Fake and Substandard Drugs Threaten Malaria Treatment in Cambodia

TASANH, Cambodia A stream of poor-quality and counterfeit malaria drugs coming into Cambodia is contributing to a growing resistance to treatment for the disease near the Thai-Cambodian border.

Many of the drugs are cheaply made and don't contain the right chemistry, or are stored at incorrect temperatures, while others are deliberate fakes that have authentic-looking pills and packaging but contain only a small percentage of the active ingredient in each pill.

People in Cambodia are unknowingly using "improper drugs and fake drugs which create resistance," Duong Socheat, director of the nation's malaria control program said. The problem is fueled by the country's many informal pharmacies and merchants that don't have the proper training to provide the correct drug regimen, he said.

Of the drugs the country has confiscated, most were traced to China and Thailand, according to Socheat. India is also known to be a large manufacturer of counterfeit and substandard drugs.

There have been some attempts to crack down on the lucrative industry, such as putting in place greater penalties for counterfeiting, but without much effect, said Roger Bate, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute who researches counterfeit drugs.

"They do not regulate -- and cannot regulate -- things as well as the U.S. or Europe. It's not that they don't want to but they have a massive counterfeit problem and they don't have the money," Bate said.

Fake and substandard drugs of all kinds are a problem around the world, but the scale is difficult to gauge. The World Health Organization estimates that as much as 25 percent of the drugs sold in the developing world are counterfeit. A 2009 report from the International Policy Network found that fake tuberculosis and malaria drugs alone may kill about 700,000 people a year.

In Cambodia, the risks extend even beyond loss of life because the area of western Cambodia near the Thai border has historically been at the heart of development of resistance to antimalarials. Resistance to chloroquine surfaced there in the 1970s, followed by resistance to sulfadoxinepyrimethamine and mefloquine.

Recently, two independent studies carried out in western Cambodia found that early stages of resistance is developing for artemisinin, now considered the first-line treatment for malaria.

Being exposed to low levels, or incorrect dosing of a medication can help grow resistance. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene found that 68 percent of anti-malaria drugs found in Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia did not contain the correct amount of active ingredient.

Use of monotherapies can also breed resistance, leading to a World Health Organization ultimatum for artemisinin to only be produced and sold as part of combination therapy, called ACT. However artemisinin monotherapy, a fraction of the price of the combination therapy, has continued to be produced and sold as a cheaper alternative.

In Thasanh, Cambodia, the site of U.S.-funded resistance trials, researchers say patients have brought in a wide range of medications. Some are monotherapies, some are clearly just "fever packs," plastic baggies filled with a variety of pills not really intended for malaria, while others appear to be ACT but may not be the real thing.

In an effort to provide access to good quality malaria medications, and also decrease manufacture of fakes, monotherapies and cheaply made medications, the Global Fund and international partners are launching a $225 million program called the Affordable Medicines Facility - malaria, known as AMFm.

The program aims to flood pilot countries with cheap, high-quality malaria medications to reduce the use of improper or fake medications by patients, and to make the market less desirable for producers of the products.

"If there is an economic incentive for illegal production of a product in all likelihood it will happen," said Dr. Olusoji Adeyi, director of AMFm at the Global Fund.

"So by introducing into the market high quality drugs at rock bottom prices it will reduce the economic incentive for the producers and marketers of fake drugs."

Cambodia is the only non-African country among the 11 invited to participate, and was included because of its history with development of drug resistance, said Adeyi.

Once approved, each country will decide how to implement the program through the public and private sectors. If the drugs are not offered for free to the public by the country, they will be available for a small amount of money said Adeyi.

By negotiating with the manufacturers of ACT and subsidizing the cost of the medicine, AMFm would reduce the cost of ACT treatment for the buyer from about $6 to $10 down to 20 to 50 cents.

The group is moving quickly to start the pilot programs and is aiming to begin distribution in early 2010. But not everyone is convinced the scheme will work.

"I like the idea in principle but I have gone on the record as against it in practice as it currently stands," Bate said. There is not yet a complete understanding of how this intervention will affect the market in each country, he argues.

The United States has also not backed the plan yet, citing a lack of data showing the subsidies will work once implemented.

Adeyi counters that time is short and the pilot program is a smart way to move forward before any attempt at a larger roll out.

"As of today, collectively the global health community has tried many things to achieve universal access to malaria medication and collectively we have not succeeded," he said.

"If we stay on this track we will lose artemisinin [to drug resistance] ...we need to have open minds to a new approach." Read more!

Cambodian PM calls for peaceful border with Thailand

PHNOM PENH, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia and Thailand should try to prevent armed conflicts and to secure a border of peace, security and development, the official news agency AKP (Agency Kampuchea Presse)reported on Friday.

Hun Sen made the remarks when he met with visiting Thai Parliament President and speaker of the House of Representatives Chai Chid Chob on Thursday. The premier stressed that "any dispute could have negative impacts on Cambodia-Thailand trade," according to Ieng Sophalet, assistant to the premier.

Meanwhile, Chai Chid Chob asked Hun Sen to help maintaining good relationship between Cambodia and Thailand and praised him for his right decision to reduce tension between the two neighboring countries.

On the same day, Chai held talks with Cambodian National Assembly President Heng Samrin. During the meeting, Heng Samrin asked once again the Thai Parliament to push the Thai government to accelerate the negotiations by using bilateral existing mechanisms and to withdraw its troops from the Preah Vihear Temple's area.

According to Koam Kosal, cabinet chief and assistant to Heng Samrin, Chai affirmed to bring these recommendations to the Thai government.

During his meeting with Cambodian Senate President Chea Sim, Chai Chid Chob shared the same idea with Chea Sim, especially withCambodia's stance to solve the border dispute peacefully and to avoid confrontations, Pheng Kunthea Borey, head of protocol of Chea Sim, told reporters after the talks.

The delegation of Thai Parliament arrived here on Thursday for a two-day official visit. It was also granted an audience by His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia on Friday.
Read more!

