Yingluck takes centre stage

Thaksin proudly claims his sister is 'his clone'


The Pheu Thai Party has voted Yingluck Shinawatra as its No.1 candidate on the party list system to compete against the Democrat Party's Abhisit Vejjajiva for the next premiership in the July 3 election.

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s younger sister Yingluck is surrounded by local and international media after she was chosen as the Pheu Thai Party’s top candidate on the party list and its nominee for premier. SOMCHAI POOMLARD

Pheu Thai's de facto leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who now lives in self-exile in Dubai, has confirmed he chose Ms Yingluck, his younger sister, for the post but denied that she is his proxy.

"Some said she is my nonimee. That's not true. But it can be said that Yingluck is my clone," Thaksin said in an exclusive interview with Post Today editors in Brunei.

Yesterday's vote at the Pheu Thai Party was taken in the absence of Ms Yingluck. She was told to travel to the party to hear the decision at about 2.20pm, an hour after the vote.

She thanked all party members for their support and said she felt honoured to be nominated.
She said she was confident Pheu Thai's policies could answer the needs of the public.
"I intend to enter politics and work for the people. I want unity and reconciliation to return to the country," Ms Yingluck said.

• First interview: Yingluck backs Thaksin on national reconciliation

She said she wanted all sides to reconcile and this was a signal Pheu Thai was not thinking of revenge but "wants to improve things".

She offered an assurance she would "make use of being a woman" to bring about reconciliation and to move the country forward and address the economic problems and create justice.

Thaksin said he had trained Ms Yingluck to improve her management skills since her graduation from university and that he and his sister shared similar management styles.

"Another important thing is that Ms Yingluck is my sister and she can make decisions for me. She can say 'yes' or 'no' on my behalf," Thaksin said.

He said his selection of Ms Yingluck was aimed at paving the way for reconciliation.

He said he would have chosen his cousin Gen Chaiyasit Shinawatra, a former army chief, as the top party list candidate, instead of Ms Yingluck, if he wanted to retaliate against his political rivals.

He said Ms Yingluck's femininity would be Pheu Thai's strength.

Ms Yingluck said she had no personal grudges against anyone in politics and could talk "with all sides to promote harmony".

Thaksin conceded Ms Yingluck lacked the experience to adapt to the unique nature of Thai politics, which often seeks to topple political leaders.

However, Thaksin said if politics entered a reconciliation mode, the conflict would ease.

Ms Yingluck was born on June 21, 1967. She is the youngest of nine children of Lert and Yindee Shinawatra. She is married to Anusorn Amornchat, president of M-Link Asia Corporation. They have a son.

She graduated from Chiang Mai University's political science and public administration and obtained a master's degree in public administration from Kentucky State University in the US. She worked at Shinawatra Directories Co and then became chief executive of AIS in 2002. After the sale of AIS to Singaporean company Temasek in 2005, she left AIS and became chief executive at SC Asset, Shinawatra's property business. She is now a member and secretary of the Thaicom Foundation.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday congratulated Ms Yingluck on her endorsement as the No.1 candidate on Pheu Thai's party list and becoming a candidate for prime minister.

He said voters now know who they could vote for in the general election. He was willing to meet Ms Yingluck for a debate.

Deputy Prime Minister and Democrat Party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban was more critical of Ms Yingluck's nomination.

He said if Ms Yingluck became prime minister, the people would find it difficult to imagine how she could handle the country's administration while always having to wait for a long distance call from abroad before making any decision.

Bhumjaithai Party spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said the nomination of Ms Yingluck as Pheu Thai's No.1 candidate on the party list was Thaksin's "final card"in his political game and from now on the general election would be fiercely contested.

Chart Thai Pattana Party leader Chumpol Silpa-archa said Ms Yingluck's foray into politics would add colour to the general election. However, it remained to be seen if she would succeed.

People's Alliance for Democracy spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan said if Pheu Thai won the election and Ms Yingluck became prime minister, the country's unrest would continue. Read more!

Prawit permits joint survey team

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has agreed to Cambodia's proposal to allow a joint survey team into the disputed Preah Vihear area as a prerequisite to holding a General Border Committee meeting.

Gen Prawit met his Cambodian counterpart Gen Tea Banh on Wednesday during the Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen demanded that Thailand sign terms of reference for the presence of Indonesian observers in disputed areas and form a joint survey team to collect data, a source close to the meeting said.

"It was demanded that Thailand form the joint survey team first. Then Cambodia would agree to host the 8th GBC [General Border Committee] meeting," the source said.

"Thailand had to compromise on some points to save face for Hun Sen. Otherwise, a deal would be impossible. Without a GBC meeting, solutions to border problems can never happen."

However, Gen Prawit said the government could not sign the terms of reference now as the House has been dissolved for the general election.

The GBC is expected to urge Thailand and Cambodia to withdraw their soldiers from the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area next to the Preah Vihear temple in Si Sa Ket province and in other disputed areas near Ta Kwai and Ta Muen temples in Surin province, the source said.

Then the Indonesian Observer Team will enter the disputed areas. Finally, Thailand and Cambodia will remove their soldiers completely to pave the way for demarcation by the bilateral Joint Boundary Commission.

Thai Defence spokesman Col Thanathip Sawangsaeng said from Indonesia the talks between Gen Prawit and Gen Tea Banh went smoothly and would lead to the 8th GBC meeting being hosted by Cambodia.

"The defence ministers of the two countries agreed to solve problems through peaceful means. They do not want to see any more clashes or suffer any more losses which will affect the livelihood of the people living along the border," Col Thanathip said.

Meanwhile, in Surin yesterday, where classes include Thai and Cambodian children, everything went smoothly on the second day of the new school term at 26 schools near the border.

Only Ban Nong Khanna and Ban Ta Miang schools in Phanom Dong Rak district remain closed as they are closer to Ta Muen Thom temple and areas of recent clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers.

Although the clashes stopped over two weeks ago, the military postponed classes at both schools as a precaution. They are now expected to open either on May 24 or June 1.
Read more!

ICJ set to hear debate over Hindu Temple

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 19 (UPI) -- The International Court of Justice said Thursday that hearings were scheduled next week on a request to review a 1962 ruling on the Preah Vihear temple.

