Construction on railway conecting China, Laos to begin in late October

By The Associated Press (CP)

BEIJING, China — A state news agency says construction will start this month on a railway from southern China to Laos, further connecting the country with its Southeast Asian neighbours.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday that the 530-kilometre railway will connect Xishuangbanna city in the southern province of Yunnan to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Work is expected to begin Oct. 28.

The project is part of the Trans-Asian Railway network, which is expected to pass through 28 countries in Asia, the report said, including Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Read more!

Cambodians hold buffalo race to honour the dead

VIHEAR SOUR, Cambodia — Thousands of Cambodians descended on a small village northeast of the capital Friday to cheer on the annual water buffalo race that marks the end of the 15-day festival for the ancestors.

"We hold the race to ask the Neakta Preah Srok (pagoda spirit) to protect us and to keep the people and animals in the village from illnesses," said farmer Sam Sen, who was also a judge in the race.

Around 20 villagers rode their buffaloes up and down a short stretch of road leading to the pagoda, to huge cheers from the crowd.

The buffaloes were adorned with colourful masks, their horns carefully bandaged to keep them from injuring anyone.

"I am happy, it was fun," said 23-year-old contestant Chan Ny after the race, still sitting on his buffalo. "I will be back next year."

The number of buffaloes taking part in the race has steadily declined over the last few years.

Sam Sen said this was because "many big buffaloes have been sold off" by families struggling to make ends meet.

Some of the village's buffaloes had also been struck by disease, organisers said.

Cambodians believe their dead ancestors emerge to walk the earth during the Pchum Ben festival, and they honour and remember them with prayers and food offerings at Buddhist pagodas.

Vihear Sour village, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, began holding the race more than 70 years ago. It is followed by a traditional wrestling match.
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Cambodian efforts to promote silk weavers

Cambodian handmade silk remained the centre of attraction at a conference organized by the National Silk Centre on the outskirts of Siem Reap at Pouk District, with funding from the European Union.

The main aim behind organizing the Silk Day was to foster the quality of handmade silk items, while giving an idea about the industry and the issues confronting it. The occasion also commemorated conclusion of a project for establishment and promotion of silk sector in Siem Reap and Bantey Meanchey districts.

The project that came along with the EU funding was executed by the Khmer Silk Villages and Chantiers-Ecoles de Formation Professionelle.

Experts at the conference informed that, Khmer silk all in all produces 19 different items for exports.
Also that, the US $25 million worth Cambodian silk industry, provided employment to around 20,500 weavers, this year.

Experts even said that, visitors get drawn towards the Cambodian silk items as it is handwoven.

The silk industry in the country is a vital source of employment for women in Cambodia, and even helps to scale down poverty in rural provinces. Customarily, the silk production task is being carried out by women weavers, who constitute 99.54 percent of the workforce.

The country uses around 400 tons of imported industrial white silk yarn, each year to churn out three tons of superior quality handmade golden silk.



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Cambodia: Abysmal Lawlessness, Powerless Citizens

Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

WORLD: Cambodia --Abysmal Lawlessness And The Powerlessness Of The Citizens

(Part One)

The first election in post Pol Pot Cambodia was held in May 1993. The new constitution promised a liberal democracy and a system of governance based on the rule of law. However, the country is still in a state of abysmal lawlessness and ordinary Cambodians are powerless. There are no institutions in the country which can offer them any kind of protection. The Cambodian police is in a rudimentary stage of development, is known to be corrupt and completely under the political control of the regime and those who are rich and powerful. Cambodian courts are also known to be corrupt and are used as instruments of political control by way of jailing opposition politicians; people resisting land grabbing; those who express independent opinions and civil society activists who express solidarity with victims of abuse of power. There are no institutions that people can turn to make any complaints or to turn to any kind of help when faced with injustice. And the injustices that the people face are many.

The major complaint everywhere is that of "Land Grabbing". Having a title to a plot of land is normally the ultimate guarantee of some security in this poor country. However, having a title to land is of little use when the same land can be allotted to some company by a government authority, who does not even inform the original title holder when such allocations are made. It is only when the company begins the operation to redevelop the land that the original owners get to know that the land they rightfully own has been given away.

Naturally they protest and at that stage security forces enter the scene and harassment is the result. As the people literally have nowhere to go, they fight back. Then they are brought to courts on all kinds of charges and many are detained. There are thousands of reports of such happenings from around the country. "In the capital, Phnom Penh, 133,000 people -- more than 10% of its population -- are believed to have been evicted since 1990." (This is according to a report of reliable civil society organization).

