VietNamNet Bridge - A senior Cambodian legislator has urged Vietnam to increase its flow of investments into agriculture in his country.
The Chairman of the Cambodian National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Commission, Chheang Vun, made the call while meeting with Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Chien Thang on Dec. 25.
Chheang Vun said Cambodia boasts large and fertile farmland acreages which are favourable conditions for investment in agriculture.
The move will benefit both nations as it will help Cambodia learn Vietnam ’s agricultural production experiences and improve the local people’s living conditions, while Vietnam will be able to increase its farm produce output for export, he said.
According to the lawmaker, Cambodia annually exports more than 200 million USD worth of products to Vietnam and imports goods totalling some 1 billion USD from the country.
Ambassador Thang pledged to ask his government to consider Cambodia ’s suggestion, saying that boosting investment in Cambodia is one of Vietnam ’s priorities in order to beef up the bilateral relations.
The ambassador said Vietnamese companies are planning to grow rubber trees on an additional 30,000 ha in Cambodia in addition to over 30,000 ha already planted in Kracheh province.
He also emphasised the importance of cooperation for mutual development in the triangle region shared by Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos .
Vietnam hopes that Cambodia will host a meeting between leaders from the triangle region’s 10 provinces next year to introduce the potentials for development in this area, the diplomat added.
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Sunday, December 28, 2008
Vietnam, Cambodia agree to boost agricultural cooperation
Cambodian-Thai border talks set for January
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia will resume talks with Thailand over their disputed border in late January, as a tense military standoff at contested areas of the frontier enters its sixth month, national media said on Monday.
"The next meeting (of the Joint Border Commission) will be held in Thailand as agreed," Var Kinhong, Cambodia's top negotiator for border issues, was quoted by English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post as saying.
"The Thai parliament will hold internal discussion on the border issues first, and after they have approved (the agenda), the two sides will set the schedule," he added.
Cambodia and Thailand have never finally demarcated their 805-km shared border, but a meeting between both foreign ministers in November yielded an agreement to scale down troop numbers along the border and begin demarcation and demining operations from mid-December.
It was the most concrete progress made yet to resolve tensions on the border, which escalated after Cambodia first accused Thai troops of entering its territory in July, shortly after Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Friday, December 26, 2008
Indian investor plans to open pharmaceutical plant in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, (Xinhua): An Indian investment group has tabled a plan at the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce to recruit private partners to build a new pharmaceutics manufacturing plant in the kingdom, national media said on Friday.
The investors prepared to devote some 1 million U.S. dollars to the new facility in a push to help curb counterfeit drugs in Cambodia, said English-language newspaper the Phnom Penh Post.
"They are interested in this sector because they don't want to see Cambodia rely on imported drugs," said Nguon Ming Tech, the group's local representative.
Yim Yann, president of the Pharmacists Association of Cambodia (PAC), said that "a new pharmaceutical factory will bring new technology to Cambodia and will be able to take advantage of local resources."
"Thousands of pharmacies in the country offer imported medicine, much of which is counterfeit," he added.
Cambodia has about 1,000 registered pharmacies, with an additional 1,000 pharmacies operating illegally, according to PAC.
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Palm Springs man helping to clear Cambodia of explosives
The humidity is intense. More than 80 percent, on top of the 90-degree weather. He uses a kroma — a thin scarf — to wipe the sweat out of his blue eyes and over his closely cropped gray hair. He carries rice, water, Spam, Cup of Noodles, coffee and tea on his back. Maybe tonight there will be something else to eat with it other than rat.
Ahead of him in the Cambodian jungle, one of the metal detectors goes off with a “wow, wow” sound. A land mine has been found. Palm Springs resident Bill Morse never thought he would be running a charity to help clear the unexploded bombs and land mines in Cambodia.
Read Bill Morse's mydesert.com blog about his work in Cambodia.
He owned a marketing and sales consulting business, which he closed last year to focus his efforts in Cambodia. Now he spends up to eight months a year working in Cambodia, in the Landmine Relief Fund office or in the jungle, clearing land mines, eating whatever he can catch, and sleeping in huts or on the ground.
“There is a perception that Cambodia is handling it,” Morse said recently, sitting in his living room, surrounded by artifacts from his trips around the world. “Our objective is to clear land mines in low-priority villages.”