Public hearings are set for Monday and Tuesday at the Hague to consider the 1962 case, a dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over sovereignty.

Cambodia called on the ICJ to clarify the meaning of a ruling on the Preah Vihear temple. Cambodia notes that the court ruled that it has sovereignty over the temple as a "direct and automatic consequence of its sovereignty over the territory on which the temple is situated," the court said in a May 3 summary. Furthermore, Thailand is under an obligation to pull its forces out of the area.

"Cambodia asserts that Thailand disagrees with all of these points,'" the summary read.

Conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand are centered on the 11th-century temple listed as a World Heritage Site in 2008. International courts ruled in 1962 that the temple was in Cambodia though parts of the temple grounds are in Thai territory.

Thai and Cambodian forces agreed to a shaky cease-fire in late April following a week of border clashes between the Asian neighbors over the area. Read more!

Lake Residents Seek Land Measurement

Residents facing eviction in Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake development sent a request to the city on Thursday asking for the establishment of a commission to measure plots of land they think could solve the problem.

The request comes amid increased pressure on authorities to resolve a standoff between a local developer and thousands of impoverished residents who refuse to make way for an extensive commercial and residential property project.

Resident representative Tep Vanny told VOA Khmer on Friday the community had submitted a request asking for city authorities and the Ministry of Land Management’s cadastre office to measure plots of land under a new compensation plan.

Residents have reduced their demands for 15 hectares of land, set aside from the 133-hectare development, down to 10 hectares, said Ly Srey Mom, another village representative. Under that scheme, 744 plots of land would be established for 1,500 families, she said.

“We detailed the completion of our land plots and sent this to the city,” she said. “We want to talk with the city representatives and end land disputes that have taken place over four years with no resolution.”

The city has so far not responded to a May 9 request for a meeting, despite numerous protests by the residents, who say a buyout package from the developer, Shukaku, Inc., is too little. Last month, police clashed with resident protesters in front of city hall, injuring several and briefly detaining a number of them.

Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema has already promised residents the city would measure land plots, but that has not yet taken place.

Meanwhile, the World Bank, which was reprimanded by an internal investigation for failing to title the people living around the lake under a titling program, issued a statement this week calling on both parties to “reach a resolution.”

The bank said it had been assured the government was “taking a number of steps to improve resettlement processes more generally in Cambodia.”

Ly Srey Mom said the World Bank titling project had failed residents around the lake, so the bank now had a duty to support them, which would provide “transparency and justice.”
Read more!

Cambodia sees spike in lightning deaths: official

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Lightning strikes have killed 56 Cambodians so far this year, twice as many as over the same period last year, an official said Thursday, blaming an early start to the rainy season.

Just 27 people were struck dead by lightning in the first five months of 2010, when 114 were killed over the whole year, according to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM).


Young Cambodian men carry Buddhist monks
through a flooded street next to Royal Palace
after a heavy rain

 Unusually early rain fall this year had contributed to the rise in fatalities, NCDM spokesman Keo Vy told AFP.

"This may be related to the rain that started in early February this year, compared to April last year," he said. Cambodia's rainy season normally runs from May to October.

"Many people are more scared than ever of lightning strikes because they just happen more often," Keo Vy added.

Lightning deaths happen every year in Cambodia, especially in rural areas.

Many of the victims have been farmers and the government has warned people to stay indoors during storms.

Keo Vy said the government couldn't afford to distribute lightning rods but it had distributed information pamphlets to help communities in areas prone to lightning strikes.

"It's a natural disaster happening in other countries as well, but Cambodia can't afford advanced equipment to (protect against) lightning strikes yet."
Read more!

Human Rights Party Plans for 2012 Election

Human Rights Party leader Kem Sokha said that “even if we cannot merge” the parties should not “color one another.”


Leaders and supporters of the opposition Human Rights Party met in Philadelphia on Friday, marking the fourth anniversary of the party and planning for upcoming commune elections in 2012.

In an interview with VOA Khmer after the meetings, party president Kem Sokha said the party will campaign next year on providing more public services to local communities and mitigating discrimination against people of different political beliefs. HRP officials will also seek to eliminate bribes for public services, he said.

“We will create effective and efficient mechanisms, by providing services across the country to meet the needs and demands of local people,” he said. “We will install computers and generators in all the communes led by [the Human Rights Party] to help speed up the processing of people’s documents.”

More broadly speaking, Kem Sokha said Cambodia faces three main threats, what he called “foreign invasion,” dictatorship and poverty.

In national elections, scheduled for 2013, Kem Sokha said the party decided to focus on national integrity and reducing illegal immigration. Cambodia’s current immigration law goes unheeded, due to “foreign influences” that his party is not influenced by, he said.

The party would also like to amend the constitution and set a two-term limit on the office of prime minister. The Human Rights Party already practices such a term limit, he said.

Meanwhile, party lawmakers will also seek better separation of the branches of government while also promoting the agricultural sector, he said.

Education for the young is another priority, he said.

“We will set up a loan system for those who want to go to university and make technical schools available for those who do not want to go to university, so that they have skills to work,” he said. “These are only possible if corruption is eliminated. HRP has a strategy to eliminate corruption from the top. We aren’t going to go the way the party in power has. Asset declaration must be made publicly, not in a closed envelope.”

The Human Rights Party currently holds three seats in the National Assembly, well behind the leading opposition Sam Rainsy Party, which has 26. However, party leader Sam Rainsy is facing a prison sentence at home and remains in self exile abroad, which observers note could present organizational and political difficulties for the party.

Talk of alliance between the two opposition parties has surfaced occasionally since the last election, in 2008, but neither side has been able to fully agree with the other.

Kem Sokha said that “even if we cannot merge” the parties should not “color one another.”

“I appeal to all people not to be hopeless,” he said. “We are still able to work together, once we have set a democratic system. The HRP has been working on this and has implemented it. So you can join us.”
Read more!

