PHNOM PENH (Reuters Life!) - Got 48 hours to explore the boutiques and markets of Phnom Penh? The Cambodian capital may be lesser known than Siem Reap, but
its designer boutiques, colorful markets, art galleries and upscale restaurants are worth visiting.
FRIDAY
7 p.m. - Usher in the weekend with dinner at a European establishment, but the elegant bistro Art Cafe (St. 108) holds regular classical music performances and features a French-German menu. Beautiful artwork by local and international artists adorn the walls and are available for sale.
SATURDAY
9 a.m. - Grab a sandwich from The Deli on St. 178 and rush over to Khmer designer Romyda Keth's "Ambre", the first stop for any fashionista. This two-storey colonial villa on the same street is the place for stunning cocktail dresses, one-of-a-kind office wear or gorgeous wedding dresses. The friendly staff can make adjustments and you can order tailor-made outfits too. There's also a small but equally luxurious men's collection. Cross the Norodom Boulevard for more shops including Reyum Gallery and Silk & Pepper.
11 a.m. - The next stop is Keo (St. 222), home of Cambodia's haute couture king Sylvain Lim. Having worked for Parisian brands including Balmain and Dior, Sylvain's designs are classic. Browse through the small collection of prototypes from which you can order. For those with time and money, Sylvain's bespoke haute couture pieces are spectacular. By appointment only.
1.00 p.m. - Hop over to Street 240 for fuel at The Sugar Palm, a relaxed eatery serving local food -- don't miss the eggplant with pork or beef with ginger. The restaurant is also decorated with antiques that you can buy.
2.30 p.m. - Walk down the length of St. 240 and enjoy the shops. Couleurs d' Asie offers unique silk products to wear and decorate the home, all in big, bold patterns. Next door is Bliss, boasting paisley-print dresses and cotton wraparounds, massive cushions and home spa products as well as a spa with a plunge pool if you prefer a break in between the shopping.
Bead enthusiasts should not miss Water Lilly, showcasing Christine Gauthier's whimsical creations. Opening the hundreds of drawers hiding the jewellery is an experience in itself. Le Lezard Bleu offers top-notch home decor: think bronze sculptures, dark wood tables. Two more not to be missed boutiques are "Song", with its chic resort wear and yoga outfits and "Jasmine" for gowns, skirts and tops in various shades using Cambodian silk.
5.30 p.m. - Relax with a sundowner at the famed FCC on Sisowath Quay, just make sure you face the National Museum if you want to see the sunset. The FCC is also a good place to combine culture with souvenir hunting: there are photo exhibitions with items for sale, T-shirts and other memorabilia.
7.30 p.m. - Dinner at Metro Cafe, a short walk from the FCC. The best way to enjoy the delicious food on the eclectic menu is to share. The martinis, especially the tamarind and chocolate ones, are a must-try.
SUNDAY
9 a.m. - The Russian Market can be noisy and busy but it also has lots of good buys and is best early in the morning. Products to take home include colorful shawls, embroidered handbags, woven baskets, paintings and silver jewellery. Don't miss the Tooit Tooit stall inside the market for fun, funky bags and hats produced by parents of former street children, and NYEMO on the outside for colourful soft furnishings and silk handicrafts.
12 p.m. - Lunch at Romdeng on St. 74. Not only will you get delicious, authentic Cambodian food served by former street children, but you can also take the delicious recipes home as the charity organisation behind the restaurant published a cookbook.
1.30 p.m. - It may not have the same buzz or variety of stalls, but the art deco Central Market (Psar Thmei) is one of the city's landmarks. The souvenir stalls around the entrance hawking T-shirts and other curios are worth a visit while inside is an interesting combination of shops selling glittering gold and jewelery, electronic goods and second hand clothes.
2.30 p.m. - For trendy silk outfits, it's time to stop at Kambuja (St. 110). Local designer Kulikar Sotho specializes in women's clothes using local silk, most of which are intricately embroidered.
3.30 p.m. - Take a break, and enjoy some coffee and cookies at the Camory Cookie Boutique on Sisowath Quay, which sells everything from standard chocolate ones to more exotic flavors such as palm sugar, sesame and pepper.
4.30 p.m. - If all that commercial activity is starting to irk your conscience, its time to do some shopping that soothes the soul. Artisans d' Angkor on St. 49 is trying to revive traditional craft skills and offers gorgeous silk paintings, stoneware and clothes, Smateria on St. 57 is great for recycled products that are stylish and funky and Rehab Craft on St. 322 for quality wood carvings, silk accessories and jewellery made by disadvantaged Cambodians. (Details at www.stay-another-day.org)
6.30 p.m. - End the weekend the way you started it, enjoying and buying art. Java on Sihanouk Boulevard is a well-known art gallery/cafe which also boasts a cosy atmosphere and simple, tasty fare such as pasta and sandwiches.
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
48 hours in Phnom Penh
Cambodia donates $100,000 to China for quake relief
PHNOM PENH, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government on Thursday donated 100,000 U.S. dollars for the relief to the earthquake victims in China.
On behalf of the Cambodian government, Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, handed over the donation to Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng, along with a letter of condolence from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
"I feel extremely saddened that your country has suffered the loss of thousands of lives, injuries and extensive damages due to the powerful earthquake in Sichuan province, central part of China," Hun Sen wrote in the letter dated May 14.
"On behalf of the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, may I convey to Your Excellency and the People of China, particularly the victims and members of the bereaved families my deepest sympathy and profound condolences for the tragic loss and great suffering brought about by this natural disaster," he wrote.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Cambodian Red Cross donated 10,000 U.S. dollars through the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh to the Red Cross Society of China to facilitate its humanitarian activities for the earthquake-affected areas.
A 7.8-magnitude quake rocked Wenchuan county, 159 km northwest of the southwest Sichuan province's capital of Chengdu, at 14:28 (0628 GMT) on Monday, killing thousands of people in eight affected provinces.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Cambodia Draws Interest of Jim Rogers, Private Equity (Update1)
By Netty Ismail
Leopard Capital and Cambodia Investment & Development Fund are among those planning to put more than $450 million in the second-poorest of 10 Southeast Asian nations. Cambodia Investment is getting advice from Jim Rogers, who predicted the start of the commodities boom in 1999, and Marc Faber, who forecast Asian assets would decline before the regional financial crisis in 1997.
``It's a country that's changed a lot and investors are finally waking up to that,'' said Douglas Clayton, founder of Leopard Capital, who is based in Phnom Penh and is seeking to raise $100 million. ``Most people have an outdated perception of Cambodia; clearly the country has made significant progress.''