The land mines and bombs are from when the United States infiltrated the country and when the Khmer Rouge was in power in the 1970s, Morse said.
More than 500 people were injured from exploding land mines in Cambodia last year, Morse said. An estimated one in every 250 Cambodians has been injured since the 1980s, he said.
Finding Aki Ra
Five years ago, Morse traveled to Cambodia. He had heard of a man named Aki Ra from a friend who had raised money to buy him a metal detector so he didn't have to search for land mines by hand.
Aki Ra has cleared 50,000 land mines — and still has all his limbs. By age 5, he was orphaned. By age 10, he was fighting with the Khmer army, laying the land mines he would later seek to eliminate. When he was a soldier, he could lay 1,000 land mines a day. “Nobody kept a record,” Morse said.
He survived the genocide that killed 1.7 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979 — more than 20 percent of the country's population, according to Yale University's Cambodia Genocide Program.
It wasn't easy finding Aki Ra. He ran a land mine museum on a dirt road, but the hotel concierge either didn't know of it, or wouldn't tell Morse where it was. When he did find him, Morse said he was overwhelmed by this man, and knew he had to help.
Morse not only set up the Landmine Relief Fund and became its director, but he returned to Cambodia to help Aki Ra with international certification. He joined Aki Ra in the jungle, hunted for meals as they looked for land mines, and stood by his side as he located them in the ground.
“You dig the hole at an angle, so if you hit the land mine, you hit it on the side,” Morse said.
Land mines were never designed to kill, said Morse, who spent a year in the U.S. Army. Injuring people was more effective in the war — as the injured had to be carried by at least two people. This is not to say the mines haven't killed.
Recently, Aki Ra was clearing land mines in a village when the government ordered him to stop. Shortly after, five people were killed when their truck went over one.
Morse spends several months a year in Cambodia, working in the Landmine Relief Fund office and in the jungle with Aki Ra and a five-member crew. When land mines are found, the area is roped off and the devices are blown up. Morse said he used to stand next to Aki Ra as he did his work.
Now, with recent government accreditation, Morse said he goes into the area last and documents what the team does. It takes a team of five to clear the mines — four people are needed to carry a stretcher — he said.
There are several land mine clearing organizations in Cambodia. The issue gained prominence when Princess Diana campaigned for the clearing of devices. There are also several groups affiliated with the cause. Project Enlighten provides educational opportunities for children in Cambodia, including those living at the Landmine Museum run by Aki Ra.
Project Enlighten Founder Asad Rahman knows Morse well and said he is one of the “most honest and driven men” with whom he has worked.
“His vision and passion to help eradicate the land mine issue is unparalleled. He is a saint,” Rahman wrote in an e-mail from Laos to The Desert Sun.
Morse only wishes he could do more. Donations have dribbled recently and he said he would like to have a celebrity step in as a spokesperson to help gain publicity for the cause.
He wants to raise $45,000 to put another team of five into the Cambodian jungles. “I couldn't think of a better way to spend my money and my time. We are going after the stuff we left there. I'm (just) a janitor.”
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Cambodia faces problems enforced new sex trafficking law
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Chantha said there was nothing else she could do in Cambodia but become a prostitute.
"If you don't even have a dollar in your pocket to buy rice, how can you bear looking at your starving relatives?" she said.
"You do whatever to survive, until you start to realize the consequence of your deeds."
Chanta, in her early twenties, was working in a small red-light district west of the capital Phnom Penh several months ago when she was arrested under Cambodia's new sex-trafficking law.
Police nabbed her in a raid and charged her with publicly soliciting sex, fining her nearly two dollars. Then, Chanta claims, the arresting officers gang raped and beat her for six days in detention.
Bruises covered her body, but none of her assailants were brought to court, she said.
The Cambodian government began prosecuting a new "Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation" in February after years of pressure from the United States to clamp down on sex trafficking.
Since then, authorities have conducted brothel raids and street sweeps, but rights groups complain the new law has in many ways worsened the exploitation of women.
"The law allows police of all levels to arrest and punish sex workers," said Naly Pilorge, director of local human rights group Licadho.
"The sex workers are arrested to police stations and rehabilitation centres and then they are abused."