The result of such land evictions is that those who are displaced are excluded from any benefits, and lose their source of income, they are exposed to poor health and their young face lack of education. In a country, with so little opportunities, eviction from land implies a transformation which ends in destitution. Hopes for stability and a future ends for many. Naturally the women and young and the elderly suffer the most. Naturally, prostitution and other similar problems are on the increase in today's Cambodia.

"The Cambodian courts continue to act on behalf of rich and powerful interests, ignoring the evidence, the Land Law and other relevant legislation, enforcing eviction where ownership remains undecided and imprisoning those who dare to protest", states a report from well known LICAHDO, a human rights organization. This view is confirmed by many other organizations and almost everyone.

Cambodian courts are not able to protect land titles. Their function is not the protection of the individual but the interests of those who are in power. The idea of the balancing of interests is an alien concept in Cambodia. The role of the authorities is to protect the state, not the people.

ENDS

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Burma, Cambodia & Laos: Juggling trade and diplomacy

Heavy Chinese investment in its southern neighbours has been a boon as well as a diplomatic challenge for Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam.

Even as these governments welcome Chinese investments in everything from dams to bauxite mines and rubber plantations, they have also made an effort to roll out the red carpet for other investors.

Laos, for instance, has made a move towards strategic diversification. Earlier this year, it scrapped a plan to let Chinese investors convert farmland and wetlands outside Vientiane into a new city.

The Chinese investors were said to have baulked at the cost of compensation and relocation, but there were other factors at play. Kham Ouane Boupha, the Laotian minister for land management, was quoted as saying the marshland had been designated a protected area.

As senior officials began a two-day meeting yesterday (October 7) in Vientiane to discuss land policies, it was clear that while China was the country's largest foreign investor - having put in US$340 million in the first half of this year alone - other players, such as Viet Nam and Thailand, had entered the field.

Likewise, in Cambodia, a huge investment in water infrastructure has drawn interest not just from China but also from India, Kuwait, Qatar and South Korea.

Governments need to decide whether they want to broker stronger alliances with Japan, Europe and the United States, noted a Laos-based analyst specialising in natural resources who asked not to be named. He pointed out that America's Lower Mekong Initiative - announced last year and aimed at Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam - was clearly meant to counterbalance China.

Burma balances China's influence against that of India, which also has ventures there. Moreover, Burman nationalism provides a natural damper. Nevertheless, the regime is limited by its fraught relations with many Western powers.

Says historian Thant Myint U: "Western sanctions have been China's best friend. Though intended to promote democratic change, the net effect of the embargoes and boycotts has been far greater Chinese economic domination."

China is the country's largest investor, pumping in US$8 billion this fiscal year, according to official Burma data released in August. Still, Myanmar has no problem welcoming Thai, Japanese, Indian, Malaysian and Korean investment. Since 1988, Thailand has invested US$9.6 billion there.

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Troubled Water

Southeast ASIA is the battleground for international dispute over a group of islands in the South China Sea

Southeast Asia is the battleground for an international war being waged over a group of floating political symbols – the disputed islands of the South China Sea.

China has aggressively staked its claim over the 3,500,000 square km territory that encompasses a string of more than 200 islands of various sizes, including the Spratly and Paracels, even going as far as planting a flag via submarine on the ocean floor 3,760 metres below sea level.

Control over the islands is an important issue, as almost every Asean country has claimed ownership over one or more island, yet the real motive for Asean is maintaing dominance of the sea over China.

The South China Sea is a vital shipping route for whichever country (or countries) can hold territorial rights over it, in addition to its rich commercial fishing areas and oil and natural gas fields. It also plays an important role for Northeast Asia which relies heavily on the flow of oil and commerce through South China Sea shipping lanes, which includes 80% of the crude oil to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

China claims complete sovereignty of up to 80% of the South China Sea, which includes the Spratly and Paracel Islands, intentionally stepping on the toes of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Yet in July, at a meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Hanoi, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton boldly stated that the US "supports a collaborative diplomatic process for resolving the various disputes" over the South China Sea, despite Chinese repeated requests not to broach the issue. Clinton also elaborated that the US could offer its services as a mediator and that they oppose "the use or threat of force by any claimant".