Prime Minister Hun Sen is relying on the country's oil and mineral resources to attract foreign investments and reduce Cambodia's dependence on clothing exports and tourism for growth as he prepares for an election in July. The funds will move money into banks, office buildings, luxury hotels, ports and other projects.
``Cambodia does have a lot of natural resources, it does have an ambitious population, and it does have some assets,'' said Singapore-based Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum hedge fund with George Soros during the 1970s, and is now chairman of Rogers Holdings. ``Most countries that come out of something like they have are inclined to be pretty safe for a while because they're trying to get money in.''
Economic Growth
Leopard Capital's first planned investment, a housing project in Siem Reap, probably will generate a return of more than 60 percent a year, about three times the internal target for private-equity investments, said Clayton, who moved to Phnom Penh from Bangkok last June.
Clayton was a hedge fund manager at Knight Asia Group and head of CLSA Securities in Thailand before setting up Leopard Capital in 2007. Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report, is a director at Leopard Capital.
Peter Brimble and Bradley Gordon, Clayton's former partners at Leopard Capital, are starting the $100 million Cambodia Emerald fund this year to invest in tourism, agriculture, financial institutions, infrastructure and real estate.
The fund plans to close at least one deal before the end of the year, said Brimble, who's based in Phnom Penh. LR Global Partners in New York and London-based Kazimir Partners are investors in Cambodia Emerald, he said.
`Growth Era'
Cambodia's economy expanded 9.6 percent in 2007, after growing by at least 10 percent during the previous three years, according to data compiled by the World Bank. About a third of the population live on less than 50 cents a day and 90 percent are in rural areas.
``Cambodia's in the beginning of a growth era,'' said Julien Kinic, investment officer at Proparco, the private financing arm of the French Development Agency in Paris. ``It's like Bangkok 20 years ago or Ho Chi Minh City 10 years ago,'' he said, adding that Proparco plans to invest in one of the funds.
More than $6 billion may be invested in Cambodia in the next three years mainly in oil and natural gas, infrastructure projects, real-estate development and agriculture, according to Cambodia Investment, which is run by Frontier Investment & Development Partners. Melbourne-based BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest miner, is among companies vying for exploration rights for iron ore, gold and other minerals.
`Seriously Lacking'
``Cambodia is seriously lacking in human and investment capital,'' said Marvin Yeo, co-founder of Frontier Investment, who will oversee the fund from Phnom Penh and Bangkok.
Yeo left his job as a financing specialist at the Manila- based Asian Development Bank this month to set up the fund, which plans to invest as much as $100 million in hospitality, telecommunications, infrastructure, banks and agriculture in the next three months.
The nation has pitfalls, according to Transparency International, a private monitoring agency based in Berlin, which ranked Cambodia 162nd of 179 countries in its annual report on perceptions of corruption last year. Cambodia also doesn't have a stock exchange, though one is planned to open in 2009.
July Elections
The funds will need to compensate investors for the risks, said Kelvin Chan, a Singapore-based senior vice president at Partners Group, a manager of private equity and hedge funds. Private-equity investors in Asia made a return of about 67.5 percent last year, according to the Centre for Asia Private Equity Research in Hong Kong.
``Cambodia is too early for most investors,'' said Chan, who declined invitations to invest in the funds. ``Political stability, the rules and regulations must be in place.''
Cambodia has a non-investment grade rating of B+ from Standard & Poor's, two levels below neighboring Vietnam.
``I don't believe private equity will take off rapidly in Cambodia until there are very strong indications that private equity is a bankable model in Vietnam, which holds the key to investors' confidence in the Indochina region,'' said Kathleen Ng, managing director at the Centre for Asia Private Equity Research in Hong Kong.
The government will continue its ``market-oriented reforms'' after general elections in July, S&P said in an April 4 report. The ruling Cambodian People's Party and the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party are ``committed to the same pro-business, pro-growth policy platform,'' according to Cambodia Investment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Netty Ismail in Singapore nismail3@bloomberg.net
Humor helps a rare bird survive in Cambodia
Conservationists’ gentle engagement with locals boosts the prospects for the Bengal Florican.
His audience: monks and farmers, housewives with screaming babies – each with a skeptical look that deepened as the morning heat rose. His subject: the Bengal Florican, an endangered bird few have ever heard of, let alone seen. His task: to convince the lean-looking villagers that, should they ever come across the bird, a hefty five-pounder, it is better to save it than to eat it.
By all accounts, he succeeded wonderfully. There were cheers as he took playful jabs at a monk and teased two bemused old ladies, using humor to impart the value of the bird. Diagrams and posters were marshaled to explain that, as much as they look alike, Bengal Florican eggs are not duck eggs and should be left alone. During the quiz at the end, the 30 or so participants raised their hands with gleeful eagerness, suggesting that, whether or not they ever saw the bird, they were ready to protect it.
“Ten years ago, people didn’t understand the importance of the bird,” says Zoning. “Now they understand that it’s something special for Cambodia.”
Village by village, and province by province, this simple interaction is helping to save the Bengal Florican, one of the world’s rarest birds, by directly engaging the communities that dwell in the bird’s habitat. And in so doing, this approach is presenting a unique model of community-based conservation, observers and participants say.
“This is a model of conservation between communities and conservationists,” says Robert van Zalinge, a field technical adviser for the WCS. “In remote regions, protected areas are set up just based on government decisions, and that is enforced. But here, in an area of high human population, you have a much larger community interface than any other protected area in Cambodia.”
For bird enthusiasts, the Bengal Florican is prized for its rarity, being native to only three countries in the world: Cambodia, India, and Nepal. Today there are believed to be roughly 1,300 left in the world, with about 800 to 900 in the flood plains of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater body in Southeast Asia, according to research conducted by WCS.
To scientists, the bird is unique for its elaborate mating ritual, or display: the otherwise secretive males make hopping loops in the sky, hoping to attract female attention with their striking presence – black bodies set against glaring white wings.
“They’re very difficult to see. But when they display, the male sort of advertises its territory, trying to attract females,” says Lotty Packman, a doctoral student from England who is assisting the WCS to track and tag the birds.
For the people in these stark grasslands, though, where scarcity is a way of life, the bird is a potential source of income or food. By the 1990s, hunting had significantly diminished its numbers.