Funcinpec Widow Files ACU Complaint for Lost Land

An APC (armored personel carrier) waits on a side street as a few remaining motorists leave an area of Phnom Penh where fighting broke out on Sunday July 6,1997. Fear spread through the city as scattered fighting broke out throughout the capital. APC's and tanks rumbled through Phonm Penh s streets while television stations repeatedly aired a tape of the man behind the apparent coup, Co-Premier Hun Sen, accusing rival Co-Premier Norodom Randariddh of preparing for war. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)


The wife of a royalist general who was killed in the 1997 coup has filed a complaint with the national Anti-Corruption Unit, saying a group of officials and judges conspired to sell her husband’s land after he died.

Chea Kim, the wife of Ho Sok, who was a Funcinpec secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior and a three-star general, says 29 government officials and six judges worked together to sell 13 hectares of land in Kandal province in 1998.

Ho Sok and other Funcinpec generals and officials were either killed in fighting or executed during the two-day coup in July 1997, as then co-prime minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party seized power.

In her May 6 complaint, obtained by VOA Khmer, Chea Kim states that the Supreme Court overturned a 2007 decision that awarded the land to her.

Chea Kim names Yos Sokhourn, a Supreme Court judge, and five other judges, as conspirators in the alleged land theft.

Yos Sokhourn said “no one” complained after the court decision and declared the case “over.”

“So now why does Ho Sok’s wife file a complaint against us?” he said.

Chea Kim also names as one of the conspirators Prak Savuth, a former Kandal deputy governor and the current chief of the provincial council.

Contacted Wednesday, Prak Savuth declined to comment, saying he was in a private hospital for a medical check up.

A police official with knowledge of the case, who requested anonymity, said Prak Savuth had “masterminded” a land grab after Ho Sok was shot in 1997.

Another official accused in the case, Ieng Moly, a former information minister, said Wednesday he had legitimately bought the land eight years ago and subsequently sold it. He would consider a defamation suit against Chea Kim for accusing him of theft, he said.

Officials at the Anti-Corruption Unit, which has made a number of arrests and at least one high-profile prosecution under new anti-corruption legislation, declined to comment or could not be reached Wednesday. Read more!

Outside the Comfort Zone: Flying Doctors of America in Cambodia

By James Schantz, DC

For many chiropractors, success is about comfort, predictability and ease. We strive to make our practice run smoothly, with as few ups or downs as possible. What if you were to purposely throw a monkey wrench into your daily routine? Willingly put yourself into a practice setting that was uncomfortable, ill-equipped and unpredictable?

Sound appalling? Stop reading right now. Sound appealing? You might be a candidate for a Flying Doctors mission! Flying Doctors of America is a non-governmental organization that runs non-sectarian health care missions to Third World countries. Think "Doctors Without Borders," but a one- to two-week commitment versus a one- to two-year commitment, and mostly safe countries versus some of the most dangerous places on Earth.
Each Flying Doctors mission is composed of volunteers who are willing to practice without the amenities (or restraints) of our modern, high-tech health care system. Mission sites are selected by a board of directors, each of whom leads at least one mission each year. Locations are selected based a number of different considerations including cooperation from the respective country's ministry of health, logistical assistance available on the ground, and safety. Missions usually involve one to two days of travel, four to five days of clinics and one to two days of exploring archeological and historic sites.

Mission to Cambodia
Each volunteer contributes to cover the costs of transportation, lodging, food, logistics and administration. I raised money for my latest mission by soliciting donations from colleagues and vendors. My office also ran a Flying Doctors Day: new and established patients could receive chiropractic services in exchange for a donation to Flying Doctors. Our team featured three surgeons, five MDs, six nurses, two dental professionals, two non-medical spouses, one physician assistant and me - the chiropractor.

Our mission destination on this occasion was Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world. Eighty-five percent of the population is subsistence farmers or fisherman trying to get by on about $1 a day. Cambodia was thrown into an extremely dark period in the 1970s, and it is still struggling to recover. The Khmer Rouge regime of the ultra-Maoist dictator Pol Pot devised a plan to turn the country into an agrarian utopia. Pol Pot cut off foreign trade, closed down the banks and universities, and then took anyone with an education or money and had them executed or forced into labor camps. The horror of the Killing Fields is fading from the national psyche, but economic recovery is stymied by corruption and lack of infrastructure and education.

The first rite of passage on our Cambodian mission was a one-stop flight from Atlanta to Siem Reap, Cambodia that took 24 hours. You feel more like a prisoner than a passenger in economy class. At least they let prisoners lie down to sleep. The following day, I joined our team leader, an anesthesiologist who specializes in pain management, at the local hospital. Our job was to perform screening exams on about 100 patients for the ENT surgeons. I was soon busy palpating goiters, checking for broken eardrums, inspecting nasal polyps and scoping infected tonsils. My partner nearly dropped his otoscope when he heard the pop as I performed an auricular adjustment on a patient complaining of fullness in the ear.

Our next day was designated as a rest day so everyone could get their biological clocks in sync. My wife, Dixie, and I were already recalibrated to Cambodian time, so we opted to hold an impromptu chiropractic / acupuncture clinic in the courtyard of the Siem Reap hospital where our surgical team operated.

"How will you explain to people what you are going to do, we don't speak Cambodian?" Dixie asked me. "Just lie down on the table, and I will start working on you. They'll get the idea," I replied. Dixie and I got translation help from a university student named Kosal who speaks some English. Soon we had people crowding around, curious and eager to be next. Folks on crutches, wheelchairs; there was even a fellow without any legs in a wagon circling the portable chiropractic table.

One of the things that I love about practicing chiropractic on missions is that bedsides being a wonderful healing, it also makes great entertainment. People love to see and hear the groans, moans, winces, cracks, pops and smiles. After we have treated about 40 patients, we are ready for a break. Kosal invited us back to his home for lunch. We were excited to see how a Cambodian family lives, so we accepted his offer.

His place looked like a studio apartment for one, but we soon found out that his mother, aunt, sister and two brothers all shared the 12' x 20' room. The only furniture: a bed and a plastic stool. Lunch was prepared and served on the floor. We realized that given these conditions, we were exposing ourselves to a host of microorganisms, but figured that our medical compatriots would help us if we got in trouble.