Vietnam appeared to embrace the olive branch offered by the US, conscripting them as an unlikely ally against China’s increasingly aggressive role in the South China Sea. The two countries staged a joint military exercise in August, sending an authoritative message to Beijing. Coming 35 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the visit officially marked the 15th anniversary of the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

Not surprisingly, the Chinese media, alarmed at the bold moves made into Southeast Asia by Washington after being warned to stay out of the region, was clearly put on the defensive. The China Daily called the exercise the start of a US effort to create an “Asian NATO” to quash Beijing’s rising influence in the region. The US Navy's plans to step up its maritime presence in the South China Sea for the foreseeable future in order to ensure free navigation through its vital sea lanes, didn’t help calm China's image of the US as a threat – especially since the they plan to include their nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS George Washington in future exercises.

However, not all countries in the region are quick to align with the US. Representatives from the Philippines said in early August that Southeast Asian nations did not require US involvement in solving territorial disputes with China over the potentially resource-rich waters.

Alberto Romulo, the foreign secretary of the Philippines, told reporters that negotiations should be strictly between Asean and China, without any foreign interference, especially from the US – which, geographically speaking, is nowhere near the disputed territory. When asked if he supported Clinton’s earlier comments that hinted at increased US involvement in the South China Sea debate, Romulo bluntly replied “No.”

“It’s Asean and China. Can I make myself clear? It’s Asean and China. Is that clear enough?” Romulo asked.

Yet just days later another military PR gesture, dubbed the Philippines-US Mutual Defence Board meeting, took place in Manila, in which Admiral Robert Willard, the head of US Pacific Command, commented on China's "assertive" behaviour in the South China Sea.

"We discussed the assertiveness that we're experiencing by the Chinese in the South China Sea and the concerns that that has generated within the region," he said at a news conference.

"It's very important that the governments in the region invest in sufficient militaries and security apparatus to protect their respective territorial waters.
"This is about preventing conflict, not allowing any of the circumstances in the region to lead up to a shooting war," said Willard.

Though most, if not all, Asean countries don't have the military capabilities to adequately defend their claims of island ownership in the South China Sea. The Philippines' military chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David said that due to the country's outdated ships and airplanes, their presence and defence capabilities in the disputed area is "almost negligible".

At the Asean Regional Forum in Hanoi in July, Clinton stressed that the US position isn't necessarily to become the judicator of free trade and open navigation of the South China Sea and its mineral resource deposits. Instead, it hopes these goals can be achieved through multilateral discussion between China and Asean. China, however, is vehemently opposed to this approach, preferring to negotiate claims on an individual basis, which would help them gain strategic leverage over the territory by applying specific political pressure to each individual country.

So why is the US so adamant in its efforts to maintain a presence in the region while urging Asean countries to build-up their militaries for future preventative measures?

The reason is that China has been systematically modernising and expanding their military arsenal behind closed doors, in a move that the US sees as intentional intimidation, which then forces them to take premeditative diplomatic action in the region. In a report released by the Pentagon in August titled Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2010, the US Department of Defense characterised the military expansion as "extended-range power projection".

The main concerns in the report are that China is developing a large arsenal of medium-range ballistic and cruise missiles, electronic attack warfare, effective long-range air defence systems, computer network attack capabilities, advanced fighter aircrafts, counter-space technology and submarines equipped with advanced weaponry. The People's Liberation Army Navy, which is the largest naval force in Asia, has also been modernising its nuclear force, which now has a range in excess of 11,000km, with most of continental US under potential threat.

One weapon in particular is of great concern to the US Navy due to its devestating capabilities in the South China Sea – the anti-ship ballistic missile, which is also called the "carrier killer" for the damage it can inflict on aircraft carriers in particular.

A successful anti-ship ballistic missile could have a range of 1,500km, is armed with a manoeuverable warhead and when combined with advanced control systems, could be launched from the mainland coast of China, with the disputed islands of the South China Sea well within scope. Admiral Willard stated in an August press conference in Tokyo that the US would not be deterred from deploying vessels in the region because of the missile, but the development of this weapon has become a clear threat that the US doesn't want to take a chance on.

"Many uncertainties remain regarding how China will use its expanding military capabilities," reads the Pentagon report. "The limited transparency in China’s military and security affairs enhances uncertainty and increases the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation."

One can only hope that a diplomatic, balanced solution can be reached before the potential powder keg of uncertainties is realised.

“[The US-China] relationship has not been without disagreement and difficulty," says US President Obama. "But the notion that we must be adversaries is not pre-destined.”