Today the bird faces an even greater threat: the grasslands of the Tonle Sap, which used to stretch for hundreds of miles, are quickly diminishing as private companies convert land into large-scale rice-farming operations. Almost 30 percent of the grasslands were lost in 30 months from 2005 to 2007, warns a recent report by the WCS.
“At that rate, in five to 10 years, the grasslands could be gone and the Florican extinct,” says Mr. Van Zalinge.
To prevent that, conservationists worked with the provincial governments in the flood-plain area to devise a solution: an Integrated Farming and Biodiversity Area – a protected area that outlaws large-scale dry rice farming, which damages the Florican’s habitat, but allows farmers to continue traditional methods of deep-water rice farming. The latter’s use of grazing and burning supports the Florican by preventing the growth of scrub that destroy the grass patches favored by the birds.
In 2006, a provincial government decree designated 135 square miles of the flood plain a protected area, preserving roughly half of the Bengal Florican population here. So far, the provincial governments have stopped at least two large-scale dry rice projects, according the WCS, suggesting the firm commitment of local authorities.
What makes the project novel is also the level of community involvement. As many as 20 times a month, community officer Zoning and others gather several dozen people in towns throughout the Tonle Sap flood plain. Men and women, young and old: Their participation has helped the Bengal Florican return, like the rest of Cambodia, from a devastating past.
It is too early to say how successful the protected areas have been in increasing the overall population of Cambodia’s Bengal Florican. For now, project administrators say, success means reaching people like Meach Komhan, a farmer in the district of Baray, part of the flood-plain area.
“I had never heard of the bird before,” he says, after listening to Zoning’s presentation. “I really support the conservation, because the bird is useful for Cambodian people as a natural resource. We don’t want to lose it in the future.”
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
New Cambodia National Airline
While Cambodia’s history has been one of highs and lows, it seems that the prospects look good for this South East Asian country with signs of a surge in tourist visitors and prompting the Cambodian government to release news of its plans to re-launch a national carrier to promote air travel and more flights to Cambodia.
The news of a deal with Indonesian giant Rajawali to develop a new Cambodian national carrier has been greeted with surprise given that the government’s early attempt at such a venture collapsed with massive losses in 2000. However, using the strength and experience of massive conglomerate Rajawali, there are genuine hopes that this new airline venture will be a success. Recent figures show that the country had over 2 million visitors in 2006, 60% of whom travelled by air – creating a large base for the national carrier to tap into.
Dubbed the ‘New Thailand’, Cambodia offers the opportunity to experience virgin beaches and undiscovered landscapes to date as yet untainted by tourism development. General tourism numbers in Cambodia are also on the up with a 20% increase reported in 2007 alone. The main hub of the Cambodian tourist sector seems to be Sihanoukville where the natural terrain and beautiful beaches such as Serendipity Bay are attracting large numbers of foreign visitors eager to be one of the first to experience South East Asia’s newest hotspot. While the Cambodian authorities are desperate to develop the country’s tourism economy, they are also acutely aware that there is a need to consider the environment and the long term implications making an investment in a tourist based property development in Cambodia something of a long term venture.
Whilst the development of Cambodia’s tourism sector will move at a slower pace than many investors would hope, the wider impact upon the country’s economy should be rapid. As local economies around the country continue to benefit from the growing numbers of tourists visiting, there will be more money for the population to spend and many are expecting a steady rise in property prices. The policies of the government and controlled growth of the economy are vital not only to the country as a whole, but the property sector in particular.
Property prices at the moment are relatively low, the norm for emerging markets but when compared to other similar regions of the world and there is the potential for long term capital gains and substantial rental income in the medium to longer term. A new national carrier is the first step for Cambodia along the road to tourism success.
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Cambodia: Build Bright Get First Win
Build Bright University FC scored their first win in the Cambodian Premier League 2008 when they overcame Intry Kraham Post FC 2-0 at the National Olympic Stadium.
Prom Puthisith was quick to strike the first goal as early as the second minute before Intry shored up their defence to deny Build Bright a bigger lead at the break.
But five minutes to the end, Olisaemeka made sure of the three points for Build Bright with the second goal for their first three points of the season.
Build Bright started their campaign this year on the wrong footing when they stumbled to a 3-2 loss to Phuchung Neak FC.
In the meantime, Khemara Keila FC nailed their second win of the season with a close 2-1 win over Phuchung Neak FC.
But it was Phuchung Neak who made the score sheet first when Hok So Chovorn grabbed an 11th minute lead to give Khemara some anxious moments.
The early goal in the second half off Tunjia Yoyinka (46th minute) proved pivotal as Ratha then completed the win for Khemara with the winning strike on 72nd minute.
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Royal family of Cambodia supports China's quake-relief works
PHNOM PENH, May 13 (Xinhua) -- A deputy of the royal family of Cambodia on Tuesday presented 50,000 U.S. dollars and two letters of sympathy to the Chinese Embassy to express the family's support for China to carry out relief works in the earthquake-affected areas.
King Norodom Sihamoni and king's father Norodom Sihanouk respectively wrote letters to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to express their sympathy for the victims and their families, as well as their support for the Chinese government to salvage the survivors, said a press release from the embassy.
Meanwhile, Sihanouk donated 50,000 U.S. dollars for China to beef up its relief works, it said
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng expressed deep gratitude to the royal family and informed the deputy about the current situation in the disaster-affected region.
A 7.8-magnitude quake rocked Wenchuan county, 159 km northwest of the southwest Sichuan province's capital of Chengdu, at 14:28 (0628 GMT) on Monday, killing thousands of people in eight affected provinces.
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Monday, May 12, 2008
Preah Vihear issue unsettled
Thailand had asked Cambodia for a free meal party. It is a quit dream, but if a monkey want a free banana, it should be eating in a bird cage.
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
Thailand may ask UNESCO to again postpone its decision on the registration of the ancient ruins at Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site this year if it is unable to convince Cambodia to settle the land dispute through joint management, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said yesterday.
Cambodia had ignored the joint management proposal for the overlapping area around the ancient ruins, which covers 4.6 square kilometres, and had lobbied hard for the registration of Preah Vihear, which will be considered at a UNESCO meeting in Quebec in July.
However, Mr Noppadon told a radio programme yesterday morning that he hoped Cambodia would consider the Thai proposal or Bangkok will ask for a postponement. Last year UNESCO delayed making a decision, pending agreement between the two sides.
Mr Noppadon said the Preah Vihear issue was sensitive as the registration is to take place at the same time as the general election in Cambodia.