Cambodia’s child prostitutes need help

When Shari Newman of Lake Oswego made her first trip to Cambodia three years ago to investigate child sex trafficking, she was stunned by what she found.

“It was really emotional. It was so unbelievable,” Newman said. “I actually saw brothels and poverty. At the trauma recovery center there were little girls 3-feet tall and 5 years old holding my hand. They had been prostitutes. It was very taxing, emotional and heart wrenching.

“I’ve done a lot of mission trips, and that was the hardest one I’ve ever done. Other places you came away with a plan of action. There, you ask, ‘How can you do it?’”

What seemed hopeless in 2006, however, has a spark of hope in 2009. While the statistics on child sex trafficking in Cambodia are still overwhelming, young girls are being helped to recover from criminal abuse and awareness is spreading.

You could see how much at the “Children: Not for Sale” conference on July 7 at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church. A capacity audience of 120 people was on hand to hear Haiday Ear-Dupuy, advocacy and communications manager for World Vision Cambodia, talk about a problem that is so shocking when people hear about it for the first time: Cambodian girls being turned into sex slaves.

The statistics faced by Ear-Dupuy and her World Vision colleagues are these: 5 million Cambodians are trafficked in sex and labor.

A native of Cambodia who had barely managed to escape the genocidal reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, Ear-Dupuy’s decision to return to Cambodia to work for World Vision seemed unbelievable to many people. Especially her parents.

“They said, ‘We took you out of the lions’ den. Now you’re going back in,’” Ear-Dupuy said. “I explained to them why it’s important that I am in Cambodia. Once I started, it became very personal.

“It was like I was looking at my own face in the face of every child I met.”

True, Cambodia is no longer racked by war. But it is plagued by extreme poverty, an ever-widening gap between the rich and poor, a huge HIV/AIDS rate, severe social justice issues and an economy that is sinking.

Selling sex is one way to make dollars in Cambodia. “Sex tourists” from all over the world, especially the U.S. and Asia, come looking for young girls.


Read more!

A Humane Trade Reform

By Michael Gerson


There was a time when international trade was the subject of poetry. In "Locksley Hall," Alfred Tennyson "[s]aw the heavens filled with commerce, argosies of magic sails/Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales."

Recently, however, trade has inspired more resentment than verse. During a recession, the threat of foreign competition can seem more real and present than the opportunities of foreign markets. According to the World Trade Organization, 30 countries have imposed trade-restricting measures since the onset of the economic crisis. China included a "Buy Chinese" provision in its stimulus package. The U.S. Congress has variously threatened to impose tariffs as an instrument of climate policy, limited bailed-out banks in hiring foreign workers and encouraged states receiving stimulus funds to "Buy American."

All this is politically understandable -- and economically insane. With the world experiencing the largest drop in trade volumes since World War II, actions that restrict global trade will delay global recovery. Protectionism is economically self-destructive: Won't American companies eventually want to compete for contracts in India and China? Protectionism is diplomatically self-defeating: Do we really want to pick trade fights with our closest friends, such as Canada and Mexico? Protectionism is outdated: The distinction between foreign and domestic companies is blurred when many use transnational supply chains. And protectionism is unjust: The world's poorest countries are often the most dependent on exports.

Fortunately, after a fling with union-pleasing protectionism during his campaign, President Obama has largely adopted the pro-trade consensus of his predecessors. He has signaled support for bilateral trade agreements with South Korea and Panama, and openness to a pact with Colombia. At the recent Group of Eight meeting in Italy, he joined other leaders in calling for the conclusion of a global trade deal in 2010 to comprehensively reduce tariffs and quotas.

Unfortunately, grand goals are the cynical staple of summits. Completing the global trade negotiations begun in Doha in 2001 will require developing countries such as China and India to open their manufacturing and service sectors, and the United States and Europe to dramatically reduce agricultural subsidies and barriers. And it will require Obama not merely to acknowledge the need for trade but also to press the arguments for trade on Capitol Hill and within his party.

All of this is unlikely (though not impossible). But even in the absence of a global trade agreement, America has a responsibility to fix its tariff system -- a system that often punishes the poor.

Current law is supposed to allow developing nations to export duty-free into U.S. markets. In practice, however, restrictions and limits are placed on imported clothing, textiles, footwear and agricultural products -- which are exactly the kind of labor-intensive products that many poor nations produce best. So American tariffs effectively single out the poorest nations for the highest international taxes. On average, these countries pay more than three times the tariff rates of our richest trading partners.

One example: According to the Center for Global Development, Cambodia and Bangladesh pay about the same total tariffs to America as do France and Britain -- even though those European countries export about 15 times more to the United States. And in 2006, America collected about $850 million in tariffs from Cambodia and Bangladesh, mainly on imported apparel -- which is about seven times more than we provided in foreign assistance to those impoverished countries.

How to change the system? Kimberly Ann Elliott, a senior fellow at the center, recommends that Congress provide 100 percent duty-free, quota-free access to American markets for 70 of the most vulnerable countries on Earth -- ending the discrimination against products produced by the world's poor.

There are good humanitarian reasons for this reform, which would help nations suffering from a global recession they did nothing to cause. There are national security justifications: America has a direct interest in promoting economic growth and stability in parts of the world otherwise prone to terrorism, criminal gangs and epidemic diseases.

And there is a domestic economic argument. The very products produced by the poor abroad -- clothing, shoes, food -- are necessities for the poor at home. Our current tariff system is a regressive tax on these goods.

The cost of this reform to American manufacturers would be minimal -- even under Elliott's proposal, less than 2 percent of American imports would come from the countries granted duty-free, quota-free access. But the effect in those nations could be large. Even if international trade is no longer cause for poetry, it is cause for hope. Read more!

Change of name for SAO Cambodia

SAO Cambodia, born at the Keswick Convention as a result of an impassioned plea by a man later to be martyred under Pol Pot, is focusing more clearly on its task with a new name – Cambodia Action.

