angkor Wat, located in Siem Reap, is Cambodia's most treasured landmark and biggest tourist draw, bringing much needed tourist dollars to the impoverished country.

Read more!

Plastics sector ready for international integration

With an annual growth rate of between 25-30%, the plastics sector of Vietnam is already ready for international economic integration, and is able to compete with its rivals in both regional and international markets, according to experts.

The plastics sector's turnover has rapidly increased over recent years. In 2006, its export revenue jumped to US $478 million from US $100 million five years ago. Particularly, the value of plastic package and wrapping products used for export products reaches hundreds of million of US dollars each year.

Made-in-Vietnam plastic products have made a foothold in many regional and international markets like Cambodia, Laos, the US, the European Union, and particularly Japan. Of the products, package and wrapping products alone, which are now available at 41 countries and territories around the world, account for 80% of the total export value of the sector.
Alongside the mentioned traditional markets, Vietnamese businesses are also aiming towards promising ones like China, India, Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa.

In the domestic market, Vietnamese plastic products are widely used by almost all sectors, including industry, agriculture, transport, seafood, construction, electricity and electronics. High-quality products like oil pipelines or those used for automobiles and computers are successfully produced by local businesses, including Tien Phong, Phuong Dong, Tan Tien and Binh Minh.

According to Nguyen Dang Cuong, Secretary General of the Vietnam Plastic Association, the abolishment of tariffs when Vietnam officially becomes a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will generate a greater opportunity for the plastics sector in export and investment attraction.

The move, he added, would create favourable conditions for the sector to reach the target of fetching US $1.3 million from export by 2010.
Plastic ware production has become appealing to international investors, particularly Japanese businesses, Cuong said.

With the aim of seizing this opportunity and expanding the sector's export market, the association has worked out various measures, focusing on encouraging businesses to invest in plants specialising in producing materials, semi-products, chemicals and equipment, and to apply hi-tech and state-of-the-art equipment.

The association will also concentrate on speeding up the equitisation of state-owned enterprises in a bid to mobilise capitals from every economic sector.
Additionally, it points to the need for local businesses to coordinate to increase capital and technology, pay more attention to trademark and products advertising, and penetrate into retail networks of international markets by attending exhibitions, fairs and trade promotion activities.

Vietnam is currently home to 800 plastic ware producers, of whom 80% are operating in Ho Chi Minh City. Major products include wrapping, consumer products, construction products and hi-tech plastic products. (VNA) Read more!

Cambodian Court remanded Thai soldier for drug trafficking

A Cambodian court has remanded a Thai soldier in custody after he was allegedly caught attempting to smuggle more than 200 methamphetamine tablets into Thailand, officials said Thursday. Sok Nimol, provincial anti-drugs' police chief for the northwestern province, said the soldier was apprehended with 210 methamphetamine tablets concealed in the collar of his jacket on Christmas day as he attempted to cross the border into Thailand.

"He was making a living as a motorbike smuggler, bringing stolen bikes into Cambodia. He said he bought the drugs in Cambodia at the request of a businessman in Thailand and was carrying them back for him," she said. She said the 24-year-old soldier named Rattaphon had been posted to Thailand's Klong Hat commune in the border province of Sa Kaeo prior to his arrest.

Deputy chief of Battambang police, Chea Thong, confirmed the man was in custody and said the reaction from Thailand had been satisfactory. "In fact there was no reaction. He was in Cambodia and is accused of breaking Cambodian law, so he must face the consequences in Cambodia," he said. If convicted on drug trafficking charges, Rattaphon faces five to 10 years in prison. Read more!

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt Continue To Support Cambodia

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are stepping up efforts to aid people in need in their son's home country of Cambodia. The celebrity couple visited the homeland of their son Maddox, five, in November and are working to expand the scope of the Maddox Jolie-Pitt project (MJP), which Jolie launched more than four years ago as a conservation initiative.

The two have donated millions of dollars and teamed up with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs and his anti-poverty organization Millennium Promise on an economic-development program in northwestern Cambodia. Seventy MJP workers will work with Sach's group on activities including rice planting, distribution of beds to fight malaria, school meal programs and providing medicine for clinics.

Jolie tells People, "We have learned so much and I think we are on the right track. We hope people will travel to Cambodia. The people there have overcome so much." Pitt adds, "It was incredibly moving to visit my son's country." Read more!