The minister said it was necessary for both countries to negotiate through diplomatic channels, and added that he planned to raise the issue with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen tomorrow when he meets him in Hong Kong.
Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh criticised the move by Thailand to link the Preah Vihear issue to the overlapping areas for offshore oil exploration.
''If we solve the Preah Vihear case, then we also solve the overlapping zone offshore. They're completely different things, the minister told the Cambodia Daily newspaper.
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Sunday, May 11, 2008
Noppadon denies compromise
Obviously this is aggressive and arrogance from the Thai foreign minister and Thailand. The attempt to interfering in the registration of Preah Vihea Temple as World Heritage Site is a violation of Cambodia sovereignty. The Preah Vihea is belong to Cambodia so as the land surounding the Temple. Thailand had moved its borders deep into Cambodia in thousand squar kilometres already and thousand of statues were stolen by Thailand.
Thailand will not compromise with Cambodia in negotiations over land around Preah Vihear temple, which Phnom Penh wants to register as a Unesco World Heritage Site, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said yesterday. ''I [as foreign minister] will not let this country give up a square inch of territory to Cambodia,'' Mr Noppadon said.
The ancient Khmer temple, which is on the border in Si Sa Ket province, was ruled by the International Court of Justice to belong to Cambodia in 1962.
The area around the temple remains in dispute, with the two countries' claims overlapping.
To register the temple, known as Khao Phra Viharn in Thai, as a World Heritage Site might require Thailand giving up some disputed land to Cambodia.
Mr Noppadon's strong statement came amid rumours Thailand might compromise in exchange for benefits for some politicians, including petroleum concessions in other disputed areas.
The reports follow the minister's recent sudden transfer of Virachai Plasai, director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department and head of the negotiation team, to an inactive post.
Mr Virachai is seen by senior officials at the ministry as the most capable person for the job.
Mr Noppadon yesterday strongly denied the speculation. He said the issue of Preah Vihear had nothing to do with a petroleum agreement.
The World Heritage issue was sensitive for both countries, he said, and he sympathised with Cambodia, which was due for a general election in July _ the same time the World Heritage Committee is to reconsider Phnom Penh's unilateral request for listing Preah Vihear.
The minister said Thailand and Cambodia would reach an agreement on the exploitation of natural resources in disputed areas. Negotiations were underway and should be finalised soon.
''Thailand and Cambodia have 26,000 square kilometres of disputed areas and this requires a joint agreement because there are oil and natural gas deposits worth about five trillion baht in the areas,'' he said.
''The dispute deserves joint management and government-to-government actions.
''(Negotiations) have made good progress. The issue will be discussed with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An as soon as possible.
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Cambodia: Khemara Keila Get Off To Winning Start
Recently crowned Hun Sen Cup champ Khemara Keila got off to a bright start against Kirivong in the first game of the Cambodia Premier League 2008 while Moha Garuda suffered an unlikely home loss to newly-promoted Intry Kraham
Khemara Keila FC, buoyed by their recent win of the Hun Sen Cup crown, did not seem to flinch even though they fell behind as early as the fourth minute to Lam Thanh Giang strike for Kirivong Sok Sen Chey FC.
But Khemara bid their time well and they were quick to grab the equalizer in the 33rd minute off Sok Phal Odom for both teams to be on par at the break.
A goal at the hour mark from Ty Bun Vichitr and then another from Sok Phal (73rd minute) made sure that Khemara win their first three points of the season.
For Moha Garuda, they just failed to find the momentum after conceding the first goal to Intry Kraham-Post FC when San Sovannak slammed home a 23rd minute lead.
And even though Intry did manage to nail the equalizer off Joshep three minutes later, there was no stopping Sovannak from grabbing his second goal and that off Intry five minutes after the restart.
Em Sovannarith then wrapped up the full points for Intry with the third goal on 65th minute.
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A chance to make a difference overseas
By Victoria Cheng
Four letters may not be a lot, but it's enough to underpin a $20,000 fund-raising effort to build a school in rural Cambodia. Calling itself the Cambridge School for Cambodia (and Camb-Camb for short), the campaign brings together students, businesses, and several groups across the city, some with deep ties to Cambodia and some who have always called Cambridge home.
more stories like thisRachael Harkavy, a fifth-grade student at the King Open School, started learning about Cambodia in January when she and her peers in the school's fifth through eighth grades joined the effort by hosting weekly penny drives. She reels off statistics about the country. "It's about the size of Oklahoma and has the population of Pennsylvania," she began.
Camb-Camb is raising money to send to American Assistance for Cambodia, a nonprofit organization run by former Newsweek journalist Bernie Krisher, that has built more than 400 schools across the country.
"We'll be the 405th school, but it's not enough," Harkavy added. "Massachusetts is about half the size of Cambodia and has about 1,000 schools, so that just brings into perspective how many schools Cambodia needs."
The planned Camb-Camb school will be 40 miles north of Phnom Penh and accommodate between 200 and 400 students. Krisher started the initiative in 1993 and negotiated a memorandum of understanding with the World Bank that called for it to match whatever money he raised. The cost of a school, Krisher said, "is actually about $30,000, and the donor only pays about $13,000." By contributing an extra $7,000, the Cambridge School for Cambodia will be able to equip its school with an English teacher, solar panels for a computer, and Internet access.
Longteine de Monteiro owns the Elephant Walk restaurants, which feature French and Cambodian cuisine at locations in Cambridge, Boston, and Waltham. The Cambodian native explained that outside assistance is sorely needed in the country, which was devastated first by the spillover effects of the Vietnam War and then by genocide during the brutal rule of the communist Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.
"The government now doesn't really do much to help education," she said, "so all the foundations from outside of the country who go there and build whatever the country needs, especially schools and hospitals, are very important."
When Camb-Camb contacted de Monteiro, she agreed to host a benefit dinner at her North Cambridge restaurant early last month.
"We served chicken curry, Salade Cambodgienne, and beef short ribs with green coconut juice," said Monteiro. The event bumped Camb-Camb's funds to the $13,300 mark.
The event also gave de Monteiro an opportunity to showcase a prominent part of Cambodian culture - its cuisine - and the desire to teach Cantabrigians about this small country perched on the southeastern peninsula of Asia.
At the King Open School, Rachael and fellow fifth-grader Eliza Klein have made it their goal to involve younger students.
Before classes one day earlier this month, the girls helped set up an origami table at the school entrance, along with an empty water jug inviting donations of spare change. Sixth-grader Brianna Lavelle patiently guided the younger students through the steps of folding a colorful square of paper into the shape of a crane.