This follows the realisation that the name needs to shout out for Cambodia and for the mission’s ongoing active role there.

In 1973 Keswick delegates heard a heartfelt plea from Taing Chhirc for British Christians to rise to the challenge of supporting the young, struggling church in Cambodia. And as a result of this appeal, SAO Cambodia was formed.

Tragically, Chhirc returned to church leadership in Phnom Penh the following year and was among thousands killed when the Khmer Rouge took the country back to ‘year zero’ in 1975.
SAO Cambodia is a mission agency dedicated to help the church and rejuvenate this once rich and plentiful nation back to recovery. In innovative and effective ways, it encourages communities to be self-sustaining.

Since 1990, the mission has had a significant input among local groups, improving their spiritual, social and physical well-being. Working with the local church and other partners, it is committed to see the nation fully restored.

Cambodia Action hosted a reception at the Keswick Convention this year to mark this further significant step. Rev John Wallis, a trustee of Cambodia Action commented: “There are so many opportunities to continue to meet the challenge from Chhirc Taing. We want to partner with others to achieve strong biblical leadership in the Cambodian Church.”

Jonathan Lamb of Langham Preaching said: “We are looking forward to working with Cambodia Action and Cambodian church leaders to establish ongoing training and support for pastors and lay preachers.” Read more!

US in key environment meeting with Mekong countries

PHUKET, Thailand — The United States held an unprecedented meeting Thursday with countries from the lower Mekong basin in what Washington said showed its commitment to combating climate change in Asia.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam in the Thai island of Phuket during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.

Each country in the meetings pledged to set up working teams to discuss further cooperation on water resources, education and human resources development, Thai foreign ministry spokeswoman Vimon Kidchob said.

Low-lying areas around the Mekong, Southeast Asia's largest river, are considered some of the world's most vulnerable to climate change and there is concern over pollution levels in the water.
During their meeting, the five nations pledged to hold annual ministerial meetings to discuss progress.

"The US told Mekong countries it has had similar environmental problems with the Mississippi river, which resulted from natural and man-made causes," Vimon told reporters.

On Wednesday, Clinton said the meeting would discuss "our shared interests and our emerging partnership on issues related to water, health and the environment".

She also announced the US administration's "commitment to deepen our engagement in Asia on the critical issue of climate change".

They had asked Congress for a seven-fold increase in funding for climate change aid in the region, she said.

The Mekong is a vital source of protein for 60 million people who live along its lower basin and is the world's largest inland fishery.

The WWF said in June that pollution in the Mekong has pushed freshwater dolphins in Cambodia and Laos to the brink of extinction, sparking a furious Cambodian government denial.

The conservation group, which is investigating how environmental contaminants got into the Mekong, said it suspected that high levels of mercury found in some dead dolphins came from gold mining activities.

Read more!

Pinoy missionary preaches condom use in Cambodia

By David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS


CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Filipino lay worker Arturo Ang has a mission in Cambodia - to help impoverished HIV sufferers in the country rebuild their lives as they suffer the ravages of the deadly disease.

To do that, Ang has resorted to both conventional and unconventional means. His program, Bridges of Hope, teaches HIV sufferers all about the usual modes of transmission of HIV and how to prevent it such as abstinence and being faithful to one partner.

He also teaches Cambodians to use condoms, a practice which may seem taboo to Catholic lay missionaries.

"The stand of our organization, of Maryknoll, which is a Catholic organization, is that we don't distribute condoms but our NGO gives education to people so we teach people about condoms for safe sex. Our program does have an element of family planning but it's more about positive prevention. We teach the ABCs of safe sex, which are abstinence, be faithful and condoms," he told abs-cbnNEWS.com

"We don't deny the people information about artificial family planning. We tell them where to get it and we teach them why it is important," he added.

The Philippine Catholic Lay Mission (PCLM) is a lay mission recognized by the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines'. It was founded by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in 1977, an American missionary group in the United States.

PCLM traces its beginnings to the Maryknoll’s missionary charism and the growth of small Christian communities in the then Prelature of Tagum in Davao in the 1960s. The Maryknoll evolved a program for small Christian communities in the Tagum prelature, and as the communities matured, it became a natural consequence for them to become missionary by helping neighboring villages, parishes and dioceses form small Christian communities.

Ang, a native of Davao City, said the primary goal of the PCLM is to recruit, train and send missionaries to establish small Christian communities. After serving in the PCLM for several years in Davao, the Maryknoll order invited him and two others to go to Cambodia where the need for mission work was great.

Ang and two other lay missionaries arrived in Cambodia in late 2003 and immediately started work on helping HIV sufferers in the country. At the time, Cambodia had the highest HIV prevalence in Southeast Asia. The mode of transmission was usually through heterosexual transmission mostly through sex workers and husbands passing it on to their wives.

He said many of the HIV sufferers they helped during the early days of the Bridges of Hope project in Phnom Penh were sex workers and widows.

"Because of ignorance, a lot of these AIDS sufferers go to Phnom Penh to seek treatment. They sell their property to seek treatment. Maryknoll gives them care, we visit them in their homes and we also have a halfway house where they could stay and get food," he said.

He said the Cambodian government started giving anti-retroviral drugs to HIV patients in 2002. This led to a lot of formerly sick HIV patients finally getting well enough to work but not having jobs.

Ang said more than 500 HIV sufferers have "graduated" from the Bridges of Hope program since it launched more than five years ago. All of the graduates are Buddhists.

"Cambodia is a Buddhist country. The way of doing mission work in Cambodia is by helping the poorest of the poor and uplifting the dignity of the human being. We don't preach or proselytize. We only want to help them and uplift their status. Once they start earning an income, they are no longer in the program because they have the ability to take care of themselves and we can accept more people. All of them are Buddhists and we do not convert them," he said.

Ang said he finds satisfaction in the knowledge that they are finally changing the HIV situation in Cambodia.