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Fanged Fish Among New Species Found In Greater Mekong

Scientists discovered an average of three new biological species each week in the Greater Mekong region of Asia, including such unique life forms as a fish with vampire-like fangs and a 22-foot tall carnivorous plant, international conservation group WWF announced on Wednesday.
According to WWF officials, a total of 145 new species were found in 2009 in the area near the Mekong River, which includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan Province. Joining the fanged minnow and the massive meat-eating vegetation as the more intriguing discoveries are the only bald songbird in Asia, a sucker-fish that uses its body to stick to rocks in order to move upstream in quickly-moving waters, and a completely new genus of fangless snakes.

"This rate of discovery is simply staggering in modern times," Stuart Chapman, the Conservation Director of WWF Greater Mekong, said in a statement. "Each year, the new species count keeps going up, and with it, so too does the responsibility to ensure this region’s unique biodiversity is conserved… These new species are a timely reminder of the extraordinary biodiversity in the Greater Mekong."

In an interview with AFP, Chapman attributed the rate of discovery "to the enormous geographical and climatic range within the region, going from high altitude to dense tropical forests through to some of the richest freshwater in the world… Undoubtedly this region is one of the richest in terms of its biodiversity, but it's also one of the most threatened."

According to the WWF, the Greater Mekong houses some of the most endangered species of wildlife on Earth, including tigers, the Asian elephant, the Mekong dolphin, and the Mekong giant catfish--one of the largest freshwater fish in the world which the WWF says is threatened by proposed hydropower dams along the river. The conservation group also points to the now-extinct Javan rhino of Vietnam as "one tragic indicator" of the threats facing animal life in the Mekong valley.

"We need to keep one of the treasure troves of the world properly conserved," Chapman told AFP.

Read more!

Cambodian information minister to visit Thailand

The Cambodian minister of information will pay a visit to Thailand later this month as part of the plan to boost Thai-Cambodia ties, said an senior official.

Thanom Onketpol, secretary to the Prime Minister's Office minister, said on Wednesday the Cambodian information minister was visit Thailand along with a group of Cambodian reporters during October 18-22.

The visit was a result of an agreement made with Cambodia during Prime Minister's Office Minister Ong-art Klampaiboon's recent visit to the neighboring country, he said.

According to the agreement, the two countries will exchange information and arrange mutual-visit of news reporters, and will carry out a cultural exchange program after the ties between two countries have been approved after the resignation of Thailand's ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinnawatra as economic advisor to Cambodian prime minister late August.

Source:Xinhua Read more!

Relations with US snagged over debt issue

DESPITE signs of progress in areas ranging from military cooperation to development aid, comments in recent weeks from Cambodian and American officials underscore the fact that bilateral relations remain snagged on an issue some three decades old: Cambodia’s wartime debt.

Before the US-ASEAN summit two weeks ago, Prime Minister Hun Sen called upon the United States to cancel the debt, calling it “dirty”. But a US State Department official said last week the US would not do so for fear of setting a “bad precedent” for countries in similar positions.

The principal sum of the debt, according to the US State Department and the International Monetary Fund, is US$162 million for shipments of cotton, rice, wheat flour and other agricultural commodities in the 1970s. Interest has ballooned the total debt to $445 million.

The Kingdom had an overall debt burden of $3.2 billion in 2009, according to the IMF, which noted in an assessment that year that Cambodia is at “moderate risk of debt distress”.

In congressional testimony Friday, Joe Yun, deputy assistant secretary for the US state department’s bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs,
said the US would not forgive Cambodia’s debt because it considers Cambodia both able to pay and obligated to do so under international law.

Officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance did not respond this week to requests for comment about the debt.

Beyond the debt issue, Yun observed a “generally positive trend” in bilateral relations in his remarks last week, noting that the US has been Cambodia’s top trading partner since 1998. Moreover, under President Barack Obama, he said, the US would provide US$72 million to Cambodia this year, making it the fourth-largest recipient of foreign aid in the East Asia-Pacific region. But the debt could be a “spoiler” in the countries’ relationship, said Carlyle Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy who called on the US to forgive it.

Cambodia incurred the debt under Lon Nol, who came to power in a 1970 coup d’etat. The US subsequently supported Lon Nol with economic, food and military aid, including an infamous bombing campaign.