"What is this for?" asked 6-year-old Bianca Byfield, as she handed over her crane to be placed on a large branch of a tree that will eventually hold 400.
"Every crane represents one child who will go to school in Cambodia," said Lavelle's mother, Risa. "And all of Cambridge is helping raise money."
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Saturday, May 10, 2008
Los Angeles trial under way for accused child sex tourist
LOS ANGELES—A retired Marine captain had sex with seven preteen girls while living in Cambodia, a prosecutor contended Friday.
Michael Joseph Pepe, 54, paid a prostitute to find girls between 9 and 15 and gave their impoverished families money to let the youngsters live with him near a Phnom Penh elementary school, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Donahue told Superior Court jurors in her opening statement.
Pepe, who was extradited to Los Angeles last year, has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, a federal law aimed at people who go overseas to engage in so-called child sex tourism.
He was being held without bail and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Pepe is accused of having sex with seven girls between the late fall of 2005 and his June 2006 arrest. He paid several hundred dollars to one family for access to their daughter, Donahue contended.
He supplied the girls with food and clothing and even covered some of their school tuitions but "there was a price for all of this," Donahue told jurors. "That price was sex."
Pepe drugged some before having sex with them, the prosecutor alleged.
One 11-year-old told Cambodian authorities that she woke up in a pool of blood, Donahue said.
Medical examinations found the girls had injuries that could have been caused by forced intercourse, she contended.
Rope, Viagra, children's clothing and child pornography were found in a search of his home, Donahue said.
The girls will testify at the trial and "you will hear their pain," the prosecutor told jurors.
In his opening argument, Deputy Federal Public Defender Carl Gunn suggested the assaults were committed by a prostitute and her boyfriend who had access to Pepe's house.
Perhaps the girls were abused "but they weren't abused by Mr. Pepe," Gunn said.
Parents and a teacher made frequent visits to Pepe's home and did not notice anything unusual, Gunn said.
The girls "even acted affectionately towards Mr. Pepe," Gunn said.
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Cambodia carrier ends Taipei flights over its financial crisis
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Cambodia-based Angkor Airways will suspend its flights between Taipei and the Southeast Asian country today, as it has run into financial difficulties after the detention of a top company executive on criminal charges in Taiwan, the airline's branch office in Taiwan announced yesterday.
Alex Lou, executive director of the Taiwan branch office, has been solely in charge of sourcing funding for operations, and his detention has plunged the company into financial woes, the office said.
The announcement came in the afternoon, while its flights to Siem Reap, the location of the famous Cambodian historic site of Angkor Wat, had still taken off as scheduled in the morning.
A total of 449 passengers from Taiwan were originally scheduled to take three Angkor charter flights back home in the next four days, the company said. But the office said it has already asked the passengers' travel agencies to rearrange their clients to fly home from Phnom Penh via China Airlines or EVA Airways.
Lou has been detained following questioning by prosecutors in Taipei on May 1 as part of their investigation into an embezzlement scandal hitting the debt-ridden Fast Eastern Air Transport.
The branch office said the headquarters in Cambodia respects the due process in Taiwan.
The travelers were originally scheduled to fly back to Taiwan from Siem Reap on May 10, 12 and 13.
Although it does not have a representative office in Cambodia, Taiwan's foreign ministry has appealed to Cambodia-based Taiwanese businesspeople to help the stranded tourists get rooms at local hotels, ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh said late last night.
Taiwan's government will arrange for Taiwanese airlines to pick up the tourists from both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap over the next four days, with FAT sending a plane on May 13, Yeh said.
For more assistance, Taiwanese citizens can call Taiwan's representative office in Ho Chi Minh City at 002-84-903927019, the spokeswoman said.
Angkor Airways, a regional airline with three routes between Siem Reap and Japanese cities in addition to its Taipei route, operated 20-23 chartered flights between Taipei and Siem Reap every month.
Although the statement said all flights would be suspended temporarily, there was no mention of if or when the charters would resume.
According to the airline's website, its charter flight routes include ones from Taipei, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka to Siem Reap.
But its current flight schedule has only flights between Taipei and the Cambodian destination.
Debt-ridden FAT, Taiwan's oldest private carrier that has been hit hard by a deteriorating domestic aviation market, filed for bankruptcy protection with the Taipei District Court on Feb. 17 and has been struggling to meet its operating obligations since.
Taipei prosecutors suspect that top-ranking managers at FAT pocketed company funds and purposely let Angkor Airways delay paying FAT the NT$700 million owed for leasing aircraft from the Taiwanese carrier.
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Friday, May 09, 2008
Los Angeles trial under way for accused child sex tourist
LOS ANGELES (Map, News) - A retired Marine captain had sex with seven preteen girls while living in Cambodia, a prosecutor contended Friday.
Michael Joseph Pepe, 54, paid a prostitute to find girls between 9 and 15 and gave their impoverished families money to let the youngsters live with him near a Phnom Penh elementary school, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Donahue told Superior Court jurors in her opening statement.
Pepe, who was extradited to Los Angeles last year, has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, a federal law aimed at people who go overseas to engage in so-called child sex tourism.
He was being held without bail and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Pepe is accused of having sex with seven girls between the late fall of 2005 and his June 2006 arrest. He paid several hundred dollars to one family for access to their daughter, Donahue contended.
He supplied the girls with food and clothing and even covered some of their school tuitions but "there was a price for all of this," Donahue told jurors. "That price was sex."
Pepe drugged some before having sex with them, the prosecutor alleged.
One 11-year-old told Cambodian authorities that she woke up in a pool of blood, Donahue said.
Medical examinations found the girls had injuries that could have been caused by forced intercourse, she contended.
Rope, Viagra, children's clothing and child pornography were found in a search of his home, Donahue said.
The girls will testify at the trial and "you will hear their pain," the prosecutor told jurors.
In his opening argument, Deputy Federal Public Defender Carl Gunn suggested the assaults were committed by a prostitute and her boyfriend who had access to Pepe's house.
Perhaps the girls were abused "but they weren't abused by Mr. Pepe," Gunn said.
Parents and a teacher made frequent visits to Pepe's home and did not notice anything unusual, Gunn said.
The girls "even acted affectionately towards Mr. Pepe," Gunn said.