Prime Minister Hun Sen silenced on Khmer Rouge trial

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday sidestepped the issue of the stalled trials of Khmer Rouge leaders, instead telling the nation that the country had successfully achieved national reconciliation and moved forward. Speaking in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng on the nation's northern border with Thailand, Hun Sen said the war was over and it was a positive sign for the future that former Khmer Rouge areas, such as Anlong Veng, had been integrated into peacetime Cambodia.

He said "the story had ended" when senior former Khmer Rouge leaders, including former head of state Khieu Samphan and Pol Pot's former deputy Nuon Chea, had come to his home and eaten with him in December 1998, marking the formal surrender of the Khmer Rouge. The term "story" is also a Cambodian euphemism for its 30-year civil war.

But despite his reference to Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, who would be prime candidates to stand trial, Hun Sen avoided any direct reference to the 56.3-million-dollar UN-Cambodian-sponsored trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders, currently stalled yet again amid bitter wrangling over the court's internal rules.

The trials have not yet reached their indictment stage despite the prosecution phase getting under way in mid-2006, and it remained unclear which former leaders would stand trial. Former Kymer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary defected and was granted amnesty from genocide charges by then-king Norodom Sihanouk in 1996 although some remain keen to indict him on charges of crimes against humanity. Former military commander Ta Mok died in a military hospital this year and was cremated in Anlong Veng. The movement's former leader Pol Pot died in Anlong Veng in 1998.

However, on Wednesday in former Khmer Rouge heartland, Hun Sen preferred to focus on Cambodia's new era of peace and sidestep the growing storm over the pace of justice - a matter he has left in the hands of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An. "So many people died in the war," Hun Sen said in the speech, which was broadcast on national radio. "We achieved national reconciliation. Please don't let national reconciliation break down."

The lack of direct reference to the trials was unlikely to please critics, some of which have accused Hun Sen's government of deliberately delaying the long-awaited trials of a handful of surviving leaders of the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime. Earlier this month, New York-based Human Rights Watch accused the government of meddling in the trial process, and this week, a coalition of human-rights organizations urged the court to resolve the conflict over procedural rules with haste.

The government - which contains a number of former Khmer Rouge cadre who fled the movement under the excesses of its leader Pol Pot and returned to Phnom Penh, backed by Vietnamese troops, to overthrow the regime - has maintained it is determined to try the former leaders to international standards. Up to 2 million Cambodians died under the Khmer Rouge regime.

However, most of its now mainly ageing and ailing former leaders continue to live freely and openly without ever having faced justice. Read more!

VN, Cambodia border provinces agree on expanding co-operation

(26-12-2006)

AN GIANG — Deputy prime ministers of Viet Nam and Cambodia yesterday underscored their countries’ effective border co-operation and promised to enhance it even further at a meeting held in the Mekong delta province of An Giang.

Speaking at the third meeting on co-operation and development among border provinces, Viet Nam Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said: "We are pleased to review the progress achieved through this cooperation, especially the socio-economic development and strengthened security in the border provinces of the two countries in the past few years."

Hung and his Cambodian counterpart Sar Kheng agreed that these meetings helped expand their multi-faceted co-operation and friendship and strengthen security, defence and socio-economic development in the border areas. Sar Kheng, who is also Minister of Interior, said the co-operation between the border provinces in Cambodia and Viet Nam had enabled some significant achievements since the last meeting in Siem Reap in September 2005.
"[It] has helped to eradicate hunger and alleviate poverty, and improve living standards of residents in border areas."

The governments of Cambodia and Viet Nam had helped the provinces build markets and promote trade in border areas to create more jobs and fight hunger and poverty.The two countries issued a joint communique at the conclusion of the meeting in which they said the two sides had agreed to strengthen co-operation to foster trade and open more markets in the border areas.

They agreed to facilitate cross-border flow of goods and people and welcomed the implementation of the Greater Mekong Sub-region Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Movement of Goods and People in the GMS countries from next year.

They also agreed to encourage investment in agro-industry and compare notes in farming, animal husbandry, rural development and poverty reduction along the border.
Viet Nam agreed to provide electricity to some Cambodian border provinces and will consider building more power stations in Cambodia.

The two nations agreed to speed up construction of Se San Hydro-power Plant No. 1 and to jointly work on investment and construction of the Lower Se San Hydro-power Plant in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia.

They also agreed to work together to implement an agreement on Border Health Quarantine signed in March 2006.
They will increase exchanges of cultural and artistic troupes and people-to-people visits to raise awareness of the glorious cultures of both countries and deepen the traditional friendship and understanding between their border provinces.