Historians have long said that the bombs, believed to have killed tens of thousands of civilians while devastating the Cambodian countryside, may have slowed the Khmer Rouge in the short term, but also likely strengthened them as well.

Kenton Clymer, a professor at Northern Illinois University and an expert on US-Cambodia relations, said in an email yesterday that a reduction of the debt would be appropriate in view of the countries’ tumultuous history. “I suspect that the American legal position is correct, that a change of government does not relieve a country of previous debts. On the other hand, US bombing of Cambodia and American policy during the Khmer Republic did help create conditions that made a Khmer Rouge victory more likely,” Clymer said.

The US dropped 2,756,941 tons of ordnance in Cambodia, according to historians Ben Kiernan and Owen Taylor. William Shawcross put the cost of the bombing at $7 billion.

But an argument based on the historical injustice of the debt in view of the American legacy in the region was “not going to work politically” in negotiations with the US, Thayer said.

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, indicated yesterday that the government viewed debt forgiveness as a potential way to move beyond their contentious past.

“We don’t want to put the blame and point a figure at each other,” he said. “Right now we have a new chapter.” Read more!

Biodiverse Mekong Region Needs Protection

The area around the Mekong River, the 12th largest body of running water in the world, is extremely diverse in terms of species, but is also endangered by encroaching human influence, a report shows.

The Mekong springs from the heights of the Tibetan Plateau, on the roof of the world, and passes through China before heading out into Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The Greater Mekong area is extremely widespread, considering that the drain basin for the 4,350-kilometer (2,703-mile)-long river covers 795,000 square kilometers (307,000 square miles).

In this amazing region, scientists discover new species at the staggering rate of three per week, which means that the Mekong is one of the most biodiverse places on the face of the planet.

Some of the discoveries made here include the now-famous fish with vampire fangs (Danionella dracula), a cricket-sounding frog, as well as a carnivorous plant standing 7 meters (22 feet) tall.

In 2009 alone, more than 145 new species of animals and plants were discovered near the Mekong, and this again reaffirms the tremendous importance of the region, ahead of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan.

“This rate of discovery is simply staggering in modern times,” explains researcher Stuart Chapman, who works as the Conservation Director for WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Greater Mekong.

“Each year, the new species count keeps going up, and with it, so too does the responsibility to ensure this region’s unique biodiversity is conserved,” the expert argues.

But the extreme diversity of the Mekong's habitat and species is also what makes the entire ecosystem so fragile and in need of attention.

“Biodiversity is not evenly distributed around the globe. These new species are a timely reminder of the extraordinary biodiversity in the Greater Mekong,” Chapman says.

“Therefore a greater allocation of funds is needed to ensure these valuable ecosystems are conserved,” he adds further. As an example of the threats to the area, he gives the example of the Javan rhino, in Vietnam, which are now about to go extinct.

The WWF now urges the governments of the six countries in the Mekong basin to take firm actions for protecting the area, by requesting funds through the CBD financing mechanism called the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The organization also plans to be very active at the new meeting, so that all relevant actors become aware of the importance of keeping Greater Mekong ecosystems stable and protected.
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Hun Sen talk with Abhisit

PRIME Minister Hun Sen met with Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva at a summit in Belgium, where the two leaders affirmed their commitment to a demobilisation of troops stationed along their contentious border.

According to state television channel TVK, Hun Sen and Abhisit met for about 15 minutes on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting on Monday. The two-day summit was set to conclude yesterday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said Cambodian officials welcomed further talks aimed at resolving the border dispute. Hun Sen and Abhisit are slated to meet again later this month at an ASEAN meeting in Hanoi.

“Cambodia’s position remains that we can use bilateral or multilateral mechanisms,” Koy Kuong said yesterday. “We are prepared to resolve the dispute by any means necessary.”

Abhisit said he and Hun Sen had “exchanged views over the dispute in an effort to press ahead for progress in tackling the issue apart from current efforts being made through parliamentary procedures”, Thai state media reported yesterday.

The countries are working to demarcate their border through a bilateral committee, though the process has been stalled since last year pending approval of the latest round of talks in the Thai parliament.

Chea Dara, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces stationed at Preah Vihear temple, said yesterday that commanders from the two sides were slated to meet next week to discuss a redeployment of troops stationed at the Cambodian border.

“This is a great sign, and the purpose of the meeting will be to prevent military confrontations,” Chea Dara said.

“The two militaries from both sides have good cooperation, and we shared lunch and ate cakes together recently.” Read more!