"When I first arrived, people with HIV were just dying in the hospitals, mostly due to infections and other AIDS-related illnesses. There were no medicines. Now they still die because of illnesses but in a sense, it is getting better. They live longer because the Cambodian government did a good job rolling out ART for HIV patients. Unfortunately these people are still poor so the socioeconomic aspect of the illness still needs work," he said.

He also denies that teaching contraceptive use is a betrayal of Catholic teaching.

"Personally for me it is not a betrayal of my religion. People are dying so how do you protect them? Of course we teach them to abstain or be faithful but if you have a husband who is already infected and the wife is not infected, how can they have sex if they don't have protection? You cannot risk infecting your spouse with HIV just because the Church doesn't allow condoms," he said.

Instead of dictating what people should or should not do, Ang said people should be given all the information they need and let them decide their conscience.

He also said the Philippines should be more pro-active in curbing HIV despite the low HIV prevalence in the country.

"Remember, Filipinos are going out of the country and we also have a problem with prostitution. It's possible that there are still many people in the country who are HIV positive who don't know it yet because they haven't been tested. We need to be more proactive and do more on HIV testing and prevention," he said.

Read more!

Philippines alarmed over growing number of 'drug mules'

Manila - The Philippine government on Thursday warned Filipino women against international drug syndicates that trick women into becoming unsuspecting "drug mules" to transport narcotics in Vietnam, Cambodia and China. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it received a report from the Philippine embassy in Hanoi about a growing number of Filipino women being used as couriers in the drug trade in the Indo-China region.

According to the embassy report, international drug syndicates recruit Filipino women by enticing them with a job offer that involves a lot of travel and pays 2,000 dollars per trip - a huge salary by Philippine standards.

Their contact buys plane tickets for them from the Philippines to China via Vietnam, the report said.

"The contact, now supposedly a benefactor, asks the Filipino a favour which involves bringing to China a present or an item from a friend based in Cambodia," it added. "The unsuspecting Filipino, thinking that she is doing her benefactor a favour,

From Vietnam, the victims usually travel to Cambodia by bus to pick up the items they will carry and return to Hanoi for their flights to China.

"The victims were banking on the job promised them in China, and for them, bringing personal items to China for their benefactor is just a small favour in exchange for the job," the Embassy said.

The embassy discovered the scheme when a Filipino woman sought assistance after she was stranded in Vietnam for failing to bring the package she was supposed to deliver to China for a Nigerian drug syndicate.

"The Nigerian contact in Cambodia had a miscommunication with the Filipino and the Nigerian contact in China," the embassy said.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, 111 Filipinos, mostly women, were arrested for drug-related offences in China, Hong Kong and Macau in 2008. The figure was up from 16 Filipinos arrested in 2007.
Read more!

Cambodia, Thailand: ilovethailand website sparks controversy

By Global Voices Online

The recently launched website ilovethailand.org is causing a stir online. Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced that the website is intended to restore the country’s image and unify the nation in light of recent unrest. The controversy stems from the website’s claims about Thailand’s “lost territory” — territory that is present day Cambodia.

KI Media reports:

The major English daily Phnom Penh Post reported that Cambodian officials are scurrying to investigate the claims. It quoted Mr. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, as saying that “they (the Thai) are twisting the facts of history
. It is completely exaggerated.”

According to Phnom Penh Post, in 1794, Thailand – then known as Siam – annexed Siem Reap and Battambang provinces from the declining Khmer kingdom, but the territories were returned following a March 1907 treaty between Thailand and France.

Khmerization, posting at KI Media, informs us that ilovethailand.org has resulted in

the birth of ilovekhmer.org, a Khmer website created with the sole intention of countering the “provably false accusations” made by the Thai PM’s website, ilovethailand.org. The site proved an instant popularity with internet users, with its site metre hotly counting the numbers of visitors.

Thailand’s “lost territory” is illustrated in a video on the website. The Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok has requested the video’s removal from the website. Details are Sketchy, with comments from ThaRum, reports that ilovethailand.org is blocked in Cambodia, but it is unclear which side is censoring the site.

At Thai Intelligent News Weblog, there is news that the “site was also reported to have been hacked and down around the globe at many countries-as angry pro-democracy internet savvy Thais attacked the site.”

Thai Intelligent News Weblog goes on and balances nationalism against other concerns, stating:

For many reasons, Thailand has a very bad global image problem. The [Abhisit] solution is the global “I Love Thailand” Campaign. Thailand has gotten itself into trouble with neighbors before over this type of cultural and historical Nationalism-like with Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. Nationalism is good, as a way to build love and unity for the country, but when it means conflict with neighbors-that is taking Nationalism too far.

Another Thai blogger, Thai 101, points out that ilovethailand.org’s terms and conditions require self-censorship:

Looks like this site is a national “stimulus” program of a non-economic variety. A government-sponsored website on which only those who admit that they love the country more than their own lives are allowed to come and express nothing but adulation and praise for the country. I’m sure this will do wonders for encouraging open and thoughtful dialogue. Especially that veiled threat at the end. Just lovely.

The video is shown here and on Bangkok Crimes, which notes that the “fourteenth slice of lost territory is Preah Vihear.”

. Read more!

Chinese FM meets with U.S. Secretary of State

PHUKET, Thailand, China and the United States need to maintain high-level contact and deepen cooperation in various areas of common concern, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said here Wednesday in his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Yang said the two countries should also keep close communication and collaboration on global issues and properly handle disputes and sensitive issues in order to push forward bilateral ties.

Both Yang and Clinton are in the southern Thai resort Phuket to attend ASEAN Regional Forum scheduled on Thursday. The ASEAN, or Association of Southeast Asia Nations, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Clinton said that the U.S. hoped to closely cooperate with China in dealing with challenges and threats such as the global financial crisis and international terrorism to maintain world peace and security.

During the meeting, the two sides also mentioned the upcoming first U.S.-China strategic and economic dialogue.