They will strengthen border control, thus preventing illegal migration, transnational terrorism and other crimes, and resolve any border incidents amicably and peacefully. The two sides welcomed the setting up of the border marker at Moc Bai-Ba Vet last September and expressed determination to complete their land border demarcation plan by the end of 2008.

Besides government officials from both sides, the meeting was also attended by representatives from the Cambodian border provinces of Ratanakiri, Mundukuri, Kongpong Cham, Kandal, Takeo, Kampot, Prey Veng and Kratic, and their Vietnamese counterparts. Read more!

French national sentenced to 6 years for prostituting women in Cambodia

The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

A French bar owner has been sentenced to six years in prison for prostituting his waitresses to foreigners in the Cambodian capital, a court official said Tuesday.Bruno Fumat, 52, was convicted in a trial Monday of forcing seven Vietnamese women to have sex with his customers, according to Kry Sok Y, a court prosecutor. He had denied the allegation.

Thach Va, a 32 year-old Vietnamese woman who is Fumat's girlfriend, was sentenced to six years in prison on the same charge, the prosecutor said, adding that the woman was charged with recruiting the girls.

During the trial, Bruno said he had hired the women to work merely as waitresses, Kry Sok Y said. His lawyer, Ly Sovanna dismissed the verdict as unjust and said he will file an appeal.
Fumat was arrested in June during a raid on his bar in the capital, Phnom Penh. Read more!

Cambodia invites NGO to observe commune council's election

The National Election Committee of Cambodia here on Tuesday issued an invitation to both local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and representatives of all countries to observe the 2007 commune councils election.

The National Election Committee would like to invite all representatives of local, international non-governmental organizations and representatives of countries who wish to observe the election process in the Kingdom of Cambodia to contact the Cambodian embassies accredited to their respective countries," it said.

"The participation of local, international non-governmental organizations and representatives of all countries is important to have free, fair, and just commune councils elections in 2007," it added. The 2007 commune councils election's process started on September 21, 2006 and will end on May 23, 2007.

The registration of candidates will start from the beginning of January until the middle of February. The election campaign will take place from March 16 to March 30, 2007. April 1, 2007 will be the polling day, ballot counting, and publishing of results at polling stations.
The commune council¡¯s election is prelude to the general election in 2008, which will elect a new government for the country. Read more!

Cambodia cancels position of first deputy governor for efficiency

The Cambodian government, on Tuesday,had canceled the position of "first deputy governor" for all provinces and cities, so as to remove the difficulty it constituted for administrative work, officials told Xinhua.

"From now on, we do not talk about quotas from parties in government positions," said government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith.
Local government used to have governor and first deputy governor either from the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) or the co- ruling Funcinpec Party in order to keep political balance, which however made a consensus hard to be reached as both leaders usually had different views, he said.

Now, as first deputy governor no longer existed, governor would therefore become the most powerful person to make decisions, which was expected to streamline the local governments and improve their efficiency, he said.

"This sub-decree will help the governments handle their work smoothly and spend less time for administrative procedures," he added. After the kingdom's co-ruling government was established in 2004, CPP and Funcipec started to share power in provincial and municipal governments. The positions of governor and first deputy governor must be divided between the two parties. Documents could only become valid after both governors signed them.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodian NGOs urge ECCC to reach agreement on internal rules

Several NGOs on Monday urged the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) to hammer out a consensus of its internal rules soon in order to facilitate the start of trials of the former Democratic Kampuchea (DK) leaders.

In a press release, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a Cambodian coalition of 23 NGO members, the Collective for DK Victims (CKRV) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) expressed their concern about the recent failure of the plenary session of the ECCC to adopt the internal rules of the tribunal, which are required to start investigating and prosecuting those who bear the greatest responsibility in the DK's alleged crimes.

"The credibility of both the Cambodian authorities and the U.N. is at stake: an acceptable agreement on the internal rules must be reached as soon as possible for the chambers to enter in the operational phase," said the release, noting that Cambodian and international judges and prosecutors have substantive disagreement about several key issues, including on already negotiated issues contained in the Agreement between the U.N. and Government of Cambodia.

In order to ensure respect of the highest standards in terms of independence and impartiality, all questions relating to the functioning of the ECCC should be solved by the chambers themselves and not be referred to other Cambodian authorities, it said.
"In particular, criteria of admissibility of defense and victims' lawyers must be objective and the list of lawyers should be maintained by the ECCC themselves, in conformity with international practice," it said, adding that victims' organizations should not be required to register with the Cambodian government prior to being able to file a complaint. Procedures relating to false testimony in the course of the ECCC proceedings should not be referred to ordinary Cambodian courts but remain with the exclusive jurisdiction of the ECCC, it said.