Charming City: City Hall launch new site

Charming City

CITY Hall launched the redesign of its official website, www.phnompenh.gov.kh, yesterday, rebranding the capital “the Charming City”.

Kim Savuth, deputy municipal cabinet chief and the website’s director, said City Hall hoped to use it to share information that would attract domestic and international tourists and investors.

“Currently, we published information in the Khmer and English languages, and we plan to publish in French soon,” he said.

He added that the website would offer information on development projects, local businesses and tourism.

A description of ‘‘Phnom Penh today’’ describes the capital as ‘‘charming, relaxing and harmonious’’. Read more!

Appeal of Sam Rainsy case heard

The Kingdom’s Appeal Court has heard the case of opposition leader Sam Rainsy and two villagers from Svay Rieng province who were convicted earlier this year in connection with a protest against alleged Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian territory.

Judge Kun Leang Meng said the verdict had been delayed until next Wednesday due to limited time and the “complicated” nature of the case.

In January, Svay Rieng provincial court sentenced Sam Rainsy to two years in prison for racial incitement and destruction of public property after a protest last year in which he allegedly led villagers in uprooting Vietnamese border posts.

Meas Srey, 40, and Prum Chea, 41, received one year in jail each for their alleged roles in the incident. During a hearing of roughly four hours at the Appeal Court, both villagers denied playing a direct role in uprooting the posts.

“Sam Rainsy just held the post, but he did not uproot it, and neither did I,” Meas Srey said.
“A lot of people pulled on it.”

Under questioning from government lawyer Chan Sok Yeang, Prum Chea said he was unaware of the official status of the border posts.

“I only know that the posts were on my land,” he said.

Choung Choungy, Sam Rainsy’s lawyer, said the opposition leader had only been doing his duty as a parliamentarian in bringing attention to the border issue.

“My client had only two aims: to respect the people’s rights and defend territorial integrity,” Choung Choungy said. Chan Sok Yeang said, however, that Sam Rainsy’s protest last year was an attempt at unlawful incitement that came as the government was preoccupied with its dealings with Thailand.

“The government has been worrying about the western border, but he has made problems at the eastern border with Vietnam,” Chan Sok Yeang said Read more!

Thailand and Cambodia to meet on border again in Hanoi : PM

Brussels - Thailand and Cambodia will hold talks on border dispute on the sidelines of the Hanoi Summit late this month, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday.

The Thai premier said he had discussed with Hun Sen about the unsettled border dispute. The two countries would prepare information related to the conflicts and would hold talks again when they meet on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Hanoi between October 28 and 30.

Abhisit was speaking after meeting his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) summit, currently being held in Brussels until October 5.

"The framework to tackle the problem is in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Thailand and Cambodia on demarcation for land boundary 2000. We must look back to the intention (in the MoU)", State-run Thai News Agency quoted Abhisit as saying.

The talks (in Brussels) is a good thing and frequent talks will help prevent misunderstanding that could lead to a possible clash which no one want to see, Abhisit said.

He noted that the bilateral relations now are gradually improving as the heads of both governments could hold talks and put efforts to drive concerned agencies to foster healthy relations which is considered a positive sign
Read more!

Union claim more than 600 dismissed

Union leaders have said that more than 600 garment workers have been dismissed from their jobs in connection with unrest in the industry last month, a figure disputed by industry representatives.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union said 131 union representatives were still suspended pending court rulings on the legality of strikes last month to protest the garment industry’s new minimum wage.

Six hundred and one workers who protested the suspensions of these representatives have seen their contracts terminated because they ignored court orders requiring them to return to work within 48 hours, the statement said.

But Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said just 358 workers had seen their contracts terminated, and that several factories had recently allowed workers to return based on court orders.

“I don’t know whether they’ve updated their figures, but in any case, they likely inflated the numbers anyway, just like there were 200,000 striking workers, which we all know there weren’t,” Loo said.

The CCAWDU statement said that 13 factories had failed to comply with court orders allowing workers and union representatives to return to their jobs.

“These factory owners are ignoring the courts,” said Un Visal, labour dispute officer at CCAWDU.

GMAC and union representatives signed a memorandum of understanding last week calling for greater use of the collective bargaining agreements that ban strikes and lockouts throughout their terms. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KHOUTH SOPHAK CHAKRYA AND JAMES O’TOOLE

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Sex trend surprising

The vast majority of former child sex workers surveyed on behalf of a local NGO said their main clients were Cambodian men.