We were treated to a traditional Cambodian dish called amok. It is chicken with rice and vegetables, cooked in coconut milk and lemongrass, and it is served in a woven banana-leaf basket. Wow, was that spicy, but really tasty. It didn't seem to make us any sicker than any of the other food we had eaten since we arrived. (For the entire mission I fought a stomach ache, nausea, fever and malaise on a daily basis. Not enough to knock me out of commission, but just enough to make me feel like I was hitting on only two pistons most of the time.)

The next four days, we boarded a bus each morning and traveled to different villages on the outskirts of Siem Reap. With the help of interpreters, we would triage the awaiting throng of villagers and assign them to our clinics. We had general medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, dentistry, pharmacy and chiropractic / acupuncture. We had no X-rays, no lab tests and no specialized equipment. All the doctors and nurses must rely on a scant history, a few physical findings and their intuition. One doctor said, "This is like practicing veterinary medicine!"

I have been in active practice since 1986, and have volunteered at inner-city clinics and rural settings in Peru, Guatemala and Vietnam. Nonetheless, there were some unique patient encounters in Cambodia, including adjusting the blind and villagers who had limbs missing from landmine explosions; diagnosing Parkinson's disease in a farmer; improvising a splint for a little girl who had been run over by a motorbike; and performing acupuncture on a Buddhist monk.

Each day I ended up hot, sweaty, smelly and dirty. A hot shower, clean clothes and a cold beer were anticipated rewards for my work. I felt very fortunate that I had these waiting for me back at our hotel, and at the same time saddened because the patients I had seen during the day had no such respite from their daily life.

On our last day I was able to realize a long-awaited dream: a visit to Angkor Wat. I had first gazed on the sublime temples of Angkor Wat in a book of poems by Alan Ginsburg back in 1972. Since those teenage days, I have wanted to explore these mystical ruins. Angkor Wat ranks among the world's most magnificent treasurers, on par with the pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal. If you have ever seen the movie, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" then you have caught a glimpse of the Buddhist temples being engulfed by the jungle.

Volunteerism Has Its Challenges and Its Rewards

Mission trips can be exotic, exciting and exhausting. You work long hours alongside many fine professionals who share a passion for adventure and helping the poor. You may have the honor of treating native people with a heritage that goes back thousands of years. But let me caution you - more than once I have returned from a mission feeling disenfranchised from my practice and my culture.

In the Third World countries where I have worked, the people do not have material possessions to make them happy, so they rely more on their interpersonal relationships. What little they do have they seem to be more willing to share. It doesn't seem like that here in the U.S. But despite our materialism, we do promote humanitarianism. The U.S. produces many fine individuals who give of themselves to people of different races, cultures and religions.

There are many ways that doctors of chiropractic can volunteer their services both at home and abroad. Several chiropractic colleges and chiropractic mission organizations send students and licensed DC's to places in the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. Mission trips coordinated by churches and other religious organizations are beginning to include chiropractors as part of their medical teams. Locally, you can find homeless shelters, group homes and charities that will consider including chiropractic in their package of services.

We have a safe, drug-free method of alleviating human suffering that can help so many people. When you volunteer, you help grow your profession, your practice and your soul.

Author's note: I would like to recognize Lhasa OMS, Lifetimer Tables, Cryoderm, Dee Cee Labs and Bettis Electrical Contractors for their donations, as well as my colleagues and patients who gave their support.

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For more information on Flying Doctors of America, visit www.fdoamerica.org. Dr. Schantz has written about his experiences with Flying Doctors of America on several occasions including 1997 ("Chiropractic at 11,000 Feet: Flying Doctors of America," Jan. 1 issue, detailing his mission trip to Chinchaypucjio, Peru) and 2004 ("Mayan Healing: Mission Trip to Guatemala," May 20 issue).

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Dr. James E. Schantz, a 1986 graduate of the National College of Chiropractic, practices in Roswell, Ga. He received the Chiropractic Award of Excellence for Community Service from Prevention magazine and the Alliance for Chiropractic Progress in 1998, and is a two-time recipient of the Humanitarian of Year Award from the Georgia Chiropractic Association. Contact Dr. Shantz with questions or comments at schantzchiro@earthlink.net . Read more!

As UN Security Council Takes Up Ethiopia-Eritrea at Portugal's Request, Empty Thai Cambodia Talk

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 -- Alongside Yemen in this afternoon's Security Council consultations are two other conflicts: Ethiopia and Eritrea, and Thailand - Cambodia.

Portugal requested that the Department of Political Affairs provide the first briefing, based on reports of escalation received from its embassy in Addis Ababa, sources say, and the United States backed Portugal's request.


DPA's Pascoe and Araud,  answers to question not shown

Numerous Council members were dismissive of the UN briefing about Thailand and Cambodia, given no little role the UN has in resolving that conflict. (Some say that UNESCO granting of a unilateral application for heritage status of border temples helped cause the conflict.)
On Monday evening, two Security Council members' political coordinators told Inner City Press that it was Russia, often described a blocking Council meetings, which provided the initial support for Cambodia's request for a formal meeting.

“This is actually bullets across borders, what the Security Council was formed for,” one of them said, contrasting it to recent Council action on Libya, and talks without action on “internal” conflicts in Yemen and Syria.

Another joked that if the Thai - Cambodia conflict were in Africa, the UN would be all over it.

Meanwhile, as the Council ended one of its Tuesday morning sessions, President Gerard Araud as has become his practice refused to take questions. He even read a press statement on Haiti -- only in French -- and refused to take questions on it.

Portugal's Ambassador Cabral consented to speak on camera, about North Korea sanctions. He dodged questions about what he called the “independent” panel.

Inner City Press asked him about reports that one of the experts on the panel, at the behest of the government of his country, was refusing to sign off on the report. “I've heard that,” Cabral said, then maintained again that these sanctions panel members are independent. There are allegations flying all in directions. Watch this site. Read more!

Cambodian residents report threats over railway development

Impoverished Cambodians say they are being forcibly moved out of their houses to make way for the country's redeveloped railway system.

The ABC's Southeast Asia correspondent, Zoe Daniel, says more than 160 families from a community in the capital, Phnom Penh, have been offered a few hundred dollars' compensation for their houses by local authorities.