More than 500 women were arrested for soliciting sex in the first nine months of 2008, according to anti-trafficking organisation Afesip, with many of them forced into rehabilitation centres.
Rights groups say the new law makes women easier prey for traffickers, and could increase rates of sexually-transmitted infections as prostitutes stop carrying condoms out of fear they will be used as evidence against them.
They also allege that detainees are regularly abused at the two rehabilitation centres controlled by Cambodia's ministry of social affairs, Prey Speu and Koh Kor.
Koh Kor has the added grim reputation of being on an island which was the site of a prison and execution camp under Cambodia's murderous 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime.
Despite Chanta and others testifying to instances of rape, beatings and extortion at the hands of police in the rehabilitation centres, authorities have repeatedly denied the abuses.
Major General Bith Kimhong, director of the interior ministry's anti-trafficking department, said he does not believe anyone has been abused under the new law because he has received no complaints from victims.
More than 100 people were arrested this year, as human trafficking prosecutions increased by 50 percent, Bith Kimhong said.
The raids on brothels and streetwalkers proved a commitment by the government to end sex trafficking, he said, vowing they would continue.
"We'll continue to cooperate with local authorities to enforce the law," Bith Kimhong said.
The new law is one of several moves by the Cambodian government over the past year to show that it is cracking down on sexual exploitation.
In March it imposed ban on foreign marriages amid concerns of an explosion in the number of brokered unions involving South Korean men and poor Cambodian women, many of whom were allegedly being set up for sex slavery.
There have also been a string of arrests of alleged foreign paedophiles, as Cambodia seeks to demonstrate sex tourists are not welcome.
Pich Socheata, deputy governor of one Phnom Penh district, leads "clean-ups" of prostitution on the streets but said she empathizes with sex workers.
"They are female and I am too, so I do understand no girls want to do that job. But we are only practising law," she said.
But Keo Tha, a staff member at sex workers' rights group the Women's Network for Unity, says many more Cambodian women are still being forced into prostitution as jobs dry up amid the global financial crisis.
A more sensible law, she said, would legalise prostitution.
"We are sandwiched right now -- we are oppressed by the police, the law and rising living costs," she said.
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Ex-Cambodian king fighting cancer
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's former King Norodom Sihanouk is fighting his third bout with cancer but is optimistic he will recover and return to his homeland from China, according to a message on his Web site.
The 86-year-old Sihanouk, in a statement dated Wednesday, said he was being treated by Chinese doctors in Beijing for lymphoma B cancer and would not return to Cambodia as planned in February.
Sihanouk, a dominant figure in Cambodian politics for six decades, abdicated in 2004, citing poor health. He was succeeded by one of his sons, Norodom Sihamoni, and has since spent much of his time in China.
In recent years, he has suffered from a number of ailments, including colon cancer, diabetes, hypertension and two strokes.
Sihanouk is also one of the world's great survivors having lived through wars, the Khmer Rouge terror and fierce political struggles beginning with his quest for independence from France in the early 1950s.
On the Web site, Sihanouk said he would return to Cambodia several months after his scheduled arrival when he was well again. He successfully battled two earlier bouts with the disease.
"In this regard, they (doctors) are optimistic," he wrote.
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Thursday, December 25, 2008
China to allow freer yuan trades
China has said it is to allow some trade with its neighbours to be settled with its currency, the yuan.
The pilot scheme was announced in a package of measures designed to help exporters hit by the global downturn.
It means if the two parties to a trade have yuan available, they need not enter world exchange markets to pay.
Most of China's foreign trade is settled in US dollars or the euro, leaving exporters vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations.
The yuan is not yet a freely convertible currency.
Officials did not say when the trial scheme would start.
When it does, the yuan could be used to settle trade between parts of eastern China (Guangdong and the Yangtze River delta) and the territories of Hong Kong and Macau, and between south-west China (Guangxi and Yunnan) and the Asean group of countries (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).
Spreading yuan
Analysts told Chinese media that the yuan was already being used in some South East Asian countries and that China was happy to see such use extended.
They also agreed that the measure was intended to help companies cope with the global financial meltdown, even though buying and selling the currency requires the presentation of legitimate trade documents to banks.