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Thursday, May 08, 2008
China Ascendant – Part I
CHIANG MAI: The Chinese are coming. If the plan holds, the small and sleepy capital of Laos, Vientiane, might look like Manhattan on the Mekong. More than architectural statement, the construction of the new Chinatown in Laos will mark the newest evidence of China’s rising influence in Indochina, once the playpen of Vietnam.
An artist’s impression in state-owned media shows the shape of new development that will turn marshland into a modern city, populated by an estimated 50,000 migrants from China. The Associated Press reports that a Chinese company leased the land.
China’s profile and influence in Laos have grown steadily over the past few years at the expense of the landlocked country’s longstanding friendship with Vietnam. Similar development has taken place in Cambodia, another close ally of China’s longtime rival in the region, Vietnam. China, which Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen referred to as “the root of everything that was evil in Cambodia” in a 1988 essay, has emerged as a major donor to Cambodia and, unlike aid from the West, Chinese assistance comes with no strings attached for promoting democracy or good governance. China is also a major investor in Cambodia, mainly in the garment industry, but also in agriculture, mining, hotels and tourism.
This development has not gone unnoticed in Vietnam. In the case of Laos, to alleviate fears of a shift in foreign allegiances, the official media have over the past year protested a bit too much about the traditional friendship with Hanoi, repeatedly mentioning the 1977 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the two communist-ruled countries. Symbolically, a stylistic painting showing Lao and Vietnamese soldiers and civilians linking arms under national flags won first prize in a Vientiane art competition 19 September 2007, the 20th anniversary of the treaty’s signing. On Lao television, Lao and Vietnamese dignitaries meet and proclaim the “everlasting friendship” between the two countries.
But Laos’ allegiances have changed and that’s reflected in the history of three apartment blocks on the road to Vientiane’s Wattay Airport. Built in the early 1970s to accommodate operatives of the US Central Intelligence Agency and other American advisers, the buildings were taken over by Soviet technicians when the communist Pathet Lao took over in 1975. Today, the Mekong Hotel and Apartments cater to a mainly Chinese clientele, with one floor housing the Beijing Restaurant.
The number of Chinese working in Laos has increased in recent years. According to official statistics, about 30,000 Chinese now live in Laos, but the real figure could be 10 times greater. Thousands of Chinese work on the Asian Development Bank–funded Route 3 that runs from Boten, on the border with the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, through Luang Nam Tha in Laos, down to the Mekong River at the Houei Xay ferry crossing opposite Chiang Khong in Thailand, where a bridge is planned as well. When finished, the highway – and Laos – will be China’s main overland connection with Southeast Asia.
At the same time, China has become a major investor in Laos with 236 projects worth around US$876 million, a considerable increase from US$3 million worth of investment in 1996. The total Chinese direct investment approved by Laos’ Committee for Planning and Investment up to August 2007 amounts to US$1.1 billion, second only to Thailand’s projects worth US$1.3 billion. About a third of the Chinese investment is in hydropower, and the Laos government has granted Chinese companies concessions to mine gold, copper, iron, potassium and bauxite. Vast tracts of land have been farmed out to Chinese interests for rubber plantations.
China’s assistance to Laos since the late 1990s has reached nearly US$500 million in grants, interest-free loans and special loans. China has built a huge Culture Hall in Vientiane, ostensibly in traditional Lao style. In November 2004, China beautified the park around the Vientiane landmark Patouxay, the capital’s Arch of Triumph, and now constructs a stadium for the Southeast Asian Games, which Laos will host in 2009.
According to a June 2007 report in the English-language Vientiane Times, special loans from China helped establish the Lao Telecom Company and Lao Asia Telecom, and also funded a cement factory, the purchase of two MA 60 aircraft for Lao Airlines, as well as several government internet projects. The Chinese ambassador in Vientiane participates in donors’ meetings and plays an active role in the social life of Lao-based diplomats. Soon he’ll be joined by thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of Chinese citizens in Vientiane’s new Chinatown, which, for reasons of sensitivity, is called a “New City Development Project.”
In Cambodia – where China once supported the dreaded Khmer Rouge regime both when it was in power and later as a resistance force against the regime that Vietnam installed in Phnom Penh in January 1979 – the political situation began to change when Hun Sen ousted his then coalition partner, royalist leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh, in a June 1997 coup. Cambodia’s Western donors were not amused: The US and Germany suspended non-humanitarian aid until a free and fair election was held. Japan, Cambodia’s largest donor, said it would halt new projects.
But China came to Hun Sen’s rescue. Longtime Cambodia watcher Julio Jeldres notes that China was the first country to recognize the regime after the coup; in December that year, Beijing delivered 116 military cargo trucks and 70 jeeps valued at US$2.8 million. In February 1999, Hun Sen paid an official visit to China and obtained US$200 million in interest-free loans and US$18.3 million in foreign-assistance guarantees. The number of Chinese settlers in Cambodia is unknown, but estimated to be in the thousands.
The “new” Chinese, who for various reasons have settled in countries such as Cambodia and Laos, are more assertive than older Chinese communities in the region. According to Andrew Forbes, a Thailand-based China expert who spent more than 20 years studying China’s relations with Southeast Asia: “They’ve grown up in a country which is stronger and far more unified than before. There’s a new sense of being Chinese: the new migrants are patriotic and loyal to the motherland.”
This sense of national pride provokes tensions between new-generation migrants and older settlers, who fear the newcomers’ outward display of nationalism could rekindle longstanding suspicions towards ethnic Chinese communities in their adopted countries.
There have been incidents of anti-Chinese hostility that bear out those concerns. For example, in May 1999, 300 “new” Chinese massed outside the US embassy in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to protest the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. A smaller gathering of ethnic Chinese Cambodians, in the country for generations, held a counterdemonstration, heckling the protesters: “You’re not our brothers,” one yelled, referring to the suffering of Cambodia’s Chinese during the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime. “Your people killed my people during Pol Pot’s time.”
But the Vietnamese have greater reason to fear China’s rising economic, political and demographic clout in the region. Vietnam, once a leading force in Indochina, is becoming isolated from traditional allies. It still retains some influence in Laos, and trade between the two countries is not insignificant. But once Vientiane’s new Chinatown is built, that may change and the people of Laos have to adjust to their country’s becoming an extension of Yunnan.
Bertil Lintner is a Swedish journalist based in Thailand, and the author of several works on Asia, including “Blood Brothers: The Criminal Underworld of Asia” and “Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea under the Kim Clan.” This article is part of a larger research project conducted under the auspices of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
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Move to block Cambodia's temple proposal likely to fail: Army
By Piyanart Srivalo
The Nation
A move to block Cambodia's proposal to list Preah Vihear temple as a United Nations World Heritage Site will probably fail as the government in Phnom Penh has managed to lobby at least 21 countries to take its side, a military source said yesterday.