The residents say the compensation they've been offered isn't enough. Some say they will lose buildings they live and work in, while others are angry that they've been told to move about 20km out of the city.

Residents who don't want to leave say they've been threatened by local officials.

One resident says she was asked to accept the deal by giving a thumb print.

"If I don't, they will bulldoze my house, they will hire [a] drug user to burn my house," she said.

The railway project being is built with funding from the Australian aid agency AusAID and the Asian Development Bank, and that marked buildings within 3.5 metres of the line are scheduled to be partially or fully demolished.

ADB spokesman Peter Bloch has rejected reports of intimidation and threats.

"Resettlement is always a horribly difficult thing to do in this part of the world," he said.

"We have what's known as a safeguards policy, which sets certain minimum standards that must be upheld when resettling people."

But residents, together with NGOs, are preparing a complaint to the ADB's highest level, while Bridges Across Borders Cambodia (BABC), a prominent NGO, is also advocating on residents' behalf.

The organisation's founder, David Pred, says the project bears the characteristics of corporate welfare.

"You have Australian tax dollars and Cambodian debt to the Asian Development Bank bankrolling a project, whose primary beneficiaries thus far have been major Australian and Cambodian corporations," he said.

Failed resettlement
Last year, our correspondent says more than 50 families were relocated to Battambang, a town north-west of Phnom Penh, and that many reported having no power or clean water when they arrived.

Sok Cheun says two of his children drowned when they went to get water from a deep pond nearby.

"If we had enough food, enough water, my children would not have died," he said.

Following the deaths, AusAID and the Asian Development Bank say they increased their monitoring of the government resettlement program.

Power has also reportedly been connected to houses but at the resident's cost, and many of those resettled are understood to have left.

The Asian Development Bank's criteria for resettlement outlines the need for people to be in the same or better circumstances after they are moved.

Mr Pred says BABC believes the large number of families that have left Battambang is an indication that the resettlement process has failed.

"Obviously, if people are not happy to stay here, where they've been moved, then that shows that they weren't resettled adequately," he said.

AusAID declined to comment but has said that relocating people affected by the new rail line is the responsibility of the Cambodian Government.

The new railway is expected to be operational by the end of next year, and is to be run by an Australian firm, Toll Holdings.

Our correspondent says Toll Holdings, which has a 30-year concession to operate Cambodia's train system, has indicated that it is not responsible for either fixing the tracks or moving the people. Read more!

Tiny nation can take rightful place in ASEAN

OUR desire to join ASEAN is a longstanding one and in the past 10 years, we have shown unequivocal determination to join the organisation. Geographically, we are very much part of Southeast Asia. Indonesia has shown statesmanship, vision and a real sense of history by being among those most strongly advocating Timor-Leste's membership.

Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, The Philippines, Cambodia and Burma have expressed public support. When I visited Cambodia a few weeks ago, I was told by Prime Minister Hun Sen that in preparation for Cambodia's chairmanship of ASEAN next year, they are already making additional arrangements to accommodate Timor-Leste as the 11th member. But Singapore, while agreeing with Timor-Leste's ASEAN membership, objects to early membership, arguing the country is not yet ready to deal with the challenges and complexities of ASEAN membership.

According to the just-released UN Development Program Human Development Report, Timor-Leste's Human Development Index value is 0.502, placing it in the medium human development category, ahead of ASEAN members such as Cambodia, Laos and Burma and just behind Vietnam in the overall measure of human development.

School enrolment jumped from a modest 63 per cent in 2006 to 82.7 per cent in 2009. Illiteracy will be eliminated by 2015. Child and infant mortality, as well as post-birth mother mortality, have been halved. Life expectancy at birth increased by more than two years and now averages 62.1 years. Incidences of malaria and dengue fever have decreased significantly in the past four years and poverty has also lessened.

Gross national product per capita increased 228 per cent during the same period to more than $US5000.

Timor-Leste has no foreign debt, and according to The Economist 2010 Pocketbook, it has the highest surplus in the world - over 280 per cent as a percentage of gross domestic product. Our economy has continued to show robust growth for four consecutive years, and Timor-Leste is among the nine fastest-growing economies of the world.

In the past few years, the political situation has been remarkably free of tension. On the security front, Timor-Leste does not have ethnic or religious conflicts, organised crime or armed insurgency. Political and social tensions and, in some instances, sporadic violence have flared up but we have been able to quickly overcome these spasms, which are typical in nation-building. We have rebounded from these periods of crisis even stronger.

The London-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative rates Timor-Leste the best performer in Asia and third in the world in terms of accountability and transparency in the management of our petroleum resources.

In the pursuit of good governance and transparency, and to get rid of the worldwide phenomenon of corruption, parliament has passed the Anti-Corruption Law and we have created an anti-corruption commission. With active support from Indonesia, Australia and the US, we are strengthening our national police, enabling them to better prevent, intercept and fight organised crime. from sex slavery to people-smuggling, drug trafficking and money laundering.

We are proud of what we have achieved since 2002. We have a dynamic multi-party democracy with nine parties in the national parliament. Almost 30 per cent of the elected MPs are women, and several women hold key ministerial portfolios.

Timor-Leste stands out with its very liberal and humanist constitution that prohibits the death penalty. We have ratified all major International Human Rights treaties and have complied with our reporting obligations. Timor-Leste, according to Reporters Without Borders, has one of the freest media in the region.

Since our independence, we have made every effort to harmonise our foreign and security policies with those of our ASEAN neighbours. We have been sensitive to our neighbours' views on regional and global issues, always making every effort not to stray from the ASEAN view whenever there is a consensus on a specific country situation or thematic issue. We have friendly and pro-active relations with emerging powers such as China, India, South Africa and Brazil while maintaining special relations with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and the US.

In the past decade, we have not had a single diplomatic or security incident involving any neighbour. Relations with Indonesia are exemplary.

In view of Timor-Leste's financial circumstance and its proven ability to engage regionally and internationally, Timor-Leste is ready to join ASEAN this year or next. We concede we have many weaknesses and shortcomings, but ASEAN could admit Timor-Leste now and give us a five- to 10-year transition period, during which we would expand efforts to catch up to the more advanced ASEAN members. This would make sense, in line with past ASEAN practice in relation to other members and with the EU practice of admitting new members and supporting them until they are able to fully meet their obligations.