The latest measure follows Beijing's announcement earlier this month of a 30-point directive in which it vowed to "support the development of yuan business in Hong Kong" and expand the use of the currency to settle trade with neighbouring countries.
Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying: "The US dollar is unlikely to be stable next year and later.
"And the likelihood of the United States issuing more money in the near future adds to the depreciation risk in US-dollar-denominated assets and trade settlements."
He also reportedly said that Guangxi, a province in southern China, had already been settling trade with Vietnam in yuan for some time.
Spurs to spend
A document released after a meeting of China's State Council on Wednesday announced more measures to stimulate domestic consumption.
These include subsidies to rural households for the purchase of household appliances and other goods, and the setting up of new stores and distribution centres in rural areas.
The document called for the renovation of urban food markets, the provision of more variety of goods on sale, the setting up of more second-hand markets, incentives for distribution companies to merge and consolidate, and support of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The state news agency Xinhua said the government intended to raise export tax rebates for high-technology products, to encourage foreign investment, extend customs and inspections services, lower inspection fee for exports and strengthen trade relations in emerging markets.
Analysts said the ideas, though vague, indicated growing concern among China's policy makers about the domestic impact of the current global financial turmoil.
Powered by exports, China's economy has grown by double digits in recent years.
In November, official figures showed a 2.2 percent drop in exports, the first decline in more than seven years.
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Businesses and entrepreneurs from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to be honoured
An awards ceremony for outstanding businesses and entrepreneurs from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam will be held on January 18, 2009, according to the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium-sized enterprises (Vinasme).
According to the organizing board, the awards will be presented to successful businesses and entrepreneurs from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam for their remarkable achievements in production, business, services and social welfare activities.
The awards will contribute to strengthening exchanges between enterprises to explore business opportunities in the three countries.
At present, more than 100 businesses and entrepreneurs have entered the contest as candidates for the award.
The event was co-organised by Vinasme, the Economics Department under the Ministry of National Defense, and the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia economic and development association.
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Cambodian Supreme Court will review trade union leader’s murder
Two men convicted of the murder of trade union activist Chea Vichea in Cambodia after a seriously flawed criminal investigation and a grossly unfair trial will have their case heard by the country's Supreme Court on 31 December.
Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were sentenced to 20 years for Chea Vichea’s murder. However, their detention and trial were plagued with human rights violations, including torture or other ill-treatment and deeply flawed court proceedings that relied on unfounded and inadmissible evidence.
"The Cambodian Supreme Court must dismiss the case against both men and ensure that they are released." said Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher Brittis Edman.
The organisation has long argued that the true perpetrators of the murder remain at large. The Free Trade Union (FTU), of which Chea Vichea was President, has also repeatedly called for the release of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun.
Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun had alibis for the time of the shooting on 22 January 2004. Instead of conducting a thorough, impartial investigation, police officers threatened and detained people who would provide these alibis, and intimidated other witnesses.
Born Samnang repeatedly stated that police beat, coerced and bribed him into making a confession. Despite this, the Municipal Court accepted the confession as a central piece of evidence on the basis of which both men were convicted.
On 1 August 2005, the Municipal Court sentenced them both to 20 years’ imprisonment for murder. On 6 April 2007, the Appeal Court upheld the decision, despite the prosecutor’s acknowledgment there was insufficient evidence.
Amnesty International has repeated its calls to the Cambodian authorities to conduct an impartial and effective investigation into the murder of Chea Vichea so that those responsible for it are brought to justice.
The organisation has also urged the authorities to initiate a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the conduct of the case - including allegations of torture or other ill-treatment by police during the initial interrogation of the two men, intimidation of witnesses and political interference with the judicial process.
Chea Vichea was murdered on 22 January 2004 after receiving a series of death threats. He was shot dead in an assassination-style killing at a news stand in central Phnom Penh. Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were arrested shortly afterwards on suspicion of his murder.
Since Chea Vichea’s death another two FTU activists have been killed in Phnom Penh. In May 2004, Ros Sovannareth, FTU President at the Trinunggal Komara factory, was murdered. Thach Saveth was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his murder in a one-hour trial described by observers as grossly unfair.
On 24 February 2007, Hy Vuthy, FTU President at the Suntex factory, was shot dead. No one has been brought to justice for this killing, and by September 2008, a Phnom Penh court official told media that the investigation had been closed for lack of evidence.