The dialogue will be held in Washington, D.C. from July 27 to 28. Clinton and U.S. Treasure Secretary Timothy Geithner will be joined for the dialogue by their respective Chinese Co-Chairs, State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Vice Premier Wang Qishan.

The dialogue will focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas of immediate and long-term strategic and economic interests.

On Wednesday, Yang also met with his counterparts from Russia, South Korea and Pakistan.
Read more!

Former Khmer Rouge interrogator recounts torture techniques

A former interrogator at the main Khmer Rouge prison told Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal on Tuesday staff were taught to torture prisoners using electric shocks and suffocation.

Prak Khan, 58, recounted the grisly details during testimony against prison chief Duch, who is accused of overseeing the torture and execution of around 15,000 people held at Tuol Sleng prison in the late 1970s.

"We were taught how to torture the prisoners and to avoid the prisoners dying, otherwise the confession would be broken and we would be punished," Prak Khan told the court.

The witness, who became an interrogator in late 1976 after initially being assigned to work as a prison guard, said Duch and other high-ranking Khmer Rouge cadres often taught torture methods.

"We were trained how to whip the prisoners with the sticks, on how to electrocute, (and) how to use the plastic bag to suffocate them," Prak Khan said.

He said the court interrogators were also taught a "light but painful" torture method in which they inserted a needle under prisoners' nails, and that sometimes inmates were forced to eat excrement.

"Detainees would be told not to make loud noises, not to curse or exchange swear words, or to shout slogans. And they were also warned not to scream while being tortured," he said.

He said also he occasionally witnessed medics extracting blood from prisoners until they died.

"As I noted, there were five bags of blood taken from one detainee until the person was dying. After blood was drawn, no one could ever live because they were dying already while their blood was being taken," said Prak Khan.

Prak Khan said interrogators would torture prisoners until they confessed to spying on the Khmer Rouge regime and provided names of others in so-called espionage networks.

In earlier testimony, Duch admitted he did not believe that confessions obtained through torture were accurate.

Prak Khan recalled that children were separated from adult prisoners and exterminated, adding that he once saw a Tuol Sleng guard kill a seven or eight-month old infant.

"(A guard) took the baby from the mother and he dropped the baby from the upper floor to the ground and later on I was ordered to bury that dead baby," Prak Khan said.

The 66-year-old Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, has accepted responsibility for his role governing the jail and begged forgiveness near the start of his trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

But the defendant has consistently rejected claims by prosecutors that he held a central leadership role in the Khmer Rouge, and says he never personally killed anyone.

Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities in a bid to forge a communist utopia. Up to two million people died of starvation, overwork and torture or were executed during the 1975-1979 regime.

Four other former Khmer Rouge leaders are in detention and are expected to face trial next year at the court, which was formed in 2006 after nearly a decade of wrangling between the UN and the Cambodian government.

The troubled tribunal faces accusations of interference by the Cambodian government and claims that local staff were forced to pay kickbacks for their jobs.

Read more!

Preparations for Thai-Cambodian border meet held in Bangkok

BANGKOK, July 21 (TNA) – The preparation meeting for the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) was held in Bangkok to prepare for the session set to be held in September, with the venue yet to be decided.

The Joint Secretariat Meeting was co-chaired by Thai Border Affairs Department Director, Lt-Gen Nipat Thonglek, and Cambodian Deputy Defence Minister, Gen. Neang Phat.

The meeting prepared information for the GBC in all aspects to promote good relations and mutual understanding between the two countries’ armed forces.

Thai Defence Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan and his Cambodian counterpart, Gen. Tea Banh, will head the delegates to the upcoming border meeting which will cover three topics comprising 17 issues including survey and demarcation of land boundary; prevention and suppression of drug trafficking, and cooperation on border trade.

The most recent GBC meeting was held in April, at Cambodia’s Siem Reap, where the official name of the ancient temple of Preah Vihear (Phra Viharn in Thai) in the two bordering countries has not been agreed.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. Clashes have occurred frequently near the 11th-century temple after it was listed as the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s World Heritage Site as both countries maintain their claims on the area adjoining the temple. (TNA) Read more!

Help make kids’ smiles a little brighter on i-to-i’s new trip in Cambodia!

i-to-i's new trip in picturesque rural Cambodia sees volunteers making a real difference to the lives of kids by helping them learn how to clean their teeth!


Cambodia is home to plenty of wonderful sights: majestic temples, energetic cities, lush countryside… and classes full of excitable kids splashing around as they learn how to wash their hands and clean their teeth! On i-to-i’s (www.i-to-i.com) new week-long Children’s Health and Sanitation Programme in the picturesque Cambodian countryside, volunteers make a real difference to the health of Cambodian children
as they help them learn about the importance of keeping their teeth and hands squeaky clean.

Due to Western influence, a lot of sweets and other sugary snacks are being introduced into the Cambodian diet, but kids in rural areas are often unaware of the dangers of not looking after their teeth properly. That’s where our volunteers come in – on this project they help kids at a rural primary school understand the importance of good oral hygiene, show them how to clean their teeth properly and dish out toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Those volunteering on the project also help the kids learn about the importance of washing their hands and get stuck in with the soap and water showing them how! Poor hand hygiene is one of the main reasons communicable diseases are spread so quickly through children, so by showing them how to wash their hands properly, volunteers can have a really positive impact on the lives of these kids.

The project is based in the picturesque countryside surrounding Kampong Cham, Cambodia’s third largest city. While the area has seen some improvements since the devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, it is still one of Cambodia’s poorest areas. As a result, the work i-to-i volunteers do in the area is welcomed by locals and gives them a chance to gain a privileged insight into the ‘traditional’ way of life in rural Cambodia.

Volunteers stay in a comfy guesthouse in Kampong Cham itself, which is a charismatic city resting on the banks of the mighty Mekong River. An English-speaking guide accompanies the volunteers throughout their trip, meaning they’ll have no problems getting to know the city and some of the locals, who are incredibly friendly. Transport to and from the project in the surrounding countryside is included, so travellers are free to focus on helping the kids on the project, rather than struggling with organising things!