A meeting between senior officials led by Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Virasakdi Futrakul and Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok An over the last two days has been "useless" since Phnom Penh has already achieved its goal, the source said.
Thailand had delayed the United Nations Educational, Science and Culture Organisation's decision to list the ancient Hindu temple as a World Heritage Site after Cambodia proposed the temple area along with the annexation of some 4.6 square kilometres of overlapping area, claimed by both sides.
The temple belongs to Cambodia according to a ruling by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but the land below the hill-top temple claimed by the two countries remained unclear and the both sides agreed not to make any changes before the boundary demarcation was settled.
The listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site has nothing to do with national sovereignty, but if the area were annexed into part of the temple, Thailand would de facto lose the area, the military source said.
The Foreign Ministry proposed to Cambodia the establishment of a joint body to run the overlapping area before listing the temple as a World Heritage Site.
The two countries have not yet reached any common ground on the idea.
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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Divorce spark for killing, court told
A CLAIRVOYANT accused of murdering his lawyer after the pair fell out over a divorce settlement posted himself bullets from Cambodia before the shooting, a court has heard.
Lawyer David Robinson, 56, was shot dead outside his Fairfield office on the night of July 10, 2006.
John Thomas Glascott, 44, of Kealba, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the father of three.
The Supreme Court heard Mr Glascott blamed Mr Robinson, his long-time lawyer, for losing his home in a divorce settlement.
Prosecutor Geoff Horgan, SC, said Mr Glascott's tension and anxiety over his marital affairs were at the heart of the alleged murder.
"This and other issues had festered in his mind," Mr Horgan told the jury.
The court heard Mr Glascott was unemployed at the time but did work from home as a clairvoyant for his business, Psychic Wisdom.
Mr Horgan said Mr Glascott made two trips to Cambodia in February and May of 2006, allegedly to buy a gun and ammunition.
The first time Customs searched his hand luggage and found a notebook and internet pages relating to a Tokarev pistol, he said.
A couple of months later, Customs searched his home and allegedly found information about ammunition and firearms on his computer.
The court was told Mr Glascott sent himself four envelopes from a hotel in Phnom Penh in Cambodia, each containing a Tokarev bullet, which were seized by Customs in March that year.
Mr Horgan told the court seven bullets, made for a Tokarev gun, were found at the scene of Mr Robinson's alleged murder. The weapon has never been found.
Mr Robinson was killed by a single bullet wound as he investigated damage to his Station St law office about 8.30pm on July 10.
He had taken his son to the office, near their Alphington home, to print out homework.
They found the front door smashed and the office filled with smoke from smouldering papers.
The jury was told Mr Robinson went to the rear to look around. It was the last time his son saw him alive.
It is alleged Mr Glascott confronted Mr Robinson at the back of the office and there was arguing and shouting.
Mr Horgan said a witness would give evidence he saw two men struggling in the rear laneway, followed by shots.
Mr Robinson bled to death before paramedics arrived. His skull was also fractured.
The court heard Mr Robinson had drawn up a divorce agreement and given evidence at Mr Glascott's divorce hearing. But a court overturned the agreement and awarded in favour of his ex-wife, Tina.
Defence barrister Russell Sarah said Mr Glascott was not involved in the killing, and identification was an issue.
Mr Sarah said there was no evidence Mr Glascott confronted Mr Robinson.
The trial before Justice Philip Cummins continues.
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Cambodia arrests man for British deminer murder
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia has arrested and charged a former Khmer Rouge soldier in connection with the murder of a British de-miner more than a decade ago, a judge said on Wednesday.
Sin Dorn, 52, was formally charged on Tuesday with the abduction and premeditated murder of Christopher Howes of UK-based charity Mines Advisory Group in the northern province of Siem Reap in 1996. His Cambodian translator was also killed.
"The authorities were searching for him for several years, but couldn't find him. We finally arrested him and have thrown him in jail," investigating Judge Ke Sakhan told Reuters.
Sin Dorn is the fourth Khmer Rouge soldier to be arrested in connection with the murder. He was found in the north of the country near the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Along Veng where Pol Pot died.
Howes's death at the hand's of Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist guerrillas shocked most people in the war-scarred southeast Asian nation, where a street in the capital has since been named in his honour.
(Reporting by Ek Madra: Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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Editorial: Unworkable cartel
The recent bid by Thailand and Cambodia to revive the long-dormant proposal for creating an Opec-like cartel of five rice-exporting countries of South-east Asia is both ill-timed and ill-advised; indeed, prima facie, the idea is unworkable. This balloon was floated first by Thailand in 2001, subsequently by Cambodia in 2005, and is supported by Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter (with annual exports of 10 million tonnes), with Vietnam not far behind (exporting around 6 million tonnes). Cambodia is a smaller exporter, with exports of around 2 million tonnes, but it can expand paddy cultivation to boost its surplus, if assured attractive prices. Together, these three members of Asean (Association of South-east Asian Nations) account for a sizeable part of total rice exports.
The idea has been floated again at a time when global rice prices are already on the boil, having more than tripled since 2006. Supplies are tight, owing partly to the restrictions on rice exports imposed by several countries, including India, Brazil and Egypt, all of which are keen to build up domestic stockpiles. Any adverse price signals at this stage are bound to add to food inflation. An indication of what could be in store came when the rice import tenders floated by the Philippines and Bangladesh failed to attract any worthwhile bid and had to be scrapped early this week. It is no wonder therefore that the first denouncement of the cartelisation move came from none other than a key Asean member, the Philippines, which is a large rice importer. The Asian Development Bank too has been quick to oppose it, maintaining that it would not be good for either exporters or importers.
Going beyond the immediate interests of rice-exporters and -importers, the truth is that a successful rice cartel is almost impossible to visualise. Even if the alliance partners agree on a price band, it will be difficult for them to control production/supply — which is a key requirement for a successful cartel. This is especially so because some of these countries grow three or four crops of paddy in a year and, unlike oil wells, which can be switched on and off, a paddy harvest cannot be so regulated. Stocking up, as an option, could be expensive, especially if prices do not stay high. Nor can farmers be coerced into increasing or reducing rice acreage. The key element is that buyers have an option to go elsewhere, as the other rice-exporting countries are free to sell at prices of their choosing. Indeed, buyers could switch to alternative cereals too.