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Boy named "Lucky" travels from Cambodia to Las Vegas for heart surgery
little boy named 'Lucky' is living up to his name after traveling from Cambodia to Las Vegas to have his broken heart fixed.
Dr. Michael Ciccolo performed the operation at Sunrise Children's Hospital.
"The child has a hole between the lower pumping chambers. It's important to fix significant forms of heart disease, because if you don't they will not have a normal life expectancy," he explained.
The baby's name means "Lucky" in English.
His family thinks it's fitting that he had the procedure in Las Vegas.
They couldn't afford to pay for the surgery, so it was arranged through a charitable organization called Hearts Without Boundaries.
The hospital and the doctor donated their services as part of this international effort.
"It's quite a gift, not only to the patient, but to the patient's family. So it makes us feel very proud of the fact that we're able to do this here," said Dr. Ciccolo.
Word of the surgery's success was welcome news in Cambodia and Lucky's progress has been excellent.
He should lead a normal life with no additional surgeries.
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Saving Cambodia's musical heritage
By NOAH GRIFFIN
IN 1994, young Scott Stafford, was awarded special honors from the University of Chicago Music and Composition Theory Department. His honors thesis developed group theory to analyze traditional Balinese polyrhythm, drawing new parallels with Western Harmony.
Stafford, a San Rafael resident, most recently composed music and produced additional recordings for Pixar's critically acclaimed 2008 "Presto." At the time of his graduation, he had no idea his thesis would lead him down the path to helping rescue and preserve the Cambodian musical legacy.
The story of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, graphically depicted in the poignant portrayal in the book and 1984 film, "The Killing Fields," not only left an estimated 1.7 million dead, but nearly decimated the Cambodian musical legacy of thousands of years by systematically eliminating the music teachers who could pass on the country's musical heritage.
Stafford, on a family trip to the area, traveled to Siem Rep City. There, he heard a performance of the moribund music played from an ancient instrument he had seen carved in bas relief on the walls of Bayon, one of the main temples of Angkor Wat. The instrument is called the Kse Diev, meaning one string.
You pluck harmonics on it, moving it on and off one's chest.
Some of the last generation of surviving players were nearly all wiped out by the Khmer Rouge. Stafford's fascination with the music, along with his training, impelled him to quench his curiosity as to the music's current status, leading him to the discovery of the fragile nature of its existence.
He quickly found that precious little of it had ever been recorded.
Stafford raised funds to found Studio CLA (Cambodia Living Arts), a nonprofit ethnographic audio visual production studio with the goal of archiving Cambodia's endangered musical traditions, training local engineers in audio and visual production arts, and providing a laboratory for new creative and collaborative works.
CLA has now has four self-produced CD's for sale in Cambodia. The recent underground documentary, "Sleepwalking through the Mekong," is based on a Los Angeles and Long Beach band's pilgrimage to Cambodia to record in Stafford's studio and to collaborate with traditional CLA artists.
Stafford has plenty of in-country support for the collaborative project.
Most noteworthy are Arn Chorn-Pond and Sophy Him, whom he met in February 2002, during his first trip to Cambodia.
Arn Chorn, by playing revolutionary songs on the flute, survived the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime that turned him into a child soldier.
Today, he is an internationally recognized human rights leader, a recipient among other honors, of the Anne Frank Memorial Award and is the subject of the award winning documentary: "The Flute Player."
Sophy Him, a composer, is a professor of music and fine arts at the Royal Academy of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.
Stafford, in support of Him's work, has been part of the creative team supplying additional music and direction for "Where Elephants Weep," the first-known contemporary Cambodian rock opera with a mission to stir young Cambodians to honor their heritage within the context of the changing global society and to inspire them to learn more about Cambodia's performing living arts.
The opera had its world premiere in Cambodia this year. To learn more about the music and CLA's mission, visit www.whereelephantsweep.net.
Noah Griffin of Tiburon is a public affairs consultant and a former citizen member of the IJ's editorial board.
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36 Hours in Siem Reap, Cambodia
By NAOMI LINDT
9 p.m.