ASEAN fellow members should not have to worry about any financial costs as Timor-Leste will not beg for economic or financial support.

Jose Ramos-Horta is the President of Timor-Leste. A longer version of this article was published on the East Asia Forum, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/.
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PM kicks off construction of southern coastal road

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 14 issued an order to kick off construction of the Minh Luong-Thu Bay section and the Rach Gia bypass as part of the southern coastal corridor road project in Chau Thanh district, the southern province of Kien Giang.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, PM Dung emphasised the extremely important significance of the project for Kien Giang province in its development.

As part of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) co-operation programme, the project aims to set up an international road linking important economic zones of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand with other ASEAN countries. It will create conditions for the region’s economic development as well as security and defence, and help reduce poverty for border provinces in southwestern Vietnam.

The 950km-long route, which begins in Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok, runs through Cambodia and finishes in Ca Mau city, will be built at a cost of US$398 million sourced from preferential loans of the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Asian Development Bank; non-refundable aid of the Australian government and reciprocal capital of the Vietnamese government.

Once operational, the road is expected to facilitate travels and goods circulation in the region and open up possibilities for exporting goods to Cambodia through the Ha Tien International Border Gate in Kien Giang province.

Together with the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway, Can Tho and Rach Mieu Bridges, Southern Hau River and Quan Lo-Phung Hiep routes, the southern coastal corridor route will form an extensive and uninterrupted road system that helps the Mekong Delta take off.

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Tours & cruises: Cambodia and Vietnam



Vietnam's Mekong Deta ( Jason La/ Los Angeles time)

 By Avital Binshtock
Special to the Los Angeles Times

Pacific Delight’s eight-day Mekong River cruise from Cambodia to Vietnam aboard La Maguerite or Amalotus makes it possible for travelers to visit pagodas, shop Cai Be’s floating market, see a catfish farm and tour small villages as well as important sites and cities. Onboard are dance and musical performances, cultural discussions and themed dinners.

Itinerary: Cambodia: Tonle Sap Lake to Kampong Tralach, Oudong, Chong Koh, Phnom Penh to Vietnam: Tan Chau, Sa Dec, Xeo Quyt, Cai Be and Ho Chi Minh City

Dates: Departures through December

Price: From $1,599 (prices rise later in the year), double occupancy, including lodging, all meals and alcoholic beverages, and guides. The rate does not include international airfare or transfers (which can be purchased from Pacific Delight), taxes or gratuities.

Info: Pacific Delight Tours, New York; (800) 221-7179. Read more!

China, Cambodia new venues for oilmeal exports

India’s deoiled meals would remain in high demand in the overseas markets, as China and Cambodia emerge as the key export destinations for the commodity. According to the details provided by the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), oilmeal exports from India have seen a sharp rise over the past one year, and the trend is expected to continue in the coming months.

According to the SEA estimates, China is now emerging as a key export destination for oilmeals. The neighbouring country is buying large quantities of extractions of rapeseed, soybean and groundnut from India. The total exports from India are expected to be around 500,000 tonnes per annum, valuing over Rs 600 crore.

A SEA delegation, led by its president Sushil Goenka, visited China and Cambodia during April 23 and May 3, with an objective to strengthen the relations with the end users of Indian deoiled meals (extractions). India being a producer of non-genetically modified variety of oilmeal, there were better prospects for overseas demand.

The delegation found China to be a potential market for exports of Indian deoiled meals, particularly for rapeseed. The exports can be doubled in the next three years from the present level of half a million tonne, SEA noted.

In order to promote the export of oilmeals, SEA has decided to participate in various exhibitions being held across China from time to time to create further awareness about Indian oilmeals, as well as create confidence in the minds of the Indian buyers being a serious and regular source of supply for oilmeals.
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Cambodia to postpone Thai expo slated for next week in Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia decided to postpone the Thai expo planned for next week in Phnom Penh, saying it is not the right time to hold such an expo.

"Due to recent restrictions on border trade by Thai military region 2, I am of the opinion that this is not the right time to promote Thai products in Cambodia," Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said in a letter to Thai embassy in Phnom Penh on Friday.

Cambodia's decision is a response to the 2nd Thai Army command' s order on Tuesday to halt a further exports of fuel and other products into Cambodia, claiming the Cambodian military may need them to support their troops in operations against Thai forces along the disputed border.

"The export ban will last until the border situation really returns to normal," the Bangkok Post online reported, citing the order letter of the 2nd Army command.

On Wednesday, Thailand announced that it would organize the second largest scale expo of Thai products in Phnom Penh from May 19-22.

"We cannot guarantee the reaction of Cambodian visitors to such exhibitions after Thai's behavior," Cham Prasidh said.

"Therefore, I have issued instructions to the Department of Trade Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce to contact the organizers of the Thai exhibition 2011 to postpone the said event until more favorable time comes," added the minister.

Jiranan Wongmongkol, director of the Thai embassy's Foreign Trade Promotion Office in Phnom Penh, which is the event organizer, said Friday that the embassy has received the letter and agreed to cancel the event.

"We have no choice, we have to postpone the event," she said. "We don't know when it will be re-arranged."

Cambodia and Thailand has border dispute just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was listed as World Heritage site on July 7, 2008. Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 sq km of scrub next to the temple.

Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border, and periodic clashes between the two countries' soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.

The latest flare-up occurred from April 22 until May 3 at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province, leaving 19 people, on both sides, killed and nearly 100, 000 civilians evacuated for safe shelters.
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Aid donor battles Cambodia over forced evictions

Poor residents fight eviction in Cambodia's capital, and the World Bank fights the government

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- A manmade sand dune looms over Cham Pothisak's tin-roof and plywood shack, left by builders who want to transform the sprawling slum-like neighborhoods on the periphery of Phnom Penh's largest lake into fancy villas and office space.

Cham and his family are among 10,000 people who face eviction because of a questionable deal turning over some of the Cambodian capital's priciest real estate to a company reportedly owned by a close associate of the prime minister.