"The objective of the government of Cambodia and the U.N., in establishing the ECCC, aimed at guaranteeing the right to truth and justice for the Cambodian people. The accomplishment of such a historical task must prevail on any other private interest." it added.

The U.N. and Cambodia agreed in 2003 to jointly hold trials for the former DK leaders, after six years of talks. Formal trials are expected to begin in mid-2007 and the entire process will take three years and cost 56.3 million U.S. dollars.

The DK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 and was charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Vietnamese youth league begins Cambodia visit

A delegation of the Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union will commence a four-day visit to Cambodia Tuesday, aiming to boost ties and interact with their Cambodian counterparts.
The Vietnamese entourage, led by Secretary of the Central Youth Union Bui Dang Dung, will meet with the Youth Association of Cambodia (YAC) in order to exchange experience in enlisting youth and discuss cooperation for the upcoming year.

They will focus mainly on fortifying cultural exchanges as well as reinforcing mutual support in the fields of economy and technology between the youth of the two countries.
Besides, the Vietnamese youth delegation is scheduled to visit Cambodian manufacturing plants, cultural sites, and the National Museum as well as have audience with several high-ranking Cambodian officials.

YAC is a non-profit organization that brings together youths and students both inside and outside of the country without discrimination as to race, nationality, social class and political affiliation. It operates in line with policies governed by the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and has currently around 700,000 members.

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Vietnam, Cambodia work on border cooperation strategy

Vietnam and Cambodia would continue to reinforce and foster cooperation at the national level as well as among border provinces for common development, heard a conference on Monday. The conference on relations between border provinces was opened in Vietnam’s southern An Giang province Monday and presided over by Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung and Cambodian Deputy PM Sar Kheng.

The participants focused on measures to promote mutual understanding and trust between leaderships of the two countries and strengthen ties between provinces sharing the common border. Addressing the opening, Deputy PM Nguyen Sinh Hung said Vietnam and Cambodia would broaden and deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields, including politics, economics, society, defense and security to make their border areas stable in security and politics, and prosperous in economy and society, meeting aspirations of people in the areas.

He admitted that a number of difficulties and challenges still exist despite of recent great fruits gained by border provinces in bilateral cooperation. The two sides should continue promoting bilateral cooperation in all fields in an effort to turn their borders into an area of political stability, security, economic prosperity and social advancement, the Deputy PM concluded.
At the two-day meeting, government officials and leaders of sectors and border provinces of the two countries are scheduled to discuss orientations and measures to fully tap potential of border provinces for their socioeconomic development, especially in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, rural development, energy, healthcare, culture and tourism.

They will also focus on solutions to ensure defense and security at border areas, including the completion of their border demarcation and landmark planting by the end of 2008.
The agenda will also include discussions on measures to crack down on smuggling goods and transferring counterfeit money via the borders, and to create more favorable conditions for transporting commodities and traveling for Vietnamese and Cambodian citizens at the border areas

Read more!

Extremists kill two, burn schools in South

(Bangkokpost.com, Agencies)

A soldier and a Buddhist villager have been shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in separate drive-by shootings in the South, according to the police. A 32-year-old Muslim army sergeant was gunned down by two militants while driving a motorcycle in Pattani, one of three violence-torn southern provinces bordering Malaysia, they said.Also in Pattani, a 34-year-old Buddhist worker was shot dead by insurgents when he was driving a motorcycle.

The latest violence has killed more than 1,900 people since January 2004.Thailand's military-installed government, which came to power following a bloodless coup in September that ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has offered a number of olive branches in a bid to forge peace in the restive South. But deadly attacks have continued to rock the region.TNA reports:Suspected insurgents torched Banphabon School in Khok Pho district on Sunday night. Two buildings were damaged and the arson led to the school closure.

Banphabon School became the 16th school burned by suspected insurgents in the deep south during December. Meanwhile, Ban Takae school in Yaring district closed for the third consecutive day Monday after insurgents opened fire at a group of teachers, killing one educator and wounding another on Thursday.Teachers at the school remain worried about their safety. School director Anurak Waeni said the school will reopen after the New Year holidays. Read more!