The Khmer-chic rooms at La Résidence d’Angkor (River Road; 855-63-963-390; http://www.residencedangkor.com/) have hardwood floors, silk and bamboo accents and giant whirlpool tubs. Rooms start at $175.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Cambodia lacks funds for wildlife network
Written by Christopher Shay
AN increase in the number of wildlife seizures in Southeast Asia attests to the success of the region's collaborative approach to stamping out the black market wildlife trade, according to a press release from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network (Asean-WEN).
Cambodia, however, is still largely left out of this approach, as it lacks the funding to fully participate in the anti-wildlife trafficking group.
Asean-WEN, of which Cambodia is a member, is a network of law enforcement agencies seeking to improve communication between various government authorities in the 10-member bloc.
Sharing is caring
Suon Sovann, deputy chief of the Forest Crime Monitoring and Reporting Unit at the Foresty Administration, told the Post on Monday:
"Wildlife crime is not a Cambodian issue. It's a global issue. We need funds so we can share information about wildlife crime."
In order to abolish the illegal wildlife trade, governments have to address both the supply and demand sides. This involves many different branches of government in multiple countries, said Mark Gately, the country program director at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
"Improved communications between Southeast Asian countries means that if reports are made of wildlife leaving Cambodia illegally, authorities in the neighboring countries can be alerted," a Wildlife Alliance spokesperson said Monday.
"At present, animals can be rescued within Cambodia, but once they cross the border, nothing can be done."
Teak Seng, country director of the the global conservation group WWF, said: "One specific country cannot be effective at curtailing wildlife trade. It requires international cooperation."
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Amnesty Urges Cambodia To Free Alleged Killers Of Union Boss
PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Rights group Amnesty International Tuesday called on Cambodia's highest court to release two alleged killers of the country's labor leader, saying the true perpetrators remain at large.
Chea Vichea, who headed the country's largest labor union and was a vocal critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government, was gunned down at a Phnom Penh newsstand in January 2004.
The daylight murder shocked the country and was condemned by Cambodian and international rights groups as a brutal attempt to silence the opposition-linked workers' group.
Just days after the killing, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were arrested, convicted of murder and quickly sentenced to 20 years each in prison. They will make their final appeal at the Supreme Court next week.
"Amnesty International calls on the Supreme Court to dismiss the case against Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, and ensure that they are released without delay and their names cleared," the watchdog said in a statement.
The group said it "believes that the true perpetrators of the murder remain at large, while Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have spent almost five years in prison after a seriously flawed criminal investigation and a grossly unfair trial."
The pair denied any involvement in the killing and have fought their convictions. Former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov, who led the investigation, also has admitted that the two didn't kill Chea Vichea.
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Thai cabinet line-up could anger Thaksin's allies
By Tim Johnston in Bangkok
Thailand's king approved a new cabinet yesterday but political turmoil could persist as many of its members supported the protests that paralysed air transport and government.
The high-profile positions taken by protest backers could spur demonstrations by supporters of the administration ousted this month by the courts. Supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister linked to that administration, demonstrated violently outside parliament last week when the new government, led by Abhisit Vejjajiva, was voted into power.
While Mr Abhisit offered support for the People's Alliance for Democracy, the group that occupied the prime minister's office in August and Bangkok's two airports in November, Kasit Piromya, his new foreign minister, was more active. The PAD's protests cost the economy at least $2.8bn.
Mr Kasit, a regular speaker at PAD rallies, once described the airports occupation as a "new innovation for public protests".
Last week Mr Kasit told the Financial Times: "This was a protest against an elected government that had become abusive and corrupted. The PAD was part of the whole democratic process. People should be happy that for once the military wasn't involved."
Mr Kasit had earlier taken a hard line on the border dispute with Cambodia, which centres on an ancient temple and led to low-level skirmishes this year. The PAD rallied anti-government support by saying ministers gave Cambodia too much leeway because of alleged business interests of Mr Thaksin across the border.
In the interview, Mr Kasit was more conciliatory, saying Hun Sen, Cambodia's prime minister, had been the first foreign leader to congratulate Mr Abhisit on his win. "I think this is a great sign of friendship," he said. "We have a common heritage; we have to use that to bring us together," he said.
Thailand holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Mr Kasit said he was hoping to reengage Burma in dialogue.