As the project is only a week long, it’s perfect for travellers who only have a limited amount of time to spend away from home. At only £495 for the week, it’s also incredibly good value, with a tour of Phnom Penh at the start of the trip and all transfers included in the price. For those who are planning a longer trip, this project makes it easy to stop off and give something back while exploring this fascinating and beautiful country, which boasts spectacular temples, elegant riverside towns and stunning scenery. Travellers can even combine work on the project with one of i-to-i’s other fantastic volunteer trips in Cambodia – for more details visit www.i-to-i.com/cambodia/ or call our travel experts on 0800 011 1156.

Read more!

Thailand to fulfill 5 targets as ASEAN chairmanship

PHUKET, Thailand, As the 2009 chairmanship of the ASEAN, Thailand aims to complete five concrete steps to make the regional grouping move toward the goal of a full ASEAN community in 2015, official from the Thai Foreign Ministry said here on Tuesday.

Director-General of the ASEAN Affairs Department of the ministry Vitavas Srivihok was speaking during his participation in the 42nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Post Ministerial Conferences and 16th ASEAN Regional Forum, which have been organized in a southern province of Phuket on July 17-23.

Vitavas said the first agenda is the implementation of the regional reserve pool, known as Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), as Thailand aims to implement this step at the ASEAN Summit to be held on Oct. 23-25 in Thailand, he said.

In early May, finance ministers of the ASEAN Plus Three nations, China, Japan and Republic of Korea, reached the agreement on all main components of regional reserve pool.

The agreement on the CMIM includes the individual country's contribution, borrowing accessibility, and the surveillance mechanism.

The total size of the CMIM is 120 billion U.S. dollars with the contribution portion between ASEAN and the Plus Three countries at20 percent versus 80 percent.

China and Japan will each contribute 38.4 billion U.S. dollars to the pool, while South Korea will contribute 19.2 billion dollars.

Secondly, Thailand, as agreed by the other ASEAN member countries to be the hub of the antiviral vaccine production, will speed up the vaccine production, he said.

"This is the immediate issue, which is agreed on Tuesday by the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting that the ASEAN countries will have a joint procurement of medicine," said Vitavas.

Thailand, which is coordinating with the World Health Organization (WHO), will produce enough vaccine with an affordable price for the ASEAN countries, he said.

However, a price of the antiviral vaccine for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, or the CLMV countries, could be lowered than that to be sold to other ASEAN member countries, he said.

Thirdly, it is concerned with the food security as another top agenda among the ASEAN Plus Three countries, he said.

Thailand plans to complete transforming a temporary office of the emergency rice stockpile center into the permanent emergency rice stockpile center in Thailand at the ASEAN Summit in October, he said.

By now China and Japan have pledged that they will contribute their rice to this center, while South Korea is also expected to follow China and Japan's step, he said.

The fourth and fifth concrete steps are concerned with the ASEAN-community building process, including of the ASEAN Human Rights Body and the ASEAN legal personality, he said.

The ASEAN foreign ministers adopted Monday the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the ASEAN human rights body, naming it the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.

The adoption of the final draft of the Terms of Reference of an ASEAN Human Rights Body (AHRB) will pave the way for the inauguration of the body at the 15th ASEAN Summit in October.

Lastly, on Monday the foreign ministers also approved the legal personality of ASEAN and approved a draft agreement on privileges and immunity of ASEAN.

The foreign ministers agreed to extend the mandate of High Level Legal Experts' Group on Follow-up to the ASEAN Charter (HLEG)to finalize dispute settlement mechanisms and other legal issues under the ASEAN Charter for the consideration at the 15th ASEAN Summit in October.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Read more!

ASEAN welcomes U.S. impending accession to TAC

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Monday welcomed the United States' impending accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia.

A signing ceremony for the U.S. accession to the TAC will be held Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will represent her country to sign documents with the ten ASEAN foreign ministers.

"We warmly welcomed the impending accession by the United States of America to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia as a strong signal of its commitment to peace and security in the region," said a joint communique issued Monday after the ministers' meeting.

The TAC, a peace treaty, was signed in 1976. It is the group's founding non-aggression pact aimed at promoting regional stability. It was amended on Dec 15, 1987 by a protocol to open the document for accession by states outside Southeast Asia.

The ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Source: Xinhua Read more!

Cambodia Court Cases Against Opposition Mount

By SETH MYDANS


PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s courts have been busy in recent weeks with cases of defamation, disinformation and incitement brought by the government in what critics say is part of a broad assault on civil liberties.

“If you’re just walking into the situation, it seems like a series of ridiculous lawsuits,” said Sara Colm, a senior researcher for the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch, who said at least nine suits had recently been filed against critics and political opponents by Prime Minister Hun Sen and his supporters.

But she and other analysts say the targets seem carefully chosen to send a chill through the free press, independent judiciary, political opposition and civic organizations that were introduced by the United Nations in the early 1990s.

The surge in lawsuits amounts to “a serious threat to democratic development which may undermine the efforts of the past 16 years to rebuild a tolerant and pluralistic environment in Cambodia,” the United Nations human rights office in Cambodia said in a statement last month.

In the most prominent cases, two opposition politicians have been stripped of their parliamentary immunity and sued for libel by Mr. Hun Sen and his associates. Threatened with a lawsuit and disbarment, their lawyer has abandoned the case, apologized to the prime minister and pledged allegiance to the ruling party.

The editor of one of the country’s last opposition newspapers was sent to prison last month for stories he had published and another, soon afterward, apologized and agreed to shut down his newspaper to avoid court action.

A young political activist was convicted last month of defamation and jailed for spray-painting slogans critical of the government on the walls of his house. An advocate for cultural preservation was sentenced on July 15 to two years in jail for warning of potential damage to the temple of Angkor Wat.