New dam plan sparks warning

Bankok post
JULAWAN DOLOH

Vientiane _ Construction of yet another hydropower dam in China could have a big impact on downstream countries, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has warned. MRC chief executive officer Olivier Cogels told the commission's meeting in Vientiane last week that China was building its third dam, Xiaowan dam, on the Mekong river.

Located in its southern province of Yunnan, the Xiaowan dam will be finished in 2010.
The MRC chief said he was concerned about the dam's ecological impact on the downstream nations _ Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam _ because it could intensify problems caused by two existing Chinese dams, Manwan and Dachaoshan. He said excessive retention of waters by the dams could cause a drought in countries further downstream.

Mr Cogels repeated his call for China to join the MRC for better management of the river.
''At present, the MRC can only exchange technical information on the possible impact of the Chinese dam on nations in the lower river basin. China is taking a bigger part in the negotiations but has not signed up as a member [of the commission],'' he said.
The MRC has installed 17 water detection stations along the Mekong river from China downstream to Vietnam.

These stations are designed to measure flows, water levels and water quality in the river and send online data to the four nations in the lower basin.
The information will help the countries better predict the water situation and come up with a plan to handle changes in water level and quality.
The Mekong river discharges 475 billion cubic metres of water annually and its basin covers 795,000sq km of land.

Pienporn Deetes, of the Southeast Asia River Network, said Thai villagers living along the Mekong river had been hurt by water fluctuations and losses in the fish population since the Manwan and Dachaoshan dams opened. Another dam could bring more trouble.
China, she said, stores and releases water from the dams without consulting downstream countries sharing this international river.

Chiang Rai's Chian Khong and Wiang Kaen districts were the worst-hit areas.
''Water fluctuations and degradation of the Mekong river ecology will be more severe once the Xiaowan dam is completed and starts storing water,'' she said.

She urged the Thai government to alert Beijing about the impact of its dams on downstream countries and negotiate with China about possible mitigation measures. Read more!

Cambodian King visits east China province

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Sunday arrived in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, for a four-day visit.
In a meeting with Cambodian King Sunday, Anhui Provincial Governor Wang Jinshan said Sihamoni will get a better knowledge of the province through the visit and further build the friendship between Anhui and Cambodia. spoke highly of the achievements Anhui has achieved in recent years.

He said he hoped his visit would promote the friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between Cambodia and Anhui. The king is expected to visit cities of Chizhou and Wuhu in the province. Sihamoni arrived in Beijing Thursday for an informal visit. This was his second visit to China in a month.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodia authorities urged to investigate traffic accident involving radio journalist

Source: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
22 December 2006

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is concerned that Cambodian authorities are not investigating an apparent traffic accident that has left a journalist of Radio Free Asia, Sok Serei, in critical condition.

Information from the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and Alliance of Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) suggests that the "accident" could be a premeditated hit-and-run over Sok's work in the past months as the maverick reporter had been highlighting civil society's criticisms of the government and exposing corruption. One case involved a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Rural Development.

On 14 December 2006, at around 4:45 p.m. (local time), Sok was riding his motorcycle after picking up his eight-year-old daughter from school when his motorcycle was knocked down by a car door opening. Sok sustained serious head injury from the fall, while his daughter suffered a lesser but still significant head injury.
According to witnesses, the two men in the car - a Toyota pick-up truck bearing a licence plate of Koh Kong Province - showed no concern for Sok or his daughter and drove off as soon as the crowd that had gathered cleared the way. No witness knew the two men.

The apparent accident left Sok in a coma for one day. His condition has improved but is still critical, while his daughter is now stabilised.
Witnesses noted down the number of the licence plate, which is known to AFEC.
A coalition of 28 non-governmental organisations, labour unions and other associations working to promote freedom of expression in Cambodia, AFEC has called on the government to investigate the suspicious accident.

However, police are reluctant to investigate the case, treating it as an accident.
AFEC said there were many ways such an accident could be staged. It also discounted as "almost zero" the probability of an accident involving a vehicle from Koh Kong - which borders Thailand in the southwest, far away from Phnom Penh, and has extremely poor road conditions at this time of the year - striking one of the "few brave independent radio reporters" of influence. Read more!

Cambodia dismisses Finland's appeal for fair trial for detained former police chief

The Associated Press
Friday, December 22, 2006

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia : Cambodia's government on Friday dismissed Finland's appeal for a full investigation and fair trial for an ex-police chief, jailed for orchestrating a murder after four months on the run.Heng Peo is currently serving his 18-year jail sentence for masterminding the murder of a judge in April 2003.He was deported from Malaysia on Thursday, despite his repeated claims that he was wrongly accused.