"We will talk across the board on all issues," he said. Asean last week adopted a new charter which calls for a regional human rights body. Burma's human rights record will pose one of the biggest challenges to the new charter but Mr Kasit said human rights would be high on the agenda.
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Monday, December 22, 2008
Mixed future for Cambodia's MFIs
AMK chief Paul Luchtenburg talks to the Post
The financial crisis has affected all MFIs in two ways. First, [there are] less funds available from lenders. Second, [there] is less money flowing around in the country. It means less funds and people will be less able to pay back their loans.
How long do you think the crisis will continue to affect the MFI sector in Cambodia?
That's hard to say. Some people say there will be only short-term minimal impact. Others ask what will happen next.
I would like to think that things will stabilise next year.
What about short-term future lending?
Our mission is to help as many people as possible. But we have fewer funds, so that means less lending.
Do you anticipate any change in interest rates on current loans?
We are committed to keeping interest rates as low as we can. The challenge is that AMK works in remote areas, where we have to send staff to make sure the poor are properly receiving our services. Our interest rates are higher because of these remote services.
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I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT THINGS WILL STABILISE NEXT YEAR.
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Have AMK's profits suffered as a result of the crisis?
We cover our costs, even despite the current crisis, and we still have funds available for lending. The challenge on our side is to improve the system so poor people in need of financing can get the funds they require more rapidly.
Do you see greater risk of default among your clients because of the global crisis?
Our client portfolio is among the best in the world. We have had very few problems.
How much does AMK lend per year?
Our portfolio has grown from US$10 million last year to $22 million so far in 2008. We have put some $72 million into Cambodia's economy in the last three years. I think MFIs are strengthening the economy because lenders come back for more loans.
In what ways does AMK help reduce poverty?
This is hard to quantify. We are currently doing a study to assess this, which will come out next year and which compares our clients with others who don't currently use our services. But I will always believe that microfinance takes the highest view of people's potential than any other development-based initiative.
What responsibilities remain for the Ministry of Rural Development to reduce poverty?
Cambodia's poorest provinces, such as Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Stung Treng, need infrastructure. They need roads, houses and greater access to education.
Has the crisis affected AMK's ability to get continue to secure outside funding?
I think we've seen a 25 percent drop. This is an estimation. We have projected a 40 percent drop in 2009.
Are you concerned by recent growth predictions from the World Bank and others that show lower GDP next year?
It is a concern because we could see problems with repayment. So, we have to be careful in assessing potential clients' ability to repay.
But we are facing more difficult times, and more people will need our help. We just need to make sure the best candidates are the ones receiving loans.
What do you think the MFI sector will look like two or three years on?
I think 2009 will be an interesting year. We have some new players entering the sector. I think the slowdown will continue, but the way we react will set the tone for 2010. But I believe that AMK will continue to remain stable.
With the slowdown likely to continue, how do you explain the rise in new commercial banks?
Cambodia is an emerging market, and we have seen a lot of interest in the banking sector. New banking requirements relating to capitalisation have opened up new possibilities for niche markets. Will some of them be forced to close down? It's hard to say. Some could refocus on mortgages, others could focus on other things. That's the good thing about competition. It makes every organisation better. There is no room for sloppiness in Cambodia. This, in turn, has created a very dynamic environment for microfinance.
Have you thought of turning AMK into a specialised bank?
With the NBC regulations, it is too expensive for us. ... But we want to start collecting savings independent from investors or creditors.
Fixed Deposit Interest Rate of 10 Banks (5 December 2008)
ACLEDA 5.50% 6.00% 6.50% 8.00% 7.50% 9.50%
Cambodian PM regrets death of Khmer typewriter keyboard inventor
PHNOM PENH, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his deep regret here on Monday over the death of Keng Vannsak, inventor of the Khmer typewriter keyboard.
Vannsak just died at 83 years old of pneumonia in a hospital at the outskirts of Paris, where he had lived since the 1970s. His funeral will be held there on Tuesday.
"I was so regretful that we lost a famous intellectual of our country," Hun Sen told the graduation ceremony of a university.
"Grandfather Keng Vannsak told me in a recent letter that he had the plan to visit Cambodia," he said, adding that he had never returned to Cambodia since the 1970s.