“The court has always been used as a political tool,” said Theary Seng, whose leadership of a human rights group, the Center for Social Development, is being challenged in what she says is a politically motivated court case. “But recently, there is a concentration of cases which seem to be very political and which seem to use the court as a political tool to silence opposition voices.”

Mr. Hun Sen dismisses, and even appears to parody, his critics, declaring earlier this month that he was acting in the interests of democracy by stripping the two lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity so that they could face prosecution in the courts.

“From now on we are strengthening democracy and the rule of law,” he said. “This is not an anarchic democracy. Democracy must have the rule of law.”

Together with land seizures that are driving tens of thousands of people from their homes, analysts say these actions demonstrate a sense of impunity in a government that has resisted efforts to strengthen the rule of law in Cambodia.

In the most recent evictions, about 150 poor families were forced from their homes on prime land in Phnom Penh on Thursday and Friday, part of what the World Bank called “a major problem” in Cambodia’s fast-growing cities.

The court cases come at a time when countries in the region are looking increasingly toward China as a political and economic model and questioning the democratic and humanitarian values of the West.

In recent years, China has become a major donor and investor in Cambodia in projects that do not demand the standards of good governance that generally accompany assistance from Western nations and aid organizations.

“We have been fearing all along that Cambodia’s government is looking eastward toward China and Vietnam as models,” with their strong central governments and intolerance of dissent, said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

“Now there are a lot of activities recently that confirm our fear, and so it’s pretty scary,” he said. “What they are trying to do is to have only one strong party, and ultimately probably only one party.”

The aggressiveness of the government has been matched by what appears to be resigned acquiescence among many of its opponents to the dominance of Mr. Hun Sen and his ruling elite in the Cambodian People’s Party.

Nothing demonstrates this more sharply than the apologies that Mr. Hun Sen apparently requires as the price of leniency.

“I ask permission to demonstrate deep respect and bow down to apologize,” said Dam Sith, editor in chief of Moneaksekar Khmer, a pro-opposition newspaper, as he promised earlier this month to cease publishing his 10-year-old newspaper.

“I have in the past committed inappropriate acts again and again,” he said, adding that his only hope to avoid a defamation conviction is the “compassion and forgiveness” of Mr. Hun Sen — which he duly received.

Mu Sochua, a leading member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, is fighting back, though she acknowledges the odds she faces.

In April, she filed a defamation suit against Mr. Hun Sen after he used a rude expression in criticizing her political activities. He countersued.

The courts dropped her original suit. This week, she faces a court hearing on his charge that she defamed him by bringing a defamation suit against him.

It was her lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, who dropped her case under pressure, apologized and joined the ruling party. Ms. Mu Sochua acknowledged the overbearing power of the prime minister and she said she did not blame her lawyer for giving in. “I understand and respect him,” she said.

Unable to find another lawyer to step forward in his place, she said she would proceed in her case alone.


Read more!

Influenza A/H1N1 continues to threaten Asia-Pacific region

Hong Kong, Influenza A/H1N1 has continued to threaten the people in Asia and Pacific region as more than 200new flu cases were confirmed on Sunday in the region.

Singapore's Health Minister said on Monday that 53 percent of the new flu cases are A/H1N1 positive.

The number spiked from 13 percent in a span of just four weeks, according to Singapore's Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who was quoted by local TV broadcaster Channel News Asia in his update in Parliament.

He also warned that A/H1N1 flu prevalence in Singapore should peak within a week or two, adding that more Singaporeans will get infected, reaching a peak before the numbers start to decline.

He explained Singapore remains in yellow alert because unlike seasonal flu, the at-risk groups involve younger adults with underlying medical problems.

According to Philippine's TV network GMA News reported on Monday, more than 100 inmates in two Philippine jails were quarantined for suspected A/H1N1 influenza, raising fears that an outbreak might occur among the confined population.

Over 60 inmates have developed flu-like symptoms in the central Philippines' Mandaue city jail, where 100 inmates were placed under observation.

In northern Bulacan provincial jail, ten inmates were quarantined after showing sings of A/H1N1 influenza, the report said.

The suspected outbreak has prompted jail officials to shorten families' visit hours and to conduct thermal scanning on visitors before they enter the jail.

The Philippines is among the worst-hit by the A/H1N1 influenza in Southeast Asia as the authorities confirmed 2,688 cases by July9, with four deaths.

On the same day, Vietnamese Ministry of Health confirmed 45 more influenza A/H1N1 cases, bringing the country's tally to 383.

All the newly confirmed cases are in the southern provinces, said the ministry.

So far, 299 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. The rest are being quarantined and treated in stable conditions.

China's Hong Kong confirmed 76 new cases of A/H1N1 flu infection in the 24 hours up to 2.30 p.m. on Monday, medical authorities said.

According to a spokesman of the Center for Health Protection, the new cases involve 36 males and 40 females, aged between one and 81.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 1,886 in Hong Kong, the spokesman said.

The city's Hospital Authority said in a release later in the day that currently a total of 41 confirmed patients are staying in public hospitals for treatment and five of them are in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the neighboring Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) said that six newly cases of Influenza A/H1N1 were confirmed, bringing the total number of such cases to 127 so far.

The newly confirmed cases included three men and three women whose ages ranged from eight to 42, according to SAR's Health Bureau.

The Indonesian Health Ministry announced 15 new positive A/H1N1cases on Monday. Of the 15 patients, five were male and ten were female.

"Five of them have a history to go overseas, one to Malaysia, two to the United States, and another two to Singapore," said Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, a disease control official of the ministry.

By now, the cumulative cases of positive influenza A/H1N1 in Indonesia amounted to 172, involving 86 men and 86 women.

Malaysian Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said that 862 out of the total patients of the disease had recovered, seven were still under treatment in hospitals, while five of them were receiving out-patient treatment.

Liow said the total cases of the flu comprising 567 imports and307 local transmissions.

He said his ministry would continue in monitoring cases of the disease being brought to the hospitals, including cases of cluster "influenza-likeness illness".