In a statement Thursday, Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja appealed "to the Cambodian authorities to carry out a full investigation into the charges against former police chief Heng Peo ... and to guarantee him a fair trial."

Khieu Thavika, a spokesman for Cambodia's Foreign Ministry, said at a news briefing Friday that Tuomioja's appeal was unnecessary. He said the Cambodian court had already conducted a complete investigation before convicting Heng Peo of orchestrating the murder.
"Finland ought not be too concerned about this," Khieu Thavika said. "Heng Peo is not a case for political asylum. He is a criminal."

Heng Peo first fled to Singapore in July before he was arrested for overstaying his visa. Singapore authorities later arrested him and handed him over to Malaysia, where he was detained for a similar offense.
Earlier this month, Finland granted him a visa to travel there due to fears that he might face rights violations if deported to Cambodia. The visa does not allow him to travel elsewhere in the European Union.But Heng Peo lost his bid for asylum in Finland Thursday, when Malaysia's Appeals Court overturned an earlier High Court ruling that ordered his deportation to Singapore. He had hoped to travel from Singapore to safety in Finland.

Heng Peo was flown to Cambodia just after the hearing, and was sent to prison to begin serving his sentence.Heng Peo was the police chief in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, until 2005, when he was promoted to become an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen. He also served as an undersecretary in the Interior Ministry.

He is also accused of links to the killing of a Singaporean man in Cambodia, and to failed murder attempts against a newspaper publisher, an electricity authority official and the national military police chief. Read more!

Fugitive police chief deported to Cambodia from Malaysia

The Associated Press
Thursday, December 21, 2006

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia
A former police chief convicted of masterminding the murder of a judge began serving his prison term in Cambodia on Thursday after being deported from Malaysia where he lost a court ruling, police said.

Heng Peo "is now in Prey Sar prison starting the first day of his 18 years (in jail). His escape is over," said police Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for Cambodia's Interior Ministry.
Cambodia had sought custody of Heng Peo, who was sentenced in absentia to 18 years in jail on charges of organizing the murder of a judge in April 2003. Heng Peo has said he was wrongly accused.

A Malaysian High Court on Dec. 15 ordered his deportation to Singapore, from where Heng Peo had hoped to fly to safety in Finland. But Malaysia's Appeals Court overturned that ruling on Thursday on the grounds that only the Immigration Department can decide where a foreigner should be deported.Heng Peo arrived in Cambodia on a special flight from Malaysia, said Lt. Gen. Sok Phal, a deputy national police chief.

Security was tight near the Phnom Penh Municipal Court where Heng Peo was taken for processing soon after he arrived. Outside the court, more than 100 police equipped with rifles stood guard.Heng Peo was later driven in a heavily guarded police convoy to a prison on the outskirts of the capital.

Before his deportation, Heng Peo pleaded with Malaysian immigration authorities not to send him to Cambodia."In Cambodia I can die because I have a political problem with the government," he told The Associated Press after the verdict."If you send me, I sure will die, 100 percent," Heng Peo said in his first public comments since his arrest in Malaysia in October for overstaying his visa.

Outside the court after the verdict, Heng Peo's wife held his hand and wailed as he was led to a van. Heng Peo, dressed in a T-shirt and gray pants, walked with a limp and was helped into the vehicle by immigration officials."Please tell the world. Don't send my husband to Cambodia," cried his wife, Ngin Sotheavy. "Let him go to Finland."

Earlier this month, Finland granted Heng Peo a visa to travel there because of fears that he might face violations of his rights if deported to Cambodia. The visa does not allow him to travel elsewhere in the European Union.

Heng Peo's lawyer, N. Sivananthan, accused Malaysian immigration authorities of "abusing their powers" by deporting him before an appeal could be filed against Thursday's verdict.
"This is a miscarriage of justice. The authorities seem to have been bending over backward to please the Cambodian government," Sivananthan said.

Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja appealed "to the Cambodian authorities to carry out a full investigation into the charges against former police chief Heng Peo ... and to guarantee him a fair trial," a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.
Heng Peo was Phnom Penh's police chief until 2005, when he was promoted to become an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen. He also served as an undersecretary in the Interior Ministry.

Heng Peo is also accused of links to the killing of a Singaporean man in Cambodia, and failed murder attempts against a newspaper publisher, an electricity authority official and the national military police chief.

Read more!