Vannsak invented the Khmer typewriter keyboard in 1952 and was also known as a politician, Khmer-language teacher and scholar, poet, composer and historian.
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Chinese man arrested in Cambodia on terrorism charges
Phnom Penh - A Chinese national was arrested and charged with kidnapping and terrorism offences in Cambodia, national media reported Monday.
Police on Sunday arrested Hour Ming, 33, after he allegedly held hostage Seang Youhour, 34, for 13 hours in his house in the capital Phnom Penh and threatened to set off a bomb if officers tried to raid the building, The Phnom Penh Post reported.
The man slashed the victim's face with a knife and stabbed himself in the chest as police raided the house early Sunday morning, officials said.
Police said the suspect and the victim were being treated in a Phnom Penh hospital.
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Sunday, December 21, 2008
Refugee parties after deportation scare
By REBECCA TODD
Cambodian refugee has escaped deportation after an 11th-hour government reprieve.
Friends of Sokhom Pich celebrated his return to Christchurch with a party on Saturday night.
Former associate immigration minister Shane Jones decided to release Pich and allow him to apply for permanent residency just one hour before he was to be deported on November 4.
Members of Christchurch's Cambodian community had appealed to the then Labour government to allow Pich to stay in the country after he was arrested as an overstayer in September.
After living in New Zealand for 11 years, the 47-year-old had exhausted every legal avenue in his bid to remain in the country as a political refugee despite fears he would be imprisoned and possibly killed if he was sent back to Cambodia.
Just an hour before boarding a plane in Auckland, he received the news that he could stay.
"I was really, really, really happy. I was just jumping and it was just amazing," he said.
"I was surprised because in Auckland I was feeling everything was over. For 20 seconds I couldn't say anything."
Pich said he was a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party in his home country which criticised the government for corruption and cracking down on political dissent.
"If the government is not good, people live without houses and food and that's not good for the people," he said.
Pich said a number of his fellow party members had disappeared or been killed and he feared a similar fate. "I felt scared and quite nervous about being sent home, but after it came closer and closer I wasn't scared, I wasn't anything."
Cambodian community adviser Bill Noordanus said Cambodian law meant Pich would have been imprisoned for more than three years if he was sent home as he had left the country illegally.
"He's a very fine man. He's an idealist and like all idealists they sometimes clash with the authorities."
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New Foreign Minister readies for ASEAN Summit, Cambodia disputes
BANGKOK, Dec 21 (TNA) - Newly appointed Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said he is ready to work on two urgent priorities, preparation for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leader meeting (ASEAN Summit) that Thailand will host early next year and the talks to provide a sustainable settlement of the border disputes with Cambodia.
During the ASEAN Foreign Minister's Meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, last Monday, the ministers tentatively agreed that the Summit would be held in Thailand by the end of February.
The meeting fixed the new dates of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits on February 24-26, 2008.
However, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo reportedly said the delayed summit may need to be rescheduled as some leaders are unable to make it. He did not mention which leaders would be unable to attend, but said alternative dates being considered include late January and early February.
Thailand, which currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member bloc, was forced to delay the ASEAN summit from mid-December to March because of political circumstances, including the blockade of Bangkok's main airports -- Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang -- by anti-government protesters, which left hundreds of thousands of travellers stranded.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Mr. Kasit said apart from the ASEAN Summit preparation, the highest priority issue was the talks to solve the border disputes with Cambodia.
He said he believed the issue was likely to be solved as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was the first leader who sent congratulation message to Abhisit Vejjajeva after His Majesty the King had given his royal endorsement to the new Thai prime minister, which could be considered a good sign of the warm friendship between the two neighbouring countries.
As for the extradition of fugitive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatra, Mr. Kasit said he would ask for more details from the ministry's officials when he starts working at the ministry on December 23.
As far as he knew, Mr. Kasit said, Mr. Thaksin's diplomatic passport had already been revoked and the procedure to revoke his normal passport was underway.
Mr. Thaksin jumped bail and fled into exile in August as corruption cases piled up against him, and he was sentenced on October 21 to two years in jail for breaching graft laws by helping his wife, Khunying Pojaman to buy state-owned land.
Mr. Kasit said he would like to see the details first and would decide how to bring ex-premier Thaksin back to be prosecuted in Thailand. (TNA)
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