Owing to a sharp rise in the number of influenza A/H1N1 cases in the world and the region recently, Cambodia government on Monday called on its citizens to avoid traveling to its neighboring country of Thailand.

The Cambodian Health Ministry made the call in order to prevent the large scale outbreak of A/H1N1 flu in the country.

"Without the need for the time being, Cambodian citizens should avoid traveling to Thailand in order to prevent the wide-spreading of the epidemic in Cambodia," the Health Ministry's statement said.

According to local media reported that as of July 19, Thailand had found at least 4,000 cases of confirmed influenza A/H1N1, while 24 people died of the flu.

Cambodia now has a total of 14 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu, but most of them were imported and no one died of the virus so far in the country.
Read more!

Criticism of Asian rights body rebuffed

By Tim Johnston in Bangkok


South-east Asian foreign ministers have rejected criticism that a new human rights commission in the region will be toothless.

Members of the Association of South East Asian Nations set out plans on Monday at a meeting in Phuket, Thailand, for a regional human rights body, putting an emphasis on rights promotion rather than rights protection.

But there is no provision for Asean citizens to complain to the new body, which in turn will lack any power to investigate or prosecute purported abuses. “There are a few countries in Asean that are among the most repressive in Asia, if not the world,” said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch. “I could never see how this group could ever agree on anything with teeth.”

Enrique Manalo, Philippine deputy foreign minister, responded by saying: “I don’t think it’s toothless . . . The important thing is everyone’s prepared to recognise it’s a process. What’s there is not final.”

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai prime minister and Asean chairman, said: “Progress will first be made on the front of promotion.” He did not detail how the Inter-Governmental Commission of Human Rights would promote rights. “But the protection side is not going to be ignored. It is better to make a start.”

Asean’s democratic members, including Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, had been pushing for a more robust human rights body, while more repressive members including Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam had sought to water down its role.

Kasit Piromya, Thailand’s foreign minister, said the body was born of compromise.

Read more!

ASEAN welcomes China's increasing role in Asia-Pacific region

China can play an important role in the peace and security of the Asia-pacific area, which the ten-member Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) welcomes, Thai Foreign Minister said Sunday.

China can play a role in the peace and security of the Asia-pacific area and it can also help economic development in the Asia-Pacific at large, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters.

Kasit made the remark in the press conference held after foreign ministers of ASEAN convened for the first time in their annual ministerial level meet. Their meeting focused on the human right issue and dispute-settlement mechanism among ASEAN nations.

"China's position is very important. It's reemerging as a world power. Its position has a positive aspect in the sense that it has become a very important market for the ASEAN countries," he added.

"So we welcome the increasing role of China as a very important member of the international community," the Foreign Minister said.

Ministers of ASEAN and China are scheduled to meet on Wednesday.

The ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Source:Xinhua Read more!

48 hours in Kampot, Cambodia

Got 48 hours to explore Kampot? The quaint, riverside town in southwestern Cambodia is attracting more tourists with its relaxed atmosphere and run-down yet fine French architectural legacy.

FRIDAY

6pm: Relax with a drink at one of many bars on Riverside Road, which runs along the Kampong Bay River. The east bank has spectacular views of Bokor Mountain.

7pm: Dine at Ta Eou, a charming place built on stilts over the river. The menu is extensive and includes lots of seafood. Crab with peppercorns is a favourite.

8pm: Drop by the Kampot Traditional School of Music for Handicapped and Orphaned children - near the old market - which teaches children traditional music and dance. The performances are free but donations are welcome.

SATURDAY

7am: After a quick breakfast, head out for a day-long jungle trek in Bokor National Park, the main reason most travelers venture into Kampot. There is a road up to Bokor Mountain but it is sometimes closed to visitors. Check with local guides first.

Most tours consist of a challenging three-hour trek and then a drive up to the top, where the first stop is the Black Palace, the remains of the residence of former King Sihanouk.

Other attractions include the abandoned buildings of Bokor Hill station - a Catholic church and the eerie French hotel and casino. Some locals say that gamblers who had lost everything at the casino often jumped to their death from the mountain.

In its heyday, Bokor was a getaway for French officials, who headed up the mountain to escape the tropical heat. But years of neglect have left ghostly ruins, often shrouded in fog and clouds. If the clouds pass, admire the spectacular view of the coast and the cool mountain air.

Bokor National Park is also an important wildlife reserve - however the average visitor is unlikely to see much. Tigers are present but very rare, although gibbon can often be heard.

The two-hour trek back down includes a stop at a waterfall for those who want to refresh themselves with a swim.

7pm: Back in Kampot, head to one of the town's massage parlours where blind masseurs will help take away the aches of the day's trek.

8.pm: Enjoy a well-deserved drink at the rooftop balcony bar Rikitikitavi, which also has a charming restaurant that serves a mix of Khmer and international food.

SUNDAY

9am: After breakfast, head out to a pepper plantation. In Cambodia's colonial days, Kampot pepper was the king of spices in Parisian kitchens but during the rule of the Khmer Rouge, most plantations were destroyed. Today, local farmers have started to grow and sell black peppercorns again.

Ad Feedback 11am: Limestone caves dot the landscape around Kampot. Some have exotic rock formations and Buddhist shrines and are worth a visit. The Phnom Chhnork caves shelter a pre-Angkorian ruin.

2pm: In town, stop off at the Epic Arts cafe to enjoy cakes, bagels and shakes -- the homemade chutney and banana jam are a must-try. The cafe, which employs disabled staff, also sells cards and handicrafts.

3pm: Take a walk around town and soak up the relaxed atmosphere. Although small, Kampot has charming quiet lanes, and architecture influenced by both the Chinese and the French.

4pm: Set sail on the Kampong Bay river, and stay on the water to catch the sunset. If the water level is high enough, head to the Tek Chhou rapids, a popular swimming area.

Passing by lush green scenery, watch fishermen getting ready to go out to sea and sail pass dozens of huts on stilts.

Read more!