Their predicament stems in part from a flawed $23.4 million World Bank program that was supposed to prevent such land grabs by strengthening people's title to their land. The problems illustrate how difficult it can be for well-intentioned outsiders to bring about change in developing countries plagued by corruption and entrenched interests.

The dispute over Boeung Kak lake has embarrassed the World Bank and led to an unusually tense standoff with Cambodia's government. The bank issued an ultimatum in March demanding a halt to evictions and higher compensation for landowners. A May 8 deadline has been pushed back to next Monday, though the bank is not likely to act immediately.

The 38-year-old Cham likens the situation to life under the Khmer Rouge, the ultra-Marxist regime that terrorized the country for four years in the late 1970s.

"We're angry but we can't do anything against them," he said. "It's like the Khmer Rouge all over again. We're helpless."

The root of the mess lies with the Khmer Rouge, which outlawed private property in a bid to create an agricultural utopia. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians were killed or died of starvation or disease under its brutal rule and failed polices.

Since the Khmer Rouge was ousted in 1979, the United Nations and other international groups have tried to help rebuild the country and its government institutions, with mixed results. Democracy has struggled; Prime Minister Hun Sen consolidated power in a 1997 coup and has not relinquished it since. A real estate boom has driven land-grabbing by wealthy or politically connected developers to new heights, activists say.

In 2002, the World Bank, the Washington-based institution focused on development and poverty reduction, helped set up the Land Monitoring and Administration Program to build a system of paper titles and central registries. Germany, Canada and Finland helped finance the effort.

When the lands in question were marginal, the system appeared to work. Government surveyors interviewed owners, reviewed documents and issued more than 1.2 million titles, a sign of the program's success, the bank says.

But when business interests wanted land -- for logging, sugar plantations or real estate, for example -- the process actually left some more vulnerable to eviction.

That's because government officials running the program would simply reject claims from poor landowners or deny them the right to appeal, said David Pred, whose organization Bridges Across Borders Cambodia advocates for landowners.

"Meanwhile, the wealthy and well-connected have little difficulty in acquiring land title in high value areas in which poor communities reside due to their connections or their ability to pay the high 'unofficial fees,'" Pred wrote in an email.

A 2006 report done for the German government's aid agency found that 20 percent of households surveyed were refused the right to prove ownership of their property, according a land-use consultant with firsthand knowledge of the report. The consultant spoke on condition of anonymity because the report is not public.

Many landowners around Boeung Kak -- a 330-acre (133-hectare) bowl of sewage-filled water and trash-littered marshes in the shadow of high-rise banks and government ministries -- expected to have a chance to argue their claims after workers began surveying their properties in May 2006.

But in January 2007, authorities surprised residents, activists and foreign donors by refusing to acknowledge any records of the residents' properties, essentially pre-empting any ownership claims.

The next month, the government announced that a company called Shukaku Inc. had acquired the development rights to the lake under a $79 million, government-backed 99-year lease. The land was worth far more, residents say.

Shukaku's chief is widely reported to be Lao Meng Khin, a ruling party senator, reclusive businessman and close associate of Hun Sen.

By August 2008, workers had started pumping sand into the lake, creating berms like the one menacing Cham's house. Torrents of sand and water flooded some homes almost instantly, sometimes in the dead of night. The World Bank and many foreign embassies complained.

In September 2009, the government abruptly canceled the land title program, citing what Hun Sen called "complicated conditions."

Most of the lake is now filled, the sand all but destroying its ecology. More than 2,000 families have already moved. The remaining landowners complain that the compensation being offered is laughable, particularly given skyrocketing real estate values.

Authorities "aren't stupid, they're just corrupt. They just have no conscience," said Tep Vanny, who faces eviction from her house on the lake's east side. "It's a way to keep the people poor, and for them to stay in power."

Neither Shukaku officials nor Lao Meng Khin responded to written requests for interviews.

Government officials, including the Phnom Penh governor and the national government's chief spokesman, either refused to comment or take a reporter's repeated phone calls.

In an internal report released March 8, World Bank inspectors concluded the land title program was flawed in its design, violated bank social and environmental policies and may have made it easier to evict landowners.

The bank also warned that it would reconsider both current and future projects in Cambodia if the government doesn't help resolve the Boeung Kak controversy. Bank President Robert Zoellick took the unusual step of publicly criticizing the government on the day the inspectors' report was released.

Aid experts say the government does not want to be seen as being pushed around by a foreign institution and may be using the fight as a signal to keep other donors in check. For the World Bank, its credibility is at stake if a strong-arm government can ride roughshod over bank policies to protect the poor.

Sia Phearum, head of a Cambodian housing rights organization, said that people in many countries welcome development projects and the hope they bring for better lives -- but not in Cambodia.

"In Cambodia, people who have no land have no hope," he said. Read more!

Cambodia war crimes judge threatens suit against prosecutor

Phnom Penh - A German judge who jointly heads the investigation office at the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia has threatened to file contempt-of-court charges against the tribunal's international prosecutor.

The unprecedented development that two senior UN staff might face off within the tribunal's system came days after the prosecutor, Andrew Cayley, said an investigation by Judge Siegfried Blunk's office was deficient.

Blunk did not reply Friday to emailed questions, but the Cambodia Daily quoted him as saying it could 'write any story you like' after he declined to say what lay behind the contempt-of-court charges.

Cayley said Monday that he had reviewed the file prepared by Blunk's team on the third case in the prosecution of leaders of Cambodia's former Khmer Rouge regime and would request the investigating judges do more work on it.

His comments seemed to confirm long-standing rumours that the judges have done little on the case.

Cayley, a British national, told the German Press Agency dpa Tuesday that case three still needed 'a substantial amount' of investigation and called on Blunk's office to notify the suspects they were under investigation and to interview them.

'And [there are] a number of other steps, including investigation of crime sites also originally named by the prosecution in the introductory submission, which haven't been investigated at all,' Cayley said.

Tribunal observers have long feared the investigating judges are trying to shelve the tribunal's third and fourth cases. That would suit the Cambodian government, which has repeatedly said it would not permit those cases to go to trial.