Regardless of whether a rice cartel is born or not, the alarm bells set off by the Thai attempt may spur fresh efforts to salvage the Doha round of trade talks, stalled for some years now because of disagreement over the liberalisation of agricultural trade. When the rice price manipulation proposal is viewed against the backdrop of the global food crisis, which has resulted in food riots in several countries, the need for free (unhindered) and fair (undistorted) trade in food and other farm products under a globally agreed and legally-enforceable regime will be seen to be all the more urgent.
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Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Will Burma (Myanmar) let world in for aid?
"We don't know the extent of the damage. We're having trouble contacting our people," says Chris Lom, a spokesman for the UN International Organization on Migration (IOM) in Thailand.
Meanwhile, the regime faced mounting criticism for its alleged neglect in preparing for the disaster. With Burma's tightly controlled state media offering scant details, it was unclear how the government was directing its emergency response.
But the Burmese Army, which mobilized quickly and harshly to suppress democratic protests last September, has been described as slow to offer assistance now by some observers, while state authorities are accused of failing to provide shelter information despite knowing that cyclone Nargis would set down Saturday with destructive force.
"The regime has lost a golden opportunity to send the soldiers as soon as the storm stopped to win the heart and soul of people," a retired civil servant told Reuters. "But where are the soldiers and police? They were very quick and aggressive when there were protests in the streets last year," he said.
State officials confirmed on Tuesday night that 22,000 people were killed by the cyclone, with 41,000 missing, a drastic increase that made the disaster the worst to hit Asia since the 2004 tsunami, which left some 230,000 people dead.
Other reports suggested that Saturday's death toll would rise significantly. Already, it has escalated quickly: from 351 on Saturday, to 4,000 on Monday morning, to 10,000 that night. By Tuesday morning, state-run television stated that 10,000 people alone had been killed in the town of Bogalay.
Speaking from a phone on the Thai-Burmese border Tuesday, Nyo Myint, of the National League for Democracy party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, says the death toll, calculated by reports from party sources across southern Burma, is more than 100,000.
International relief agencies reported that, with phone and Internet lines down and roads washed away, merely assessing the damage would be difficult at best, let alone dispensing aid.
"The major challenge is to figure out an exact assessment of the damage," says Jennifer Pagonis, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva.
The disaster is compelling one of the world's most secretive and isolated regimes to swing open its doors to the international community. At a meeting with foreign diplomats on Monday, Burma's foreign minister Nyan Win appealed for international aid – a dramatic political reversal from 2004, when the junta rejected such assistance after the devastating tsunami.
At least one planeload containing nine tons of relief supplies was reported to have landed in Rangoon, the former capital, Tuesday, flown in by the Thai military. Thailand also said it would make available $100,000 in emergency funds, the Bangkok Post reported.
But as of Tuesday, international relief groups were still awaiting final confirmation from Burma's government that their workers and supplies would be allowed in.
"[International relief groups] don't yet have clarification. Insofar as the Myanmar authorities are interested in getting aid, we will of course facilitate international relief workers, although it's not clear how many," says Mr. Lom.
A worsening portrait of ruin has emerged in the wake of the cyclone, which ripped through Burma's central coast on Saturday, packing 120 mile-per-hour winds that flattened shantytowns and 12-foot tidal waves that swept away entire villages in low-lying coastal areas. Eight townships were reported as completely destroyed.
Even before the cyclone hit, the Irrawaddy River delta southwest of Rangoon was known as a swampy landscape of poor farmers and fishermen with flimsy homes. The area, one of the least developed in southeast Asia, lacks dykes or other barriers to protect people from sea surges.
Mr. Myint, of the NLD, said he spoke by satellite phone with another party member who went to the devastated Irrawaddy delta area to search for family members.
"The worst thing is in the villages. Only two or three survivors in each village, with maybe 1,000 population in each," says Myint. "He saw hundreds of dead bodies in Bogalay yesterday, lying on the road. Nobody is collecting them. It looked like they drowned in the sea surge."
Myint's colleague moved on to nearby Lattputa Tuesday, where he reported that at least half of the township's population of 40,000 was dead. "Most of the people are helpless. They have no food, water, or medicine," Myint continued.
Survivors, meanwhile, entered their fourth day without electricity and drinking water in many areas, including Rangoon, home to 6.5 million people. Threats of disease remain high, relief agencies warn, and hundreds of thousands are said to be homeless.
Aside from issuing appeals, the government's response to the disaster has been difficult to gauge, given broken communication lines. Some news reports suggested that it was slow and inadequate, with very few soldiers dispersed to provide relief. Such a poor showing, if true, would contrast sharply with the Army's quick outpouring against demonstrations.
As the storm swelled on Friday night, state television broadcast warnings of tidal waves and heavy winds, but provided no further instructions for seeking shelter, the Associated Press reported.
First lady Laura Bush, a leading international critic of Burma's military regime, which has ruled since 1962, was among the most outspoken critics of the Army-backed government's response. "Although they were aware of the threat, Burma's state-run media failed to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path," Mrs. Bush said at a press conference on Monday.
President Bush urged Burma to allow US damage assessment teams into the country while at a ceremony Tuesday, where he signed legislation to give a Congressional Gold Medal to Ms. Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest in Burma.
While that honor is unlikely to win favor from Burma's government, emergency assistance sometimes helps improve ties between unfriendly states.
"[Disaster diplomacy] can have an enormous impact. This is a way to open up relations with countries you don't have good relations with. It's a way to present good will and good intentions," says Charles Perry, executive vice president of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, a research organization in Cambridge, Mass.
But he cautions that diplomacy only builds dividends in the long run, if humanitarian aid programs are sustained for a matter of years, not months.
The situation in Burma is an opportunity for the US, if it commits to a longer term course of relief and dialogue, he says, adding, "It's an opportunity for the generals to open up as well."
But government officials in Burma have invited further criticism by refusing to call off a controversial referendum on a new constitution originally scheduled for May 10. Instead they announced on Tuesday that it would be postponed until May 24 in 47 townships hard hit by the disaster. Critics, who have already blasted the referendum as a sham designed to solidify the military's rule, say the government should focus on relief instead.
Despite growing critiques, the international community and neighboring countries moved quickly to offer support to victims (see below). With aid lining up, relief agencies said they are confident the ruling government will give the final green light to international aid, but hoped it would come soon.
"The sooner the better," says Lom.
• Christopher Johnson contributed from Tokyo.