The executive director of the NGO that commissioned the study described the finding as “very surprising”.

A report detailing the findings of the study states that paedophiles “tend to be Cambodians, rather than foreigners, contrary to the usually held assumption that paedophilia is a Western problem and that Cambodians are not engaged in such activities”.

Chin Chanveasna, executive director of End Child Prostitution, Abuse and Trafficking in Cambodia, said that local demand for commercial sex with children was often overlooked, as NGOs and other stakeholders focused on foreigners.

In the study, done earlier this year and presented at a conference on trafficking, all but one of 43 former child sex workers surveyed in Phnom Penh said their regular clients were Cambodian men.

Of the 13 respondents who reported having sold their virginity, 68 percent said their clients had been Cambodian, according to the study.

Chin Chanveasna said the study, which also surveyed 47 Cambodian men from “male-frequented establishments” such as beer gardens and snooker clubs, found many local men preferred child sex workers.

“Cambodian men prefer beautiful, fair-skinned and younger-looking sex workers – basically minors,” he said, and added that they were often willing to pay a premium for virgins.

“Especially the powerful, the rich people, spend thousands of dollars to have sex with children,” he said.... read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.

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Five break out of Jail

Five inmates at Kratie provincial prison escaped in the early hours of morning with the aid of a saw.

Four remain on the run, including three killers.
Thim Narin, a provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, which monitors conditions at the prison, say the five inmates used the saw to cut through the wooden walls of their room before escaping over the wall.

The prison break took more than four hours, she said, and added that it was unclear how the inmates obtained the saw. Eight other prisoners who were sharing the room with the escapees did not attempt to flee.

A prison official said yesterday that three of the escapees had been convicted of intentional murder. The official, who could not provide details of the case against the men, identified them as: Yen Nara, 26, who was sentenced to 18 years; Thoun Nal, 22, who was sentenced to 15 years; and Saom

Soknang, 27, who was sentenced to 10 years. All three remain at large.

Chhoung Seng Hak, the provincial police chief, said Ith Samean – a 35-year-old escapee who was being held in pretrial detention on robbery charges – was caught.... read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours. Read more!

Russia and Poland look to Cambodia for rice

A CAMBODIAN trade delegation to Russia and Poland has attracted buyers to discuss deals that could see 40,000 tonnes of rice exported to the two countries in 2011.

Composed of government officials and industry representatives, the Cambodian delegation visited the two nations in September, leading to further discussions planned for January to finalise the deal, according to Thon Virak, director general of state-run Green Trade Company.

“If there are no obstacles, we will make the contract for delivery at that time,” he said at a Ministry of Commerce press conference on Friday. The buyers from Russia and Poland are expected to order at least 4,000 tonnes per month, he said.

“I hope the number of rice export to Europe market will increase in the coming year, and we have enough quantity for exports,” he said.

Representatives of nine rice millers, including two private companies; and four government representatives from the Ministry of Commerce visited Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland from September 22 to 24 in search of opportunities for rice exports.

The visit also allowed industry insiders to meet with European rice traders and distributors to learn more about the regulations and quality standards required to access the European market, he said.

The delegation found that trust and reliability was the most important issue for European buyers, especially with regard to filling deliveries on schedule. Ensuring quality standards and competitive pricing were also primary concerns for European dealers.

“Before the visit to Europe we had no real idea of what the market required, but now after seeing it with our own eyes and talking directly to the buyers we know what EU consumers want,” Norng Veasna, a rice miller from Kampong Cham province said in a statement.

Lim Bun Heng, a representative from Loran Import Export, added that local rice millers need to improve processing technology to become more competitive regarding both quality and quantity.

Mao Thora, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce said improving milling capacity would greatly boost future exports.

Local millers are able to process a maximum of 100,000 tonnes per year at present, he said. If milling capacity was not improved, it would be difficult to meet the Kingdom’s goals for rice exports.

Many donors are funding developments in the agriculture sector. Agence Francaise Development had allocated between $10 million and $15 million for the local millers to improve capacity, but more was needed, Mao Thora said. Read more!

Efforts Against Drug-Resistant Malaria Along Thai-Cambodian Border Show Progress, But More 'Aggressive' Approach Needed, Health Officials Say

Main Category: Tropical Diseases
Also Included In: MRSA / Drug Resistance


Efforts to prevent the spread of drug-resistant malaria along the border between Cambodia and Thailand are showing signs of progress, but additional work is needed to contain the new strain, health officials said on Friday, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports.