Asked whether the court was indeed trying to bury cases three and four, Blunk responded with a threat.

'The use of the word 'bury' is insolent, for which you are given leave to apologize within two days,' Blunk wrote in an email Tuesday without specifying a penalty.

Blunk's actions come at a critical time for the court as it prepares for its second case against four senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders this year.

Cases three and four involve five unnamed former Khmer Rouge, who between them are thought to be directly responsible for tens of thousands of deaths.

But the investigating judges have refused to make public any details about either case, including which crime sites were under investigation, leading to accusations that they have deliberately excluded victims.

Tribunal monitor Clair Duffy of the Open Society Justice Initiative, which is funded by US billionaire George Soros and monitors the tribunal, said Friday that the case-three investigation had already done substantial damage to the tribunal's reputation.

She said news of possible contempt-of-court proceedings was 'potentially very damaging.'

'The potential message is that those seeking to act independently of political will and to act with integrity in the pursuit of justice will be laying themselves open to criminal sanction,' Duffy said.

In its first case, the tribunal last year convicted the Khmer Rouge's head of security, Comrade Duch, of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

More than 2 million people are thought to have died under the movement's rule of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Read more!

Wichit offers himself as border problem solver

Army veteran seeks seat in House to end clashes
Newspaper section: News

Gen Wichit Yathip, the former deputy army chief, hopes to enter politics so he will have a chance to take part in solving the conflict at the Thai-Cambodian border.

Army on a roll
About 300 soldiers of the 2nd Army carry out an exercise at a military training field in Nakhon Ratchasima’s WangNamKhieo district. Live ammunition was used during the exercise, with six F-16 jet fighters taking part. PRASIT TANGPRASERT


Gen Wichit, who is also a close aide of former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who is known to have close ties with Cambodia, said he is considering what party he will join for the July 3 election.

Last month Gen Chavalit resigned from Pheu Thai party as its chairman.

Gen Wichit, 63, told the Bangkok Post that he was ready to offer himself as a problem-solver in the Thai-Cambodian spat.
He decided to enter politics because he felt deep sorrow about the fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops.

Calling Thais and Cambodians "brothers", Gen Wichit said when Thai and Cambodian soldiers kill each other, the confrontation could escalate into long-lasting "hatred and nationalism".

Gen Wichit said the clashes were the saddest he had faced.

The two countries enjoyed a much better relationship when he served in the army and was assigned to deal with Thai-Cambodian issues, he said.

He would work with any party which appoints him to solve the Thai-Cambodian problem.

"I want to see Thais and Cambodians love each other again," he said.

He had met Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva recently to discuss the conflict over the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre overlapping border area near Preah Vihear temple. He gave Mr Abhisit some recommendations on the issue.

Before clashes broke out in February, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen talked to Gen Wichit and suggested a three-point solution.

They were that both countries should withdraw troops from the area, jointly manage the 4.6-square kilometre overlapping border area, and have Thai and Cambodian monks live together at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, which is in the disputed area.

He believes Hun Sun was keeping a close watch on whatever government takes shape after the July 3 election.

"If the Democrats return to power, there will be further fights, but if Pheu Thai heads the government, talks are likely to go more smoothly," Gen Wichit said.

He had recently called Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh and found he was unhappy with Mr Abhisit's approach to dealing with the border conflict.

"We have to understand how Gen Tea Banh might feel, because he has to listen to Hun Sen," he said.
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Indonesia's peace solution proposal approved by Cambodia: official

JAKARTA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- An Indonesian government official said on Friday that the Cambodian government has approved the peace solution proposed by Indonesia to settle the armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.

"Thailand government has yet to approve the package solution. The approval would wait for its cabinet meeting scheduled within the next few days," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Micahel Tene said here.

Michael added that the package solution was in the recent trilateral meeting between Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia foreign ministers here on May 9, following tough discussions on the issue during the 18th ASEAN Summit recently.

The meeting among foreign ministers of the three countries was mandated by the previous trilateral meeting among President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia in the summit.

As the implementation of the proposal Indonesian Observer Team (IOT) would be deployed in the disputed border area according to a timeline inside the package, monitoring efforts and condition in the fields that favoring to peace solution.

Besides that the quick announcement of the establishment of General Border Committee (GBC) and Thailand's approval on the terms contained in the Terms of Reference (TOR) towards the deployment of IOT was also part of requirement to the package solution.

Thailand and Cambodia agreed that conflict between them be settled in ASEAN-facilitated measures with Indonesia, the ASEAN chair this year.

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Laos Plans New Study on Dam Effects

A Cambodian fisherman holds a bag loaded life fishes as his catches from the Mekong River at the out skirt of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, April 19, 2011. Laos has deferred decision on erecting in the first dam on the lower Mekong River in face of strong opposition from neighboring countries including its closest ally, Vietnam.

Laos says it will conduct new research on the environmental effects of a hydropower dam it wants to build on the lower Mekong River, bowing to requests from neighboring nations for more study on the project.

Daovong Phonekeo, the deputy director general of the country's Department of Electricity, said Tuesday the country will hire advisers to do the study, and will ask a Thai construction company that is playing a leading role in the project to fund the study.

He says construction work on the project will be delayed for the study.

The Xayaburi dam will be the first hydropower dam on the lower reaches of the river, although China has built dams on the upper stretches of the river.

Last month, at the Mekong River Commission, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, which the Mekong also flows through, asked for more information on the dam's possible effects on wildlife, fish stocks and farming along the river.

Vietnam has asked that all planned hydropower dams on the river be delayed for 10 years for further study. The commission, which aims to build a regional consensus for sustainable development of the river, does not have the power to block any dam projects.

Laos plans to build a series of dams on the river to generate electricity, which it can sell to other countries. Thailand earlier had agreed to buy 95 percent of the power from the project.

About 60 million people depend on the Mekong directly or indirectly for their livelihoods. Environmental groups, including the WWF, have expressed concern that dams on the Mekong could endanger rare fish and wildlife, and could damage farms along the 4,800-kilometer river.

The WWF on Tuesday urged that international best practices be used in any studies to evaluate the dam's effects.
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