In Cambodia, only two cases of Plasmodium falciparum malaria were identified in the province of Pailin as of mid-September, according to the Thai health ministry's Bureau of Vector Borne Disease. A total of 5,686 people were screened. "In the adjacent Soi Dao and Pong Nam Ron districts of Chantaburi province, there was a similar trend, with incidence dropping from 16 to seven from 2008 to 2009," the news service writes.

To prevent the spread of the drug-resistant strain of malaria, the WHO has been working on a containment effort with the Thai and Cambodian governments. The effort has received $22.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "But more collective regional efforts are needed to make a difference in addressing the malaria problem on the border, the WHO said in a press release Thursday," according to the news service (10/1).

"We have to be more aggressive against the deadly Plasmodium falciparium parasite, develop new interventions, improve and encourage human resource engagement, come up with new therapies, and secure the best drugs," said Charles Delacollette, coordinator of the the WHO's Mekong Malaria Programme, Bernama reports. "Winning the war against this parasite is a challenge," he said in a joint statement issued by the WHO and Thailand's Bureau of Vector Borne Disease.

Delacollette "said it was important for [ASEAN countries] to show strong commitment and ownership in the regional containment and elimination of multi-drug resistant falciparium malaria," the news service writes (9/30).

Experts Discuss Malaria Vaccine Prospects At D.C. Conference
At a malaria vaccine conference this week in Washington, D.C., Stephen Hoffman, the founder and CEO of Sanaria, discussed the "disappointing results" of the company's experimental malaria vaccine, which protected five of the 80 people who volunteered for its first clinical trial, Reuters reports.

"Tests in animals suggest that perhaps giving the vaccine intravenously might provide better protection, and Hoffman ... is planning ways to test the idea in people," the news service writes. Sanaria has used up the money it receives from the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, but Hoffman plans to continue testing with money from NIH and maybe government agencies, according to the article."

The vaccine was used to immunize 80 volunteers and it was safe and well tolerated," Hoffman said in an interview. "It did, as expected, stimulate an immune response against the malaria parasite - just not nearly as much as Hoffman had hoped," according to Reuters. He said, "Right now I do need to get a lot more funds."

Groups at the malaria vaccine meeting also "presented ideas for new ways to deliver vaccines - such as Pennsylvania-based Inovio Biomedical Corp, which is using its so-called electroporation delivery-DNA vaccine approach to try to make a vaccine against malaria, as well as flu and AIDS vaccines," the news service reports. The approach makes tiny holes in the skin instead of using a needle (Fox, 9/29).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. Read more!

Two drown fleeing Thai border police

TWO women from Battambang province who were seeking work in Thailand drowned while fleeing Thai border authorities last week, a Cambodian border official said.

Dy Phen, deputy director of the Cambodia-Thailand Border Relations Office in Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet town, said the two women crossed into Thailand illegally with about 20 other migrants on the night of September 30th to look for work in Pattani province.

Thai soldiers tried to stop the car at a checkpoint about 10 kilometres inside Thailand, Dy Phen said, but the car drove through the checkpoint and then stopped after another kilometre because of a flat tyre. Thai soldiers fired warning shots into the air, and the migrants fled, he said.

Dy Phen said officials believed two women – Muon Saroeut, 59, and her daughter, 15-year-old Soeun Chantrea – leaped into a canal in an attempt to escape. “They are illegal migrants who were brought into Thailand by a broker, so they feared arrest”, he said. Both women drowned, and Thai authorities cooperated in arranging for their bodies to be repatriated yesterday, Dy Phen said.

Taing Lay, a 25-year-old prospective migrant from Kampong Cham province, and her 5-year-old daughter also dove into the canal and nearly suffered the same fate but were saved by Thai soldiers and sent back to Cambodia over the weekend, Dy Phen said.

He said that the other 20 or so migrants remain in hiding somewhere in Thailand.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday that consular officials in Sa Kaeo province were negotiating with Thai officials to seek compensation for the families of the women who died, but that they “have yet to have any result”. He said a medical examination had confirmed that the two women had drowned.

Also repatriated yesterday was the body of a 27-year-old Cambodian man, Lam Thy, who died on Saturday from injuries suffered during a fight in Sa Kaeo province, Dy Phen said. The man had been working as a guard at a market. Read more!